Apparently she knew where she going, because she set off through the stone hallways at a quick pace. Rodrick and I had to jog to catch up. I heard her muttering under her breath, but only caught a few words. “Was it a left after the pig tapestry?” and “This must be right.”
“Do you know where we’re going, Pepper, or are we going to find ourselves in the dungeons?” I called ahead.
“Shut it, Mr. Sarcastic, I think we’re just about there. Yes, see…”
We rounded a corner and a large archway opened into a loud, bustling kitchen. Servants busily scurried around the steamy space. Pots and pans clanged and shouts laced the air.
“Be right back.” Pepper pressed the bundle of fabric into my arms and ventured into the chaos.
After a couple of minutes she rushed out with a tray of food. Her eyes were wide and she muttered, “It’s a madhouse in there. Okay, now we need to find our way up to the tower. I was told how to get to the kitchens, but I’m not sure I remember how they said to get to the tower. There should be a stairwell close by that takes us to a corridor.”
She craned her neck and wandered off. “This way, guys – yes, here it is.”
We followed behind and found her ascending a circular flight of steps. After the long afternoon of walking, the muscles in my legs ached. My sedentary life was catching up with me. Geeks like me exercised our brains, not our brawn. Not that I was ready to consider joining track and field or anything.
I braced my hands against my knees to help propel myself after Pepper, who didn’t seem fazed by the exercise. When we reached the top of the stairwell, we entered a long corridor. Arched openings at the top of the exterior wall breathed fresh air into the hallway. If it weren’t so dark outside, I could almost imagine what it would look like with moonlight touching the pale stones that surrounded us.
“I think we go this way,” Pepper said with a little too much uncertainty for my comfort. She hung a right and looked behind herself to check that we were following.
When we made it halfway to the tower doorway, a loud bell clanged. The sound reverberated in the air and echoed off the walls. I resisted the urge to cup my hands over my ears and turned to Rodrick for guidance. His eyes widened and I barely heard his voice over the alarm. “They must have been caught.”
I froze and searched for Pepper, who had stopped in place, holding her tray of food for the awaiting princess. She didn’t seem frightened, but determined. Her mouth moved but I couldn’t hear her, although I could read her lips. “Let’s go.”
She was ready to sprint down the hallway and make a run for it. All I could do was stand still and watch everything around me like it was a movie playing one frame at a time. I’m not good when I’m put on the spot. That’s just the sad truth. The longer I stood absorbing the chaos around me, the more I realized how afraid I was. This was what I had wanted to avoid and now everything was falling apart around us. I should have followed my initial instinct to just get Pepper out of here. I was no hero. Why did I let myself think this would work? How was this different from any other part of my life?
I dug into my pocket in search of my worry stone and I was surprised to find it was warm rather than icy. I withdrew my hand and was startled to see blue light seeping out from between my fingers. Slowly, I revealed the mysterious object and found a glowing pod. Was this the same glassy, black rock I’d been carrying around with me?
Shouts rang out down either end of the corridor. Soldiers were coming and there was no way out. The open arches above us were too high to scale, even though Rodrick was trying to convince us to give it a try. As I stared up into the darkness outside, I noticed a pair of violet eyes peering down at me. A chill ran down my spine and all my doubts and fears were tossed aside as a thought formed in my head. Our only hope.
Chapter 16 - Slag’s Triumph
Once I called to it, the tamerac flew down to me and landed on my outstretched arm. Its expectant eyes searched my fingers for a treat just as Pepper rushed to my side with her tray. I snatched some food off the plate and offered it to the creature, which quickly relieved me of it. He would need a reward for what I wanted him to do. Hopefully, he would understand my whispered instructions.
Pepper’s concerned voice couldn’t pierce my concentration. I was intent on my plan. It had to work. I didn’t want to get trapped in this world, or worse, die. There had to be a way out.
