"What does the Great Demon have to do with anything?" frowned Prince Oscar. "He is dead and buried."
"Is he?" asked Alex. "We know where half of Alutar is, but where is the other half?"
"Splattered over the center of the earth if the mages are correct," answered the prince.
"If they are correct," conceded Alex, "but I am not so sure. Remember that Alutar is immortal. The Mage may have contained him in one fashion or another, but we truly don't know what he is capable of. Besides, it struck me that this campaign to destroy Alcea was being planned before there ever was an Alcea. Don't you find that strange?"
"Is this another one of your gut feelings?" Prince Oscar asked with a sigh.
"It is," Alex admitted, "and you know that I must follow those instincts."
Prince Oscar stood silently for a moment staring at his old friend. He had never known one of Alex's gut feelings to be wrong. Finally, the prince nodded his agreement.
"I will need to get a fairy off to Kalamaar immediately," he said softly. "If all goes well, the ship should be off the coast of Dalek in a couple of days. Take Cirris with you. He will be safer at sea than he has been on land, and his knowledge of the area will be invaluable."
"Done," grinned Alex. "I better get back to my group before someone starts grilling you about this conversation."
"The only one who has noticed you over here has been your dog," chuckled Prince Oscar. "He threw a fit when you snuck off to Pia without him, you know."
"He has become very attached to me," shrugged Alex. "Perhaps it is a fear of being left alone again."
As Alex moved away from the prince, he saw Jenneva watching him. He started to walk back towards his group, but he saw Fredrik heading out of the library. He detoured so that he reached the door at the same time as the Royal Sorcerer. He followed Fredrik through the door and closed it behind him.
"When will you be returning to interrogate the prisoners?" Alex asked softly.
"After the meeting, I suppose," answered Fredrik. "Have you thought of more questions for them?"
"Indeed I have," smiled Alex. "See if you can determine how long of a sea journey they had to endure. Even if the assassins were not the holders of secret information, they should know how long it took to get here."
"I will do that," agreed the Royal Sorcerer. "Perhaps I will interrogate them again tomorrow."
"How about tonight?" pressed Alex.
Fredrik raised an eyebrow in response. "I had planned a quiet evening with Niki," he hesitated. "She is feeling left out with everyone planning battle strategies. Can't it wait?"
"No," Alex shook his head. "Surely, it shouldn't take you long to get such information from them?"
"The information does not come easily," frowned Fredrik. "It is as if someone anticipated that they might be apprehended. Things that you would expect anyone to know just aren't there, like who they report to, or why they are searching for the sailors."
"Could they be feigning ignorance?" asked Alex.
"No," Fredrik shook his head. "I am delving directly into their memories, and there are vast empty spaces. Someone has intentionally erased what they don't want discovered."
"Magically?" questioned Alex.
"Yes," replied Fredrik. "I have never experienced anything like it. Each of them knows their city of birth, but they remember nothing else about their homeland. They did not even name it as Zara."
"Interesting," Alex responded distractedly. "This magic that was performed on their memories, when would it have occurred? Do you think it would have been done before they left Zara, or on the ship?"
"I don't know for sure," pondered Fredrik, "but it wouldn't make much sense to require a mage to take the sea voyage just to erase their memories. If I were doing it to send spies somewhere else, I would do it before they left Tagaret."
"That is what I was thinking," smiled Alex. "If that is the case, their memories of the voyage and landing place should not be erased."
"Good point," Fredrik brightened. "Perhaps I have been trying to retrieve memories from too long ago."
"See if you can determine the duration of the journey," requested Alex. "Also try to determine where Sandy Point is. I think I already know, but I would like to have it verified. Another piece of useful information would be any contacts that they might have in Alcea. They might have been given a way to communicate with others who are already here."
"I will try that right now," Fredrik promised enthusiastically. "I am curious to see if your theory is correct. Where will you be?"
"In the courtyard," smiled Alex. "I want to visit some old friends in the Red Swords before I depart Tagaret again."
