by Wendy Wang
Neala folded her arms across her chest and she shivered. This is where Cai wanted her to go?
“If we go there we’ll have to hide who we are. Won't we?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, we will,” Tahlulah said. Grim shadows darkened the lines of her face and she looked much older than she really was. “Although, if we run and discover other Kaels, they’ll recognize us on sight.”
“How?” Neala asked.
“In Nescien, Kaels have a bit of a glow to them. You’ll know them by that glow and its color will tell you their affinity. Although, we don’t have to stay long. Cilla and I can lead you back to our farm. Nescien would be an escape route at best. Not a place to live.”
Neala nodded and moved closer to the painting. She held her hand out just above it letting the vibration sing through her skin. The painting shimmered and an opalescent wave traveled the length of the painting, causing a tremor to pass all the way to her bones. If leaving some part of herself behind was the cost, she would rather fight and die here. When Gordon returned she would tell him as much. His orders be damned.
Twenty-Five
Cilla rushed along back streets refusing to look over her shoulder when the horn sounded out across the city. Her heart beat so hard she thought it might escape her chest. She would get back to the palace, pack up the boys, and get herself ready to meet Egan. She couldn't allow herself to doubt him now. Not when they were so close to being together again.
Finally she emerged onto the street running in front of the palace. All of the gates had been locked tight and it didn't occur to her that she might not be able to get back in. Panic coiled in her chest snaking its way around her throat threatening to cut off her air supply. How would she get to her boys now?
She ran along the high stone fence looking for a way in. The stone felt dead to her when she touched it and it didn't respond at all which meant it had somehow been altered as a means of protection. Her heart clogged her throat. She couldn't leave her boys.
“Miss Cilla?” A voice came from behind her.
Relief flooded her at the sight of Gordon. “Captain Gubler,” she whispered. “Captain Gubler!”
“Come on we have to hurry.” He pulled a timepiece from his pocket and glanced at it before shoving it back in side. “We don't have much time. We'll have to run.” He reached for her hand and took it without waiting, then wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her back towards the way he came. He led her through an iron gate. She threw a glance back over her shoulder and watched it clamp firmly in place.
“Where are all the wardens?” She asked.
“I sent all but the barest number we need to the prison. That horn you here is a warning. There's been a prison break. I don't know how many prisoners just yet. There's also been a breach in the fold. It looks to me like a distraction.”
“A distraction for what?” She said breathlessly.
“A distraction for Declan's troops to attack the city and take the realm.”
Cilla's heart wrenched. “What?”
“It's all right. I'll make sure you're protected. You'll go with the queen.”
“Go with the queen? Go with her where?”
“I'll tell you once were inside and safe.” He held his baton tightly in his free hand. He touched the tip to another iron door and she heard several locks click and scrape away from inside the walls. The door opened and he dragged her inside. He let her go long enough to close the door behind him and set the locks again. The kitchen which was usually bustling with life at this time of day stood eerily silent. There was no sign of cook or any of her kitchen maids. No footmen wandering around in their dapper uniforms and no wardens standing guard at the doors. A chill chased its way down her back and she shivered. What had she done?
Gordon wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her forward. But she resisted. “Let me go.”
“You'll never keep up with me if I don't hold on to you,” he said.
Her hand drifted to her throat. “I — I need my boys.” Her eyes glanced around. Surely there must be a way to escape.
“Your boys are with the queen and their grandmother. Let me take you to them.” He held out his hand and she stared at it. “Miss Cilla we don't have much time. Once the locks are set on the war room no one gets out and no one gets in. Do you understand me? We'll be trapped out here.”
Her eyes prickled with tears. No one gets out and no one gets in. How would Egan find them?
“Miss Cilla?” Gordon said his tone controlled, but edged with impatience.
“Fine,” she said. “Let's go. But I walk of my own accord. I don't need you to drag me.”
“All right. Just make sure you keep up. I won't hesitate to pick you up and hoist you over my shoulder. Do you understand?”
“Fine,” she snapped and moved forward as fast as she could. She stopped a moment and glanced back at him. “Well? Are you coming or not?”
He made a sound deep in his throat and rolled his eyes but put his legs into motion.
As they moved through the palace Cilla scanned her surroundings looking for something, anything, to tell Egan how to find her in this maze. They passed a plant and she plucked one of its green leaves. Before dropping it on the floor, she brushed her thumb over it smooth surface and imagined it taking root in the floor, releasing long tendrils of vines that wrapped around each other and snaked along the floor behind her, following her, showing the way with reddish green heart shaped leaves that all pointed their way to her. Every twenty feet or so she would glance back over her shoulder, making sure the vine was still with her. She pushed herself to keep up with Gordon, ensuring he didn't look back and discover her secret.
Finally, they ascended the staircase leading to a wide chamber on the third floor. A convex wall took up nearly half the room and looked to be older than the rest of the palace. Four ugly little gargoyles balanced on stone perches halfway up the wall. He stopped for a moment and observed them.
“What are we waiting for?” she whispered.
“These are the guardians of the tower. If I pick the wrong one, they will either try to burn us alive or slice us to bits with their talons,” Gordon said.
