As the buggy approached the house, the mages sensed something was amiss. A handful of city guards stood to attention outside the perimeter wall, including a captain. The mages cautiously left the carriage, expecting the worse. Had Rainer broken in while they were away?
One of the count’s guardsmen greeted them with a saddened tone. “Count Guyver wants to see you right away. Come with me.”
They were led to the dining hall, where the count and his family were arguing over something. “Sean, please sit down,” the count said. He was noticeably shaken, which made Sean’s blood run cold despite the roaring fireplace. “I have terrible news.”
Princess Alyssa had always been a willful child (something Sean had learned firsthand). She pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable and what was not, and she obeyed rules only if she was promised a reward in return. King Paulson tried his best to make her happy while also safe and secure, for she was his only child after his two sons died from illness, but there was only so much he could do before she went off to places without his permission.
Case in point: Alyssa had a friend whose parents were throwing a ball for All Hallows Eve, and she wanted to be there early for preparations. It was technically her friend’s gathering, but the princess wanted certain things to be arranged just for her, and she wouldn’t be caught dead attending unless she got her way. So that Monday morning, going against her father’s wishes, she entered her personal blue-and-gold carriage and set out for her friend’s mansion, escorted by a retinue of horsemen.
Later that afternoon, an investigator and a retinue of city guards were led to a grisly scene: Alyssa’s overturned carriage, surrounded by the dead. The route to the mansion went through a rural area beyond the city wall, where dwellings and inhabitants were few and far in between. Raiders on horseback took advantage of this setting to ambush the convoy, using a magical bomb on the carriage horses and slaying the entire escort. The carriage had been protected by a magic ward made of a crystal network—but that was no obstacle to someone who was impervious to magic. Aside from the horses, the body count consisted of five guards, the coachman, one of the raiders, and two handmaids. Alyssa was missing.
Shortly after, a clueless deliveryman gave a letter to the city guard, who then sent it all the way to the King. It was signed by Rainer, who claimed to have the princess in his custody. He would return her if Callie was brought to the bridge he had specified in his earlier letter, where an exchange would be made. If his demand was ignored, or if the guard wanted to negotiate other terms, then the princess would die. If the guard tried to ambush him by the bridge, then the princess would die. And if Callie ran away and eluded the guards’ clutches, then the princess would die.
I look forward to your cooperation, the letter ended.
Count Guyver spread his hands helplessly. “I’ve been fighting for Callie for days. Some on the city council wanted to hand her in, and I refused. But I’m sorry, Sean, there is no fighting the King.”
“Where is she now?” Sean asked, his face as pale as a sheet.
“City guard headquarters. You may see her but come right back.”
Sean rushed out of the house and down the street, his blood running loud and hot in his ears. He would run all the way to the headquarters if he had to, but he jumped into the nearest vacant buggy and ordered the coachman to take him there quickly.
Once he arrived at the castle-like structure, he was met with some resistance at the front gate. Visiting hours were over, the doormen said, and no exceptions were made. But once Sean mentioned Callie, who was to be exchanged for the kidnapped princess, they reluctantly let him in, ordering him not to pull anything funny.
He was led through a dark corridor and up a bastion to the top of the northern wall, where Callie was found taking in the view of the city in her final hours as a free woman. There were two guards on either side of her, but they gave her some space to be alone. Sean called out her name and ran along the rampart to reach her. “I just heard what happened. Are you going to appeal to the King?”
Callie remained where she was, her arms propped on the parapet. “Already thought about that. They said there’s no time for it before Rainer kills the princess. They’re right.”
Sean took a moment to catch his breath. “So, you’re giving up? You should be fighting this to the very end!”
Callie shut her eyes and shook her head. He didn’t understand why she didn’t seem glad to see him until he realized she had resigned herself to her fate. She saw no way out of the situation, so she was cutting off all emotional ties to her loved ones to make things easier on her.
“You can’t let him win, Callie. If you do that, the killing won’t stop. It’s pointless. He’s like a rabid dog that needs to be put down.”
“You say that even knowing who he is?”
Sean thought of the irony of his words, realizing that anger was clouding his judgement. “I don’t know who he is … but I know what he is. Please, let’s talk to someone about this together. We can come up with a plan.”
“He got me good,” she said in a low, frightened voice. “He got me really good, Sean, and there’s no running away. We both knew he was going to do something, and it turned out brilliant for him.”
“I can’t believe you’re giving up like this. I’ve never known you to give up; you always find a way to keep going. It’s what I’ve always liked about you.”
She put her arms down and slightly turned to him with her head down. “I have a confession: I only joined the count’s service because I wanted to be protected from Rainer. I saw him in St. Clive, you see; he said he had something planned for me. If not for that, I probably wouldn’t be here.”
“We can still protect you. At least, someone can.”
