“Nathan and Gerda are having a romantic evening to themselves tonight,” Lita explained. Her lips twitched. “And no knights are allowed.”
“A date? How wonderful! I always thought those two would do well together.”
Rosa handed Mally the dusty bottle that was sitting on the countertop.
After they had closed the kitchen door, they hurried to Molick’s study with seven minutes to spare. The study was empty.
“Molick must be with the king,” Mally said quietly, tip-toeing into the room.
“Hurry,” Lita whispered tensely, peeking into the corridor.
Mally uncorked the bottle and poured it into its decanter. She then withdrew the tea bag with the dreamless sleep tea from her pocket and lowered it into the wine by its thin string.
Mally only had to wait five minutes before Lita rushed to her from the door.
“He’s coming,” she hissed.
Heart racing, Mally pulled the stained bag back out of the wine and put it once more in her pocket. Mally and Lita both curtsied deeply when Molick entered the room. For a moment he frowned at them and Mally wondered fearfully if he would ask them why Nathan was not there. But instead, he turned his back to them and withdrew a fat cigar. Seconds later, a group of knights marched through the door, not sparing a single glance at Mally and Lita except for three of them: Sir Brian, Gibbs, and Bayard.
Lita handed Mally the crystal goblets and Mally tried to pour the dark wine without it spilling due to her suddenly trembling hands.
“Where is Anon?” Molick asked the group of knights, as Mally and Lita passed out the goblets.
“It doesn’t look like he’s coming tonight,” said Gibbs with the tone of a tattle-tail, drinking deeply from his goblet. He frowned slightly and looked at his glass. Mally stiffened and shot a nervous glance at Lita. The tea did taste strong …
Gibbs shrugged and took another swallow.
“I shall inform him in the morning that my orders are mandatory,” said Molick.
Gibbs finished his glass and raised the goblet into the air. Lita quickly refilled it.
As time ticked by, Mally started to feel sweat bead upon her forehead. Was it going to work? When she had taken the dreamless sleep tea, the effect had been almost instantaneous. Had they steeped it long enough? Did it even work in wine?
Lita glanced at Mally, her eyes mirroring her own fears. What if they didn’t fall asleep?
But then quite suddenly, Molick’s hand twitched. Gibbs yawned widely. Bayard’s head drooped. And before Mally’s eyes, the knights all fell fast asleep. Vinsus was slumped in his chair. Sir Brian’s feathered hat had tumbled off his head.
Carefully, Mally and Lita stepped through the splayed legs and dropped goblets to Molick. The spilt wine looked like blood on the rug. Even in her tense state, Mally wondered how badly Meriyal would react to the dark stains.
They had never decided who would be the one to actually take the key, but it was clear that Lita had no such intention.
“Go on,” she hissed.
Taking a deep breath, Mally pulled Molick’s coat more open and froze.
“Which key?” Mally moaned.
Lita, looking horrified, stared at the dull, iron ring attached to Molick’s belt. Some twenty keys dangled from it.
“Take all of them,” was her hoarse reply.
Hoping desperately that the catacomb key would be amongst them, Mally gently removed the key ring from Molick’s hip. She nearly jumped out of her skin as he grunted in his sleep. Lita had retreated to the door and was frantically waving for Mally to move quickly.
Once she had closed Molick’s study door, Mally expelled a shaky breath and leaned up against it. But Lita pulled at her arm.
“Come on!” she insisted. “We don’t know how long that tea will last!”
They used the shortest route they knew to the catacombs, which were located far below the castle, like the dungeons.
The catacombs had been banned from public visitation when Mally was five. She remembered not understanding why her father was so upset by the news, and when she had asked why she had been even more baffled. Tombs? Visiting the dead? It terrified her. But now she thought she understood better: the knights had already closed off Bosc Bell Tower and had begun changing the laws. Sealing the catacombs was just another part of their new regime. But was there more to it? Mally couldn’t help but wonder. Had there been another reason for Molick to lock the catacomb’s door? Had someone suspicious tried to pry open the young princess’s casket?
