by K. M. Shea
“If we knew nothing of the swan smugglers, there may be greater evils we have not heard about,” Alexsei guessed.
“Precisely.”
Yakov grinned roguishly. “There’s only one way to find out. We shall go visit the lake and the smugglers for ourselves.”
Alexsei leaned against a wall. “Shouldn’t we tell Mother?”
“No. Father is already at the summit; there’s nothing more he can do. If we tell Mother, she’ll send guards and try to take your little friends into custody. It doesn’t sound like the Swan Queen would take kindly to that,” Yakov said.
“True,” Alexsei agreed reluctantly. Though that may not matter. She wouldn’t thank him for telling Yakov and Benno. If they marched against Rothbart, they’d ruin all of her plans and hard work—and he was almost certain she had deeper reasons than the shallow explanations she gave him. However…
Alexsei’s thoughts trailed off as he glanced at Yakov. It would bring him little pleasure to introduce Odette to his much-beloved older brother. Every eligible female—with the exception of Benno—fell to Yakov’s charms sooner or later. It would be difficult to see proud, confident Odette slowly grow smitten as well.
Ah, well. If we can help her, it will be worth it.
“Very well. If you wish to speak to her, we’ll have to go at night—remember the particulars of their curse.”
Yakov smiled in delight. “I recall, yes, and that is the right decision, brother. Benno, you’ll come with us!”
“No, I won’t.”
Yakov blinked, taken aback by the refusal. “Why not?”
“Because crawling around a forest in the middle of the night to find my way to a lake ruled by a ruthless sorcerer is not a good use of my life.” Benno picked up her book again.
Yakov frowned at her. “Be a good sport; it’ll be fun!”
“Your definition of ‘fun’ is twisted—whether it is due to your ego or to taking too many thumps to the head, I do not know.”
“You’ve got to come. The best adventures I’ve had have been with just the three of us,” Yakov said.
“Funny,” Benno said. “All of my worst memories have involved the two of you.”
Alexsei coughed to cover up his chuckle.
Benno pinned him down with a look.
“You really should come,” Alexsei said. “As long as Rothbart stays in his castle, it won’t be dangerous at all.”
“Hear, hear,” Yakov said.
Benno sniffed. “There is nothing you could say that would convince me to join you.”
“We could leave before dusk and watch them turn from swans into humans,” Alexsei tempted. “It’s quite beautiful to behold.”
Benno frowned, considering the matter. “Very well.”
“Spectacular! It wouldn’t be as much fun without you.” Yakov gave her a dashing smile, which she shrugged off with ease.
“I am curious to see what a smuggling operation looks like,” she admitted.
“I would like to learn the particulars myself. Odette chased me off rather quickly last night,” Alexsei said.
“It will be a grand adventure! In fact, let us begin preparations this moment,” Yakov declared.
Alexsei followed his brother from the study as guilt prodded his conscience. He’d told her he sympathized and understood; he never agreed that he wouldn’t return. Still, she is going to be hopping mad. Alexsei smiled gently as he pictured Odette’s expressive blue-green eyes. I’ll be glad to see her again, even if she is less than pleased to see me.
“I thank you for your patronage. I hope we were able to deliver to your expectations.” Odette worked hard to keep her voice smooth and warm instead of shivering in the fear she felt.
The assassin opened the small lockbox to inspect the magical artifact they had brought up from Baris earlier that week—a dagger. He checked the blade, made a thorough inspection, and then handed her back the empty lockbox. “It would seem all is in order.” His voice was flat and dead.
Odette forced a strong smile on her face. “I am glad to hear so.” Please never seek us out again!
The assassin tucked the dagger into his belt. “We’ll be in contact when we are in need of your services again.”
Darn it. “Of course, we look forward to the day we can again do business with you.”
The assassin blinked at her. “I am sure,” he said in his dead-fish voice. He nodded, then disappeared into the forest, melting into the shadows.
