After walking through another empty field, Theus found a narrow country road, and began to slog south at a determined rate. He passed farm houses where people waved as he walked by, and he thought the country was a pleasant district, one that he enjoyed observing. If the fields of the Jewel Hills had been fertile, he imagined his own part of the world would have looked very similar, with prosperous farms instead of the hard-scrabble ones he had known.
Late in the afternoon he felt ready to take his second magical step, and he propelled himself forward another score of miles, into a land that was still occupied, but more sparsely than what he had left.
He felt the whammy of decrepitude that came with the second magical movement of the day, but he kept himself from falling to the ground, as he locked his knees to stay upright.
There were mountains directly ahead of him, on the horizon in the south. They were well lit by the setting sun in the west, a golden hue making their icy glaciers glow beautifully.
Steep Rise was built where the mountains met the sea, he remembered. He might not be too terribly far away from the city in such a case, he knew. He’d continue to walk, he’d graze on edible plants he found along his way, and then he’d spend a night sleeping somewhere to get a full evening’s rest before he moved towards danger the following day.
Chapter 4
In the morning, Theus rose from his resting place at the foot of a tree, ready for the beginning of his assault on Steep Rise. He’d thought about what he would do in the city; the question had kept him awake late into the night.
The palace was his target. He assumed that Amelia would be held in the palace. Donal had stipulated that the palace was to have been a prime target of the invasion, and Theus guessed that the magician had set up his own residence in the royal building. It was logical to assume that the evil acolyte of Ind’Petro was staying in the building, and holding Amelia there as well.
He intended to take a single magical step towards the city, and then find a way to enter the city, and maneuver towards the palace. He would use the invisibility spell if needed – he suspected it would be needed. That would allow him to get past guards and to explore the palace structure to do one, or perhaps two, things.
He would search for Amelia. Once he found her, he would simply take the young girl in his arms and take a magical step out of the city. He hoped. He hoped that the white magic powers would not be thwarted by the addition of a second person; he was counting on the ability to move miles in a moment to be the key to his passage to freedom.
Whether the magical step worked or not though, if he was to find himself invisibly prowling about the palace, and he were to happen to cross paths with Donal, he would not hesitate to assassinate the monstrous magician. In a single stroke he would be able put an end to Amelia’s anguish, as well as deprive evil Ind’Petro of his greatest proponent. And Theus would also be able to gain some personal satisfaction from the revenge of stopping Donal.
Yet there were things that could go wrong, he knew.
“Voice, can I carry someone away while using the white magic to take a step over many miles?” he asked as he stood and faced south.
“Yes, you may do that. You may not travel as far as you would on your own, but you will still have instantaneous travel,” the Voice’s answer was reassuring.
Satisfied, Theus looked at the mountain peaks ahead of him, and then he took his magical step forward.
He found himself breathing heavily as he stood on the side of a mountain, looking down at the city below. The scene below seemed normal. The chimneys belched smoke, or in many cases did not. But there were not pillars of smoke emerging from doors or windows or burning ruins. People seemed to walk placidly about the city, or in a few cases bustled hurriedly. But no one seemed to be subject to pursuit or capture.
There were ships moving about in the harbor, the harbor that had once upon a time been an impregnable fortress, but now was merely an extension of the Southsand harbor, according to the men he had spoken to in Exlive.
Theus began to climb and slip down the mountainside, until he reached a trail, one that seemed suitable for mountain goats and deer. The trail was a narrow path that wove its way downward, then merged with another path that crossed another that became a casual road into the top levels of the city at the north end.
Theus walked through the city streets, nervously and apprehensive at first. But no guards bothered him – though guards were present in greater numbers than he had grown accustomed to seeing in Stoke or Great Forks. He walked with ease down towards the harbor, watching and listening, finding little out of the ordinary for a city, until he reached the harbor.
One shipping warehouse had been converted to a new temple for the god Ind’Petro. There were dark stains on the road in front of the building’s entrance, and Theus shuddered as he wondered if the stains were the blood of the victims who had been sacrificed. Theus scuttled to the opposite side of the harbor front plaza to stay as far from the building as possible, and he noted that most others along the roadway did the same. Once he reached the harbor, he paused and looked out at the docks. He began to break into a cold sweat, as he thought of Donal; at that very spot, on a ship that had berthed violently at the central pier, Theus had managed to escape from Donal. Had he not escaped, Theus had a premonition that he would have died at the hands of the evil magician.
“Voice, can you hear me?” he asked very softly, as he stood and looked out at the water.
There was no reply, as he had expected. The power of evil, evil from Ind’Petro, or perhaps just from Donal himself, had been a barrier to the Voice, and it still was. As fear started to invade Theus’s heart, at that very moment, he confirmed that he was once again cut off from the ally whose help he so much relied on and needed.
He could flee. With one step he could leave the city, and go back outside its boundaries. That would allow him to talk to the Voice to seek advice, or report on what he’d seen. Then he could return a day later and start his infiltration of the palace anew.
But that would leave Amelia in the hands of Donal for another day.
