A Beast's Tale

Chapter 73

"Everything seems so quiet today," Leon said, glancing at my office door.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Jin agreed. "I keep thinking someone's gonna bust in here any minute now, yelling about this or that, and I have to remind myself the worst of you undisciplined brats are out and about."

Leon grinned and shook his head. "As if you're any better than the rest of us. Hey, where's that kid? You didn't let him run off to rejoin his battalion, did you?"

"No, I figured out a surefire way to keep him here a while longer. I took him to the library." Jin's lips curled up into a smirk. "He saw Ivetta and fell in love on the spot."

Leon laughed, and Sariel let out a heavy sigh. "Might I suggest we finish our discussion before somebody 'busts in here, yelling about this or that'?"

"The question at hand is how to handle the boy and his troops," I interjected, glad to get the conversation back on topic. "To make a formal alliance with them or to shelter them in Rhodolite would be tantamount to declaring war on Obsidian, a step I am prepared to take, but you are not, Black."

Leon's expression sobered. "No, I'm not, even if Obsidian is building new weapons manufacturing facilities. Gilbert's here. That's gotta count for something, right?"

"He hasn't initiated diplomatic negotiations, but his presence would seem to indicate an openness to communication," Sariel said. "What are your thoughts, Prince Chevalier?"

"We should move the summit meeting up," I replied.

"Then you think there's a possibility we could reach a favorable outcome with Obsidian."

"We won't know unless we try," Leon said, shrugging. "Silvio and Keith are both here. It makes sense. We could do it right after the gala, before everybody heads home—assuming they leave after that."

"Alright, but that still leaves us with a bunch of boy soldiers who split from the Obsidianite army and are now holed up near the border," Jin said. "And they need food. I'd like to give them some supplies until the summit meeting is over and we know where we stand with Obsidian."

Sariel shook his head. "Someone found out about the food being smuggled to the Obsidianite army. I'm squashing the rumors now, but I haven't located the source yet, and whoever knows will watch for it to happen again. It won't take much to realize that only a high-ranking government official could divert that amount of supplies to Obsidian without it being noticed."

Jin sighed. "I guess you're right. I hate it, though. You've seen how much that kid ate last night. And this morning. He's a bottomless pit, and the rest of 'em are just like him."

They bandied a few suggestions back and forth as I sat behind my desk, legs crossed at the knee and arms crossed over my chest, listening. It was quiet today. Clavis and Nokto were out, following leads in their investigations, and Silvio and Keith were away as well, doing the same. Yves and Licht had gone to Licht's territory on business; Belle and Rio had gone to her home for his personal effects. Luke was probably in the library. That left Gilbert, the person whose whereabouts most concerned me, and I knew he hadn't left his bedroom. He had, however, seen a visitor.

I reached for my quill and a blank sheet of paper. "I'm sending additional supplies to a town in the northwestern section of my territory for a local festival. Number One, you will oversee their distribution."

Jin raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a job for Clavis? Although if it's the Rose Send-Off Festival you're talking about, that isn't for another couple of weeks—unless I have my dates mixed up."

"The exact date varies," I replied as I wrote. "If the supplies arrive too early, you may do with them as you wish. There are perishable items that won't last long."