“Oh, no…” Frederick groaned, his wiry fingers messing up his stringy hair. “No no no! I’m such an idiot! It was a trap!”
James looked at him, slightly confused, but then started to try and pull Frederick and I toward the exit. I was lost more now than ever. Any sense of safety melted away as James’ grip on my arm tightened and he spoke through gritted teeth, “What is it?”
Frederick screamed in a voice I had never heard before. “Run!”
Chapter Seven
J ames’ eyes widened in fear, and I visibly saw the moment when his heart dropped. His voice shook, “Oh, no. They weren’t here for you, Lina, they were here to see if Frederick was helping the Allyen!”
And then, all three of us were running as fast as we possibly could, desperately following Frederick through the labyrinthine castle. Frederick fell into Rhydin’s trap when he saved me from Eli. I was only the bait. I swallowed hard with another gasp of air. They only wanted to see what he’d do upon seeing me with one of Rhydin’s people. They wanted to see if the crown prince would dance with a peasant girl if it meant saving me, the Allyen, from Rhydin. It was a test, and he had passed with flying colors. He had confirmed that he was working with me by protecting me. Something he was now going to be hunted for.
We were in so much trouble.
When we were only yards away from the front gate, I began to hear several pairs of footsteps getting closer to us. Catching up to us. My lungs burned, but my legs were far too full of adrenaline to quit now. I ran faster than I ever had before, flying out of the gates toward the canyon. It was then, while out under the stars that I realized little balls of something were being hurled at us from behind.
After a few blasts, I dared a peek over my shoulder. Men in black were charging little violet balls of energy into their hands and aiming their best for the three of us. They were shooting us with magic! All my nightmares came true in that moment, and that fear drove me even faster. I saw bits of prairie grass hit in the crossfire fizzle and burn into black oblivion, and I sure as heck did not want to be hit with anything close to that.
More often than not, the purple, buzzing blasts were aimed towards Frederick’s vicinity. Once or twice, I saw pieces of his suitcoat or his long cloak burned away. Each piece would suddenly light up and smolder into a dark circle of nothing. While I was running with wild abandon, my mind couldn’t help but be a little confused.
Only Royals were supposed to have magic, and these people, like Eli and Terran, definitely were not Royals.
As Frederick, James, and I got closer to the edge of the canyon, my eyes picked out something familiar in the dark. It was the pulley mechanism, the exact same device as was on the southern side of the canyon that I rode down every once in a while, and now, my occasional joy ride was turning into the perfect escape plan. No one knew the speed and power of the pulleys like I did.
Frederick was actually slightly behind me, my short legs able to complete more paces than his long strides, and so I turned around just long enough to latch onto his wrist, beginning to haul him towards the pulley. He was confused but didn’t question it. We were running too fast for questions. The magical blasts were getting a bit closer as Rhydin’s people gained on us. James zigzagged behind Frederick and I to make us a harder target.
Prince Frederick and I were only feet away from the pulley platform when I heard James scream. My mind only had seconds to process the fact that it wasn’t a scream of pain but a short burst of noise designed to draw attention to something. I turned my head in time to see the fiery purple shot blazing forward about to dive deep into Frederick’s heart. With only seconds to spare, using all the strength I had left, I shoved the crown prince to the side.
Frederick tripped but didn’t lose his footing, and the next thing I knew, a deep burning pain was burying itself into the back of my arm. A loud gasp escaped from my lips, my arm wet and charred where I touched it. After only a second, my eyesight was still clear enough to see the terror on the man in black’s face as he saw whom he had struck. I saw him yell in frustration before I felt two long wiry arms pull me onto the pulley.
The world spun, heavy with pain and muggy air. My legs gave out. The prince scooped me up as James released the pulley lever, sending our platform flying down the canyon walls at a barely under control speed.
However, after maybe thirty seconds, a crash resounded. Our pulley began to spiral as Rhydin’s Followers destroyed the mechanism and the line above. As we spun in circles, the corners of the wooden platform collided with the rock wall, shattering and sending splinters everywhere, until it tipped and the three of us were free-falling into the darkness.