They traveled down a long, narrow set of stone stairs, worn and misshapen from years of use. The air grew steadily colder, and their breath came out in a misty vapor before their eyes. Lita had grabbed a burning candle on the way and it threw valuable light on the increasingly dark stairwell. Finally, the erratic candlelight illuminated a large wooden door with heavy ironwork at the bottom of the stairwell.
Mally and Lita stopped. They glanced at each other, each silently encouraging the other, as Mally inserted the first key on the ring into the door’s lock.
It didn’t fit. Fumbling, she tried the next. And the next.
Beginning to panic, Mally asked, “Do you have any idea what it looks like?”
“No, I’ve never seen it. Shaped like a skull, perhaps?” Lita offered unhelpfully.
Mally bit back a grumble and pushed her sixth key (a large, heavy brass one) into the lock.
The loud click that reverberated around them made both of them jump. Swallowing with difficulty, Mally pushed the heavy door open. Lita helped her—the hinges had rusted. They gritted their teeth as the door moaned and groaned loudly enough to wake the dead. Finally, they shoved it open enough that they could squeeze through, and Mally and Lita stepped into the royal catacombs.
The entire royal family was housed here as well as the knights, their bones always connected to Bosc Castle. Mally’s first impression was one of dread. The catacombs were huge. The walls were thirty feet high, at least. Hundreds of caskets, some huge, others pushed into compartments in the dirt walls with silver plaques above them. Mally couldn’t see the end of the room, though she hoped that was really the fault of the darkness. She didn’t want to dwell on just how big the catacombs were. They needed to get back to Molick to return the key ring before he woke.
But there was the dust. There was so much dust—surely she’d suffocate. A disgruntled gasp made Mally turn. Lita’s hand covered her mouth.
“Let’s find it quick, so we can breathe,” said Mally, and though she knew they were quite alone, her voice was low and hushed.
Lita nodded—her nose wrinkled in distaste, she raised the candle higher so that they could see a bit farther ahead. Mally closed the door and for a moment considered locking it, but decided against it. There was no reason for anyone to try to enter the catacombs. Molick was insensate in his study and the king—well, hopefully the king was in bed.
And Mally didn’t like the idea of locking herself in an underground maze full of dead bodies.
“Where do you think she is?” asked Mally as they started down a hall. The floor was packed dirt. They passed row upon row of caskets, their smudged name plaques glinting in Lita’s candlelight.
“Middle?” Lita guessed. Then she cried, “Wait!”
Mally turned to her and watched as she lit a tall candelabra. Mally was amazed Lita had even noticed it. Its silver was so tarnished it was the exact same color as the wall.
“So we can find our way back,” Lita explained.
“Good thinking,” Mally praised. She motioned for Lita to stand closer as she wiped grime from one of the plaques.
“A knight,” said Mally. “I bet the royal family would have its own area.”
“A private suite?” Lita joked weakly.
They continued on, deeper and deeper into the catacombs, Lita periodically lighting a few candles to mark the way back to the door. They shivered from the cold and Mally rubbed her hands together. She wished for the tenth time that sh
e’d brought a cloak.
The ever pressing darkness and profound stillness made Mally want to run as fast as she could back to the door, and by the way the candle’s light jerked and jumped about them, she guessed Lita would have agreed with her.
After what seemed like hours—though Mally knew better—Lita finally spoke the concern that she had been pointedly ignoring.
“We’re not going to find it,” said Lita.
“We will,” Mally assured her, hoping fervently that she was right.
They had come across some areas that opened up into giant caverns. In these chambers, the tombs were large and ornate with scripts and markings carved into the marble caskets. There were no plaques lining the walls. No knights or squires or advisors were housed in here. Instead, the names of these deceased were carved on the lids of their tombs.
“She’s got to be in one of those,” Mally had said when they’d entered the first cavern.
“S’ppose Lumpy got buried with his wig still on?” Lita asked with a nervous chuckle.
But there was no Princess Avona Kellen carved on any of the tombs, so they had moved on.
