by Guy Antibes
“You don’t need to drag me, show me the way.” She continued to walk in the direction they had been struggling to carry her.
The two women grumbled, but straightened Sara up and proceeded along the corridor— one leading, while the other followed. Sara tried to remember the twists and the turns of their path, but had to give up. Although every bruise raised by Millinak ached at first, as she continued her walk, her body warmed and loosened up and she found the strength to keep her posture erect.
She told herself that she would triumph over her situation. She wanted to return to Parthy and see Klark again and her brothers and she would focus on getting back to Shattuk Downs. She observed her escort noting the sour look on both of their faces that seemed ground in by years of unpleasant work and even less pleasant thoughts. They pushed her onward until they stood at a large door.
The guard, dressed in a black uniform with three green stripes above his breast pocket, stood at attention, holding a shiny steel halberd. A cage of decorative wrought iron, shaped like an inverted bowl hung from the bottom of the wide blade with a long pointed top. Sara had never seen such a weapon.
“The woman is to see the emperor,” one of the crones said. Sara thought of them that way—perhaps women with bunions and blisters on their feet prompting their chronic sourness. The woman pulled a thick white card from within her blouse and flashed it in the guard’s eyes.
“Yes, citizen,” he said while opening the door.
Onward they marched. Sara’s strength was beginning to fade a little when they turned down a short corridor. Bright orange drapes decorated one side lit by the many-paned windows on the other. The woman in the back had lagged behind but rushed up as they climbed a short flight of stairs and gave out a soft grunt. The leading woman gave Sara a sharp look.
“Quiet! We approach the Emperor’s quarters.”
Sara wished she could thump the woman with a candlestick and flee from the palace, but she had no idea where she was. Sara thought about what she would do to escape and realized that she would have to know the layout. Any escape would end quickly by simply taking a wrong turn. Guards were everywhere in the palace and without the little white card, she’d be quickly caught again. She had little chance of success.
Lily had helped her when they rescued the Duke in the Grand Duke’s palace in Stonebridge. Those days seemed like decades ago. Now she walked, with hands bound, to see the Emperor of Belonnia. Why? So he could gloat? She didn’t understand the Belonnian mind and gave up trying.
They continued to walk past more guarded doors. The leader of their tiny procession kept presenting their pass to guards as they passed them. If they didn’t reach their destination soon, Sara would have to sit or be dragged the rest of the way. She tried to get angry to keep up her spirits, but all she could do was fight from sobbing as every step increased her fears.
The woman abruptly stopped at a door flanked by two guards wearing fancier uniforms. Perhaps the Emperor stood on the other side. Sara hoped that would be the case so she could finally stop. Their pass opened its final door. Sara’s terror froze her legs in place, but she received a shove in the back by the woman at the end. Sara’s fear turned to anger as she twisted her head to look at her tormentor.
She gasped and coughed to cover up her amazement. Meldey stood with her hair dyed the same mousey gray the original woman had. Her dress had padding to make her look more stout. Sara quickly turned and walked into the room as Meldey closed the door.
The Emperor stood with his back to them in front of a crackling fireplace. This must be his study, thought Sara, as she gazed at books and cubbyholes filled with rolled up maps. A massive desk sat in the middle. The two women flanked Sara. Meldey moved back a little, her face out of the other woman’s line of sight. Only the four of them were in the room. The odds were two against two. The thought gave Sara some strength, If only she could get untied.
“I must let you know that I didn’t condone Millinak’s interrogation of you. He’s been eliminated.” The emperor’s voice carried a familiar ring. Sara’s mind momentarily went blank as Handson Dairyman turned. His smile was so sinister and his expression so knowing that she involuntarily shrank back. What an actor! Even knowing he played a role for someone, nothing prepared her for the sheer menace that emanated from the man.
The transformation shocked her. She couldn’t keep a look of astonishment off of her face. He tricked them! Sara look at the transformation. He seemed to have shrugged off his Hans persona. No wonder they could never find him in classes. She shook her head. She thought that Hans was an agent like Meldey. How foolish.