"I will find you," promised Fredrik as he turned and left.
Alex watched the Royal Sorcerer leave and then opened the door to the library and stepped into the room. He paused for a moment to survey the inhabitants of the room before rejoining Jenneva and the Cordonian assault group.
"What are you up to?" whispered Jenneva.
"I am planning on taking you on a sea cruise," grinned Alex. "See if you can get our group to agree to leave Tagaret early. I need to talk to Bin-lu."
"We have two weeks to get to Cordonia," stated Jenneva. "How early are you wanting to leave Tagaret?"
"Tomorrow morning," Alex replied.
Jenneva showed no surprise as Alex turned and walked over to Bin-lu's group. He spent a few minutes observing the group and listening to their planning before tapping Bin-lu's arm and motioning him away from the group.
"I am arranging for a ship for your Rangers to stay on," Alex said softly. "I was thinking that our groups could travel together to Dalek. Is that acceptable?"
"Of course," smiled Bin-lu. "I am always honored to travel in your company. It will give you a chance to get to know Rut-ki."
"She seems the perfect match for you," Alex said warmly. "I was thinking about leaving Tagaret earlier than everyone else. Will that be a problem for your group?"
"I do not think so," answered Bin-lu. "There is little in Tagaret that requires us to be here, and I am always desirous of being early to a party. When do you wish to leave?"
"Tomorrow morning," grinned Alex.
Bin-lu's eyes narrowed and his brow creased. "There is something that you are not telling me," Bin-lu said accusingly.
"Yes, there is," replied Alex. "I will explain it in detail later, but now is not the time. Is tomorrow morning possible?"
Bin-lu hesitated for a moment. He glanced back at his group and slowly nodded his head. "I do not think there will be any objections," he stated. "When will I learn what this is all about?"
"Soon," promised Alex. "Soon."
Bin-lu nodded, and Alex turned and headed towards the door of the library to hurry down to the courtyard before Fredrik got there. As he neared the door, Tanya stepped forward and blocked his way. A tiny blue fairy was perched on her shoulder.
"Going somewhere, Father?" Tanya asked sharply.
"Down to the courtyard," Alex smiled thinly. "It might be good to see some old friends before I leave Tagaret."
"You will have plenty of time for that," King Arik said pleasantly as he approached. "The unicorns will get you to Kantor in no time. You will have at least a week or more before you leave."
"Actually," Alex sighed, "I was thinking that we should spread the departures out over the two weeks. It would not do to have our enemies seeing a large number of Alcea Knights and Rangers departing the city at one time."
"That is a good thought," the king nodded.
"And when would your group be leaving?" asked the queen.
"Tomorrow morning," Alex said hesitantly.
"Then I should introduce you to Bitsy," Tanya smiled thinly as she held up her hand for the fairy to jump onto. "She will be your fairy for the mission."
"Bitsy and I are already acquainted," smiled Alex. "I am sure that she will be a vital member of our team."
"She has been a part of your team for the last hour," glared Tanya.
"You do realize that it is impolite to keep secrets from the king and queen, don't you?"
Alex blushed as he realized that the fairy had been spying on his conversations. He held up his hands defensively as he looked into Tanya's eyes and smiled.
"What do you mean about secrets?" Arik asked Tanya.
"Ask him," Tanya scowled. "He is full of secrets."
The king looked questioningly at Alex, and the whole room grew silent as everyone turned their attention to the conversation.
"It is hardly much of a secret," Alex began. "I am just playing a hunch."
Arik looked from Alex to Tanya and back to Alex. "Outside the room," he finally commanded.
Alex nodded and opened the door to the hallway. Tanya followed her father into the hall, and the king allowed Jenneva to slip out of the room before leaving and closing the door behind him.
"Explain," demanded the king.
Alex sighed and nodded. "I think I might know where Sandy Point is," he began. "I am planning on having the Cordonian group team up with the Lanoirian group and board a ship near Dalek. I think there is a fair chance of finding a Zaran ship off the coast of Sordoa. If we do find one, I plan to seize it. The charts alone would be worth the excursion."
