Blade’s eyebrows rose. “You’re going to accuse Pompano of murder?”
“The signature doesn’t belong to Pompano.”
Blade looked at Kellan askance. “How do you know?”
“I took his reading when I was here last time. He never noticed a thing.” Kellan beckoned. “Let’s go.”
They left the office through the regular door and joined Ranger Flynn in the hallway.
Blade glanced up. “Wait a moment…”
Alice gave him a puzzled glance. “What is it?”
“There are security cameras in every public place in Briarwood Castle.” He pointed to one mounted to the ceiling only a few yards away. “Since we know the day Helene went missing, we can view the video showing who came in and out of this office.”
Kellen gave the wizard an appraising glance. “That may be the first intelligent suggestion you’ve ever had.”
Alice sighed. “I thought you and Blade were going to remain civil around me.”
“Forgive me if that was taken the wrong way.” Kellan feigned innocence. “It was meant to be a compliment.”
“Track your energy signatures and leave the compliments to me,” Blade muttered. “I’m far better at them.”
“True, but then you’ve had far more practice with insincerity.”
“Gah!” Alice glared at the two men. “You’re impossible!”
Ranger Flynn was waiting near the staircase, but Kellan waved him over. “Paddy, please escort Princess Alessandra wherever she would like to go, so long as she remains on castle grounds.”
Alice gaped at him. “But I want to stay with you!”
He returned the disrupter to her wrist. “If you think I’m going to allow you to track down a potentially murderous wizard, you are wrong.”
“That might be the first intelligent thing you’ve ever said, Stratford.” Blade smirked. “Why don’t you come with me to the Minfo, Alessandra? We can look up that video footage.”
“So much for teamwork.” Sarcasm dripped from Kellan’s response. “I thought you were going to protect me from Shadow Realm minions, Blackmon.”
“In this one instance, you’re on your own.”
Alice gave Kellan a mutinous glance before accompanying Blade down the stairs.
Paddy shook his head and muttered, “That wizard needs a punch on the nose,” before he hastened to catch up.
∞∞∞
Kellan activated his wizard shield as a precaution. When he was certain Alice was far enough from the building to be out of danger, he turned on his tracker and picked up the energy trail once more. He followed the signature all the way down the main staircase to the ground level but then the tracker led him out of the building itself and into the central garden of Briarwood Castle. As he moved down the path, he became increasingly baffled. Had the suspect shoved Helene into the abyss and thereafter contemplated his nefarious deed amongst the roses and hydrangeas? It didn’t make any sense.
Even more perplexing, the tracker brought him straight toward the labyrinth, where the tall, manicured hedges would have hidden even a giant from view. Had the suspect anticipated an investigation and hoped to throw any pursuit off his trail or was he merely evading the watchful eye of security cameras?
The energy signature led Kellan into the labyrinth and along a twisting, turning path. When he reached the circular center, however, the signature disappeared entirely. Had the suspect entered the labyrinth, hidden himself from view long enough to mask his energy signature, and then made his way out again? The murderer could only have done so with a disrupter, but Kellan had the only one in existence and could account for it the entire time.
Except Helene had kept a copy of the prototype.
If that prototype had fallen into the wrong hands, the implications could be profound. Any wizard could cast an illegal spell and once he donned a disrupter, Kellan could not track him until it was removed. He would have to ask King Justin to make possession of a disrupter illegal for anyone except a wizard hunter.
Kellan suddenly muttered an oath under his breath.
Just that morning, Minster Seer had announced plans to sell copies of Alice’s disrupter as a fashion accessory. Well, he would just have to halt production of the copy or the task of locating the stolen disrupter would become next to impossible.
∞∞∞
Alice entered the Minfo building alongside Blade, with Ranger Flynn following closely behind. Instead of taking the platinum elevator down to the production levels, however, the three of them rode one of the golden elevators to the floor above.
She stepped out into a busy command center. Arrays of vidscreens displayed live footage from the castle and its grounds, from public areas to hallways and even the shopping arcade. Attendants were monitoring the vidscreens from swivel chairs at each array and making notes regarding the content.
“Now I see what you mean about cameras being everywhere.” Alice peered at Blade, wide-eyed. “There are none in the living quarters, are there?”
Blade shook his head. “King Justin would never permit such an invasion of privacy, but cameras are in almost every area considered public space.”
She glanced around at the dizzying number of vidscreens. “How are we to find the footage we are looking for?”
“The video is logged by date, time, and location. All we need to do is to search for it.”
Ranger Flynn waited just outside the door when Blade ushered Alice into a small office containing a desk, several vidscreens, and a keyboard. A shelf of binders contained numerical camera locations for each building as well as for the gardens. After Blade found the camera positioned outside Helene’s office door, he asked Aether to bring up footage for the day she disappeared, beginning with seven o'clock in the morning. He played the feed at four times normal speed, slowing it whenever someone came into view. When Alice recognized her mother at long last, she bit back a surge of emotion.
“There she is.”
Blade paused the video, jotted down the time, and resumed playing the video. Her mother disappeared into the office and the video sped along for another few minutes until it went black.
