Graloon pulled an old towel from his shoulder and laid it on the bar. He stepped forward to face the young man. “Fight who, son? Queen Isabelle? It sounds to me like she’s trying to protect herself. Now you want us to pose an even bigger threat to the queen? Why don’t you and your cronies find what attacked her and bring about some real justice?”
“Bah,” the man said, waving Graloon off, but when he turned back to look at the crowd, he found everyone had lost interest. His shoulders slumped as he looked to his friends. They were already getting up to leave, and he marched out of the bar after them.
“Well done,” complimented Heather.
“I just hope it lasts. Angry customers are good for business, but dead ones aren’t.” Graloon returned to the bar and picked up his towel before tending another table. The front door opened again, and three clads of armor walk in. Graloon worked his way through the tables to greet them. “Tyrell?”
The Captain Guard was in a full set of armor, and in spite of his menacing appearance, he held out his hand. “Hello, Graloon. It’s been a long time.”
Graloon nodded and shook the man’s hand. “I assume you aren’t in here for a drink, Captain Guard?”
“I wish.” Tyrell smiled politely. “I need to speak with one of your employees. Is Heather here?”
Graloon hesitated, but before he could deny Tyrell’s request, Heather was standing beside him. “Tyrell?” she questioned politely.
“Hello, Heather.” Tyrell bowed smartly with his head. “I’m here to extend an invitation to you.”
Heather’s eyebrows raised high. “I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure of such a formal invitation from such an important person.”
Tyrell chuckled politely. “Princess Victoria would appreciate your presence.”
Graloon put his hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
Courtesy immediately left Tyrell’s face. “We shall accompany you to the castle.”
Heather patted Graloon’s hand. “It’s okay, Graloon. I appreciate your concern, but I trust the princess, and Tyrell knows there aren’t enough soldiers in their army to protect them from Angst if something were to happen to me.”
The accompanying soldiers paled a bit at this reminder. “The request is urgent, Heather,” said Tyrell, “but I promise that it’s friendly in nature.”
“Please lead the way, Tyrell,” Heather replied with a broad smile.
Graloon watched the four of them leave and sighed deeply. “Why do I have the feeling I need to replace another barmaid?”
A short time later, Heather entered the maiden’s courtyard and instantly felt out of place. Angst had described it on several occasions, but it was a surreal experience having only seen it through his eyes. Tyrell didn’t accompany her; instead, he merely escorted her to the entrance and instructed her to wait inside. Heather wandered around for several minutes, feeling like she didn’t belong, and even wondered if she was in the right place. At the moment she decided to leave, the royal princess arrived, and Heather fell into an immediate curtsy.
Victoria casually pulled her up. “Thank you, Heather, but as I’ve said before, that isn’t necessary when it’s just us.”
Heather had a hard time with this. She knew the princess and Angst were friends, but she’d been far removed from this part of his life. Angst may know her, but she didn’t, and felt the great need to be cautious. The princess was young, quite young, but not at all foolish. Heather looked the princess over, and felt her own years weighing heavily. Straightening her dress as she rose, Heather smiled her best smile, the one she usually saved for Angst when he got home late and smelled like the Wizard’s Revenge.
The princess scrutinized her face, which surprised Heather. It wasn’t the competitive female-to-female judgment of an opponent, but a more gentle and thorough observation.
“Thank you for coming, Heather. I regret I couldn’t invite you myself rather than sending Tyrell, but I’m not allowed the luxury of leaving the castle.”
“What can I do for Your Majesty?” Heather asked.
“Please call me Victoria when we’re alone,” the princess replied, sitting on a bench near the fountain.
Heather noticed that she hadn’t asked to be called Tori, and the ends of her mouth began tiring from the smile. Victoria waited, so Heather sat beside her.
“I wanted to meet with you for several reasons,” Victoria began. “You’re the wife of one of my best friends, and I’m grateful that you’ve been supportive of that friendship. You know, Angst talks about you all the time.”