The door opened and Prince Oscar exited the library. He nodded to the two couple in the corridor as if he was merely passing by, but he made no effort to leave as the conversation continued.
"I agree," the king responded enthusiastically, "but why keep it a secret?"
"Because we plan to sail that ship to Zara," declared Jenneva. "Alex is not being secretive so much as he is trying to forestall the argument with Tanya about our going."
Tanya stared at her mother with disbelief. "I can't believe you are in on this," she said.
"It is an excellent plan," shrugged Jenneva. "Look, Tanya, we know how much you love and care for us, but you cannot spend your efforts trying to protect us. Whatever group goes to Zara, it must include a competent warrior and an adept mage. Your father and I are the most likely to fulfill that task. You and Arik cannot be allowed to go. You both have responsibilities to the people of Alcea that cannot be ignored. Who else would you send?"
Tanya opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She sighed with resignation.
"They are right, Tanya," Arik said softly. "We cannot abandon our responsibilities here, and there are no finer people to head up the journey, if there ever is one."
"Besides," added Alex, "we are not close to making any journey. I am hoping to find a Zaran ship, but that is not even close to certain. Plus I am assuming that there will be charts onboard. There might not be. I was wrong to try to arrange this without informing you, but the odds are that nothing will come of it anyway, so why have an argument that is not necessary?"
"Let's make a deal," suggested Jenneva. "Your father and I will promise not to keep anything from you, and you promise not to try to limit what we do. Can we agree on that?"
Tanya frowned and did not reply right away. Prince Oscar walked over to the group and placed his hands on the queen's shoulders.
"You might as well agree," Oscar said with a smile. "No one has ever been able to tell Alexander Tork what to do or not to do. At least this way he won't keep it a secret from you."
Tanya looked into Oscar's smiling face and suddenly laughed inwardly.
"You are so right, Prince Oscar," she said with a smile. "I agree to the deal."
Alex grinned and hugged Tanya as Fredrik rounded the corner of the corridor. The Royal Sorcerer looked at the group assembled outside the door of the library and wondered what was going on, but he shook it off and joined the group excitedly.
"You were right, Alex," Fredrik reported. "They remember the voyage very well. I had no problems retrieving those memories. The magic blocks must have been done before they boarded the ship."
"How long of a journey?" Alex asked as he broke the embrace with Tanya.
"Several months," Fredrik answered.
Prince Oscar whistled in amazement. "That is a long time to be at sea," he stated. "No wonder we have never stumbled across this foreign land."
"There is something else you should know," Fredrik declared. "I do not know if the memories that I retrieved reflect realities or nightmares, but they remember some terrible creatures in the sea. They remember fish larger than the ship and hideous monsters with multiple heads and teeth longer than a man's arm."
"Did each of them have these memories?" asked Zack Nolan.
"Yes," Fredrik nodded. "Each of them shared the memories of the monsters."
"Then they are not likely to be nightmares," frowned Alex.
"That is not necessarily true," interjected Jenneva. "Such nightmares could be the result of the mental erasing procedure. I am not saying that is the case, but it is possible when someone's memory has been tampered with. Seeing as each of the men underwent the same magic, the nightmares could be the same as well."
"Now is not the time to dwell upon sea monsters," King Arik said as he steered the conversation back to the Balmak temples. "If you can find a Zaran ship and seize it, that is great, but nothing must get in the way of both of your teams being in position by the new moon. Do I have your promise on that, Alex?"
"You have my promise," Alex declared. "The timing is precisely why we are planning to leave in the morning. The temples must be attacked on schedule."
"Excellent," concluded the king. "Let's finish up our planning then."
The group entered the library and separated into groups again to continue detailing their plans. Only a few minutes had passed before Prince Midge whispered into Alex's ear.
"The Bringer wants to see you in his study," chirped the fairy prince.
