Alex jumped on the bar counter. Taking in the sight before her, her tail twitched back and forth with displeasure. Standing at the bar were two rough-looking men in blue guard uniforms with a gold Pegasus crest on their chests. Alex narrowed her eyes as the fur stood up on her back, and her tail grew bushy. She knew that uniform well, and it had no business being in Winter Haven.
The tall, ugly guard with buck teeth studied Alex carefully. His partner, a short, rotund man with a receding hairline was leaning over the bar to talk to Jay.
“We'll take a bottle of whiskey at the far table barkeep.” he demanded smugly.
“I'm closed boys, don't they teach you how to read over in Crowning?”
The repugnant guard grabbed hold of Jay's shirt, pulling him in closer. While Jay maintained his cool, Alex could not contain herself and let out a loud hiss. Paying her no attention the guard pulled Jay in even closer, sticking a fist in his face.
“My friend here says you will serve us. Which means, you are going to serve us, no questions asked. If you try to refuse us one more time, we will burn this poor excuse of a tavern down to the ground and slit your filthy gray throat. Are we clear on that, peasant?”
With her anger boiling over, Alex could not restrain herself any longer. Jumping up she sank all her claws and a mouth full of sharp teeth into the tall man's arm. Letting go of Jay's collar, the guard wailed in agony. Waving his arm around, he tried to shake her off to no avail. The portly guard summoned a dagger and swung it at Alex, missing her and nearly hitting his friend. Letting go of the man's arm, Alex ran behind the bar as the tall man kicked in her general direction.
“What is with the stupid cat?” the guard screeched as he clung to his arm.
Jay bent down, scooping up Alex in his arms. Stroking her fur he pressed her closer to his chest.
“Sorry, just a stray that keeps coming around. Guess she really did not like you. Allow me to get you a drink, on the house, as an apology.”
“Fine. But keep that rabid beast away from me.”
With a nod, Jay headed back through the cottage door, Alex still pressed in his arms. Locking the door behind him, he placed her on the ground beside him.
Changing back to human form, Alex was still shaking from the anger. The nails of her clenched fists were cutting into the palms of her hands as Cosmo bumped her with his snout, attempting to calm her down.
“Crowning?” she said in a loud whisper “Who do they think they are coming into Manevia and demanding you serve them? They have no permission to be here.”
“Calm yourself sweetheart, or they'll hear you. That was a foolish thing you did back there, you know that, right?”
Jay wrapped his arms around Alex and brought her close to his warm body. She sunk her head into his broad chest and allowed herself to relax. The unnerving possibilities of what Crowning guards could be doing in Manevia continued to eat away at her. Manevia and Crowning had a rocky relationship build on mistrust, and she knew the guards were there illegally.
The two territories had a treaty in place since the time of the great war. Any Crowning resident, especially a guard or government official would need approval by her father before they could visit. Alex was confident that if there were to be visiting guard from Crowning, she would have heard of it, if not from her father, then from the servants. There was no way of getting around it, the guards were trespassing, and she needed to know why.
“I'm sorry, but you have to let me go back out there. I have to know what they are up to.”
“Hoink?”
“I second his opinion. You must have lost your mind entirely. What if you get hurt?”
“It will be all right Jay. As a cat, I can go places they can't reach. Plus, you will be right here if anything happens. But I have to know what they are doing here. Whatever their reasons are, they can’t be good.”
“You will not take no for an answer, will you?”
“Not a chance.”
Transforming herself back into a cat, Alex wove in and out of Jay's feet. With a groan, he shook his head and bend down to stroke her fur.
“Fine, but if you run into trouble, change back and yell for help. Got that?”
Rubbing up against his leg Alex let out a soft meow to assure him she understood what to do. Not convinced this was the best idea, Jay walked over to his pantry and dug up a dusty bottle of whiskey. Turning to Alex, he gave her a wink.
“Worst one I got.”
