“No,” I said I found my way to the door, determined to surrender myself but Orion and Cali both grabbed me and pulled me back to the ground.
“You don’t understand,” Orion spoke quickly. “Tyran is creating the smoke, he’s not in trouble. I’m sure of it.”
I wrestled against them, not believing his words. “No! There are people dying out there! My people! I can feel it,” I screamed.
“Jasmine Rae Taylor, you listen to me,” Orion said urgently. “Let them do their job! Tyran will single-handedly get them out of here if he has to. Don’t you dare go out of this room.”
There was a new noise outside. A thousand men coughing and screaming, running and falling over each other as they ran further away from my chamber doors. Aella’s voice echoed again, “Tricky, tricky, we’ll be baaaack!” She said in a sing-song voice.
“What the hell just happened?” I asked.
“They’re retreating,” Orion said.
“For how long?”
“Who knows? Go to the platinum room just as planned. I’m sure they are all making their way now.” Sure enough there were footsteps up the incline screaming their familiar names. “Go, and don’t look around,” he urged again.
I grabbed Cali’s hand as we ran to the platinum room. Once inside, I looked around counting frantically as I knew there were forty-three people out on the battlefield.
“Stop counting,” Kelly said to me. “There are still thirteen people who haven’t come back.”
I nodded and looked around for Tyran until a loud scream from down the incline echoed against the palace walls, Casper’s bark continued until he yelped and more screams came from below. I hadn’t even realized Casper wasn’t on my heels as usual. How did I miss that? But that meant he was with Orion, but where was Orion? I kept thinking this over and over again as we all waited for more footsteps up the incline.
Chapter 18
Goodbyes
Three more people entered the meeting room before Tyran finally opened the door, covered in blood I ran to his side. “We need a Healer over here!” I yelled.
“No! I’m okay, it’s not mine.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“Jasmine, I’m sorry Casper was killed when he tried to save Orion. Orion was down the incline trying to find me and whoever else was still around. There was one of Pyrencia’s tribe still lingering behind. Before Orion was even aware of the enemy, Casper came out of nowhere, he jumped up and bit the enemy’s throat, forcing him off of Orion, but he had a knife. He stabbed Casper before returning to Orion,”
“You sat there and watched all this? Why didn’t you do something?”
“I couldn’t Jasmine. Please believe me! I was being healed.”
“You were hurt?” I asked with a new panic in my throat.
“No, the magic I do, it takes too much energy. Especially at the extreme magnitude it was at tonight.”
“The blood?” I asked pointing to his clothes.
“The second I was healed, I managed to wrestle with the enemy and get him off of Orion, and I killed him. Then I helped the Healers move Orion to the hospital wing.”
“He’s still alive then?”
“Barely enough to say so. Jasmine, I don’t know if the Healers can fix him.”
“Casper?”
“I’m so sorry. He was gone before the Healers could even get to him,” he said. “We moved him to where the rest of our fallen men are.”
I needed to sit down. I was given too much information at once the room was spinning. I think it was Kelly who saw my need first and she got up from her chair and slid it underneath me. Rebecca ran to me and placed her hands on my face, I closed my eyes as I let her heal me.
“I’m sorry,” I said to no one in particular. “Just give me a minute.” Cali was by my side and she held my hand.
“Do you want me to?” she asked quietly. I was confused at first but realized she was referring to the calming spell Orion had taught her. I nodded my head and she chanted the strange words under her breath and I felt a new sensation work its way through my body.
When I was finally calm enough, I asked for the specifics. I learned that several Commoners were killed in the attack as the enemy broke through their doors as well as some women from the second tier Readers and Others. Two Enchanters and a Guard were killed as well. Thirty two in all plus one loyal dog.
Someone from Tamporlea gave the enemy exactly what they needed to get inside. If it wasn’t for Tyran’s quick action, many more would have been killed. His power of smoke and fire pushed the enemy out the door and the enchantments already in place kept the palace safe. Whoever told the enemy what to expect, wasn’t aware of Tyran’s abilities.
Tyran excused himself to go check on Orion and the other wounded people. I didn’t want him to go, but I wanted to know how Orion was as well. From the look on Tyran’s face, there was nothing I could say to stop him from going.
“Alright,” I finally said. “We know they’re coming back, it’s just a matter of when.”
“They’re going to keep coming at us from all sides. We don’t know what they are capable of,” Cali stressed.
“Yes, I know. We’ve lost too many lives already. Queen Aella has had this planned for a long time.”
“I think the plans were set even before her time. It seems too well choreographed for Aella to have planned it all on her own,” Cali said.
Tyran wasn’t gone five minutes before bursting through the door again.
“Queen Jasmine. It’s Orion. He’s not going to make it,” Tyran said. “He’s requesting to see you.”
Cali and I ran toward the door to follow him to where Orion was being healed, or rather not being healed. He continued to speak as we ran down the incline.
“His fever has spiked rather quickly and he is going in and out of consciousness. The wounds are too deep. The Healers have tried everything they could think of but it’s not working. Orion has asked them to stop trying but he has urged that he needs to speak with you before…” he couldn’t finish his sentence. Orion meant a lot to everyone in Tamporlea, especially after Queen Holly passed away. It was obvious that Tyran was going to have a hard time with his passing despite the conflicts they’ve had in the past.
