“It looks like blood. The people in my village are scared to go near it.”
“People are scared of the strangest things. What is to fear about water that looks different?” He pulled his head up and looked straight at me. It made me feel disconcerted.
“I want you to change it back.”
“I know you do. That’s why you are here.”
Frustration crept through me. Was he deliberately trying to appear to be obtuse? What was I thinking, of course, he was!
“Will you change it back, please?” I said the word please loudly.
“Why would I want to do that?”
“Look. I’ve come a long way. The people of The Club Kingdom need water. If you say it’s safe to drink, that’s great, but my father is going to have a hard time trying to convince people, and that’s just the people he can get to. The Club Kingdom covers hundreds of miles. That’s a lot of people who won’t know to drink the water. I don’t know why you changed the water red, nor do I actually care, I just want to know what it will take for you to put it back to normal?”
He sat up now. Those piercing violet eyes tried penetrating my skull. I’d never been more glad of the amulet that Mali had given me.
“Have you ever been in love?”
“What? What’s that got to do with anything? I’m asking you to change the water back, not for dating tips.”
I shifted my weight from foot to foot. Whatever was coming next was going to take a while, probably some diatribe about some woman who had wronged him in the past. Perhaps her favorite color was red, or she was partial to water. Who knew? I wanted to sit down, but in warrior training, that was a big no-no. Currently, I was higher up than him. I had the advantage, should he wish to attack. Not that he looked poised to attack. In fact, he was still seated on the rock, his legs now folded.
“You haven’t!” he said, pulling one leg out and stretching it forward. “You had a crush on that girl from school, but it wasn’t love. You got over her pretty quickly. There was no burning, no aching. She was just a pretty girl from school.”
“And your point is?”
“Your sister on the other hand. The young one, the one that came up here to get some herbs for you. She knows what love is. It shines from every pore of her body. I didn’t need to get inside her head to see it. It was obvious that she loved the young man she was with. Young fool.”
He lay back down again and continued to look up at the sky.
“Aren’t we all just fools,” he murmured to himself.
“Look,” I said forcefully, moving closer toward him, feeling braver, thanks to his reclined position. I pulled my sword out and stuck it up to his throat. I had no time for these games or whatever they were. “Just turn the water back, and I’ll let you go.”
He just grinned at me. And then I was looking down at my mother, the sword still at her throat.
“You wouldn’t hurt your own mother would you?” “The Queen of Clubs? Whatever would the king say?”
“It’s not going to work. You are not my mother, and I have no compunction about killing you.”
I held my nerve. If it wasn’t for the fact that this creature in front of me had violet eyes, I might have backed down.
“He’d kill his own mother!” the thing said, and then within the blink of an eye, we’d swapped places. I was lying with my back against the freezing stone, and he stood above me with my sword at my own throat. I’d not even felt any movement. It was if I’d just switched bodies with him. For a second, I wondered if I was in his body because the person with their hand on the sword was me, but those violet eyes followed him.
“If you’re willing to kill your mother, I wonder if you will kill you.” He laughed. It was a high pitched otherworldly sound. “Who am I kidding? Of course, I will kill you, or should I say, you will kill you. I wonder if that would count as suicide.”
“Get it over with then!” I looked him in the eye. If he was going to kill me, let it be so, but I was not going to be a coward and close my eyes. With a blink, I was back to where I had been before. Standing over him with the sword pointing right at his throat. This time, he’d gone back to his previous persona.
“Try to kill me if you want. It’s not going to get you your water back, is it now?” he grinned at me, and for the first time, his face became ugly. It would have taken me nothing at all to drive that sword right through his throat, but he was right. If I killed him, who would put our water right? I pulled back the sword and slotted it back into its sheath.
“Tell me then. What will get my water back?”
“I’ve already shown you what I want, and I’ll not show you again. It serves me no purpose to keep your water as it is, but a promise is a promise, and I do like to keep my promises.”
“Stop talking in riddles. What promise?”
“I’ll tell you no more. Be on your way. I have no side in this war of yours, only my own. The first to bring me back what I want will get what they want, and that is a promise from me to you. Oh, and one more thing, I said the water was drinkable, I didn’t say anything about it being safe to do so!”
And with that, he disappeared. One second he was there, the next, just an empty rock where he had been.
“Shit!” I shouted out loud, spooking Midnight and causing him to jump and pull back against his reigns.
The stream was still a bright red. It merrily babbled away, reminding me that I had failed. What on Vanatus did he mean when he said he’d shown me what he wanted? He’d not shown me anything except that he could shift into anyone he wanted to. I untied Midnight and hopped onto his back. It might have been a better idea to hang around and make camp up here in the hopes that The Joker would come back, but I wanted to be away from here. Even though I’d not felt the aura of evil I had last time, I still didn’t trust the guy, and I wanted to be as far away from him as possible. He’d still managed to get in my head despite the amulet. He knew what my mother looked like. He knew about the girl from school. It was then that I realized, I’d completely forgotten to put the thing on. It was still in my pocket from the night before, just sitting there, completely useless. I pulled it out and placed it back around my neck, cursing myself for my own stupidity. I’d not take it off again!
