From the moment Rayne had healed the cat, only weeks ago, the feline had formed a bond with him. And not only with the king, but the cat was friendly to Anna and Indrid as well. In fact, both cats were friendly, but only to the children. Older men and women must remind them of the harsh treatment of their captors. They roared and lunged at their cage masters daily. Indrid had been more reserved in his affection towards the cats and would join Montague in the stadium seats during their visits in the open arena.
They’d named the cat that Rayne had healed Apollo, and the other, Maul. Apollo was all white with ice-blue eyes and turned out to be a girl. Maul’s eyes were as green as Anna’s. Almost twice the size of Apollo, he had to bow down for the children to pet his head.
Neither Anna nor Rayne said anything to anyone about the incident, not even to Indrid. Montague swore not to speak another word about it either. And even to them, he would act as if the event had never happened.
“Where did you get that? Does Monte know?” Rayne asked, creeping out steadily from his feathered cave.
“Of course not. But I know he keeps a key at his chambers. I waited until he fell asleep last night to get it,” Anna said, smirking. “Now come! Let’s go get Apollo. We still have to meet up with Indrid.” She took him by the hand.
“But wait. My guards will stop us,” Rayne said.
“Indrid is our guard for the day. Gretchen agreed to it. She just doesn’t know we are going to The Ponds.”
The Ikarus arena was quiet. Only men raking the sand and gravel pit were there, cleaning the perimeter. A bloody path led down a tunnel to the cells where the cats were held. The stadium had seen another glorified battle of criminals the previous night.
The giant beasts rose to their feet on sight of Anna and Rayne.
“What if the cat master puts out a public alert when he finds out Apollo is missing?” Rayne asked, leading the cat out of the cage by her tight collar. He loosened it.
“I think Monte will know that we took her when he finds his key missing. He might feel more comfortable knowing Apollo is with us since your usual guards won’t be,” she winked. “Monte knows that nothing would dare defy ‘that beast’ as he calls her. We’ll be protected.”
“He would have a heart attack if he knew we were going beyond the kingdom walls without supervision,” said Rayne.
Anna smiled. “Then let’s not give him one,” she said, winking.
“It’s our special place. I don’t want to be banned from leaving the kingdom.”
“We won’t be,” said Anna.
Rayne stopped and looked back at the other cat. “I wish we could take Maul too. I feel bad leaving him in here alone.”
“There will be people around. When he listens to you as good as Apollo, we can take him. Maybe next time,” Anna said.
It wasn’t often that Rayne wanted to leave the castle when he wasn’t in class at the library. If the king were to venture around, officially, Ikarus guards would have to escort him if he did. But Anna would sneak him out from time to time to go just with her. The boy would always disguise himself in public, pulling the hood of his black cloak low over his eyes. Mostly, if they didn’t visit The Ponds, he liked to walk around the top of the kingdom wall to stare across the world. Aside from Gretchen and Montague, Anna had spent the most time with the boy.
Just midway down the plateau, on a flat break in the sloping rocks, Anna spotted Indrid near the confines of a small cave along the path. He looked tall and broad. She always thought he was handsome. But she never told him that.
Indrid hugged Anna and kissed her on the cheek. Rayne remained with Apollo at the edge of the brush.
“There he is! I can’t believe it,” Indrid shouted, “I’m surprised the sun didn’t come out.” As Indrid approached, the angle of his view revealed Apollo through the thick stalks of woodgrass. He jumped back, startled. “What the—”
“Relax,’ said Anna. “We’re going to stay downstream by the cattail marsh. She will be fine. You’ve seen how she listens to Rayne. Besides, it’s the king’s order. Right?” she said, looking to Rayne with lidless eyes, hoping he’d interpret the language on her face telling him to go along with her.
“Right,” said Rayne.
Before Indrid approached Rayne, he turned to Apollo and bowed, careful not to make eye-contact, not until the cat replied with the same sign of respect. Once Apollo bowed back, the tension in Indrid’s expression vanished.
