by Jamie Davis
Cari followed Rodrigo’s lead and took a place on the bench opposite the dragoon captain, Liam, and Thad. Chance came around and sat next to Rodrigo.
“I would have thought you’d have encouraged this young lady to leave the city,” Shawn said. “Perhaps with my wayward nephew?”
“It was discussed while we hid out last night,” Liam said. “They both are a bit stubborn about staying and helping out, despite my efforts to convince them otherwise.”
“Chance, can’t you magic her to want to leave or something? If she remains in the city, it will cause more trouble.”
Cari bristled at being talked over and around. “I have my own voice and can answer for myself. If you have a problem with me staying in the city, take it up with me.”
“Ah ha! So, you have some spunk to go along with the pretty face.”
“I’m pretty good with my sword, too, if you’d like to give it a go.”
Shawn’s face darkened at her challenge. Chance slapped a hand down on the table, distracting everyone from the escalating situation.
“She has a role to play in the current troubles now, Captain. I’ve determined she may be useful in what we have to do to ensure the Empress’s safety and continued rule.”
Shawn leaned back and considered what Chance had said while taking a few puffs on his pipe.
“Magic elf intuition, I suppose?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, of the three of you, you’ve never lied to me yet. But if you involve her in this, she’s your responsibility, all of you.”
“I can take care of myself,” Cari said again.
“Yes, and that’s why my three wayward soldiers here had to come and rescue you last night and kill a squad of the Duke’s finest in the process. Do me a favor. At least take a hint from my nephew there and keep silent unless you have something useful to add to the conversation. I’ll take your word for it that you know how to fight. If that wasn’t the case, Chance here wouldn’t vouch for you. Now, show me you know how to listen and follow instructions, too.”
Before Cari could respond with another quip, Liam held up a hand and asked, “You act like there’s something you need us to do. What is it?”
“That idiot Timron finally surfaced again, thank the gods. I was beginning to think he was going to turn up dead like the rest of the Imperial Family.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s here in the city. My contact spotted him entering Seraphina’s yesterday. They’re watching the place and will trail him if he leaves, but they’re not up to protecting him if real trouble comes.”
“You want us to pick him up for you?” Liam asked.
“No, I want you to trail him and try to figure out if anyone is plotting to kill him. When you find them, stop the plotters and find out who sent them. If we’re going to stop the Duke, we need hard evidence he’s behind the deaths of the Empress’s family. Without it, we dare not confront him directly. He holds too much sway over the rest of the council.”
“Timron knows us, Captain,” Chance said. “If he spots us, he’ll bolt and go back into hiding. How are we supposed to protect…” He trailed off and turned to look at Rodrigo and Cari. “Unless — we had someone else he didn’t know tail the young Prince.”
“We just got the girl and my nephew out of trouble, and now you want them to jump back into it?” Shawn barked, clearly finding the idea ridiculous.
“Don’t worry, Captain. Liam, Thad, and I will be close by. We just need them to be the face of the operation.”
“Chance is right,” Liam agreed. “We are too well known, especially at Seraphina’s in Chance’s case. It would be better if these two did the bulk of the surveillance work and reported back to us. I know of a place with rooms to rent nearby. We can remain close by if trouble starts but out of sight from anyone who knows us.”
The captain leaned back and puffed on his pipe a few more times, his brow creased in thought. He glanced at Cari and Rodrigo several times, then pointed at the two of them with the stem of his pipe.
“Alright, now you can speak. What are your thoughts? Do you think you can follow our young imperial heir around and keep him out of trouble while watching for any attackers who might seek to harm him as well?”
Rodrigo nodded with unfettered enthusiasm. Cari paused and considered what the captain had said. If she accepted this task, she’d have to postpone any efforts to find out how she could return home again. As she thought about it, though, she realized she didn’t really feel like going home right now. She was definitely in no mood to see her parents anytime soon. At the very least, her mother would notice the scars on her arm and ask where they’d come from.
Cari decided she didn’t want to have that conversation right now. Remaining here in Fantasma intrigued her. She wanted more time to explore it. She honestly couldn’t care less about returning home now that her childhood “fantasy” had been vindicated.
“I’m in,” she added with a smirk.
Quest accepted: Protect Prince Timron.
“Good. Now for the rest of what has to be done.”
Captain Shawn pulled out three folded papers from inside his uniform coat. He placed one in front of each of his dragoons.
“What’s this?” Liam asked as he picked up the paper and unfolded it.
“It is your letter of resignation from the Empress’s Dragoons. The Duke of Charon has finally pushed the council to send the rest of the dragoons to the war in the east. I will be able to stay due to my position as an assistant to Colonel Sharp on the council, but all the others will have to march from the city tomorrow.”
“This is insane!” Thad shouted, his booming voice echoing in the empty common room. “Who will protect the Empress?”
“The Duke has put his men in charge of palace security for the time being. That is why I’m asking the three of you to resign your commissions. Once that’s done, I cannot order you to march east with the others or even to leave the city. Of course, I will also be unable to come to your defense if you are caught up in anything illegal, whether real or imagined.”