“Wait.” Alice sat up straight. “What happened?”
Blade frowned. “I don’t know.”
He rewound the video up to the point Helene entered her office, but the video went black at the same place and remained black.
“The video has been tampered with.” He shook his head. “The suspect is one step ahead of us in destroying the evidence we need to implicate him.”
Alice bit her lip in frustration. “There must be a camera on the main staircase?”
“Yes, that’s a good idea.” He searched for the camera code in the binder. “I’ve got it.”
They soon discovered the video on all three levels of the staircase had also gone black during the same hour and so had the camera trained on the entrance of the Ministry building.
“I’m sorry, Princess.” Blade’s expression reflected genuine disappointment. “I was so certain we were going to find a clue.”
“Maybe I’m bad luck. Everything I try to do these days turns out wrong.” Her shoulders drooped. “I broke my mother’s hologram in the Gallery Hall yesterday.”
“I’d heard something had gone awry with that hologram. Minister Seer was rather put out about it. Did you do something to it deliberately?”
“Of course not.” She averted her gaze. “This is going to sound stupid, but I thought perhaps my mother was trying to communicate with me through the hologram somehow. After she told me to run, it went dark.”
“Your mother wasn’t trying to send you a message, Alessandra. That entire exhibit was created by Queen Tara and all the holograms were her enchantments. Anything your mother’s hologram told you was probably meant to be harmful. By leaving the castle on your own, you were putting yourself in danger.”
“I didn’t know that.” Alice rose from her chair and began to pace. “Kellan was right.”
She
’d never been so unsure of herself before. Could she even trust her instincts any longer?
“You’re shaking.” Blade pulled her into an embrace. “It’s going to be all right, you know.”
“Is it? I’m not so sure.”
Even if Alice couldn’t fully trust Blade, for a few long moments she took comfort from close contact with another human body.
Blade’s arms tightened. “It pains me to say so, but Stratford is very good at tracking wizards. Don’t give up hope just yet.”
“Thank you for saying that.” She took a deep, shuddering breath and stepped back. “I’ll try to hold on.”
“Let me take you back to your room.” He took her by the arm. “You need sleep.”
She nodded. Sleep would sustain her body, to be sure, but she wasn’t certain if anything could ever restore her peace of mind.
Chapter Twelve
Love Triangle
Kellan glanced through the windows of each production studio in his quest to find Minister Seer. When he reached a room devoted to costume design, he spotted the man inside, surrounded by a trio of employees. He wore a dainty suit of light blue velvet with puffy knee-length pants, white hosiery and a wig made of golden sausage curls.
Kellan wrenched the door open and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Minister Seer?”
The man’s expression lit up. “There he is! I’m so glad you changed your mind about coming in today for your interview, Ranger Stratford. We have so much work to do and so little time.”
The employees immediately swarmed Kellan with tape measures and notepads, making observations about how to style his hair and how best to market him.
“Rugged individualism comes to mind.”
“Outdoorsy and athletic.”
“He’s a wolf, no doubt about it.”
“I’m not here about the interview.” Kellan glowered at the man trying to get his inseam measurement and the fellow backed away. “I’d like to have a word with you in private, Minister.”
“All right.” Seer sighed. “Run along, children. You have tasks to perform.”
As the trio scurried off, the minister gave Kellan his attention. “How can I help you, Ranger?”
“I need you to hold off making replicas of Princess Alessandra’s disrupter bracelet.”
“Too late!” The Minister held up his wrist, which was encased in a silvery circlet. “I’m wearing one of the prototypes.”
Oblivious to Kellan’s dismay, he produced a tray of similarly styled bracelets and gave it a proud glance. “The next models will feature improvements in the design.” He pointed at each in turn. “This one has a lovely ruby inset and this one comes etched with the royal crest. I’m also thinking about making them in different colored metals, such as gold, rose gold, and pewter.” A gasp escaped his lips and his eyes lit up. “I’ll make one in onyx, too, to go with any outfit!” He picked up a pencil and scribbled a note to himself.
“You don’t understand, Minister. I’m trying to locate a missing disrupter and I can’t have any replicas distributed until I find it.”
Seer tossed his curls. “You could have said as much this morning.” He plucked off his bracelet and tossed it onto the tray, clearly annoyed.
“I didn’t know.” Kellan gestured toward the replicas. “How did you get these done so quickly?”
“We don’t let grass grow under our feet here at the Minfo, Ranger.”
“Just keep them under lock for now, at least until I can speak with the king.”
“Shipments have already been sent out to retail establishments all over the kingdom. The gift shop at the castle will begin selling them tonight.”
“Recall the shipments.”
“I can’t do that without an order from the king, I’m afraid.” He gave Kellan an admiring glance. “Untamed masculinity.” He beamed. “The ladies will just eat it up!”
Kellan shook his head in disgust as he turned to leave. If this was how Alice had been treated by the Minfo, he was beginning to understand her motives for running away a little better.