“My lord! My king! How may I serve you? Eggs, fish, berry juice? Anything you desire! More books?” Indrid laughed. “By the time you claim the throne you will be a walking history book.”
Anna hit Indrid across his firm chest. “Stop teasing!” She knew that he was trying to make Rayne relax.
“I’m just glad that he came. It’s nice to see my stepbrother outside rather than crammed in the library basement from dawn till dusk,” Indrid said.
“I promised Anna that I would,” said Rayne, walking out from the brush with Apollo leashed and by his side.
“Though, I bet Monte is happy about that. Burying yourself in books, I mean. He says that an illiterate king who listens and learns from others is far more valuable than a literate king who refuses. With being literate and having the drive to learn, I can only imagine what you’ll accomplish,” said Indrid.
When Anna saw Rayne smile, it made her smile.
“He will be an amazing king,” Anna added. She caught Rayne’s stare. They both had dragon-green eyes.
“Come,” Indrid said, taking her hand. “Walk with me.”
Trailing behind them, Rayne climbed onto Apollo’s back and followed. Anna felt bad about leaving him out of conversations, especially when it was just the three of them.
“You look beautiful,” said Indrid.
Anna blushed. She looked to her feet.
By the way he spoke to her, looked at her, and the way he acted around her, Anna knew that Indrid had intimate feelings for her. She loved him, but as a family member. And yes, she liked to be called beautiful. But too many compliments that she couldn’t reciprocate made her feel bad. For eight years, they’d spent their childhood together. He felt to her more like her older brother.
“Now, we’ll never see each other.”
“Why? What do you mean?” Anna asked.
“You’re on my watch, and if I let that beast come with us to The Ponds, Montague will make sure to keep you from seeing me,” Indrid said in a resentful tone.
“No. My cousins would make sure of that.”
Indrid stopped in the middle of the path. “Is that what you want?”
Anna tilted her head. “Of course not! Are you serious?” she asked, half-frowning.
His lack of rebuttal affirmed that he was. Indrid continued walking.
“They won’t find out,” she said, following him.
Indrid’s face became serious. Anna could tell that something else was bothering him.
“The last time I saw my father, he wanted me to play chess with him. I never told him, but I hated that game. I thought it was boring. So I didn’t play. I remember the disappointing look on his face. When I was a boy, we played a lot. He usually won. And when I won, I knew it was because he let me win. Now that he’s gone, I would give anything to play chess one last time with him, just to see him smile again.” Indrid looked into Anna’s eyes. “I don’t want to leave Ikarus without letting the people I care about know how I feel about them.”
“So, you’re eighteen now,” Anna said, quickly changing the subject. “Are you ready to go back to Grale and claim your land?”
“I guess so. I don’t even remember what it was like living there. What if no one remembers me? Or worse, what if they dislike me?”
“You are the son of Arland Cole, one of the most respected counts in history. I’m sure the people will serve you just as honorably as they did your father. You are brave and you have the skills of a warrior and the knowledge a leader should have,” said Anna.
“But I’
ve never actually been in a war or a battle,” Indrid reminded her. “How about you? Are you returning to Mern?”
The thought of leaving Ikarus made her anxious. “I’ve actually been thinking a lot about it lately, and honestly as much as I missed my home when I left, life here is much better than what I knew then. I don’t want to abandon my new family that we have made here. I was only eight. You were nine. And Rayne was born that year. I worry that he will be lost and vulnerable without us,” Anna said.
“Why? Have you seen him lately?” Indrid smiled.
Anna knew he was referring to Rayne’s stature.
“He is the leader of Men. And when he gets older, he will become the acting king of Ikarus. He’ll probably be as tall as a castle by then. How vulnerable could the most protected man in the world be?” Indrid asked.
At The Ponds, the water was cool and clear. There were others there near the swamp tree at the water’s edge, swinging in from ropes attached to thick moss-smothered branches. Since it was now safe to walk through the land without the worry of getting stuck in the mud, many others took advantage of the much-needed drought as well.