I jumped on Midnight and slowly walked him down the mountain. Perhaps I should have urged him into a faster pace, but I was torn. Going home meant defeat, and, already, the Clubs had been without clean water for two days. On the other hand, what was the point of hanging around on the mountain?
“We should go to Yelpish and consult with Mali again!” I said to Midnight. He whinnied in an answer I took to be agreement. Maybe we could get a Diamond to help us. Maybe Mali was right, and this Joker was more powerful than any Diamond, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a Diamond that could sort out the water. Tarragon went to University with a load of Diamonds. There was bound to be someone, a lecturer maybe, who could purify water and make it safe to drink.
And then it hit me. Thinking of Tarragon had set off a spark. Tarragon and The Jack of Hearts. What had The Joker called her? Journey? He had shown me what he wanted, after all. He even talked about being in love. The Joker was in love with Journey Heart. That’s what the Queen of Hearts had on him.
He’d asked her for her daughter, and she’d agreed in exchange for him poisoning our water. She wanted it turned red to put us off drinking it. It wasn’t to poison us; it was so she could strike a deal with my father. After all, who would want tainted water? Trying to steal it from us had resulted in a loss of her men and a media frenzy. This way, she could just ask for it. Maybe offer father some paltry amount. When she’d diverted it through the Heartlands, she’d give her first daughter to The Joker in exchange for him making it pure again. It suddenly all made sense. I remembered reading somewhere that magic could do almost everything, but it couldn’t make you fall in love. Love potions only last a short amount of time, but if the queen promised Journey’s hand in marriage to The Joker, she’d be stuck w
ith him forever.
The thought that The Queen of Hearts would give her own daughter away just to get control of another Kingdom’s water was terrifying.
“I bet Journey doesn’t even know!” I said aloud and laughed. I’d figured it out. I needed to get to The Heartlands. From memory, the Heart Royal Family lived in a city called Cosmea, which was east from here. I turned Midnight to the right toward the Heartlands and set him into a gallop. I’d wasted enough time allowing him to take his own lead down the mountain. My people’s lives were at stake.
It took two hours to get to the border, and I was surprised to see a large, wooden fence running along the length of it. I’d not seen it before and judging by the appearance of the wood, it was brand new. I followed it down the mountains, looking for a gap of any kind. It was hours before we came to one. A lone guard stood lookout. I jumped off Midnight and let him rest while I talked to the Guard.
“What is this?” I asked him. It was barely zero degrees, and he was wearing a short leather skirt with leather straps over his muscled chest. Tattoos in gold and black covered his torso.
“No one shall enter without the strict permission of Her Majesty the Queen of Hearts.”
“She’s closed the border between the two kingdoms?” I asked incredulously.
“Yes.”
“Is there any way through? I need to get to Cosmea to speak to The Jack of Hearts on a matter of extreme importance.”
“Her Royal Highness, The Jack of Hearts is in residence in Cerce presently. The border is open there should you wish to speak with her.”
I thanked the man for his time and sat down to eat some food. I so desperately wanted to be on my way, but I had to let Midnight rest. If Journey was in Cerce, it added another day to my journey, and a day was not something I could afford.
“Tell me, sir, I said to the guard. What is the quickest way to get to Cerce from here?”
“If you were on this side of the fence, I would say the train, but I’m under strict instructions not to let anyone pass.”
The train! It ran through all the lands in a wide circle. The Queen of Hearts may have stopped the line that travels over the borders, but there was bound to be one from the Club Kingdom to Urbis, without having the need to pass through The Heartlands.
“How far away is the train station?”
“About two kilometers down the hill, but as I said, I cannot let you pass.”
“That’s ok, thanks.” If there was a train station on the Heart side of the border, there would be one close to the border on this side. I gave Midnight another ten minutes to eat some of the grass before I jumped on him and rode as fast as I could downhill. The sound of a train horn alerted me to the fact I was getting close. I pushed Midnight faster until we came upon a train track with the train behind us and to the left. I had to beat the train to the station if I had any hope of catching it.
I craned my head behind me and saw it approaching in the distance. Steam billowed out from the engine’s chimney. In the distance, I saw a small building that could only be the station. The train got closer and closer until it began to pass us. I waved at the driver as it went past. It began to slow as we both reached the station at pretty much the same time. I jumped off Midnight and gave him a playful pat on the head. Tying him to a railing, I ran inside and purchased a ticket from the station guard.
“I’ve left my horse outback. He’s tied to a railing. I’ll give you a hundred Clubians if you keep him fed and watered until I get back in a couple of days.”
The station guard looked at me, confused, until I thrust the money into his hand.
He tipped his hat. “Whatever you say, sir. It will be an honor! He’ll be the most looked-after horse in the whole kingdom.” A hundred Clubians was probably a month’s wages to this man.
“There’s another hundred in it for you if I come back to find that what you say is true.”
“Yes, sir!” he bowed. I hated leaving Midnight with a stranger, but I needed to get to Urbis quickly. A sign on the platform read ‘All trains to stations in The Heartlands are canceled until further notice. I looked up the track, and in the distance, I could see the wooden wall had been built right across it. It branched before it reached the wall, and it would be this northward branch we would take to get to Urbis.
