“Alright,” she conceded reluctantly and they followed Sieren back down the stairs to the Grand Hall and the corridor that led back to Ben’s apartments.
As soon as they were back in Chalice’s bedchamber, Sasha rekindled the warm fire and laid a tray of tea out for them. Tycho and Charleton recommenced their game of jags, while Ben sprawled large sheets of paper over the table in between the settees and examined them. They were maps. Chalice wondered where he had gotten them as the vision of the secret study flashed in her mind. Ben picked up his tea cup and took a sip, pointing to a line on the map.
“We will take this trail. Not many know of it, so it will be safe enough. We will have to cross the river Kedros here.” He moved his finger to the left on the map and Jeremiah’s eyes followed.
“Which means we will have to cross by bridge or ferry,” Jeremiah said.
“That’s right. The Kedros is very much like the Canterine. It is wide and deep enough for ships to sail it. Fortunately for us, there is a bridge right here where the river is most narrow. It is only a couple of hours away on horseback. It is an old bridge, but I’m sure it is sturdy enough to cross.”
Ben’s comment pulled Tycho’s attention from the game. He looked up and his eyebrows rose. “Are you sure?”
“Don’t worry, Tycho. It should be fine. I would prefer to take this route rather than the main Culmanoq road that leads to Northbridge near the sea. Too many people travel that route. Even if I tried to hide us, we would probably be seen.” Tycho nodded and turned back to his game.
“Has anyone given any thought on how we are going to free them?” Kirna asked. As soon as she had said this, Ben continued with the explanation that Chalice had heard the night she found the secret rooms. They listened intently, interested in what he knew about Chainbridge and its underground passages. He showed them the layout of the fortress on a paper that he had stretched out on the table. The underground passage was marked with ink.
“Here is the library on the lowest level, or what used to be the library,” Ben said, pointing to the location on the map. “I’m sure it is quite different now. It is the only place in the whole structure with the potential to hold that many people. We will take them out here and lead them to Auvergny which is just over the hill, where the ships will be docked. I will be able to hide us until we reach it.”
“And everyone will be able to fit onto the ships?” Jeremiah asked.
“Yes, there will be plenty of room,” Sieren responded. “No need to worry about that.”
“Now, all you have to worry about is when you want to leave Farah Manor,” Jor said, turning to Ben.
Ben drew breath to reply, but Chalice spoke before him. “Although I would love to stay here longer and learn more about your beautiful castle, I really want to find my grandparents and the others. Who knows what conditions they are suffering right now. We don’t have the luxury to stay here for very much longer.”
Ben gaped at her, surprised by her assertiveness, but he knew that she was right. No one disagreed.
“We will leave tomorrow, then, right after breakfast,” Ben said. Then, he bent down and picked up the wooden box that contained the obsidian dagger and stone. “Chalice, here, you will want to place this in your bags. Seeing as how Queen Svati placed it in your care, it would be doing her an injustice to take it from you. Be careful with it. We need to take it to the Readers for analysis.”
“Of course,” she said.
“So, you don’t know what it is?” Tycho asked. At this point, he had apparently lost all interest in his game with Charleton and was listening to the conversation.
“Well, yes … and no. I know what it is to a certain degree, but I don’t know its purpose,” Ben answered. “Only a specialized expert of the elements will be able to understand it and explain it to us. In any case, if Bunejab’s wásötah gave it to Chalice, there must be an important reason.”
Jeremiah looked up. “Ben?”
“Yes?”
“What did you ever do with that bird?”
“The falcon?”
“Yeah. Did you examine it?”
“I did and I found nothing,” Ben answered gravely. “Whatever it was before, whatever power it possessed that harmed Chalice, we may never know. Now, it is just a plain falcon. Dead, but still just a falcon.”
Jeremiah nodded, his face tight with worry and his brows furrowed in thought. Ben seemed to understand his concern.
