Rescuing the Captive: The Ingenairii Series (21 page)

“
Out of the room, all of you,” the officer said. He was keeping his frustration in check reasonably well, Alec thought. “Our apologies. We’ll leave you alone,” he told Alec, as the soldiers began to withdraw.

“
What about our door? What about some privacy? What are we going to do?” Alec asked.

“
You’ve got a gold piece; that’ll pay the hotel for the damage and still leave you with a little change. Where are you from, anyway? That’s quite an accent you’ve got,” the officer said.

“
Cearche; my family moved to Cearche when I was young. I don’t know where we lived before that,” Alec silently cursed his accent.

“
Come back to bed, lover,” Caitlen motioned to him. “I’ll show you what a floozie would do.” The officer looked expressionlessly at both of them, then stepped through the ruined doorframe of their room.

“
Go put a hand on that desk clerk. I want to talk to him. Get the men out of the alley and send them back to the barracks,” the man said as he strode away from the room.

“
Oh by the names of all the shrines and spirits!” Caitlen gushed as Alec lay down beside her. “That was incredible! Incredible! Incredible!” she repeated herself. “What did you do? What do I look like?” She bounced on the bed like a small child, then bounced out of bed and tripped over to the mirror, appraising her blond hair in the dim light that came in through the doorway.

Alec came over and stood beside her, looking in the mirror as well. Her blond hair contrasted strikingly with the black negligee she was wearing, which stood out against his pale white skin as he stood behind her. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to do that? What a stroke of genius! You’re not a Jag, and I’m not the brunette princess!”

There was a noise at the doorway, and they both turned their heads to see several other guests looking into the room at them, drawn by the startling raid. “Alec dear,” Caitlen raised her hand up over and behind her head, reaching behind Alec’s neck to draw his face towards hers. “You’re a very good looking man, but perhaps you should put some clothes on for the sake of our visitors.”

Chapter 12 – Deadly Wounds

Alec scowled at the gawkers, who rapidly dispersed. “We need to get out of here,” he told Caitlen. “That desk clerk may tell them that the Jag came back alone, and then they’ll want to talk to us again. Get dressed,” he told her as he picked up his own scruffy clothes and began to pull his pants on. He walked over to the window and opened it; the guards were gone from the alleyway. Caitlen was pulling her travel clothes on over her nightgown.

“
I’m going out first,” Alec told her, hanging a leg over the windowsill. “You jump down after me. I’ll catch you and we’ll get out of here.” He engaged his Warrior powers and slid down to the surface of the alley, then turned and saw Caitlen already at the window, staring down at him. “Come on Bruney, jump!” he said softly.

“
What does Bruney mean?” Caitlen asked as she landed in his arms.

“
It’s short for Brunehilde,” Alec told her.

“
That’s a grandma’s name!” Caitlen said, shoving him with an open palm as he placed her on the ground.

“
Someday you’ll be a grandmother, I’m sure,” Alec told her as he began to walk up the alleyway. “You’ll have lots of little blond babies following you around the court, wanting you to bounce them on your lap and show them where the princess sits on the throne.”

“
Where are we going?” Caitlen asked as she hurried to catch up.

“
I have no idea,” Alec answered. “We just need to get away from here.”

“
I know a place,” Caitlen said. “No one will find us. Come on, follow me,” she took the lead. They walked for forty five minutes through the cold streets to the outskirts of town, where they came to an imposing stone wall. “Can you climb this?” Caitlen asked. In response, Alec engaged his powers and jumped to the top, then reached down and pulled Caitlen up.

“
There’s a small fishing lodge over there,” she pointed off into the dark, and they cautiously stumbled through the woods until they reached a wood and stone house. Caitlen walked up to a door and opened it. Within minutes Alec had a fire blazing in the fireplace and the main room began to warm up. Caitlen lit a pair of candles, and sat in a wingback chair in front of the fire, as Alec sat down in its mate next to it.

