Aradella sat up, cross-legged, and looked at him. “Frank left a big package of their treasured Solium so Qip could afford to buy what he needs.”
Mekos sat up, also cross-legged. “Qip will need togoto Empyrea to get what he needs. To choose it himself.”
They looked at each other, blinking rapidly.
“If we went there with him, then we could...” Aradella didn’t finish.
“We could tell my father what Empyrea is like. What to expect. What he needs to do.” He gave a crooked grin. “In the military, it’s called a reconnaissance mission.”
“But Vian could tell him what he needs to know,” Aradella said.
“I don’t think Grandmamá can see that island with the same perspective that an outsider would have.”
Aradella looked serious. “This time, we should consult with our families before we do this.”
They contemplated that for the time it took a hummingbird to take a breath.
“Let’s go talk to Qip about how to get there.”
“Yes, let’s go.” They ran.
They had to search for Qip. Through Mekos’s keen hearing, they discovered that under his house was a workshop. The door was unlocked and they went down the stairs. The huge room was a bit creepy in that it had lifelike metal body parts on the walls and hanging from the ceiling. At the bottom of the stairs was a full-size metal female. She turned and looked at them with empty eyes.
“Hello,” Aradella said, but received no answer. She didn’t have the look of life that Darr did.
“She’s for Darr?” Mekos asked as he stepped away.
Qip was at a huge steel table in the middle of the room, made low for his height. On it were three heads. One of them was blinking its purple eyes. “Eventually, but she has no soul yet.” He studied their young, excited faces. “So what great plan have you two come up with?”
“We want to go to Empyrea,” Mekos said.
“We could get the parts you need.” Aradella sounded hopeful.
“You mean you want to redeem your behinds after you screwed everything up in the Lair?”
“Yes,” Aradella and Mekos said in unison. They were holding hands, as though for protection as they waited for Qip to answer. They couldn’t go without his agreement.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
The two young people looked surprised.
Qip wiped his hands on a greasy rag and turned to them. “I don’t want to go and you’ll get to see the truth of what Empyrea is.”
“Violent,” Mekos said. “Warriors. They bombed my home and killed my uncle.” His ears were standing up so straight they poked out of his hair.
Aradella held his hand tighter.
“No,” Qip said calmly. “That’s something that needs to be addressed. Frank wanted to tell Tanek this first but I think you should know.” He hesitated. “When Frank searched Haver’s computers, he found out that it wasn’t the Empyreans who led the bombing of your home and killed your uncle. It was Urah.”
Aradella and Mekos looked at him in shock.
Qip continued. “Frank and I think Haver was too close to starting the takeover he’d been planning for years, so someone in Empyrea sent Urah to do the dirty work. Unofficially, of course, but the weapons she used weren’t made on Pithan.” He shook his head in disgust. “Haver lost his son and his home, but he managed to escape and he hid, but Urah used her magic to find him in the cave. We think she killed Haver and her guardsmen smashed the computers. Then they sealed Haver’s body in the cave.”
“And because of all this, her daughter was made queen,” Mekos said softly.
Aradella was staring at Qip. “Haver disappeared when my parents were still alive. Were their deaths another stepping stone to her goal?”
“Yes,” Qip said. “To make her daughter queen was her plan all along.”
