I saw various tribe members muttering to one another and frowning in confusion.
“What portal is this, Mercedes?” asked Jolie. I’ve never heard of such a thing in Scotland.” “Me neither,” said Randall.
Me neither , I thought.
“The prophetess speaks o’ the fabled portal in Balmoral,” boomed Odran.
“Where’s Balmoral?” Bryn mouthed to the werewolf sitting to her left.
My word, but the girl had the most horrific gaps in her education! Ask her about the book The Art of War and she could quote it to you verbatim, but she’d never heard of the Scottish holiday residence of the Queen of England?! I could see I was going to have to take her in hand, and soon!
“It doesnae exist, woman. ‘Tis only a myth,” Odran continued, appearing quite put out.
“I beg your pardon!” Mercedes looked positively outraged. I supressed a smile. Odran was in for it now! “The portal at Balmoral does so exist! I have read many accounts of it. And if you were not such an enormous ignoramus, you might have read them too, seeing as how they pertain to the history of the Fae!” She took a deep breath. “And another thing, you are never again to address me as ‘woman.’ My name is Mercedes, or, if you prefer, the Prophetess.”
Yes! Oh, happy day!
Mercedes’ attacks were most amusing when they were being directed at some one else, and chiefly, at the Scottish ape. But the “enormous ignoramus” was not quite finished yet. His massive ego had most probably been wounded, and he still had a few more nails to hammer into his coffin.
“If it ever existed, it doesnae exist anymore, Prophetess,” he spat the final word. “That’s ancient history yer talkin’ aboot. The Balmoral portal has been out o’ use for hoondreds o’ years.”
“Hardly that long,” Mercedes countered with disinterest. “And where there is a will, there is a way.” She looked up at my queen. “Your Majesty, do I have your permission to investigate the portal and ascertain its viability?”
“Certainly, Mercedes. We have nothing to lose by learning more about it and everything to gain. Any opportunity to prevent bloodshed is one worth taking.”
Mercedes smiled in a self-satisfied way that I may well have found irritating in other circumstances. But she had done quite a good job of belittling Odran, thus she was in my good books for the time being.
“Thank you, Queen Jolie,” she said.
Odran sat down in disgust, muttering about “fool’s errands.”
“When would you like to travel to Balmoral, Mercedes?” Jolie asked.
“I think you will agree, Your Majesty, that time is of the essence.”
“It certainly is.”
“Over the next few days, then,” Mercedes responded. “I do have preparations to carry out first. But as soon as those are completed …
Jolie nodded. “And do you need anyone to assist you? Either with the preparations or the travel?”
“Both might be very helpful, my queen. It would be beneficial to be accompanied by others with superior magical abilities.”
“I presume you will be bringing Mathilda?” Jolie asked.
“If it please Your Majesty.”
“Of course. You just name those you would like to go with you, and if those parties are in agreement …”
Me.
I was most certain Mercedes would request my companionship for the trip, as I was a master vampire, after all. As to whether I would go, I did not want to leave my little hellion to fend for herself, but perhaps such would be the case. I did imagine I would only be gone temporarily.
“I believe it would be very helpful to have the Chevaliers with me,” Mercedes finished.
I admit, I was quite surprised to hear Mercedes’ response, and I noticed with disinterest that the fop nodded enthusiastically.
“Great. Anyone else?” Jolie asked.
Me.
“I believe Damek, as the only Daywalker among us, might be an asset,” Mercedes continued.
Damek proudly nodded his assent as I silently wondered how it was possible that I ranked third on this list. Certainly, Mercedes had gotten her order quite skewed.
“And …”
Me.
“The princess, Bryn, would be …”
“Absolutely not.” Jolie shook her head, her lips pursed together.
“Jolie!” My hellion’s exclamation was almost anguished. “What do you mean? Of course I should go! They might need the Flame.”
