First Rules (Sisters of Andlusan Book 2)

by Andie M. Long

  “No, he is still in there.” Mercy answered.

  “I will go and see what’s happening.”

  Mercy shook her head. “He said he should not be disturbed and would come out in due course.”

  “But-”

  “No, buts. That’s what he said and that’s what we will do.”

  It was the first time since our coronation that Mercy had sounded like the Queen she now was and I saw our uncle’s shoulders drop as he acquiesced. “You are right. This is not my area of expertise.”

  “Nor mine, Uncle River.” Mercy shook her head. “The first day of our rule, I expected us to be lying in bed with sore heads, exhausted from dancing; not dealing with a threat to our safety.”

  “It frustrates me. Threats with swords and pistols I can manage. Sorcery, I cannot.”

  “You have dealt with the guard who witnessed the incident, put extra security at the gate, and you are here now, Uncle River. We can’t ask for any more.” I told him.

  I needed to tell Mercy about my dreams and fears but I didn’t want to do it in front of our uncle, so for now I would have to once again bite my tongue.

  For now, we could only wait.

  “So I told Aaron last night that he was to become staff of the Royal Court, managing the stores and bringing them up to date, and I may have let slip about Billy being given a post as a historian.” Mercy looked at her feet.

  “Mercy! That was to be announced in the coming days!” River scolded her. “We haven’t even fully agreed it with the council yet!”

  She put her hands over her mouth and widened her eyes before dropping her hands to her lap. “I know. I’m so sorry. It was the celebration and drink. It all made me too giddy and I couldn’t help myself.”

  “So, what was his reaction?”

  Her blush told me far more than I needed to know. Luckily, our uncle didn’t seem to notice it.

  “He was very pleased. Especially with it meaning more time spent at the palace.”

  Our uncle didn’t miss that insinuation though.

  “He will be here to work, and you will be doing your duties as ruler of The Winter Court. Any time spent at the palace together needs to be outside of working hours, young lady.”

  Mercy looked at him, schooling her face into an icy expression although her eyes twinkled with mischief. “What I decide shall stand as the Queen.”

  River laughed. “Nice try, niece, but while you are queen and I will bow to your official role, I am still your uncle. You might be an adult and eighteen now, but I will always be your overprotective uncle and I don’t intend to change.”

  “That’s you told.” I laughed.

  Mercy’s expression changed to one of amusement and she looked at River fondly. “Good, we don’t want you to change.”

  “I’m glad. You have both embraced the Wiccan arts. You might turn me into a hound or something.”

  “Hmmmm, now there’s a thought.” I joked.

  The jovial conversation had given us a welcome reprieve from the events of the morning, but then the door to the room containing Cassie and Lord Thomas opened and Lord Thomas stepped out closing the door behind him.

  “Are we able to talk freely?” He looked around.

  “Yes, there’s just us.” River nodded.

  Lord Thomas nodded back in acknowledgement, moved forward and took a seat beside us. “It is as I feared. There is nothing at all to suggest a death of natural causes, or for that matter, one of poisoning, or any other murder. The body shows all the signs of a soul draining.”

  “But why would anyone do such a thing?” Mercy asked.

  Lord Thomas shook his head, “I don’t know. That’s why we need the necromancer.”

  River’s forehead creased. “Is this connected with the return to the old ways? We only announced it yesterday and we’re already having to summon a necromancer and raising dead spirits in the palace. I must note my reservations at all of this.”

  “I understand completely.” Lord Thomas said. “But you must understand that magick has been practised since the ban, just behind closed doors. It has never gone away. So I find it hard to believe that this is connected to the lifting of the ban. It could be a protest at the new queens, but again, why after the coronation? Surely a protest would have been better beforehand?”

  There was a knock at the outer suite door and River went to open it. Isaac followed him back in.

  “Have you learned anything?” Lord Thomas asked him.

  “Just that she was seen in the village until early evening and then she told her friend she didn’t feel well and was going home. I’ve told her friend that Cassie was taken ill near the palace and we are treating her. I don’t want to announce her passing yet, not until we have more information.”

  We all agreed.

  “So, Tor, the necromancer is outside. Personally, I think the sooner we get to ask questions the better.”

  And this was it. Once this Tor person spoke to the spirit of the deceased, I might know whether I was connected to the problem or not.

  “Then let’s begin.” I told him.

  Tor was a small wisp of a man. He looked around sixteen, but was actually a decade older than that. His hair was short and bright red, his skin pale. Indeed, he dashed around in a way I imagined a mischievous pixie would. We stood at the back of the room containing Cassie. When I’d first walked in, I was pleased to find that Lord Thomas had closed her eyes and she just looked asleep. My heart went out though to the young woman whose life had been ended by another within my kingdom. I would do all I could to avenge her death once I knew what we were dealing with.

  Tor moved with haste around Cassie’s body, muttering incantations under his breath and moving his hands in the air over the top of her body.

  “What is he doing?” I whispered to Isaac.

  “Ensuring that the body and anything within it stays on the bed.” Isaac responded, making an icy shiver travel down my spine.

