The 6th of Six (The Legend of Kimraig Llu) by J. K. (Keith) Wilson

*
    An hour later Geri-5 raged, spewing hot, rancid breath—eyes popping blue to white to blue again. She stood, braced over her fleshy arms, on the very edge of Charles’ battered, yet polished desk. Her piggy head almost disappeared between her shoulders. In an attempt to raise herself above the height of a gnome, she leaned forward, on tippy toes. A lonely chair loomed behind.
    This space did not belong to Geri-5, but as a Queen, she just knew she deserved certain privileges. One privilege she enjoyed immensely was seizing Charles and Marvin’s property. She also ordered Charles and Marvin to stand in front of her, making this moment so much sweeter.
    Of course, Charles and Marvin seldom followed any orders, unless those orders came from a member of the Council. Both waited patiently, dressed in spotless khaki shirt, trousers, and comfortable jacket—not a wrinkle anywhere. Both were fastidious, unlike some of their counterparts. After their common twelve-hour shifts, they stood unruffled and unwrinkled, as if they were starting the day. Just like now with Geri-5 raging in front of them.
    “You failed to kill that Hunter Kimraig! You used my assignation teams and failed! What good are you? Answer me!” she spat, sweating heavily now. Her tirade could have been fearsome if her gaze had locked on either Charles in front of her, or Marvin off to her left. No, instead, her darting glances flicked from the ceiling above, or the walls around her, and the floor below. All of these held more appeal then meeting either male eye to eye.
    Charles stretched his toothpick arms above his head as he rolled his eyes toward his partner, who simply observed. As the tirade continued, Marvin folded his massive arms across his chest, his wide face blank, distant.
    “Well, let me see,” Charles answered, smoothing the crease in his freshly pressed trousers. “We were good enough to prevent a useless assault by your teams, an assault you ordered, an assault down a narrow hallway against two capable Hunters guarding a Leader’s door.”
    And in so doing, we earned the everlasting gratitude of every man on those assignation teams, plus my own ready-made army that chose my side over yours. At the thought, Charles found a bit of lint on his trousers.
    “Besides,” he continued, “waiting always provides opportunities.”
    Charles would not hide his contempt for this thing before him. Her very presence stained Marvin’s masterful depiction of a cloudy twilight sky etched on the ceiling above. She cast a funereal pall over the white washed walls with their faint hints of lush green fields and blue seascapes.
    “No! We had both him and that Leader Breen right there, waiting for plucking. You let it pass!” Geri-5 found it difficult to leverage more of her body over the desk—just a bit short on one end. Her oily face blotched with mottled scarlet, her rage consuming her.
    “Ah, now I see,” Charles chuckled. “You were hoping to dispose of our new Leader as well. That leads me to believe you considered yourself for that honor.”
    “As Queen, I held number one position for promotion to Leader. Breen-2 took the credit, using my victory at the train station as her own.”
    Good trick Geri, you moved from rage to defense in a blink of an eye: strange. I think now I have your attention!
    He looked her directly in the eye as he smoothed a trouser crease.
    “Geri my dear, you might have been number one if you had killed Breen and Kimraig that day. You were lucky when you turned on your Leaders; he was about to murder you as well.” Charles knew he would not lose her now. A casual flip of a finger at a nonexistent itch on the bridge of his nose moved Marvin close behind her.
    “Wrong!” She said, as the events replayed rapidly past the blocks she had set to keep them buried deep inside.
    * * *
    The conspiracy against her started before her Mating Ritual. She had been simply “Geri” then. She was Geri nothing. She was Geri without a