“Haven’t you gotten what you want out of me? I told no lies to Millinak or to Grappel.”
Hans shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. With our new fire weapons, Belonnia will lay waste to Parthy. With your percussive powder and our own weapons, we can conquer the world. A new life awaits all of Parthy, including your beloved Shattuk Downs, don’t you agree, Countess?”
He walked over and cupped his hand underneath Sara’s chin. He tilted her head up and looked into her eyes. “You’ll make a fine consort, once these unsightly bruises disappear.” He let go and Sara wondered why he now stood as tall as she did. His boots. She could see the thick soles made to make him taller.
“I’ll not be your consort, Hans.” She couldn’t see herself as a consort to Klark, much less a concubine for this objectionable person. She thought of his feigned Belonnian during their voyage, So stupid!
“Your Eminence or Emperor Hansfeld are much better terms of address, especially for one in your position.” Hans held his head higher and looked down his nose at her. She’d kill herself before this man would sully her. “I can see a little hatred in your eyes. It’s a look that I’m accustomed to among the common citizen.”
Sara’s mind filled with questions. “Did you put this exchange together to draw me into Okalla?”
“I did and it was a great deal of fun. Millis Shields arranged it all for me. She is a great sympathizer and was more than happy to be my sponsor,” he said. “I was intrigued by you when Millinak, Miller as you knew him, described you to me. Shields told me of your Passcold connection and your closeness to the king and his brother. Your presence here serves two purposes. I’m quite attracted to you for I’m impressed by people who exceed their expectations. The Heroine of the Battle of Obridge Gate. The Savior of Duke Northcross. You, my dear, are a distinguished person, one worthy to serve me personally and you make a very pretty hostage.”
So they did know about her paternity. Sara refused to be made into some kind of pawn. “I won’t do it and Parth won’t stand for it.” Sara balled her bound fists and let her anger build.
Hans laughed. “You have no choice. I have fifty guards that protect me while I’m in the palace and they will just as easily serve to keep you in. I did take a mild risk going to Parth and inserting myself among the males, but no one knew me nor did any of them care and the help requested by Shields enabled by the feckless Duke Northcross provided additional cover.”
“I should have run you through on our ride through the countryside.”
“My guard, the driver, nearly did so to you. I’m sure your kicking my backside amused him and his fellow guards to no end. Your performance with the Parthian was more than worth any risk. Heathergate provided me with the opportunity to see you in action and you didn’t disappoint. I could see how you struggled with the odious Parthian students. It’s quite an accomplishment to impress your Emperor and I’m very impressed.
“Unfortunately, Millinak spoiled the fun.” The Emperor screwed up his face into an awful mask and then relaxed as his thoughts obviously turned back to her. “I had planned a more elegant abduction, so when we found out what Millinak had done, we had to move quickly at your hotel. They think you dead at the hands of a crazed robber.”
Sara looked away from Hans and saw her knife on the Emperor’s huge desk.
He followed her gaze. “Your stinger? My men found it
in Millinak’s things. I think you attracted him in some unnatural way. He also had your cloak in his room. Odd man, but he really developed a marvelous relationship with the Grand Duke, but you spoiled that, didn’t you?” He stepped back up to her and ran the back of his hand on Sara’s cheek. He clicked his tongue. “So cold. We’ll have to warm you up. You will be my most prized possession.”
Sara turned her cheek away towards Meldey. Hans’ eyes were glued to Sara’s as she turned to stare back at him. Meldey struck out and, with her hand extended, threw a blow into the Emperor’s windpipe. He gasped and backed up to the desk holding his injured throat, fighting for breath. Sara pushed the other woman away while Meldey pulled out a blade. The Emperor slid to the floor gasping for air, his hands clutching his throat.
The other woman lurched around Sara and pushed Meldey from the side. Sara leaned over the desk and grabbed her knife with both hands and while Meldey plunged hers into the arm of the other woman, Sara managed to free her hands.
“He needs his throat slit.” Meldey said as the woman still fought with her. “Quickly, the door is locked, but they’ll be able to get through soon enough.
