Gabriel nodded.
“So, the next step is to get to Kale’s family,” I said.
Gabriel was about to speak, but Kale cut him off.
“From there, my father will help us with a plan to go back to the Queen, give her what she wants, and rescue the other girls. Now we just need to decide what to do with them.” Kale gestured to Codie and Anabelle.
“Simple. We take them with us,” Gabriel said, glancing at me.
I smiled back at him. He somehow knew that had been my position.
“I can help get them through the borderland, as long as they have a place to stay when we get there.”
Kale sighed. “Yes. There are places they can stay.”
Both kids jumped for joy in a circle around Kale. “Thank you! Thank you!”
Anabelle hugged him around the middle, and he knelt to hug her in return.
“I promise, you’ll be taken care of,” he said and looked back up at me. “Can we go now? Night will be here before we know it and we want that cover when we go through the fence.”
Outside, I found Misty tied to a nearby tree. I ran to her and threw my arms around her thick neck. I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again, so I’d tried not to think about it while trapped in that cabin. I couldn’t take any more heartache. But she was here and okay!
“Why don’t you ride in the jeep with Gabriel and the kids,” Kale said, walking up behind me. “I’ll lead the way on horseback.”
I didn’t know how far we were from where I’d been taken. We were now in some wooded foothills. As we drove downward, some of the clearings in the trees presented spectacular views.
Once we were on flat land again, I caught sight of the Inter-Ward Express barreling toward the next town and figured we were close to where I had been—close to entering the 24th Ward. And when we crossed the border, it didn’t feel anything like a homecoming. Even though I had only been gone for a month, it felt like a lifetime ago. A different girl had been raised here. I was no longer her.
As we drew closer to where I’d grown up, I focused less on the passing landscape and more on Kale expertly riding Misty ahead of us. He kept Misty at a hard gallop, and at times on the rough terrain, the jeep had a hard time keeping up.
Kale and I had already been through so much together, some of which I knew I still didn’t remember, although Kale reminded me of much of our initial story. He’s always only had eyes for me, even when he was still officially with my older step-sister, Johanna. Even though I wished I could remember those good days, I was glad I had no memory of the night of my capture and I was forcefully taken back to the Ramsey estate. There was a lot I didn’t know or couldn’t remember about Kale, but I had no questions about his motives. He would fight for me, and I’d do the same for him.
We turned onto the road that led to the Ramsey Estate, in the opposite direction. Now, we were headed toward town and the devil’s tree. And then I saw it in the distance, standing alone at the fork in the road, its distinct twisted trunks a familiar landmark. As we drew closer, I could start to see the etchings in the bark, initials of committed couples. Mine were on there, along with Kale’s. One way or another, we were bound for life—or so the legend said.
We quickly reached the fork in the road and continued into the forest. After another twenty minutes of travel, we came upon a secluded cottage amongst the trees. Smoke rose from the stone chimney. Kale rode up to the cottage and dismounted. Gabriel brought the jeep to a stop a few yards away. The front door opened, and an old woman with short, silver hair appeared at the threshold.
She also held a rifle aimed at her intruders.
8
Victoria
After the old woman got a good look at Kale, she lowered the muzzle of her rifle. “You got here faster than I expected,” she said.
“We made good time,” Kale said, tying Misty to a post next to a bed of roses. “Everyone, this is Mama Maud. She’s practically family. I’ve known her my whole life.”
“You can’t leave that jeep here,” Mama Maud said. “I don’t want someone to come looking for it and find it here at my doorstep.”
Gabriel jumped down and opened the back door to let out the kids. “I know,” he said. “Kale already told me we’d have to park it back in town.”
I helped Annabelle out of the jeep and met Kale by the front door.
“So, this must be the Victoria I’ve heard so much about,” Mama Maud said.
“I am Victoria, so at least that much is true,” I said and offered a smile.
The warm gesture was not returned. Mama Maud simply turned around and shuffled into the cottage, leaving the door open.
“I just wanted to help you guys get set up,” Kale said. “Then I’ll go with Gabriel to dump the jeep.”
“I can go with you,” I offered. “I don’t really want to stay here—with her.”
Kale shook his head. “It will be better if you stayed with the kids. Like I said, she’s family. She may be rough around the edges, but she’s got a good heart. Also, I’ll find you something to wear. There isn’t much, and it’s mostly my clothes, but there should be something better than that torn dress.”
“I’d appreciate that. And since it’s your clothes you’re talking about, I’m guessing I won’t have to worry about another dress.”
Kale chuckled as he followed the kids into a cozy kitchen that smelled of roasting meat, spices, and tea.
“I’ve got some stew simmering, so if any of you wants to eat, then sit your butts at the table,” Mama Maud said, waddling over to the fireplace, where a cauldron hung from a hook above the burning wood.
Cody and Annabelle wasted no time choosing seats at the table; they were practically salivating from the mere mention of food. It saddened me to think I didn’t know the last time they’d had a proper meal. My stomach was grumbling as well, but I wanted Kale to show me the clothes before he left.