“I’ve been running from him ever since St. Mannington,” she said sullenly. “I’m tired, Sean, and I hate seeing people die because of me. If I can save at least one life, then I should.” She finally looked straight at him, her eyes red. “He’s like a curse. I try to get rid of it, but it keeps rising anew. He’s my curse for going after Hugo, something I should have never done. And now … he’s going to … he’s going to kill me …”
She broke into tears, burying her face in her hands. Sean hesitated, unsure of what to do, then stepped beside her and put a hand on her arm and between the shoulder blades. He held her as tears dropped from her fingers, the unlikeliest of dear friends in a moment of deep sorrow and shallow comfort.
Once her sobbing ended, she wiped her eyes and nose with a sleeve. “Thanks, Sean. I think I’m good now.”
“Nothing about this is good,” Sean said with a bitter laugh. He wanted to tell her to escape, that he could provide a distraction if she needed one, but the adjacent guards might be close enough to overhear.
“I’m sorry,” Callie said, her breathing still hitched. “This is our last goodbye. You’ll have to go on without me. It’s probably the way it should be.”
She turned back to the cityscape, again closing her heart off to him. Sean tried to think of something else to say, something that would make her change her mind, and the longer he took, the more his temper rose. “Well, I’m not going to stand for this. Someone has to do something about this!”
He ran back to the bastion, prompting Callie to call out for him. He ignored her and disappeared past the wooden door. She swallowed the lump in her throat and prayed to whoever would listen that he wouldn’t do something foolish. A former thief and wannabe assassin like her wasn’t worth the risk.
Twenty-eight
Sunlight hid behind a dismal overcast sky on All Hallows Eve, the brisk wind bringing the promise of rain. Children ran through the streets, using their masks to pretend at being knights, rogues, goblins, bogarts, or whatever else they fancied, while teenagers stole away to hidden places to drink booze, play games, and make love. Adults, however, were generally somber about the holiday, convinced th
at the dead would rise to overtake the living on this cursed night, and only a mask could fool them into thinking a breathing person was one of their ilk. The children were allowed to have fun for now, but once the sun set, they would be ordered to remain indoors and be well out of sight of cemeteries.
Callie never believed in the walking dead, but as she marched through Hayes with an escort of seven armed guards, she sure felt like one. The guards surrounded her at every angle, ensuring she’d have a tough time in running away. In addition, two captains led the procession, who would report back to their chief about how the exchange went. One of them, Captain Harlon, was cold and distant to her, probably believing that her predicament was of her own making. But the other one, Captain West, was sympathetic, promising to make the exchange as easy on her as he could.
Callie clutched the front of her cloak with a death grip while reflecting back on her short life. Her biggest regret involved her parents, even though she was blameless in the matter. They had been traveling merchants who were cut down one night by a mysterious man. She was only a little girl, helpless against such a monster, so she ran through tall grass until she couldn’t run anymore. If it wasn’t for that murderous bastard whose name and face she couldn’t recall, she might have had what Sean would call a “normal life.”
She was discovered that night by a man named Landis, who took her under his wing. He taught how to steal to survive, relying more on skill and less on luck to make every theft count. She knew that what she was doing was wrong because her parents had problems with thieves before, but Landis said they never took more than what their victims could survive without. With her guilt taken down a notch, she sharpened her skills and became proficient enough to work on her own.
She initially thought she and her adoptive father were alone in their skill set until she was introduced to Giacomo, leader of Clan Reno. Landis was a former member of the clan, and he and Giacomo went way back. Giacomo didn’t think much of Callie since she was a girl, but at Landis’ request, he taught her some of his techniques, which required quick thinking and fast reflexes.
After one day of thought, she decided to remain in the clan, which was her second biggest regret. If she had chosen to stay with Landis, to travel with him across the continent, then this whole business with Rainer would have never happened. She would have been well away when Rainer came to Giacomo to hire one of his clansmen to assassinate King Hugo, and then someone else would have entered the sorcerer’s tower that fateful night to carry out the gruesome deed. Maybe that someone would have succeeded where she had failed, and the war would have never begun.
Or perhaps it would have, but under different pretenses. She would never truly know. All she cared about was getting the princess to safety before she or any other innocents got killed for the terrible decisions she had made.
I have my regrets … but it was a good life, wasn’t it? I had so much fun in the clan, made good friends and earned my teachers’ respect. Yeah, it was a good life, if not an honest one.
They arrived at the appointed area at nine in the morning, the gray sky matching the day’s dreary mood. They stepped up to a wooden bridge that connected two walkways across an artificial tributary amid some apartment buildings. There they waited for several long minutes, wondering if Rainer would flake out and not show up.
But then he appeared, jumping from a second-story ledge as if he’d been waiting from on high. He wore his long leather coat with the scabbards of two swords poking out from underneath, and he carried a linen sack in his left hand. His strong features were hidden by a white mask with a narrow pointy nose like a beak and a red stripe across the forehead. He went to the other side of the bridge and cried, “That’s her! She’s the one I want. Hand her over!”
Captain West stepped onto the bridge and yelled, “Where is the princess?”