  When Tor stopped, he nodded his head at us. “It is time. I will ask the spirit to come and indicate when you can ask your questions, but ask wisely because the spirit will not be able to stay for long.”

  “Lord Thomas. You ask your questions first, in case the spirit tires.” I told him.

  “Thank you, Queen Leatha.” He turned to look at us. “If you could all stay at the back and observe.”

  Lord Thomas walked to the foot of the bed standing to the right-hand side. Tor was at the left towards the top of the bed. “Okay, Tor. Let’s begin.”

  “Spirit of the deceased. We now call you here to this protected room. We wish you no harm. Cassie Louisa Raglan please wake.”

  Cassie shot up in the bed, her eyes shining white orbs and I swear I almost died myself of fright. Judging by the fingernails currently half-embedded in my arm, my sister had had a similar reaction. Pale blue light shone around the body showing where the wards were keeping her in place.

  “Cassie. Could you tell us how you died?” Lord Thomas asked simply.

  The voice that came out was monotone. “I took a drink and felt unwell. I decided to return home. Then voices. Voices told me to let go. To give my body up to-”

  Her eyes turned black as night and bloody tears ran down her face. The wards flashed as she leapt from the bed and hit them.

  “I will return.” She stared right at me. “I grow stronger.”

  Mercy was being comforted by our uncle, but I stood stock still staring at the figure. I moved closer. I could feel Isaac’s hand at my elbow.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “Leatha, you know exactly who I am. You were the one who brought me here.”

  Cassie laughed, an unholy malevolent screech and then her eyes closed, and her body fell to the floor.

  Chapter Seven

  Leatha

  “What just happened?” Mercy’s voice was an anguished squeak. “What did it mean ‘you brought me here’?”

  “Let us allow Tor to close the spirit rising and then let
Isaac and myself perform some other magick. After, might I suggest we meet in the ballroom on the East Wing and discuss all this further?” Lord Thomas said.

  “Yes. That sounds wise.” River answered. “Come on, my nieces, we shall make our way there now.”

  From my uncle’s tone it was clear that he wanted answers from me, and he wanted them right now.

  “Why didn’t you tell us any of this earlier?” River’s tone was full of frustration.

  “I tried to tell Mercy, but you entered the room.”

  “Since when did you start keeping secrets from me, Leatha? How am I supposed to protect you, look after you, if you don’t tell me when there’s a problem?”

  I slumped in my seat. “I’m sorry, Uncle River, but I didn’t know then that there was one. I was just going to raise my concerns with Mercy and ask her advice, but I did think what I was experiencing was just a bad dream, a flashback to my time trapped, a time I can’t recall. It wasn’t until Cassie, or the entity within her, said it was me that I knew for sure.”

  “So now Andlusan has upon it an evil entity and we don’t know what it wants.” River sighed, rubbing at his temple.

  ‘I’m here and I’m waiting, watching, for an opportunity to unleash my hell on Andlusan’. The words ran through my mind, but I decided I’d wait until Lord Thomas and Isaac were here before I shared this nugget of information.

  Thirty minutes later we were joined by the others. “Tor has left and assures us that Cassie’s body is now free. What was within has now moved on. I have arranged for the body to be collected and burial shall be arranged in the usual Andlusan way.” Lord Thomas said. Our way was to take the ashes of the deceased to the Great Mountain of Ice where they were sprinkled in a lake at the top, so that the deceased could pass back to Winter and its elements.

  “Now, I suggest, Queen Leatha, that you tell us everything. As much as you can remember.”

  So I did. I told them that I still remembered nothing about being trapped within the planes, except that feeling of unease which passed after bathing, but that since then I’d had the dreams of the unknown entity who told me I’d brought it here. That it was watching and waiting to unleash hell on Andlusan.

  “So you see, it said my return to the past gave it its future.”

  Isaac sighed. “It would appear, in my opinion, that whatever was in the planes with you hitched a ride. The problem we have is that we don’t know who or what it is.” He stroked at his chin. “Lord Thomas and myself are going to need some time to study this and to come up with a plan of action.”

  “So what do I do?”

  Isaac looked at me. “Just rule your kingdom as normal. Until we come back to you.”

  “You heard the man.” Uncle River rose to his feet. “We need to call a council meeting and then tell those boys of Lord Thomas’ that they have new roles in the palace. Officially.” He side-eyed my sister who looked contrite. “You have learned one important lesson about the rule of a Queen, and that is that whatever happens, life as the ruler goes on.”

  And with that, we left.

  Days passed. I had no more dreams. Billy and Aaron had been given their new roles and were settling in to daily life at the palace. I knew my sister had seen Aaron on a couple of occasions in an evening, but tonight was the first night since our coronation that I was getting to spend any time with Billy. He arrived at my chambers after his working day was finished, looking awkward and not at all like the Billy I knew on Earth.

  “Come in.” I beckoned him.

  He shook his head vehemently. “It is not within royal protocol for me to enter the Queen’s chambers.”

  I huffed exasperated. “Billy. It’s just you and me. Please can we just act like we did before?” By before, I meant on Earth, but it wasn’t something I could say out loud. The rest of Andlusan thought Dawn and her children had been banished to another court, not another place entirely. Earth was a thing of myth, with gossip and the appearance of items purported to being from there, but with no actual proof as to its existence.

