by C. J. Archer
"The visitor knew who Dane was?" Balthazar asked.
Yelena nodded.
"How?"
"Who was he and what did he want?" Dane's question came over the top of Balthazar's. Both sat forward, as did I. I could guess who the visitor might be, but I needed confirmation. I held my breath.
"He was an old priest," Yelena said.
I kept my gaze focused on her and did not look at Balthazar. Nor did Dane.
"He was a priest in the order of Merdu's Guards, so he told you," Yelena said to Dane. "He brought with him a document from his order's library. He'd stumbled across it one day and thought it…interesting. He came here to have it verified."
Dane sucked air between his teeth and finally looked to Balthazar.
Balthazar's knuckles were white around the head of his walking stick. "The document was an account written by the master of Merdu’s Guards who saved you from General Nox, yes?"
"Yes," Yelena said, unsurprised that he'd reached that conclusion. "The account of my escape had been written down so that the truth would be recorded if something ever happened to the master. His successor should have read it and known that a member of the Averlea royal family lived."
"But the successor never read it," Balthazar said. "The warrior priests were ashamed of their failure in the revolution. They'd fought on your father's side, and lost. They're a proud order, and failure doesn't sit well with them. They did their best to try to forget about their involvement, and that meant burying all accounts of the war. Over time, no one remembered that you'd been saved."
With every sentence, Yelena's eyes had widened a little more. By the end of his account, she was staring at Balthazar as if she'd only just noticed him.
"You," she growled. "You were the priest who visited Dane that day."
"I suspect so."
She launched out of the chair and flew at him. "You dog!" Her hand slapped his cheek and her other hand descended, but Dane grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away.
He forced her back into the chair. "Calm yourself."
She looked like a wild animal with her ragged breathing and bared teeth. The princess had vanished beneath the first sign of real, raw emotion. It was then that I realized she hadn't even cried yet.
"This is your fault," she snarled at Balthazar. "If it hadn't been for you, my son would never have been arrested. He would never have been taken from me."
"You don't know that," Dane said.
"It's too much of a coincidence for it not to be the case. You were arrested the day after the priest’s visit."
"You said yourself that it may not have been deliberate, that someone could have got to him and made him reveal what he knew."
"He should have kept his mouth shut."
"But why would someone make him reveal anything?" I asked. "They would have to have an inkling that he knew something worth telling."
She did not have an answer for that. I wasn't even sure she'd heard me. She was still glaring daggers at Balthazar.
I crouched before him and checked his cheek. It was red but seemed fine, and he smiled to reassure me. As I rose, I caught a glimpse of movement by the door. Martha stood there, hidden from Yelena but not the rest of us. Tears dampened her cheeks and she pressed her apron to her mouth in an attempt to silence her cry. Her longing gaze followed Dane as he sat again.
"Balthazar must have wanted to speak to you that day," Dane said to Yelena. "He wanted confirmation of the master’s account of your escape."
She shook her head. "It wasn't just an account of my escape that he'd found. There was an addendum added by the master. He was still alive when you were born, so I wrote to him and asked him to record your birth. I sent him the certificate of your birth and told him he could find us in this very house. He died soon after that, I believe."
"And your letters and the account were as good as lost."
"I didn't know that. I didn't know my situation was forgotten by the world outside Averlea."
"Do you know what Dane and I discussed that day?" Balthazar asked.
Her jaw hardened and she looked away. For a moment, I thought she wouldn't answer him, but eventually she gave in. "Nothing that Dane didn't already know. You asked if the document spoke the truth, and Dane confirmed it. He told me you were shocked and worried about what it would mean for Averlea."
"Did you think I wasn't in favor of him returning to the throne?” Balthazar asked. “Is that why you assume I betrayed him to the authorities afterwards?"
"Dane wasn't sure of your political alliances. He said you were thoughtful, as if trying to determine what it all meant for Averlea, and for the Fist Peninsula in general."
"But you think I informed the authorities of his existence anyway, whether intentionally or otherwise."
Yelena raised her chin.
Balthazar lowered his head.
Dane rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands. "I know you, Bal, and you're not a cruel man. If your coming here led to my arrest, it wasn't your intention. Don't blame yourself."
The gaze Balthazar lifted to Dane's was a haunted one. "What if I thought getting rid of you was for the greater good of Freedland?"
Yelena scoffed. "For the greater good? I’ve heard that excuse time and again. The revolution cost countless lives. Hundreds of soldiers died, on both sides—perhaps thousands. It upset the natural order and uprooted the lives of dozens of families whose only crime was to support my father. How is any of that good?"