Heading back to the tavern, Jay swung open the door, and Alex darted out between his feet. She headed for the table the guards were sitting at while looking for a place to hide. As she ran by them, the guard she bit kicked in her direction. Effortlessly, Alex jumped out of the way and up to the beam above their heads. Settling down, she observed the two invaders down below with Cosmo settling in on her back.
Without saying a word, Jay placed two glasses and the bottle on the table, averting the guards’ gaze. Walking away from them, he headed back into the cottage, leaving the invaders to talk freely. The two men poured themselves drinks and looked up to eyeball the cat suspiciously. In response to the stares, Alex gave them a flick of her tail and let a paw drip down the beam as she lay down pretending not to have noticed them.
“Say, Conway, you think it's watching us?” said the homely guard
“Who?” Conway shot a glance up at Alex. “The stupid cat? You must be out of your bloody mind Emrick. So what if it is? What can it possibly do? It’s not like it will go tell the barkeep what we are up to, it's a darn cat.”
“I don't know. It feels like it's watching us.”
“Of course it's watching us, it's a cat. Now stop being stupid and grab a drink.” Conway took a swig out of his glass “I can't believe you are paranoid over some stray animal. Even if it could talk, what is a gray going to do about two pure-bloods? We’d have that barkeep gutted before he made it out the door to warn anyone.”
“All right, all right, don't get your knickers in a twist. I just don't want to be caught planning a coup on Rexham. This whole thing still doesn’t sit right with me. What makes Lord Dalton think he can get away with this?
“Rhee?”
Cosmo was not the only one concerned with their conversation. Alex too had perked up her ears and opened both eyes to look at the men closer. Now she was certain the two men were up to no good. Rexham was Manevia’s ally, and Alex was promised to Phillip, the son of Lord Marc Griffith of Rexham as a result. A coup within either of the territories was almost certainly a precursor to war within Vega.
“Don't worry Emrick, we have until the end of July to figure it out. And Lord Dalton is wise, he would not try unless he knew we could win.”
“Right. But why kill Phillip on Lady Alexandra’s birthday and blame it on Manevia’s resistance cell? I thought Lord Dalton wanted the princess all to himself.”
“He does, and he asked for her hand first. But that stubborn ox, Lord Hamilton refused. Instead, he allowed that troll Philip to be the one who beds Lady Alexandra. As long as Hamilton has the backing of Lord Griffith, Dalton stands no chance. He needs Vega in chaos if he is to claim what is rightfully his.”
“Roink…”
The fur on Alex's back stood up, and her whiskers twitched as the two men laughed and poured themselves another round of drinks. She should have guessed Dalton was behind this, he was Quinton's close friend and just loved to point out how lax her father was to the grays in Manevia. Lord Griffith would certainly wage war against them if his only child was murdered by the so-called resistance cell. And to think, all this because her father had refused to let him have her.
“So, Conway, how are we supposed to get close enough to kill him?”
“Lord Quinton will provide us with servant uniforms and let us in.” Conway took a giant swig of his whiskey, “Nothing says weakness like having resistance fighters on your staff.”
Upon hearing her brother's name being mentioned, Alexandra sat up on the
beam. She knew Quinton was ruthless, and power hungry, but would he be so calloused as to hurt father to get to the throne faster? She hated to admit it, but she could not put it past him to try, after all, his lust for control was immeasurable. Jumping down to a beam running along the wall, Alex fixed her gaze on the men at the table, committing their faces to memory.
“Are we going to slash his throat, Conway? Say we are going to slit his throat. You know how much I love slicing throats. And if we can get some of Philip’s blood on the sweet, innocent princess, all the better. I can just see the look of horror on her pretty little face as her fiancé drops dead before her.”
“No, Emrick, that would be too messy, even if the look on Lady Alexandra’s face would be priceless. Not to mention the guards of Manevia would stop us and it would reveal our true identities. We want this to be a clean as possible, so there are no questions as to who is responsible for the heinous crime.”
“Well damn, what are we supposed to do then?”