I opened the door and saw that Tyran held Cali back so she couldn’t follow me in and Orion and I could have a private moment. I raced to Orion’s side and sat in a chair by his bed. He was sweating and his breathing was shallow. There was a lump in my throat as I was about to say something to let him know I was there. The tears were starting to flood my eyes.
“Jasmine,” Orion said barely over a whisper, with his eyes still closed.
“Yes Orion, I am here.”
“I need…you to…” every word he spoke was taking so much energy it pained me to see him struggle.
“Orion, please just rest. You need to get better. We need you here,” I pleaded selfishly. I refused to believe that this was truly the end for him although his pale, clammy face was showing me that it was.
“Jasmine listen. I am not afraid to die. You will be fine, you’ve proven that. You have some great people by your side. Now listen carefully. The Enchanters and Guards. They let Pyrencia through the protections.”
“What?”
“Not everyone can be trusted even within our own walls.”
“Orion, I don’t know what to do. We’re not safe.”
“The only way to fix it…to stop it.” He took a deep breath in and opened his bloodshot eyes to look at me intensely. “The only thing you can do is, kill Lilliana.”
“What? No, you mean Queen Aella.”
“No. Your sister. Your sister must be dealt with. She has never truly been your sister, you know that. Kill her and Pyrencia will crumble.”
“No Orion. She was just a pawn. We’ve figured that out…”
“Lilliana.” He whispered, closing his eyes again. “Must die. Your sister, must die.”
“Okay,” I said. “Lilli
ana is the one. I understand.”
“There’s something else. The book by the box. It’s for Tyran.”
“The book by the box?”
“The book by the box,” he confirmed as he looked at me one last time and slipped into unconsciousness. ‘The book by the box’ were his last words to anyone, and I had no idea what they meant.
I couldn’t tell Cali or Tyran what he had said about Lilliana. I knew how determined he was when he spoke, but it really didn’t make much sense to me. I had to be sure that this was truly the answer before I set any plans in motion. I was still so sure that Queen Aella was the one we needed to be worried about the most.
While I was gone, everyone had made plans for all of the bodies to be laid to rest as soon as possible. Below the inlaid T, I was told, there was a tomb for those we’ve lost and a mass funeral was planned for the following Sunday when there would for sure be no fighting. This didn’t feel like enough to me, especially for Orion, and I made a mental note that there would be a more suitable goodbye when the battle was over.
Chapter 19
The Last Meeting
We all heard the battle approaching this time. There was no mistaking the loud rumble of a thousand men running over the grounds. I had one minute maybe two if I were lucky before they reached the palace. “I’ll be right back no one moves from this spot!”
I ran to the Queen’s room and shook the mouse to wake up the computer. As I was waiting for the program to load, Cali was standing behind me. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“You’ll see,” I said. “Cali, if I were to say to you, ‘the book by the box’, what would you think of?”
“What?”
“The book by the box,” I repeated as I typed on the computer.
“I don’t know. Jasmine are you ok?”
“Yes, just think on those words.”
Ten seconds later our pagers vibrated and when Cali looked at me. “We’ve got five minutes, take off your pager and put it on the desk,” I said as I did the same and I pulled her with me back to the platinum room.
“Everyone run to all of the rooms on your tier! Make sure everyone who’s still here is brought back to this room. We have three minutes! Run!” I yelled as they all ran past me and I pulled Cali with me once again back to my room.
“Pyrencia says guess again.”
“What?” Cali asked as I typed once more into the computer and pulled her with me back to the platinum room. This was ridiculous, communication was number one on my to-do list now.
“Who are we missing?” I asked out of breath.
“Only the injured and Healer Rebecca are in the hospital wing.”
“Get an Enchanter and a Guard down there. Protect them, one minute till they‘re here,” I said still breathing hard as they ran past.
We heard the men gaining speed as they made their way toward the palace. Enchanters and Guards were already standing, ready to take flight at my direction. Everyone stared at me waiting impatiently for instructions. I could hear the enemies entering the palace, roaming from room to room searching for whoever they could find. Screams and banging, I was worried about how many more lives have been lost while we were sitting here, had they found the hospital wing?
“Get them out of here! I don’t care how you do it, just go!” I heard several people leave the room but I didn’t look up to see who had gone. I could still feel Tyran and Cali by my side. Maybe I was being selfish, but that’s who I cared about most.
“That’s not selfish,” Tyran whispered quietly in my ear. I looked at him, shocked, ready to ask him to explain himself when the noise of the battle stopped and Runner Stone burst into the room.
“They’re gone!” He shouted.
“What? What happened?” I asked.
“Enchanter Kelly found the one in charge. She grabbed him by the hair and slit his throat right in front of everyone. They didn’t know what to do by the look on their faces. They knew they faced the same fate if they continued on and they didn’t have their leader to instruct them. Someone yelled to retreat and they did. I was all for killing them all on their way out but I was sure you wouldn’t approve.”