I boarded the train and sat in my own compartment. In my hurry, I’d not thought to book a whole compartment to myself as I’d have preferred, but I was in luck, and it was empty anyway.
The journey to Urbis was a pleasant one. The carriages had a faint smell of burning coal, thanks to the engine ahead of us. The seats were made from worn red leather, and there was enough space for six people. We stopped at a number of towns and villages, and some people did eventually get into my carriage. A man with a paper read while a young, pregnant woman knitted what looked like one of a pair of booties. The headline of the Club Gazette read, “Rivers of Blood run through the Club Kingdom.”
I didn’t bother trying to read the rest of the article. I could already guess what it said, nothing but conjecture and panic. The only three people in Vanatus who knew the real reason behind the rivers being red were The Joker, The Queen of Hearts, and me. And it was unlikely that the queen or The Joker would have given an interview to the Gazette.
Two hours later, I found myself at the train station just outside of Urbis. The winter night was already beginning to settle in even though it was only four pm. I grabbed a carriage from a long line waiting outside the station. I could have run the short distance, but this way was the quickest way to get to the outer walls of Urbis. I tipped the driver extra to get me to the main gates as quickly as possible. This trip was turning out to be very expensive, and the money in my wallet was running low. I only hoped that I’d have enough to see me through.
Urbis was quieter than I’d ever seen it. The huge white road that led up to Inner Urbis and the Ace’s palace was empty aside from a couple of people about half a mile in the distance. I was used to it being a bustling metropolis. To my right was The Club District and to the left through an archway was Cerce, the Heart District. Two more funnily dressed guards with the obligatory tattoos on their chests barred our way.
“What do you want?” barked one of them, a mean look on his face.
“I need to get into Cerce.”
I shouted out of the window. What was he playing at? I’d been to Cerce plenty of times and I’d never been stopped before. Come to think of it, I didn’t remember guards here before.
“I don’t think I like your tone, Club!” he spat at the floor.
“And I don’t like your attitude, my good fellow; however, my tone and your attitude have nothing to do with the matter at hand. I need to get through, and you are in the way.”
The guard bared his teeth.
“I’m afraid, I’m not going to be able to get through, sir,” shouted down the carriage driver. “Perhaps you could go on foot from here.”
I got out of the carriage, and he turned and skedaddled before I realized I’d paid him to take me right to the middle of Cerce. Another waste of money that I’d never see again. I walked to the archway and tried to pass through. The guard, once again, barred my way.
“I need to get through. I have urgent business in Cerce.”
“I don’t care about your business,” the guard sneered. He was at least a foot taller than me, and because of the way he was posturing, I could see right up his nose.
“Has your king or queen specifically said not to let people in because if they haven’t, I’d really like to pass.”
“The queen don’t like Clubs.”
“I’m sure she doesn’t; however, it is neither here nor there what the queen likes unless she has passed a law stopping us from going into Cerce. Has she, by any chance, passed such a law?”
I already knew the answer to that. She might get away with barricading The Heartlands in, but she’d struggle to pass a law like that in Urbis. It would have to go to the Aces first, and I doubted
the Aces would let her get away with it.
The guard remained silent.
“I thought not,” I said grabbing the spear he was holding and moving it to one side. I walked purposefully past him, and there was nothing he could do.
Once in Cerce, I realized that I had no clue exactly where Journey was. Did she have apartments here? Did she work here? I had no idea. I would have asked someone, but the looks I was getting from the Hearts were enough for me to realize that I was about as wanted as an ingrown toenail.
I wandered the streets, looking for any indication that a royal might live in one of the houses. They were all beautiful, rows of terraced houses, most of which had a shop of some sort on the ground floor. After half an hour of fruitless searching, I decided to bite the bullet and ask someone. I picked a young couple who, so far were the only ones not to look down on me.
“Excuse me, could you tell me where I might find the Jack of Hearts. I need to see her on a matter of urgent royal business.” I added the last bit in the hope that they might recognize me and have respect for all royalty, no matter which kingdom they belonged to; or, at the very least, think I’m a messenger of some sort.
“She is organizing the annual Valentine Ball up at the opera house. I would imagine she is up there,” said the young woman brightly. It was good to see I wasn’t considered total scum by everyone in Cerce.
“Thank you. Can you direct me to the opera house, please?”
“Go right to the end of this street and turn right. At the Lunatic Asylum take a left and continue on until you reach a square. It’s the large building at the far end of the square, you can’t miss it.”
“Lunatic Asylum?” I queried. Urbis was a strange venue for such an establishment.
“It’s a new bar. Opened just before the winter festival. They do magnificent cocktails.”
I thanked the couple and went on my way. As she had said, The Lunatic Asylum was a cocktail bar serving 2-for-1 drinks every night after eight pm. It was already open and full of people if the noise coming from it was any indication. I took a left and found myself in the cobbled square. The Opera House was hard to miss as it had the words “Cerce Opera House” emblazoned on the front. Below the words was a banner that read, “Annual Valentine Ball 14th February Find your perfect match!”
Five of Clubs (War and Suits Book 4) Page 5