“You don’t believe that either, do you?” said Jasmine.
He shook his head. “I do believe it. I heard the knocking, too. When I went into the house. It was just as I was lifting Raphael from the bed. Then you started knocking at the front door and I thought it must have been you.”
“Do you think it could be Ana?” she asked. “Has he locked her in the house?”
“Maybe.” Ari wasn’t sure if he wanted her to be right or wrong. He wanted his sister back, but the thought of her being trapped in the house all this time was too shocking to comprehend.
“There’s one more thing,” she said. “A big thing. More shocking than what I’ve already told you.”
He found it hard to believe there could be anything more shocking and waited for her to speak.
“When I ran away from you in the perfumery, I went to the gardens to give myself time to think. I climbed a tree so nobody could find me just in case you came looking for me.”
He blinked slowly, still not convinced that he’d done the right thing letting her go.
“I saw someone in a cloak sneak into the garden,” she said.
“Was it Ana? What did she look like?” Ari’s heart picked up a beat.
“No. Definitely not. It was… the Alchemist. He went to a strange tree on the eastern side of the garden and took some resin from its trunk, then he left.”
“Frankincense,” he breathed. “That was Ana’s favorite tree. Was it a woody tree that grew from a rocky patch?”
She nodded. “I’d wondered if that might be what it was. It’s the most powerful of all the oils and will enhance the potency of any elixir when added to it. After the Alchemist left, I collected some of my own and took it to Raph and Tommy in the infirmary and had them breathe that at the same time as the elixir that Raph had given me. They woke up almost immediately.”
“Don’t you see?” Ari asked. “Either the Alchemist’s wife really was Ana, or he has her locked in his house. Who else would have told him how to get through the palace wall and where to find the tree? There’s no way they’re not connected.”
“Are you sure you don’t know who the Alchemist is?” she asked. “He seems to know you. Could it be the palace Alchemist in disguise?”
“He’s familiar. But no, I can’t place him. Believe me, I’ve been trying to figure it out. Maybe it is him, but I just can’t see how. We need to go back to his house. We need to find the body and find out what that knocking sound was. That’s the only way to get to the bottom of this.”
“How about we make Raph’s elixir first?” asked Jasmine. “We convince your father of your safety to travel back to Cypress with no threat of the plague. We bring the cure to the people, find the body, search the house and confront the Alchemist. He’s had far too much power over all of us for too long now.”
Ari nodded vigorously, feeling his headache slip away. She was right. That was their best plan. Cure the people, find the body, search the house and make the Alchemist talk.
“What ingredients do you need?” he asked, leaping to his feet and holding out his hands to help Jasmine up. “We have work to do.”
RAPHAEL
THE NOW
Raphael was still in the orchard, picking lemons while he waited for Jazz to return from talking to Ari. He wasn’t sure what to make of their relationship. He hadn’t even seen them together until they were sitting in front of the King. There had been a strange energy between them. Like a love and a sadness altogether. It was these kinds of feelings that reminded him he was still a kid. There was so much he didn’t understand.
He liked Prince Ari. He was kind and had helped him feel more relaxed around the King. If he hadn’t been there it would have been far scarier. He was just sorry he hadn’t had better news for him. Although maybe the news he’d had was good news. If the Murderer’s wife was a man, then she couldn’t be the princess, which meant there was a chance she was still alive. And Jazz would tell him about that knocking sound he’d heard. Maybe she was trapped inside the house. He was certain that Princess Ana was still alive. She didn’t feel dead when he thought about her.
Raphael winced as a thorn on the lemon tree nipped at his thumb.
He really needed to move on from here and start trying to find some of the other ingredients they needed for the treasure hunt. But Jazz would never find him if he left the orchard. He sighed. She was taking ages and ages! And they didn’t have much time. If he didn’t go far, then surely she’d find him. He’d be able to call out to her when he saw her climb the hill to the orchard.
He picked up his basket and arranged some lemons on the ground next to Jazz’s abandoned basket, placing them to form the shape of an arrow, pointing in the direction he intended to walk. That should help. He could leave her clues like people did in a real treasure hunt. She’d understand. Jazz was smart. And this was fun!
He made his way down the hill, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his bare arms. It was like an elixir of its own.
What he really needed to find were some cardamom seeds and he wasn’t entirely confident this garden would be able to provide this, despite how fertile and varied the plants seemed to be. They were more likely to be found in damp soil, which meant he needed to look beneath a dense canopy of trees. Somewhere the sun’s rays couldn’t reach.
He stopped to leave a lemon on the ground for Jazz to follow and stepped into a section of the garden filled with oak trees, shivering at the sudden change in temperature.
There were some interesting species of plants in here. Some he’d never seen before, although, many he recognized. His father would have loved this garden. Although Raphael still preferred his garden back home.
A branch broke behind him and he spun around smiling, expecting to see Jazz, but nobody was there. Hopefully, there were no wild animals out here. Surely the palace guards would have captured any beast that would be a threat? And how would anything get over that high palace wall?