Theus sighed. He was nearly ready to retreat in fear from the task of rescuing Amelia. But the girl needed his help, desperately. And she had rescued him once, giving him the tip to flee before her uncle took action against him. She was a young child; he felt sympathy for her, remembering that he had been her age not many years earlier. He was still aware of the power of fear in a young child’s life. And his own younger siblings were ranged around her age; she could have easily been one of them. Instead, she was being fatally and painfully used by the evil magician.
But it could be a trap set for him, because Donal must have created the circumstances to allow Amelia to send a message to him.
Yet Donal wouldn’t know to expect Theus on this day, or so Theus had to hope and pray. Because, he had decided, he was going to the palace at that moment.
Chapter 5
Theus began to stroll upward, up the broad road that wove back and forth as it climbed the hill directly from the harbor to the palace on the hillside, looking over the harbor and the city that it had ruled before the conquest by Southsand.
He walked slowly, taking his time, wanting to preserve his strength, while also delaying his arrival at the palace that he didn’t want to visit.
When he arrived at the grove of ornamental trees in front of the palace he took a turn, and began to circle around the exterior wall of the palace grounds, examining the opportunities available to enter the facility and start his search for Amelia. The back entrance, where the wagons of goods were delivered, and wagons of waste were removed, appeared to offer the best chance. He stepped behind a tree, out of sight of the guards at the gate, then focused on his white magic ability to turn himself invisible, and pressed the spell into action.
The energy he drew from himself felt like very little, and he knew how little it was at any one moment. But the cumulative drain would over time grow exhaustive, he feared, and w
ould reduce or compromise his ability to take the important magic step, the step he might need to flee to safety if his plans went astray. He would have to try to walk about the palace without using invisibility if possible.
He hurried to the gate and right through the center of the open space, unseen by the passive guards. He followed a drive that led to the stables of the palace, hidden behind the palace, as had been the case in Southsand too. He wondered if that were true of all palaces, or just coincidentally a matter of the two he had seen.
The palace was a large building, though not as large as Southsand’s palace had been. Theus opened a small side door to invisibly enter the palace, and found that he was walking into the steamy confines of the laundry.
“Who’s there?” a man’s voice asked.
Through the swirls of steam, Theus saw three men stirring vats of clothes, and running a pressing set of rollers to wring water out of items.
“Is that a shadow standing in the steam?” one of them asked. Theus saw that the man was pointing directly at his location. In a panic, he ducked low, then scooted away from the door. He found himself next to a number of blue uniforms hanging on hooks; they matched the outfits the laundry workers wore. If he posed as a servant, he reasoned, he might be able to walk the halls of the palace unchallenged, at least long enough to narrow his search down to a probable location for Amelia.
Theus released his use of the invisibility spell. He crouched down, hidden by the steam and rows of shelves. He quickly changed his clothes, happy to wear something new and clean. He grabbed a pile of folded linens to carry, and slid his sword and knife in between the layers of clothes, then walked quickly to a door and departed from the warm, moist surroundings of the laundry.
“I’m new here,” he boldly decided to tell a woman several minutes later, after he roamed the halls of the palace cluelessly; he wasn’t making any progress, he realized.
“Aren’t we all?” she muttered, as she pushed a cart with a tray of food and a pitcher of drink.
“I’m supposed to deliver these for the care of the prisoners. Which direction should I go?” Theus asked plainly.
“Which prisoners?” the woman asked. “The ones in the dungeon, or the ones in the royal suites?”
“The royal suites.” Theus replied.
“I’ll take you part of the way there. Follow me,” the servant shrugged.
Theus fell in behind her, glad to have the guide, and glad to have an improved disguise, as it appeared to guards at checkpoints that the two servants were traveling together.
“You just go through those doors there,” the woman pointed to the right as they passed through a lavish rotunda. She indicated a pair of doors where two guards were stationed.
“Those doors?” Theus asked, pointing demonstrably at the pair of large gilded doors.
“Aye, that’s your place,” the woman pointed as well.
Theus stepped away from her, satisfied and hopeful. He dawdled and watched her until she left the rotunda, then he sauntered to the checkpoint.
“She told me to deliver these linens to the prisoners,” he told the pair of guards moments later.
“Make it quick. The magician will be here in less than an hour,” one guard said in a bored tone, as the other stepped aside and pulled the door open.
And with that he was inside the royal residential space. He’d been blessed with extraordinary good luck, beyond belief. In less than a half hour’s time he had entered the palace grounds and been led directly to Amelia’s cell. Just in time too – the magician was only minutes away from visiting as well.
Theus walked down the hall, then knocked on the first door he found.
“Amelia?” he called hoarsely, without receiving a reply.
He went to the next door, and repeated the call.
And then crossed the hall to the third door.
At the fourth door, a voice responded.
“Who’s there?” It came from an interior room, one he couldn’t see as he stood at the threshold of the entry to the royal suite.
“I’m looking for Princess Amelia,” Theus answered as he entered the first room of the suite. The voice hadn’t sounded right; it seemed too deep to be Amelia, though there was some familiar note that sounded close to the voice he remembered the girl having.
