by Renee Carr
Ivy shot out of the door and took the stairs two at a time back up to the palace. She didn’t particularly care about the cook’s job. She was sure that he did it, however competently. What she did care about, however, was the fact that the ships had food and now they didn’t, which likely meant that they had been compromised.
When Nathan heard the news, he agreed.
“We have to pull them out of the air,” he said. “Every guard worth their salt is on there, including Leah and Joshua. They can’t keep flying...”
“They have to,” she said. “If someone is on to them, they will know if they turn around and give up. That’s what they want, Nathan. But our troops, they don’t give up.”
“Ivy, if my brother...”
“Hey,” she grabbed his hands and looked into his eyes. “Hey. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. But we have to figure out a backup plan down here.”
“Which will be?” he asked and she tried to think.
“The witches,” she said. “The witches gathered outside the palace doors.”
“You think they are going to help?” he asked. “They only ever listened to Cory. They only ever cared about Cory.”
“I know,” she said. “So that’s why they will help. Ultimately, this is all about Cory, isn’t it?”
“It is...” Nathan said. “But I don’t think that... I just don’t think they will care about Joshua’s fate. He’s made an enemy of the witches and the only reason they haven’t slaughtered him is because of Cory. So the witches will likely let Joshua meet his maker, and try to save Cory himself.”
“Oh my Creator,” Ivy put her head in her hands for a moment. “Can’t we all be united in a common cause?”
“Perhaps,” Nathan said. “But I don’t think that cause is going to be today.”
“I have to try,” she said. “Why are you fighting me on this? What harm could trying do?”
“What if it’s the witches who... wanted Cory?” he asked. “What if...”
“Nathan, you are being so paranoid!” she cried. “You have to trust someone.”
“I know,” he said. “I know, I just...”
“Forget it,” she said. “I got it. I got it.”
She rushed out the door, leaving her husband standing there in shock. Every day, it seemed Nathan’s mind was slipping deeper into the darkness that he spoke about with John, and it scared her. She was supposed to be his partner, not his assistant. And yet, it seemed she was constantly running to fix something that he could not.
Ivy reached the palace gates quickly. She realized that she had no idea how to tell the regular supporters from the witches, and so she tried the blunt approach.
“I am Queen Ivy!” she cried out to those who didn’t recognize her. “I am Queen Ivy and I demand the witches attend to me. As queen of the magical kingdom, this is my right.”
“You are human,” a voice from behind her said.
She spun around and saw that there was a witch standing right in front of her. Ivy never liked witches; there was something about them that made her shiver. Tall and almost emotionless, they never seemed to fully process what was in front of them. Ivy knew that they belonged to the magic more than they belonged to their human forms, but it was still a bit odd to see them.
“I am human,” she said. “But you are loyal to Prince Cory, who is my brother-in-law, and he is in danger. Will you do nothing to help?”
“We have offered help,” the witch hissed. “Time and time again. But your king will not accept...”
“I will speak for the king now,” Ivy said, drawing herself up to her full height. “So you tell me what you want to do and I will do it.”
She knew Nathan would not like her speaking for him, especially in such a delicate situation. But at this moment, she was pretty sure that Nathan was not capable of making such a big decision. As the witches spoke to her, Ivy saw their plan form in her head. They wanted to use magic; they wanted to track Cory, and they wanted permission to slaughter anyone who got in their way. She knew they could be bloodthirsty, and she knew Nathan would not like it. But this seemed like the only way to get answers, especially with Joshua potentially hijacked.
“Fine,” she said at last. “You do what you have to do.”
“Did you hear us?” the one witch asked. “There will be no prisoners and no mercy for those who try to stop us.”
“I heard you,” Ivy said. “And you do you.”
The witches huddled together for a moment and then turned back to her. She thought they were going to say something else, but instead, they surprised her and bowed deep and low. Ivy had never had the witches bow to her as queen, except when forced.
“Thank you,” she said. “Don’t make me regret those permissions.”
There was a brief wave of magic and then they vanished before her very eyes. She found herself once again standing in a line of protesters, well-wishers, and doomsday sayers.
“Weird,” Ivy said and turned, heading back to the palace. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say to Nathan when she got in there, but she prayed that he would understand exactly why she had to do it.
She didn’t expect to find Nathan pale as a sheet, receiving communication from one of the generals.
“What is it?” she asked, fearing the worst. “Is it Cory? Did they find him?”
“No,” Nathan turned to her. “But Joshua’s ships have vanished from the radar.”
“I’m sorry, what now?” she asked. “They’ve... vanished? As in disappeared into thin air? Have they crashed?”
“The generals don’t know,” Nathan said. “All they know is that they’ve lost communication.”
“This has to do with the food supply,” Ivy said. “Joshua wouldn’t just turn off communication. Someone has gotten onto his ship.”
“You know what this means, Ivy,” Nathan said and Ivy raised an eyebrow.
“What?” she asked. “Aside from disastrous things?”
“If Joshua is gone, and Cory is gone... that’s it. This line is over.”