“You’re right, there’s been enough bloodshed and we know there’s going to be more. Where is Kelly now?”
“She’s with a Healer. She’s quite shaken up by what she’s done.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back,” I announced as I took off running once again.
“Pyrencia says twenty-four hours.” I quickly typed one last thing and ran back.
“Listen up everyone. I just bought us twenty-four hours to get this plan in motion. We need to kill Queen Aella. I personally think she’s in Pyrencia. She wouldn’t leave her kingdom, just as I wouldn’t leave mine. I want everyone to head to Pyrencia. Obviously no children or their mothers and no one who’s too weak. Before you go, gather all the necessities you can and come back to this room. Those who don’t go will be well protected here. When Kelly is feeling better she can handle adding enchantments to the room.
“Everyone is to head to Pyrencia, find and kill the Queen. It’s not going to be an easy task. Guard Tyran will stay here as well, to protect the kingdom. Devise a plan on the way. I’m choosing Storm as the leader. Listen to him as you would listen to me. “
“What about you?” Storm asked.
“Didn’t you just hear her say she would never leave her kingdom?” Tyran defended me. Under the table he squeezed my hand for comfort. I held onto it for dear life.
“If you should find Lilliana, capture her but do not kill her unless she poses an immediate threat. However, she is the least of our worries. Concentrate on Aella only. Go now. I’m hoping you will make it there before the ones why retreated get back to Pyrencia.”
Tyran was whispering something in Guard Mykel’s ear. I asked quietly, “Anything you wish to share?”
“Just giving a quick word of advice.”
“Ok. Get back here as soon as possible!”
They all filed out of the room in a rush. I headed to my chambers with Cali and Tyran following. When we made it to my room, I closed the door and started throwing clothes and other things onto my bed.
“Jazz?” Cali asked in a frightened little girl’s voice.
“Help me pack. I need a jug of water and food to last at least a week, a change of clothes and my pager.”
“I thought you were staying,” she pleaded as she did as I instructed. “Jasmine, please tell me what is going on.”
“I sent the message the first time telling them to stop, just to buy us five minutes. Think about it, we would stop dead in our tracks if this pager went off right? I guarantee that the Queen’s assistant was in that troop outside because they stopped. Aella, who is probably chillin’ out in her room back in Pyrencia, replied ’guess again.’ I sent the next message ‘time to bury mine is time to bury yours.’ They replied, ‘twenty four hours.’”
“So what are you doing?”
“I’m going to get my sister.”
“Lilliana? But how? Do you know where she is?”
“I think so. Remember the last time you took me to view my mom in the mirror and you didn’t understand how she was still so clear? It’s because she thinks she still has me.”
“No, it’s the bond you two had. She’s fighting as hard as she can to keep these memories.”
“Maybe you’re right, but if you think about it, there’s another explanation. I mean Lilliana was gone the morning I was crowned because the Seer knew I was chosen as Queen. I think Lilliana was taken to my mother’s to take my place. She had to get there before I was crowned because her memory would be wiped once that crown was on my head. It’s the safest place to put her and considering knows about the mirror, Aella would never think we’d have a clue.”
“But it’s not you. Your mother would know that.”
“Maybe it’s a long shot. I know denial can do crazy things. Maybe she has a feeling that Lilliana isn’t really me, but she doesn’t wa
nt to believe it. Even if I am wrong, I need to at least try.”
Cali handed me the bag she had finished packing and said, “Just give me two minutes to grab a bag.”
“Cali, you can’t go.” Tyran said calmly. “You must put up a front that Jasmine is still here and she’s not leaving her room. Give the others orders and messages from the Queen. Do whatever you must do to make them think we are still here.”
“Oh my God!” Cali yelled as she ran into another room of my chambers.
“Excuse me?” I said to Tyran. “You will be here. There needs to be a Guard for the palace.”
“What do you think I was telling Mykel?”
“Fine. You have some things to explain to me and it would be good to have protection on my journey.” Despite the fact that there was so much going on, I hadn’t forgotten how easily Tyran knew my thoughts.
Cali tossed something in my bag and looked at me and vaguely explained, “The thing you had me think on.”
“I have faith in you Cali. I would not have chosen you as the assistant if I didn’t think you could handle things like this. Try not to worry.” I hugged her goodbye but I couldn’t manage looking her in the eyes. If I did, I knew I would fall apart.
Tyran grabbed my hand and pulled me to the door. After confirming that no one was around to see us leaving he led me out the door of my room. We made a quick stop to his chambers where he grabbed a bag that was already packed. He gave me a sly wink that explained he knew my plan possibly before I even did.
As we left the palace and headed toward the forest, I looked back at the kingdom, my kingdom. I knew what a risk we were taking and wondered if Tyran and I really had any chance of making it back to Tamporlea alive.
About the Author
Tiffany Lovering is a life-long upstate New York resident and spends most of her time devoted to her daughter, Allison’s activities. In between going to soccer practice, recitals, and spending way too much time on Facebook, she writes young adult fantasies and paranormal romance.
Tamporlea (Tamporlea Trilogy, Book 1) Page 18