Around a corner he stopped as he entered a large room. Two people were in the room, and he knew them both – Amory and Redford.
“What are you doing here?” he asked in astonishment.
“You! What did you do with my sister?” Amory asked in equal astonishment. “You are a traitor! You’re here working for the Southsand scum!” he charged at Theus, hands balled into fists.
“I did not betray her!” Theus answered heatedly. He dropped his linen decoy and held his knife before himself protectively to stop Amory’s charge.
“Redford! Attack him!” Amory commanded as he stopped beyond the range of Theus’s weapon.
“Lad, he didn’t betray Amelia; we both know that,” the body guard replied, rising from the chair where he sat.
“What are you doing here though, Theus?” Redford asked.
“I had a dream that Amelia was calling me, asking for help,” he said forthrightly. “I have some special abilities,” he paused for a moment, then continued. “She said that Donal the magician was taking her life powers.
“I came back to save her. How did you get here?” he asked.
“How did the two of you even survive that storm?” Redford asked. “I saw the girl go flying out, then you jumped in after her, and we barely were able to keep the boat from being swamped,” he explained. “We were blown far out to sea. Then we were picked up by a Southsand pirate of all the luck, and brought back here as prisoners.”
“We saw Amelia, from a distance,” Amory spoke up. “Southsand raiders went to Exlive and kidnapped her from the embassy, then brought her back here.”
“We need to get all of you out of here now,” Theus declared. “The guard told me Donal will be here any minute now. Where is Amelia? We can go join her, then all escape.” He calculated that he might carry three passengers to safety, though they might only travel a few hundred yards. Nonetheless, he could carry them all out of the palace, and out of the way of immediate danger.
“Donal’s not coming to see us. Maybe some other magician is. Donal is back in Southsand,” Redford told Theus. “And he took Amelia with him. They left a fortnight ago.”
Chapter 6
“Donal and Amelia aren’t here?” Theus repeated stupidly. “They’re in Southsand?”
“Yes, Theus. And we’re going to be taken there too,” Redford spoke.
There was a noise, a door that slammed in the hallway.
“That must be them coming to get us now,” Amory pronounced. He was trying to appear brave, Theus could tell.
“We have to get you out of here,” Theus spoke urgently. “Listen,” he looked from one to the other. “I’ve been taught some of the secrets of white magic. I know how to get us out of here. We have to go now. What direction do you want to go in? Where can you find refuge?” he asked.
“White magic?” Redford asked skeptically. “Maybe Amory was right to start with. Maybe you are in cahoots with them.”
“I’m not! This is completely different,” Theus said. He heard the door from the hallway open.
“Come here! Come to me now!” he urged. He spread his arms wide in a gesture of invitation.
“Let’s go Amory,” Redford stepped up behind his orphaned prince, then pushed the boy toward Theus, as he followed. “Better to trust the unknown with him that see what the evil ones bring.”
They reached Theus, and he wrapped his arms around them. A man in black came through the doorway, with guards visible behind him as he entered the room.
Theus didn’t stop to check direction or consider distance or to plot his action. He simply squeezed the two prisoners tightly against himself, then engaged his energy, and moved his foot forward.
And then they were standing at the bottom of a narrow canyon, greenery growing around them, and a small stream burbling across its rocky bed.
“Great Currense and Trinte!” Redford sacrilegiously swore.
Theus released his two sprung prisoners and stepped back, then dropped to his knees in exhaustion.
“Theus! Are you alright!” Amory asked in alarm.
“I, just,” Theus gasped. “That was hard. I’ve never carried someone else before.”
“You did it – you really got us out of the palace!” Redford exclaimed. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know; what direction was I facing when we left the palace?” Theus asked in return.
Redford squinted his eyes as he reconstructed the scene. “You were facing east.”
“That’s the direction we traveled in, then,” Theus told him.
“We’re on the north side of Lord Krabel’s estate,” Amory concluded.
“Can you walk, Theus?” Redford asked, kneeling down next to his rescuer.
“I’ll be able in a few more minutes,” Theus replied, putting on a brave front. He felt wrung out; the additional burden involved in transporting the two extra people had been extraordinary. He closed his eyes and gasped for breath, while he wondered if carrying Amelia was going to be easier. He hadn’t truly digested the fact that he would apparently have to go to Southsand to find the girl and rescue her – that in itself terrified him. But knowing that he would suffer such pain every time he moved with her only added to his fear.
“Help me stand up, Amory,” Theus asked. He held out a hand, and relied on the boy to help him rise to his feet.
“Lord Krabel will give us shelter and protection,” Redford mused. “He’s been a friend of your family for a long time. We’ll be safe tonight. Let’s start moving to reach the castle,” he suggested. He stepped up to take one of Theus’s arms, gripping it firmly to help the boy make the rugged trek up the canyon.
They arrived at the gate of the castle near sunset, and hid in the bushes near the entrance, debating how to enter. They finally settled on sending Theus to the gate to ask to see the nobleman; he carried Amory’s ring as a sign of his hidden companions.
Unpredictable Fortunes (The Memory Stone Series Book 3) Page 5