The other woman shrieked and guards pounded on the door. Sara had no idea how much time they had. She stood over Hans, not wanting to carry out Meldey’s instruction. For a moment, fear paralyzed her, but the thought of spending her days in Okalla with this monster moved her to action. She grit her teeth.
The Emperor had slid to the floor, sitting against the desk. He continued to fight for his breath, his eyes wide and she could see the fear in them, but Sara took a deep breath and carried out the execution, for that was how she thought of it in the heat of the moment. “Ignite!”
As she stood back, she looked at the Emperor writhing in flame, unable to call out.
“His death has to be certain,” Meldey said, now that she had taken care of the matron. She took Sara’s knife and cut the Emperor’s burning throat and handed it back to her.
“I infiltrated the female prison guards and found out the truth. I thought they were taking you to Miller and he was my target. But after Miller tortured you, they killed him and that’s how I learned their plans for you and here I am. We can only escape from this side of the palace.” She shrugged and undid rope from around her midsection, Willa-style. “Be prepared for a shock of cold water.”
Meldey unlocked the window and threw it open. Flakes of snow blew in and Sara shivered while she put her knife back into its sheath and strapped it to her leg.
“When you reach the end of rope, jump into the river.” Meldey tied a large knot in the end. “Let it carry you past the end of the palace wall and then you must swim to the other side of the shore. Just this morning I arranged for friends to fish you out in the event we were successful. If you miss them, get out of the water as soon as you can or you’ll drown.”
Sara could only nod. She looked at the two bodies in the Emperor’s study. The smell of the Emperor’s burning body began to fill the room. “You couldn’t have done any of this, even attack Miller, without me as bait.”
Meldey looked grim. “I’m sorry, Sara. We can talk about it later. Leave and I will follow.” She pulled the pass from the dead woman’s body and put it in an oilcloth pouch and jammed it down Sara’s blouse. ‘You keep this. It may be useful later.” Guards began to break through the door. “Quickly!”
Sara went to the window. Did she even have the strength to hold on to the rope? She could always jump if she couldn’t. Out she went, walking down the wall. Wells, her father’s superintendent had taught her to lower herself that way as they clambered so long ago through the Brightlings mines and she had used the same technique to escape from the Grand Duke’s palace in Stonebridge.
How Sara wished she were in Brightlings again. She thought of seeing Seb and Enos again and Klark! She’d make it through this to see him too. He deserved some angry words from her. She set her teeth against the freezing wind and held the knot at the end of the rope. Sara heard shouting from above and Meldey leaned over from the window. “Drop!”
Someone in the room began to pull up the rope. Just before she let go, Meldey’s body flew past her. Sara jumped out from the building and let go, following Meldey deep into the river.
A stream of red accompanied her savior down into the waters. Sara grabbed Meldey’s dress and began to swim up towards the light, away from the palace. It was easy to let the current take them and Sara gradually broke the surface, gasping for air just as she passed the end of the palace wall. She kicked towards the other shore, still holding a comatose Meldey.
A loading dock went by. Dark figures stood, watching them float by. “Sara!” She heard Willa’s voice and heard the clumping of feet run off the dock. Sara’s limbs began to stiffen as the freezing water chilled her bones. Meldey’s head dipped underneath the water.
“No!” Sara cried out involuntarily. She forced herself to keep kicking and slammed into another dock. Sara clung to the weathered boards for what seemed like centuries until arms pulled Meldey from her grasp. Life seemed so much better after the burden had been released. Sara felt so relieved that she lost her hold and dipped under. She knocked against a piling on the other side of the dock and kicked up, spewing water struggling for breath. More hands reached down and Sara couldn’t think another thought.
~~~
Chapter Fifteen
Flight
“She’s coming around,” a disembodied voice said. Sara opened her eyes and only found dim candlelight illuminating a windowless room.
“Dungeon?” The thought came out as a spoken word. Her limbs seemed leaden, as she struggled to think.
