I was about to excuse myself when Ruby’s hand brushed against my arm in greeting.
“Ruby!” Abelle exclaimed before I could speak. “It’s good to see you again. Thank you for keeping Ashbik alive.”
Ruby laughed. “Actually I think it was the other way around…but I’ll take the praise anyway.”
What are they talking about?
“Going to let me in on the joke?” I asked, bemused.
“Nope,” Ruby replied, placing her hand around my arm in a sweet, familiar gesture. “Sorry.”
Ruby turned back to Abelle, all traces of laughter gone.
“There was something I wanted to ask you about. It’s for my friend, Hazel. She’s recently become a…a sentry.” She delivered the word with difficulty, gulping. “She doesn’t have much control over her syphoning powers—I was wondering if you had anything that might help? Some herbs or something she could take?”
“A sentry?” Abelle questioned with disbelief. “My goodness…”
I could see Abelle’s mind whirring as she contemplated what Ruby had just said.
“Well…that must mean that she married, err…who?” Abelle stuttered.
“Not exactly.” Ruby blushed, “and it was Tejus.”
Abelle looked confused for a moment, before comprehension dawned on her. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “I see.”
There was a long pause. I could see Abelle trying her best not to appear too shocked, while Ruby squirmed and I prayed that Abelle would announce she had a cure to reverse the transformation.
“Well,” Abelle replied eventually, “there are herbs…certain concoctions that I can create that should repress the more intense impulses to syphon—things that Hazel can take while she learns to get her powers under control—but the hard work she will need to do herself. She will need to put in practice and be patient while she masters the sentry abilities.”
“But nothing that can reverse it?” I asked quietly.
“Nothing that I know of,” Abelle replied. “I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
I looked over at Ruby, but her gaze was fixed on the floor.
“I’ll leave you two,” Abelle announced suddenly. “I’ve just spotted an old friend. Let Hazel know she’s welcome to come over and visit any time—I’ll help her in any way I can.”
“Thanks, Abelle,” Ruby replied. “I’ll let her know.”
“Good luck, Ashbik.”
As soon as Abelle left us, a thick tension descended between Ruby and me. There were so many things I wanted to say to her, but I didn’t even know where to begin. I didn’t even know if Ruby was even thinking about us—maybe she was solely focused on her friend.
Please say something.
Neither of us spoke for a while. I kept smiling and nodding at villagers who waved and shouted in my direction, but my heart wasn’t in it. I felt slightly sick, like the walls were crashing in slow motion around me—the idea of Ruby and me not being able to be together was starting to become horribly real.
“Ruby—” I started, but she tightened her grip around my arm.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “Not right now. Not here—okay?”
“Okay.”
I understood that she didn’t want to talk about it, but we needed to, whether she liked it or not. I would give her a reprieve for the moment—it wasn’t like I wanted to have the conversation surrounded by nosy ministers, but I couldn’t handle staying silent on this for long.
“We’ll talk later?”
“Later,” she replied.
I looked back over toward the dais. Jenney was standing by the steps, surrounded by young trainee ministers. She looked beautiful—out of her servant clothes and wearing something she’d most likely stolen from one of the guest rooms.
“She’s going to have a different life from now on,” Ruby mused as she followed my gaze.
“I hope so.”
For all intents and purposes, Jenney was my younger sister. I hoped that while there would be countless negatives to being the king of Hellswan, one of the benefits would be the ability to spoil her rotten. I didn’t want her going near a kitchen sink again, or working for so many hours that she ended up falling asleep on one of the kitchen chairs—something she did all too frequently. Maybe now she could actually start enjoying her life, making up for lost time...
“I hate to tell you this, but you’ll be beating them off with a stick.” Ruby tried to hide a smile, looking over at the fawning boys. “Sorry.”
I grimaced as I assessed each of the hapless-looking ministers who surrounded her. I’d be keeping her away from them in the future—that was for sure.
“What’s wrong with Julian?” I asked, noticing the boy watching the same tableaux we were, but scowling.
Ruby looked over at Julian standing in the corner of the room nearest the dais, skulking in the shadows. She sighed. “When Benedict started to become influenced by the entity, I think he shut Julian out. Hazel and I were preoccupied all the time with the trials, and I think the only person who ever really paid Julian any attention was Jenney…I guess he thinks that’s slipping away.”
I understood how he felt. Would I be Julian soon, watching Ruby from afar because I couldn’t have her, couldn’t get close to her? Either way there would be distance between us—either we’d be like Hazel and Tejus, who had to physically distance themselves from one another to stop her draining him, or we’d be like Julian and Jenney, one of us standing on the sidelines while the other got on with their life.
“He still hasn’t recovered, has he?” I replied, noticing his pallid features that were highlighted by the flickering candles of the room.
“No. He needs more rest, but I guess it’s also psychological. He was down there for a long time, thinking that his friends had left him, not knowing if he would ever get out. That’s got to leave a mark.”
“We’ll get revenge, Ruby,” I reassured her. Queen Trina’s time would come.
“I know,” she replied, looking up at me with solemn eyes. “I’m proud of you, by the way,” she added. “King Ash of Hellswan.”
