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COMPLICATIONS

“ I don’t understand this,” Caden breathed out as Wally pulled the car over into a parking space in the jail’s parking lot. “What is Landry doing with him ?”

His eyes were locked on Jasper Hawes. The leader of Humans First was smiling in that fake, plasticky manner of his that rubbed Caden in all the wrong ways.

But the media is just lapping this up!

They were shouting questions at Jasper at a machine-gun-like pace. That didn’t phase the Humans First leader at all. In fact, he just smiled wider and appeared completely in his element.

Jasper had his right arm around Landry’s shoulders. She was smiling too, but wanly and it didn’t reach her eyes. But she stood there, not shrugging off that arm, but instead standing beside him.

“I’m going to put a stop to this! She doesn't want to be with him!” Caden cried.

But Wally put a hand on his right forearm to stop him. “No, kid, don’t do that.”

“What? Why? I’ve got to rescue Landry!” Caden explained as he tried to open the door again. But Wally reached across and pulled it closed.

“She may not want to be rescued,” Wally said.

“You can’t believe that! She doesn’t hate shifters! She’s not with them!” Caden gestured to Jasper and his acolytes that stood behind him as if he were some kind messiah. This had to be put a stop to.

“She certainly looks like she’s with them. The press clearly believes it. I thought this might happen,” Rose said and her lips skinned back from her teeth.

“Thought what might happen? I don’t understand why Landry is with that creep !” Tilly crossed her arms over her chest and gave an exaggerated shudder.

“There must be some explanation! Landry might have been taught a whole lot of guff about shifters, but she knows that’s not true now!” Caden’s brow furrowed. “He must have caught her off guard. Maybe she doesn’t feel like she has any choice but to pretend she’s okay with this.”

“Caden, a belief system like Landry had, doesn't just disappear overnight. She thinks humans are better than shifters. It’s easier to fall back on her prejudices so her racist brothers and family don’t kick her out than stand on her own,” Rose reminded him.

Hope was a fragile thing. Belief in others was even frailer and that echoed in her voice. Wally’s eyes meet Rose’s in the rear view mirror. There was some kind of silent exchange between them. Rose lowered her eyes to her lap.

“No, no, that’s not true! Not with Landry. She was willing to go to prison rather than give me up to Valerius,” Caden said with a violent shake of his head. “I can’t believe that now when she’s cleared of all charges that she would run to Humans First. It doesn’t make any sense!”

Wally was studying the scene with an almost bland expression. “Prison is tough, kid. She was supposed to get in with Humans First to find out their secrets in exchange for getting her sentence reduced. But the truth is that they likely protected her while in prison for real. That creates some loyalty.”

But Caden wasn’t buying it. “Landry would know that the protection Humans First gave her was conditional. It wasn’t out of the goodness of their hearts and they would expect something back.”

“Leaving prison doesn’t mean she isn’t afraid of what they could do to her if she doesn’t keep up her part of the bargain, Caden,” Wally pointed out as he turned off the car. The engine ticked. The sound had Caden feeling like a racehorse at the starting gate.

“But Valerius will protect her!” Caden cried. “He can keep her safe from Humans First!"

“Are you going to have her live in High Reach?” Rose scoffed.

Her expression had become tangled. No longer was it filled with disdain. That was still there, but she also looked worried.

“That would be awesome! Are you going to move into High Reach, too, Rose?” Tilly turned pleading eyes upon the Swarm Shifter. “It would be so cool!”

Rose blinked. “I--I don’t think I’m invited--”

“Yes, you are,” Caden said firmly. “You are absolutely invited. More than that, I really want you there. You, too, Wally.”

“Are you really saying that I should move into the castle of the Black Dragon?” Rose boggled.

“Yeah, I am,” Caden said without hesitation.

“Does Valerius like cats?” Wally asked.

“I’m sure that Valerius will love your cats especially when you explain how you believe he’s similar to them,” Caden answered him, his lips twitching.

Wally sat there, behind the wheel, looking thoughtful. He shook himself. “No, I shouldn’t. I’ve got the Emporium, though business would boom if people realized I had a direct connection--”

“I need you as my Councillor, Wally. You are the Chione to my Valerius, especially since I’m going to reveal who I am,” Caden said. “So the Emporium might have to take a back seat to your new responsibilities.”

“Ah, running the world or running the Emporium? It is a tough call in terms of importance, but I guess you win out,” Wally said.

