Shattering Dreams

by Catherine M Walker

  Daniel had always been harsh toward Alex, his pleasant smile dropping when he thought no one would notice. She got the distinct impression he blamed Alex for their mother’s death. He almost seemed jealous of Alex’s popularity, with the guards, with the courtiers and commoners alike, although Alex courted none of it. Alex was better than his siblings with the blade by a long shot. William and Elizabeth laughed it off, but Daniel had killed himself trying to prove he was better in the last training session he’d attended with them all. He’d failed and had looked like a fool even though Alex had held back—that made it worse. There were times he was almost hostile in his responses. Many small things that by themselves didn’t mean much; she’d always discounted it as sibling rivalry.

  Jess pulled her wandering thoughts aside and transitioned to the Veiled World, drawing in power from all the different strands she could see. The real world faded, her path stretching where she willed it. She moved down the path but only a short distance, to the small private courtyard off the Royal Wing. She waited, watching. She realised she would be pleased if this Tuesday night, Daniel didn’t leave the palace.

  The real world was pale, like she was looking at it through a lens or window, almost flickering in and out of focus depending on her concentration and how much power she drew. Jess drew in her breath, shocked despite herself, as the doors opened and Daniel made an appearance with Baine a step behind. Both men mounted the waiting horses and quietly left the palace grounds, heading into town. Jess followed with ease; speed, distance, even how time seemed to function, was different in the Veiled World.

  It wasn’t long before they arrived in town and Jess tracked them to an old mansion on the river. Jess waited for them to go inside then dropped back into the real world, although she kept the power gathered around her, obscuring her from the casual observer. Jess heard greetings coming from inside the house and walked up to one window with light spilling from it, careful not to make a sound. She cursed that it was problematic to appear inside a premises she hadn’t been in before; they’d been warned that if they weren’t careful, they could appear halfway through a wall. Jess didn’t understand why but she trusted her uncle’s assessment to abide by the restrictions.

  Jess knew she wasn’t as good at this as Kyle, then again, she wasn’t all that bad either. She stood shadowed by a large tree with a line of sight into the old mansion. It took no time at all before Daniel made an appearance and greeted the other men and women in the room like they were long-lost friends. Jess frowned and tried to move her position but couldn’t quite see the woman’s face, only the edge of her skirt. Although her voice sounded familiar, Jess just couldn’t place it. Baine stood out of the way by the door. While she couldn’t hear all the conversation she could catch enough of it, enough to make her heart sink, for anger to grow, emotion flaring the more she heard.

  Daniel had been involved in arranging the kidnap attempt and Baine had helped. They had meant to kill or capture Alex, Kyle and herself, due to the Taint they all bore. Their plans had been thrown into disorder when the rescue occurred. They were planning to try again; this time Daniel was planning to take a more direct action than he did the previous time. She gathered that whatever was in the bottle that Daniel had been given was the same toxin they were dosed with last time. Jess shuddered at the memory of the effect the stuff had on all of them.

  Jess withdrew, shaking and pale as the meeting appeared to break up with no other clear goals she could understand being set. She needed time to think on what she would do, how to react.

  Daniel dismounted in the enclosed yard of the old rundown house, looking around uncomfortably. He knew if anyone saw him it would be questioned why he was here. Shaking off the feeling with a snort, he realised it was unlikely that anyone would recognise him here. That was one thing he’d learned from his disgrace of a brother. People wouldn’t expect to see him here so would discount his resemblance to ‘Prince Daniel’. After all, what would the Prince, of all people, be doing here? Waiting as his man, Baine, dealt with their horses, he looked around once more to be sure he couldn’t see anyone then headed up the stairs to the decrepit building, entering without pause when the doors were opened. He walked through without needing a guide. Entering the old study, he smiled, seeing Scholar Clements.

  “Scholar Clements, while it’s good to see you, the risk is too great. You should not have come.” Daniel hugged the old man, his fragility scaring him.

  “Nonsense, Daniel, no more than you, should your father or brother learn of your involvement in our cause.” Scholar Clements smiled at Daniel as he helped the old man back to his seat before taking one himself.

  “I had to come as soon as I learned you were here, although I can’t stay long or I risk being missed. After recent events, everything is being reported on.” Daniel grimaced. “I know my father will be notified by someone that I have left the palace.”

  Creswell Vannen stirred in his chair. “You’re not the only one here taking risks, Daniel.” He stopped, wide-eyed as Baine surged forward and hauled him out of his chair by his shirt front.

  “Watch your mouth, Vannen, you’ll address His Highness as befitting his rank.” With a final shake, Baine shoved the now-quivering lord back into his chair. Vannen looked around at the others in the room and realised from their blank expressions he’d get no backup from any of them.

  Scholar Clements smiled and raised a hand. “Calm down, everything will work out. We’ve lost several assets; Alyssa will be missed, yet she laid the ground work. So have you all.” He paused, looking around the group, assuring himself that he had their attention. “I believe at least one of our targets, Lord Kyle, has been given enough of the medication and with the grooming that Alyssa has started it won’t take much for us to gain control of him. We simply need the opportunity.” Clements eyed Daniel.

