“General, make sure that the southwestern border is manned. I don’t want Leonardo Santini, or anyone else, thinking they can parade in here at their own leisure. The next time, he may have the entire Sovereign Alliance with him. If you see anyone trying to enter out border illegally from hereon, you have permission to kill. Do you understand the tasks I’ve given you?”
Both men nodded, bringing their fists to their hearts in salute, although Brutus was a bit less enthusiastic. Evangeline looked over Brutus’s shoulder to Talan who was soaked head to foot in rainwater.
“Don’t you have some work to do, Master Leatherby,” she asked irritably causing Talan to grimace, but he too saluted his Queen before ducking out of sight to return to the mines. As soon as the words were spoken, Vincent set loose the battalion of armed Samarian Guards who had appeared behind the Queen as royal reinforcements.
They forced themselves into the homes of Samarian citizens, dragging out men and boys who would fight for their Queen. The protests and screams of devastated mothers filled the streets of Alumhy as the Guard swarmed through the residences like bees on honey. Thunder still rocked the black sky, and rain plummeted to the earth like an unending monsoon. Vincent Lowe walked over to Evangeline who stood listening to the devastation that was enveloping an already devastated city.
It’s for the good of Samaria, Evangeline thought inwardly, attempting to convince herself that what she was doing would work out better in the end for everyone.
She felt Vincent’s hand on her shoulder. “Come, My Queen,” he said softly. “Let’s get you out of the rain and inside so you don’t catch your death.”
Evangeline nodded mutely as he led her away from the platform and past the barricades that were erected to protect her from the violent crowd of Samarian citizens.
It’s for the good of Samaria, she told herself over and over again.
Chapter 25
Vincent Lowe led Evangeline quickly to her carriage, removing his heavy cloak and wrapping it around her to ward off the unceasing rain. As soon as she stepped inside the compact vehicle, a muscular arm grabbed her around the waist, while a hand cupped over her mouth to muffle her screams. Panicking, Evangeline bit down on the hand as hard as she could till she tasted the tang of blood in her mouth.
“Hey! Ooow!” a voice cried, and Evangeline’s alarm immediately extinguished. Heath’s hand recoiled from its position on her face as he brought the wound to his mouth.
“You should really learn not to be so aggressive all the time! It really wears down a person’s nerves you know!” He thrust his hand at her so she could see two rows of teeth marks indented into it. Evangeline threw back the wet hood of Vincent’s cloak as she tried to stand in front of him, stooped over in the small carriage.
“Really? Really!” she argued. “I’m not the one trapping people inside of trees, almost killing them with fire, and then attacking them in their carriages! Maybe you should learn to act like a normal person!”
They both glowered at each other as Evangeline took a seat on the carriage bench. Perhaps it was the stress of the day, or Heath’s distasteful surprise, but suddenly Evangeline was laughing. Her chuckles filled the small carriage, and she laughed until her sides hurt while Heath just looked at her like she had gone mad. She leaned back into her seat as her mirth subsided and looked at her guest with affectionate eyes.
“Why did you do it?” she asked softly. “Why did you frighten off Leonardo and kill his men. I didn’t ask you to do that. And I sure haven’t done anything to earn your support.” Heath just heaved a deep sigh in return.
“Look, Evangeline,” the emissary began. “I’ll be honest with you. My Master has a lot invested in this azurite crystal of yours. So much so that he sent me a long way just to ensure a deal was made between us. I cannot go home with news that his shipments have stopped because of senseless ‘Commoner’ complications.”
Evangeline’s face fell, but only for a second before turning taut again. “So you helped me because you had to?” Evangeline probed.
“I helped you because I have an indirect interest in Samaria,” Heath replied. He stood up to come sit next to her, but a sudden lurch of the carriage as it moved into motion caused him to fall into Evangeline’s lap. Heath scrambled off of the Queen as she yelped in surprise, his fair skin flushed scarlet with embarrassment. A couple of awkward moments passed as the cab bumped along the cobblestone streets, and Heath cleared his throat before speaking again.
