Heir of Dragmoore- The Veiled Haven

by Jennifer Ann Schlag

  “The elf queen is after her.”

  “We don’t concern ourselves with elf business unless we need to be involved. If the elf queen wants a human, then let her have them.”

  “Hold on,” Talen says, taking a position next to Rover. She surprises herself with not feeling woozy hanging off the side of a ship which is considerably taller than the boat the Grecian is on. She can fall at any moment.

  “Is this the girl?” Felp asks.

  “Yeah, I’m the girl. Listen here --”

  “Miss Dragniss, I wouldn’t be forward with a Grecian.”

  “Dragniss. You’re Gavin Dragniss’s daughter?”

  “Yes.”

  “Regardless of that, I still cannot allow you to step an inch on Grecian land.”

  “Why?”

  It looks like Felp has had to do this song and dance many times before. It aggravates him. Talen doesn’t care. She wants her answers. She didn’t divert herself from the previous route just to be told no entry on this current one.

  The two elves holding Deegus bring him over. Felp waves them to come on board.

  “I’m going too.”

  “Miss Dragniss, if you come onto Grecian land, I will be forced to put you into our dungeon. It’s not tame. You will not survive it.”

  Talen looks at Rover for confirmation. He shakes his head undecided. He’s never seen their dungeon. And no one who’s been in there has ever talked about it. They are either dead or their mind has been altered.

  The elves toss Deegus over to the Grecian boat. He lands softly on the deck. Talen notices that Felp has a small device in his hand that must be controlling the gravity on board. Talen is about to make the jump, when the Grecian boat starts pulling away.

  “I need to get there.”

  “No. It’s not worth making them mad.”

  “But didn’t I break a rule? Grecian?”

  The Grecian boat comes back around. Felp is at the tip of the bow. “Miss Dragniss. I have changed my mind about you. We will hold an interrogation on one of our boats at the South Port this evening. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

  “Inconvenience?”

  The Grecian boat travels on to Grecia.

  Talen is about to jump off the ship when Rover grabs her arm. “Don’t do it. There are worse things than the Gracken out here.”

  Rover brings the Aster a little closer to the island. It’s so peaceful looking. The beaches are pristine with white sand and a path made of stone and wood wrapping around the entire island. There are coconut trees everywhere. There is a giant pool, almost like a smaller island in the middle of fruit trees. Talen looks for buildings, any sign of the Grecian dwellings. She strains her eyes trying to see through the thick groups of trees. She spots the docks and the boat that Felp took Deegus on. There are no other Grecians around.

  “That’s all the view you’ll be having,” Rover says. He turns hard on the wheel, almost clipping the very end of the island, and heads back out to sea.

  Talen steps down and stands in front of the helm.

  “You can give me a sour look and cry, but I am not docking there.”

  “Where do they live on the island?”

  “The city is there. You won’t see it though.”

  “Invisible city? That is very clever.”

  “You better be waiting for the Grecians later today. If they don’t find you at the South Port, nothing will save you from their wrath.”

  Talen goes below to check on Kip. She doesn’t see him. “Kip, where are you?”

  A rustling comes from behind some wood crates. Kip pops out. He is much larger. He now stands right at her chin.

  “Oh my, Kip. You are growing fast.”

  All that meat. It has accelerated my growth spurts. I’ll be able to fly very soon. If I can find an adult dragon to teach me.

  She goes down to her knees. He lays down in order to meet her gaze. “Kip. I’m afraid of losing you.”

  Talen, I’ll be gone for a short time to take my place as the new dragon leader, but I’ll return to you. We are bonded.

  “What does that mean?”

  The ship rocks a little and she instantly freezes up. The Gracken encounter will forever be on her mind whenever she is out on the open sea. She hardly believes being on land will keep her from the Gracken. He spared her life. She doesn’t want to tempt fate twice.

  Chapter Eleven

  Queen Galaria flings open double doors that show off a room with windows and a thick rainforest behind the glass. The open ceiling lets in brilliant shards of sunlight. It gives off a blinding effect on the water below. Rows of seating surround the water. Like it’s a grand stadium for a spectacular performance.