Soldiers’ foot falls replaced the echo of the bell and soon we were surrounded by men clad in black leather uniforms with Slag’s emblem on their chests. The tamerac flew over the guards’ heads with its claws clenched tightly around my gift. It curved and swooped out one of the open arches and I breathed a sigh of relief, hoping it was as smart as I needed it to be. If it wasn’t, then we would never get home.
“Malick,” Rodrick sputtered.
My attention snapped back to what was happening around me. Standing in the forefront of the group was Malick. It was him, I was sure of it, but he seemed different somehow. Maybe it was the devilish grin he was wearing as he stared at us. It made me uneasy.
“I hear you’re looking for me,” he said and flashed his teeth.
Rodrick stepped forward. “We came to rescue you – did Red not find you?”
“Aye. He, Elam and Gabe found us,” Malick answered as two soldiers cut through the crowd with three prisoners in tow. I recognized the soldiers as Malick’s friends and the boys’ fathers. They didn’t seem very upset about restraining their children for all to see.
“Red,” Pepper whispered under her breath.
Red’s head hung so low that I couldn’t see his face, but his cheeks were crimson. I didn’t have to see him to know how upset he was. Elam stood beside him and communicated all we needed to know through a single look. Malick had captured them. He wasn’t the man they knew anymore.
As this information filtered through our party, shoulders slumped and all hope evaporated. I felt Red’s pain as he was held before us and laughed at by his own father, a man who no longer felt love for his own kin, a man changed and poisoned by Slag. If this was what he had feared would happen to his son when I first met him, it was for good reason.
“Thank you for delivering my boy to me. I’ve wanted him by my side. He will make a great addition to Slag’s army – you all will. Well, most of you,” Malick said and laughed at Pepper, whose face drained of color.
A soldier leaned in to speak to Malick. “Sir, Prince Braylon is waiting…”
“Of course. Let me take you to meet your fate. Don’t worry, you will soon be passionate for your new lord, King Slag, and then we will be united once again.” Malick slapped Rodrick on the shoulder, who seemed to be considering if a good punch in the face would cure Malick of his insanity. Instead, he clenched his jaw tightly and nodded.
We were surrounded and led down several corridors to a large, open chamber. The darkness in the room seemed to be smothering the light from the candles that hung on chandeliers from the ceiling. A chill coursed through my body and the hairs on my arms stood on end.
A man wearing a simple golden crown, dressed in black, stood before an enormous hearth. He turned to face us as we were brought before him. His eyes shared a similar dull sheen as Malick’s, like the light inside them had been snuffed out and replaced with a piece of ice.
“Thank you, Malick. Slag will be informed of your usefulness. You have certainly proven your worth.” Malick bowed and moved back, with his friends. “I am Prince Braylon. And who are all of you?”
I was relieved not to be first in line because I wasn’t sure my voice would come. One by one the others said their names, and last came Pepper and myself. My throat dried up and I stuttered as I spoke.
“I understand you thought you could come here and rescue Malick, his friends and the Princess. That was foolish. I bet you wish you hadn’t come now.” Prince Braylon stared at the crimson flames and I thought I saw sadness reflected in his eyes. “No matter. We will find use for you now. Malick and company, I bel
ieve some of these young men are your sons? Which one is yours?”
Malick pointed to Red and said, “This one is my boy. I was promised he could serve with me. The other three over there are my men’s boys.”
“Of course, I will keep our promise,” Prince Braylon answered.
“I, however made no such promise,” an icy voice spat from the other side of the room.
All the soldiers, including Prince Braylon, knelt down on one knee. From a shadowy doorway came a figure. I had never seen anyone before who looked more like the grim reaper. He was missing the scythe, otherwise he’d be a perfect match. A black cloak wrapped his tall frame and short jet hair covered his head. He glided toward us, never taking his eyes off Prince Braylon. As he passed by me I noticed the skin on his face was so pale that the thin veins beneath could be seen. If I thought the room was cold before, when this man entered, it grew arctic. I rubbed my arms for warmth and Pepper huddled next to me.
