Page 90 of The Tribes of Magic
“That must be why the Watchers arrested him.”
“He’s a crazy old man, Nevada, but he’s not a threat to anyone but himself.”
“They don’t see it that way. Bronte isn’t the only one who watches the news. The Government fears an insurrection. They’re scooping up anyone they think might join in. And anyone who speaks a word against them.”
“That’s…very totalitarian of them.”
“Did you expect anything different?”
She had a point. The Government was nothing if not completely consistent in their single-minded pursuit of total power.
“Come on,” Nevada said. “We’re falling behind the group.”
We ran to catch up to the others. We had to weave around merchants and customers and easy-build tents and street stalls to do it. The Magic Emporium was especially busy today. Here, it was business as usual, as though armed soldiers didn’t walk the streets and innocent people weren’t being rounded up and carried off to who knows where.
The Black Obelisk for imprisonment and interrogation, if they were lucky.
The Wilderness beyond the Fortress to work as Scavengers, if they weren’t.
In all the chaos, I caught a glimpse of another familiar face. “That’s Michelle.”
“Who?” Nevada asked.
“Do you remember the attack on the Oval during the Knights’ Tournament? And the man in the big, black armor?”
She winced. “How could I forget?”
“The man inside the suit was a Watcher named Jon Park.”
“A Watcher?”
“Secretly, he’s a member of the Brotherhood of Earth.”
Which meant the Government wasn’t all wrong. There were traitors in the Fortress. That complicated matters. It would have been so much easier if their fears of an insurrection were totally unfounded, if the Brotherhood hadn’t attacked innocent people at the Tournament and tried to poison all the Spirit Trees. But as my mom liked to say, things weren’t that simple. They were never black and white.
“So the Brotherhood attacked the Tournament,” Nevada said. “Why?”
“Because they hate the Knights, supernaturals, and everything to do with magic. And, also, because Elandra Moore, leader of the Brotherhood, wanted to test out her techno armor before she made her big move. So she sent Jon Park. Michelle, there, is his wife. She and Jon have been married for five years, and until a few days ago, she didn’t know who he really was. Or who he really worked for.”
Michelle Park was in her early twenties—with long, straight black hair, bright white teeth, and a soft, lilting voice. She operated a small street stand in the Magic Emporium that sold t-shirts, coffee mugs, and other tourist knickknacks.
She’d always been so cheerful and full of life, but not anymore. She stood there with her head downcast, her face hidden beneath the shadow of her rain hood. People kept pointing at her and speaking in hissed whispers about her husband Jon. How he’d attacked the Tournament. How he’d hurt all those people. How he was a traitor.
Michelle looked completely miserable.
A man in a raincoat passed too close to the stand. His shoulder bumped against a shelf of bottles, knocking them to the ground. Michelle tried to gather them up, but her pregnant belly was so round that she could hardly bend over. The man and his companion stood there for a moment, laughing darkly as they watched her struggle. Then they walked off.
“People can be so cruel,” Nevada said quietly.
“They blame her.”
“For what her husband did?”
“Yes.”
“Do they know she didn’t know about him?”
“Yes.”