I was going to die. There was no question about it. My arm felt numb and destroyed, and now we were falling out of the sky like shot birds. I could feel myself fading from consciousness, my body weightless in the fall while still in Frederick’s tight grip.
There was a burst of insanely bright light. I could no longer feel Frederick’s arms clinging to me, but I felt my body slow, and then nothing.
Sam saw everything. He’d been confused when Lina hadn’t been there waiting for him, even though the line to get the punch was extremely long. He had been a little irked that she had run away before telling him what she’d been lying about, but he had figured that it was getting a little late and perhaps she had taken Rosetta and Keera home.
However, that all changed when Keera, Rosetta, and Mikael returned to him thirty minutes later during the festival cleanup and asked where Lina was. The look on the little cousin’s face was one of absolute terror, and Sam began to worry. He sent the three of them home and began to search for Lina, but it didn’t last long.
He heard a racket from the north end of town and so started walking up that way through the quiet townhouses. As he got closer, he heard a loud scream that chilled his blood and the familiar sound of offensive magic. He hurried along faster, his feet barely touching the cobblestones, until he could see amethyst shots flying over the pulley above, shots that Sam immediately recognized from the stories his father had told him as a boy. Stories that nearly no one else in Nerahdis had ever heard.
From where he was, he could see three people coming down on the pulley. They were descending more quickly than normal, yet he couldn’t exactly make them out. Suddenly, the rope was cut, and it began to fall, jutting into the canyon wall multiple times before overthrowing its occupants. Sam’s heart sank into his stomach.
Abruptly, a burst of white light nearly blinded him, and two of the people were blown to the side. Sam didn’t see the other two land, but by then he realized that he wasn’t alone. Next to him, waiting beneath the wreckage, were the two eldest Owens siblings, of which he recognized the red-haired woman as Lina’s best friend, Rachel.
As the ball of light slowly fell, Sam awaited it carefully. He was wary of magic, as most Lunakans were, but was more cautious than ever because of his past experiences. To his surprise, as the ball began to dissipate maybe six feet from the ground, it revealed the form of the girl he’d grown up with, one that he would recognize anywhere. Tiny, too-skinny body, with short legs and mud-colored hair that had been blasted out of the braided thing she’d had earlier. She was completely unconscious, and Sam immediately ran toward her to catch her as the light magic shut off.
He kneeled slightly so he could move one hand to her face, gripping her chin as he moved it back and forth. His voice betrayed his panic and desperation. “Lina. Lina, wake up! Please, wake up!”
Hearing footsteps, Sam looked up to see James and Luke Owens with an also unconscious Prince Frederick between them. Both the prince and the younger boy, James, were roughed up from Lina’s magical explosion. Rachel placed her hand on Sam’s shoulder, his breath beginning to catch in fear. Her voice was calm but hurried. “Come, we need to move now! We’re not safe here.”
Sam nodded, holding Lina more tightly. Within another flash of light, the six of them vanished.
Lunaka’s crown prince woke up twe
nty minutes later in what seemed upon first impression to be a cellar. There were several candles hanging from the ceiling, lighting the dark, excavated space. A single window was on the eastern wall up next to the ceiling, but one wouldn’t know from the outside because of the multitude of towels stuffed into the indention. Frederick almost looked up to see if there were any stalactites he should be worried about, but alas, above him was only wood with a few supports here and there. Where was he?
He leaned forward carefully, his body aching slightly. The events of the evening came spiraling back to him, and Frederick groaned, touching his head. How could he be so stupid?
“Are you alright, m’lord?”
Frederick looked over to see Rachel staring at him, sitting on the very furthest corner of the little cot he’d been sleeping on. She had slight circles under her eyes, and the candlelight truly brought out the brilliant, unnatural red in her hair. Sometimes, Frederick forgot what she was. The prince allowed his regal bearing to slip away as he flopped back onto the cot. “How could I be such an idiot, Rachel? Why did I not take the time to realize what they were doing?”
