The Caravan Road (17 page)

We always heard fairy tales about our magical ancestor
, Cathlin replied,
and I never believed any of it.  How can this really be?

Come with me,
Alec said
as he opened the gate and stepped out beside the girl
, and we’ll meet a pair of friends, and then we’ll all go see your father.  You can decide what is real and what isn’t.

He reached out and held her hand, so that they walked through the garden together, then took a shortcut through the palace, until Cathlin exclaimed aloud.

“What’s the matter?” Alec asked.

“That man,” she pointed at an officer in a palace uniform, “is coming to take me.  I’m not allowed out in the palace when the emperor is ready to walk about, so that he won’t have to see me.”

“There won’t be any problem,” Alec assured her, as he engaged his Light ingenaire energies.  “Just stay silent as we walk past him,” he ordered, as invisibility enveloped them.

The officer and his accompanying attendants exclaimed as Alec and Cathlin disappeared, and started running towards them, towards the spot where the two had become invisible, as Alec pulled Cathlin to the side of the hallway with him.  The handful of guards flew past them, and Cathlin’s head swiveled wildly in astonishment, then her hand went to her mouth as the guards circled the spot a few feet away, the spot at which Alec had made them invisible.

What is happening?
s
he asked silently.

I have bent the light around us so that we seem invisible to people trying to look at us,
Alec explained. 
They do not see us.

But I can see us – you and me – right here,
she protested.

That’s because you’re so close to me.  The light is like a balloon of invisibility around us
, he told her. 
So those within it can see, but those outside cannot.  Let’s move on quickly now, they’re going to sound the alarm that something unusual is happening, and we want to stay ahead of that
.

The
y
trotted hand-in-hand down the hallway, then around the corner, and Alec dropped his invisibility.  A moment later they were back in the garden where Availlie and Arden were impatiently waiting.

“Who do you have my lord, a local tasty morsel?” Availlie asked, with nearly a sneer.

“This is my great-great-great-granddaughter,” Alec said sharply.  “She is going to lead us directly to her father’s prison, after we go to the nearest armory and gather uniforms and weapons so that we can move around the palace more freely.  A squad saw us disappear into invisibility, so there’s likely to be an alarm raised.  If we wear uniforms, it will be almost as good as being invisible, and easier for all of us.”

Alec led them to a nearby armory where they secured their arms and new clothes, dressing even Cathlin in a uniform, and then the girl led them to a distant part of the palace grounds, an isolated tower which was occupied by a heavy guard presence.   They stood at a distance, observing the locations of the guards who were stationed there.

“Are there usually so many guards present?” Alec asked Cathlin, puzzled by such heavy security.

“No.  There is usually only one pair at the door,” she answered.

As they spoke, a column of additional guards marched with ceremonial precision towards the tower.  “That’s the emperor’s bodyguard!” Cathlin exclaimed.  “Uncle Lugust must be coming to visit father!”

“Which room does your father stay in?” Alec asked her.

“He mainly stays on the top floor, up where there’s that balcony,” she answered.  “From there he can see where my mother is buried.”

“Arden, you stay here with the princess,” Alec ordered.  “Protect her; Availlie, come with me,” he said, and then cut through the bushes, seeking to stealthily approach the tower.

The approaching column of guards had arrived at the base of the tower, and a large man, one who Alec presumed to be the emperor, wearing a gold circlet and a flowing purple cape, accepted the salutes of the guards at the door, then entered the tower.   Alec looked up at the balcony, forty feet above their heads.  He engaged his Light energy, then the Spiritual energy, and finally the Air energy.  He was sure he could do what he planned, but it would require more delicacy than he had exercised in using these powers together in times past.

“Availlie, come here and hug me tightly,” he whispered.

“My lord, is now the time for this?” she asked with her crooked grin.

“Just come here,” Alec hissed this time, both amused and
aggravated
.  He stretched out his hand, and as she accepted his grasp, he pulled her up against his own body, then began to use his Air abilities to thrust them off the ground, and they began to steadily rise upward and slightly around the tower towards the balcony.

“This isn’t what I imagined you had in mind,” Availlie confessed, her face close to his.

Distracted momentarily, Alec caused their flight path to wobble, and Availlie gave a small uncharacteristic shriek, one that made the heads of those on the ground below them swivel in search of the source of the noise.

Her eyes widened. 
Just let me focus for a few seconds
, Alec wordlessly placed his thought in her mind, and they reached the level of the balcony without further incident, until Alec released his use of the Air energy, and they dropped the last few inches onto the balcony.

“How do you send your thoughts into my head?” Availlie whispered the question, her lips pressed against Alec’s ear.

I’ll tell you later, and try to teach you,
he responded
.  For now, we’ll enter the room and stand near the prince to protect him.  We’re invisible now; if we separate more than a couple of feet, you’ll become visible.  If that happens, we may be in a battle and it won’t matter – I know you’ll take care of yourself
! – he explained to her. 
Let’s keep the prince and the emperor alive for the time being, until we better understand the circumstances here
.

Cautiously, Alec pulled the glass balcony door open, then caused a gust of wind to blow into the room to provide an explanation to the man inside for why the door had moved, as the two invisible warriors slipped into the room and maneuvered towards an open space near the large wooden door on the far side.  The room was a well-appointed one, Alec saw.  The prince was being held in style not too far below his royal status.

The sound of feet stomping heavily on the stairwell in the tower told of the impending arrival of the emperor.  Moments later the door opened, and four guards entered, then the emperor came puffing in, worn from the climb up the staircase, followed by four more guards.