I followed Kale to a bedroom not much bigger than my old cellar room in the Ramsey estate. In the closet, there were a few jackets and pants on hangers and folded shirts on a shelf above.
“There are a few different sizes, but the smallest will probably be mine, which I’m sure will still be big on you. There’s a belt or two up there somewhere, so that should help.”
“I can make whatever you got work,” I said. “Then I can burn this lousy thing in the fire.”
“It’s not so bad,” he said with a bashful grin. “You know, if the material was still in good condition.”
“Yeah, if it wasn’t all ripped and muddy and I was still trying to impress fancy people at the palace, then sure, it was a beautiful dress.”
We stood there silently for a long moment, simply looking at each other. It was like he was waiting for something. I was simply waiting for him to leave so I could change. I felt gross and dirty enough on my own, but having Kale stare at me only made me feel that much more self-conscious. I’d grown so accustomed to the warm baths of the palace in the past month and now felt like I needed one more than food. But I knew we still had a lot of hard terrain to cover and any kind of real freshening up would have to wait.
“Umm… I better get going,” Kale said. “Go take care of the jeep with Gabriel. Oh, before I forget, I need your phone.”
“Okay,” I said and handed it to him. “I’ll pick something out and see you when you get back.”
Instead of saying goodbye, Kale backed out of the room and closed the door behind them.
I turned my attention back to the clothes I had to choose from, selecting the smallest pair of blue jeans I could find. They were beginning to fray at the knees and had a safety pin where the top button had once been, but they’d do. I had to punch an extra hole in the belt I’d found to keep the jeans from falling off my hips. I rolled up the pant legs three times to keep from tripping on them.
Under my dress, Kimera had given me a strapless push-up bra to wear, which had grown incredibly irritating. I pretty much assumed I wouldn’t find another bra
here, so decided to go without. My small chest didn’t require one for support, only for enhancement when such a thing was desired. So, I doubled up on some dark cotton shirts, which were far more comfortable than the confines of my soiled eveningwear.
I found a bathroom with a mirror and could finally get a look at myself for the first time since I’d left the palace. My hair looked like a crazy and crumbling bird’s nest from the updo styling Kimera had done and all the hair products and pins used to accomplish her vision. My makeup was smeared with dirt and dried blood. I looked more zombie than human… though human was still the incorrect term. At least the clothes I now wore were clean.
I washed my face and arms in the sink, removed the hairpins, and wet down my crunchy hair. Although I still wasn’t a pretty picture to look at in the mirror, the little bit of cleaning made me feel ten times better.
By the time I returned to the main room, Codie and Anabelle were finishing up their feast. I joined them at the table with a bowl of stew. Mama Maud wasn’t much for conversation, so I simply ate and waited for Kale and Gabriel to return.
The boys barged into the cottage about an hour later. Mama Maud was falling asleep in a rocking chair by the fire. I was keeping Codie and Anabelle company on the far side of the room, trying to quietly pass the time.
“How’re the clothes?” Kale asked, taking a seat beside me on the floor.
“Comfortable,” I said. “Thank you.”
“You look nice like this—casual.”
“I’m still all dirty,” I said.
“You’re fine,” he said. “You can get all cleaned up tomorrow once we reach my settlement. Let me get something to eat and we’ll go as soon as the sun sets.” He repositioned himself to reach into his front pants pocket and pulled out a cell phone. It looked similar to the one he’d originally given me, but it definitely wasn’t the same. “Here you go. This one will replace the one I’d originally given you.”
“What was wrong with that one?” I asked.
“The Queen had the means to track it. This one is set up to call through that one, which I left in the jeep. Your original phone is now a proxy. You will get the Queen’s calls and you can call her, but all tracking will lead to the jeep.”
“Cool trick.”
Kale was looking out for my safety at every turn. It seemed he had thought of everything.
Twilight was already upon us. Kale and Gabriel ate fast. The kids each took turns using the one bathroom in the cottage.
Kale went over to Mama Maud as she continued to rock and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll be leaving the horse with you. Her name is Misty. Thank you as always and I’ll see you next time around.”
“I could use some more ammo,” she said in her gravelly voice.
“Anything we should be concerned about?”
“No. Just hunting, my dear boy.”
“I’ll be sure to bring some on my next trip.” Kale kissed her cheek again and ushered us out the door.
Around the back of the cottage was a small wooden shed. He unlocked the padlock and stepped inside, holding a small flashlight. When he returned, he tossed Gabriel and me heavy vests with Velcro straps. Then he handed Gabriel a pair of fancy-looking computer goggles.
“I only have two sets of each of these,” Kale said. He’d strapped an identical pair, the eyepieces resting on his forehead. “Put on the bulletproof vests. Each of you will have to shield the kids if it comes to that.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“Like I said, I only have two,” he said as he started to offer me a handgun, but then pulled his hand back at the last moment. “Have you fired one of these before?”
I shook my head.
“That’s what I was afraid of,” he said. “I’ll hold onto this then. But it’s something we’ll have to remedy.”
“I’ve gone hunting with my father when he was still alive,” Codie said.
“No offense, kid, but we’ll keep the guns between Gabriel and me.”
