“The stable master may be right you know. You only have this girl’s word for it that she has really seen what she claims,” Patrick observed.
“I will escort you to your room in the morning,” Nosmas volunteered. “I want to take a look inside to see if I can detect anything unusual.” He did not sound optimistic.
The night was long, boring and uneventful. Nothing of interest had been found and everyone’s muscles were beginning to cramp up from sitting in the same position for too long by the time the sun rose. As promised, Nosmas accompanied Sam to her room. As they were approaching it, the silence of the palace was disturbed by a high pitched scream and Annabel ran out, shaking with fear. Nosmas grabbed her. “What is wrong?” he asked.
“Snake,” she stammered, pointing towards Sam’s room. “On the bed.”
“Stay here,” Nosmas instructed, looking at Sam. He entered the room alone, returning a few moments later to announce that the room was empty. There was no sign of a snake and he could detect no use of magic.
“It was there. I swear it was.” Annabel was crying. Sam was comforting her.
“It’s okay. I believe you.”
“What is going on here?” a gruff voice demanded. Allias’s new housekeeper approached them. Sam explained what had happened and the woman rolled her eyes.
“Again Annabel?” She sounded more resigned than angry. “This cannot continue. Either you will need to prove you are not imagining things or we will have to let you go. This is your last chance. Now go to the kitchen and get yourself a drink. It may calm you down a bit.” The maid ran off, closely watched by three pairs of eyes.
“I believe her,” Sam said defiantly.
“So do I,” the woman replied. “But the girl is turning into a nervous wreck. If we cannot put a stop to this, she may become seriously unbalanced.”
Sam understood. The woman did not want to sack the maid, but would do so if she thought it was best for the girl. “I have an idea,” she said suddenly. “I’ll have a chat with a friend. He will get the proof you need.”
The next evening, as darkness was approaching, Sam went to the barn where the wagon and Hawk’s coffin had been taken. “Hi,” she said as soon as the vampire emerged. “I have a favour to ask.” She explained her plan to him and he agreed to help her. He flew off to find a meal, but when he returned, instead of going to the library to help with the research, he flew to Sam’s window and climbed through. Things seemed to be appearing before Annabel entered the room and disappearing when the room was empty, so Sam’s theory was that Hawk could be a witness, as long as nobody knew he was in the room.
For Hawk, the night dragged on. It was just before dawn when a sound from the back of the room caught his attention. He stared in amazement as part of the back wall opened up and a man walked through. Hawk hid from sight behind the curtain, peering round to watch what the man did. He was carrying a small box, covered with tiny holes. Looking around to make sure he was truly alone, he opened the box and a number of rats climbed out. Smiling to himself, the man walked back to the hole in the wall, climbed through and closed it behind him.
Moments later, a knock sounded at the door and Annabel walked in, carrying clean linen. She placed it on a chair and started to strip the bed. She felt something run over her foot, looked down and saw a rat looking up at her. She screamed and ran to the door, failing to open it in her panic to get out of the room. She finally managed to pull it open and ran out. As soon as she left, the wall moved again and the man returned. Placing the box on the floor, he whistled twice. Immediately the rats appeared from under the bed, chairs and table and jumped back into the box. The man had time to pick it up, climb back through the wall and close the gap before anyone else entered the room. Seeing how close it was to dawn, Hawk leapt from the window and returned to his coffin. He would give Sam a full report in the evening.
The butler arrived, with his apprentice, and they thoroughly searched the room. No evidence of the presence of rats was found. The housekeeper appeared and, when she too could find no sign of any rats, Annabel was formally sacked and told to leave the palace.
“Wait,” Sam cried as she burst into the room. “Please, delay your decision until this evening. I had a friend stay in my room all night. He will be able to tell you what happened, but not until this evening.”
“Why can he not tell us now?” the butler demanded.
“Because he’s a vampire and can’t come out during the day.” Annabel fainted.
A large crowd was present in the dining room that evening. All of Sam’s friends were there, along with Allias and his wife, the housekeeper, the butler, Annabel and a number of other servants. Sam was waiting for Hawk in the barn when he awoke and took him directly to the dining room. On the way, he filled her in on all he had seen.
They strode into the room without knocking. All eyes turned in their direction, anticipation written across most of the faces. “For those who don’t already know him, this is Hawk.” Sam turned her attention to Annabel, who was visibly shaking. “Hawk is going to exonerate you,” she said gently.
Hawk then explained all he had seen. King Allias was shocked. “I have never heard any stories about a hidden way into any of the rooms. This I must see.” He walked out of the room, closely followed by his servants. The dining room quickly emptied until only the Queen was left, comforting a crying Annabel. The terror of meeting a vampire, coupled with the feelings of relief when she finally found out she was not going mad, were too much for the young girl to cope with.
By the time Sam arrived at her room, it was crowded. Allias, Tor and Nosmas were against the far wall, feeling it with their hands, while everyone else in the room stood watching. “That is where the opening appeared,” Hawk informed her when she was close enough that he didn’t need to speak above a whisper.