  “But it’s not just you and me is it, Thea?” Thea was the name I’d used on earth. “Here I’m a newly appointed Lord and you are the Queen. The Queen of Andlusan, of the Winter Court. A woman who shall be expected to marry someone of her own worth. A royal from another court. Here everything is entirely different.”

  “I don’t want it to be. I hate it. Don’t you understand that? It’s why I travelled to Earth in the first place. This court had become my prison, and now it’s doing it again.” I felt my jaw clench and my shoulders tighten, while my hands fisted together. “You showed me I could just be me, Thea. Just a simple girl who wanted to live life.”

  Billy looked defeated as he stood before me. “But that’s not who you are here, Queen Leatha.”

  “Don’t call me that!” I yelled. And with a spike of temper, I shut the door of my chambers in his face.

  I threw myself onto the bed sobbing, until exhaustion took me over.

  “Oh, Queen, does your first rule not go so well?

  It’s the start of your descent to hell.

  I will rule and you will fall.

  Then as should be, I’ll have it all.”

  I woke with the voice reverberating in my head.

  “Get out. Get out. Get out.” I screamed as loud as my lungs would let me.

  Ramona rushed in, a panicked expression on her face.

  “Leatha, what is it? Another bad dream?”

  “Yes.” I wept. “I’m so tired, Ramona. I just want to sleep, uninterrupted with no bad dreams.”

  She hesitated as if debating something within herself.

  “My mother practised herb lore and healing spells. I shall make you another tincture.”

  “The sleeping draught? It was magick?”

  She nodded.

  I grasped her arm. “Then please, make it me every single night until I find out what is causing these nightmares and stop them.”

  “Okay, Leatha. Let me go prepare some now.” She did, and I drank it greedily, almost burning my tongue in my haste to get a return to peace in my mind.

  Then Ramona left me, and I had hours of blessed relief from torment.

  Chapter Eight

  Leatha

  There was no meeting this morning. The council were busy with their own work. Feeling rested, but bad about what had occurred with Billy, I decided to go and visit Dawn and ask her advice.

  The Mandrakes (they had all returned to their original surname on return) lived in royal accommodation within the village. The house was small given that Lord Thomas had lived there alone, and I decided one of the things I would discuss with Dawn was a possible move to a larger property.

  In order for me to be left alone, my guards had to be allowed in to inspect the property. Once this was done they stood down outside the building.

  “I’m sorry about that.” I told Dawn. “It’s all very wearisome.”

  “Are you okay, Thea? You look troubled.”

  I’d never really had any type of deep conversation with Billy’s mother. More she’d fed me and hovered when I was in the house with Billy, but now I needed a mother figure of my own more than ever. I slumped down at her table while she passed me a drink of sweet tea.

  “Since I got here, I’ve barely seen Billy. Yesterday, he came to my room and we had a fight. He wouldn’t enter my chambers, because of protocol. Life was so easy on earth, Dawn. I just don’t know what to do.”

  Dawn placed her hand on top of my own. “Life wasn’t easy on earth, Thea. You had your problems there too. You’re looking at things through rose-tinted spectacles. You were just made Queen. It’s bound to be a frustrating time of change and adjustment, and Billy, well, he’s just reunited with his father, and has to settle in a place with none of the things he’s used to, like his gaming equipment and his mobile phone. You should have seen his face when I suggested he read!” She laughed, and it broke the tension as I laughed back. “Just give him time, sweetheart, and g
ive yourself time too.”

  I sighed. “You’re right. I just want things back to how they were between us.”

  “I’m sure they’ll get there, but I doubt you’ll be the same two people. You’ll need to find a new way of being together that takes in both your statuses.”

  “I shall meet him away from the palace and show him around Andlusan. That shall be a start.”

  Dawn smiled. “That sounds like a good idea. Go and have fun. That’s what you two had together before; that’s what you need to find again. More fun, less formality, and you’ll both find your way back to each other, I’m sure.”

  I took a deep exhale. “Thank you, Dawn. Or should I say Lady Mandrake?” I winked.

  Dawn laughed. “And that also is taking some getting used to.”

  “Are you beginning to settle in though?”

  “Yes.” She nodded, but there was something in her eyes, something she wasn’t telling me. I wouldn’t press, but I hoped whatever it was settled, or she found she could confide in me with time. It was then I realised that I’d come here as her son’s girlfriend, as she’d known me on Earth, but Dawn was well aware that here I was also the Queen, and that had placed an unwanted barrier between us, despite our best efforts to avoid it.

  “Well, I’d better return to the palace. Thank you for the tea and for the very sensible advice. I shall find your son and apologise for my temper tantrum.”

  “He’ll have forgotten it already, and if he hasn’t, blame your menses. That’s what I do and then he just pulls a face, places his hands over his ears and tells me to forget it.”

  I laughed again and then we both jumped as we heard a commotion outside the window. I leapt forward to find a guard holding a woman, a placard at her feet.

  Another guard entered the property.

  “Please stay back and away from the window until we have dealt with the current situation.” He said.