Rainer took out from an inner pocket a lock of bright blonde hair and waved it above his head, then lifted his mask high enough to reveal his mouth. “She’s safe. I have people looking after her. If I’m not back to them in an hour, they’ll take her life.”
Captain West glanced at his partner, his face grim. To Rainer, he cried, “This isn’t what we agreed to! We want an exchange!”
“Did you really think I’d be stupid enough to bring her with me? You’d turn on me as soon as you got her, and you wouldn’t care if Callie got in your way. I promise I’ll let her go at a later time, but not unless you give that girl to me!”
Captain West cursed and shook his head. “Where will you release her?”
“I haven’t decided yet. On the west side of town, maybe. So what’s it going to be, captain? Will we have to try this again tomorrow? If we do, don’t expect your princess back in one piece.”
Captain West turned to Callie with apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry, miss, but I don’t see any other choice. The King ordered us to obey him to save his daughter, and that means we can’t follow him.”
“It’s okay, I understand,” she said in a small voice.
The captain turned back to Rainer, looking as if he had tasted something sour. “We’re going to send her over. I trust you’re a man of your word.”
“I am,” Rainer replied through a smug grin.
Callie took a deep breath of bitterly cold air and took her first steps across the bridge.
“Take off your cloak!” Rainer yelled. “I don’t want you hiding anything!”
She gritted her teeth. Winter was just around the corner, and Rainer didn’t care if she’d freeze to death in his custody. Still, she was going to die anyway, so what was the use of staying warm? She shrugged the cloak off, revealing a tan long-sleeved shirt and an open purple waistcoat. She hugged herself as she continued crossing, but she held her head up high, meeting her enemy with pride and dignity.
Rainer removed from his sack a steel collar with a sturdy chain attached. He bade her to stop when she got close enough and looked at her with dead eyes. “Don’t struggle; you’ll just make it worse for yourself.” She remained as still as stone as he latched the collar snugly around her neck and shackled her hands behind her. He then patted her down, checking her pockets and boots for anything hidden. Upon finding nothing, he drew out a dagger from his baldric, prompting her to wince. She feared a brutal stab wound, but all he did was slice off her ponytail, leaving her with short hair that fell over her ears. He shook the sheaf of dark hair to see if anything would drop from it, then threw it on the ground and ran his fingers through her loose locks. She wanted to push him away, but she had no choice but to suffer this indignity.
When he was finished, he faced her close enough to headbutt her. “Really, nothing? I’m disappointed. Okay, we’re going to run somewhere, and you’d better keep up with me or I’ll make you sorry.” Then, to the guards, he bellowed, “If I see anyone following me, you’ll never see your princess alive again! You hear that? Not … one … man!”
Captain West merely nodded, fists formed at his sides.
“Come on,” Rainer sneered and tugged on the chain connected to Callie’s collar. The icy steel bit into her skin and her shackled hands made it hard to run, but she obeyed him without complaint, chasing after him into a dark alleyway.
As luck would have it, there was one guard in the area who was left unseen. Clad only in leather armor with a short sword strapped to his back, he was part of a guard unit that specialized in stealth and agility. Named the “Viper Unit,” these guards were trained to be evenly matched with the thieves of the underworld who liked to run across rooftops and sneak in shadows.
This particular Viper had kneeled at the corner of a rooftop and used a spyglass to witness Callie willingly go to Rainer. Once the killer disappeared with his prize, the guard ran across the roof and jumped to another building, crossing a length that would have killed him if he hadn’t made it to the other side. He then used a ladder to reach street level and ran for several blocks, stopping
occasionally to make sure Rainer wasn’t within sight. In minutes he reached a plaza where fourteen horsemen awaited, and he addressed the man in charge: Victor Sutton, a captain of the palace guard. “Sir, he has the girl but didn’t bring the princess.”
Captain Sutton cursed under his breath and turned to the man next to him. “We’re going after him. And remember, the princess is our priority.”
“Yes, sir,” Sean replied. He had a feeling Rainer wouldn’t show with Princess Alyssa, which made this rescue mission more complicated than he cared for. He took out a seeking stone which emitted a small ray of light that extended nor far from his hand. This stone was created using a few strands of the princess’ hair that Captain Sutton snuck out of her chamber, and so its light went squarely in her direction. “There,” he said, pointing.
Captain Sutton turned to his twelve men and cried, “Okay, let’s move, nice and slow!” And with that, the small cavalry broke into a trot, initiating a mission where failure could spell out their deaths.
Rainer was relentless, racing across the city with little regard for Callie’s condition. It didn’t matter if she was short on breath or couldn’t use her hands to balance herself, he tugged on the chain whenever she lagged behind. They raced across streets with masked children at play and merchants hawking their goods, and Rainer gave the citizens little heed as they darted from one alley to the next. Occasionally they stopped at the mouth of an alley so he could search the area for pursuing guards. Callie prayed he wouldn’t find any—for the princess’ sake since there was no hope for hers. If her captor drew the attention of law enforcement, he would surely cut his losses by first slicing her throat.
The Hunt for the Three Roses Page 39