Author's Note: This story was formerly Queen of the Orphans. It is completely different, but you may notice similar elements if you've read the first, but not many and not for a few more chapters. Props to anyone who knows where most of my titles come from. (The novel's and parts' names are from this source, but not this particular chapter title.)Please review, and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Thank you! (Working title)

Lighted Fools the Way

Part I: The Dagger in Men's Smiles
I. Sparks

There was a tension in the air that Brennus couldn’t place. Everyone was talking, as expected before a meeting starts, but the tones of their voices weren’t right. The Elite were packed into the single, tiny room that comprised his house. The Enforcers had marked out the darkest corner for themselves and their conversation centered on Wick and Halliday, cousins who were most trusted by Brennus. For their part, they hadn’t reported anything new to their chief lately so he didn’t know what was so interesting. It bothered Brennus, so he crossed the room to find out what they were saying.

“- as soon as it gets colder,” Wick paused and looked up at Brennus. “Are we starting now?”

“Not yet,” he said. “Go on.”

“He was just saying how we can let up on patrol when the weather turns because the louses aren’t as active,” Halliday supplied. “That’ll help since we’re losing one.”

Brennus hadn’t heard that. “Who?”

“Manon can’t patrol much longer. His wife’s having a baby and he’s gotta be home to protect her if it’s a girl. You know how well infants do in Genesis.”

He did. Nodding, Brennus turned to observe the room again. His younger brother was surrounded by people. Nocturne detested his popularity but couldn’t avoid it. Their family had formed the Elite before they were born, seizing control of the food supply for the colony and selecting people to administer order with them. That meant that whenever Brennus or Nocturne went anywhere in Genesis, colonists flocked to them, and Elite as well. Their sister did not have the family’s influence to elevate her because she needed no elevating. She was the only girl in the room today and that was only because she was living with Brennus at the moment. Women in Genesis stayed home because that was the only thing they really knew how to do. So no one flocked to Malachi when she walked the streets. She now sat in the corner opposite the Enforcers, trying to appear as unobtrusive as possible. Brennus had suggested that she go for a walk during the meeting but she had balked at him, as she always did whenever she had the opportunity to listen to a meeting and he suggested that she opt not to. The Elite allowed her presence only because she was Brennus’ sister. Any other woman would not only lack an excuse to be there but even if she had one, she’d have been turned out immediately.

Brennus shoved his way to the center of the room and waited until the men became quiet. He made no noise to silence them, but as soon as they noticed him, they stopped talking. Brennus was imposing, as all the men in his family had been and, in Nocturne’s case, still were. Brennus secretly enjoyed his stature and hulk. He didn’t think he’d have been able to lead the Elite if he were smaller; they wouldn’t listen to a tiny man. The meeting had come to order and he was in charge, right where he liked to be.

“Elite, welcome. Today’s meeting same as usual. Reports will start with the Enforcers and go from there. Wick?” Brennus took a seat on the floor with most of his comrades. Wick stood and considered his words for a moment.

“The enforcers have had a busy month, Elite. The colonists have been behaving but the louses from underground keep sneaking into Genesis and rattling people. We just send ‘em home because we don’t want ‘em taking up space in the lockdown.”

“They’d be more comfortable in the lockdown!” Someone in the back said, garnering a few chuckles. Brennus craned his neck around to see who had made the interruption but he couldn’t tell. Instead, he asked the lead Enforcer, “What can we do to stop them coming in?”

“Nothing, Brennus,” Wick shook his head. “There’s not enough of us to keep a tighter patrol and we made a deal with the North Colony not to put up any walls. Couldn’t anyway, if we wanted to, the ground and area’s so bad down there.”

“Elite, send someone to North and see if you can get them to change that part of the deal,” Brennus said. A man near him nodded and said that he’d go. It was never hard to find a volunteer in the Elite because Brennus knew they understood how precarious their position was. Whenever he wanted he could relegate them to the role of a simple colonist, so they were always willing to do his bidding, or Wick’s, if the Enforcers needed help, since Wick was his second in command. “Anything else, Wick?”

Wick sat back down and the representative of Upper Genesis stood to report. He began, “Our food is going more quickly than we’d planned-“

“Well ration it better,” Brennus snapped. The man nodded and continued.