Nosmas started to knock on the wall. “It is definitely hollow behind here,” he announced, indicating a section of the wall. “Though I can see no way of opening it from this side.” The room was thoroughly searched, but no opening device was found.
“Damn it,” King Allias exclaimed. “We have to get this open. I am dying to know where it leads.”
“Why not ask the man who came through it?” Quartilla suggested. All eyes turned to Hawk.
“Please describe the man,” Allias requested. Hawk did as instructed, describing the stable master perfectly. Ria and Sam both gasped when they recognised the description. The housekeeper also worked out who had entered Sam’s room through the secret passage and informed Allias. The King instructed all of his servants to go about their business except one, who he sent in search of the stable master.
A short while later, the man arrived at Allias’s study. He bowed deeply when he walked into the room, pausing slightly on his way up when he realised a number of other people were present, including Ria. “You sent for me your Majesty,” he said formally. “How may I be of assistance?”
“You can start by explaining why you have been terrorising one of my maids.” Allias gestured towards Annabel, who was sitting at the side of the room. Ria was pleased to see the stable master pale slightly when his eyes fell on the maid. He quickly recovered his composure and turned his attention back to the King.
“I have no idea what you are talking about, your Majesty. Everyone knows this girl is unbalanced. If she has accused me of anything, I can assure you it is untrue.”
Hawk stepped forward from where he had been concealed behind Tor and Patrick. “The young lady is not accusing you of anything,” he announced. “I am.” The man did not react, so Hawk continued. “I was alone in Sam’s room the early hours of this morning when I observed you enter by way of a secret passage and place rats in the room. After you had scared the poor maid half to death, you removed them and left by the same secret passage.”
“This is absurd,” the stable master protested. “If I had done what this man is claiming, surely I would have made certain that the room was empty before I entered. I would ha
ve been observing the door.”
“I am sure you were,” Hawk replied. He was beginning to enjoy himself. “But I did not enter through the door, I entered through the window.” Hawk could almost see the man’s mind working. The room was three storeys up so nobody could even get to the window. “I flew up. I am a vampire.”
The stable master’s legs gave way as he tried to run for the door. He was helped to a chair, where he sat gibbering incomprehensibly until Ria slapped him hard across the face. The pain and the shock brought him to his senses. “I will tell you everything,” he stammered. He raised his arm and pointed towards Hawk. “Just keep that thing away from me.”
He was good to his word and, as soon as Hawk had left the room, he told those present all that had happened and why. Ever since Annabel had started working at the palace, he had been making advances towards her, all of which she turned down. He insisted he was just being friendly and genuinely wanted to get to know her better, but she kept playing hard to get. One evening he had caught her alone in the stables. She must have misunderstood his intentions and kneed him hard in the groin before running way. Afraid that she would claim he attacked her, he decided to ruin her reputation. If he could make her out to be a thief and a liar, nobody would ever believe her if accusations started to fly. His grandfather had worked in the palace all of his life and had managed to obtain a map of the secret passageways and instructions on how they could be opened. He used them to set the girl up and turn people against her; everyone, including herself, thinking she was going insane was an added bonus.
“You really are a horrible man,” Allias stated when the man finally stopped talking. “You make unwanted advances towards a girl half your age and when she turns you down you persecute her. I am going to have to think long and hard about what your punishment should be.”
“Leave him to me,” Ria suggested, smiling sweetly.
The stable master started to shake uncontrollably. “No. Please. Anything but that.” Ria laughed and left the room. The excitement was over for now and she wanted to freshen up before returning to the library. She was not looking where she was going and almost walked into someone heading towards the study.
“Sorry,” she muttered, then looked up into familiar eyes. “Tallon,” she exclaimed. “When did you get here?”
“Just arrived. What are you doing here? Is anyone else with you?”
“It is a long story. Everyone else is in the study. Tor is going to be so pleased to see you.”
“Why?” Tallon enquired.
“The latest clue on the quest states that we need the royal seal from Kinfen’s heir,” Ria informed him.
Tallon grimaced. “Then Tor is going to be very disappointed I am afraid. I do not have it. My brother does.”
Chapter 10
“What did Sam have to say?” Seth inquired as he watched the bird launch itself from Dean’s arm and fly upward into the sky. Dean smiled to himself; there was no way he was going to pass on everything the message contained.
“They have arrived at the palace of King Allias, but Prince Tallon is not there. He is due back in a few days so they are going to wait for him. They are hoping to have found clues to Orion’s location in the library by the time he arrives.”
Seth nodded, but said nothing. “Is he still sulking?” Dean asked Dal when Seth was out of earshot. Dal laughed lightly and nodded. The first time they had stopped for a meal after the group split into two, Seth had searched his backpack for his cooking things, only to discover that he had left them in the back of the wagon. From then on, every time he cooked he imagined those who had headed north using his equipment and enjoying much tastier meals than he was now able to produce.
Those travelling with Brodin had ridden west through Jundel province in Emvale before turning north-west. They still had a long way to go before reaching the border with Auxland and had no idea what to expect once they arrived at the mountains near the Annan forest. However, the weather had been dry and, apart from Seth’s grumbling, the journey had been pleasant, so none of them felt any sense of urgency. Only Fajfah seemed on edge, as though he was waiting for something to happen, but when questioned he assured everyone that there was nothing wrong.