“I know. It’s disappointing. From what you told me about your experience with that bird, I’m certain there is a connection to Dar’Maalda. The kind of power it possessed is very deadly and I have never seen it before. It is disconcerting because it is hard to fight against an unknown. If I could have examined it alive, I may have been able to see into his power and that kind of knowledge would provide us with the ability to thwart him.” Ben paused and shook his head. “Let’s not think about it for right now. We need to focus on what we need to do in the next few days.”
Jeremiah nodded and rose from his chair. Ben collected his papers and placed them into his bag while the others finished their tea and replaced their cups. Sasha came to straighten the room and collect the tray as the others said their goodnights and retired to their bedchambers. They had had a full day and they all knew it was time to get some rest.
Lying in bed, Chalice couldn’t sleep. She pondered the dangers that lay ahead. She refused to accept that any harm would come to the people that she loved. She certainly refused to accept that any harm would come to her, either. Defiantly, she promised herself that after everything was over, she would return to the Farah’s castle to study astronomy. She would solve the riddle of the mysterious tower. She would.
A Narrow Escape
Jeremiah woke to a ray of light beaming in through the arched window above, painting the picture from the stained glass onto his bed. Thoughts of the past week raced through his mind. Chalice is right, he told himself. They needed to leave. It was good that they had been allowed to stay there while she recovered, but now it was time to move on.
He was concerned about his family. The more he learned about Dar’Maalda, the more he worried. Drawing breath, he pulled himself from the sheets, dressed, and freshened up in the washroom. The aroma of eggs, bacon, and fresh coffee drifted into his chambers from the kitchen and made his stomach rumble. Ben had told them to be ready before they sat down to eat and he was glad he had packed everything the night before.
Arriving in the dining room, he discovered that the table had already been set for breakfast. He was the first one there. He was always the first one awake, but then again, he had always kept early hours. He decided to let Chalice wake on her own. Although she was fully healed, she still needed as much rest as she could get before they left.
He sat down and the servants immediately brought in the dishes of food and pitchers of coffee and juice. After a while, the others slowly began to emerge from the hallway to join him. Soon, they were all seated, except for Chalice, and were eating vigorously, excited but nervous for the journey ahead. He was even surprised to see Naeren and Charleton there as well.
“We wanted to come have one last sit-down with you before you go. It has been so much fun having you here,” Naeren said.
“I wish we could stay longer,” Chalice’s voice echoed from the doorway. No one had heard her open the door, but there she was, looking as beautiful as ever, he thought, in her blue riding habit.
“I do plan on coming back,” she said and smiled at Naeren, taking a seat next to Jeremiah.
“We definitely look forward to another visit from you!” Charleton agreed. “You especially, Tycho. We need to finish our game of jags.”
Tycho smiled weakly. “Of course,” he replied. By his rueful expression, Chalice could tell that he was not looking forward to the game. He must have been losing, she thought as she and Jeremiah exchanged a knowing smile.
“Naeren, Charleton, how are the new children doing?” Sieren asked.
“They are doing surprisingly well despite the fact that their parents are dead,” Naeren replied, shaking her head in disgust. “One of them wouldn’t eat, but we finally managed to get some food into her. Sasha is taking care of them today.”
“That is good news,” Sieren said, relieved. “Sasha is very good with children. With her, they will heal quickly.”
“What happened, Sieren?” Ben asked.
“A small village in the periphery was attacked a couple of days ago. The children were found yesterday evening wandering in the forest, foraging for food. We were informed this morning that they had been brought to the castle for care.”
Chalice was shocked. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“What happened to the rest of the villagers?” Ben asked.
“We sent out a party of our people to see to the damage control. We will find out more in a few hours.”
“And the attackers?”
“They haven’t yet been found, but we have a suspicion. Only Dar’Maalda’s men could be this cruel.” She paused and looked at Ben. Her features shone with concern. “Are you sure you want to leave today, Ben?”