  Daniel stirred in his chair. “What do you need of me?”

  “Can you slip him more of the medication?” Clements picked up a bottle that had been sitting on the side table next to him, unnoticed, passing it to Daniel.

  “I’m not sure. Not right away; he’s under the healers’ care right now and either Alex or Jess is with him all the time. I’ll do what I can; if the opportunity presents itself, I’ll send Baine with word, if I manage it.” Daniel looked at the bottle, holding it with care.

  “You and Baine have done more than your fair share, Daniel. The amount of work you and Baine put in to arrange the kidnapping, even though it failed, will not be in vain. Your idea to make it seem like the League of Skulls were behind it to throw off the scent was a genius move. We will succeed in taking your brother and his friends under control.” It was rare for Kevin to speak up for their gatherings but Daniel knew he was another one of Clements’ special people he’d brought with him.

  The man made Daniel uncomfortable, yet he didn’t quite know why. He trusted Clements, so he should trust the old man’s assertions that everyone here was trustworthy. Clements had once been his tutor, long ago, before he left the King’s service. His father had dismissed him for trying to teach Daniel about the Order. Daniel had never understood his father on that score and had set out to learn more. As far as he was concerned, the Order were the only ones trying to do something about the upsurge of the Sundered who slaughtered their people.

  A third member of their group stirred. “Are we sure this will work? I tried to get my hands on the girl, but your father stopped me.” Lady Barraclough glared at Daniel, still smarting at the fact that the King had banished her from court.

  Daniel stood and walked across, kissing Lady Barraclough’s hand. “I’m sorry for my father’s high-handed treatment of you, My Lady. It was a good thought; if you’d managed to get your hands on Jess, both Alex and Kyle would have followed, getting them away from the extra protection the palace affords.” Daniel smiled as she preened, yet he thought Lady Barraclough was a simpering fool. Jess would not have complied with her demands even without his father’s intervention. Using violenc
e while the King was present had been beyond foolish.

  “Enough. Do your best to dose them all again but if no one else, just Lord Kyle. But do not risk yourself, Daniel. You are too important to our cause, placed as you are in the King’s Court and council. You should go before you are missed, my boy.” Scholar Clements went to stand but Daniel placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

  “No, old man, keep your seat. We’ll make our own way out. I will do my best to dose them all and let you know.” Daniel turned, walking toward the door before pausing and glancing back, a feral grin on his face, his eyes glittering. “I will try to time it for when they leave the palace for a hunt; there are plenty at this time of the year and those three always go off on their own—that should give the best opportunity.”

  Scholar Clements laughed. “That would be perfect if you could arrange it that way.”

  Daniel nodded in satisfaction, leaving the house without a backwards glance, taking the time to secure the precious bottle in the saddle bag before mounting and riding back to the palace.

  Jess watched as Daniel left then looked back at the study, indecisive for a moment. Then her desire to find out who the woman was, or at least see her face for future reference won out. The voice was nagging at her, making her wonder if, like Vannen and Daniel, she was a member of the court. If so, she needed to know who the woman was. Given the way Daniel was going and his comments on leaving, it was likely he was heading straight back to the palace. That meant she could afford the time to wait and see the face of the other conspirator. With the decision made, she settled down to wait. As a hunter, one virtue she had in abundance was patience. Looking around, she spotted the carriage sitting out in the street, the doors open with the driver just visible sitting inside waiting.

  Jess stirred as before too long a servant appeared at the door; he whistled and waved to attract the attention of the carriage driver. She glanced toward the carriage as the driver climbed out of the dark interior, illuminated in the flare of light from the lamps at the gate. Jess felt her eyes widen; she knew if anyone could see her they would have seen the colour drain from her face in shock. She squeezed her eyes shut, her head shaking in denial.

  No, please let this be a mistake.

  Jess heard the carriage draw into the courtyard, the distinct sound as the driver jumped down, his booted feet connecting with the cobbles, the creak of the carriage door showing it had been opened. Then the unmistakable sound of the ancient door groaning on its hinges, the rustle of skirts with the dainty clip of court shoes as the woman exited the house.

  Jess forced herself to open her eyes and see the face of the woman who had been plotting to harm her and her friends, the woman who had committed treason. Instant recognition slammed into her like a physical blow as the woman turned her head, face visible in the lamplight. Their conversation floating across to her as they walked to the waiting carriage.

  “Scholar Clements, you know best but if Daniel ever finds out the Order were responsible for hunting down and killing his mother, he will turn on us all. He idolised her as a child. He still does now.”

  “Leave handling Daniel to me, Lady Barraclough. The queen was one of the Tainted, our hand in her death has never surfaced, we cleaned up the scene well.” The old man paused, his expression firm and commanding. “Her death drove Daniel into our fold, let him have his untarnished memory of her.”