A few days later, Modo made the shock announcement that he would be abandoning the quest and returning to his homeland.
“But why?” Oak enquired.
“How much do you know about the vexen race?” Modo asked. Reluctantly everyone admitted that their knowledge was greatly lacking, so Modo filled them in.
“As most of you know, we have made the island of Kileen our home for the last few centuries. Before that, members of our race could be found in almost all of the lands. We used to be a lot more social than we are now. These days very few vexen leave the island. This is probably why nobody knows much about our race.” Evening was setting in, so they had stopped to rest for the night. Sitting round a blazing fire, Modo had everyone’s undivided attention.
“Other than our obvious physical characteristics, the one thing that really differentiates us from other species is the fact that we are asexual.” Noticing a few blank faces, he explained. “The vexen race does not have males and females like the humans, dwarves and sprites do. We have no sexual organs and do not need a partner to reproduce.”
Seth still looked puzzled. “So how do you have sexual intercourse?” he asked.
Modo appeared slightly downcast as he answered. “We do not.”
“I am glad I am not a vexen then,” Seth whispered to his wife, making her blush.
“How do you reproduce then?” Cirren enquired, fascinated by what he was hearing.
“Once we reach a certain age, our bodies spontaneously create embryos inside of us.” Modo held up his hand so the back of it could clearly be seen in the firelight. “Has anyone noticed that my skin is getting lighter?” Now that he had brought it to their attention, everyone could clearly see that he was now a dark shade of grey instead of his usual black. “This indicates that my body has begun the process. I need to return to my people as soon as possible.”
Seth grinned. It was the first time he had smiled since leaving the wagon behind. “So there are going to be some little Modo’s running around. Will you bring them to see us once we have finally settled down after this quest is over?”
Modo did not return the smile. “That will not be possible.”
“Why not?” Dal asked, taken aback by the abruptness of his reply.
Modo started to speak, then stopped, unsure of the best way to explain it. He tried again. “Female bodies are designed to stretch to allow the birth of a child. Ours are not. When the children are ready to be born, they eat their way out of their parent. Death is unavoidable.”
The stunned silence was broken by Cirren’s loud retching.
There were tears in Dal’s eyes when she asked the next question. “You mentioned having multiple embryos. Is that the reason why? It is the only way to prevent your species becoming extinct.” Modo nodded.
“Are you not scared?” Dean asked him.
Modo shook his head. “Why should I be scared? I have known my entire life that this would happen. Most parents would be willing to give up their life for their children. The vexen just do it a little more dramatically.”
Modo was the only one who slept well that night. Dreams of babies tearing their way out of their parent’s stomachs haunted most of the dreams of the others. Except for Fajfah, who was unable to get to sleep at all. Eventually he gave up trying and took over his watch early, for which Brodin was initially grateful, until he started dreaming.
They skipped breakfast that morning, choosing instead to make an early start. It was approaching midday when they came to a fork in the road and Modo announced it was time for him to depart. All of the men shook hands with him, but did not speak. Under the circumstances, it was inappropriate for them to wish him good luck and goodbye sounded too final. Dal hugged him tight, tears streaming down her face. This parting was far more
painful than any of the others had been. Each time they had said goodbye to a companion, they believed they would see each other again. This time they knew it was not possible; Modo was going to face his death and there would be no coming back.
“We should let Tor know,” Brodin told Dean once Modo was out of sight. Dean nodded, looking around for any potential messengers, but spotting none. For the rest of the day he kept a lookout, finally spotting a large bird of prey as the sun was beginning to set.
“Message is on its way,” he informed Brodin when he rejoined the group.
That night, Fajfah seemed even more ill at ease, but still insisted that nothing was wrong. He volunteered to take first watch and nobody argued with him. When Dean awoke it was still dark. He tried to move, but found his hands were tied behind his back and his feet were bound together.
“What the..,” he started to exclaim, but was silenced by a sword point digging into his throat.
“Please remain silent,” a cold voice warned him. “You may sit up slowly. No sudden movements.” Dean did as instructed, feeling the blade tight against his skin until he was sitting upright. He looked around and saw that all of his companions were in the same predicament. Except for Fajfah, who was unfettered and talking quietly with a large man with long grey hair that reached down to his waist. Only Dal did not have her hands tied behind her back. Dean took it as a good sign that their captors had tied hers in front, had left her legs free and had not removed her from her husband’s side.
Ignoring the man standing next to him, holding an axe, Brodin called out. “What is going on here Fajfah?” He sounded surprisingly calm, though his eyes were burning with rage.
The half-dwarf stopped his conversation and turned to him. “Sorry,” he said, not sounding it in the least. “I was hoping to avoid this. It is only that tree sprite over there that my friends and I are interested in.” He gestured towards Oak with one hand. “We have been tracking him for a number of years and when we learned he had joined ranks with your brother, I volunteered to travel with you in the hope we would eventually meet up with Tor. It looks like I was right.”
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