Codie folded his arms and sulked into the shadows, kicking at rocks and twigs as he did so.
Kale locked the shed and said, “Okay. Let’s do this.”
The electrified fence wasn’t far from Mama Maud’s cottage. The forest was dark, the canopy thick overhead, but Kale moved through the trees and underbrush with ease due to his night vision goggles. He held my hand to help keep me from tripping, and I formed a train with the kids who were walking through the woods just as blind as I was.
By the time we reached the clearing, I could hear the crackling hum of the fence. Large metal cables extended horizontally like rungs on a ladder, attaching to towering vertical posts. Atop every other post was a small camera, scanning the nearby areas.
“They’re going to see us,” I whispered.
“Not if we move fast,” Kale answered. He had a small electronic device in his hand that wasn’t much larger than a cell phone. “These cameras are being rerouted. Unless someone is watching closely, comparing with other cameras, then no one will notice that the feed of this camera will be identical to that of another further away. It’s also much harder to tell in the dark. But we don’t want to press our luck. We need to move fast. Wait here.”
Kale launched from our spot at the edge of the wood. By the time he reached the fence, he appeared to be swallowed by a fog. The mirage that hid the fence during the day wasn’t as effective at night, which may have simply been a safety feature for nighttime travelers. Kale was now kneeling before the nearest post, but between the darkness and the fog, I couldn’t tell what he was doing.
“What’s happening?” I asked Gabriel.
He leaned in close. “The bottom cable in that location isn’t electrified. Kale mentioned some sort of malfunction that’s gone undetected for some time. He’s removing one side of the cable to give us enough room to crawl through.”
“That’s crazy,” I said.
“That’s the plan.” Gabriel paused, looking out into the foggy darkness. “He’s waving us over. Let’s go.”
“Is it safe?” Anabelle asked.
“Of course it is,” I reassured her and took her hand just as Gabriel pulled me into the clearing.
As we drew closer to the fence, it became more pronounced—and more menacing. The humming was also that much louder, serving as a warning.
Kale had already crawled under the next lowest cable—one that crackled angrily with the rest of them. He waited on the other side of the fence, urging us to hurry up.
Then I saw movement on the other side. Deep in the darkness beyond the fog. Something large. Almost as if the ground itself was moving.
“There’s something out there,” I said as Codie carefully crawled through the opening in the fence.
“Of course there is,” Kale said.
Anabelle was next.
“What is it?” I asked, my heart pounding.
“You need to go,” Gabriel said, gently nudging my back.
“If you don’t know, then now’s not the time to explain it to you,” Kale said. “Come on. We need to move.”
I lay flat on my stomach and pulled myself through the dirt, under the sizzling cable. Once through, I sat up and gazed out into the shifting darkness. Something told me the fence was not our biggest threat for the evening—and may even be the least of our worries.
9
Victoria
Something was definitely not right with the desert terrain ahead of us. The sliver of a moon cast just enough light to see the ground moving before us. Maybe it was another mirage. The dirt before us seemed to be undulating like waves in the ocean.
Anabelle gasped. Codie clung to Gabriel.
“Follow me closely,” Kale said in a low, yet commanding voice. “Whatever you do, don’t stop. Do all of you understand?”
“Yes,” I said. The kids nodded.
Kale counted to three and then took off like a wolf in the night.
“Go,” Gabriel urged to me.
“What about the—�
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“Go!”
I didn’t argue further and raced after Kale. Then I felt the ground shifting beneath me. I tried not to think about what was happening and focused on not tripping over some dark object ahead. My heart pounded against the bulletproof vest tight to my chest, leaving me short of breath.
The path before me lifted and fell, running up and down hills I couldn’t see coming. My legs were constantly having to adjust to the level of the ground.
Then a hole appeared and caught one foot, sending me sprawling. I let out a scream as I landed on my forearms, inches away from banging my head against some rocks.
Kale immediately skidded to a halt and returned to me. “I’ve got you, Victoria,” he said, his own breathing labored as well, as he reached for my hand.
Just as he pulled me up, I felt some large creature rub up against my leg and slither back underground. I didn’t want to turn around and see what was behind me but had no choice once I heard Anabelle scream. Whatever it had been was beneath the sand, but the area still rippled like a rock had been cast into a pond.
Gabriel was urging Anabelle forward, but she was frozen in place. Codie finally decided to leave Gabriel’s side and crossed the precarious sand to reach Kale and me.
When he couldn’t manage to get through to her, Gabriel picked up Anabelle and threw her over his shoulder. But before he could close the distance between us, the ground beneath him dropped away. The two of them fell several feet into the sinkhole and something burst out of the sand next to them. I couldn’t move as a snake the size of a train, covered in silver metal scales glistening from the waning moon, rose and loomed over Gabriel and Anabelle. From where it protruded from the ground, I could see a depression in the earth extending back dozens of feet—maybe hundreds—and wondered how long this creature really was. The snake hummed and clicked. It had a circular opening for a mouth and three glowing red eyes arranged like a triangle staring down at its prey. Then it let out a deafening roar that turned my blood to ice.
Royal Replicas 2: Royal Captives Page 5