The three dragoons looked over the papers for a few seconds. Liam was the first to answer.
“I’ve been meaning to retire, anyway. Now’s as good a time as any.”
“It’s too damn hot in the east for me. I prefer the climate here. I’ll sign,” Thad growled.
“More time to spend with my lady friends,” Chance added. “Where’s the pen and ink?”
The captain pulled a small, corked bottle from his coat and a short quill pen to go with it.
Each dipped the pen in ink and signed their paper in turn, Thad going last and marking his with just an “X” at the bottom.
Captain Shawn gathered up the signed resignations with care, so as not to smudge the ink. “Good. You’re all now civilians.”
“Sure, we are,” Liam said with a grin. “Like you won’t tell us what to do if you can find us.”
“Yes, but now I’ll have the paperwork to show plausible deniability if you screw up.”
The door to the kitchen opened, and two serving women came out with large trays of food. A short, rotund man who must be Arno the innkeeper followed them out and started filling tankards of ale from behind the bar.
Cari realized, as she smelled the fresh bread, country sausage, bacon, and eggs, how hungry she was even after last night’s chicken dinner. She was spending a lot of energy just walking around in this place. She’d never been somewhere there were no cars, automated sidewalks, or other transportation advances from her modern world.
After filling her plate, Cari dug in with gusto and smiled as she heard the good-natured banter start up around her. Thad let out a bellowing laugh at some story Liam was telling about Captain Shawn. The dragoon officer smiled, waved off the story with his hand, and started the tale over again from his point of view.
Cari decided, if she was going to go on an adventure, these were the kind of people with whom she’d most like
to associate. She was glad she’d decided to stay.
Chapter 9
Cari stopped again as she strolled along the street and pretended to inspect the wares in the market stall. The wooden bins were all full of turnips and rutabagas. A quick glance to the side revealed her charge, Prince Timron, still talking with the silk merchant outside his storefront. They appeared to be arguing about something, and the Prince wasn’t winning.
Rodrigo, who had been across the street watching from the corner, crossed and passed behind Cari as he walked by. “I’ll get closer and try to determine what the problem is.”
Cari gave a small nod to the vegetable vendor and turned around to cross the street and take up an overwatch position from the other side to cover both Rodrigo and the Prince. They’d been tailing the overdressed dandy for two days now. The only danger he was in apparently had to do with all the businesses to whom he owed money. It seemed as though he owed everyone for the debts he’d accrued.
Taking a position across the street from the Prince, Cari snorted in disgust at his financial problems. She’d taken up this quest expecting adventure and action. Instead, the last two days’ duty had filled her time with the routine boredom of listening to the man whine at his creditors about why he couldn’t repay them right now.
The current argument was not the first they’d witnessed since the two of them first undertook the task of keeping Timron safe from an anticipated attack or kidnapping. So far, the worst danger had been a glass of wine tossed in his face at a tavern during an altercation with one of the waitresses. If there was anyone trying to kidnap or kill this guy, they were taking their time setting up the play against his life.
Cari walked farther down the opposite side of the street and took up a position against a gas lamppost, where she could see up and down the street in both directions and keep Timron and Rodrigo in view. Rod walked past the Prince and then halted to check the sky, as if looking for rain. He brought his gaze down and shot her a wink.
Cari suppressed a chuckle. They’d discussed last night that the only thing that would have made the current task worse would have been a cold rain to soak them while they stood on the street, trailing the Prince.
Raising her hand to her mouth to cover the laugh with a cough, Cari scanned the street for any signs of trouble. The Prince started moving again, heading down the street at a brisk pace. He scowled, and the one hand she could see was clenched into a fist. He must have lost yet another argument.
She turned and paralleled the Prince from the opposite side of the street while Rodrigo trailed their target about ten paces behind. Even though her partner was closer, she spotted the trouble first.
As the Prince passed by a narrow gap between two buildings, a pair of men stepped out, grabbed him, and dragged him out of sight into the gap.
“Rod,” Cari shouted. Her partner had been pretending to window-shop and missed the abduction. He looked at her and held his hands out after scanning the street for the Prince, unsure where Timron had gone.
Cari pointed to the narrow gap, then she drew her sword and dagger and darted across the street. Rodrigo nodded and rushed forward, reaching the opening first. A booted foot met him, kicking him in the chest as he rounded the corner to follow the Prince. Rodrigo fell backwards, rolling to a stop a few feet away on the cobblestone street.
Darting past her fallen comrade, Cari shouted a challenge and swung her sword down at the broad, shadowy figure filling the passageway before her. She had to get to the Prince before they had a chance to get him out of the area or kill him outright.
The glint of sunlight on steel warned her of a blade sweeping down at her. She caught the descending blade on her dagger hilt’s crosspiece, designed for the purpose of deflecting larger blades in a fight. She flicked her rapier forward, aiming for the large man’s armpit.