  “We had a deal. Why do you people constantly admire your vows and then break them?”

  Felp comes up the staircase opposite the double doors with his naked body dripping wet. “Why do you dare defile this sacred place with your elf body?”

  “Cut out the unpleasantries. Let’s get down to business. We had a deal and you broke it.”

  “What are you going to do? Kill me? You wish you could.” He walks over to a closet and grabs his white robe. He slides it over him.

  Galaria stands on the topmost step, looking down at the water.

  “Stay away from it,” he whispers into her ear.

  “Give me the druid.”

  “Hah, that’s what you came for. Well, aren’t I lucky? Two elves interested in a sad, pathetic druid.”

  “Speaking of. Why didn’t you allow my niece access to your city?”

  Felp motions for the elf queen to leave the room. She walks past him, into the bright yellow corridor. He closes the double doors and locks them with a key.

  As they walk down the corridor, all of the other Grecians coming their way suddenly scatter in the opposite direction. The solid walls turn to windows. A rainforest comes into view. Tropical looking birds fly through the treetops.

  “We really don’t like the smell of elf blood.”

  “You were supposed to have Logan report directly to me. Where did you send him?”

  “You haven’t found him?”

  “I had an elf escort him through a portal but he never came to me. He escaped Evervale and I need to know how he did it. Druids can’t create portals. You must have helped him.”

  Felp walks out a large glass door. She follows but keeps her distance. He is greeted by the sun and other Grecians. Galaria covers her eyes. The sun burns down on her. “You don’t have such loveliness in your crystal kingdom. Do you envy us?” He grabs a banana from a nearby tree and eats it without peeling off the skin. He grabs another one and offers it to Galaria.

  “You think I’ll trust eating food from here? After what you did to my sister. Tell me how you helped Logan escape?”

  “You think we can manipulate portals? You give us a lot of credit for things we know not of.”

  “I know your experiments never fail. You can manipulate a lot of magic and energy.”

  Felp turns to Galaria. “Why does the sun never shine in your city? You have only the illumination from your crystals.”

  “You know why.”

  “Tread carefully, elf queen. It was your sister that was meant to sit on the throne. Don’t forget who made that switch possible.”

  He joins the Grecian women by the giant pool. Galaria looks back and sees no building. It’s how they operate. They are without magical abilities but they know a thing or two about magic that magic users don’t. For that, Grecians make their buildings invisible in order to keep their experiments unseen by any unwelcomed guests.

  Felp dips his toes into the water. “Your pools don’t feel like this. Come.” He holds out his hand to her.

  “I’d rather not.”

  He splashes some water onto her and the skin on her leg burns and peels. “Stop it.”

  “The water in this world knows how toxic you are. A plague that needs to be dealt with. When I reunite Talen with her memories, she’ll see that taking th
e elf throne is the only way to balance the darkness. However, Talen has broken a law that we can’t overlook. I am going to the South Port this evening to pass out the punishment.”

  “What punishment?”

  “I’m not going to tell you. Finally things will be looking up for Grecia.”

  Galaria thinks she has it figured out. If he can somehow get a stronghold on the land as well as the sea, he’d be unstoppable. He’d control two cities. Having Talen under his guidance, he can achieve it.

  “Whatever you are thinking, it isn’t going to work.”

  Galaria carefully walks around the pool and finds a spot to sit. “The difference between me and you is that I don’t care about killing my family to achieve my goal. You care about Talen surviving this.”

  “We influence the dark path. She will be given what she wants. She already has it. She has to accept what is. I offer her life. You offer her death. Which person do you think she’ll listen to?”

  “My sister’s vision will not come to pass.”

  Felp takes some water into his hand and lets it trickle down his head. He gets a jolt of energy. His body lets out a sizzling sound. He grabs Galaria by the hand.

  “Leave me alone.”

  “I can toss you into the water right now. End your reign. You won’t survive that water. Magic doesn’t work here.”

  “I am aware of that.” She has to be careful how she tries to break his grip.