Maybe he should wait for Jazz before exploring in here any further. He was starting to get what his mother used to call the spookies. Like someone was tickling his soul with a feather.
Another branch broke and this time he was certain someone must be there.
“Jazz?” he called. “Is that you?”
Raphael jumped as a figure stepped out from behind a tree and rushed toward him. He ran but only got a few steps before he was pushed to the ground and a cloth covered his mouth and nose.
He tried to flip over to see who his attacker was, as he felt his senses closing in on him. His vision was spinning and blurring just like it had when the Murderer had captured him in his home.
His attacker picked him up and Raphael squinted, desperate to see who it was. He could feel their breath on his face, a mouth skimming against his ear as the attacker spoke.
“It’s not Jazz, you foolish boy. It’s Ana. And you’re coming with me.”
JASMINE
THE NOW
“Raph! Raph! Raphael!”
Jasmine couldn’t see her brother as she ran up the hill to the orchard.
“Can you see him?” she asked Ari.
“He can’t be far. We’ll find him.”
When they reached the spot she’d left him, she knew it wouldn’t be that easy. She’d told him not to go far. And he’d left her some kind of clue in the shape of an arrow. Clearly, he’d given up waiting. Why had she left him? Why? She was so stupid.
“This way,” she said, pointing down the other side of the hill from where they’d just come.
Ari nodded. “Come on. He wasn’t alone for long. He can’t have gone far. He’s safe here.”
“Raphael!” she called, as they made their way down the hill.
Sweat was trickling down her back as the sun beat down on her. Ari was right. He couldn’t have gone far. She needed to calm down and stop being so paranoid. Raph was a clever kid. And independent. He used to run all over Cypress on his own. He could manage in a walled garden for a short while.
But how sec
ure was that wall? She knew there was at least one hole in it. Could there be more?
“Look,” said Ari, pointing to another lemon at the bottom of the hill.
Jasmine stopped to pick it up and brought it to her nose. It smelled like hope. Raph wasn’t far now.
“Raphael!” she called again. “Where are you?”
Ari ran a little ahead, his long legs taking him further with each stride, until they were under a dark canopy of trees. Like a small forest within the garden. What had Raph been doing in here? Looking for cardamom seeds perhaps?
“Jasmine!” Ari shouted, changing direction. “Over here.”
Hope buoyed in her chest once again. He must have found him.
But when she saw what he’d found, her hope shattered. It was Raph’s basket, lying abandoned on the ground, lemons spilling from it onto the forest floor.
“No!” she cried. “Raph!”
Ari’s eyes darted around as he looked behind trees and searched for any clues as to where he could have gone.
Jasmine fell to the ground, fearing they were far too late to be of help. She’d failed Raph again, after swearing to always take care of him.
“It’s not your fault,” said Ari, as if he could read her mind. “He should have been safe here.”
“We knew he wasn’t,” she wailed. “We knew about the hole in the wall.”
“Come on,” said Ari, helping her to her feet. “Let’s go and check.”
He was right. If someone had taken Raph and they hurried, they might just be able to catch up to them.
Jasmine’s legs cried out in pain. She hadn’t run so much in… maybe forever. All she’d seemed to do in the past week was run. She paused to slip off the leather shoes she’d been given and tossed them aside. Her feet were used to being bare back home, her body making direct contact with the earth beneath her soles.
She was going to save Raph. This time for real. And once she had him back, she was never going to let him out of her sight again.
When they got to the privet bushes, she knew it was too late. The branches had been pushed back and snapped as if someone had only just gone through there in an enormous hurry.
Ari dove into the bushes, cursing as he caught his shirt on a branch.
“Come on, Jasmine,” he called.
She didn’t like the idea of going in there. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so fast to throw aside her shoes. But she liked the idea of staying behind even less.
“I’m coming,” she said, stepping into the bush and following Ari through the hole in the wall.
ARI
THE NOW
Ari fought his way through the bushes on the other side of the hole in the wall and held out his hands for Jasmine, urging her to hurry.
They scrambled through the branches and ran toward the road. He pointed at some track marks in the ground.
“A cart has been through here,” he said.
The tracks curved to the road heading in the direction of Cypress.
“It’s miles away,” said Jasmine, her hands threading through her hair and pulling. “We can never catch him on foot.”
Ari took in a deep breath as he tried to calm his mind. She was right, but he had to find a way to fix this. Not only did Raphael’s life depend on it, but so did the lives of all the men in Wintergreen.
A carriage appeared in the distance and Ari squinted at it. Surely that wasn’t…
“Ari?” Jasmine asked, noticing his sudden interest. “What is it?”
“It’s… I think it’s my father.”
“Oh no.” Jasmine groaned. “What are we going to do now?”
“He’ll help us,” said Ari, pushing down a ball of excitement building in his gut. “We’ll ask him to take us to Cypress.”
Jasmine didn’t seem convinced but nodded, seeming to accept there was no other option available. And his father was a better option than his mother. He was sure Jasmine would at least agree with that.
Ari put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. “We’re going to get Raphael back.” He kissed the top of her head, then tilted up her face to look at him.