“I’m sure he does,” Heather couldn’t help the sardonic tone in her voice.
Victoria laughed pleasantly. “It’s true. He doesn’t complain as often as you think. He loves you very much.”
Heather nodded with fake appreciation while choking down the comment ‘as much as you think.’
“I wanted to see you because I miss my friend, your husband, and feel a bit responsible for the danger he’s in,” Victoria said, looking down and wringing her hands.
“Responsible?” Heather asked.
Victoria shook her head, her long dark hair flipping back a bit too gloriously for Heather’s mood. “It’s complicated. Just, well, please know I’ve done my absolute best to protect him and help him. I don’t want to frighten you, but he’s in great danger.”
“Have you heard something? Has he sent word about their mission?” Heather asked quickly, unable to contain her hope and worry.
“No, Heather, I haven’t. I’m sorry.”
“You’ll pardon me, Victoria, if I say this conversation isn’t helping much.” Heather said, holding onto her knees to keep her hands from balling up into fists.
The princess responded with a tiny sigh, looking as though she wanted to say more but for some reason couldn’t. Heather knew the feeling; she was biting her tongue so much it should have started bleeding. Heather felt like she was meeting the ‘other woman,’ who wasn’t actually the other woman. She didn’t believe for a second that Angst and Victoria were romantically involved—that wasn’t Angst’s way. He may push the envelope of her comfort zone, every day, but he wouldn’t outright cheat on her. Still, Victoria was his friend, and the princess. Heather didn’t know what was acceptable to discuss or how she was supposed to act. That uncertainty made her uncomfortable, so she faced it head-on.
“I appreciate your concern for Angst, Victoria. I have a lot of faith in my husband. I truly believe he can do almost anything, when he believes in himself.” Saying this out loud was actually a reminder, she did believe in her husband, and it made her feel a little better.
Victoria nodded and smiled. “Thanks for saying that. I needed to hear it.”
“So, is that why I’m here? I have to admit to feeling a bit odd consoling you because my husband’s in danger.”
Victoria giggled. “I was hoping we could support each other,” she said then quickly sobered and went on. “But there is something else. I need you to move into the castle.”
Heather gasped as if punched in the gut. “This is the second offer I’ve had to move out of my house today. Is something going on? Something more than a bit of aggressive questioning?”
“I believe you could be in danger,” the princess replied, offering only another empty answer.
“From who, Victoria?”
“I’m not sure.” Victoria’s voice became very quiet and she turned away from Heather. “Maybe from my mother.”
“Your mother?” said Heather, her voice rising. “What is she going to do? Is she going to start having people killed? Do I need to warn everyone?” Heather stood suddenly.
“No. No, nothing like that.” Victoria was careful with every word she spoke. “But I fear your life could be in danger if you don’t stay.”
Heather pondered this, and narrowed her eyes. “You aren’t telling me everything. Actually, I don’t feel like you’re telling me anything.”
“I can’t tell you everything, Heather,” said Victoria in an almost pleading tone that sounded desperate for Heather to believe.
“I should go. This doesn’t feel right.” Heather looked back toward the entrance. “Thank you for the invitation, but—”
The princess took a deep breath and stood. “You can’t go. I’d prefer you to be my guest, but if necessary, I will order you to stay at the castle.”
Heather turned to face her. “I don’t understand, Victoria. You claim to be Angst’s friend, but you threaten me with arrest?” She felt dizzy and her shoulders knotted up with tension.
“It doesn’t need to be an arrest, and I’m doing this for Angst. It’s the only way I can ensure you’re safe. I can’t tell you any more than that.”
“And why is my safety so important to you, Your Majesty?” queried Heather defensively.
Victoria smiled, an affectionate expression washing over her face. “It’s not just your safety, Heather. I want to keep your baby safe too.”
Heather’s eyes went wide, her swiftly conflicting emotions making her even more lightheaded. “I...I. What? I don’t have a baby!”
