The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set

by Heidi Catherine

  He heard a knocking sound and made his way through the small house, checking anywhere he thought Raphael could be, but found nothing. The only room remaining was at the back of the house and had been locked with a sliding bolt.

  “Raphael!” Ari called, as he slid back the bolt and opened the door.

  He soon saw why Raphael hadn’t answered him. He was lying on a small bed to the side of the room with his arms crossed on his chest.

  Ari raced to his side and pressed his ear to Raphael’s mouth. It was hard to tell if he was breathing. If he was, it was too shallow to detect. His skin had turned blue and Ari wondered if this could be the plague. It did seem like it, only it wasn’t supposed to take effect this quickly.

  He picked up Raphael’s wrist and felt for a pulse, his own pulse hammering as his heart rate increased. Please let him be alive.

  Just when he was about to give up, he tried moving his fingers to a slightly different position, and sure enough, there was a pulse. A weak one, but a pulse all the same. Raphael was alive!

  “Oh, thank you,” breathed Ari, not sure at all who he was thanking. “Thank you.”

  Raphael’s hand twitched and his fingers curled open. Ari gasped to see what he was clutching in his hand.

  It was Ana’s pendant. There was no doubt about it.

  Ari took it from Raphael and held it up to the pendant dangling from his neck. It was a perfect fit. A wintergreen tree, crafted to represent the shape of his mother’s heart.

  The Alchemist must be the man he was looking for. That was why he looked familiar. He must have changed his appearance somehow. How else could Raphael have had Ana’s pendant?

  “Wake up,” he urged, having too many questions to let Raphael sleep. “Wake up.”

  It was no use. Raphael was hanging onto life by the finest thread. He wasn’t waking up. Not now and possibly not ever.

  Ari slipped Ana’s pendant around his neck, the two pendants dangling side by side, and scooped Raphael up from the bed, cradling him gently in his arms.

  “I’ve got you,” he soothed. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

  The knocking sound came again from the wall connecting to the next room and Ari tilted his head in surprise, having only just looked in there. Was there someone else trapped in this house?

  Then the knocking grew more frantic and Ari realized it was coming from the front door.

  Jasmine was back.

  JASMINE

  THE NOW

  “Open the door!” called Jasmine, wondering what was taking Ari so long. “Hurry, it’s me, Jasmine!”

  “Over here,” shouted Ari’s voice from inside. “Help me with Raphael.”

  Jasmine ran in the direction of his voice and saw him cradling her brother in his arms as he leaned out an open window.

  “Raph!” Jasmine held out her arms to take him from Ari. “Hand him to me. Careful.”

  Ari passed Raph out the window and Jasmine clutched him to her chest.

  “Is he alive?” she asked, her heart thumping as she pressed her ear to his mouth, listening for a sign of life. Please let him be okay. She couldn’t lose him!

  “He is, but he needs help.” Ari climbed out of the window and brushed himself off. “We have to get him to safety.”

  Jasmine bent and kissed her brother on the forehead. “Come on, Raph. Hold on. You’re safe now.”

  “I’ll carry him if you like,” said Ari.

  “Not yet,” said Jasmine, clutching him tighter. She wasn’t ready to let go of him. Her arms may be aching at the weight of him, but her heart was soaring to have him back alive.

  “Come on, we have to get out of here before he returns.” Ari walked to the side of the road, heading in the direction away from Cypress.

  “Where are you going?” Jasmine hurried after him, struggling to catch him with Raph in her arms. He was getting very heavy, very quickly.

  “We can’t go back there.” Ari nodded at the smoke still rising from the direction of the apothecary. “We’ll go to the Palace. It’s Raphael’s best chance. The real Doctor Abner will be able to help him.”

  Jasmine didn’t want to agree to this, but knew he was right. Especially if there was a real doctor at the palace. And most importantly there’d be no Alchemist.