Odette waited for two long minutes. Then she jumped up and down in place, shivering and waving her arms as she finally let her nerves express their displeasure. “Jibblies, uck!” Even though she wanted to shriek in fear, she kept her jaw shut tight. As eerie as they were to work with, she would not dare refuse work from the Verglas Assassins’ Guild. The consequences might be…violent. Thankfully, they have not asked us to transport more than magical trinkets, and they do pay well.
Mollified by the thought of the giant payment the assassin had dropped off, Odette shivered once more. She slipped over the side of the pavilion and ambled towards the shoreline where they kept most of their goods waiting to be shipped. “Nadia, Misha, I’m done!”
“Excellent timing, for we have a quandary for you,” Misha said.
Odette frowned and walked around the bend with less joy and more care. Great, what could it—“You!”
Prince Alexsei smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. “Hello again,” he said. Standing with him was a taller, broader version of him, and a girl who looked about their age.
Odette strode forward, her movements jerky with irritation. “You agreed you would not return to these parts.”
“I did not. I said I sympathized with your plight,” Alexsei said.
Prince Alexsei’s male companion clasped his hands and held them towards her in a gesture of placation. “Oh, beautiful and fair maiden—I apologize that we have disrupted your home.”
Odette gave him a withering glare and swiveled her gaze back to Alexsei. “Who’s the idiot?”
Alexsei bowed. “My brother, His Imperial Highness Yakov.”
Fabulous. We have the future monarch parading up and down the shore of a lake that is the home of an evil sorcerer. This is absolutely not a cause for concern or panic. Odette glanced curiously at their female companion, who curtsied.
“I am Lady Benno. I express my sorrow for your condition, and I apologize for our unexpected arrival.”
“Yeah, your arrival sorrows me as well,” Odette said. She turned to Alexsei, her tone accusing. “What are you doing here?”
Alexsei’s pretty-boy brother replied for him. “We have come to aid you!”
Odette laughed, then she paused. “Oh, you were serious.”
“You have been wronged,” Yakov said. “Not only by Rothbart, but by our family. We have failed you in our ignorance. We are here to right that wrong.”
Odette was forced to admire the sincerity of his voice. His beseeching expression attested to his earnestness as well. But that didn’t mean his idea wasn’t stupid. “It would be asinine to risk the royal princes of Kozlovka against a sorcerer who has taken so many lives. There is nothing you can do. Please leave. Nadia will set you on the right path to return to Tsona.”
Nadia ghosted closer to Odette. “I would rather not force the heir to the throne to do anything,” she whispered. “He is the Imperial Prince.”
“I will not leave, no, I cannot leave, knowing the lot of you suffer as you do,” Yakov said. He crossed the distance between them and clasped Odette’s hands in his own. “Please, let us help you.”
Odette tried, to no avail, to pull her hands from Yakov’s.
Yakov gifted her with a charming smile—one Odette recognized as practiced to perfection; she wore a similar one when dealing with Rothbart. “If I am being honest, it would bring me great pain to know that such a beautiful and angelic maiden is in such dire straits.”
Odette stared flatly at him. Does he think I’m that de
nse? Her attention strayed when she heard Alexsei strike up a conversation with Misha.
“Misha, was it? How often does Rothbart come to check on you?” Alexsei asked.
Misha tugged on his earlobe. “There is not much of a pattern as it mainly depends on his mood. If his newest project is going poorly, or particularly well, he comes to glower or gloat. If he’s bored, he’ll come as well. Typically, he doesn’t visit us more than twice a week—usually it is closer to once every five nights or so.”
“Does he threaten to further harm you?”
“If he does, by the end of his visit, Odette has him calmed.”
Yakov smiled at Odette as if she brought him great joy, but she finally succeeded in tugging her hands away. She breezed past him.
“No, Prince Alexsei, you cannot meet Rothbart,” she said, butting in on the conversation.
Alexsei look surprised, but he flashed her a sweet smile, much more genuine than Yakov’s or her own. “I know—it would be disastrous. But I’m curious to learn more about him. It’s odd that he seems content to stay on Swan Lake. The other countries in the continent deal with sorcerers and plagues of darkness that intend to take over. As disturbing as Rothbart’s actions may be, it does not seem to me that he has a thirst for conquest. If he wanted to take over, surely he would have moved beyond Swan Lake by now.”