A grunt of pain greeted her attack, and the man backed away, trying to disengage from the fight by pulling back into the narrow passageway. On the edge of her vision, the power-up bar started to fill once more. Cari pressed her advantage and advanced on her opponent, timing another lunge to take him in the leg when he glanced behind him to keep from falling over debris in the alley.
This time, a spurt of blood flowed from the wound as she pulled her blade free. That told her she’d hit a major vessel. The man’s leg crumpled, and he overcompensated for the sudden shift in his balance, lurching forward and bending down, giving Cari a perfect shot at his neck and shoulder.
She stabbed forward with her sword’s point, sinking twelve inches of it into the base of the man’s neck. He let loose a gurgling scream and collapsed to the ground.
300 experience points awarded.
Level Up!
Cari jumped over the man’s still quivering body and ran to the end of the passageway. She skidded to a stop when she came face to face with a pair of men holding flintlock pistols. One pointed his weapon in her direction, and the other leveled his at Timron.
“Stop, mistress. You’re far too pretty to have your brains splattered across the stones of this alley.”
The speaker wore a black cloak atop a well-made red coat with bold embroidered patterns in many colors down the front. A row of polished brass buttons ran down one side of the open coat. He stood to the rear of the two thugs holding the pistols.
She heard Rodrigo’s footsteps down the alley behind her, dropped her hand to her side, and tried a halting gesture to stop her companion from rushing into the path of the guns. Her other hand, she held out in front of her with her sword at the ready while her mind whirled through the possibilities for a solution.
Quest accepted: Resolve the alley standoff.
The message gave her an idea. She could try to get out of this without anyone else dying.
“Hold on, there’s no need to escalate this further,” Cari called to the men in the alley. “I saw you abduct this man and came to lend aid.”
“Nonsense, young lady. I’ve watched you and your companion following our friend the Prince for the greater part of two days now. At first, I thought you had designs on accosting him as well, but then I realized you were some sort of protection detail, probably from the palace.”
Timron’s eyes narrowed as he met Cari’s. Seeing him up close for the first time, she noticed he had a certain smoldering quality to his gaze.
“I’ve never seen this woman before today, Merrick. She’s not a member of the palace guard or my family’s retainers as far as I know. Let her go and I’ll agree to talk with you about your grievances with me.”
“That’s very noble of you, my Prince, but you don’t have anything to trade. I plan on having a chat with you whether you agree to it or not. That is why I set up this little meeting.”
Merrick looked back at Cari. “Did you kill my man in the passageway? I heard him call out.”
“I did. He was in my way.” Her bravado hid the wave of nausea she’d managed to push down after killing the man. She wondered if this was going to happen every time she killed someone, always taking her back to remember the death of that guard on her first day in Fantasma.
She must have succeeded in sounding callous enough because her response angered the thug holding the pistol aimed at her. She saw him tense and grimace at her. She prepared to dodge back into the alley if she saw his finger so much as twitch on the trigger.
“Hold your fire, Quint. If your brother couldn’t hold off a girl half his size, he didn’t deserve to live.”
Judging from the way Quint’s eyes narrowed, she assumed he didn’t like that last statement. The next few seconds seemed to last an hour, then the thug’s shoulders relaxed a bit, and it seemed the situation settled back into the original standoff.
“Mr. Merrick, I’m Cari Dix and you’re right. I’m charged with keeping the Prince safe. Surely, there’s something we can do to resolve this without anyone else getting hurt.”
Merrick laughed.
His response puzzled her.
“What are you laughing a
t?”
“Is that really your name?”
“It is.” The answer slipped out before she could think to lie. It might be a good idea to start going by a different name if she didn’t want people to connect the dots on who she was.
“Well, boys, we have to be careful here. We are facing down against a lost princess from children’s stories. Now I’m truly scared.”
The regret at giving her real name faded as his response irked Cari. She wanted to wipe the smirk from this guy’s face and show him what a “lost princess” could really do. Instead, she forced herself to project a semblance of calm.
“Blame my parents for being hopeless romantics,” Cari lied. “It doesn’t change what I have to do. I do have one question, though.”
“And that is?”
“Is there anyone this idiot Prince doesn’t owe money to?”
Merrick stared at her for a minute and then burst into laughter, shaking a finger in her direction as he tried to get control of himself again.
“That was not the question I expected, young lady, not the question I expected at all.”
Merrick wiped away a tear brought on by the laughing and shook his head.
“To answer your question, not that many to my knowledge. Our Prince is a particularly poor gambler and a worse womanizer. That pair of bad habits have depleted an entire royal inheritance to a pittance of what it was. Which brings us to the impasse at hand.”
Merrick turned to Timron.
“Let us get back to my original question before Miss Dix interrupted us. Do you have the money you owe me or not?”
“It’s not as simple as that, Merrick.”
“Ah, but it really is. It’s a simple question with an equally simple answer. Either you answer ‘yes’ or I must have my friends here take it out on your body. Perhaps the loss of a few fingers would help you find the money you owe me.”
Timron held up his hands then, stared at his fingers, and thrust them behind his back as if to hide them.