Page 7 of The White Dragon's Dilemma

In a surprisingly mild tone, Illarion asked, “What do you know of how I treat my people?”

Caden realized somewhere inside of him that he should quit this topic or go inside or do something--anything--than confront the titanic Green Dragon King.He was probably creating an international incident or something.He was, undoubtedly, causing trouble for Valerius, which he most certainly did not want to do.But his mouth seemed to be operating separately from his body.After the day he’d had, maybe that wasn’t totally surprising.

“You put people in camps! Prison camps!There’s no freedom in your territory! I’m sure you do terrible things, but since there’s no press in your territory we only hear rumors.But they are enough!”Caden yelled and his eyes darted over Illarion’s shoulder to the throne room, but Valerius and Chione were still deep in conversation.Simi and Ngoye had joined them.

“Yes, I do.After what has happened today, can you blame me?”Illarion’s eyes were narrowed, but his tone was more conversational than angry.

Caden wondered how much Illarion knew about today’s attack.Probably more he should.

“I…” Caden’s voice dropped off then he said, “not everyone is a terrorist! Not everyone is an enemy!There are innocent people that you are locking up!”

Illarion bobbed his head.“Yes, you are likely right that there are somecurrentlyinnocent people in the camps.”

“Currently?!”Caden’s eyebrows were practically joining his hairline now.

Illarion’s eyes and voice became serious.“You are very young and naive.”

“I--”

“If you do not know this about yourself, the world will teach it to you,” Illarion interrupted Caden’s outrage.“Caden, there is the possibility of violence in every person.Push them hard enough and you will find it.And if they are the type of person pushed in the wrong direction by what you want then they will cause you and yours trouble.”

Caden couldn’t deny that.“Putting people in camps isn’t the answer!”

“Then what is?”

Caden’s mouth opened and shut.“Is that why you’re doing it?Not just to shut down dissent?”

Illarion leaned his back against the railing and crossed his arms over his chest.“In Russia, things are felt deeply.The people there have suffered.Every generation has had something to bear.Famine.War.Pogroms.Plague.It has made the people there hard and strong, but when you feel like there is nothing to lose, you will throw yourself into the fire.”

Caden frowned.“What do you mean?”

“I’ve sensed unrest since the beginning.I knew that, eventually, humanity would catch on that they were going to belastandleast.”Illarion grunted.“And when they did, anyone who offered them a dream of changing that would succeed in riling them up. And then I have Mei on my backside!”

“What about Mei?”

“She plans to attack me.She is preparing for war.She wants more land and I have it,” he said with a shake of his head.“I cannot let my territory be weakened by dissent on the inside when I have her just waiting on the outside with her mechanical men!”

A sudden thought occurred to Caden and, once more, his mouth opened, “Did you… were you behind Mei’s robots going crazy?”

A sly smile crossed Illarion’s face.“In my territory we have the best hackers.”

“So you did it!”

“I did not say that.Did I?”Illarion winked at him.

“Valerius needs to know that hacking Mei’s robots isn’t part of the Faith’s abilities!”Caden protested.

“Tell them your suspicions then.But simply because someoneotherthan the Faith may have had a hand in it this time, does not mean they could not be behind it next,” Illarion responded with a shrug.“But the destruction of Mei’s little army has bought me time as she frantically seeks a solution to it. Can’t go to war if you can’t trust your army.”

“You and Mei can’t go to war at all!”Caden cried and he knew it sounded ridiculous.He was just walking right into Illarion’s judgment of him being naive.

Illarion though was more surprised that he said it.“You think we can choose this?”

“Yes, of course! You guys want to fight?Fine.But not now!We need to face the Faith and fix that problem before anything else,” Caden told him. But even as the words came out, he knew that they were foolish again.

“Caden, so innocent!”Illarion chuckled, but not cruelly.“Thisthingwith the Faith, the otherthingwith Humans First, and even the other, otherthingwith Mei, none of them will ever befixed.”

“You make war and strife sound inevitable.”Caden’s shoulders slumped.

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