“But Bryn, you’re …”
“I’m pregnant, not helpless!” she railed. “And it’s not for anyone else to decide what I can and can’t do! Not even you.”
“Bryn, can we discuss this later? I really …” Jolie started.
“What if Sinjin goes too?” Bryn demanded as she turned to face me.
All eyes looked my way. I looked at Mercedes. “I am not certain that I want to go,” I started, feeling quite ruffled over the fact that I had not even made it on the list.
“I’m sure Sinjin was soon to be mentioned on your list, Mercedes,” the princess said as she faced the prophetess, and her eyes widened slightly, as though she were trying to make a point.
Mercedes instantly nodded. “Well, yes. I was about to ask if Sinjin might accompany me.” She cleared her throat. “He would be… most useful on such a scouting expedition.”
I grinned. Of course I would be! My combination of brains and brawn could not be beaten.
Jolie sighed. “Sinjin?”
“If the princess goes, I shall not allow her to leave without me,” I answered.
Jolie frowned at her sister. “I guess, if Sinjin is going, then I am okay with Bryn going.”
Bryn sat back in her seat, looking both belligerent and triumphant, and she gave Mercedes a small nod that made little sense to me. The prophetess returned it.
“I think that should be enough, your majesty,” Mercedes continued. “Best to keep the group small. We don’t want to draw undue attention to ourselves.”
“Okay. That’s agreed then,” Jolie said. As an afterthought, she looked towards Odran. “Um, Odran, would you …”
“Ah wouldnae waste my time, Yer Majesty.” He sat with his arms folded across his chest, knees akimbo once more.
“That’s fine.” My queen smiled with what was probably relief. I presumed she felt compelled to invite him out of courtesy. “So, it looks as if we have our plan B,” she announced as she scanned the room. “If no one has any objections, I declare this meeting adjourned.”
No one objected, and a cacophony of noise burst forth as those assembled discussed amongst themselves what had just occurred while filing out of the Green Room.
Quick as a flash, I was alongside my tempest, eager to plan our adventure to Balmoral. Her face was not immediately suffused with pleasure at the sight of me, which I considered odd.
“Don’t think you’re going to be protecting me on this trip,” she ground out.
“But Jolie …”
“I don’t give a rip what Jolie says, queen or no queen!” she continued, in quite the mood. “I am perfectly capable of looking after myself. I haven’t suddenly become an invalid just because I’m pregnant! And I’m sick to death of being treated like one!”
“But I did not …”
“Is that clear?”
Crikey, she did look furious.
“Crystal clear, my darling heathen.”
“Good. Now tell me all about this Balmoral place.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Bryn
We chose dusk for our visit to Balmoral, on the basis that we were less likely to be observed the closer it was to evening. Sinjin and I were the first to arrive; he had dematerialized us both. We waited for the others to arrive by more traditional methods, namely two cars.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed as I glanced around and took in the opulent beauty of the verdant stretches of green grass as far as the eye could see and the rolling green hills in the background. Balmoral Castle, itself, was…
impressive with its numerous white panelled windows, its gray stone façade, its numerous turrets and the ivy creeping along its walls.
“Yes, it certainly is,” Sinjin responded.
“Fanciest place I’ve ever seen.”
“Indeed.”
I turned to him and watched him curiously. “What’s the fanciest place you’ve ever been to, Sinjin?”
“I would say the Palace of Versailles has to be quite at the top of the list.”
I stared at him, open-mouthed, aware that he might well have visited when Versailles was actually a working palace. For all I knew, maybe he and Marie Antoinette were friends!
“And the residence of the Romanovs, near St. Petersburg, was quite spectacular, it has to be said,” Sinjin continued. He held a far-away look in his eyes, as though he were lost to his memories. “But I’ve always been fond of Balmoral,” he finished with a sigh as he focused on the castle before him.
“When was the last time you were here?”
He tapped his long fingers against his chin as he attempted to remember. Finally, he looked at me with arched eyebrows.