“
Oh Alec, thank you for everything. I had visions of being hauled back to captivity in the palace,” Caitlen said quietly after minutes of staring into the fire. “I’m sorry I doubted you back there at the inn when the soldiers came to get us. I had no idea you were so cunning! Why should you be, when you can fight or cure your way out of every possible problem!”

“
We’re a long way from Black Crag. And there’s no reason to try to fight every step of the way if we don’t have to,” Alec replied languidly, starting to feel exhausted from the exertions and excitement of the long evening. “Where are we, anyway? Will anyone find us here?”

“
This is a royal fishing lodge. It’s only used in the summer. No one will look for us here for months,” Caitlen assured him.

“
You talk like Black Crag is a long way away, but I’ve been thinking. Now that you’ve given us this new identity, we can move pretty freely. Why not just buy a couple of horses and really pick up the pace?” Caitlen suggested.

“
Will my children and grandchildren really be blond now?” she asked, picked a strand of hair off her shoulder and looking at its bright color. “This is so simple but so effective!” she laughed. “Well I say simple because I’m traveling with you. It would be impossible with anyone else of course!”

“
When you kissed me in bed, I was so mad at you for giving up, for surrendering,” she admitted. “I was sure you were going to beat ten soldiers to set us free, but you didn’t – you were passive. And then they pulled you away and I saw that you weren’t blue anymore; I was amazed! And they didn’t recognize me, which seemed impossible.” She looked over at Alec, and saw that he had fallen asleep in his chair.

She had been rambling away talking to him as if he were an intimate and reliable friend, something she didn’t have. And he had nodded off without hearing her. She didn’t know if she was disappointed or glad. If he had heard and responded sympathetically, she suspected she might have said too much to this man she was growing so close to, so quickly

Quietly she got up and went to a closet, where she pulled out a blanket and brought it back. She spread it over Alec, then tiptoed across the room to one of the bedrooms, where she slipped off her heavy dress and slid into bed to sleep a blissful sleep.

When she awoke the next morning Alec’s chair was empty. She looked around and found him outside, preparing to bring in a new armful of wood. She held the door open for him and watched him deposit the wood by the fire, replenishing the stock there. “What shall we do today?” she asked, wrapped in a blanket.

“
I think we need to get back on the road. We’ve lured the pursuit here. Now it’s time to ditch them and move on in disguise,” he told her. “How long do you think it will take us to get to Black Crag?”

“
If we ride horses, I’d say three weeks,” Caitlen guessed. “On foot, probably double that.”

“
Do you have enough money to buy horses for us?” Alec asked hopefully, wishing again that he had found out about the girl’s money earlier. “And are you willing to spend it on this?”

Alec counted the heavy gold coins Caitlen had. It seemed more than enough to get them to Black Crag on horseback. “There’s enough here to take us to Black Crag,” he assured her.

“
Will I always be blond now?” Caitlen asked him. He looked up at her and saw that the question was a serious one. “It is part of my heritage to have jet black hair. All the members of my family had it for generations. But this looks so pretty.”

Alec stood up. “It does look pretty,” he agreed as he led her over to a mirror. “But you look pretty with blond hair or black hair,” his hand was resting on the back of her neck as she looked in the mirror, and his powers caused the hair to change colors, a wave of darkness rising from her scalp and traveling along the length of each strand, “or red hair for that matter,” he added. She watched in fascination as a bright wave of pale auburn swept over her head.

“
Oh!” she exclaimed, enchanted. Her eyes looked up in the mirror to look into his. “Which do you like?”

Alec looked down into her eyes, then felt a crooked grin twist his face. “Caitlen, you are a nice girl, and would be with hair of any color. I like them all on you. Why don’t you just wear them all at once?” he asked, and streaks of black and blond rose, giving her a multi-color mane.

“
Oh Alec!” she said in laughter and frustration. “Can’t you be serious? Stop that. It looks like a nightmare. It reminds me of a pet dog I had once!” Her hand reached around behind her to slap his thigh ineffectually. “Make it all one color.”