“This will be so cool!” Tilly straightened up in her seat. “All our friends in High Reach? Brilliant! There’s like no downside to this now!”

“You found downsides to living in a castle near the most powerful person in the world?” Rose teased her.

“I know that sounds really bad, but living in the castle is sort of going to crimp my social life,” Tilly said. “I mean some of my friends are going to freak out. Some are going to be okay with it. But some of them may just stay friends with me because of who my brother is. And I’ll never know about the people who try to become friends with me. Who knows what they’ll really want.”

Rose put a hand over his sister’s. “That’s actually pretty tough. Sorry, Till.”

She shrugged. “Compared to what others go through, it’s nothing. It’s just that everything is going to change.”

Everything is going to change.

Caden was still watching Landry. The press were asking her questions now. He tried rolling down the window. The crank came out in his hand, but the window was cracked a few inches so he could hear what was being asked and answered.

“... you’re being released, because the Claw and the police made a mistake in thinking that you and your brothers planted the bomb in Dragon Strike Square,” a female reporter stated, “How do you feel about how you’ve been treated? Do you think you were targeted because of your human sympathies?”

Landry licked her lips and looked like a deer in headlights for a moment. Caden felt terrible for her. She clearly was being put on the spot. He thought she would mutter something and hide behind her bangs. But she didn’t. In fact, she brushed her hair out of her eyes. Caden’s eyes widened.

“Oh, boy,” Wally muttered.

“What’s Landry doing?” Tilly cried again though he had a feeling that she knew.

Landry lifted up her chin. “King Valerius is the one responsible for what happened to me! He saw a convenient scapegoat for his bad leadership. The fact that people-- reasonable people --aren’t content with being second-class citizens because they’re human doesn’t make them criminals!”

Caden gasped. Rose growled.

Tilly let out a low moan, “Whoa, what’s she talking about? She thought her brothers were guilty, too!”

“She can’t believe this,” Caden was saying almost as if it were a mantra. “She can’t. She knows it’s not true. She--”

But Landry wasn’t finished yet, she continued, “There are more humans than shifters on this planet, yet we have to fight over the scraps while the shifters get everything . They have all the wealth and all the power. The human part of the government is a complete sham!”

“She hasn’t met President Goodfellow,” Caden murmured as he recalled the tenacious politician hanging outside of Valerius’ rooms.

Landry thrust a fist into the air as she said, “Well, I’m sick of it! I wrongfully ignored what was happening to humans when I was forced to work a menial job as a store clerk.”

“Hey!” Wally cried woundedly.

“But after I was put in prison for a crime I didn’t commit just because I think that humans deserve equal rights to shifters, I’m done! ” Landry pumped that fist into the air.

Caden saw Jasper’s Humans First flunkies cheer and shout in response, but it wasn’t just them that approved. He thought he saw nods and smiles from some of the reporters too. People who had been passing by and had stopped to see what the commotion was about adding their voices to the flunkies. There were large nods and cries of assent.

“Why is no one sticking up for the shifters?” Tilly asked and he saw a determined expression cross her face.

“Tilly, don’t,” Caden said before his sister decided to jump out of the car and tell those people what was what.

“Why? Someone has to speak up!” Tilly asked, her body held rigid and quivering with righteous anger.

“Because your brother is going to announce that he’s the White Dragon Shifter to the world soon and the press getting wind of any kind of fight with Humans First would be a PR disaster,” Wally explained as he tugged on his chin.

“But, Wally, if Humans First is the only one who speaks then that’s the only stuff people will hear on the news!” Tilly lamented.

“That’s incredibly smart, Tilly,” Caden said slowly as he nodded. “You’re right about that. There’s got to be voices in opposition to this… hate.”

Landry was beaming and nodding at the reporters and her little cadre of supporters. Caden felt sick to his stomach as he recognized that Landry was finally getting the type of attention she might have always craved but had never been given.

“Maybe she’s still working undercover for Chione,” he said lamely as Landry was ushered into a big, black SUV driven by the Humans First people. She took pride of place beside Jasper Hawes. “Chione was a little cagey with me earlier about Landry.”

“If Landry was going undercover why wouldn’t Chione tell you?” Rose asked. “You’re the White Dragon Shifter! She’s not going to keep stuff like that from you. Caden, you’ve got to remember who you are !”

Caden grimaced. “I’m Landry’s friend. I have to talk to her. Wally, can you follow that car?”

Caden pointed to the Humans First vehicle.