He frowned in thought. “We have to. If we take the trail I suggested, there shouldn’t be any trouble.” He saw that she was still looking at him intently. “We will be careful, Sieren,” he said and his words seemed to comfort her.
“Alright, if you say so.”
Chalice was confused. She couldn’t understand the reason for all this reckless hatred and killing of the Naeon. To her, it was completely senseless. She set down her knife and fork, sighed, and settled her shoulders back in the chair.
“I don’t get it, Ben. Why are they so cruel? Where does all this hatred come from?”
“From their leader, I imagine.”
“But why is he so evil? People aren’t born evil. They become that way. So, what happened to him?”
“No one knows, Chalice. If we knew that, we would be one step ahead of him. If we knew that, maybe we could have stopped him early on and none of this would have ever happened. We can never be sure what causes him to behave the way he does.”
“I mean, what is he going to do? Kill everyone in Naeo’Gaea? He can’t!”
“You don’t understand, Chalice. He will raze every city, every village, and every farm to the ground if he has to in order to find you. He won’t stop.”
“This man is crazy!” she said, exasperated. Then, suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in the side of her head and lifted her hand to massage her temple. It surprised her. She had never had a head pain like this before.
“What’s wrong?” Jeremiah whispered.
“My head.” She grimaced. “It hurts.”
Ben stared at her, his expression very serious. “What does it feel like?”
“A splitting headache. It’s a sharp pain, right here.”
“As though someone is sticking a knife into the side of your head?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, that’s exactly it,” she said as she rubbed her temple. Jeremiah had his arm behind her, holding her steady.
Ben looked alarmed. “We need to leave,” he said and began to rise from his chair when Tremmon ran in from the hallway that led to the outer courtyard. William followed close behind him.
“What is it Tremmon?” Jor asked.
“Sir,” he panted. His face was pale and he was covered in sweat. His chest was rising and falling as if he had run the whole way from the outer wall. “There are men at the gate, demanding that we let them in.”
“Who?” Sieren asked.
“The King’s men, Madam.”
Kirna gasped and Tycho looked as if he were ready to bolt for the door.
“Don’t panic!” Ben commanded. “We are still safe in here.” He turned to Chalice. “Chalice, don’t focus on the pain. Concentrate all your thoughts on something logical, like a game or a mathematical equation.”
She looked a question at him.
“Just do it!” he said and she nodded.
“Which one is in charge?” Sieren asked.
“Ronaan,” William replied.
“Right, Ben, you know what to do,” Jor said and Ben nodded. Then, Jor and Sieren rose from the table. “Our men will meet you on the north side with your horses. We will stall the men as long as we can. When you get to Auvergny, send us a pigeon.”
“And Ben,” Sieren added. “Be careful!”
Ben gave her a curt nod of the head and she and Jor hastened out of the room. Charleton and Naeren stayed behind to hug them goodbye and then scurried hurriedly after their parents.
Ben turned to address the others. “Grab your things, quickly, and meet me in Chalice’s bedchamber.”
They all rose from the table and rushed out. Chalice staggered to her room as she tried to concentrate on the game she played with Jeremiah as a child. She could barely make it to the door. Before she knew it, Jeremiah was there at her side with his bag over his shoulder, helping her into the room. In a matter of minutes, they were all in the room with their bags, waiting for Ben. He ran in, holding a lantern and made for the candelabra on the wall, the one, Chalice knew, would open the doorway to the secret passage. He jerked it to the right and the door sprang open. Kirna and Tycho gasped in surprise.
Ben lit the lamp. “Follow me,” he said and they carefully descended the staircase behind him to the lower floor. Before they reached the study, Ben turned to the left and entered the bedchamber that Chalice had passed the night she had discovered the rooms. It resembled the chamber above except for a wooden door on the right side of the canopied bed. He led them to the door and opened it. A long corridor stretched deeply into the darkness. There were cobwebs everywhere.
