Page 66 of The Flame

I dropped onto the couch beside Jessie, spreading the letter open on my lap. “Someone copied my letter and served it with your tea?”

“Many someones and many copies, apparently.” Jessie’s head bobbed. “Carolyn confessed she’d seen that exact same letter. She was at Grodgens, the playhouse, with Simon the nightbefore, and some of the programs had that letter slipped inside them. So I approached the waiter and after a little persuasion, he told me everything.”

She paused to nibble on her cookie.

“Jessie! You’re killing me here.”

Behind me, the pot hissed.

“I’ve got it,” Daniel said, pushing around the couch to get there. “Three hot chocolates?”

Jessie and I both raised our hands, then she continued. “So, it’s a whole thing that’s been going around town for days. If you see the letter, and agree or sympathize or whatever with what’s in there, you make a copy and pass both on.”

I was dumbfounded, didn’t know what to say. My gaze slid to the words I’d written.

Hear my words and whisper them to a trusted friend or family member, and maybe they will hear your words and whisper them, and when all our whispers gather, our voices will roar.

Axel was doing so much more than passing a whisper along to someone he trusted. He was multiplying the whispers. And not only Axel. How many Axels were out there?

“It’s crazy, right?” Jessie beamed. “I was terrified that eyes were watching me just because I’d been in possession of that letter, and folk are brazenly copying and distributing it around town. I felt ridiculous, such a stupid coward, so I said enough of that, and here I am.”

“You’re not a coward,” I told her. “You passed it on first. That was brave. And I don’t want you to take any unnecessary risks. I promise you, I’m not. That’s why I asked you to deliver the letters in the first place.”

“I won’t,” she said. “But I’m not going to be afraid of my own shadow. So, what’s next?”

I grinned slyly. “Since you ask, how do you feel about delivering a new letter to Axel?”

When I’d written it, I hadn’t been sure about the part where I exposed the missing heirs and confessed to helping them escape, but I was sure now. Secrets and silences put lives at risk. I just hoped the letter wasn’t too late for that night nurse.

Dear Friend,

A few days ago, I helped the council heirs escape rehab. Whether what I did is right or wrong, I don’t know. That’s not for me to say. It’s not for the head of the Sisters of Capra to say, either. This is what I have come to believe: no person should be judged, before or after they’ve actually committed any crime, through one set of eyes.

There is another way. I won’t tell you what that is. The time has come for you to tell Capra what it should be, to use your voice to shape the rules by which we are governed.

The Smoke has the Protectorate, a ruling body of people who rise through the ranks to become their leaders. I suppose you have to show certain qualities, profess to certain beliefs, to join their ranks before you rise. This propagates one belief, one vision.

They also have the Union Families who control certain zones, The Smelt and The Break. The families rule by extortion, threats and violence.

The Blood Throats, a vicious gang, run The Packing District.

The wardens operate as a military organism with appointed positions. They have senior wardens who are curated, and high wardens who are elected, and a tribunal system to deliver justice.

Here in Capra, we had the council where a seat at the table was inherited within our council families. Now we have the Sisters of Capra and have yet to see how the leadership roles would be passed on. For both these regimes, their hand of power is absolute and, in many instances, extreme.

The old world had an electoral democratic system. Leaders were elected by the people and held accountable to the people, and if they did not deliver on their promises, or if the people changed their minds, they had the opportunity to elect a different leader every five years.

Justice was delivered by a jury of twelve impartial people after bearing witness from both the accused and the state.

The Eastern Coalition was founded to preserve the human race.

Capra, in particular, was established to preserve human civilization, the customs and traditions, the technical and medical advancements, the parts that might be lost in the chaos when the Fertility Plague devastated our world. So why did Capra fail to preserve the voice of our people? Was it an oversight or necessary evil or plain negligence?

We cannot change what has come before, but we can do better. Our ancestors fought for this democratic right, they died to give the people a voice, and Capra should be charged with preserving it. And once you have your voice back, it is yours to use as you will.

This is our present duty, or the future will become our sin.

The Flame

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