“No problem, kid.” Wally nodded and started up the Bug. It sputtered to life and shook for a moment like it was an old animal shaking off sleep.

“I’m hoping they take her home. Then I can talk to her,” Caden said as he sat back in the car seat and hoped it didn’t shake loose from the frame.

Wally was good at tailing vehicles. Despite his car topping out at 40 miles per hour and there being few cars on the road, Wally stayed far enough behind that the Humans First people didn’t seem to know--or maybe they didn’t care--they were being followed. Caden had thought they would go to Landry’s house, but they didn’t head there at all. In fact, they went to a rather nondescript townhouse along the edge of the mid. This was near where Caden and Valerius had used the secret exit to leave Reach. He had a panicky moment when he thought they might be leaving the city. But the garage door opened and showed a normal space and not a road curling deep into the wall. Wally parked the car just around the corner.

“What are they doing here?” Tilly asked, her brow furrowing.

“They’re definitely up to no good,” Wally said, making a face.

“You know, just because the Faith were behind the other bombings doesn’t mean that Humans First couldn’t pull a copycat,” Rose said darkly.

“We need to know what’s going on in there,” Caden said and stopped meaningfully. Rose and Wally looked at one another. “You guys did it before. And, besides, they know my face and they’d totally see Iolaire’s big butt.”

Iolaire, who had been observing all of this with a somewhat sad expression on its face, rustled its wings at the description of its “big butt”. Its butt was perfect. It was completely perfectly proportioned. Raziel thought it was the most perfect dragon butt out there, thank you very much. Caden rolled his eyes.

It’s still big. Nearly as big as that townhouse! We couldn’t hide! Caden reminded Iolaire.

His Spirit twittered sadly that yes, perhaps that was true. Just perhaps though.

“I guess the kid has a point,” Wally sighed. “Ready to play spies again, Rose?”

Rose nodded even as she pretended to look put out. Caden thought she seemed rather excited. “I suppose. Caden, you and Tilly stay put. Don’t even think of straying outside the car.”

“She’s treating us both as if we are little kids,” Tilly sniffed indignantly.

“I know, right?” Caden agreed, attempting to look affronted.

But he sort of had been thinking of wandering past the townhouse. But that really would have been foolish as there were likely cameras and lookouts. Would Jasper Hawes and his people really not notice the White Dragon Shifter just sauntering past? No.

“We’re so much smarter than that!” Tilly harrumphed as Rose gracefully shed her clothing.

“You might be, Till, but your brother… I don’t know about him,” Rose laughed.

“I’ll keep him safe!” Tilly assured her.

Wally, too, had stripped his clothing in seconds. Caden was really going to have to figure out how they did that. Was it just practice? Or were there tips and tricks he could learn to do the same?

“We’ll be back, kid, in two shakes of a rat’s tail,” Wally told him.

“Isn’t the phrase two shakes of a rabbit’s tail, Wally?” Tilly asked.

He grinned at her. “You just haven’t seen a rat waggle its tail!”

And with that, Rose shifted into her bee form and Wally into his rat form. While Rose became a whole hive of bees, Wally became just one rat this time. Tilly’s eyes were wide with amazement as she gently reached into the very center of the swarm of bees. Rose crawled on her hand and arm, not stinging her of course, which had Tilly laughing.

“Her little feet and wings tickle!” she explained.

Caden grinned. He picked up Wally as he saw the rather fat rat trying to crawl up to the window crack and squeeze through. While rats were able to get through impossible tight spaces, he didn’t want Wally to have to try. So he just opened the car door, patted Wally on the head and gently set him down.

“There you go, Wally,” Caden said.

Wally squeaked appreciatively. Rose’s hive flew out the open door as well. The two of them went towards the townhouse. Wally leaped along the road towards the ground floor and basement while Rose soared to some of the windows, splitting into smaller groups to go investigate the second and first floors. The moment that Wally hit the small grassy front area he suddenly became many rats instead of one. They oiled through the grass like water and disappeared from sight. He and Tilly were silent for long moments before Caden shut the car door with a thunk.

“Do you think they’re going to be okay?” Tilly asked in a small voice.

“Yeah, for sure. They can’t be hurt easily, Till. Remember what Rose said about what she experiences when someone kills one of her bees?” Caden reminded his sister.

Her arms were tightly wound around her chest again. She gave a shudder once more. “I don’t want to think of anyone killing even one bee that makes up Rose.”

