Chapter 14 – The Great Speech of Mayor Zachary Casper
I ignore Phylida as she orders me to stay behind. I know that my father can handle it, but I run after him and Flynn anyway. I can’t let him go and face the crowd alone. I don’t know what might happen. While I don’t think they’d attack him (the House respects father too much), the people think they are in danger. We could be in danger. Frightened humans are capable of anything, as proven by my attack on Flynn the other night.
“Father, wait!” I call. He continues to ignore me. I can hear Flynn telling him about the meeting and probably how I’d never intended to tell the mayor about it.
I pass Milo and Megan, who are hanging around one of the corners on the way to the hall. They’re chattering excitedly amongst themselves and when I try to pass them Milo reaches out and grabs my hand. I don’t have time for him at the moment but he does look very upset.
“Ben!” Milo shouts. “Mother and Father are very angry.”
“They know Father wouldn’t let any harm come to them, don’t they?” I ask him, though I don’t expect an answer. Milo is too young to understand.
“Are we going to die?” Megan asks. She is on the verge of tears. I give her a hug, tell her everything will be all right, and continue on my way to the hall. I pray I’m not giving her false hope.
The vast hall is packed with people. The vivid late spring sun scorches down through the glass roof illuminating every single family member of the House of Casper. Not a single one of them is quietly talking to themselves about the possible danger they are in. They are shouting at the tops of their voices, waving their arms about, and acting like a riotous mob. I see Father pushing through them to the stage, fending off individual protests and almost getting a punch in the face from Flynn’s mother. If I were Father, I would have hit her back. But he’s Zachary Casper, the mayor, and he’s more careful than that.
I try to make out some of the individual voices. I need to discern who will cause trouble and who will follow the mayor’s advice. There is a lot of mumbling and sighing going on. I’m surprised to see Uncle John, my father’s brother and the father to Milo and Megan, standing with his wife, Lilly. They appear to be just as upset as everyone else. When I think of how distressed little Milo and his sister are, it suddenly brings it home for me, too. Father should have told us all what he and the others were up to a long time ago.
“We’ve become a powerful House,” I hear John say, pride emanating from his voice. “We’re a target now. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the other Houses might try and attack us, just to see if they can.”
“We can handle anything they throw at us,” says Aunt Lilly proudly.
They see me watching them and shut up. I should say something, tell them they should trust Father, but I agree with their apprehensions. I want to tell them there and then that it isn’t the other Houses that we have to worry about. Then again what harm could the Order of Power really do to us? They’d send a few people round to burn a few books and that’s it. Yet if they were so ineffectual then why had Father posted guards all over the perimeter of The Glass Palace? I’m starting to become confused now. Are we in danger or is Father just over reacting?
I thought Father trusted me now. Once again he hasn’t told me the whole truth.
Mayor Zachary Casper ascends the stage, walking tall and proud. He doesn’t show that he is affected by their undisciplined rabble. On the contrary, he smiles and claps to attract the attention of everyone present. In a few short seconds, the crowd goes quiet. All that can be heard is a few coughs and Milo and his twin giggling at the back. By now, I’m seething with anger at my father.
I make my way to the front of the crowd, finding myself next to Brian and Lottie. I smile at him but he ignores me. Lottie’s eyes reveal she wants to shoot an arrow into my chest. No matter what, I would never apologies to her. Feeling love for someone is not a mistake.
Father clears his throat. “Who organized this?”
Flynn’s father, Abe, puts his hand up timidly. The assembled throng turns to him and cheers. I don’t trust Abe one bit. If only he’d come to Father and told him what he thought instead of starting this. There’s no telling what direction this meeting could take. They could mob Father and hurt him, even if it would serve him right for keeping such massive secrets.
“I want to thank you,” says Father.
I nearly choke on my own saliva as Father walks off the stage, over to Abe, and promptly gives his hand a firm shake. Abe’s eyes are almost popping out of his head he’s so flabbergasted. The only person more surprised is his wife, who now looks a little ashamed.
“I don’t understand,” says Abe, mumbling his words. The man looks unnerved. I don’t blame him. I’m not sure what game Father is playing, but it’s a good one.
“I should have called a meeting the moment even a hint of danger to this House was revealed to me,” says Father humbly. I recognize that his words are genuine and not just political spin. My anger towards him abates just a fraction. “You have my eternal gratitude for bringing me to heel.”
“Don’t mention it,” Abe mumbles.
Father then confers upon Abe a huge hug. The crowd goes wild with screams, claps, and hoots. I know now that, no matter what Father tells them, they will be behind him one hundred per cent. Zachary Casper is an excellent politician.
The mayor steps up the small set of stairs onto the stage to face his House once more. Father cares about them all, and knows them all by name and personality. He is more than a mayor. He is their benevolent grandfather. I not only need to know how to lead if I’m going to succeed as mayor, but know how to make the people care about me. They won’t just warm to me, even if I am inheriting the position. After the incidents with Brian and Flynn, I’m a pariah in their eyes.
I wonder what Father will tell them. Will he tell them the truth? Or will he make something up? He is a good liar after all.
“We could be in danger,” he addresses the crowd. A few more people file in; Rooster, Rosa and Mother. They mill around at the back. I see Mother give her husband a double thumbs-up and a gentle smile.
“What kind?” a voice shouts. It sounds like Flynn.