“Why did you not call me?” he asked Prince Braylon.
“I am sorry, your Highness. I did not think to disturb you.”
“No, you did not think. I thought you learned after the last time that I wish to be notified immediately when anyone is brash enough to come into my castle and my land, thinking they can do as they please.”
“My apologies, King Slag,” Prince Braylon mumbled before standing back up. The other soldiers followed suit, but their heads remained bowed.
“We can’t have people thinking they can do as they wish. We can’t have them thinking there’s hope.” Slag pronounced the ‘p’ with a popping sound and turned to stare at each one of us. I couldn’t bear to meet his eyes and looked at his chest instead.
“However, we could use more soldiers. I see some of you will be of great use to me. Others –” he paused before Pepper “– will not.”
My heart began to drum in my chest so hard that I worried it would break free and fall into my stomach. Pepper’s fingers curled around mine, reminding me to keep breathing. This was very quickly going from bad to worse. My plan. I had to remember my plan. It was the only way.
“I have no use for more servants, and I wouldn’t waste a sliver of stone from my scepter on a girl. She can be dispensed with. Take her away and kill her.”
Pepper’s grip tightened around my hand as two guards stepped forward.
“No! Wait!” I called out and stepped between her and the men approaching her. Rodrick and Red broke from line as well and flanked us.
Shrill laugher crackled from Slag. “Do you think you can stop me, boy? How amusing.”
“No, sir. I know I can’t stop you and your great power. My friend and I are not from your land and have no part in this war. I have information you may be interested in. If I give it to you, I want your word that you will not harm either of us.”
A smirk slid across Slag’s face. “Many questions come to mind, child. Why would a young boy like yourself hold valuable information that I don’t already have and what makes you think I can’t get this information from any of these men once I have them under my control?”
I swallowed hard and answered, “Because none of them have been in King Richard’s private chambers and seen his secret papers.”
Pepper and Red shifted to stare at me, and I tried to ignore their frightened glances.
“I’m intrigued, young one. Are you able to prove this claim?”
I felt like throwing up as I picked the folded paper out of my pocket and handed it to Slag. “I couldn’t take the journal I found the secret information in because I couldn’t carry it discretely, but this paper proves I was at the king’s desk.”
Slag unfolded it and his brows pulled together while he read it. When he was through, he stared at me with curiosity and then directed his attention to Malick. “It seems the king was going to place orders to detain you and your family, Malick. Looks like it was a good time to switch sides.”
Red leaned over to look at me with a hurt expression, but I couldn’t meet his stares. I’d lose my nerve. Slag edged so close to me that I could see the veins pulsing in his neck. “What a little thief you are. Well, I am willing to listen to this valuable information. If I don’t find it useful, then there is no deal – understand?”
It felt like I was perched at a one-hundred foot high precipice, ready to jump without a safety net. If I was wrong about any of my assumptions, then it was game over. For all of us.
“No, Nim, don’t tell him anything,” Pepper yanked so hard on my arm that I flinched.
“Shh. I have to. I can’t let him hurt you.” I pulled myself free of her grasp. “I assume you’re aware of the princess’s power?”
Slag snorted. “Is this all? Of course. Every generation there is a child born who is linked to the Elder Tree. A caretaker with a connection that shares the great tree’s power. The princess was this person. This is why I destroyed the Elder Tree and have the princess locked high in my tower. I have not killed her, because if I do, then another will be born to replace her, opening up the possibility of rekindling the life of the Elder Tree. If I keep her in her tower, then there will never be hope of that. You bore me.”
“Then you are unaware of how to end the cycle for good? Destroying all possibility of the Elder Tree ever being brought back?”
Rodrick, Red, Elam and Gabe lunged for me but Slag’s guards secured them. Their shouts were muffled when their lives were threatened by drawn swords.
“No, Nim – please, no!” I had to keep going, as hard as it was to ignore Pepper’s pained whispers.