“
How about this?” he asked, and a new wave of color emerged from her roots, rising up to the top of her hair, a premature silver that was striking and mature at the same time.

“
Alec, that doesn’t seem right, but it makes me look older in a good way. I think people will take me more seriously if my hair looks like this, don’t you?” she asked as she moved her head from side to side studying it with an intensity that surprised Alec.

“
When I get to Black Crag they have to think of me as a grown-up. I need for them to take me seriously. I think this will help do it,” she told him as she thought out loud. “It’s odd how people act differently because of the smallest things. People react to perceptions more than reality sometimes, don’t they?”

“
I suppose so,” Alec replied, not certain what caused the serious tenor of her comments.

“
Like last night,” Caitlen continued. “That Guard officer came into that room to catch us, and he caught us. But he was so convinced that he wanted a Jag and a princess he didn’t realize he had what he wanted.

“
And you,” she gently poked Alec in the chest. “You were smart enough to find a way to set us free without using that incredible battle ability you have. It’s something to think about. You’ll stick around and teach me those kinds of lessons won’t you?”

“
Anything you wish,” Alec assured her. “Let’s go find a stable where we can get horses, and we can get some travel supplies along the way too.”

“
I’ll be ready in a moment. I want to take a look around the lodge one last time before we leave,” Caitlen told him wistfully.

By mid-day they had eaten breakfast rolls, bought new clothes and weapons and horses, and were comfortably trotting out the western gate of Valeriane, on their way to Black Crag.

“
This is where the river finally reaches the big falls,” Caitlen told Alec as they entered the city of Eckerd a week later. “There’s a tremendous temple to the spirit of the river here.” They rode through the city to the riverfront, where Alec saw the relatively short but extremely wide waterfall, where numerous docks stood empty on the downriver side of the falls. Although he knew the falls were a very real impediment to shipping, he was more impressed by the peaks and ridges of the mountains that loomed directly overhead, a much more formidable-looking range than the Pale Mountains.

Their week together had been pleasant. They’d had no sign of soldiers on their trail. The weather had not been nice, but it had been less blustery than before. Caitlen had told Alec what she had learned about the coup from Abelard and from overhearing others. The rebellion against the Princess was a combination of traders – the Conglomerate – and noble families in the central part of her empire, the Avonellene Empire.

In the southern reaches of the empire a different rebellion, large planters, nobles, and some magicians, also challenged the Princess’s authority. Caitlen hoped that with Black Crag’s help, and with the support of loyal nobles like Abelard, Esmere would be able to defeat the groups of rebels one at a time.

Alec decided that he didn’t trust Abelard, though he kept that to himself, seeing how Caitlen almost worshipped the man. Something about the man, a repulsive sense of self-confidence, irritated Alec.

They found a room at an inn for a reasonable rate, and Alec used his healing power as he did every evening to remove the saddle soreness they each felt. The travel by horse had been a blessing in Alec’s eyes. Caitlen rode well, and seemed at home on a horse. The journey was quick, the horses were intelligent, compliant animals who Alec treasured, and Caitlen seemed to have gained some boost in her personal confidence that made her a more pleasant companion, or perhaps she felt he had become a more reliable companion.

“
Can we eat something different tonight?” she asked unexpectedly as they carried their packs up to their room.

“
What do you have in mind?” Alec asked. He was used to travel food – hearty stew, fried meat, stale bread. It was consistent from tavern to tavern.

“
This is the last sizeable city we’ll stay in on the way to Black Crag. Eckerd is the gateway to the mountains and the wilderness and the caravan routes. Let’s have a fancy dinner to just let loose. We can go to a fine restaurant,” Caitlen said. “I won’t even mind the comments and the looks tonight; let’s just have fun!”

Alec knew what comments and looks she was referring to. Her silver hair had accomplished her intended goal. It did make her look older. She had not expected to start being mistaken for Alec’s mother, or someone old enough to be his mother. “How old are you Alec?” she had asked him indignantly on the third night after Valeriane.