“Evangeline, let me help you win this war,” the emissary encouraged. “You’ve seen what I can do, and you know together we can defeat Olger Guttensen.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” Evangeline asked. “Considering your…how do I put it…unnatural abilities.”
“My Master’s interest in Samarian azurite is completely independent of anything else this country has to offer. Nothing we do will negatively affect you. That I can promise.”
Evangeline remained silent, thinking and studying the man sitting next to her. She took in the pleading look on his face, the dirty-blonde hair matted to his forehead, and his hazel eyes that were a smooth as molten bronze.
Again he was offering to help her win the war against Olger so that countless amounts of Samarian lives and resources would be saved. If she could keep war from coming inside Samaria’s borders, she would be hailed as a powerful and diplomatic Queen, and her people would forgive all of her previous infractions. She could start anew. But despite all this, a warning still rang out clearly in her mind, a warning that stemmed from all she knew about Slythos and everything the legends said about them.
Don’t make the same mistake twice, Evangeline counseled herself. You took the prideful route once already and look what’s happened. Now a Slythos is offering to help you defeat the Nomans in return for worthless crystals.
A foreboding feeling weighed down on the Queen as she contemplated her limited options. She’d seen Olger Guttensen’s armies and knew that Samaria had a small chance of surviving a war with them, if at all.
“I want to know what you’re using the azurite for,” Evangeline demanded. Heath just gave her a blank look, as if the possibility of her asking him that question had never occurred to him. He bit his lip, hard, till it turned white.
“Evangeline, that’s not your concern…”
“I want to know,” she repeated. “Tell me, or I won’t even consider mining anymore crystal for you.”
This resulted in a frustrated groan from the emissary. He pushed back his damp hair so it stuck up vertical on his head and looked outside the window. The carriage was bumping along the stone streets, jolting uneasily back and forth as it wound its way through the hilly terrain. It seemed like an eternity passed before Heath said anything, and the only sound between them was the grinding noise of the wheels and the rain hitting the roof of the carriage.
“I’ll tell you,” he finally said in a voice barely above a whisper. “But you have to be willing to open up your mind. Forget everything you’ve ever been taught and understand that there are forces in this world far more powerful than anything we, as humans, can comprehend.”
Evangeline could only nod as she thought back to that night in her chamber, remembering all the wonders that Heath had performed for her; beautiful, terrifying, and deadly acts.
“Have you ever heard of the Elixir of Life?” he asked. Evangeline scrunched up her face. That’s not what she was expecting him to ask.
“Yes,” she answered with a small nod. “Everyone has.”
“Tell me what you know about it,” Heath cajoled gently. Evangeline furrowed her brow as she tried to recall the details of the fables she’d learned as a child.
“From what I remember, it’s a combination of substances. A potion of sorts that’s rumored to promote immortal life and eternal youth if drank.” Evangeline looked at him hopefully.
“Okay. What else?” the man encouraged. Again, Evangeline thought.
“Something to do with a stone,” sh
e added. “The Living Stone I think it’s called, although that name might be metaphorical, for it may not be a stone at all but some other substance. Regardless, it is the essential element of the elixir itself; the quintessence that is responsible for immortal abilities. Apparently, it’s something so common that most people overlook what it is capable of becoming.” Evangeline stopped herself right there. “Of course, that’s all fairytales and folklore!” She laughed nervously.
“Is it?” Heath asked seriously, causing Evangeline’s smile to fade.
“It’s just a story, Heath,” Evangeline said with a frown. “Told by parents to put children to bed.”
“Hmmm,” Heath breathed, nodding slowly. “Just stories. Like Slythos are just stories, yet here I am. Do not discredit legends, Queen Evangeline. Remember? For their content is based on some truth.” Evangeline tightened her mouth as Heath lectured her, reminding her of her father.
