Vankara (Book 1) (16 page)

“After you have
Dena,” Isabelle told me, placing the warm coin into my hand.  “You need to hold
this coin in the palm of your hand and say the words ‘invado amicus’.”

“What does that
mean?” I asked.  “What will happen?”

“Loosely
translated it means ‘Enter friends’.  It will be the spells cue to activate. 
After you say those words, whoever is holding one of the other coins will
automatically be transported to your location.”

“What if the
situation is more life threatening than we can imagine?”  I asked.  “Is there a
way to enchant it to bring me and whoever is touching me back to the palace
safely?”

“Hmm,” Isabelle
thought about that for a moment and slowly nodded.  “Yes, I believe I can do
that.”  She held her hand out to me.  I dropped the coin back into her palm.

“And you’re
positive this will work?” Fallon questioned, picking up one of the coins from
my desk and examining it with an undisguised expression of doubt.

“Test it if you
don’t believe me,” Isabelle challenged even though I could tell she was
completely confident in her spell casting abilities.

She handed my coin
back to me after casting another spell on it just as Fallon made his way out of
the study and into the hallway.

“Now if you need
to return to the palace simply say ‘domus’,” she instructed. “It will transport
you directly into this room.”

After I saw Fallon
close the study door behind him, I looked down at the silver coin embossed with
the first king of Vankara’s head and closed my fingers around it.

“Invado amicus,” I
whispered.

I felt a heavy
weight press against my chest pushing me backwards even before I saw Fallon
appear right on top of me.  Endowed with lightning reflexes, Fallon immediately
grabbed me around the waist with his arms and pulled me in towards him to keep
me from making a disgraceful heap of royal purple silk on the floor.

It was the first
time the two of us had ever been so close to one another.  Only now did I
notice his eyes were a dark blue, the color of the night’s sky when the moon
hides behind a cloud.  He was breathing hard washing my senses with the scent
of him.  He smelled of evergreen mint, a favorite candy of mine my mother and I
used to make as a special treat during the long winter months in Peony.

“Sorry, your
majesty.”  As Fallon’s eyes stared into mine, the tense expression I had become
so used to seeing on his face softened.  There was even a hint of a smile at
one corner of his lips.

“You can let go of
me now, Marshall Fallon,” I said, gently pulling myself away from him, suddenly
feeling the moment was becoming far to intimate.  “Thank you for catching me.”

Fallon hesitated
for a moment before letting me out of his arms.  When I returned my attention
to the others in the room, I noticed they had all taken in the scene with
differing points of view.  Inara was grinning at me with a delicate eyebrow of
interest raised in my direction.  Aleksander had his arms crossed in front of
him with a brooding look of displeasure on his face and poor Isabelle’s cheeks
were flaming red from embarrassment.

“I should have
added a proximity incantation on the coins,” she said.  “Otherwise your rescue
party will be falling on top of one another.  I’m so sorry, your majesty.  If
you’ll just give me your coin, I’ll fix the problem.”

After Isabelle
adjusted the spell on the coins, we had nothing else to do but wait for Adam
Bellas to make his next move.  I was just thankful we had a plan which
satisfied everyone’s needs.  It was the first time I felt hopeful we could
indeed rescue Dena and incarcerate Bellas all at the same time.

Fallon took the
remaining coins from the study and deposited them into one of the front pockets
of his coat.

“If you’ll excuse
me,” he said to us.  “I’ll take these coins to some of the guards and warn them
to be prepared for the teleportation to happen at anytime.  I’ll return as
quickly as I can.”

About half an hour
later, Fallon strolled back into the study, but he wasn’t alone.  Following in
behind him was a male automaton.  It was dressed in a simple pair of brown
paints with a brown tweed jacket over a white shirt and a brown derby hat
perched securely on his head.

“We have a
messenger from Adam Bellas,” Fallon announced. 

The automaton
walked straight into the study and did not stop until he was standing in front
of my desk.