  Scholar Clements stared at Lady Barraclough until she nodded accent to his will. Satisfied, the scholar walked forward, closing the last of the distance to the carriage. The lady grabbed a handful of her skirts in one hand with the old scholar assisting her into the carriage, kissing her fingers as she withdrew inside, although not before Jess could see the blush that spread up her cheeks as the door closed, hiding her from view.

  As the carriage drew away, disappearing out of the guttering pool of light thrown by the lamps, and down the dark street, Jess sank to her knees, in shock. Her own mother’s involvement in the plot, her hatred left her bewildered. She pressed a hand to her lips, eyes wide wondering how she would break this news to Alex. That his brother was involved was bad enough. To find out that the Order had also been behind his mother’s death, she knew he would react badly. Blood would flow as soon as he found out; being Alex’s brother would not save Daniel’s life.

  33

  Decent

  Once again, Alex lay on a rooftop overlooking the backyard of the Siren and the dilapidated shack that the men had disappeared into the previous morning. Alex pulled on the power of the veil, just enough to conceal him if anyone looked in his direction. He grimaced as pain exploded in his head but kept the groan from passing his lips. Alex knew he’d been drawing on more of the power than he should, but circumstances just seemed to transpire of late where it was required.

  He winced as his shields slipped, if only for a moment, and the clamouring voices beat through his brain wanting to pull him in different directions. Before they—and Alex believed it was a ‘they’—could understand what he was up to, he raised his mental barriers once again with substantial effort and a grimace of pain. Still, he managed it and the voices at least receded but he could still feel them beating at his shields now they had found him. He blocked them.

  Alex wondered if it was wise to continue on with his plans for the night given the state his own mind was in, then pushed his doubts aside. He was just going to check out the shack and see if it led to the Skulls’ main lair. That was it. The occupants, if it was an entrance to the main lair, would all be out for the night, which is why he was waiting even though he’d seen groups of men leave already.

  Alex smiled. He didn’t quite know why he persisted in thinking this disreputable shack might just be a shack. He’d seen at least nine men leave already, which seemed way more than could live in such a small place. Still, until he’d investigated, he wouldn’t jump to conclusions. He glanced around to see if anyone was looking in his direction and when he was satisfied that no one was paying any attention at all, he pushed his own discomfort aside and slipped from the roof to the courtyard below. Wrapping the surrounding veil to mask his presence, Alex moved across the courtyard to the door of the hut. Using just a little more power, Alex felt around but could not pick up any signs that there was anyone inside the premises.

  Taking a breath, Alex eased the door open and went inside, shutting the door when he discovered no one on the other side. Alex inspected the shack; it was rudimentary at best. There was a single rough-looking bed against the far wall with a threadbare blanket that had seen better days thrown over it. A small wooden table and chair in the middle of the room. Off to one side, there was what passed for a kitchen that looked like it hadn’t been used for years as it was coated with dust, and a set of shelves against the wall. It was as he thought. There was no way that the nine men he’d seen leaving this place could have all slept here, and they were also not enjoying a meal together.

  Moving across the room with care, Alex inspected the shelves first. They didn’t contain that much other than some battered-looking, dust-covered pots, chipped plates and some metal goblets. Not a sign of any food or any use at all.

  Looking around again, he realised that the old town wall formed the back of the shack so he moved over toward the bed. Alex realised that the bed was a little more solid than it had first appeared, with a firm wooden base. He frowned, looking at the drape hanging on the wall behind the bed, then smiled. Why would there be a drape hanging up on a wall when there could not be a window? Alex stood on top of the bed until he was certain it would hold his weight. Relieved, he let out his breath when he didn’t crash through the bed. Alex stepped forward and drew the drapes to one side. He chuckled, seeing the old wooden door behind the drapes. Stepping forward, Alex placed his ear up against the door and tried to listen for any noise while he used his power to search for any presence on the other side.

  While he could detect that there were people nearby, he knew they were far enough away that they were not on th
e opposite side of the door. Taking a deep breath, Alex opened the door and eased inside, closing it gently behind him. Fascinated despite the circumstances, Alex found himself in a corridor that seemed to be within the old wall. He walked down the corridor, using small bursts of power to mask his presence as he went.

  It seemed like hours passed as he wound his way through the corridors, ducking into small alcoves when he sensed or heard anyone near him. It surprised him that his eyes got used to the dark cobbled passageways, there were lights placed sporadically along them which he learned not to look directly at since it ruined his night vision. The temperature had grown distinctly cooler, like the vast caverns under the palace that housed, among other things, the wine collection. He’d never realised that a whole world seemed to exist below the city and suspected that its inhabitants had expanded the network of passageways and rooms beneath the city. At one point, he’d been forced to draw his dagger and slit the throat of one man who had stumbled onto him. A part of his brain knew he should be concerned about that—and that he was so calm about killing the man. Yet he wasn’t. The other, analytical part of his brain knew the man had been a cutthroat and had the Skull tattoos and weapons to prove it.

  Alex also knew he was now passing through winding passages and rooms beneath the city itself. Some rooms bore signs they were lived in, although he’d been correct in his first assumption that most of the residents of these warrens were out and about on their Lord’s business tonight.