“- but we’ll be fine after next week’s harvest. It’s the last collection before the weather turns and we know there’s a lot in the fields right now. We think,” the man paused and looked down. “We think that some louses may have been stealin’ from our store and that’s why we were low past week.”

“Even in Upper!” Brennus roared. “I want those louses stopped, you hear me?” He rounded on the Enforcers. “You better do something about it or each of you is gone.”

“Brennus, what do you want us to do?” Halliday asked him, rising. “It’s impossible. The underground is overrun with louses and the colonists can’t stop them. Why, there’s at least ten louses for every colonist, I bet. We’re doin’ the best we can.”

“It’s not good enough. The colonists won’t starve because you can’t watch the grain stores better. At least do that, or try! Lower Genesis?”

Nocturne stood. He didn’t live specifically in Lower Genesis but he represented them at meetings. “Lower Genesis is having the same problems as Upper but not to such extent, Brennus. We had a water leak past week that was quickly fixed; it didn’t even register on colonists’ usage.”

“Good. Last thing we need is the colonists’ thinking they’re in trouble for water overuse,” Brennus sighed. “At least that’s it, eh?” The colony was a very efficient one and Brennus struggled to keep it that way. The balance was always teetering on the edge of chaos and it was only the quick-thinking of the Elite that kept it exactly where it was, in the middle. North Colony had more difficulty with its colonists but they were nothing in comparison to the underground that Genesis colony dealt with.

Nearly two hundred years ago, civilization imploded. Recurring natural disasters, a breakdown in moral fabric,population booms, andurban sprawl combined to overwhelm society into anarchy and ultimately, self-destruction.Now, city remnants known as the underground were home to large populations of homeless and depraved people. The North Colony was not near an underground and barely survived as it was, for which the Genesis Colony endlessly patronized them. Nocturne was not finished his report, however.

“That’s not it, Brennus,” Nocturne said. “There have been rumors of the louses about. The colonists said they hear them talking, the ones in the lockdown.”

“What are these rumors?” Brennus asked, fear choking his words.

“They can’t tell for sure, but something… big. They’re planning something, and it sounds like it has to do with the colony.”

The room plummeted into talk. What would the louses be planning? They had nothing! Brennus quieted the Elite. “Nocturne, find out more. I want to know what exactly is being said.” His brother nodded. The meeting continued but Brennus’s mind was no longer present. It wandered to exactly what the other Elite had been asking. Nocturne wouldn’t have mentioned rumors if there wasn’t something to them. Maybe he didn’t want to tell everyone and would give him more information later, alone. But what could it be? The louses really did have nothing except perhaps the clothes on their backs and the pile of wood and dirt they slept on. That’s not enough to do anything, especially not anything regarding Genesis, Brennus reasoned. It didn’t make him feel any better. The colonists made his job hard enough, but the louses made it worse. If there was something, it could threaten order in the entire colony. Men like Brennus didn’t fear anyone, but they were not without fear. For the leader of the Genesis Elite, it was of chaos.

The meeting adjourned and Brennus didn’t even remember dismissing everyone. They left in hushed conversations until only Malachi and Nocturne remained. Nocturne yawned.

“I’m leaving too; I have a long walk tonight and it’s already late,” he said as way of goodbye. Malachi nodded and Brennus stopped him at the door.

“What more is there to these rumors?” he asked. Nocturne blinked.

“Nothing more that I know – yet,” he replied. “I’ll call on you when I can report anything. Goodnight.”

Nocturne left and Brennus shut the door behind him, letting a silent curse slip out. Malachi offered him a tiny smile. She finally spoke, “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“It’d better be,” her brother answered.

“You worry too easily. You need to be more patient. If nothing happens you’ll have worked yourself up over without cause.”

“And if something does, I won’t be prepared. See, Malachi, this is why women don’t come to the meetings. They’re so silly about such things,” Brennus said, irritated with his sister. She scowled right back.

“We are not, if you’d give us a chance. You can’t respond properly if you’re agitated,” Malachi argued. Brennus waved a hand in dismissal, clearly ending the conversation. Huffing, Malachi stalked back to her corner for the night. She lied down on the soft cloths that she’d assembled into a bed and refused to say another word all evening.