Within the overgrown border of cattail and lily pads, the king stopped. “I think we should settle here with Apollo,” he said.
Anna knew Rayne didn’t want to be seen. Not only did she bring Apollo to relax him, she thought it would be an excuse for them to stay secluded. The king felt more comfortable at the opposite end of the pond where there were no people.
“You’re staying here?” Indrid asked, looking at Anna.
“Yes, we’ll stay here with Apollo,” she said. “If anyone else sees her they’ll panic.”
“Come on!” Indrid begged. “Just for a little while. Apollo will stay here with Rayne. Come with me to the ropes. It’s fun! The water isn’t deep. You can stand.”
After almost drowning when she was a child, Anna was terrified of water. Indrid knew this. “I’m going to stay here,” she said.
Indrid grimaced. “Fine,” he said, walking away.
Anna laid out a large blanket on the damp grass at the corner of the pool where she and Rayne found privacy in the overgrowth. The petals of the slimy lily pads brushed across her feet as she dunked them in the shallow end of the pond.
“Why don’t you ever go in?” Rayne asked.
“You know why,” she replied.
“But I’m right here. I would never let you drown—ever!”
“So you would jump in after me?”
Rayne smiled. “Without question,” he said. “But you’re from Mern. Your people are surrounded by water. Doesn’t it remind you of home?”
“Except it’s no longer my home. This is my home—Ikarus. You are my home,” she said. “All of you.”
Looking back to her childhood, before coming to Ikarus, there was an emptiness that she could never explain. Even at her hut, where she had eaten and slept every night for nearly nine years, she never felt home. Her uncle William had only shown her strict, tough love. She had had a schedule to follow. The cleanliness and upkeep of not only their hut, but their entire island—half a square mile of forest land capped with seaweed beaches—was her responsibility. She had never been respected nor thanked for her duties; they were expected of her. If she didn’t sweep the docks or re-thatch their palm-leaved roof after storms, William would lock her out of the house, unfed, for the night. And she had never been allowed to leave their little island. But as a girl, she had never desired to have visitors, not if others treated her like her uncle did.
It hadn’t been until she met Montague and Gretchen did she feel wanted. They actually cared for her. They listened to her when she spoke, like she was important. They gave her the experience of having parents and the perks that come with having a family: the company, the laughs, and the love.
“I’m going to be lost without you and Indrid,” Rayne said. “I mean I love Monte and Greta, but I will have no one else to talk to. Everyone is afraid of me.”
Anna realized how much the inevitable fact that the king’s stepsister and stepbrother would be leaving him soon would hurt. When she said it, she saw a deep sadness bloom within him.
Rayne continued. “My father is gone most of the time. The little he is home he doesn’t even know I exist, or even bother to know. To be honest, I don’t really know him either.”
“I pray to Gabriel and the angels that we will all stay together, but sometimes I question if there is a god or any gods at all,” Anna said.
“Look,” said Rayne. He pointed to the fish.
Gently swaying her feet back and forth, Anna watched the bright red, white, and black spotted koi fish swim around. She admired the intricate patterns of the fish’s scales. “Pretty.”
“Do you believe life is nothing more than an accident, that everything in this world, every function and every detail, formed at random from nothing?”
“I’d like to think that we have a purpose,” she said, staring at the swimming fish.
“I can’t help but believe there’s a god when I see something so beautiful,” he said, turning back to Anna.
“So you believe that Gabriel hears our prayers, Rayne?”
“When we ‘pray’ to a higher form, putting ourselves below something like mere pawns in a god’s world, don’t we become ‘prey’? Maybe we should listen to our own prayers and take responsibility to answer them ourselves instead of waiting for someone or something else to answer them for us. Many people pray for peace, yet there is still so much bloodshed.”
