“What?” Sam snapped back. Then she realised what Selene had said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean literally. Where I come from, calling someone a bastard is an insult, but it does not mean we think they actually are. It’s like calling a woman a bitch.”
Selene smiled. “I will have to remember that next time he annoys me. Now tell me what he has done to get you so riled up.”
Sam filled her in as they walked. “You don’t seem surprised,” she stated when she had finished.
“I did warn you,” Selene replied. “Now let us stop worrying about my stupid brother and see if we can find this key.”
Halvine, as chief steward, was also the keeper of the keys, well most of them anyway. Each member of the family kept the keys to their own personal rooms and the cook kept the keys to the kitchen and its storerooms. He knew exactly which key was for which door and, unfortunately, none were unaccounted for. They hated the thought of breaking down the door, but could see no alternative, until Halvine mentioned that there were still boxes of Selene’s great grandmother’s possessions in one of the storerooms near the throne room. Handing over the key, he smiled to see them racing off in excitement, though quickly let it fall from his face, looking around to make sure nobody had noticed.
The storeroom was filled to overflowing with trunks, many of them covered in dust, but thankfully someone had thought to label each one clearly with the owner’s name so it did not take long to find the ones they wanted. The first contained clothes. Selene wept as Sam pulled out the most beautiful white dress either of them had ever seen.
“My great grandmother’s wedding dress. I have seen a portrait of her on her wedding day. I never thought it still existed.”
“Maybe you could wear it when you get married,” Sam joked, gently elbowing her in the ribs.
“I will have to wait a while in that case,” she replied, looking down. “My great grandmother was a very slim woman. I wonder if a dressmaker could make it larger without ruining the style.”
Selene was still lost in her thoughts when Sam called her over. She had found a trunk containing personal possessions, hair brushes, jewellery, letters and a small wooden music box. Sam was surprised by the amount of jewellery. She assumed it automatically got passed down to the next generation instead of being locked away in a storeroom. Selene explained that a will was needed for anything to be passed on, even clothes, and no will had ever been found. Most things in the royal household were owned by the family rather than individual members, so it was only the personal property that was an issue.
No key could be found in the trunk so Sam picked up the music box. It was painted instead of bejewelled, and time had faded the paint just enough to hide what was meant to be depicted. As it was small enough to fit into the palm of her hand, she held it steady with one hand and gently lifted the lid with the other. Music started playing instantly. It was quiet and did not flow smoothly, but the ladies were amazed that it still worked after so many years. Inside was a solitary key.
Despite their excitement, Sam and Selene made sure they had neatly packed everything away again before returning the storeroom key and heading off to the garden. Much to Sam’s relief, Rupert was no longer there. The key was nervously placed in the lock and both of them grinned as it easily turned.
——————————-∞——————————-
Tor and his team, which now included Tallon as he was being treated as an honoured guest rather than a prisoner, had not been travelling for long when Hawk heard the distant sound of galloping horses. He flew away to investigate and returned within minutes, the bearer of bad news. A large number of royal soldiers were heading their way, fast. At a nod from Tor, Hawk and Grimmel quickly jumped into the wagon and began uncovering his coffin. As soon as Hawk was able to get the lid off, he jumped in, sliding the lid back into place as the dwarf began the task of re-covering it. Tallon had gone pale as soon as he saw Hawk fly into the air; seeing him climb into a coffin took away what little colour was left in his face.
“I will explain later,” Tor assured him, noticing his distress. “Right now we need some speed. Seth, take the wagon slowly by the main roads. Make your way directly back to Vada as quickly as you can. Hopefully we will be able to meet up on the way, but do not wait for us, just keep going, and do not rush. Do nothing to draw attention to yourself and, if there is no other option, abandon the wagon. Hawk already knows that is a possibility. Ban, stay with him in case he needs protection. A lone farmer with a laden wagon is easy prey for bandits.”
His eyes drifted toward the ponies hitched to the back of the wagon. He considered untying them and having River and Grimmel ride, then dismissed the idea; it would take too much time. “River, you ride with me,” he instructed, grabbing her arm and pulling her onto his horse in front of him. “Grimmel, you go with Patrick.” Within seconds they were fully mounted and waving goodbye to Seth and Ban.
They headed off as quickly as they could, in a different direction to the wagon, knowing they did not have much of a lead on the soldiers. Seth was just reaching the top of a small hill when he heard the sound of hoof beats behind him. He turned around to see the soldiers leave the road to follow Tor. They had a couple of hounds with them, who had obviously been given Tallon’s scent to follow. Feeling sure that he and Ban would be unmolested by the soldiers, Seth hoped the others could keep far enough ahead to not be caught.
After an hour of alternating between trotting and galloping, Tor ordered a halt and listened carefully. The faint sound of approaching horses indicated that, much to his dismay, they had not gained any ground; if anything they had lost a little. Two options were open to him, continue running or hide. Fighting was not an option, they were too badly outnumbered. The sun was beginning to rise, making hiding more difficult. River suddenly sat up. She had been clinging to the horse’s neck in terror, but now sat up straight, listening. “What river are we near?” she asked Tallon.