“Greetings, Queen
Emma,” it said in a soft, gentle voice, one you would imagine a kindly old
grandfather having.  “Your presence is requested by my Master.  If you would
kindly follow me, I will take you to your daughter.  You are not allowed to
bring anyone but Mr. Thomas Gaines.  If you do not comply with my requests, my
Master makes the most sincere promise you will never see your daughter again.”

The threat was
made so pleasantly, it took a moment for it to sink in.

I stood from my
chair.

“Have Thomas
brought to the front of the palace, Marshall.”  I looked into the black,
emotionless eyes of the automaton.  “I’m ready.”

“Please follow
me,” the automaton did an about face and headed back out the study door.

“Wait a minute,”
Fallon said to the machine, but it appeared once set in motion to complete its
task, the automaton wasn’t allowed to stop.

Seeing this, I
rushed from behind the desk, pushing past everyone to follow the machine into
the hallway.  I vaguely heard Fallon tell the guards standing outside the study
door to fetch Thomas.

“Emma, wait a
second,” Fallon said from the doorway. I couldn’t risk stopping and losing
sight of the automaton.  While keeping the brusque pace set by the Bellas’s
messenger, I glanced in Fallon’s direction as he jogged into place by my side. 
He was undoing the buttons on his coat.  In a matter of seconds he had it
undone and shrugged off his shoulders.

“Take this,” he
told me handing me his leather jacket.  “It’s cold outside and there’s no
telling where this thing is taking you.”

“Thank you, Marshall.”  I took the offered coat slightly caught off guard by his uncharacteristic show
of caring for my welfare.  Outside the entrance to the palace, a multitude of
guards were standing around an odd iron coach. 

The carriage was
led by two mechanical horses made of iron.  On top of the passenger compartment
was a intricately designed sphere which reminded me of a spider’s web.  Within
the sphere was a ball of some material which glowed scarlet and seemed to hang
in the air with no discernable means of suspension.

“Stand aside!”
Fallon ordered gruffly.  Without any hesitation, the guards obstructing our
path scrambled to get out of the way.

The automaton
never slackened his stride and took the driver’s seat at the front of the coach
taking up the reins to the iron horses.  Fallon unlatched the door of the
carriage and held his hand out to me to help me inside just as two guards drug
a startled Thomas Gaines out of the palace.

“I don’t like
this,” Fallon whispered to me, mirroring my own thoughts.

“I’ll be fine,” I
replied in an attempt to reassure him and myself. 

As Thomas was
about to enter in after me, Fallon grabbed the man’s arm roughly and forced the
traitor in our midst to look at him.

“If you let
anything happen to her, you’ll have me to answer to.”  The vehemence in
Fallon’s voice sent chills up my spine even though the threat wasn’t directed
at me.

Thomas simply
nodded his head in recognition that he had heard Fallon’s warning.

Thomas climbed
into the interior of the coach and Fallon latched the door closed behind him as
he sat in the seat directly across from me.  The coach lurched into motion. 

“I’m sorry.”

I looked over at
Thomas’ dejected form and could tell he truly was contrite for the messy
situation he had played a major role in, but his apology simply didn’t matter
to me.

“I could care less
whether or not you’re sorry for what you’ve done,” I told him, not attempting
to hide the contempt I felt for him.  “I can never forgive you for endangering
Dena’s life, no matter how just you thought your actions were.”

“You have to
believe me,” he begged, the strain of being labeled a traitor digging even
deeper into the lines on his face.  “I had no idea he would do something like
this!”

“I do believe
you,” I told him.  “But it doesn’t change the fact you betrayed me.  You
betrayed my trust, Thomas.  It’s not something you can earn back.  You’ll have
to stand trial for the treason you’ve committed.”

“But if I’m found
guilty, they’ll lock me up in Gromstrand for the rest of my life,” he
protested.

“It’s a better
alternative than what I had in mind for you earlier this evening,” I reminded
him.

“Would you really
have done that to me?  To my family?  After all the years of service I’ve given
to the Vankars?”  He asked as if I were the one who was betraying him.

“You had
information I needed.  I would have done whatever it took to get it out of
you,” even I was surprised by the coldness in my voice.

“You’ve changed,
my Queen.” His words brought me up short. 