Alex did not let on that he had received the message. He nonchalantly moved away from the group and exited the library. No one seemed to notice except Smokey. The dog slipped out the door before Alex could close it.
"I can't take you for a walk right now, boy," smiled Alex. "It will have to wait."
Alex turned and headed towards the king's study. Smokey stubbornly followed him, and Alex chuckled and shook his head. When he reached the king's study, the guards immediately opened the door to admit him. When Smokey also scooted through the door, the guards were at a loss as to how to react. One of the guards followed the dog into the study, but the king waved the guard off. He left the room and closed the door.
"Did you bring him along for protection?" chuckled King Arik.
"He needs to go out," Alex shrugged, "and he is stubborn about it. I am afraid we are stuck with him."
"Stubbornness seems to run in the family," quipped the king.
Alex frowned as he knew that he was in for a lecture.
"I was going to tell you," Alex offered as a way to lessen the blow.
"When?" retorted the king. "You arranged for a ship, coordinated with Bin-lu, and had Fredrik interrogate the prisoners. Wasn't there a few minutes in that busy schedule to let the king know what was going on?"
"I apologize," sighed Alex. "I am used to handling things my own way."
"Nonsense," countered King Arik. "You were trying to avoid telling Tanya. You forget that you trained me, Alex. I know how you work, and I know how you think."
"Is that bad?" scowled Alex. "You also know that I do what needs to be done."
"I agree," conceded King Arik. "If there is anyone in the world that I could depend upon to do something totally dangerous, you are that person. You do not think twice about endangering your own life to save the life of another. Or to save a kingdom from ruin," he added with a thin smile. "Alex, I don't fault your methods one bit. I admire you. All that I am asking is that you keep me informed."
"But…" Alex began.
"I understand that as well," sighed the king, "but try to understand things from her point of view. When we first met, Tanya hit you pretty hard about abandoning your child to focus on the Ancient Prophecy. She feels guilty about that. She feels that you and Jenneva not only go
t cheated out of your youth, but that she rubbed salt into your wounds."
"The way my life turned out is no fault of hers," retorted Alex.
"I know that, and you know that," agreed the king, "but she wants to see you enjoy what is left of your life. While the Torks need to resolve this conflict, I have to know what is going on at all times. It is the only way that I can effectively govern."
"I understand," Alex nodded solemnly. "I will talk to Tanya about it."
"I was hoping that you would say that," grinned the king. "She is in her study."
"Does she know that I am coming to see her?" frowned Alex.
"She is an intelligent woman," replied the king. "While I have not told her that the two of you need to talk, she knows that I am upset about the game that is being played. Go talk to her."
Alex nodded and left the king's study. With Smokey right behind him, he walked next door to the queen's study. One of the guards knocked on the door and then opened it and announced him. Alex and the dog moved into the room.
"Does he follow you everywhere?" Tanya quipped as the guard retreated and closed the door.
"Pretty much," Alex said softly. "Tanya we need to…"
"I know," sighed the queen. "I am only making things harder for you, but I can't help it. Why must you two always be the ones to risk your lives?"
"Because that is our purpose in life," Alex smiled thinly. "While neither your mother nor I ever envisioned turning into the people we have become, both of us have accepted it. You must accept it as well."
"I am trying to," frowned Tanya, "but it is hard."
"You are making it harder on yourself than it needs to be," replied Alex. "Arik let slip that the reason you are so stubborn in your desires is because you feel guilt about our lives turning out as they have. You have no reason to feel guilty about anything. Your life has never been your own any more than mine has. Don't you think Jenneva and I would love to see you and Arik live in peace? We have the same desires towards you and Arik that you have towards your mother and me. The difference is, we learned a long time ago that there is no such thing as safety. Safety is a passing illusion. Deep inside each of us is an obligation to do everything that we can to ensure that good prevails over evil. It is neither a curse nor a blessing. It is who we are. We can never change that."
Knights of Alcea Page 29