Odette pressed her lips together. “You are right,” she agreed. “Rothbart has never voiced a desire to rule. He wants power—and he wants people to fear and admire him for it.”
“I believe the exit of his wife only exacerbated that desire,” Misha added.
Yakov joined them and hooked his thumbs on his sword belt. “His wife?”
“He had to get a daughter somehow,” Lady Benno said. She squinted in the dim night, gazing in the direction of Rothbart’s island castle.
“Ahh, yes,” Yakov nodded. “Alexsei said the sorcerer seemed to imply that the young lady who accompanied him was his daughter.”
Nadia cleared her throat, drawing Odette’s attention. “I believe Odile is approaching.”
“Thank you, Nadia.” Odette swiveled to watch for the young woman’s torchlight.
“Odile?” Lady Benno asked.
“Rothbart’s daughter,” Misha said.
“May I presume you provide the muscle, and your fine female companion provides intelligence to your fair Swan Queen?” Yakov asked Misha.
“No, the opposite. Nadia is the fighter,” Misha said dryly.
“I thought that was the case,” Alexsei said. “She seemed to be the tougher opponent yesterday when you both had a hold of me.” He joined Odette, his manners as calm and carefree as ever, even though they awaited the arrival of Rothbart’s daughter.
Misha sniffed—not offended, but gratified. “Nadia is quite talented in physical fights, so I am her gifted counterpart of intellect.”
Odile slipped from the forest and stepped into the firelight that bathed the shore, squeaking with surprise when she saw Odette’s unwelcome visitors.
“It’s fine, Odile.” Odette offered her a soothing smile. “These are…” She paused, trying to decide what word would adeptly describe the situation. She said, “irritants,” at the same time Alexsei said, “friends.”
Odette frowned at Alexsei, who smiled cheekily. “Please let me introduce you to Prince Alexsei, Lady Benno, and the Imperial Prince Yakov,” Odette finished. “Gentlemen—and lady—my friend, Odile.”
“Odile, it is an honor to meet you.” Yakov bowed gallantly, and his smile practically sparkled.
Odile slid her gaze to Odette, looked back and forth between her and Alexsei, and relaxed slightly. “I am pleased to meet you,” she said in a voice as soothing as fresh water.
Lady Benno raised an eyebrow. “Based on your actions, I presume the honorable Odile does not see eye to eye with her father?”
Odile violently shook her head. “Not at all!”
“What is the old buzzard up to this evening?” Odette asked.
“He’s locked himself in his workroom. He’s tinkering with a transformation spell, so I don’t think he’ll be out for some time.” Odile tucked a lock of her ink-black hair behind her ear.
“Good. You should come stay with us as long as he is occupied,” Odette grunted. “Though it will be more boring than usual—we’re receiving another portion of a special shipment tonight.”
Odile tilted her head. “Another portion? It’s a large shipment then? Who is it for? You rarely do large shipments.”
“It’s for one of our regulars,” Odette said. Even if it would be harmless, she could not speak freely and break the clients’ trust.
Odile’s eyes lit up. “Ohh, them. I would be glad to help, if I can.”
“Thank you,” Odette said.
“Ahh, but, I came here to request your help.” Odile squirmed in place.
“What is it?”
“Father released one of his creations this evening before locking himself in his workroom.”
Odette blanched. “What?”
“It’s not deadly to humans or even animals,” Odile rushed to say. “But it could do much harm to the forest and, should it fly far enough, the farmland in the western plains.”
“We must slay this creature, then, before it begins its pillaging and plundering.” Yakov unsheathed his sword and stabbed it at the sky.
Odile wrung her hands. “Oh, no, you mustn’t slay it.”
Odette began mentally reorganizing the smugglers’ tasks for the evening. “You want to keep it as another pet, don’t you?”
Her friend blushed.