“The line isn’t over,” she said, looking him squarely in the eye.
“Ivy,” he said in a way that scared her. “It will be.”
He didn’t say anything more, but Ivy felt rocked to her very core in a way she hadn’t ever felt. She took a deep breath and wished desperately for a drink. She knew that he was shaken by this, but this was a frightening way to show it.
“Okay,” she said. “Listen. Joshua is on the case, whatever is happening, and Cory is strong, and he’s got the witches to back him. What you and I need to do right now is rule this kingdom until they can come back and take the work off our shoulders.”
“If they come back,” he said, and Ivy squeezed his hand, looking into his eyes.
“They will,” she assured him. “They will.”
Chapter 14
“I can’t believe that we fell for this,” Leah grumbled, mostly to herself. She wasn’t about to admit to the troops that she was an idiot, but she would certainly tell Joshua and Christine exactly what she felt. “We should have turned back. We should have...”
“Leah, there was nothing we could do,” Joshua said, very calmly. She had no idea how he was so calm, given that he usually lost his mind over the smallest things. “We were sure that the ships that weren’t supplied with food had been compromised. We moved to the one ship that we were sure wasn’t compromised and the radar went down, so we landed.”
“This was a trap,” Leah shook her head. She had no idea where they were, some Creator-forsaken planet that she was sure no one lived on. “I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and you know what that usually leads to.”
“I think it’s fine,” Christine said beside them in a quiet voice. “Isn’t it? I mean...”
“No,” Joshua said, turning to her. “It’s certainly not fine. We couldn’t do anything about it, but Leah is almost certainly right. This is a trap of some kind, and we have walked right into it.”
“The question
is, what are we walking into?” Leah asked, looking around. The planet that they had landed on was almost pitch black, save for three moons above them. The air was cold, and they were standing as close to their ship as possible, with more troops than one ship should carry. “Who could have wanted us to land here? The wolves aren’t this smart.”
“They must have known what was happening,” Joshua said. “Someone from inside the palace could have leaked our location, our plans.”
“But who?” Leah asked him. “The government keeps things locked up tight. We can’t...”
“But there are many people on the government,” he pointed out and she sighed. She knew he was right, just as he knew she was. Even when they fought, she and Joshua were on the same page. They were trapped, and they would have to fight their way out. She at least felt safer knowing that she could see him, instead of being a ship apart.
Christine put a brief hand on Joshua’s shoulder, probably for comfort, and Leah found herself wracked with annoyance. She didn’t understand why this was happening, given than she had seen Joshua with half a hundred girls before. This really shouldn’t make a difference to her, but she was annoyed just the same.
She told herself that it was because she was sick, and getting sicker, it seemed. She felt terrible, even if she didn’t show it. She wanted comfort; she was clingy; she wanted to be around things that reminded her of the strength that she used to have. But it still didn’t explain how she felt every time Christine looked at Joshua with her wide eyes.
“We can’t fly without radar,” Joshua said, his eyes darting around. “And it’s possible that whatever is here has a scrap yard with spare parts. Let’s advance forward, in a small patrol, and see if we can uncover something.”
“I’ll go with you,” Christine said, and Joshua turned to Leah.
“Is that alright?” he asked, and she shook her head.
“Christine and I should go,” she said. “It’s safer for you by the ship...”
“Leah,” he said quietly. He didn’t want to air her issues in front of the troops, even though they could all see that their deputy captain was not in the peak of health. “If something happens to me out there, I have two brothers. There’s just you.”
She didn’t know why, but she felt a flush of pleasure when he said that.
“Christine and her troops should stay with me,” she said at last. “You should only take the experienced patrol with you.”
“Fine,” he agreed and she was glad that he didn’t put up a fight. “Stay safe, Leah.”
“You stay safe,” she said, meeting his eyes. A moment passed between them, a moment unlike any other. It made her shiver, and she looked away before the feeling intensified. Christine was clearly unhappy about being left behind, but she didn’t say a word about it. Joshua gathered the most experienced of the troops and headed off into the darkness, hopefully to return shortly.
Leah turned to the rest of the troops, trying to keep her voice even. She knew that idle troops were the devil’s work, especially when there was no space for them.
“Alright,” she said. “Listen up. Those of you who have experience in scent and tracking, form a patrol. We are going to investigate our surroundings and see if there is any trace of Prince Cory or wolves here. Those who have honed their skills in fire rings, we will need some warmth, and soon. In addition...”
Somehow, despite her rapidly swimming head, she managed to get them to form several small groups, utilizing most of their skills. Leah knew she had to keep them busy, or trouble would break out.
With each report back to her, however, she lost hope that this was where they were supposed to be. There was only darkness, with no scents and no trace of anything lifelike on the planet. If this was a trap, it was a damn bad one, because there was nothing to fight.
“I thought...” Christine said in a small voice when Leah had a spare moment. “I thought I could call my father, from the ship’s communicator.”
“What?” Leah spun around. “Why?”
“As an ambassador, he might have picked up any kind of foreign communication that might be threatening,” she said. “They have meetings just for that purpose, to try and keep peace between all the communities. I could at least ask? He should be in his office now.”