“Okay,” she said, blinking slowly, trusting him in a way he hoped she always would.
The carriage came closer. It was definitely his father’s carriage, ostentatiously golden with red curtains hanging in the windows. There was no other in Wintergreen like it. A cart piled with guards followed closely behind.
The horseman pulled the carriage up beside them, keeping his gaze ahead as he’d been trained to do.
A red curtain was pulled aside to reveal Ari’s father.
“Get in here before someone sees you,” he said in a growl.
Ari led Jasmine in front of him, urging her to get inside.
“Not her,” said his father, holding up his hand. “You.”
“I won’t go anywhere without her,” said Ari, placing his hand on Jasmine’s back.
His father rolled his eyes and held the curtain back further.
Jasmine looked up at him, not knowing whether to trust him or her instincts, which seemed to be very clearly telling her to run.
“It’s okay,” Ari reassured. “Climb in.”
Jasmine nodded and stepped into the carriage and sat down. Ari took the seat beside her, sitting as close as he could without raising his father’s hackles.
“How did you know where to find me, Father?” Ari asked.
“You’re predictable,” he replied. “You were missing along with your friend here and her brother. I figured you were running to the same place you went last time. By the way, where is the boy?”
“We don’t know,” said Ari. “We’re trying to find him. We suspect he’s been kidnapped and taken back to Cypress.”
“What would anyone want with a boy?” His father looped the curtain to a hook to allow the light to flood in while they talked.
“A boy who has the cure for the plague,” said Ari. “I’d say he’s a pretty valuable boy, isn’t he?”
His father nodded. “When you put it like that. But who would want to stop him from curing the kingdom?”
“Maybe the same person who poisoned it in the first place,” said Jasmine.
His father shifted his gaze from Ari to Jasmine, seeming surprised that she’d had the courage to speak.
“Forgive me, Your Highness,” she said. “I fear my brother’s life is in danger. Please, will you take us to Cypress so that we can assist him? It may be Wintergreen’s last chance. Without Raphael, we have no way to help the sick and dying.”
“You mean you don’t know the ingredients for the elixir?” Ari’s father asked, his eyebrows shooting up.
Jasmine shook her head. “I know all but two ingredients. Raph wanted to surprise me.”
“Perhaps not such a wise secret to keep,” he replied, shaking his head.
Ari agreed. Secrets were dangerous. And proving more and more dangerous by the moment. He still hadn’t had the chance to tell Jasmine the secret about himself that had been bothering him for a long time now. Every time he thought they had a moment, something else more important came up.
“Please,” begged Jasmine, her eyes filling with tears. “Every minute we waste, my brother’s in more and more danger.”
“We must help him,” Ari urged, sitting forward to look his father in the eye. “You’ve never been to Cypress. Now is the time to take control and show the kingdom how brave their King is. You can lead them to their cure and they’ll love you for it.”
“Very well.” Ari’s father sat up straighter, liking this idea of being the heroic King.
He tapped a cane on the carriage floor three times.
The horseman opened a curtain at the front of the carriage and bowed his head.
“To Cypress,” his father said. “And please hurry.”
The curtain closed again and the carriage took off.
“Let’s bring the cure to the people of Wintergreen,” Ari’s father said to him. “And solve the mystery
of your sister properly this time.”
“Do you believe she’s dead?” asked Ari, not ready yet to share Jasmine’s revelation. Raphael could have been mistaken. They didn’t know for sure that the Alchemist’s wife had been a man. Or that it was Ana who was locked inside his house.
His father glanced at Jasmine, seeming unwilling to speak his mind.
“She knows about Ana,” said Ari. “If we want the truth, it’s time to let go of the lies.”
His father’s eyebrows shot up, then fell in defeat. This secret was not one that anyone wanted to continue to keep.
“I don’t believe it for a moment,” his father said. “Cold hearts tend to beat far longer than warm ones.”
Ari sat back in his seat, surprised. Was this really what his father thought of Ana?
“It’s true, Ari.” His father’s voice dropped to a gentle tone, barely audible over the sound of hooves pounding the dirt road. “I loved my daughter and I’d like nothing more than to know what became of her, but she wasn’t a nice person. There was no kindness in her heart. Otherwise, I would have changed the law and made her Queen.”
Ari nodded, agreeing despite himself. He’d always wanted to believe there was goodness to be found in everyone’s heart, no matter how deeply buried it was.
As they sped toward Cypress, he let the irony wash over him. Ana had spent her life angry about not being next in line to the throne, yet if only she’d let go of that anger and made room for some love in her heart, then her greatest wish would have come true.
What a waste of a life, no matter how and if it had ended.
JASMINE
THE NOW
Jasmine listened to Ari speak to his father.
The King clearly loved his son in the same way any father loved his child. She wasn’t sure why this surprised her. Had she thought that being royal made you different to everybody else? Their blood was still red, their tears were still laced with salt. Ari had proven to her just how human he was and she was falling in love with him. There was no denying her feelings now, although she still felt cautious.
The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set Page 38