“I do what I have
to do,” I replied.  “You should never underestimate the lengths a mother will
go to for her child.  If I have to kill a hundred men with my bare hands to
find her, I suggest you run as far from me as your legs will carry you.”

Thomas was silent
after that.  I suppose he decided it was better to not test my dwindling
patience with him any further.  Spending the rest of his life in Gromstrand
seemed like a small price to pay for his actions.  If I found Dena physically
harmed in anyway, I would make sure those responsible paid in kind.  I would be
hard pressed to find any sort of forgiveness in my heart for any of them.

Chapter 10

I barely had time
to wonder where our autonomous driver was taking us before I heard the distinct
clank of metal grinding against metal come from the top of the coach.  I could
only assume it was the large webbed globe above our heads spinning.  The
whirring sound grew louder and louder until it formed a high pitched note I
felt sure would shatter any glass within a hundred yard radius of us.  Thomas
and I both covered our ears with our hands but that action only muffled the
noise a fraction. When I looked over at Thomas, the fear I saw in his eyes told
me he had about as much of an idea as I on what was happening.

At the crescendo
of the deafening noise, there was a loud clap, similar to thunder but more
concise, less drawn out.  A blue, blinding incandescent light filled the coach
but only for a few seconds, like it was simply passing by not having time to
stay for further evaluation.  Afterwards, complete silence filled the iron box
we sat in causing me to wonder if I had gone deaf.  A second later I heard the
distinctive clip clop of the iron horse’s hooves on the cobblestone pavement
outside.

“Any idea what
that was all about?” I asked Thomas as we both cautiously lowered our hands
from our ears.

“No, your
majesty,” he said with a shake of his head, eyes wide in uncertainty.  “I
couldn’t even hazard a guess.”

We sat in silence
for what had to be ten minutes before the carriage finally came to a stop.  The
latch to the coach door was turned from the outside and swung open.  It was
only then I noticed the door had no interior handle.  It could only be opened
from the outside.

Our automaton
driver stuck his derby covered head inside.

“If you would
please exit the coach and follow me,” he said before standing back to allow us
room to do as he instructed.

Thomas was the first
to step out of the coach and lent me his hand as I tried to maneuver my body
and petticoat ladened dress out of the small hatch door.  It seemed like
getting in had been a lot simpler than getting out was proving to be.

As I stepped out
onto the street, I had a vague sense of déjà vu.  Within seconds, I knew
exactly where we were.  It was the same cobblestone street I had lived on as
April Pew.  I quickly looked up the street of brownstone and iron homes around
us.  The Pew’s home was located only a couple of houses down from where we
stood.  The lights were on in most of the rooms and I saw a shadowy figure pass
by one of the third story windows.  It was the same room I had once occupied as
April Pew.

“This way please,”
our escort instructed as he headed up the steps to the home in front of us.

As soon as we
entered the dwelling, I could smell the faint aroma of shortbread cookies
baking, presumably back in the kitchen.  The home was laid out just like the
Pew home had been.  The entryway led off to a drawing room.  A set of stairs
was built against the left wall leading up to the second floor where the dining
area should be.  The third floor would be the location of at least four
bedrooms.

The automaton
walked straight into the drawing room and announced, “The Queen is here to see
you, Master.”

As I walked into
the room, I saw a tall man with tousled pitch black hair leave his post by the
fireplace and walk towards me.  He was younger than I expected, somewhere in
his mid twenties.  His black hair was cut short and closely cropped to his
head.  A pair of comforting green eyes complemented a friendly, open face which
I would have considered handsome at any other time if it wasn’t for the fact
this was the man who was holding my daughter hostage.  As he approached me, his
eyes narrowed on me for a fraction of a second, as if he saw something about me
which surprised him.  He quickly recovered and stood in front of me with one of
his hands held out as if this were a congenial meeting.

“It’s a pleasure
to finally meet you face to face, Queen Emma.”

I looked down at
his hand observing it like I would a viper in the wild, keeping my arms stiffly
at my sides.  Bellas lowered his hand seeming to understand I wasn’t about to
pretend things were normal between us and go through the pretentious motions of
societal pleasantries.