“Only six months on the throne and already I have to leave the city to deal with Valeriane!” the emperor’s first words to his captive were spoken in a harsh, whining tone.  “After all these years of dull and boring rule, I expected the empire to be ready for strength and conquest.  Instead, these trumped up, soft fools in Valeriane call out the name of mythical rulers and rebel against my own chosen duke for the city.

“So now I have to make the trip up to Valeriane to lead the army in a show of discipline, Carl,” the emperor continued.  “I expected my first trip away from the throne would be a victory trip to the south.  I didn’t think it would be to impose discipline on my own subjects!”

“I suspect your subjects agree,” the prince said inoffensively.

“Yes, yes, of course,” the emperor missed the irony implicit in Prince Carl’s comment.

“Perhaps, Lugust, you should consider that the man you sent to be the duke was an idiot, and had no concept of responsibility or maturity.  You and I have known
Gallus
for years, and we wouldn’t trust him to care for our pet dog.  Is it any wonder he botched up the city so badly they asked him to leave?” the prince asked.

Emperor Lugust’s face turned bright red, then faded back to normal.  “Once he was appointed by me, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks,” he spoke patiently.  “I’m the emperor, and so they must obey my decisions.

“Which brings me to the unpleasant news at hand,” he spoke emotionlessly.  “I can’t afford to leave the city and leave you behind, given this unpleasantness at Valeriane, and the problems with the campaign down south, and the unhappiness some of the old members of the court expressed about my rule – they sounded much like you did just now, criticizing my decisions.

“Therefore, you and your daughter are to be executed this afternoon, prior to my departure,” he concluded.

“Lugust!  You can’t execute my daughter!  She’s only eighteen; just a girl who hasn’t done any harm and hasn’t enjoyed any of life yet!  I know you’ll kill me, but leave Cathlin alone, please,” the prince was begging sincerely, earnestly, with tears on his cheeks.

“Carl, the people who oppose me will latch on to her as their symbolic leader if she lives,” the emperor replied in a tone that left no room for reversal of the decision.

Keep the emperor alive if you can
, Alec communicated to Availlie. 
You go protect Prince Carl –  you’ll become visible once we separate – while I’ll remain invisible and remove the guards as fast as I can.  Is that acceptable?
He asked.

The Ajax nodded agreement, and the two of them split apart.

For the other occupants of the room, the sudden action that began seemed like an unexpected stroke from heaven.  Just as a striking brunette woman appeared out of thin air in the room, the guardsmen beside the emperor started screaming and falling to the floor, dead from decimating sword strokes.  The brunette, wearing the uniform of the palace guards herself, pulled her sword from its scabbard with breathtaking speed and stabbed one guard before she stepped over to Prince Carl and pushed him towards an empty corner of the room, establishing herself in front of him.  “Stay her
e
and stay silent,” she hissed to him hurriedly, then faced forward, watching as the last of the emperor’s guards died, and then Alec appeared from nothingness, standing in front of the door to the room, blocking the emperor from escape.

“The Princess Cathlin is not going to die today, nor with Prince Carl,” Alec said, as the two surviving members of the royal family looked at him in terrified astonishment.  “No army is going to march upon Valeriane, and by the end of the day you will no longer be emperor,” he spoke to Lugust.

“By the temples!  What is happening?  Who are you?  Leave us immediately?” the rattled emperor screamed in fear.  “Guards!  Help me!” he raised his voice louder.

“No one with come to save you,” Alec said, replacing his sword back in the scabbard on his hip, and motioning to Availlie to do the same.  “Go stand on the balcony, and stay there,” Alec ordered him, suddenly uncertain of what steps to take next.  “Go!” he commanded more loudly, giving the petrified ruler a shove, then walked over to the side of the room where Carl and Availlie remained.

“What are you?  Avenging ghosts?” Carl asked.  “Thank you for promising to save my daughter’s life, and my own, but please, tell me who you are.”

“Your daughter is in the garden, under the protection of one of our companions,” Alec told the prince.  “She’s safe.”

“That is blessed news,” Carl said with relief.  “Who are you?  Why are you here?” the prince repeated his questioning.

“I am
Alec, the true Duke of Valeriane,” Alec answered.  “And this is my companion in battle, Availlie.  We are here to prevent the invasion of our duchy.

“Do you think we’ll succeed?” he asked with a grin.

“If you asked Lugust right now, I suspect the answer would be ‘yes,’” Carl replied.  “You’re sure my daughter is safe?  You’re the Duke Alec?!”

“Availlie, I will send the emperor back in here and then go fetch Cathlin, if you can keep an eye on the emperor while I’m gone,” Alec said, looking out the glass balcony doors, where Lugust was screaming for help from his guards on the ground.

Alec
approached the glass doors, and as he opened them, Lugust gave another scream, this time one of sheer terror, and backed against the balcony railing, then unsteadily teetered over the edge.  Alec looked in horror at the plummeting emperor, then used his Air abilities to cushion the man, and lifted him back up to the balcony.

“You’ll stay here until I return,” Alec told the man, as he shoved him inside the balcony doors, back into the room where Availlie would monitor him.  Then as the astonished crowd of guards on the ground watched, Alec
flung himself into the air and
became invisible, causing the growing group to shout.

Alec let himself down a short distance away, then walked to the quiet area where Arden and Cathlin were cautiously waiting.

“Your father is safe,” Alec told the girl.  “Availlie is with him right now, protecting him in his room in the tower.  I’m here to take you to see him; he worries for your safety,” he explained.

“Arden, I’m afraid that to conserve my energy I can only manage to take one person with me right now, but if you will approach the tower, I’ll put you to use.  Mingle with the rest of the guard that is at the foot of the tower, and when I come out of the door and call for volunteers to support the prince, you step forward first, as an example,” he told the Ajax.