“This hasn’t been used in a while,” Ben said as he brushed the webs aside and entered. “It will lead us to the north side of the castle. That is what Jor meant.” They all struggled to keep up with him as he rushed down the corridor. Bunejab squeaked as he fell behind and Jeremiah picked him up with one arm, carrying him as they went.
“The north side? You mean, outside the castle wall?” he asked.
“Yes. You might recognize something like this, Jeremiah. I had your father dig one similar to it on your farm.”
“You did? I never knew that. We have definitely used it.”
“Yeah, just recently actually!” Chalice panted as she ran, trying to keep up. “I’m getting used to this, I think.”
“How is your head now, Chalice?”
“Fine. The pain is gone.”
“Good. I thought it would be.”
“What was that, Ben?”
“I’ll explain later.”
They ceased talking. They were feeling the fatigue as the grey stone hallway seemed to stretch on forever. It took them a good half an hour to reach the end. Chalice hoped that the Farahs had been able to distract the men long enough. She was sure they had. They seemed practiced at this sort of thing. Finally, they arrived at a staircase that led straight up to a trapdoor above them. They ascended and Ben fidgeted with the latch. It clicked and he pushed on it but the door would not budge.
“Here, Ben, let me try,” Jeremiah said, setting down the Chinuk and nudging by everyone to the door. He was strong and although he placed his whole weight against it, it still would not budge.
“Oh, curse it!” Ben growled and banged on the door with his fist. Suddenly, they heard hoofbeats above and loud, swift scraping that continued for a few minutes. Then, the door sprang open. William’s profile appeared as the sunlight shone down, blinding them.
“I’m sorry, Ben! We were standing on the door. We didn’t know where it was. It was completely covered with dirt. You know, this passage hasn’t been used since the last time you were here.”
“It’s alright, William. I understand,” Ben answered. “Here, lend us a hand, would you?”
William reached in and helped them out of the corridor into a small clearing. Four other stablemen were there, holding their horses steady. The huge grey wall
that surrounded the castle lay just behind them. Ben thanked them, strapped his bags to his saddle, and jumped onto his mount, placing Bunejab in the front. The others followed suit and they darted toward the trail that he had shown them on the map.
The morning air smelled sweet and Chalice relished the breeze that blew her hair as they galloped along the road. She had been indoors for too long, she thought. Ben drove his steed fiercely, determined to put as much distance between them and the King’s men as he could. There were sections of the trail that were not blazed well, which slowed them at first, but after a few hours, they could hear the sound of swiftly rushing water and knew they were close to the river.
The horses shot out from the forest trail into a glade that ran the length of the Kedros. The bridge lay just ahead and as they approached, Chalice’s heart sank. She knew that there was no way they would be able to cross. What lay ahead of them was the oldest, most dilapidated bridge she had ever seen. Constructed of dark wood, it spanned the width of the river and was so frail, it appeared to sway with the wind. It was cracked and rickety and small gaps spanned the length of it where missing boards had crumbled and fallen away. The horses halted at the edge and Tycho spluttered.
“Yeah right, Ben! We’ll never be able to cross this!”
“Have a little faith, Tycho,” he said and paused, tilting his head. “Although, the bridge is a little worse than I thought it would be. Hmm …” He scratched his chin. “Let me cross first. I will make sure it stays sound.” And at that, Ben clicked his mount into motion and proceeded over the bridge.
The four of them were struck dumb when it not only supported the weight, but ceased to sway in the wind the second the Appaloosa’s hooves touched the boards. Then, when the horse’s hoof touched thin air where a board was missing and did not fall through, Chalice knew that Ben was using his stone.
“He is stabilizing it for us. See?” she said, pointing. They watched Ben intently as he carefully made his way across.
When he reached the far end, he shouted: “Alright, your turn now, but only two at a time.”
The Raie'Chaelia (Legend of the Raie'Chaelia, Book One 1) Page 24