“The 1860s, I believe it was.”
“What … why …?”
“I was invited to visit the queen and Prince Albert.”
“So you knew them?”
“But of course, silly,” he reprimanded with a smile. “One does not receive an invitation if one does not know the person extending it.”
“How did you know them?” I asked, finding all of this amazing. Sinjin never stopped astonishing me, it had to be said.
“At the time, I was moonlighting as an architect,” he responded as my eyes went wide and I shook my head, wondering if there would ever come a time that I felt I knew all his secrets. Doubtful. “Prince Albert consulted me in relation to the ongoing construction of the new castle. The old castle was far too small, you see. The queen and the prince had nine children!”
“Nine?” I echoed.
He nodded. “They bred like rabbits, those two, and that’s not to mention the staff …”
“Hold on a second,” I started as I held up my hand to silence him, the truth in his words sinking into me. “So, you’re telling me you helped build Balmoral Castle?” Then I glanced at the castle in the distance. “That?” I finished as I pointed to it.
“Not actually build it, my pet. One in my position at the time would never have deigned to get his hands dirty. But I did have a hand in the design, quite so. See those pepper pot turrets over there?” He pointed to a distant tower.
“Yes.”
“Those are my design.”
I faced him in disbelief. “You’re making this up.”
Sinjin laughed. “I can assure you, my darling hellion, that I most definitely am not.”
“Um… I don’t even know what to say.” And it was the truth. I turned back to face the castle and just shook my head. “Jeez Louise.”
“Which was the name of one of their children.”
“What?” I asked as I faced him.
“Louise,” Sinjin answered with another smile. “She was one of Victoria and Albert’s children. Little minx, as far as I remember.”
This was too weird. “So, if you’ve spent time here, you must have heard something about the portal.”
“Oh, I hav e heard rumors.”
“Do you think they’re true?”
He returned to drumming his fingers against his chin. I was still in shock over the realization that Sinjin Sinclair, egotist and the father of the “sprog” growing inside me, had had something to do with the erection of the majestic castle before me. He never stopped surprising me.
“I would consider it highly likely that the se rumors are true, yes,” he finished.
“Really? What makes you say that?”
“Think about it,” he said with a shrug. “If you were the Queen of England, where would you choose to have your holiday home?”
“Um. Somewhere sunny, maybe?”
“Precisely,” he answered as he reached out and tapped me on the end of my nose. “And as we both know from personal experience, Bete Noir , Scotland is not highly acclaimed for its sunny climes.”
That was true. Even so …
“But in those days, there were no cheap Ryanair flights to Europe,” I argued. “The Queen of England now probably keeps Balmoral for the sake of family tradition.” I glanced around again. “Even if it is cold in Scotland, the scenery is still stunning here.”
“The British royal family have always been aware of the existence of the Underworld,” Sinjin said flatly as I turned to face him so quickly, I gave myself a neck crook.
“What? You’re kidding!”
“Not at all. How do you think they were able to become so powerful in the first place?”
This was too far- fetched, even for him.
“I don’t know, by winning battles and amassing fortunes? By their bloodline?”
“Ah, but how were they so successful in winning those battles in the first place and amassing those fortunes? And where did that bloodline begin?”
“You’re not trying to tell me that the royal family have alliances with the Underworld? That they know about faeries and vampires and elementals and …”
“But of course!”
I was flabbergasted. I saw Sinjin enjoying the expression on my face, which made me wonder if this whole thing was just a fabrication so he could laugh at me afterwards, making fun of the fact that I was extremely gullible.
“So, did Queen Victoria know you were a vampire, then?” I asked in a facetious tone.
“Hmm. Let us just say that she strongly suspected.”
As I stared at him, my mouth probably hanging open, we were interrupted by the purr of two cars slowly pulling up to our designated meeting point at the wall of the Balmoral Estate. Mathilda and Mercedes were the first to step out. Mercedes nodded at us.