  “Let me take him.” Ari held out his hands once more and this time Jasmine didn’t argue. They weren’t going to get far if she had to carry Raph like this. She may be able to run faster than Ari, despite his long legs, but he was far stronger.

  “We can’t walk all the way to the palace,’ she said, transferring Raph to Ari’s arms.

  “I did it on the way here,” he said, shifting Raph to a comfortable position.

  “But it will take days! Raph may not have that long.”

  “Then we’ll hitch a ride. I have gold. I can pay our way.”

  Jasmine nodded, remembering the gold coin he’d tried to bribe her with earlier in the day. If only she’d taken it, Raph wouldn’t have gotten involved and they wouldn’t be in this mess.

  They followed the road, keeping out of sight in the scrub, each step taking them further away from danger.

  “What happened when you went back to the fire?” Ari asked. “How did you get away?”

  “The Alchemist was running. Panicking and raging about his cure. I pretended I couldn’t keep up, started gasping for breath and told him to go ahead. As soon as I thought it was safe, I turned around and came straight back to you. I don’t think we have long until he figures out he was fooled.”

  “Well, we have a good head start. Speaking of which… look!”

  Jasmine’s eyes swept up to the road to see a cart making its way toward them, a lone woman behind the reins of two mules. “It’s traveling the wrong way.”

  “I’m sure she can be persuaded to turn around.” Ari scrambled up to the road, holding Raph with one arm and waving frantically with the other. He seemed to be holding Raph like he was made from feathers when he’d felt like a boulder in her own arms.

  “Stop! Please!” he called.

  The woman looked at him, then seeing Jasmine behind Ari, she pulled on her reins and brought her mules to a stop.

  “Let me talk to her,” said Jasmine. This woman had been to the apothecary before. There was a good chance she’d recognize Jasmine, if she hadn’t already.

  “What’s wrong with the boy?” asked the woman.

  “Please help us,” said Jasmine. “My brother’s unwell. We need to get him to a doctor.”

  “Is it the plague?” the woman asked.

  Jasmine hesitated, unsure if the truth would help or hinder in this instance. Then deciding she’d had enough of the Alchemist and his lies, she nodded.

  “Climb in,” the woman said, pointing to the empty cart behind her. “I’m on my way to the apothecary as it happens. My mules should be able to handle a skinny lot like you.”

  “Not the apothecary,” Jasmine said a little too quickly. “We must head to the palace of Wintergreen. Will you take us? We can pay you for your trouble.”

  The woman frowned. “That’s miles away. And there’s no way the palace will let us through. There are plenty of boys in your brother’s position. The palace won’t care about this one. I’m sorry, but they never have before.”

  Ari stepped forward. “I’m Prince Ari, son of the King. Please, will you take us? You can name your price. As many gold pieces as you require.”

  The woman’s eyes widened as she studied him closer. “You’re not dressed like a prince.”

  “I know.” He replied with confidence, holding her eye as she made up her mind whether to believe him. “I’m traveling in disguise.”

  “I don’t want your gold,” the woman said, running her hand through the streaks of gray in her hair. “My son is also sick with the plague. If we stop to collect him on the way to the palace, will your doctor treat him alongside this boy you hold?”

  “But…” Ari looked stricken. “But… we can’t bring the plague within t
he palace walls.”

  “If you bring that boy to the palace then you’re already bringing the plague within its walls,” said the woman. “Are you saying that his life is worth more than the life of my son?”

  “Ari, please!” Jasmine touched him on the arm, pleading with her eyes as well as her words. “He’ll die if we don’t help him. So will this woman’s son.”

  “But…” Ari looked from Jasmine and back to the woman, his eyes finally landing on Raph as he struggled to draw breath.

  “We can’t let him die!” Jasmine tugged on his shirt now, her desperation growing. She had to convince him. How could he be so heartless? “He’s only a boy. If you hadn’t come here, he’d be alive and well. You have a responsibility to him.”

  She watched as her words found their mark and he winced.