  When she decided to come to Grecia she knew she’d face terrible odds. She never had the upper-hand. She had investigated the Grecians, sent her elf spies, but no one came back with the information she sought. The Grecians are simply too good at hiding their breadcrumb trails. Where she thought she had a clue leading her to victory—she ultimately failed before starting. She regrets making this deal with Felp. Naively thinking they wanted the same thing.

  A male Grecian comes over and whispers into Felp’s ear.

  “Your sister says that you overstayed your welcome. She wants you gone.”

  “But I…”

  “Go now. I wouldn’t want to send the Gracken to destroy your pretty ship.”

  She thought she had more time. There’s no tricks to pull on him. She is forced to leave or suffer a terrible fate. Being hard to kill doesn’t mean you can’t be killed. Galaria must know something before she leaves though. “Tell me what you will do with Gavin?”

  “Fortunately, Gavin is a good friend of ours and of course is Kylie’s husband. He will be safe. How interesting that you ask about him.”

  “He will always be the love of my life.”

  Felp sees Galaria to the dock where her ship waits. Her elves were instructed to stay on board while she was away. They are happy to see her unharmed but they see the fear on her face. She is powerless. She hates looking insignificant in front of her own people.

  “You have a good journey now,” Felp says. He walks away before she can say anything.

  “Orders, Your Majesty?”

  “I don’t know how, but I’ll make that Grecian pay with his life.”

  She gives the orders to return to the South Port. The elves set the sails and they are off.

  She couldn’t use a portal to get to Grecia. She had to do things the old-fashioned way. She moves her hands around as if making an object. A blue orb appears. She releases the orb and it floats in front of her. A humming comes from the core. She touches her lips then touches the orb. “Hear me now sister. Talen will sit on my throne and Desmond will rule by her side. No matter what little tricks you try to pull, you cannot change this vision. And shame on you sister, for not returning to Gavin. I see I must pick up the pieces of his broken heart.” She snaps her fingers.

  The blue orb floats across the sea.

  The blur orb floats up to the beach on Grecia. A pair of light blue hands picks it up. The message from Galaria plays. The hands holding it crush it. The pieces flutter down into the sand. Sea-green eyes look out at Galaria’s ship. “You shouldn’t have come here, sister.”

  Felp stands by a lever in the room with the stadium. Deegus is bound in chains and is hovering over the water. “You have caused us a lot of trouble.”

  “You going to feed me to the Gracken?”

  “No. He wouldn’t fit inside here.”

  “I was doing everyone a favor.”

  “Don’t do us any favors. Seeing how terrible you are at them.” He pulls down on the lever a little and Deegus is lowered. His feet almost touch the water.

  “Wait. Let us make a deal. Sabre doesn’t want a war. It’s Dragmoore who does.”

  Felp lets the level go. He links his hands together with a pensive look.

  The stalling gives Deegus hope. “Dragmoore has stirred a wildness in Sabre which all druids are afraid of. She is the most powerful druid.”

  “I don’t need a history lesson about your people.”

  Strange things swim underneath Deegus. They wait for him to be lowered into the water to do as they please with him. He has to be more convincing if he wants to make it out of here alive. “Let me go. I will bring Dragmoore to Grecia. If you continue on this path he will bring a war that can’t be stopped. It’ll be the fire to set the Waking Ripple ablaze. You’ll lose control over that too. Ask Sabre yourself.”

  Felp returns to the lever. “I believe you. I just don’t need you to be the middle man.”

  Deegus screams as the lever is pulled down. The beasts below swim madly in anticipation.

  Remy opens the door to the inn and finds Logan flirting with elf women. “You come outside right now.”

  Logan gets up and grabs a goblet of wine. “Are we going to finish our watery fight?”

  “Where is Talen?”

  “Grecia. She came to me last night.”

  “What?”

  “She came onto me and I responded. She wanted to feel a real man against her body.”

  Remy’s fist is shaking. Logan shakes Remy hard enough that he stumbles backwards.

  “She almost had sex with Desmond. If she really wanted you, don’t you think she would have tried with you? She came to me because she wants me. She knows what I can give her.”

  “Stop. Please stop.”

  “Are you going to cry?”

  “I said stop.” Remy’s eyes turn a hazy light blue.