Conway reached into his breast pocket while looking around the room to make sure no one was watching and pulled something out. Alex wanted to get a closer look at what he was holding, but she couldn’t do it from up high. Hopping down to the floor, she slinked over under a nearby table. Looking up from her vantage point, she could see a small glass vial of dark purple liquid.
“We poison the bloomin' bugger.” Conway whispered with a smirk “This is pure Mothlack from the gland of the Death Moth I got here. It'll drop a man dead within seconds. Lord Hamilton always makes an opening toast on Lady Alexandra's birthday, we'll be serving the drinks, so all we have to do is slip this in and—”
“Once Philip drinks it, he'll drop dead,” Emrick interrupted with a stupid grin on his face. “That’s brilliant. No one would know what hit them.”
“Oink, oink.” Cosmo shook his head in disbelief. This was bad, not only for the country but for his mistress as well.
Beside him on the floor, Alex stared at the two guards in horror. If she could, she would have gagged at the dimwitted expressions on their faces, but instead, the fur just twitched on her back. Hidden under the table, Alex and Cosmo continued to watch the two men as they finished their drinks. Alexandra contemplated killing the two of them, right there and then, but that would have caused problems for Jay, so she sat there and waited for them to leave.
Finishing their last round of drinks, the two Crowning guards left Jay some changed and stumbled out drunk from the tavern. Alex hoped on the windowsill and watched them leave before turning back to her human form. Something had to be done about this plot, and unfortunately, she was the only one who could stop them. Knowing she would need Jay’s help, Alex turned and headed for the cottage door.
Chapter 17
A Ploy to Save a Prince
Back inside the house, Jay was sleeping on the sofa. His eyes opened as Alex burst through the door. Sitting up, he glanced over her frazzled appearance and knew something terrible had happened. Jay was not sure what he slept through, but he was hoping the two of them didn’t have any dead bodies in the tavern to dispose of.
“They leave?”
“Yes,” Alex breathed out much to Jay’s relief, “although I thought the two of them would stay here all night.” She looked at Jay earnestly, not sure if she wished to drag him into this. “Say, Jay, you were a doctor's assistant. So, do you know anything about poisons?”
“Yeah, some of them. Why?”
“What do you know about Mothlack?”
“It's nasty stuff. They make it from the extract of the rare Death Moth. As far as I know, it has no antidote as it will melt your insides in seconds. But since the Death Moth lives in the veil and rarely cross into our realm, it’s extremely tough to come by. An ounce of the stuff will cost you a pretty penny.” Jay studied Alex’s expressions “Why do you want to know?”
“They plan to kill Lord Philip on my birthday, blame the resistance, and plunge Vega into a war.”
“What?” Jay suddenly felt fully awake “But that's preposterous. What could they possibly gain by staging such a thing?”
“A war would destabilize Vega. Dalton plans on using it to claim control, and I will be his prize. Worst yet, my oldest brother is working with him. I have to stop them.” Alex clenched her fists tightly as she looked at Jay with a gleam of determination flickering in her green eyes.
“Yeah... I suppose you can't stand by and let them murder your fiancé.”
Though unintentional, his words cut deep. Alex knew Jay meant nothing by it, but having him acknowledge Philip as her intended hurt her more than she expected. Somehow Jay saying it made it more painful than when anyone else did it. Of all the people in her life, Jay was not the one she wanted to remind her that her life was not her own. Turning her head away from him, Alex did her best to stop the tears from falling down her face.
“Don't call him that.” Her voice quivered. “I have no intention of ever getting married to him.”
“I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it.”
“I know. It's just, I hate people referring to him as my fiancé. No one asked me what I wanted when they made the decision for me.”
“Look, princess, I understand. All I was trying to say was how noble it is to want to save the life of the man they have promised you to against your will.”