  “Very well.” Ari stepped toward the back of the cart and the woman nodded at him, pleased with the deal she’d struck.

  “I’m Cass,” she said. “Sorry, this is probably not the sort of comfort you’re used to. You can sit up front with me if you like.”

  Ari shook his head. “I’m fine in the back thanks. Jasmine, would you like to sit up front?”

  She also shook her head. “I’ll stay with Raph.”

  They climbed on board and Ari settled Raph so that his head was resting on Jasmine’s lap. She placed her palm on his forehead. His skin was cold and clammy. Hopefully the palace doctor had an idea of how to save him. Or at least keep him alive long enough for her to figure out a cure. She couldn’t bring herself to think about the alternative.

  “Is that your Alchemist?” asked the woman, nodding her head in the direction of the apothecary. “I can’t take any more passengers.”

  Jasmine turned to see the Alchemist running down the road toward them. He was struggling, panting for breath, close enough to recognize, but far enough away that they were safe for the moment. Even still, she felt her heart leap.

  “Hurry!” said Ari. “He mustn’t catch up to us.”

  The woman flicked her reins and turned the mules to travel back down the road in the direction from which she’d come.

  Jasmine held onto Raph to stop him from jolting too violently with the sudden movement.

  And they were away. Leaving Cypress. Leaving the Alchemist. And hopefully leaving danger far behind.

  “Hold on, Raph,” Jasmine said. “Please.”

  She’d already lost so much. She couldn’t bear to lose her brother too.

  ARI

  THE NOW

  The cart jostled its way along the bumpy road, heading toward the palace and Ari wondered what it was that had made him agree to such danger. The palace had so far managed to keep the plague outside its walls. Bringing Raphael inside was a risky move but bringing two boys in was really pushing their luck. Cass’s son, Tommy, had joined them in the cart and was lying wrapped in a blanket, asleep at their feet.

  The only reason he’d hesitated in taking Tommy was because he was afraid that it would be too much for his father to agree to. Which put Raphael at risk of also not being allowed behind palace walls.

  But it was easier to make hard decisions when you weren’t looking directly into their pale blue faces. How could he have said no? Tommy didn’t stand a chance without him. Perhaps he didn’t even stand a chance with him. He’d never been fully confident in Doctor Abner’s abilities, although surely he had to be of some help to both these boys.

  He liked Raphael. He was fun and curious and wise, exactly the sort of child Wintergreen needed more of, if their kingdom was to thrive in the future. He liked Jasmine, too. Even more than her brother, although admittedly in a very different way. He looked across at her now and a strange feeling tightened his stomach. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was about her that had taken such a hold of him. Was it the green of her eyes? Her dark unruly hair? The clarity of her complexion? Possibly all of those things. But it was more than that. It was the girl behind this beautiful facade who had him transfixed. She’d been prepared to risk everything for her brother, a stark contrast to how his own sister had treated him.

  His hand flew to the two pendants around his neck and he wondered once more where his sister could be. Was she the Alchemist’s wife? And if so, what had become of her? Raphael was certain to know, if only he’d wake up and speak. Was that why Ari had agreed to bring the deadly blue plague within palace walls? Was it his own selfish thirst to know what had happened to his sister?

  The truth was that a lot of things had led to his decision. His desire to please Jasmine, the responsibility he felt for Raphael’s predicament and his desperate need for the truth. It was time the palace was forced to put its efforts behind curing the plague, instead of watching the men of Wintergreen fall ill and die. If his father wasn’t prepared to leave his palace and fight the plague head on, then it was time for it to come to him.

  Something caught in Ari’s throat and he coughed.

  Jasmine looked up, her eyes widening.

  “I’m okay,” he said. “Just swallowed a bug.”

  Jasmine’s eyes narrowed. “How are you feeling? Tired? Cold? How’s your breathing?”

  “I’m fine! Honestly, I’m a little tired, as would be expected after everything we’ve been through today, but other than that I’m great. Terrific actually!”