“Mally, this is silly,” Lita said after they’d passed the third chamber with no luck. “Even if we find her, of course she’ll be in there. Why wouldn’t she be? And we’ve been down here too long—what if Molick’s woken up?” she exclaimed, working herself into a panic.
“We have to find her, Lita. We may not get another chance,” Mally insisted, though she inwardly agreed with her. A voice had been screaming in her brain since she’d closed the heavy, wooden door: Get out! What are you doing? Run, you idiot!
“I can’t stand this,” Lita cried hoarsely. “I can’t—what was that!” Lita shrieked as they both spun around.
“A rat,” gasped Mally, trying to control her breathing. “There are probably millions down here.”
“That didn’t sound like a rat,” Lita argued loudly, her face ashen. The candle in her hand was visibly shaking.
“Stop shaking the candle!” Mally ordered. “You might blow it out!”
That stilled Lita.
“Come on,” Mally pressed, tugging at Lita’s arm. “I think I see another chamber up ahead.”
With a trembling Lita in tow, Mally entered their fourth chamber. Clearly wishing that she was anywhere else, Lita read the name of the closest tomb.
“King Sebastian!” Lita yelled so loudly that her voice echoed.
“She’s got to be here then!” Mally cried in excitement. “Bring the candle over here. Look at this one!”
They both leaned over the marble casket, holding their breath as the words Princess Avona Kellen danced in the candlelight.
“This is it,” Mally breathed as her heart raced. “Help me push off the lid.”
Lita carefully set the candle down, and with Mally, she pushed the heavy lid. It slowly moved and when it was halfway off, they stopped. Lita grabbed the candle, nearly dropping it in her haste. Heart pounding, she flung it over the open tomb and with Mally gazed into its depths.
The casket was empty.
28 Molick's Triumph
They flew through the catacombs as if a ghost were at their heels. They ran full out, following Lita’s lit path to the door. Lita’s own candle had been extinguished and flung aside. They didn’t bother blowing out the ones that lit their path to the catacomb door. They flickered like winking eyes through the gloom.
Tripping, and blundering, Mally finally spotted the heavy wooden door. She and Lita grabbed hold of the iron loop and pulled with all their might as it creaked in displeasure. Fumbling, Mally jammed the key into the lock, twisting it roughly before bounding up the dark stairs after Lita.
They didn’t once slow, speeding madly through the pitch-black corridors to Molick’s sitting room. They skidded to a halt. The door was still shut. Panting, they looked at each other. Were they still asleep?
Mally inched the door open. A loud chorus of snores filled her ears.
“Asleep?” Lita asked in a strangled whisper.
Mally nodded.
She tip-toed into the room and carefully returned the key ring to its resting place at Molick’s hip.
They didn’t return to their room—they didn’t want to wake Gerda. Instead, they stumbled into a tearoom. It was well past curfew. All the candles in the castle had been extinguished. Lita collapsed into a chair, her legs spread out and limp. Mally’s legs were too jerky to stay still, the whirling in her mind impossible to calm.
“What are we going to do?” Lita asked between deep breaths.
“We’ve got to tell Ivan or Galen,” said Mally, pacing fretfully. This was the proof Ivan needed. “Princess Avona isn’t dead.”
But Lita frowned.
“We still can’t be positive of that.”
“Oh, Lita!” Mally exclaimed, stamping her foot. “The tomb was empty.”
“So maybe her body wasn’t around to bury. No, listen to me!” Lita jumped to her feet. “She could have been taken out of the castle. She could have been tossed in the ocean!”
Mally flinched at Lita’s words, but then she thought of something.
“Then why did King Salir tell everyone she’d died of a fever? Why did he imply that she was buried?”
“Maybe he didn’t want the people thinking she had been murdered.”
“Why? King Sebastian had been murdered,” Mally countered. “Why admit to one and not the other?”
“Maybe he’s known all along what happened to her because he did it himself,” Lita said slowly.
“He couldn’t have!” Mally argued.