“Oh, Ranger?” Seer called out. “We’ll be seeing you bright and early in the morning for that interview. Tomorrow’s broadcast will be filled with The Making of a Princess, but then we hit the ground running with The Love Triangle.”
Kellan made no attempt to hide his reluctance. “I’ll be here.”
As he passed an editing bay on his way toward the elevator, he stopped to watch the work being done. The Minfo had retrieved security camera footage from the castle interior and was splicing it together for a video enhanced by slow motion, closeups, and suitably romantic filters. The video contained his interactions with the princess, from her initial arrival at Briarwood Castle to the moment he’d carried her from the Gallery Hall after she collapsed. Presumably, they were fashioning the narrative that he had fallen in love with the princess at first sight.
If he was honest with himself, the narrative might not be far from the truth.
∞∞∞
Ranger Flynn stood at a discreet distance outside Alice’s door while she took a moment to thank Blade.
“You’ve been very supportive today and I appreciate it.”
He chuckled. “I am making an effort, you know.”
She nodded and let herself into her suite, where Janelle had left a plate of tea sandwiches for lunch. Although she was almost too tired to eat, she managed to swallow a bite or two before she climbed into a pair of pajamas and crawled onto her bed for a nap. As she closed her eyes, she could not help but fret about the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death. If Helene had been pushed into the Node gateway without a fight, clearly she must have had no reason to fear her attacker. Pompano had a motive and even looked the part, but Kellan had ruled him out. Could the energy signature be traced to some other evildoer?
The lack of security footage was frustrating beyond measure. The culprit had obviously anticipated an investigation and had covered his tracks very well. Kellan may well have an excellent reputation for hunting rogue wizards, but he may have met his match this time. What else could she do to help?
Alice stared at the ceiling, unable to calm her thoughts. Was it possible that her mother had kept a diary or journal of some kind, albeit disguised as something else? After all, her mother had been the one to suggest she use a charm bracelet to transform her magic textbooks. Even if she did find a diary, however, the disrupter on her wrist meant she could not restore it to its normal form.
But Blade could.
The tantalizing possibility of another clue drove Alice from her bed and over to the comscreen on the wall to call him. A few moments later, Blade’s image filled the screen.
“What can I do for you, Princess?”
He’d unbuttoned his shirt to the waist, leaving his chest bare but Alice pretended not to notice his dishabille. “I’ve had an idea, but I need your help.”
His eyes lit up. “Help is my middle name.”
“Can you come to my room? I have sandwiches if you’re hungry.”
I’ll be right there.”
Alice dashed into the closet to change into a pair of trousers and a blouse, and then made her way into the study. The volumes on her mother’s shelves appeared to be textbooks or novels, but any one of them could be a disguised journal. Blade could cast a restore spell on each book, but the effort would take hours.
She moved over to the desk. Although she’d looked through the drawers before, she’d been intent on finding the portal Key and hadn’t paid much attention to anything else. In the pencil drawer, she found an unused writing pad, writing instruments, paper clips, a wax stick and a seal. In the file drawers, she discovered folders devoted to upcoming projects at the Ministry of Magic, such as an airship crafted of Helenium, a universal translator, and a new version of a comscreen that could be carried in a pocket.
Alice sat back in her chair, puzzled. What she didn’t find were any of the letters she had sent to her mother over the years or any photographs,
either. There were no calendars, past or present, or anything personal at all.
When Blade arrived shortly thereafter, he had barely bothered to button up his shirt and looked casually handsome.
“Come in.” Alice stepped back to let him in. “There’s a platter of sandwiches on the table and a pitcher of iced tea.”
Blade crossed the room and picked up a minced ham sandwich. “These are made for children.” He popped the morsel into his mouth and chose another.
“They are tea sandwiches.”
He gulped down the sandwich. “At least there are plenty of them.”
Before he could take another, she picked up the platter and carried it toward her mother’s study.
“Hey!” Blade frowned. “Where are you taking that?”
She paused in the doorway. “You can eat in here.”
He poured himself a glass of tea and followed. “What is this all about?”
Alice deposited the platter on the desk and sat in her mother’s chair. “Things are missing.”
“That’s true.” He reached for another sandwich. “Pompano took all the paintings away after you escaped, as a precaution.”
“I’m not referring to the paintings. I was hoping to find a journal or a diary of some kind, but it seems all my mother’s personal papers were removed.”
“I don’t know anything about it.” He chewed his sandwich. “Mmm…these are tiny but tasty.”
“I was thinking perhaps my mother disguised her journal as something else to conceal it, the way I used to conceal my magical textbooks.”
Blade gave her a sidelong glance. “Yeah…you sort of made a fool of me.”
“I was protecting myself. Surely you can’t hold that against me.”
“I suppose not.”
“At any rate, since my magical abilities are curtailed at the moment,” she pulled back her sleeve to reveal the disrupter on her wrist, “I need a wizard to perform a restore spell.”
He cocked his head. “Why?”
“My mother’s private papers might provide a clue about any possible enemies.”
Blade glanced around the office. “This might take a while. Where do I start?”
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