“The Midas,” came the reply. “The largest in Kinfen. We will have to travel many leagues north before we reach a bridge to cross it.”
This news seemed to please River. “Head straight toward it,” she ordered. Having never heard River speak with such authority, Tor instantly obeyed, followed by the others. He pulled to a halt at the banks of the river, helping River dismount. The river was wide and the water fast flowing. They would never be able to swim across it. River sat down on the grass, looking at the water, and began to gently sing.
Almost immediately, the flow began to ease. Within minutes, an invisible barrier had appeared, just in front of River, holding back the water the entire way across and making a way for them to reach the other side with only getting their horses’ hooves wet. Once the water was shallow enough, River was pulled back onto Tor’s horse and they gingerly made their way across, nervously eyeing the water on their right. Nothing seemed to be holding it back and if it started to flow again before they reached the other side, they would definitely be drowned.
As soon as they were safely on the other bank, River stopped singing and whatever invisible barrier had been holding the water back collapsed, causing the river to commence its violent rampage once again.
Tallon stared in amazement. “How did you just do that?”
“I am a water sprite,” she replied, rather smugly.
They were not far from the river bank when they heard the soldiers approaching. Looking back they could see them staring in amazement, wondering how to get across the river. Patrick took great delight in waving to them before turning his horse around and galloping out of their view.
Once they were over the next hill, Tor called a halt. “How long will it take them to reach the bridge and start to chase us again? Come to think of it, why are they chasing us at all? We expected to have to make a quick getaway if we kidnapped you, but you have come willingly.”
“They will not follow,” Tallon replied, confidently. “They will return to the palace and report this to my father. The man leading the
chase is the commander of the Kinfen army. He has been suspicious of me for a while. He somehow found out that I was keeping an Amenian pleasure slave and was treating her decently.”
Patrick snorted. “That is not what we heard.”
Tallon ignored him. “He discussed it with the head of my personal guard. He thinks I am under a spell of some sort. Seeing me run away with strangers will only confirm his belief. He is probably already on his way to tell his story to my father.”
“Will that be a problem?”
“It could be. If my father believes him, he may amass his entire army and declare war on Emvale. It has been brewing for a while and this may tip things over the edge.”
“Then we had better get to Allias as quickly as we can and warn him.” The thought of an upcoming war did not overly concern Tor. It had always been a possible outcome of his mission, but he would prefer to get his people safely out of Amenia, if not the whole of Emvale, before it started. Although the group who travelled with him were not his subjects, and therefore not under his command, he still felt responsible for them; some of them had become more like family than friends.
Turning his horse north, he set off at as quick a pace as the horses could manage without overtiring. They would stick to the same routine as they had heading toward Bedden, hiding and sleeping during the day and travelling at night. It was unlikely they would meet up with Seth and Ban before crossing the border. Although the wagon would slow them down, they would be able to travel in the open whereas Tor and his party would have to stay hidden as much as possible, causing unwanted delays. Tor calculated that the wagon and its occupants should cross the border no more than a day after he himself did.
——————————-∞——————————-
Yeland, having been awoken by a loud banging on his bedroom door, carefully opened it, sword in hand. Seeing the commander of his army on the other side, he swung it wide, but did not drop his sword.
“What do you do think you are playing at?” he yelled as the younger man walked into the room. “You have probably woken up half of the damn palace.”
“Sorry your Majesty, but this could not wait.” He hurriedly explained about Tallon’s unexpected departure and his suspicions about the Prince being under an enchantment. Yeland was not convinced, but agreed to look in his son’s room for any sign of foul play.
The door was not locked, causing immediate concern. Since he had purchased his slave, Tallon had never left his rooms unsecured. A quick search showed that not only was Tallon missing, but his most personal possessions were also gone. His dressing room was still full of his clothes, though a few gaps indicated that some may have been quickly removed. There was no sign of any clothing or possessions he was known to have bought for his slave; in fact there was absolutely no sign of a slave living in the rooms at all.
“His slave was Amenian you said?” he asked the commander, who nodded his affirmative. Yeland tapped his chin as he thought. “There is definitely something odd going on here.” He then headed down to the stables. If Tallon had left for any length of time, he would have taken his favourite horse with him. Yeland opened the stable door loudly, wakening one of the stable lads who was asleep in the hayloft with one of the kitchen maids.
“Your Majesty,” he stammered, peering down to see what all of the noise was about.
“Get down here,” the King yelled. “Prince Tallon left a few hours ago and I need you to tell me which horse he took, seeing as his is still here.” The poor lad, trembling in terror, quickly pulled on his clothes and climbed down the ladder. A quick look around showed only one horse missing.
“Dobbin is missing, sire. The horse he bought for his slave.”
Yeland smiled. “Thank you lad, now go and wake all of the stable hands. I need all horses made ready to depart as soon as possible.” He then turned to his commander. “Well, there is no doubt where he has gone. Send messages to all garrisons between here and the border. Round up all available men. We travel within the hour.” The commander looked at his King, eyebrow raised. There was no need to ask the obvious question, but Yeland answered it anyway. “Kinfen is going to war with Emvale.”