I groaned.
“Don’t—I’m Ash to you, Shortie, always.”
She rose up on her tiptoes to kiss me lightly on the cheek. Unsatisfied, I drew her into a crushing bear hug, not wanting to let her go. I inhaled her familiar, warm Ruby smell that never ceased to drive me crazy.
“It’s going to be okay, whatever happens,” she whispered.
I nodded into her hair. Now I didn’t want to talk about it—I just wanted to hold her, ignore the fact that I was a sentry and she was a human, that I was a king from a different dimension than hers, and that the castle I was supposed to protect with my life was already under threat from a powerful entity.
“Excuse me, your Highness.”
Go away.
“Yes?” I replied, slowly lowering Ruby to the floor as I faced Lithan and Qentos.
“The trials are due to commence shortly.” Lithan smiled, looking like a cobra about to strike. “New rule - no humans this time, and no Tejus. Just you.”
Just me.
Great.
Let the games begin.
Ruby
After I’d said goodbye to Ash, we set off for the cove.
I was flying on the back of a vulture with Lieutenant Ragnhild. I had been initially surprised that he was joining us until he informed me that Ash had commanded that he go as my protector. I’d scoffed, telling the lieutenant that I really didn’t need one, but secretly glad that Ash had thought to do something like that.
Tejus was flying with Julian, and Hazel was on her own bird, though it was being controlled by Tejus. It made the journey a bit slower, but it was the only way that we could be sure Hazel wouldn’t start syphoning one of us mid-flight.
I knew it was for the good of us all, Hazel included, but it wasn’t great seeing my friend being treated like she was a threat or a danger to us.
It will be you next.
The thought came unwelcome into my mind, and I shoved it away. I wasn’t ready to contemplate that yet. I needed to talk it through with Ash…but I wasn’t ready to do that either. I’d been teasing Hazel about her living in denial land, but clearly it was something that we were both experiencing in our own way.
I looked around at the aerial view of Nevertide as we began our descent. It was almost dusk now, and off in the horizon the sky burnt bright orange. I hoped Ash was okay. I didn’t like not joining him for the trials. Even if I couldn’t help, I wanted to be there. My imagination kept running away with me when I thought about the potential tasks the ancient ministers might put him through—the fact that Tejus had been so badly wounded he’d been unable to continue didn’t fill me with confidence.
The vultures landed on a small cove covered in black rocks that jutted out from the sand. Lieutenant Ragnhild helped me off the bird, and I started to walk further up from the shore. I stared around in amazement at the bits and pieces of old Viking artifacts—half a rotted longboat, upturned chests and rusted weapons that had turned green with age.
“This is amazing,” I murmured as Hazel came to walk beside me.
“I know. Tejus didn’t know this was Viking stuff though—he said it was from the first sentries.”
“Were the first sentries Vikings then?” I asked in amazement.
“Maybe.” Hazel shrugged. “For all we know, Vikings could have been sentries. Might explain why they were so good at pillaging settlements…and why they were always described as so big.”
“Huh, yeah—I guess so.”
That would be an interesting development. It was possible, I supposed. They could have been the first to discover Nevertide. Maybe some of them settled here, though at least one account of them would mention syphoning abilities, surely?
My brain swirled with the possibilities. I hadn’t really thought about the origin of the sentries before now. I just figured they had always existed only in this land, separate from the rest of both the supernatural and human dimensions.
“By the way,” I interjected before I got completely side-tracked, “I spoke to Abelle at the coronation – she’s a friend of Ash’s, a bit like an apothecary I guess. Anyway, she said she might have some herbs that could help, stuff kids take when they’re younger to stop syphoning.”
Hazel look at me in surprise. “That sounds good…though a part of me thinks I should learn to control it by myself, not rely on medicines or whatever…”
I could see what she meant – it was better that Hazel had full control over her sentry abilities without relying on something to dull the effects.
“Think about it,” I replied.
“I will… This is the way to the temple,” Hazel announced as the earth started to dip down at the back of the cove as if there had been a landslide at some point, with tree roots left exposed along the walls of a small passageway. It led down to a solid stone door.
“He’s in here?” I asked.
Hazel nodded.
Julian appeared at the top of the landslide, peering down at us. I beckoned to him—Benedict would want to hear his voice.
After Tejus used his True Sight to reassure Hazel that Benedict was in the temple, he and Lieutenant Ragnhild kept their distance, standing a few yards behind us.
“Benedict, it’s Hazel—can you hear me?” Hazel placed her cheek against the stone, her palms flat on its surface. We waited for a few moments, and then I caught the sound of his voice.
“Hazel.”
He sounded weak and frail, but it was definitely Benedict’s voice. Hazel exhaled in relief.
“I’m here, I’m here. Are you okay?” she replied hastily.
“You shouldn’t be here. It’s late, isn’t it?”
“That’s okay—we’ll leave before…well, you know.”
“You should leave now.” He sounded desperate.
“I’m not going to do that,” Hazel replied firmly. “We’re just going to stay and talk for a bit. It’s okay. I’ve got Ruby here, and Julian.”
“Julian?” Benedict asked.