“You can’t honestly expect me to believe that you, and whoever you are working for, presume to find the Living Stone, the essence of the Elixir of Life, among thousands of useless azurite crystals? That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard!”
“You don’t seem to understand,” Heath said shaking his head. There was a sharp edge to his voice. “We’re not looking anymore, Evangeline. We’ve already found it, and you’ve been mining it for us.”
Evangeline just looked at him with a vacant countenance. His explanation didn’t make any sense, but from her experience, nothing Heath said or did had any viable explanation to it. All the things she’d recently witnessed with the Slythos was causing her to view the legends her father had told her in a new light. The notion was terrible to conceive, but maybe all the things that Samarians, and others in the Realm, believed were fiction were, in fact, entirely plausible.
Suddenly, the Queen found it very difficult to breath. The air inside the rolling carriage felt thick and heavy, and it plagued her lungs so she couldn’t inhale. Evangeline grabbed the edge of her seat as her hyperventilation took over, constricting her lungs. Between the overwhelming pounding in her head and the rapid wheezing that came out of her mouth, Evangeline could hear Heath’s concerned voice asking if she was ok.
When his gentle hand went to reach for her, she swatted it angrily away and felt the carriage come to an abrupt stop. Without waiting for any more explanations, Evangeline threw open the cab door and stumbled out onto the wet ground in front of the bridge leading into Mizra. Misty rain surrounded her, cooling her burning skin. She ran away from Heath as fast as she could, away from the carriage, and away from the truth of what she was truly involved in. As soon as she was inside Mizra, Evangeline fell to the ground. She lay on her stomach and pressed her febrile face to the cool floor as sweat pebbled her forehead. Then, everything turned dark.
***
When the Queen awoke, her head felt as heavy as a wooden log, and it throbbed in pain. Sometime during her state of unconsciousness, Evangeline had been taken up to her chambers, undressed, and placed in her bed. The room was dark, with hardly any light coming off the dying fire. The Queen could see a swollen ivory moon through her open balcony doors as it flaunted its bright light in the amethyst night sky. Evangeline felt her forehead for fever, and it was still warm to the touch. Dried sweat crusted the edge of her hairline, but she didn’t seem to be perspiring any longer. A movement at the edge of the bed caught her attention.
“My Queen, are you awake?” Vincent Lowe’s slender form moved around to her side, and he opened the bed curtain just a smidge so he could peak in on her. His eyes were red around the edges and puffy on the bottom, as if he’d been crying.
“Vincent?” Evangeline croaked. “What happened?” She had to force herself to talk through the pounding in her brain.
“We found you unconscious and ransacked with fever,” Vincent explained. “On the gateway leading into Mizra, yesterday afternoon following the events at Center Market.” Evangeline’s heart skipped a beat.
“I’ve been unconscious for an entire day?” She wanted to yell, but the throbbing in her temples prevented her from gathering the strength. “What about Olger Guttensen? And the Samarian Guard? Where are they? What’s happened? Tell me what’s going on!” Vincent took a seat on the edge of her bed and grabbed her hand that was limp with illness.
“They are fighting as you instructed,” Vincent replied solemnly. “Unfortunately, Olger’s armies had already moved passed the border by the time Brutus could even gather enough men to try and stop him. They desecrated the small troops of forces along Windsong Summit leaving none alive. The fighting has gone throughout the night, My Queen, and the Overlord’s troops are gaining ground closer and closer to the valley.”
“Thousands of Samarian Guards have perished. More than what we had originally forecasted. It’s been nothing but devastation for our troops. There just isn’t enough of them, and even with the recent round of recruitment, there just wasn’t enough time to prepare.”
Evangeline felt her throat choke up with emotion. She didn’t know how to react to Vincent’s report; there were no words to describe what she was feeling. War was a devastating and grisly act, but having never experienced it before, the Queen didn’t know she’d feel so guilty knowing that her men were out there on the front lines being slaughtered because of her.