And that’s when Father does something that shocks even me. He gives them the truth. I watch the appalled faces of the members of the god slayers as father tells the same story he relayed to me last night, almost word for word. Each revelation is accompanied by a gasp. By the time he arrives at his conclusion, that he is to go out into the world and find The God Cannon, there comes such thunderous applause that I imagine the glass in the roof might shatter. Some people even have tears in their eyes.
“Are you sure?” Roman Tapping-Casper asks. He is one of Brian’s fathers, obviously his biological one. They have the same bushy eyebrows. His husband, Rafe, is standing quietly next to him. Rafe is part of the god slayers group. He doesn’t look too pleased with the mayor’s announcement.
“I know this is a lot to take in, but I tell you the truth,” says Father. He looks at Rafe and says, “Rafe, come up and join me. Tell them.”
Rafe glances at a shocked Roman and takes his hand. “I’m sorry I never told you.”
Roman pulls his hand away, and his husband reluctantly joins Father on the stage. Rafe then testifies that the mayor is telling the truth. Soon after that, Mother, Uncle Rooster, and then a tired looking Phylida hop up on stage and reveal their part in the conspiracy. By the time the meeting is over and Father asks for questions, I know most of the House has accepted his story. Instead of terror at an impending attack, they are now full of hope that their world could finally be free of the gods.
“How long will you be gone?” Alaric Rover-Casper, our resident artist, asks. His hair is unkempt and floppy, and there is blue paint on his nose. He looks a mess, though he is talented.
“I’m not sure,” Father admits. I look from Mother, who has retreated to her position at the far back of the hall, to Father; they have eyes only fo
r each other. Mother is crying. “I may be gone for nine months, maybe a year, maybe more. This is a complicated and dangerous mission, but it has to be done.”
“The gods never come here,” a voice protests. “So what’s the point?”
“The gods have flown near here on several occasions. Who can say when they will use our home as their stomping ground?” says Father. “We can’t take that risk, not any more. The lives of our children and grandchildren depend on me and the other god slayers.”
Nobody dares bring up the last time the gods had been near The Glass Palace. The only person to lose their life that day was Glory Casper. She had been the apple of Father’s eye and they all knew it.
“Do you really think the Order of Power is going to let you kill the gods?” Roman demands. “You know what they’re like. You told us yourself.”
There is a lot of murmuring after that. People had been wary, even afraid, of the Order of Power until they became a laughing joke. Now the terror is more palpable and real. I’m witness to couples clutching each other for safety and I don’t like it. I had hoped that informing the House about the dangers would ease their minds, but it’s proving to have the opposite effect. I suddenly realize that father has been right to keep it from them, but because of Flynn and my own actions, he’s been forced to tell them the truth.
“We will deal with anything that comes our way,” Rafe assures him. “I promise to come back.”
“You don’t know that, Father!” Brian shouts. “We’ve already lost Skye. I don’t want to lose you, too.”
Rafe declares proudly, “I am the best warrior this House has produced! This journey will be a test for me, sure, but I can survive it. We can survive it.”
“That is a promise from all of us,” says my father. “We will return, and we will return victorious.”
Lottie squeezes her husband’s hand. I envy her so much. She really loves him. Brian appears to be devastated and I’m glad he has someone to comfort him.
“Who’s going to run the place while you’re gone?” Tabitha Nix-Casper asks. She’s in charge of keeping stock of all our supplies. She sports wicked grey hair and a flair for mathematics. “This place will fall apart without you!”
Father’s eyes turn to me, and I blush furiously. “That will be decided at a later date. We are not leaving for a few months yet, so I have plenty of time to train a replacement.”
I’m so relieved Father didn’t mention that I’d be mayor in his absence. I don’t think I’d be able to cope with the entire House grilling me or calling me too young to be in charge. Of course they would do that anyway, just not yet. I need Father’s help to prepare me for the role.
I creep away, passing weeping House members who imagine that their time upon this earth is almost up. I can’t stand there and listen to any more. They had been better off in the dark. At least they’d been ignorant and happy. I can’t say how much happier I would have been if I didn’t know.
As Father assures them all that any threats posed by the Order of Power are non-existent, the crowd quiets down, but all I can think of is Harold. What if somebody had framed him and hoped that, in his weakened state with his hand missing, he would lead them back here? No, that doesn’t make sense. Everyone knows where the House of Casper is located, even the Order of Power. They just don’t bother with us. Yet something is wrong about Harold’s predicament. I just can’t put my finger on it.
I meet up with Mother outside the hall. Her eyes are still moist from weeping. She looks about as pleased as I am about the whole situation.
“It’s my fault Father was forced to tell them,” I admit.
Mother smiles kindly and says, “Your father should have been more careful and not spoken in front of Flynn and Tara. It was very foolish of him. All you did was add fuel to the fire.”
I adore how Mother can make me feel better even while admitting I am partly to blame for this.
“Did you see the looks on their faces?” I ask her.
She nods sadly. “Look inside now, he’s calming them down a lot.”
“I can see that. But we aren’t in danger, though, are we? Well, no more than usual. Father and the others are the ones who are really in danger here.”
She hugs me and says, “Yes, they’re in the greatest of danger. We just have to hope that they can take care of themselves.” She looks me in the eye. “You said you didn’t want to be mayor when you first came back from your Journey. Is that still true?”
“No, I don’t think it is. I want to be mayor. I’m not sure I’ll do such a great job at it, but you’ll be here to help me, won’t you?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
And just like that, I have accepted it. I want to be mayor.