Leah sighed. It wasn’t a bad idea, even though she didn’t like giving away their position more than necessary.
“Call him,” she said. “It’s worth a shot, and there is a prince’s life on the line.”
“Alright...” Christine said, and then paused. “Captain... have I done something wrong?”
“What?” Leah asked, confused. “Not at the moment, why?”
“You seem annoyed with me,” Christine said. “And I thought that...”
“Christine,” Leah gritted her teeth. “I’m not exactly eager to talk about any of our personal issues right now. We have a job to do, and we need to be completely focused on it.”
“I know,” Christine said. “It’s just... I didn’t think there was any issue, with the captain. And I... I thought you and I...”
“I said I didn’t want to talk about any personal issues right now,” Leah said sternly, and Christine sighed, heading onto the ship to call her father.
Leah felt flushed, and she knew it was her fever returning, which made her stomach turn. She couldn’t be sick now, not when there was so much to do.
Christine wasn’t long inside and Leah straightened up enough to talk to her when she came out. Christine was pale, and from the look on her face, Leah could see that something had gone wrong.
“What is it?” she asked.
“My father...” she paused. “He hasn’t been in his office in a while.”
“What do you mean?” Leah asked. “How many days?”
“Turns out...” Christine swallowed. “Turns out he hasn’t been there since Prince Cory disappeared.”
“WHAT?” Leah asked. “How did we not know this? How did we...”
“Ambassadors come and go quite a bit,” Christine said. “It’s possible that no one noticed until now when I asked. They thought...”
“Was he doing any work with Prince Cory?” Leah asked, and Christine shook her hand.
“Not as far as I know,” she said. “He doesn’t tell me much, though. He just...”
“What did he tell you?” Leah demanded. She suddenly had a headache and she wished that Joshua would come back.
“He...” Christine said. “I’m sorry. My father hasn’t always been the biggest fan of the monarchy. He...”
“Christine, what are you telling me?” Leah asked. “Do you think he’s done something?”
The young warrior’s eyes filled up with tears and she nodded.
“Oh my Creator,” Leah put her head in her hands. “Did you have any indication that anything at all might happen?”
“No!” she said. “I just... I can’t believe that this is happening. I didn’t realize until they said he had been gone since the prince had been missing, I thought...”
“Go inside the ship,” Leah said. “And don’t come out.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong!” Christine cried, getting the attention of the rest of the troops. Leah felt like smacking her then and there.
“No,” Leah said. “You haven’t. But given the situation, I think it’s best that you step away.”
Christine, luckily, didn’t argue with her any longer.
Leah felt her heart skip several beats when she sensed Joshua coming back. She rushed forward as soon as it was appropriate, and was happy to see that he had a bag of parts in his hands.
“What did you find?” she asked, and Joshua grinned.
“It’s Christmas,” he said. “At least, it’s a slow Christmas.”
“You found the parts?” she asked.
“There was a ship graveyard,” he said. “About a mile east. And while that doesn’t bode well for us in terms of surviving, there were some of the old manual parts we need to fix the radar a
nd get us off the ground. One of the guys estimated about six hours because we have none of the tools.”
“Well, it’s something, at least,” Leah said, and Joshua cocked his head.
“Are you alright?” he asked her.
“Shouldn’t you be worried if your precious Christine is alright, all alone here?” Leah didn’t mean to snap at him, but her head was pounding and she honestly didn’t feel like she had the strength to tell him the whole story.
“Here, guys, take this onto the ship,” Joshua handed the bag to someone behind him and took Leah’s arm. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”
Strolling halfway into the darkness and only listening for trouble didn’t exactly make her feel more relaxed, but she followed him, half dragging her feet.
“What is the matter?” he asked her as soon as they were far enough away. “Are you unwell again?”
“I don’t feel fantastic,” she started. “But that’s not the half of it.”
As the story of Christine’s father tumbled out of her mouth, Joshua’s mouth fell open.
“Do you think she is involved?” he asked. “I never got any sense that...”
“To be honest, I really don’t think so,” Leah said. “She seemed shocked and she never struck me as a good actor. I just... it's a mess on top of a mess. I sent some patrols out to see if we could pick up any trace of scent, but there’s nothing here. I’m surprised you found a graveyard at all. I’m sorry, I was hoping to have more.”
“It’s okay,” he touched her arm. “It’s fine. My main concern, Leah, is that you are alright and we get out of this alive.”
Leah sniffled, wiping her nose. She wasn’t crying, but she felt like everything in her body was slowly turning to mush.
“Did you not want to go check on Christine?” she asked, and Joshua gave her a funny look.
“You’re not alright,” he said. “I’d rather deal with that first.”
“Yeah,” she shrugged and the two of them fell into silence, staring up at the moons that lit up the sky. “We should deal with everything else first.”
“Together,” he said, and took her arm. Leah felt her arm tingle when he touched it and her heart flutter. What was happening? Was she just ill, or was this trip out here an epiphany that she really didn’t have time for?
