Saints of Evil | Trepidation Trilogy | The Empty World Sequence

Fourteen

Justice was sitting before him, drink in hand, virtually.  She was on the phone.  "They just named your lover to be the next leader of Goth," she said in her low husky voice.  Tris nodded.  There wasn't much else you could do with Justice, talking to her—or being talked to by her—was almost as nerve-wracking as talking to Steven, and he only rarely talked to the family, when they called him. 

     "Yeah, Justice, it's not supposed to be out yet."

     "We all know about it of course, all of us."

     "Yes, Justice."

     "Your father has heard about it, all the cousins are calling us, Tris.  Why hasn't he married you yet, honey, he married the Leader's daughter, and we all know that those Goths keep two or three wives each."  

     Tris tried to smile, but he was afraid he just looked bored.  "They only marry women, Justice."

     "Only marry women?  Haven't you got any rights a'tall there, boy?  What kind of country are they running."

     Tris shook his head.  "It's not a third world nation!  You don't understand, they only get married for the sake of the children, there's no reason for Rozz to marry me in their customs—"

     "What kind of country are they runnin?"  She seemed a little drunk.  "Do you know your cousin Zachary has just won the democratic presidential nomination...all their family is calling, every Jewel from San Francisco is calling your father and I...and that Goth boy hasn't married you!"

     "Justice, please.  Imagine how it would look to the Goth if he married me."

     "You know there hasn't been a Jewel in the White House till the Southern states swung the last election...your half-sister, Tris..."

     "There is still a limit on consecutive terms, Justice," Tris said impatiently.  "Do you think Zachary has a chance?"

     "He's a Jewel, got all the San Francisco Jewels behind him, and you know they're all the parvenus, still set on climbing."

     "Amanda and Scott were from San Francisco."

     "And Emily had the sense to bring her children back to New York...Now even the New York family are flakey."

     Tris covered half his face in a hand.  Justice was only a Jewel by marriage, still she fancied herself some sort of matriarch, and everyone in Washington feared her.  The SF Jewels were probably trying to include her in hopes that her influence would win Zachary the next election.  "Yes, Justice," Tris said, "Is my father about?"

     "About?  Not now, Tris, Stephan's at the theatre again tonight...they need to name a building in this town after us, Lincoln and Washington, Kennedy, Jefferson, no Jewels, you don't hear our name..."

     Tris smiled, but only because Justice was becoming so hard to follow it was funny.  He thought of saying, "Just wait till one of us is killed," but instead he said, "Is Caroline with you?"

     "She's here!" Justice shouted and probably didn't realize it.  "Caroline, it's your brother, come talk to him."

     Caroline came to the phone shortly, She'd been named after their grandmother, of whom Mara was a clone, but her features were her own, inherited from Stephan and Justice. Tris thought these particular black curls she wore were a wig. "Hello, Tris," she said, "Sorry about Mother, it's getting late for her."

     "It's OK."

     "All the cousins do keep asking why you aren't married to Rozz.  They seem to think that the Goths are making us look bad.  The press has made it such a big deal, Tris, I don't know if you get the same stuff over there...your name is brought up more than it was all during my two terms, this is bigger than them pointing out I had an illegitimate younger brother...who was Darkling no less."