——————————-∞——————————-
They had been travelling for a few days before Tallon plucked up the courage to enquire about Hawk, not that someone who could fly and slept in a coffin needed much explaining; there was only one thing he could be. Tallon was more curious as to why a vampire was travelling with them, being treated as a friend rather than a monster. Tor had come to really like the young Prince and decided to tell him everything. He started with his father’s death and the quest he was now on. He explained about the bargain with Mama Rose and how everyone felt about Hawk to begin with, but how he had become a valuable member of the team and a friend. Tallon listened to the story without comment.
Later that night, just before dawn, Tor took Dal on another survival lesson. All of their supplies, except for their water bottles, were on the wagon, but both Tor and Tallon had been well trained in surviving on what nature provided so they never went hungry. River always managed to find a stream or river nearby whenever they stopped, so they never went thirsty either, but the men longed for a cool mug of ale or a jug of wine, except Dal, of course, who was still to try either.
“You have been very quiet these last few days,” Tor whispered to Dal as he watched his young apprentice make a snare. “What is bothering you? You used to be so excited about learning these things, now you seem to take no interest.”
Dal shrugged his shoulders. “Just missing Seth I guess.” Tor nodded. The two young men had become good friends during the journey.
“He will be fine. He has Ban and Hawk with him and he knows how to take care of himself.” Dal did not respond. He just continued to work on his snare, as though he had not heard.
——————————-∞——————————-
Seth and Ban continued their journey at a steady pace. They stayed on the main roads, but did not stop in any of the inns they passed as they did not wish to leave the wagon unguarded. They also stuck to the travel by night routine. This was no longer necessary, but it meant they could spend time with Hawk, who amused them with tales of his past. Being able to fly offered a lot of benefits, especially when it came to watching ladies undress when they thought they were alone.
“Can I ask a personal question?” Seth asked one night, as they were sitting around a camp fire, having stopped for a quick meal and to rest the horses. Seeing Hawk nod, he continued. “Do you ever get the urge to bite a human?”
Hawk smiled, though there was no humour in it. “Occasionally. It is worse in the heat of passion. That is why I avoid getting too close to women any more. There have been a few occasions when I only just stopped myself in time.”
“I take it there is no cure.”
Hawk sadly shook his head. “None.”
“I met a vampire once.” It was not often that Ban joined in personal conversations, so Seth and Hawk remained quiet, waiting for him to continue. “A young lady wandered into our village late one evening, bleeding from the neck and close to death. She collapsed just outside my house, so I took her in and called for a healer. She made it through the night, but the next morning she told us what had happened to her. She was travelling through the woods between her village and ours when a man grabbed her and dragged her deeper into the undergrowth. Thinking she was about to be raped, she tried to scream, but no sound came out.
“He made no attempt to undress her. Instead he bit her neck and drank some of her blood. When he had had enough, he told her he was sorry then ran off, leaving her to die alone. It took all of her strength and courage to pick herself up and make it to safety. We examined her neck and saw two perfect puncture marks. There was no doubt in our minds that she had been bitten by a vampire.”
When he went quiet, the only sound was the crackling of the fire. Seth and Hawk did not know what to say.
Ban had not finished his tale, however. “I had the unenviable task of telling her she was never going to be able to go out in the sunlight again. She cried for hours, until she fell into an exhausted sleep. When she awoke, I had made some thin soup for her, but she was unable to eat.”
Hawk nodded his understanding. “Vampires need no sustenance other than blood. Even water makes us feel nauseous.”
Ban did not mind the interruption and quickly continued. “She stayed with me for a few days as nobody else in the village, except for the healer, knew what had happened to her and we thought it best to keep it that way for a while. The first few weeks went well, she slept during the day and was awake all night, but eventually the need for blood became too great. One night, I took her hunting. The animals we caught not only provided her with what she needed, but also I made good use of the meat. As the weeks went by, we became good friends, until one evening a friend of mine was chopping wood when the axe slipped, badly slicing his hand. He came to see me as the healer was visiting her sister in another village and he knew I had sewn many a deep cut before. The sight and smell of all that blood was too much for the poor girl and I had to lock her in her room to stop her from attacking my friend. By the time I had stitched him up and cleaned up the mess, she was scratching at the door with her fingernails, trying to get out. When she finally calmed down, she looked me straight in the eye and told me she hated what she had become and wanted to die.”
“So what did you do?” Seth asked, urging his companion to continue.
“The next morning, before dawn, we headed out into the woods, to a clearing that we used for festivals in the summer. I sat on the ground, with her beside me, and we watched the sun rise together.” Hawk shivered, though the night was not cold. He knew what was coming. A tear rolled down Ban’s face as he continued. “As the sunlight hit us, I held her tight while she screamed and convulsed in agony. Her skin smoked and eventually I had to leave her side as flames consumed her body, leaving only ash behind. It seemed to take forever. Just before the end she looked at me and smiled, whispered ‘thank you’ then closed her eyes, never to open them again.”
The Guide Page 20