The Olive Conspiracy (29 page)

“
Sure!” Halleli
answered.

Yael held one candle against a torch on the
wall, then used it to light the other. “Bless You, Our God, King
and Queen of the World, who kept us alive, sustained us, and
enabled us to reach this season.”

Halleli murmured along, intrigued by the
gendered quirks in Yael’s prayer and for some reason shy about
reciting the words any louder.

A knock sounded at the door. “We’re closed!”
Yael and Halleli shouted in unison.

“
I know!” called a familiar voice.
“I’m not here for food.”

“
The queen!” Halleli leapt to her
feet, blinking rapidly.

Yael opened the door. “Your Majesty! Happy
Chanukah.”

“
Same to you!” Queen Shulamit
stepped inside, a vision in lilac silks. On her head was the dainty
new circlet she’d taken to wearing; candlelight glinted from its
gems. Captain Riv and Isaac hovered behind her as usual. “I’ve just
come from the ceremony in the Square, and since it was on our way,
I figured I’d stop by and see if you needed a guard escort
home.”

Halleli inhaled in wonder. “Well, sure! Wow,
thank you, Your Majesty.”

“
I also had something for Yael.
It’s symbolic, really, but it does matter.” Shulamit reached behind
her, and Captain Riv handed her something.

As she handed it to Yael, Halleli saw what
looked like a small jug.

Yael uncorked it and sniffed it. “Oil? Olive
oil?”

Shulamit nodded solemnly. “Can we sit down and
watch the candles together? I’m worn out from the shindig in the
Square.”

“
Absolutely! Right here.” Yael
pulled a seat out for her right in front of the lit menorah, then
sat to one side. Halleli deposited herself quietly and primly in
the seat to the queen’s other side.

Riv and Isaac remained in the doorway, speaking
in low tones with each other in some foreign tongue and ignoring
the ladies. Farther outside in the darkness, Halleli sensed the
presence of more guards. But after a few moments of meditating on
the two lit candles, she noticed them less and less. Only the three
women at the table existed, just for a time.

“
I brought you that oil, Yael,
because you saved the country.” Shulamit’s voice was solemn but
serene.

“
Me? What?”

“
If you hadn’t come to me when you
did, we’d never have known to look harder in that murdered man’s
papers,” Shulamit reminded her. “What we found helped us stop the
spread in time.”

“
Did we really catch it in time?”
Yael asked. “Oil prices are up, and I’ve been lighting less torches
in my dining room this winter. Everybody is.”

“
It’s hard to have Chanukah without
oil,” Halleli commented.

“
But that’s just it,” said
Shulamit. “We
do
have oil. It’s not all gone; yes, there’s a
shortage, but there was a reserve and the groves will rebuild.
Don’t forget the whole point of this holiday is that miracles are
possible.”

“
Hadar, this job,” Halleli found
herself rattling off, to her own surprise. “My kitten Olive, my
friends on the palace staff… customers who really like my
artwork.”

“
Sitting down after a long day in
this place,” Yael commented.

“
My loved ones,” said Queen
Shulamit, joining in. “My daughter. Not being horrible at this
job!” She chuckled at herself. “Anyway, it’s more than perfect that
I spend part of
this
first night of Chanukah in the presence
of the two women who saved this country.”

Halleli gazed into the candles on the table,
watched them flicker and burn. They were tiny, two flutters of
white-gold in a dark world, but they existed all the same. She
thought of how tomorrow night there would be more lights, and then
more and more, until finally a week from now all nine places on the
candelabra would have joined in chorus.

Tears formed in her eyes when she imagined all
the olive groves that had fallen to the Imbrian plague’s
devastation doing the same thing, each rebuilding—each
rededicating
—one by one.

Queen Shulamit stood up. “I have to go home and
nurse. Halleli?”

“
I’m coming!” Impulsively, Halleli
hugged Yael good night, and followed the queen into the starlit
palms.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My spouse, who is the cutest and
the smartest. My family, especially my mom, always my first
audience and my greatest inspiration.