“You’ll have to fill me in on that one.” Rachel smiled.
Frederick took a deep breath. “The instant I saw Lina in the ballroom with Eli, the only thing I could think about was getting her away from him. She looked so terrified, it was an expression like nothing I’d ever seen. I didn’t even consider leading him to the side or waiting to see what happened. Like an imbecile, right there in the middle of the room, I dropped my date and took her from him. And he just smiled.”
Rachel’s brow furrowed. “Rhydin must be doing the very thing we’re doing to him then.”
“He’s trying to figure out who’s on her side. The side of the Allyen.” He said quietly, “Just like how we’ve been trying to figure out who’s helping him. Tonight, Lina was just the distraction. I-…I was the target.” A flash of pain crossed the prince’s face, “And I fell for it. Like the biggest oaf in Nerahdis. My head is on the chopping block.”
“Oh, Your Highness, don’t be so dramatic!” The red-haired woman stood and straightened her skirts. “But, you’re right. My brothers and I cannot allow you to return to the castle. If you even step outside into the streets, his people are watching for the chance to murder you. Right now, nobody knows where you are, so you must stay here.”
Frederick sighed heavily. “So my sisters are on their own?”
“No. But we’ll have to shield Mira heavily so Rhydin’s Followers do not discover her allegiance to the Allyen as well. Cornflower doesn’t know a thing, so she is safe. Besides, now that Lina’s magic has activated, things are going to get much more interesting.”
That was right. That shining ball of light that had stopped Lina’s descent and sent him and James flying was the awakening of Lina’s Allyen magic. She would have died if it hadn’t, so the magic sprang into being from its dormant state to keep itself alive as well.
This was what Rhydin had been waiting for, for so many years. Lina’s brother, Evanarion, had gained his magic several years ago, and now the last card had been played. Now, Rhydin could begin his move.
My body felt heavy. When I was finally able to open my eyes, at first all I could see was a thin beam of light trying to make it through Grandma’s lace curtains. As my mind slowly cleared, I could make out the familiar shapes of my grandmother’s guest bedroom: a chest that had never been used, a mint-condition wicker rocking chair, and all the cracks that had been etched into the ceiling over the years of shifting earth.
I groaned when I tried to lean forward, the fluffy comforter on the bed seeming more like a restraint than a comfort. My arm where I’d been shot ached with a dull pain, but it was subsiding. What happened? How did I not die when we were falling? Were Frederick and James okay?
I suddenly heard Grandma’s voice very loudly from the kitchen on the other side of the door, “Now, Mr. Greene, we’ve done everything we can for her. We calmed her magic down and healed her, and now she needs her rest. I am asking you nicely to leave.”
“Look, I know what I saw! I was the one who caught her! What’s going on here? What’s wrong? Why was she hurt?”
Sam’s voice was nearly unrecognizable he was so upset, but I knew without a doubt it was him. What did he mean that he caught me? He became even louder if that were possible. “Tell me what’s going on, or I’m taking her home right this instant!”
The door was barely open a crack, and I held my eye up to it. I saw Grandma’s expression turn black and her little wrinkled hands find her hips. “Come now, Kidek. I would not threaten me if I were you. You have no idea what you’re getting into!”
Sam’s expression was one of complete and utter shock. His eyes went wide, sending wrinkles up his forehead, aging him instantly. He rested his hand on Grandma’s kitchen table and sat down before he could fall. “You’ve known? All this time?”
“No. Rachel, Luke, and James told me, but I am familiar with the position.” Grandma admitted, her voice lowering.
Sam and Grandma were at eye level now that he was sitting. He looked at her almost as if he had tears in his eyes from it all, and pleaded, “Won’t you please tell me? I need to know what happened to her.”
“Rhydin’s Followers attacked Prince Frederick last night.”
“Why? I know he’s the crown prince and all, but what other reason would he have?”