  So, terrific was an exaggeration and he’d possibly just oversold how great he was feeling, but he didn’t want Jasmine to worry. She had enough already to think about with a gravely ill brother in her arms. He was just tired, that was all.

  Jasmine nodded in a polite way that told him she was far from convinced. As exhausted as he felt, he wasn’t lying to her. He was fine. He didn’t feel like he had any kind of plague. It was Raphael and Tommy they needed to worry about.

  “How much do you know about alchemy?” he asked Jasmine, lifting his voice so she could hear him above the noise over the turning wheels of the cart.

  She shrugged. “I’ve been watching my father and brother make elixirs my whole life. And the Alchemist, too. I can distill any plant to extract its oils and—”

  “Perfect!” Ari said, cutting her off, then biting his tongue, feeling rude. “Then our work begins the moment we arrive at the palace.”

  “Our work?” Her brows pulled together.

  “We have a perfumery we can get working again. If the Alchemist found a way to create the plague in the first place, then we can find a way to put a stop to him.”

  “But Ari, he’s spent years honing his craft. He’s the best at what he does. The best! He doesn’t just make perfume, he makes magic. We can’t possibly find a cure in time to…”

  “It’s our only chance. It might be Raphael’s only chance, too. We have to try.”

  He saw Jasmine tighten her grasp on her brother as she bowed her head to try to hide her tears.

  “And I have something that might help,” he said, reaching in his pocket for a small bottle, holding it out for her to see.

  “What is that?” she asked, reaching for it.

  “Careful,” he said. “I took this from the Alchemist’s house.”

  Jasmine went to remove the lid.

  “Stop!” he warned. “You might spill it. Besides, we don’t know if it’s the plague or the vaccine. There could be anything in there.”

  She nodded and handed it back to him. “Good point. Then how will it help us?”

  “It gives us somewhere to start.” He tucked it back into his pocket. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded slowly. He didn’t blame her for being scared. He was scared too. But fear was their advantage here. Because fear would drive the quest for a cure. It was possible. It had to be. All they needed was the right combination of ingredients. They could do this. At least he hoped they could.

  “We’re nearly there,” he said, noticing the familiarity of the surrounding terrain.

  Jasmine looked around and Ari imagined what the palace might look like through her
eyes. Would she be impressed? She certainly hadn’t seemed to have been impressed with him so far. He may as well have told her he was a blacksmith, instead of a prince. It would probably have had the same effect. He wondered why he cared so much about what she thought. He’d only just met the girl and she was far from the sort his mother would approve of.

  The palace appeared on the horizon and Ari drew in a breath, realizing there was one major obstacle to clear before these boys could be given treatment.

  His father. He wouldn’t be pleased with Ari bringing the plague to the palace. Ari shuddered at the thought of having to explain to him. Jasmine and Cass weren’t going to react well if they were denied entry after traveling so far with their hopes flying high.

  Jasmine had said it must feel strange for your father to be the King. She was so wrong. It didn’t feel strange at all. It was downright frustrating.

  JASMINE

  THE NOW

  Jasmine wasn’t sure what she expected from a palace. She hadn’t really had time to think about it with Raph being so ill. But the reality of it looming in front of her forced her attention to it. It was impossible to ignore something so… big, so different from any building she’d ever seen before. Did Ari really live here? It was impossible to imagine what that could be like. Did he have servants and fancy clothes and a crown? When he’d told her who he was, the reality of it hadn’t really set in. There’d been too much going on and he hadn’t looked like a prince dressed in those old clothes. Should she have been more polite?

  As the mules pulled the cart up at the palace gates, Jasmine considered Ari’s family, wondering if she’d have the opportunity to meet them. She still didn’t even really know what Ari had been doing in Cypress. He said he’d thought the Alchemist was someone he knew, however, that didn’t explain why he was so interested in the Alchemist’s reclusive wife. Did he think he knew her too? Once Raph was in safe hands, perhaps there’d be time to ask questions.