“Yep, Queen Trina locked me up,” Julian answered his friend. “But I’m out now…and soon, you’ll be out, too.”
“I’m glad you are,” Benedict replied, sounding slightly more upbeat. “Hi, Ruby. Thanks for coming. How’s Ash?”
“Well, Ash is king now, so that’s cool,” I replied with a smile.
“That’s good. Ash will be a good king. Any other news I should know about?”
I looked at Hazel and she shook her head. I nodded in understanding. I was glad that we weren’t going to have to tell Benedict that his sister was a sentry.
“That’s it,” Hazel replied with faux joviality.
“So you should go now, please—it would be better if you left. I don’t know what will happen later…but I know it’s coming.”
I felt nauseated. Benedict was so frightened. I could hear it in his voice. I couldn’t bear that he’d had to deal with this all by himself, being locked up in an underground temple for days, just waiting for some evil creature to start using him as its puppet whenever it felt like it.
“We’ll go,” Hazel agreed.
“Remember we all love you, Benedict.”
I placed my hand on the stone in a goodbye gesture. A moment later, all three of us walked silently back to where Tejus and Ragnhild stood.
“Make yourselves comfortable,” Tejus instructed. “We don’t know how long we’re going to have to wait.”
I looked around for a comfortable spot, and settled against a grassy dune. There was very little light left in the day, and the moon’s glow started to grow stronger above the ocean’s horizon. Julian sat down on a rock, huddling against it and making his body as small as possible. I wondered if it had been a good idea to bring him—I partly felt like he should have remained at the castle, but he had been insistent. I also didn’t know, in my heart of hearts, if Benedict was ever going to make it out of this. It was important for Julian to be able to speak to his friend, however briefly.
“I’m going to wait by the door,” Hazel announced, standing up.
“No, you’re not.” Tejus corrected. “It’s not safe.”
“None of you are safe if I stay here. Benedict doesn’t have much energy.” Her voice wavered and she paused before continuing. “So it’s nice to be near him—I don’t get hungry.”
Tejus was silent for a few moments.
“Fine,” he snapped. “If I call you back, you come back, understood?”
“Understood.”
Hazel strode back to the temple, her body tense with misery and frustration. I hadn’t realized how hard it had been for her being around us.
I shifted position in the dune, trying to get into a more comfortable spot. As I did so, I was reminded of the letter in my pocket as the paper crinkled against my robe. Pulling it out, I looked at the handwritten scrawl on the front. I wasn’t sure if there was enough light to read it by, but it was worth giving it a try.
Varga.
I hated that he was gone.
Pulling open the envelope, I unfolded the letter. It was short, making up one side of the paper. Taking a deep breath, I began to read.
“Ruby,
Forgive me for this—I hope to deliver it myself, or tell you in person, but the chances are slim. I have halted my journey for a brief moment to write. Some may call that madness, but I know I am being followed and may not get out of this alive. As a dying man’s last wish, please can you do me the great honor of passing on a message to Tejus that he won’t want to hear? You are the only person left, with the exception of Tejus, whom I trust. Please make him listen to what you have to say. I am glad I will not have to take this to my death—it has weighed heavy on my heart for years.
As a young boy, I grew disillusioned with the way things were in Hellswan. Before my fifteenth year, Trina made me an attractive offer—the Acolytes. She promised power and riches beyond my imagining, and an understa
nding of my place in the world. We reformed the forgotten cult and kept ourselves secret, preparing for the day that the trials would commence. I will not divulge all the horrific things we did, just that I was responsible for Tejus and Trina Seraq starting a romantic relationship, pushing him in her direction as she asked. After a time, when he returned to his family and left her, I saw that he had done the honorable thing and I had not. Ashamed, disillusioned, I left the Acolytes.
They have wanted me dead for a long time. It seems it may finally come to pass.
I tell you this to warn you. All of you.
Their power and influence is far-reaching indeed. The members I know of include Lithan, who I believe to be still involved, and there will be other ministers too. Memenion’s son I now believe is a member, and a number of villagers in Hellswan. I should have exposed them earlier, but I was threatened with my own exposure if I shared their secret. I was reassured that Tejus was so prone to hate and mistrust of those within his castle, that he would be unlikely to overtly trust anyone who might pose a threat to him – I thought he would be safe. I was a coward, and I am profoundly sorry.
There will be others. Trust no one.
Ruby, please don’t hate me. I did what I did in my youth, and despise myself more than you ever could.
Tell Tejus that I never meant to betray him—he was my only friend, and I loved him as a brother.
Tell him to follow his heart.
Varga.”
I re-read the letter several times.
I couldn’t believe that Varga was one of the Acolyte members.
No!
I didn’t want to believe it.
To me, Varga had been a knight in shining armor when I needed him most. I vowed that was the way I would remember him—courteous, honorable and a good man. He was not a coward—he had written this knowing full well that his friend might hate him for it, but also that it was necessary for our survival.
I looked over at Tejus.
I hated that I would need to pass on the message - that I would be the one who would have to destroy the memories he had of his only friend. But I had no choice in the matter—the known members would have to be dealt with as swiftly as possible…and as for Queen Trina, well, her time was up as far as I was concerned.
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