“Because the prince was caught helping the new Allyen.”
Sam became quiet, looking down at his feet with his brow furrowed. Then, it was as if lightning struck him with realization, and he smacked himself in the face. “Of course, how could I be so stupid. Her locket! It’s the Allyen one from the legend, isn’t it?”
Before Grandma could answer, I decided to finally open the door and let them know that I was listening. A lot of questions were on the tip of my tongue, but before I could say a word, Grandma switched the subject.
“Ah, you’re finally awake! How do you feel? Well, it’ll continue to get better. Unfortunately, we have no more time for words, because you were only brought here to be healed, my dear. Rhydin knows where I live, and you are not safe here. You must be moved into hiding.”
I swallowed, upset that I couldn’t ask my questions. “Where am I going then? What about Rosetta and Keera? And the farm?”
Grandma sighed, looking sad. “I will take care of the girls. As for your farm…”
“I’ll tend to it.” Sam’s words were quick and decisive, his eyes delayed in meeting mine.
I remembered how Sam had morphed into Eli last night. Of course, it was the wrong Sam, but it still made me uneasy. My hand ran through my bangs, a nervous habit. I took a deep breath, trying to wrap my mind around another huge life change. How long would this last? Would I ever get to go home again? I sighed with defeat. “Thank you.”
Grandma went and rummaged through one of her crates next to her counter, returning with a big, heavy brown cloak. She raised her voice for someone outside to hear. “Luke! James! It’s time!”
As the two freckled Owens boys walked in, jingling slightly with hidden chainmail, Grandma motioned for Sam to stand and fastened the cloak around his shoulders. My feet still heavy, she pulled me over to Sam and directed him to pick me up and hide me under the cloak. She explained, “My house is being watched for signs of magic now. This will have to do for getting you to safety.”
As James put on his own cloak, pulling his hood over his shaggy hair, he grinned at me. “Congratulations, Lina! You can use your magic now!”
“Is that what happened?” I asked as Sam gingerly put his arm around my shoulders and picked my numb legs up. My body tensed, but I tried to ignore it. If my magic was what saved my life, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all. “What does that mean then? That I have magic now?”
Luke spoke this time, his voice a low monotone. “It means that the hard work can now begin. You have a lot of training in front of you.”
Before I could res
pond, Grandma pulled the edges of Sam’s cloak around his arms to cover me. Luckily, I was so small that it worked relatively well. She also laid the big hood over his bandana-ed head, and breathed something so quiet I barely heard it, much less anybody else. “You’re very brave to wear the colors of your people. Many would love to see you all dead.”
“I know, Ma’am.” Sam whispered, “But it’s something I must do.”
With that, Luke and James took their positions on either side of Sam and I, and we exited Grandma’s house into a town much different from what it was last night. Last night, the streets were full of lights and music and the sound of people laughing. This morning, people were quiet and talking amongst themselves in hushed voices. The strangest part was the number of soldiers. There were soldiers marching in every street, walking down every alley, standing at every corner. It was if Lunaka was at war, although there hadn’t been one for decades.
I could barely see through the thin crack in the cloak, and soon Luke turned around and closed it completely. It became a little brown tent. No sunlight could make it through the heavy material, so I resigned myself to the blackness. I let my body finally relax against Sam’s, convincing myself that I had very few real friends in this world, and I needed Sam. I wanted Sam.
My ear was over his heart, and its beat had quickened considerably. I wondered if the sight of soldiers freaked him out too. Lunakans were completely unaccustomed to seeing them. Sure, we all knew we had a big army because it was King Adam’s brainchild, but it was always within the castle walls or out along the borders. Never in town. I wondered if it had to do with Prince Frederick.
It seemed like we’d been walking for ages. The darkness was playing tricks on my eyes, and at any second I was sure they’d close for another few hours. Sam’s stride was soothing and constant, but abruptly it shortened. He seemed to shuffle down what I guessed were stairs.
The Allyen (The Story of the First Archimage Book 1) Page 9