“Jerugia’s crown. Are they alive?” She surveyed them, wary of getting too close.
“Not exactly. They are a creature of the builder and his intention was to protect the queen at all costs. So he made them fierce, and smart and unforgiving.” Gordon stepped forward and touched his baton to the one sitting on the far left perch. “Only the queen or her heir can command them once they’re in action. So let’s hope I’ve chosen correctly.”
Cilla held her breath, and opened her hand, ready to call her vine into action if she needed it. She’d seen plenty of plants that had destroyed even the thickest of stone over time.
The outline of a door pulled inward and a rectangle of wall slid to the side. Her heart caught in her throat at the dark entrance. She hesitated not wanting to leave the palace for one of the towers.
“Wait, —”she said. “We’re going into the darkness?”
“It’s not dark inside, I promise. You’ll be safe Miss Cilla,” Gordon said. “Come on we have to go. If she locks that door it means no Tom or Danny. Come on.” He held out his hand gesturing for her to follow him. All his usual jovial patience had drained from his voice.
She stepped forward and looked back one last time at her messenger. She opened her hand, leaving it with one intention and the vine shuddered. The door shut behind them, the sound of stone scraping against stone as it closed. From the corner of her eye, rustling in the shadows, the tiny tendril pushed its way through the mortar between the stones. She had done all she could. Now it was up to Egan to find her and their sons and take them home.
******
“Well look at what we have here,” a voice came from behind them. They were so close to being free, Egan could taste the cool night air. Slowly he pivoted on his feet turning to find Codskl and five of his men following them.
“What
are you hanging around for Codskl? Don’t you get what’s happening here?” Egan said tightening his grip on his baton. Codskl and his men had all acquired batons as well and none of them wore harnesses anymore.
“No reason I can’t have a little fun before I go,” Codskl said. “The way I see it I owe you both a little payback.”
“A little payback for what Codskl?” Egan felt Hargett's arm brush against his stiffly, readying to fight. He raised his baton. A chuckle came from behind him. He wasn't sure why D'Raq found this funny. He gritted his teeth.
Codskl drew first but before he could throw the first fireball in their direction he froze in place. His long skinny face became expressionless and his jaw slackened, falling open.
His men exchanged glances clearly unsure what was happening or what to do next. They had no quarrel with Egan. D'Raq stepped forward with one hand in the air. Was this his power? Rendering the enemy dazed and inert? The man on Codskl’s right stepped forward and raised his baton his thick face bubbling with disgust and fear.
D'Raq shifted, and raised the other hand. The man froze in place. His eyes went blank and his mouth fell open.
Codskl began to moan and shake and the rest of his men stepped back. But there was no time for them to react when Codskl turned on them and fired a bolt of deadly red energy in their direction. The energy split into four bolts of deadly blue lightning, striking each in the chest. Each man collapsed, and Codskl's arm dropped to his side and he wept.
“What did you do?” Egan said under his breath.
“I opened his mind,” D'Raq said.
“What do you mean?” Hargett asked. He stepped forward and took the baton out of Codskl's hand and the man standing next to him. Neither seemed to notice him.
“I have this ability to show people what they fear most about themselves and about the world.”
“Jerugia's crown,” Hargett muttered.
“How many people can you affect at one time?” Egan said.
“As many as I need,” D'Raq said.
Dread twisted in his chest and Egan set his jaw. “Let’s go. No more wasting time.”
“Indeed my friend,” D'Raq said. “There is none left to waste.”
Egan brushed past Codskl and his man, leaving them lost in their fears.
******
The first explosions rocked the city walls. The sound reverberated throughout the streets and Egan's skin hummed with adrenaline.
“How's this gonna work boss?” Hargett asked following close behind. “The palace is going to be locked down tight. Even if their numbers of wardens are reduced, there will be more protections in place.”
“Yes there will,” Egan said. He glanced back at D'Raq. “We only need one guard to let us in. Do you think you can handle that D'Raq?”
A smirk twisted D'Raq's lips. “Do you?”
Egan sneered. “I think you can.”
They rounded the corner of Idlewyd Street onto the Avenue of the Crown, running in front of the palace. A group of ten soldiers emerged from the shadows across from the palace gate. Even from this distance Egan couldn't mistake Toby Wyn. His bulky muscular body was easy to pick out. D'Raq touched his hand to Egan's arm making him look.
“Do you want to let him do the hard work?”
“I want to kick his ass.”
“I see temperance is your greatest struggle my friend. Let's forbear. Watch. Wait.” D'Raq said quietly. “If we draw closer and stick to the shadows his men may do what we need.”
“I was hoping you would do what we need.” Egan said.
“Don't worry. Toby may be enough of a distraction to gather what guards there are into the open.” D'Raq icy gaze settled on his. “It will be much easier to control all of them if they are together then to bring them under my control one by one. “
Egan looked towards the group firing with all their might on the iron gate then back to D'Raq. His lips curved into a smug grin. He knew he should be scared of D'Raq. A man with that kind of power could overcome the Emperor if he really wanted to.
“What do you think?” D'Raq said.
“I think we should wait. We’ll build an army all at once instead of piecemeal.”