“This conversation isn’t over, by the way,” I said to Sinjin with a side glance as I turned to welcome the others.
“I did not imagine it would be, Lady Macbeth. I did not imagine it would be.”
“Hello, dearies!” Mathilda trilled before double-kissing both of us on the cheeks. Sinjin almost had to bend in two so she could reach him.
The inhabitants of the other car stepped out. Audrey alighted from the passenger seat, dressed head to toe in black, as though she imagined herself to be a burglar. Dureau appeared from the driver’s side. Damek and his “friend,” Dayna, both stepped out of the back seat.
“What on earth is she doing here?” Mercedes rounded on them both furiously as she faced Dayna and didn’t seem pleased.
“D … Dayna wanted to come,” Damek stuttered.
“She wanted to come?! Wanted to come, you say?” Mercedes roared, and both Damek and Dayna seemed to shrink before her. “What does her wanting to come have to do with anything? Does she have express permission to be here? No, she does not!”
Damek cowered at Mercedes’ wrath. Dayna stood there shyly, a sheep in wolf’s clothing, with her head bowed down.
“S … sorry … I thought …” Damek stammered.
“Thought! It’s quite obvious, boy, that you did not think at all! I purposely kept this group to the minimum. This expedition is of utmost importance to our people! If you wish to take your girlfriend on a day trip, I suggest you do it in your own time.”
“She’s not my ...” Damek began.
“Come on, Mercedes. They’re both young, they made a mistake,” Audrey began, her voice pleading.
“Youth is no excuse for stupidity!” Mercedes insisted.
“The girl is a were, after all, and not without magical abilities,” Dureau added as he faced Dayna and offered her a smile of encouragement. “She might even prove useful.”
“I seriously doubt it.”
“Even so, she’s here now,” Audrey said. “It would not make sense to drive all the way back to Kinloch to drop her off.”
“Hmm.” Mercedes appeared
to be considering it.
“We may as well bring her with us ,” Mathilda offered. “It’ll do nobody any good to have her loitering around here on her own. She might give the game away.”
“So, it’s decided, then,” I said. “Dayna comes with us.”
The prophetess marched over to Damek and Dayna and waggled her finger in front of the faces of the two young people. “You can both come with us on condition that you don’t spend all your time mooning at one another and getting in everyone’s way! You are both to concentrate on the task at hand at all times. The success of our mission might depend on it.”
They both nodded as if their heads were going to come off, Damek’s face a deep shade of beet red.
Mercedes turned her attention back to the rest of us. “Are we all clear as to the plan?”
“We stick together, ” said Audrey. “Stay to the outskirts of the property until we reach the south side of the tower.”
“And no mooning at one another,” Sinjin added with a pronounced smile as Mercedes glared at him.
“Keep to the shadows,” she said.
“Are there likely to be any tourists still about at this time?” questioned Dureau.
“There are no tourists this time of the year.” Sinjin’s voice dripped with disdain. “The queen and Prince Philip are currently in residence.”
“The Queen of England! She’s actually here? Right now?” I blurted out, shaking my head at the mere thought.
“Why, yes, my dear hellion,” Sinjin responded in a saccharine tone. “They come to Balmoral this time every year.”
“Holy cow!”
“If everyone is quite finished, we do have important business to attend to,” Mercedes interrupted, glaring at me.
The wall surrounding the place was both colossal and appeared impregnable. We came to a side gate, guarded by a single sentry.
“Sinjin,” muttered Mercedes, “could you please do the honors?”
“Certainly.”
My God, he wasn’t going to kill the man, was he? Luckily, the reality was a lot less sinister. Sinjin strode up to the man while we hung behind.
“Who are you?” To my disappointment, the guard didn’t have on one of those tall, fuzzy hats they wore at Buckingham Palace. He was dressed far more casually. However, he was immediately on high alert.
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