Victoria grabbed her hand and squeezed comfortingly. “You didn’t know?” she said in an excited, high-pitched voice. “You’re pregnant.”
24
Angst woke with a start to find Hector’s concerned face leaning over him. Hector had been lightly patting his cheek while Rose and Dallow called his name to wake him up. He blinked rapidly as Chryslaenor’s dreams slowly faded into the colorless forest of Grayhollow.
“What happened?” Angst asked, sitting up to lean on his elbows. He looked over to see the dog curled beside him. Its tail wagged sleepily at his attention.
“We kind of lost you again, after the whole thing with the dog,” Dallow answered, his brow furrowed with concern.
“How long?” Angst asked. He looked around for water, his thin lips dry and smacking loudly.
“About twelve hours,” Hector replied.
“Ugh.” Rose stomped a tiny threatening foot. “I hate it when you do this!” she yelled, storming off.
“You’re good at making her angry, aren’t you?” Dallow asked with a mischievous grin.
“It’s a gift,” said Angst, shrugging one shoulder negligently. He stood, walked over to Chryslaenor, and returned the sword to his back. “Hector had suggested I let go so Chryslaenor could ‘do its thing.’ I did. I think it’s getting better, and I don’t feel nearly as tired as I have in the past.”
“You still died,” Hector said, rubbing the scar along his jaw line with his thumb. “Though it didn’t take you as long to come back. I wonder if there isn’t some happy medium you could find.”
Angst shrugged again and looked around the campsite. “Hey, where are Tarness and Ivan?”
“Hunting. Hopefully not each other,” Dallow replied. “We’re short on food since last night’s attack.”
Ivan and Tarness returned thirty minutes later, looking more roughed up than the small rabbits they’d killed. Ivan sported a fresh black eye, while Tarness had a fat lip, and an ugly cut on his hand. The wounds weren’t life threatening, but the silent tension between the men was caustic.
Hector eyed them both up and down. “It looks like the rabbits should be carrying you.”
“Ivan’s lucky he made it back alive,” was all Tarness would say. He threw the rabbits down near the fire in frustration.
“Don’t speak to me like that, with your lazy, fat, black, magical—” Before Ivan could finish, the visor of his helm slammed shut.
“That’s enough, both of you,” Angst stated firmly. Ivan struggled to lift the visor, but Angst’s power continued holding it shut. “We have enough to deal with, and don’t need to be fighting each other.”
“Angst, if he insulted you, or Rose, or any of us like he’s been insulting me for the last two hours, you would’ve killed him,” Tarness growled.
Angst turned to Ivan and glared at him in frustration. “Let’s talk.”
Ivan’s entire suit of armor straightened and locked, forcing him to remain rigid as a statue. Angst willed the armor to lean back slightly, spin around, and follow him into the woods, like a doll being dragged by a child.
Locked in the armor, unable to bend or move in any way, Ivan bellowed, creating new curse words that made even Rose’s eyebrows raise. When Angst felt they were far enough from the others, he forced Ivan’s armor into a sitting position. Ivan’s legs were spread awkwardly as he was leaned back against a tree.
“I don’t know where to start, but you’re getting worse.” Angst paced in front of the knight, who continued to struggle in his metallic prison. “I realize that the orange river of muck seems to be causing you pain, but from what I’ve seen, it turns animals into monsters. I don’t think it’s the reason you’re changing into more of an ass.”
“I won’t be spoken to this way!” Ivan yelled from inside his helm.
With a gentle flick of Angst’s wrist, the visor flipped open. He leaned over to peer inside at Ivan. “Are you going crazy in there? Is this why the queen wanted to get rid of you?”
Ivan’s face was red and his bloodshot eyes large and wild. He looked ready to explode as he spewed more curses at Angst.
“This is your last chance,” Angst warned. “I’m not going to put up with your insults, your attitude, or your bigotry any longer.”
“What are you going to do, kill me?” Ivan asked, spitting anger with every word.