Alexsei tilted his head. “A pet?”
“Odile is as unlike her father as a person could be,” Odette explained. “He delights in his experiments, but she loves to nurture. I don’t think he knows she keeps a menagerie of his released experiments—the ones that aren’t dangerous, anyway.”
Farther down the shoreline—where the smugglers kept the goods waiting to be shipped or claimed—someone screamed. There was a crash—and some cursing.
“Odile,” Odette said, managing to keep her voice light. “What animal did your father release?”
“He calls it Bol’shoy Babochka.”
“Yes,” Odette said. “But what is it?”
“It is a moth he experimented on with several spells—most notably an enlarging spell.”
There was another crash and more shouting. Odette stifled a shiver. “Right, then. Let’s go catch your newest pet.”
Odette, Misha, and Nadia ran down the shore, jumping the boulders, the rotting walls, and various other obstacles, thanks to their superior night eyesight and familiarity with the area. They reached the smugglers’ camp first.
The moth had caused chaos among their ranks. Goods and supplies were spilled up and down the shore, and some of the other smugglers must have tried throwing torches at the thing, for some shrubbery had caught fire.
When she finally saw the creature, Odette couldn’t blame them. The size of a hunting dog, its hairy body boasted huge, fuzzy wings. Unnerving black eyes stuck out of the sides of its head, and feathery antennae swiveled back and forth. It moved its various hair-covered legs as it swung its head.
“Curse Rothbart!” Zina—the smuggler who, with Odette, had been the first of Rothbart’s swan-human experiments—threw a frying pan at the giant moth, but she missed.
The moth launched itself into the air, its wings louder than the wings of an eagle.
Zina yelped and ran away as the creature flew sluggishly towards her.
“Might I take this moment to point out that monster wrangling was never a part of my employment contract?” Misha asked.
“You don’t have a contract,” Odette said. “Circle around from the other side—Nadia, please find rope. Lake Guard—get that fire put out!”
“It’s drawn to light,” Odile said. She and Prince Alexsei, Lady Benno, and Prince Yakov skidded into the camp behind them. “But it eats vegetation.”
�
�It is also unnerving,” Lady Benno said.
Odette drew her shoulders back, rallying her false bravado. “Go!” she shouted.
Misha darted around the edge of the camp, and Nadia started searching for rope. Odette ran straight for the moth, yelling to get its attention.
The moth stopped pursuing Zina and buzzed as it turned its attention to her. Odette ran in a circle, the moth flapping after her. She uttered every curse she could think of.
“Fear not! I will stop this creature.” Yakov whirled his blade in an arc and began chasing Odette and the giant moth.
“No!” Odile yelped.
“Don’t you dare hurt it!” Odette glared at him as she ran past. When she could feel its breeze stroke her hair, she scrambled to put a greater distance between her and the moth.
“Then how do you propose we capture it?” Prince Yakov asked.
“His Imperial Highness has a point,” Lady Benno said.
“Nadia, have you found the rope?” Odette called.
“Rope won’t work—its body is too fragile, and we can’t touch its wings,” Odile said.
Odette gave her friend a scathing look. “Then figure out something fast! I’m not as fit as I should be, and I’m running out of air!”
“Stop talking; it will conserve your energy,” Misha advised.
“Shut up!” Odette barked.
Misha sadly shook his head. “See? Wasted effort.”
“I have a pony-sized moth chasing me. I’ll tell you what’s wasted!”
Nadia, in spite of Odile’s warning, fetched a length of rope. “Be fair, Swan Queen. It’s only the size of a large hound.”
Odette’s lungs ached, and her shoulders heaved with effort. “Alright, that’s it. Who wants to be the next runner?” She tripped on the frying pan Zina had flung and fell face first. She cursed loudly—and drew a tisk from Nadia.
But as she tried to scramble to her feet, the moth drew closer. The thing was going to land on her face! Her heart exploded in terror.
“Here!” Alexsei shouted, brandishing a torch near Odette. The moth veered after the torch. Alexsei lured it away, then tossed the torch to Nadia.