D'Raq clapped his hand onto Egan’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You’re learning my friend. Let's get a little closer.”
They slunk along the walls of the building facing the palace until they were almost directly in front of it. Toby had his men split into two groups of six, firing at random intervals. Ever since the queen’s mother died, the palace walls and every entrance inside had been reinforced. Blowing their way in was no longer an option. One of Toby's men pulled out the shoulder cannon they used in the attack on the palace nearly a year and a half ago.
“Shield your eyes,” Egan said under his breath. All three men covered their eyes with their hands as a burst of white fire slammed into the iron door. Egan opened his fingers once he felt it was safe. Toby's men paced back and forth scrambling as Toby yelled at them. Their attempt at blowing a hole into the wall and the door had failed. There had to be a better way than this.
“Cover me.” Egan stepped out of the shadows.
“Boss? Boss?” Hargett said keeping his voice low.
“Let him work,” D'Raq said. Egan glanced back and saw D'Raq pulling Hargett back into the cover of darkness. He could barely make out their outlines, but he thought he saw Hargett aim his baton towards Toby, at least he hoped that’s what he saw.
Egan gave him a nod and holstered his baton. He held his hands up as if in surrender.
“Toby!” Egan called. “Toby Wyn!”
Toby turned towards the sounds of his voice. His eyes scanning the darkness for its source. His eyebrows raised halfway up his forehead and he held up his baton in defense once he recognized Egan. “Crane?” Toby said sounding surprised and a little confused. “What are you doing here?”
“You told me to get free. I'm free and my family is inside that palace,” Egan said.
“Well I'm sorry to hear that,” Toby said.
“Are you?” Egan took several steps forward still holding his hands in the air. “You never came to visit me.”
Toby shrugged a meaty shoulder. “I got in touch and it looks like you did what you were supposed to do.”
“And what exactly was that?” Egan edged closer.
Toby raised his baton a little higher, taking a defensive stance. “That's close enough Crane. I can see you just fine from here.”
“You never wanted me free,” Egan said.
“I don't know what you're talking about,” Toby said.
Egan's hand twitched above the baton in its holster. “Oh I think you do.”
“I don’t really want to get into this here and now Crane. I’ve got a mission to carry out.” Toby’s voice edged into impatience. “You’re wasting my time.”
A fireball erupted from the tip of Toby’s baton but instead of hitting its target, it shattered into sparks several feet in front of Egan. Hargett and D'Raq emerged from the darkness.
Egan expected Toby's men to turn on him but instead they fell silent as if they were waiting for instruction. He glanced sideways at D'Raq and found him with one hand hovering in the air.
“Do you have them?” Egan asked.
“Yes,” D'Raq said.
“Are they all gonna break down and weep or turn against each other? What's the plan?” Hargett asked.
“No,” D'Raq said. “Right now they’re just waiting for instruction. There are a line of wardens hidden at the base of the palace wall. I have control of them as well.”
“All right then,” Egan said. “Let's get that gate open.”
“All right,” D'Raq said. He raised his hand and nine soldiers, wardens emerged, crossing the wide expanse between the palace walls and the palace gate. One of them stepped forward crossed to the guard shack and returned with the key.
“Remind me never to get on your bad side D'Raq,” Egan said.
“As long as you never injure
anyone I love,” D'Raq said. “You and I will never have a problem.”
“Good to know.” Egan took the key from the Warden, opened the door and pushed his way inside. “Let’s finish this.”
Twenty-Six
Cilla snuggled on the couch with Danny while Tom and Y’Ana played board games on the floor. There had been an explosion earlier somewhere in the distance but nothing more since. The quiet of it set everyone on edge. Her eyes kept going to the entrance of this hidden room. How Egan would get through that door she didn't know. Only the Queen or Captain Gubler could open and close it. Her fingers twitched and she balled up her hands.
“Is everything all right, Cilla?” Her mother asked.
“I'm fine, mama,” she said quietly.
“If you squeeze your hands much tighter the skin across your knuckles will tear,” her mother said pointing to her tight fists.
“It’s nerve-racking waiting for something to happen.” Cilla glanced around again and saw the Queen sitting in the darkened meeting room with her head in her hands. Captain Gubler stood nearby talking to her in a low voice and Sorrel sat next to her staring at the Captain. Her Brown eyes were wide and glassy. Oh to be a Wood Kael — to hear their thoughts — what would she here?
“Something will happen soon,” her mother said. “The Queen will make a decision and —”
“And what, Mother?” Anger edged into Cilla’s voice. “And you'll take your leave?”
“I'm not planning on leaving.” Her mother narrowed her eyes. “Are you?”
“Of course not.” She crossed her arms tightly across her chest. “Where would I go?”
“I don’t know,” her mother said, sounding weary and annoyed in that way only her mother could. “All I know is that you've been different the last few days. Ever since seeing Egan. It makes me wonder if he's gotten back into your head.”
Cilla bristled and sniffed. “It's none of your business what's between me and Egan.”
Her mother scowled but didn’t argue. “Just know I’m done coming to your rescue. I won’t do it anymore. I can’t.”