“Don't you mean foolish?” Alex turned her face back to him and flashed a weak smile. “I'd like to say I'm doing this because he is a good person and because I don't want to see an innocent man die, but I'm not. My intentions are rather selfish. I don’t want my friends hurt, and mostly, I don't want to lose you. If a war breaks out, I will no longer be able to come out and see you. Not to mention it would put the lives of everyone I care about at risk, and I can't let that happen.”
Much to her surprise, Jay did not look shocked or upset. Instead, he softly smiled and wrapped her in his arms.
“There is nothing wrong with being selfish, it's called being mortal.”
Wrapping her arms around him, Alex sunk into his chest and allowed the tears to flow. Only Jay could make her feel so vulnerable and safe at the same time. He was also the only man who could remind her she was still mortal and not some saint people expected her to be. Perhaps she was selfish, but she would do anything to protect the way she felt when she was with him.
“But what am I going to do Jay?”
“Don't worry about it princess. We have a bit over a month to figure it out.”
“We?” Alex looked up at him quizzically.
“Of course, princess. Did you really think I'd let you take this on all by yourself? It's you and me, darling. We are a team, and we are in this together.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. What can I say? I guess I don't want to lose you either.”
They both laughed at his remark. This was not a confession of Jay's feelings Alex may have wanted, but for now, it was enough to sustain her. Wiping the tears from her face, she found a good reason to keep going. She would save Philip and stop a war, even if she had to cross her brother to do so.
“All right, as long as I have you, Jay, I think I'll be all right.”
“You'd be all right without me kid.” Jay ruffled her hair “But that doesn't mean I'll let some snobbish Lord have you without a fight.”
Getting up on her tiptoes, Alex planted a soft kiss on Jay's cheek, giggling as he looked at her in shock. As he was still touching the spot her lips graced, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her body against his. She could hear his heart pounding in his chest while his strong arms enveloped her, causing Alex to sigh with delight.
“Thank you. What you said means the world coming from you.”
Without a word, Jay hugged her tighter, running his fingers through her silky hair. He could feel his heart threatening to rip right through him as he inhaled her sweetness. Placing his head on Alexandra’s head, Jay closed his eyes and allowed himself to get flush. He stil
l did not wish to drag her into his world, but he was quickly surrendering to temptation, and for the moment he was willing to entertain the thought of a future together.
Even though neither of them wanted to part, the time for Alex to leave came before long. She bid Jay farewell and walked out into the crisp night air. It was late, and the shadows had engulfed the surrounding forest. Shutting the door behind her, Alex turned back to face the cottage.
“I really do love you, Jay,” she whispered.
Still, unable to say those words to him, she turned her head in shame and walked down the dirt path into town. Kicking up rocks as she went, Alex thought of Jay and what he came to mean to her. Yet, despite how much she cared for Jay, she could not help but worry about the black wolf. The wolf was her other half, she was destined to end up with him, but there was no possible way Jay could be him. Or, could he?
Despondent about how little she knew of half-bloods, Alex walked down the dark, lonely road. While she was still contemplating her dilemma, the flapping of wings coming from behind started Alex. Turning her head, she saw a raven had landed near her on a fence post, its beady eyes piercing her with its glance.
Standing in the clearing, in the bleak of night, Alex continued to stare at the bird which seemed to scrutinize her with its eyes. She thought seeing a raven out at this hour of the night was odd, but not wanting to appear paranoid, she turned back towards the village. Hurrying down the dirt path, Alex did not stop to glance back, for if she did, she’d see the raven's eyes following her, watching her every move.
Chapter 18
An Outing with the Lord
July 24th snuck up on Alex like a tiger sneaks up on its prey, silently, swiftly, and catching her completely off guard. Suddenly, she found herself facing the dreaded day of her birthday and the day Lord Philip was supposed to die. Jay had practiced several scenarios with her of how the Crowning men may carry out their plot, but Alex still did not feel like she was up for the task. Worst yet, for Alexandra to succeed, she would have to keep a close eye on Philip all day, which meant keeping him close by her side.
Dark World Genesis Page 15