“Go on, Nim. It seems your friends don’t wish you to tell me your secrets, which makes me more curious,” Slag said.
“You have to kill the princess.”
Prince Braylon, who had been remaining quiet near the fire, stared at me with a hardened grimace. Shouts rose again from my friends, which were hard to ignore.
“Ha, ha. Well, Nimrod, I fear you are wrong. Like I just told you, if I kill the princess, a new child will be born to take her place.”
“Not if you kill her at the roots of the Elder Tree.”
The grin on Slag’s face faltered and Elam’s insults were hushed. The room fell silent as everyone watched their king ponder my words.
“You say you found this information in King Richards’s papers?”
“Yes, sir, I did. Written in his own hand, hidden in his desk,” I muttered.
“Bring Princess Amerovia to me,” Slag ordered some nearby soldiers.
Two guards slipped from the room and we all waited for their return. Minutes passed until footfalls could be heard coming down the outside corridor. They reemerged with a young woman in their grasp. Her long, flowing brown hair was tangled around her face, but it couldn’t conceal her amazing beauty. Amerovia’s blue eyes darted around and finally settled on Prince Braylon, who returned her stares.
“Good evening, Princess Amerovia, nice of you to join us. You look terrible. Have you been getting enough beauty sleep?” Slag chuckled and waved lazily at me. “This boy has been filling my head with some very interesting stories.”
Her gaze broke from the prince and fell on me instead. Kindness and curiosity were reflected in her eyes as she studied me. All I could do was smile weakly and swallow the lump that had formed in my throat. Once she heard about the trouble I’d stirred up, her sweet grin would be lost for good.
“What sort of stories?” Amerovia’s soft voice inquired.
“He tells me I can stop the possibility of your successor’s rebirth and destroy any chance of the Elder Tree’s power touching this land ever again.”
“Does he?” she asked softly.
“He tells me that if I kill you at the roots of the Elder Tree, then my reign will be absolute and this land will be mine. Does he speak the truth?” Slag seemed to be holding his breath as he awaited her answer.
Amerovia gave me a sad smile. “It appears you have given away my secret and finally released me from my torture.”
My heart actually f
elt like it stopped in my chest. Prince Braylon turned away and stepped toward the fire. He was the only person to dare breathe or move. Everyone else could only stare at the beautiful princess and wait for Slag’s response.
“Prince Braylon, do you have an issue with killing the princess? Do you not wish to see our reign uncontested?”
The prince’s voice was low and barely audible. “No, sir. I have always been your most loyal subject. I will do as you ask.”
“Perfection, but it makes me wonder just the same. It seems this little secret has been kept from me. I wonder, Prince Braylon, is this news a surprise to you, or have you not been as loyal as I thought? Keeping secrets from me? Did my scepter not pierce your heart like I believed it had?”
Braylon spun around and tore open his tunic, revealing his chest. Beneath his skin, dark lines condensed into a charcoal knot on the left side of his sternum. “Is this evidence enough for you? I never knew what this boy speaks of. I must not have been trusted enough, even though we were once promised to marry.” His nostrils flared and his eyes burned with anger.
Amerovia stood tall in the midst of Slag’s and Braylon’s heated discussion, almost forgotten. Her dress was in tatters, and her skin, dirty. I wondered how long she had been in the tower. How long had she awaited her death after no rescue came? Was she truly relieved to think her end was nearly here?
Something inside me snapped. More than ever, I wanted her to want to live, to fight and survive. If she wouldn’t do it for herself, then I would for her. I had been powerless to help Mom. No amount of breakfasts in bed, walks to the store or reading aloud helped save her from death, no matter how hard I tried. When the end drew near, I could see the same look on her face that Princess Amerovia wore now. She just wanted to be released from her painful life. Well, not if I could help it. I was the one who’d created this story, and I would not allow the princess to die.
“How could you do this – I trusted you.” Red whispered from behind me.
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