The Nibiru Effect

Memory 53

We're busted. Or so I think until I realize no one has moved since I reverted to my true form. King Kanto—AKA Avalon—sits atop her throne, a stunned expression plastered across her face. The royal guards stare at me with wide eyes and dropped jaws. Even Kara seems at a loss for words. Only Jonn remains unaffected by my transformation.

He sheds his restraints, retrieves his hidden blade, and rushes forward. By the time the guards realize what he's up to, it's already too late.

Jonn stands behind the obese ruler, his knife pressed firmly against her throat. A thick layer of fat stands between the blade and Avalon's windpipe, but one quick flick of the wrist is all it will take for Jonn to end her life.

Unfortunately for her, the arkane guards seem oblivious to this fact as they converge toward the throne, their spears ready to strike.

"Stay back!" warns Jonn.

The guards ignore the soldier's warning and converge toward the throne, spears raised. The crimson tint of their skin leaves no doubt in my mind as to their state of mind.

They're pissed.

"Stay back!" repeats Jonn, but his warning goes unheard.

The guards keep advancing.

I focus on Avalon. There's something off about her, but it takes a moment before I figure out what it is.

Her skin is white.

I have seen this lack of pigment often enough to know it's associated with fear. What I don't understand is why. Why is Avalon afraid? Sure, Jonn has a knife to her throat, but this isn't her first brush with death. Why is she afraid? Why is she—

"Stop!" orders Avalon, interrupting me mid-thought.

The guards halt.

"Tell them to leave," instructs Jonn.

"I can't," says Avalon. "They won't—"

"Tell them to leave, or I'll kill you!"

There's no doubt in my mind Jonn would do it, and Avalon is well aware of it.

"L-leave!" she stutters, playing her role to perfection.

The guards hesitate, their skin shifting from one colour to the next. They're confused.

"Leave us," growls Jonn, "or I'll slice her throat."

The guards exchange a few confused looks before complying. They lower their weapons, regress to their default colour, and slink out of the room.

"Give us the ring," commands Jonn as soon as we're alone.

"W-what ring?" stutters Avalon. "I d-don't know what y-you're talking about."

Her confusion seems so genuine I wonder if we were wrong. What if King Kanto isn't Avalon?

Jonn doesn't share my pessimism.

"We're alone," he growls. "You can cut the act."

"W-what act?"

Jonn's flexes his muscles, a telltale sign that he's about to do something stupid. Luckily, Kara steps in before he can make his move.

"Give us the cure," she says.

"What cure?"

"Come on," says Jonn. "We both know you would never release the plague without creating a cure in case you got infected."

Avalon's skin turns the colour of a ripe tomato.

"I didn't release the plague!" she roars. She struggles to break free, but Jonn knocks her on the back of the head with the hilt of his knife, and she reverts to the blubbering mess she was before.

"Stop lying!" he barks. "Give us what we want or suffer the consequences."

"I can't," sobs Avalon. "I don't have the cure. And the only ring I own is worthless. Here. See for yourself."

She reaches across her ample stomach and struggles to free what I assume is a ring from one of her stubby fingers. She throws it to Kara, but the item falls short. It rolls across the floor and comes to a stop right before me. I bend down and pick it up, my heart racing with excitement.

It's a beautiful piece of jewelry, but there's no hourglass.

"She's right," I say. "It's worthless."

"That's it," says Jonn. "It's time to pay."

I don't understand what that means until I look up and see the grey-haired soldier's arm muscles flex.

He's about to kill Avalon.

"No!" pleads Kara.

I can't tell what she cares about more; saving Avalon's life or keeping her father from doing something that can't be undone?

"It doesn't have to be this way," she pleads. "We can bring her back to Atlantis. She'll be judged for her crimes and imprisoned."

"She doesn't deserve to live."

They go back and forth like this for a while, which allows me to figure out how I feel about the situation. On the one hand, part of me relishes the prospect of seeing the woman responsible for all the deaths I have witnessed during my adventure being permanently and irreversibly stopped. On the other hand, I've never witnessed a murder. There's also the issue of Avalon being the only person aside from my mother capable of answering the many questions I still possess regarding the mysterious symbol on my wrist. Not to mention the fact that we have no idea where the time travel ring is.

I look up just as Jonn grows quiet.

"NO!" I yell, interrupting the grey-haired soldier just as he's about to strike.

"What is it?" he asks. He doesn't seem angry, merely curious.

"You can't kill him," I blurt out.

"Have you forgotten how many innocents she's killed?" demands Jonn. "Avalon deserves to die."

"Maybe," I admit. "There's just one problem."

"Really? And what might that be?"

"That," I say, pointing atKing Kanto, "isn't Avalon."