“No, Miss.” A Belonnian voice spoke. “You are safe for now in my sub-basement.”
“Meldey.” Sara said the next image in her head.
“She lies on the other side of you.”
Sara turned, her head, pain drumming in her head and found Meldey, sleeping on her own bed, against the earthen wall. Her breathing seemed irregular. “How is she?”
“Something, a sword or halberd perhaps, wounded her. We don’t know how deep. The shock of the wound and the freezing water didn’t help her, nor you either. If she doesn’t catch a fever, she might mend.” Willa said in Parthian.
“Willa!” Sara sat up.
Her friend smiled. “You’re not in too good of shape, either. No wounds, but your body is a mass of bruises and who knows what kind of shock you’ve had to take. You just rest for a while. We are two levels beneath the ground, here.”
“What about Lily?”
Willa smiled. “She’s here. I had to promise to take all of her clothes and souvenirs when we evacuated from the hotel.”
“What about my trunk?” Her guns were in that trunk.
“I insisted that we bring yours as well.”
Sara lay back down, suddenly very weary. “Very good.” She fought to remember all that had happened during her abduction, but found it harder to stay awake.
~
Sara woke again, feeling thirsty.
“I’ll get Willa,” the Belonnian lady said, rising from her chair.
Sara got up on both elbows. Meldey still lay in her bed, breathing more shallowly than before. Sara took it as a bad sign.
After a few minutes, the upper door burst open with Lily leading the way down steep stairs followed by a slower Willa holding a tray.
“Do you feel up to telling us what happened? Before we could talk, you passed out again,” Lily said.
“Slept. I couldn’t hold my eyes open. I’m more awake now.” Sara let Willa pour a few spoonfuls of soup into her. “That tastes wonderful.” Sara thought back at the horrid events. She began to cry. “Let me collect myself.” Lily paced the room and her impatience suddenly irritated her. Sara looked up. “Sit and be still and I’ll tell you.
“The Belonnians requested that we come on this exchange. Millis is involved.”
“With the Belonnians?” Lily said.
Sara nodded.
She shook from fear, weakness or anger. Sara didn’t know which. “I am sure that our fellow students are expendable… except for one.” The vision of Meldey’s slicing the Emperor’s flaming throat silenced her.
“Who?” Willa said as she forced another spoonful into her mouth.
“Hansold Dairyman.”
Lily looked confused. “Why him? Isn’t he the Duke’s man?”
“Hans is… was Hansfeld, the Emperor of Belonnia and a consummate actor. I couldn’t believe it myself, but the transformation frightened me so badly. He toyed with us for the entire time we walked on Belonnian soil—I take that back, since we met him at the orientation.”
“So?”
The entire setup came to her in an instanct. “I journeyed to Okalla, the Capital of Belonnia as assassination bait.”
Willa looked at Meldey’s still form. “That’s why she fought?”
“Two women took me to the Emperor. There were layers of guards and we had a pass that got us through them all. In one short hall, Meldey took one of the women’s places and walked with us right into the Emperor’s study. While he gloated, Meldey killed my other escort and, uh, assassinated the Emperor of Belonnia.” Sara didn’t care to tell them about her own role in the Emperor’s death.
“Meldey knew the only way out was the river,” Willa said.
Lily nodded. “Her note said all of the Emperor’s rooms were on the river side of the palace. A better view of Okalla. We waited on that dock for most of a day.”
That made sense. She didn’t know how Meldey could have known all of this information. “Anyway. Meldey flew past me into the river and someone began pulling the rope up, forcing me to jump. My only thought after that was keeping Meldey from drowning and that meant I couldn’t drown.”
“That’s the truth,” Meldey croaked from her bed. “Could I have some of that soup?”
Sara sat straight up and turned to Meldey. Willa started to feed her as she lacked the strength to sit.
“My mission was to kill Miller. The Belonnians did that for me, so I intended to stay and keep them from getting you. Some guard stabbed me with a halberd and another pushed me out the window. I didn’t have a counter move for that.” She gave them a weak smile. “We made it, for now.”