Lita raised her eyebrows in surprise at Mally’s sharp denial.
“Why?” she asked. “Because you like him? Because he’s nice to you?”
“No!” Mally shook her head. “He may not know the truth either. We don’t know how King Salir learned of the princess’s death. Molick could have told him she’d died of a fever.”
“But you’re forgetting Molick’s biggest weakness,” Lita said firmly. “He brags. He wouldn’t be able to keep it quiet for sixteen years that he’d killed the princess.”
Mally agreed silently.
Lita pressed her lips into a thin line, her jaws tense.
“It’s after hours. It would be wiser to wait to tell them come morning,” said Lita.
But Mally was too full of adrenaline. There was no possible way she could sleep now.
“It’s not Thursday for another three days,” Mally argued. “We can’t wait that long!”
“But what exactly have we learned?” Lita asked. “We still don’t know what happened to her! We don’t have any proof she’s alive!”
“They should still know,” Mally replied stubbornly. “There was a reason the catacombs were locked up and I think it was because Molick didn’t want anyone finding out the princess is alive and missing.”
Lita frowned at Mally, looking slightly exasperated. Finally, she said, “How do we get out? We can’t pass the guard at the gate.”
“There’s a trapdoor in the cellar,” Mally answered quickly. “Come on!”
She grabbed Lita’s hand and ran into the hall, heading toward Archie’s kitchen. But halfway to their destination, Mally stopped so suddenly that Lita stumbled into her.
“Aggh! Mally!” Lita cried in anger, steadying herself.
But Mally ignored her. She had spun around, staring down the corridor they had just come from.
“What is it?” Lita whispered, looking over Mally’s shoulder.
“I thought I heard something.” Her eyes tried desperately to see into the darkness that engulfed the corridor. A clammy unease crept up her arms and neck.
“Oh, this is silly.” There was a strike of a match and Lita held up a burning flame. “Nobody’s there,” she breathed.
Mally tore her eyes from the corridor, turned back around and continued to the kitchen at a jog.
“Archie kept this secret,” Lita muttered as Mally lifted the trapdoor in the back
of the cellar. “He told you and not me?” she asked, playfully jealous.
“Sammy did.”
“Ah! Where should we go? The Lone Candle?” Lita asked.
Mally nodded and motioned for Lita to follow her down the stairs. Lita handed her the candle and they soon emerged into the worn-down shed outside of the castle’s walls. The night sky was heavily covered by thick clouds, leaving the roads frightfully dark. No one else was out. It had to be several hours past midnight and well past curfew.
“Should we risk the candle?” Mally asked. She didn’t like the idea of traveling the streets in the dark, even though she had done it once before.
Lita shook her head.
Mally blew out the flame and took a moment for her eyes to adjust. They cautiously crept down the streets, keeping close to the sides of buildings and glancing over their shoulders.
It was with deep relief that they reached the Lone Candle and Mally knocked on the door. It was flung open so quickly after her knock that she and Lita both jumped back startled. But Galen wasn’t the one standing opposite them—Edwin was, Galen’s little brother. All blood seemed to have been drained from his face; his entire frame was as tense as a knot. He stared at them, just as surprised to see them as they were to see him, but then his face tightened.
“Come in,” he mouthed, waving them in rapidly. As he closed the door, he glanced over his shoulder at the stairs to the bedrooms with trepidation.
“We’re looking for Galen,” said Mally, deciding to get straight to the point.
“He’s not here,” Edwin answered, looking nervously out the dark window.
A violent shiver ran through Mally.
“Where is he?” she demanded. “What’s wrong?”
Edwin’s eyes went yet again to the stairs and he bit his lower lip.
“At a meeting,” he whispered and Mally understood his tension. Of course some of the meetings would happen past curfew, and of course Edwin would not be allowed to join him. Mally wondered how long he had been hovering by the door, waiting for Galen to return … or waiting for his mother to awake and realize Galen was missing.
“Where do they meet?” Lita asked.
The Tale of Mally Biddle Page 26