“What goes on in that mind of yours?” Anna asked, staring into Rayne’s eyes. He had never been an ordinary eight-year-old. He was handsome and just as developed as her at seventeen. Every day became harder to hide the attraction she felt towards him. “So are you saying that Gabriel wants us to pray to ourselves?”
Rayne chuckled. “All I’m saying is that I’ve come across interesting stories in books that Monte has given me that make me question many themes preached at all three temples,” Rayne said. “Certain journal entries of the first colony of Men are almost contradictory to the creation passages in The Book of Volpi; contradictory to the official concepts of God and Gabriel.”
There was no need to censor his thoughts in front of his stepsister, especially not at The Ponds. The king, even with the power he possessed as leader of Men, would never speak like that to anyone else other than her and Montague. His guardian and Anna were the only people who knew that Rayne had healed Apollo with a simple touch.
Anna was curious to hear more. She also read about many things that weren’t in traditional history books.
But suddenly, she saw something in the water that almost took her breath away. She pulled her feet out, “Waterbirds!” she yelled, “Right there! Waterbirds!”
The mythical ‘waterbirds’ were large fish that ‘mermaids’ would ride to travel faster through the water.
Rayne became startled. He stood, trying to console her. The resting Apollo lifted her head.
Indrid heard Anna yell from across the pond and ran back to them, looking frustrated. The last time Anna said she saw waterbirds, when Indrid looked there was no sign of anything. This time, he didn’t even bother to look. But Anna knew Rayne had seen them too. She saw the surprised look in his eyes.
“Indrid, I swear I saw them. There was one just there. I…”
“Anna, we’ve talked about this,” Indrid said, catching her by the arms. “They are part of fairy tales. They don’t exist.”
The tense voices caught Apollo’s attention. She stood, and when people saw her they panicked. Everyone ran away screaming, leaving everything they’d brought behind.
“See? Bringing her was a mistake,” said Indrid. “Now, come on, both of you. We’re leaving. Rayne, fetch your cat.”
“I saw them too,” Rayne said.
“We’re leaving,” he repeated, dismissing the king’s statement.
The royal siblings left The Ponds before the night could swallow the land. Indrid led
the way, stomping up the plateau without looking back at Anna and Rayne.
Anna was embarrassed. “No one believes me.”
“I believe you,” said Rayne.
The night grew dark without the light of either moon breaking through the layers of gray clouds. When they returned to the kingdom, the torches burned high above the pillars at the Ikarus gates. The cat master, who was biting his nails, anticipating Apollo’s return, came rushing out, flustered and worried. With him were two other men holding torches to guide the cat to her cage. He had a chain leash and collar in his hand. Cautiously, he approached Apollo with shaking hands.
“Here,” Rayne said, reaching for the collar. “Allow me.” He put the collar around the giant cat’s neck, connected the leash, and gave the cat master the reins.
“Thank you, my lord,” he said, taking the leash carefully. He bowed to Rayne without ever setting an eye on him.
“You’re welcome,” the king said. He patted Apollo on the back then looked at Anna.
They both laughed.
FOR HOW late it was, the streets were still alive with dancing and singing. Strolling along the cobblestone streets behind his stepsiblings, Rayne Volpi was caught by the sound of festive laughter coming from the adjacent block around the corner from Jackson’s Bakery. While Anna and Indrid kept on, he took a moment to see where the joyful voices were coming from. He walked to the corner of the alley that ran behind the market shops. The alley would veil him from the street crowd within an abundance of darkness.
A group of teen-agers was kicking a ball around in a circle. They laughed and flirted with girls, a social interaction that Rayne wasn’t yet familiar with. Although he couldn’t fully understand the feelings he felt for Anna, he knew that she was special to him. But it felt wrong. Brothers weren’t supposed to court sisters. Stepsiblings or not, they were still considered family.
In his curiosity, he leaned out from the shadows to get a closer look.
When one of the older boys noticed Rayne, the king realized that he was alone and became frightened. He backed up and pulled the fold of his hood lower to cover more of his face.
Under a Veil of Gods Page 13