The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (80 page)

As
she passed through the crowds, she spotted someone ahead in the
throng: a cloaked figure, their face shrouded in shadow. They
turned and stared at her and time seemed to slow. She felt fearful
of the figure and as they met her gaze, their eyes caught the light
and shone like a cat’s. Then, quick as a flash, the figure turned
and moved through the crowds again, delving deeper into the city.
Curious, in spite of her fear, Josephine followed them, pushing
past people. As quickly as she moved, the figure was always just
out of reach, turning corners just as she began to catch up with
them.

Eventually she watched as the figure disappeared into a
large, grey - metal building. She knew what it was from her
lessons: the old Citadel of Rina. Who would have known that her
teachings would have come in handy after all, despite her
resistance to them! Jewels were set into the metal structure at
regular intervals and as the light caught them they glittered at
her as she passed through the open doorway and into the building.
As she passed through the arch, the figure disappeared up a red -
carpeted stairway. Again, she followed.

As
she reached the top of the stairs, turning and looking each way
down the corridor in front of her, the figure was nowhere to be
seen. But she could hear noises, coming from her right, and so she
started to follow them. As she moved deeper and deeper into the
citadel, the noises grew deeper, and then, with a start, she
realised what the noises were and began to blush. They were noises
of passion, of embrace, and for a moment she stopped where she was,
shocked by what she still strained to hear. But then curiosity got
the better of her and she inched forward again, as the sounds of
heavy breathing grew louder. A closed door stood in front of her
and it seemed to pulse at her as she approached it. Reaching out
with her hand, she pushed it open. She gasped at what she saw, and
her eyes grew wide.

The figure she had pursued stood before her, the
cloaked shawl draped loosely down beneath her pale blue shoulders,
exposing her bosom. Fine, white hairs covered her pastel skin, and
she – for Josephine could
see
it was a female now – drew her head back in
pleasure as the figure of a human male drew forward and kissed her
chest beneath her neck. The female Akari’s face turned towards
Josephine now and smiled. Disturbed, Josephine stepped back. Then
the man looked up too and she knew
instantly
whom it was. She had seen that face
before,
so
many times throughout her life,
unmistakably
similar to the figure in the
portraits that lined her palace. It was King Alebran II, her
ancestor.

Suddenly the scene changed and the figures had moved to the
bed. But they were no longer shrouded in embrace. Instead the Akari
was on her back, bearing down in childbirth, and the king was by
her side, holding her hand tightly. Josephine watched in horrified
fascination, as a child emerged from her mother and was picked up
by the king. Then he began to walk towards Josephine, and she found
she could not move her feet as he came to her and presented the
child to her. Its skin was human - pink, but its hair a shocking
white and the eyelids were tinged with the blue of its
mother’s.

Josephine stared from the child to the king and then back to
the Akari female, who opened her mouth and spoke to her from the
bed she lay on.

“
Now
do you see?” she whispered.

Josephine had awoken in a sweat and threw off the
bedclothes. The images flocked her mind and for the rest of the
night she had simply lain on top of the covers, thinking of the
dream. Only, she was almost entirely sure that it was not just a
dream. She began to recount all she had been taught as a child, of
her family lineage, way back to the time when King Alebran II had
sat on the throne of Aralia. Not much was known of his wife and she
could not even recount her
name
, now she thought about it. But she remembered
being taught that his son, Elyas, had been known to be an
incredibly
sickly youth who
died at the age of sixteen, shortly after his own son was born to
the Princess of Olindia. And then the history of the next two
generations was marred by conflict, by the war with Helriven.
Little was left of the records of the reign of Aralia during those
times. Could it be though that in those ancient days her ancestor
had been a part - Akari? Was
that
the reason for her ‘gift’? And if so, then why did
her
father
not share the same ability?

A
knock at her door startled her out of her rumination and she let
the thread of the sheet drop from her fingers. She jumped out of
her thoughts to unlatch the lock. Thadius hobbled into the room. It
had been almost twelve days since they had fled Crystal Ember and
his leg had not healed one bit from their escape.

“
Thadius, what is it? It’s
very
late,” she sighed wearily.
“
Isn’t
it?”

“
It will be sunrise in less than an
hour
,” he said. “I could not sleep. I took a chance that
you
could not
either.”

She
smiled. “Well, you are correct about that. I didn’t realise the
time.”

“
Another bad dream?” he asked.

“
Something of that kind,” she said. “I will tell you later,
perhaps.”

“
I
beg your pardon for disturbing you.” He bowed to her, groaning
slightly as he tried to right himself again to salute.

“
I’ve told you not to
do
that!” Josephine scolded him, rising to
help him. “Come, sit.” She helped him over to a chair, which he
slumped into awkwardly, groaning against various bruises. She
sniffed a laugh. “I would have thought given how much we have
travelled these last few nights, from town to town, that you would
have been
quite
ready to
collapse
into bed!
Especially
with your leg.”

“
I can’t relax enough to sleep through,” he
advised. “Not when I know that you could be in danger. Who
knows
where that dragon
is now?”