“Have you received any word from Master Leatherby?” she asked hopefully. Vincent nodded.
“We received some positive reports that the detonations were successful, but Olger’s armies are just too many. We can’t keep up with the number of foot soldiers being led through Sugarpine Pass. When we blow one army up, another takes its place.”
Evangeline brought her hand to her forehead and began massaging the skin there to release the tension of her headache.
“What about the residents of Alumhy? How are they faring?” she inquired.
“They are frightened, My Queen.”
“As they should be!”
“It’s not fear of the Nomans that causes them to huddle together in their homes and yell curses at those patrolling the streets,” Vincent explained. He wrung his hands and stared at them for a long while. “It’s fear of us.”
Again, there was no way for Evangeline to react to what Vincent was telling her. She’d seen her people’s looks of disbelief when the traitor Arvil Pennington exposed her collusion with the Noman Overlord. She heard their screams of fear and protest when the Guard forced their way into their homes and dragged their children out onto the street, forcing them to fight a war they never wanted. She couldn’t deny anything because it was all her doing.
“Vincent, I need you to do one thing for me,” Evangeline said as she sat up straighter in her bed. The Guard nodded obediently. “Go over to the wardrobe in the corner and bring me the item folded on the top shelf.” Vincent didn’t hesitate to do as she asked. When she had the item in her arms, she dismissed her loyal servant.
“That’ll be all. I need to be by myself for a few minutes. Just to sort through everything.”
“Aye, My Queen,” Vincent said with a dip of his chin. “I’ll send Ashley up periodically to ensure you are well.” Then he exited the room.
When Evangeline was sure she was alone, she inched over to the edge of her bed, and using the nightstand for support, lifted herself up. Her body still felt warm and sluggish, evidence that she still was not over whatever fever possessed her. But she forced herself to move forward, over to the balcony and outside into the clear night. The city of Alumhy lay shrouded in shadow, which unsettled her heart because normally there were lights in the inns and music coming from the taverns. Right now there was nothing, just fear and silence.
Evangeline unfolded the enormous Samarian banner by grabbing its edges and throwing it into the air. It was so dark out that the Queen couldn’t even see the purple sheen of the satin or the artistic stitching of the mountain peaks. If she couldn’t make it out in the darkness, she didn’t know why she expected Heath to. But Evangeline draped the
banner over the balcony railing anyway, as he’d specifically instructed. When that was complete, she hobbled back into her bed where she patiently waited for the mysterious emissary to contact her. If he even would.
***
When Evangeline woke for the second time, the sky was still masked in darkness, and she didn’t know how many days and nights had passed. Yet sitting in the corner of her chambers, in her wing-backed chair, was Heath. She had to blink several times against the persistence of her fever to convince herself she wasn’t dreaming his presence.
“You came,” she said groggily as he stood up and made his way over to her.
“I told you I would if you displayed the banner,” he replied smoothly.
The emissary was dressed like a soldier. He had a leather baldric strapped over his shoulder that supported his sword, and he wore a brown hooded cloak that ran all the way to the ground. Right now, the hood was tossed behind his head. He walked over to her like a wistful spirit, silent and full of stealth in the darkness.
“I want to believe that what you tell me is true,” Evangeline mumbled when Heath was standing next to her bed, almost touching her. “But how do I know you’re not deceiving me? Just to get what you want?”
The emissary looked over her pale, weakened state and sighed. He hadn’t known in the carriage that she was falling ill. Maybe the pressure he was putting on her was too great for her to handle. But she seemed determined to push through; she wanted to know.
“I don’t know how to make you believe,” Heath replied. “But I can try, a different way this time.”
Evangeline leaned her head into her frilly pillow, eyeing Heath the whole time. The desire to learn more about the Living Stone and what its existence possibly meant burned through her hotter than her fever. She wanted to control whatever magic it possessed, and suddenly she didn’t care what it took to get it.
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