Kate, “Kate the Great”, my
Chief Executive Beta. The careful yet loving corrections you gave
all four Mangoverse books proves to me that you are going to be the
best possible mother to your brand new
“
new
release”, already a bestseller in your and his father’s
hearts.

Cousin Kate, for your calm
wisdom, your guidance in writing my trans woman Yael, and for your
friendship. And to Cousin Lizzy—“if I’m the bi cousin and
you’re
the bi cousin,
who’s flying the plane???”

Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman, the
expert in insect pests in olive production who spent a morning of
her time showing me trees, slides, and even a perfect way to wrap
up my story.

Nicole, who asked for a trans
woman in the Mangoverse (and Alex, who wanted more with Micah!)
Never be afraid to ask your faves for characters like you, folks.
They might say no—or they might invent Yael.

Maricruz, the original Sad
Princess (now Dr. Princess!), and Brooke, the original Little River
of Stars. Both of you are freaking gorgeous and brilliant and I
wish you the best. Much appreciation to Brooke, Emilia, and Martina
for the Portuguese sensitivity beta.

Eliana and Becca, lesbians
who checked over the scenes where Baby Shula acts out Baby Shira’s
adolescence, as well as the Hadar/Halleli farm chapters. Eliana,
your enthusiasm for the Mangoverse has kept me running when I was
on empty. Becca, your artwork
is
the Mangoverse, for me and for many others.
Speaking of artists, not only Becca but also Karolina, Laya Rose,
and Yeaka for their incredible, inspiring art. You’ve brought
Shulamit and her crew to life and in color.

Jane, Kat, and of course, my
Number One Fan Ducky for being the Very First Readers. Caitlin for
helping with supernebular dragon flight. J.L. Douglas for never
shutting up about Farzin, and for friendship and validation, and
other writer friends like Kayla Bashe and Claudie Arseneault. My
online Waffle community, for helping with details—especially “Other
Jane” for perpetual support.

The black cat we loved and lost,
and the calico who bit her way into our hearts (….wait.)
Incidentally, Tabletop Tova was released and now lives by herself
in the woods. Well, except for the cats.

Jaymi, JoSelle, Jane, Joanna, and
Kristi (she broke the J name pattern!) at Prizm Books.

And, as ever, Richard Wagner,
Anna Netrebko, Hibla Gerzmava, James Morris, Joyce DiDonato, Jonas
Kaufman, Boaz Daniel, and the incomparable Ren
é
Pape
for the musical shawl in which I wrap my stories.

ABOUT SHIRA GLASSMAN

Shira Glassman is a bisexual Jewish violinist
living in North Florida with a labor activist and a badly behaved
cat. Her light-hearted queer fantasy books have made it to the
finals of the Golden Crown Literary Society awards and the Bi Book
Awards. She misses her grandparents.

Find Shira online:

Blog:
http://shiraglassman.wordpress.com

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ShiraGlassman

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7234426.Shira_Glassman

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/shiraglassman

Also Available from Shira Glassman and Torquere
Press:

ANTHOLOGIES

Haunted Hotties Volume 1 / Holiday Wants Ads /
Snowed In F/F / Twisted Fables

NOVELLAS

Fearless / Lioness in Blue

SERIES

Mangoverse Series

The Second Mango / Climbing the Date Palm / A
Harvest of Ripe Figs / Tales from Outer Lands / Tales from Perach /
The Olive Conspiracy

SHORT STORIES

Eitan’s Chord / Treasure Hunt / Wet
Nails

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Dear Everyone,

If you’re curious about the “biological
weapons” used in this book, google
sharpshooter insect
.
They’re a type of leafhopper. Be aware that some of what you read
about them may spoil the ending of the book, though!

If you enjoyed Shira Glassman’s
The Olive
Conspiracy
, please consider telling others and writing a
review.

You might also enjoy these authors published by
Torquere Press:

K.S. Trenten, author of
Fairest

Kayla Bashe, author of
Screaming Down
Splitsville, Medic to the Hivemind,
and
Graveyard
Sparrow

Samantha Kate, author of
Bottom of the
River

Nicole Wilkinson, author of
A Royal
Pursuit