"Your father was cruel to the people." Balthazar's accusation cut through the air like a knife and ended Yelena's lecture. It was like him to say exactly what he thought, but now was not the time.
"Bal," I hissed.
Yelena shot to her feet, and Dane rose too, ready to stop her if she tried to strike Balthazar again. "You believe what you've read in history books written by the victors, by Nox's people," she spat. "I won't listen to such lies in my house."
"Sit down," Dane said.
She pointed at the door where Martha stood, the apron stuffed into her mouth, wide-eyed shock on her face. "Get out of my house, old man! Go!"
"Enough!" Dane snapped.
Yelena blinked long and hard at him. "Pardon?"
"I said that's enough. Balthazar is my friend. Whatever happened in the past is forgotten."
"Not by me."
"He went to prison too. Does that not speak of his innocence? Does that not say something about what the authorities—"
"I won't have a stranger disparage my father's name in my house."
Dane's jaw hardened. He did not like to be interrupted. "You have to understand that everything is different now. I am different."
"You are not different. You are still my son. You are still the heir."
Dane tapped his chest. "I am different."
She crossed her arms and regarded him down her nose. "Yes. I see that. You would never have said a word against me before."
"I have not said a word against you now."
"You are disagreeing with me."
I wrapped my fingers around Dane’s hand before he said something he later regretted. He let out a breath and released his anger with it.
Yelena's hard gaze took in our linked hands. She suddenly turned her back to us.
Balthazar pushed himself to his feet. "I'll join Quentin and Erik outside. We'll make our own way back to Vance's place. It's late and we're all tired. Yelena, I apologize for any discomfort I've caused. Sometimes I forget that I should keep my opinions to myself."
She gave no indication that she'd heard him.
"We'll follow later," Dane said to Balthazar. "I want to learn more tonight. I still know nothing about my father. Josie, will you stay?"
I hugged his arm. "Of course." I was as curious as he was about his father. The man who could match Yelena must have been interesting indeed.
A shout from outside startled me. It sounded like Quentin’s voice.
There was a thump against the door and more sh
outs, followed by the clang of metal against metal.
Dane rushed towards the door but it opened before he reached it, crashing back against the wall. Quentin landed on his back on the entrance hall floor.
Martha screamed.
"Run, Dane!" Yelena cried. "The back way!"
But her shout was lost amid the clash of metal and Erik's cry of pain. Then he too fell through the doorway, knocking over Quentin as he tried to rise. Armed men wearing constable uniforms barreled in after Erik. One pressed his sword point to the Marginer's throat while another disarmed Quentin and pulled him to his feet.
Dane, sword drawn, engaged the constable standing over Erik. Erik kicked the constable while he was distracted and jumped to his feet. Dane dispatched the constable amid more screaming from Martha and shouting from Yelena.
Balthazar pointed his walking stick at a door that must be the rear exit, but it too opened, and armed men streamed through. I counted almost a dozen, and they were not constables. They wore soldiers’ uniforms.
Merdu and Hailia, save us.
But the god and goddess weren't listening. The soldiers came up behind Dane, Erik and Quentin, just as more constables entered through the front door. Dane managed to parry a strike, but for every blade he deflected, another four came at him.
Erik was equally inundated and Quentin was once again on the floor, doing his best to fend off two men larger than himself.
We could not escape. Not even if we all took up arms and Max was here to help. I counted fifteen soldiers and constables at least.
Martha went to her mistress, but Yelena didn’t seem to notice her. "What is the charge against him?" When no one answered her, Yelena shouted, "What is the charge?"
Dane parried another strike and shoved a soldier into one of the constables, giving himself some space. But instead of continuing the fight, he put up his hands.
"I surrender!" He dropped the sword. "Leave my friends and family alone. It's me you want."
"No," Yelena whimpered. "No, no, no. Not again."
I clung to Balthazar, my heart pounding and my head screaming at me to do something to help Dane. But nothing could be done. Erik and Quentin both lay on the floor, bleeding but alive. The soldiers and constables did not continue the fight.
They looked to the sergeant, the last man to file into the cottage. No, not a sergeant. He wore all black with gold braiding at the shoulder of his doublet, similar to Dane's captain's uniform.
He regarded the scene and us with cool indifference.
"Captain?" asked the soldier with his blade pointed at Dane's throat. "What do you want me to do?"
Merdu, he was asking whether he should kill him right here! "No!" I cried. "Please, don't. He's done nothing. You don't understand, he can't remember—"
"That is murder," Yelena spat at the captain. "If you murder an innocent man then you have to murder all of us witnesses too. She is a Glancian noblewoman and the old man a priest from Merdu's Guards. Do you want the warrior priests and the entire Glancian nation to know you murder innocents?"