“
We have been travelling for a good few nights and
have yet to spot any sign of him on our current path. But likewise,
we haven’t found any sign of Matthias or Luccius either.” She
sighed. “I feel like we are itinerant workers, jumping from place
to place in search of something that we may
never
find.”

Thadius exhaled and nodded solemnly. “We may have
to accept that they might not have made it out alive from Crystal
Ember.” He stared at his feet. “If that
is
the case, then we are chasing a fool’s
errand.”

She swallowed. “I’m not willing to accept their
fate yet Thadius. I
can’t
.”

He smiled thinly. “Of course. I understand that.
But where
do
we go next?” he asked.

“
To
the next town or village, of course,” she advised.

“
We have been to
six
towns with no luck,” Thadius said. “It is
ten
miles
to the next village. Can we continue to blindly dash from
place to place, with no other plan, when we should be doing
something about the dragon?”

“
I can’t do anything about Sikaris
without
Matthias!”
Josephine exclaimed.

“
Princess,
you
are the one with the power to stop him,
not
Matthias!” Thadius
responded.

“
But
he
is the one who gave me the strength to
use
it!” She stood abruptly and looked
out the window. The sky was beginning to lighten. “Without him, I
don’t know
what
to do.” Josephine grimaced and reached a hand to her
collarbone, massaging atop the cloth of her
dress.

“
Are
you alright princess?” Thadius asked, his brow
furrowing.

Josephine nodded. “It is just the marks where
Taico Grimm cut me with his nails. They have been a little
sore
the last few
days.”

“
You have been pushing yourself too
hard
princess,” Thadius
advised.

Josephine laughed. “Well if
I’ve
been pushing myself then gods know
how hard
you
have been working!” She shrugged. “I am sure I will be
fine. I will be better when we find Matthias and
Luccius.”

The
knight sighed and with a grunt, eased himself up off the chair.
“Very well Your Highness. We will leave after breakfast and go to
the next town. Maybe we will find some information about them.” He
walked towards the door. “I had better gather my things together
and prepare myself for the journey. It could take a
while.”

Josephine turned to him and smiled. “Thank you
Thadius.”

They
left an hour after sunrise. Josephine offered to carry Thadius's
bag, but he would have none of it as he shuffled along with his
leg. It took them most of the day to reach the next village, and it
was well into the afternoon as the smoke from the chimneys of a
small cluster of buildings became visible in the distance, and
another hour before they located the local tavern. It was a small,
cosy affair, like the village itself, and as they walked inside the
smell of lavender filled the nostrils. There was a woman cleaning
the glass window - pane and she turned and greeted them warmly. She
was of middling size, but with an ample chest and a freckled face.
A small amount of grey was mixed in with the brown in her
hair.

“
Welcome to the Traveller’s Rest!” she beamed.
“And
by
my
soul
, you certainly
look
like you are two travellers who could do with a
rest, if
ever
I saw some!”

“
Hello,” Josephine smiled. “A room and a hot meal
would be
most
welcome!”

The
woman beckoned to a table and they sat down. “You look like you
have been in the wars?” she addressed Thadius.

“
An
accident on the road, my good lady,” he replied.

“
Well, none of my business what a man gets up to, I
suppose! But I would put it up on a chair. I might have a
cushion
somewhere I could
spare for awhile.”

“
That would be very generous, but for the moment, I would
settle for a good meal,” he smiled back.

She nodded. “We have some meat pies waiting to be
eaten, and roasted
turnips
, if that would suit?”

“
I haven’t had a good pie in
months!
” Thadius grinned as he cradled his
booted foot.

“
Then you are in for a
treat!
I’ve been lucky enough to have obtained
some pepper to add to the mix! It’s not often I can say
that!
” the woman chuckled.

“
It sounds
lovely
,” Josephine said.

“
I’ll wager you could both do with a good drink
too, by the parched look on your faces? I have a beer for you my
good man and a wine for you, young lady.” Her face furrowed, as she
looked at the princess closer. “Why,
bless
my
soul!
” She exclaimed suddenly. “I almost can’t believe
my
eyes!
Why
did it not register straight away as you entered? Why, I
have
no
idea!”

“
What
is
it?” Thadius asked, sitting up warily.

“
Why, I’ve heard of coincidences in the past and no mistake,
but this is a new one on me!”

Josephine took a breath, restraining her annoyance at the
woman’s delay. “What coincidence is it that you speak
of?”

“
Why, just this
morning
a fellow came in asking after a girl of
exactly your age and description!”

Josephine’s eyes lit up. “A young man? With floppy hair and a
fine red coat?” she asked eagerly.

The woman shook her head. “Not a description I
would give to
this
man! Unless you have poor
eyesight
, that is!” She chuckled. “No, he was
an
elderly
gent. He walked with a cane, though it seems to me he had
no real
use
for it. He wore a fine coat though, if I do say so and
carried himself
quite
properly.” She indicated to her chin. “A great
beard
too, white and grey
and
very
deep - set eyes. Do you know him?”