“No, I’ll leave you here to fend for yourself. Hopefully nothing hungry comes to visit while you ponder your life choices.” Angst turned and began walking back to the others.
“Angst, no!” Ivan yelled. “Angst! Get back here!”
“Think about it,” Angst yelled over his shoulder as he left Ivan alone.
Angst found his friends sitting around the campfire. Rose had returned and was cooking the rabbits. She gave him a bitter look but said nothing.
“Is he dead?” asked Tarness hopefully.
“We had words,” said Angst simply. “He’s...thinking about the things he said. I’ll go back for him in an hour or so. Save him some food.”
It took three more days to make their way through Grayhollow on foot. They’d been able to gather their tents, some packs, and a bit of food, but had no luck finding the horses and could only assume the worst. Everything else was gone, leaving them with an awkward mishmash of heavy gear to carry themselves.
The Mendahir Rise seemed to be a one-time event that Dallow couldn’t stop theorizing about. His eyes flashed from green to white and back to green as he referred to stored books about the Mendahir. Angst appreciated Dallow’s fascination. He appreciated even more the fact that Rose was so tired of hearing about it, she decided to walk with Angst for a while.
“I would’ve killed the horses a long time ago if that’s all it took for you to talk with me a bit,” Angst teased Rose as they made their way through the forest. "You've been...busy."
“You don’t understand,” she answered, avoiding the bait.
"I know the difference between flirting and something more than flirting," Angst jerked his head in Dallow’s direction. “I understand he’s still married.”
“I understand that you are too, yet here we are, walking and talking,” she snapped.
He could tell she had little patience for this conversation, so he let it drop. Angst looked back to find the dog sniffing a nearby tree. “Here, Scar. Come, boy.”
“That’s an awful name, by the way,” she said in a surly voice.
“It’s appropriate. What would you have named it?” Angst asked.
“What about Mighty?” she suggested hopefully.
“And that’s why I named him,” he replied, grinning obnoxiously.
They head north to the Ruautu River, doing everything they could to avoid the orange muck while remaining close enough to continue tracking its source. The chasm had begun to split and fork chaotically, sometimes creating a sing
le thin line across their path, and other times overtaking an entire open field with an elaborate spider web of glowing orange. They were often forced to backtrack and zigzag around the obstacles, frequently getting turned around. Any time they got too close, Scar would whimper. Closer yet and Ivan became sick.
Ivan had little to say after his ‘conversation’ with Angst, only angry mutters that everyone simply ignored. Most of them felt Ivan was still upset at Angst and Tarness, but Angst knew otherwise, having seen the wild-eyed look of crazy steal over Ivan’s features. He pondered the knight’s continuing descent. Angst originally felt there was nothing more than a personality conflict between them, tainted by a large amount of bigotry. But the man was becoming increasingly irrational as they remained close to the orange muck. If that was the cause of Ivan’s behavior, he should be kept away before it drove him mad or Angst killed him.
Angst also worried about his friends. They were covered from head to toe in exhaustion, not having seen a real bed or eaten a full meal for almost a week. Their food supply was low, the terrain was challenging, and everyone seemed testy and irritable. They were also alone, not having passed a road or a town since Oakhaven. Other than the occasional odd creature nobody recognized and a few rabbits, there was barely any sign of life. It was eerie and unsettling.
“We need to find a place to camp,” said Angst, stopping to look around the nearby woods. Scar immediately yelped, and Ivan clutched his stomach and moaned. He was already turning pale.
“I feel like we’re going in circles trying to avoid this stuff.” Tarness huffed in frustration, flopping to the ground. Everyone followed his lead, taking the opportunity to rest their feet. “Are we even heading to the source anymore?”
Ivan remained standing, still holding his stomach. “Could we keep moving a bit? I think this is a bad place to rest.”
Angst nodded in agreement and helped Tarness to his feet. “Let’s go just a little further, until it gets better for Ivan and Scar.”
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