Caden had to agree. The thought of it was sickening. Had he made the right call in asking his friends to go inside of the townhouse? What if the Humans First people were just in there talking up stupid propaganda? They already knew that the Faith were behind the bombings.

Maybe he was just doing exactly what Landry said, which was to ascribe bad motivations to Humans First because they hated shifters and really hated Valerius. Maybe it was because he wasn’t overly fond of Jasper Hawes’ smirky face. Or the fact that he may have lost a good friend to them. Had he put Wally and Rose at risk for prejudice?

“Caden,” Tilly said as she put a hand on his shoulder, “you shouldn’t feel bad about Landry. You didn’t do anything to make her act that way. And she’s wrong, too, about what she thinks.”

Caden blinked in surprise and took his eyes away from the front of the nondescript townhouse to look at his sister. Tilly was looking at him out of eyes much too old for her face. She was solemn and serious and caring.

“Are you sure you’re thirteen, Till?” he asked her with a laugh that was meant to lighten up the situation.

But Tilly didn’t fall for it. “I just know you.”

Caden swallowed.

“You always think it’s your fault or something you did when things go wrong or people are mean,” she said calmly and in that too adult way of hers.

She should have been the White Dragon Shifter, Caden thought, though freezing someone as a teenager was rare and could be quite awful for them.

“I don’t know how Landry could say those things,” Caden admitted. “After all she went through to be loyal to me…”

“She revealed who you were to Jasper and he told you he planted a bomb in our house, Caden,” she pointed out.

He paled. “She--she had no choice! Her brothers--”

“Of course, she did!” Tilly’s eyes flashed and she reminded him fiercely of Rose at that moment. “Her brothers have been jerks since like forever! And they chose to join Humans First and do bad stuff.”

“But--”

“No, Caden! They live in the Mid, not in the Below! Their parents have good jobs. Her brothers work construction and make bank. Yeah, so Landry is a clerk, but what’s wrong with that? Wally was totally helping you guys the best he could,” Tilly pointed out. “There are tons of people who have it so much worse than them, but they aren’t blowing up people or wanting to hurt others! You know, just because Humans First wasn’t behind these bombings, doesn’t mean they didn’t think they were good ideas.”

He couldn’t deny she had a point. It was why he had asked Rose and Wally to check out what was going on inside of the townhouse. He had read a lot into Landry’s decision to out him to Jasper. But what would have happened if she hadn’t? Would Jasper have hurt her or her brothers? The thing was that he didn’t know. Jasper seemed like a sociopath to him. Who knew what the guy was capable of? But, then again, maybe it was easier to think of Jasper as someone who would hurt people instead of Landry simply choosing her brothers over Caden and his family.

Landry’s brothers are still in prison. They still need Humans First’s help. Maybe that’s why.

Caden shook himself. There were a handful of “good” reasons that Landry could have chosen Jasper and Humans First and a ton more bad ones. But it didn’t actually matter. She had chosen. She had expressed that choice in no uncertain terms to the world. Did he really think that talking to her would change that? But he still had faith in her. He couldn’t just end their friendship without speaking to her, could he?

“Caden!” Tilly was shaking his shoulder this time.

Caden’s head shot up towards the townhouse where Tilly was looking, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. A rat and a whole swarm of bees were charging away from the townhouse as if they were on fire.

“Get the door, Caden! Let them get in!” Tilly cried.

Caden fumbled with the door handle and was able to pop it open just as both the bees and the rat flew inside. Wally was running so fast that he did look like he was flying. They both shifted almost instantaneously and Caden’s hand was stuck behind Wally’s bare back as if in an awkward embrace.

“Wally? Rose? What is it?” Caden asked as Wally, without even reaching for his pants, was turning the key in the ignition.

Rose, too, didn’t attempt to dress as she was slapping the back of Wally’s seat and saying, “Go! Go! Go!”

The Bug sputtered to life and there was a terrible grinding, squealing sound as he cranked the wheel and aimed them towards the center of the street. The car reluctantly coughed and then they were moving at a cool twenty miles per hour.

“Guys, what the Hell is wrong?” Caden asked as he glanced back at the townhouse. No one had emerged from there so they hadn’t been caught.

So what’s the rush?

“A bomb,” Rose breathed out, sounding like she had been running full speed. “Humans First has planted a bomb somewhere along King Anwar’s route to High Reach. We’ve got to let everyone know!”

Wally looked grim as he added, “We might already be too late.”