  Logan feels a tugging force between them. “See, she gives you power.” Logan whistles.

  Dozens of bees come flying over and cover Remy.

  “Do you see now? You know it. You have always felt it, haven’t you? It’s something that we Masters can sense in another.”

  The bees lift off Remy without a single one stinging him. Logan smiles. It isn’t him that’s doing it. The bees turn their eyes on Logan. They fly into attack mode but do not touch him.

  “It’s not good when two Masters try to control the same animal to attack the other Master. Makes the animal confused. You never want an animal confused.”

  Remy doesn’t have it in him. The bees fly off.

  “Here, have some.” He hands Remy the goblet. “Think hard about why you are drawn to her.”

  “Why are you?”

  “She and I are the same. As for Desmond, I’d say it’s because they grew up together.”

  Remy may have to graciously bow out of this. He can’t force Talen to choose him. If Logan is right about her having a past with Desmond, how come he can’t remember it? “Desmond is my cousin.”

  “So you remember?”

  Captain Buckman walks over and puts his hands on his hips. “You ready, Remy?”

  “Yes. I am done here.” He hands the goblet to Logan. “For the record, Logan, I am drawn to Talen because her and I want the same thing.”

  Captain Rover tries to cheer up Talen to no avail. All of his jokes fall flat. She slumps down the side of the ship with Kip standing on his hind legs looking over the side. Kip longs to fly and skirt along the surface of the water.

  Talen, are you okay?

  “No. I’ll never know what D
eegus said now.”

  Rover comes down to her. “Miss Dragniss, if I hear anything, I’ll send word to you.”

  “Don’t bother. That Grecian is coming here this evening to pass judgment on me. Thank you, Captain Rover.”

  “It’s the Seraphina,” the crewman says from the crow’s nest.

  “The Seraphina? What is that blasted Buckman doing?”

  Kip gets excited. He starts doing circles around Talen.

  “What is it?” Talen asks.

  He said the Seraphina is coming. Buckman.

  Rover runs to the port side of the ship.

  The Seraphina comes very close to the Aster.

  “You son of a bitch, what did you do?” Rover asks Buckman.

  “A royal ordered me. I can’t refuse a royal. He’s come for his girl.”

  Talen looks for Remy but doesn’t see him.

  “Hello there, Talen,” Buckman says.

  “Captain,” she says.

  “Where is that prince? Maria?” Buckman says.

  Maria comes down from the helm. “Captain?”

  “Where is Remy?”

  “He was looking down at the water and then I lost sight of him.”

  Talen gasps. She points down in the water. “He’s there.”

  “That bloody fool,” Rover says as he runs around his ship.

  “I should let him drown for all the trouble he is causing me,” Buckman says.

  Remy tries to fight against the creature dragging him through the water.

  “This is your arena, Gilderoy. I take no part in those witches.”

  Sea witches are notorious for seducing anyone who travels the sea. They mumble their spells to lure a weak fool in and then capture their heart with sweet poems. Once they have you completely under their spell, they attack. They like to suck blood from all the juicy parts of the body first. After a while, they drag you to the bottom of the sea where they store you in some seaweed for dinner or a snack.

  In their human form they are quite beautiful. Like Dahila was. The only time they take on human form is to trick sea travelers into thinking they are survivors of a boat crash. In their true form, they hold nothing back. Their top half is always naked and crusted with barnacles and seaweed. Their hair is always stringy and oily. Being underwater for the majority of their lives, their hair does not have a rich color. Instead it’s just a foamy yellowish-white color. Their bottom half is like a mermaid’s tale, only the scales are constantly peeling and giving off a very fishy odor. The iridescent colors give off a metallic look when under the moonlight. Sea witches do not carry names. Whatever name they make up for when in human form does not reflect on their true form. Their queen can walk freely on land whenever she chooses. Being the first of her kind, she possesses untold powers. She is known for purposely crashing boats and ships. She enjoys watching humans drown. The ones she saves are never the same. She taints them with her dark magic. If she spends too much time on land, she can risk losing her powers. For that reason, she spends very little time on land. The risk of being vulnerable and possibly captured is always there.