The captain showed a flicker of uncertainty as his gaze raked over her. I wondered if he'd been told who she was.
"Let them go," Dane said. "They're not important. My name is Dane. It's me you want."
The captain sheathed his sword. "Dane March, you are under arrest for leaving the place of your incarceration before your sentence is complete and for the murder of the guards at Gull’s Wing prison."
"But he has no memory of those events," I pleaded. "You cannot arrest a man for a crime he isn't even aware he committed."
"Josie," Dane said with gentle firmness. "Look at me."
I did, and my heart cracked in my chest. He was so tall surrounded by Freedlandians, so sure and confident. But I knew it was all for my benefit. I knew inside he must know his fate was precarious. I tried to be brave for him too, but I suspected I failed miserably.
"I'll see you soon," he said, attempting to smile.
He was led away between two soldiers. He didn't struggle or look back.
"No!" Yelena screamed. "I can’t lose him again!" She charged towards them but was forced back by the constables.
"Captain," Balthazar said as the captain went to leave too. "What happens now?"
"He will be tried in court and if found guilty, sentenced to hang." He followed his men and Dane out into the night.
Martha sobbed and collapsed onto a chair.
Yelena let out a scream that sliced through my already frayed nerves. I went to comfort her, expecting her to collapse too, but she shook me off. She paced the room, her hands balled into fists at her sides, her breathing labored.
"Josie," Quentin said from where he was bending over Erik. "He's injured."
"It is nothing," Erik said as I rushed to him. His side was damp with blood.
I tore his clothing to see the cut better. It bled profusely. "Yelena, I need cloths and clean water. Quentin, we need to get him back to Vance's. This needs stitching and my medical pack is there."
"I'll find a cart." Quentin ran off.
I pressed on Erik's wound in an attempt to stem the blood.
He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed heavily.
"Yelena," Balthazar snapped. "Josie asked for cloth and water."
I turned to see Yelena still pacing, muttering to herself. She hadn't heard him.
Martha rose from the chair. "I'll fetch what you need. I've cleaned Dane's scrapes many times, although never sword cuts."
She bustled out, and I turned back to Erik. He was pale and getting paler. My hands were covered in his blood, and it was still oozing from the wound. The cloths and the water would not be necessary if I couldn't stop the bleeding.
"I can speak to Ewen and the others, mobilize the mercenaries,” Yelena said as she continued to pace. “We’ll storm the jailhouse. We will not give up.”
Balthazar and I glanced at one another. He looked grave, his face haggard, his back crooked as he leaned heavily on his walking stick.
"Sit, Bal," I ordered. "I can't have two unconscious men on my hands."
He sat and swallowed heavily as he watched Yelena. She kept pacing but at least she’d stopped muttering. Her eyes had hardened again and she once more looked to be in charge of her own mind. It was a relief. I was afraid Dane's arrest had sent her mad.
Just as it might send me mad if I did not have Erik to worry about. Yet as I knelt beside him, my hands covered in his blood, my mind cleared. I knew precisely what I had to do to free Dane and keep Erik alive.
Martha returned carrying a basin and cloths. She knelt beside me, just as Yelena passed her. She stepped over Erik's feet and opened the front door.
"Madam?" Martha asked. "Where are you going?"
"To rescue my son." Yelena disappeared into the darkness outside.
Martha whimpered then swiped at her tears with the back of her hand. "I should go after her and make sure she doesn't harm herself."
"She'll be all right," I said. “She has something to do to keep her mind occupied.”
"And Dane?" Martha started to cry. "Will he be all right? My mistress can’t get him out of this, for all her talk. Her supporters are not ready."
"He’ll be fine. I know a way to set him free."
"How?"
I looked to Balthazar but he gave no indication that he followed my thoughts. I didn't care if he agreed with me or not. My mind was made up.
"Magic," I said. "I'll use magic."
Available from 7th July 2020:
THE RETURN OF ABSENT SOULS
The 6th and final After The Rift novel
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Also by C.J. Archer
SERIES WITH 2 OR MORE BOOKS
After The Rift
Glass and Steele
The Ministry of Curiosities Series
The Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy
The 1st Freak House Trilogy
The 2nd Freak House Trilogy
The 3rd Freak House Trilogy
The Assassins Guild Series
Lord Hawkesbury's Players Series
Witch Born
SINGLE TITLES NOT IN A SERIES
Courting His Countess
Surrender
Redemption
The Mercenary's Price
About the Author
C.J. Archer has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two. She spent her early childhood in the dramatic beauty of outback Queensland, Australia, but now lives in suburban Melbourne with her husband, two children and a mischievous black & white cat named Coco.
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