by Norah Black
“Why would they just leave his body but take his weapons?” Warren asked.
“My guess is that they haven’t removed the body because they don’t know it’s here yet, or they are in pursuit of the one who took the weapons. This man died from a bursting of the brain. I only know of two Nephilim that are capable of this.”
Foster felt a surge of hope rise in his chest; maybe someone was helping Nadia.
Stefan eyed him sharply. “Don’t get your hopes up, boy. Garth is one of the more powerful of my kind, but I doubt he would help her if he was the one who brought her here.”
Foster nodded. They went back up the stairs as cautiously as they went down. Once back in the hallway they went in the opposite direction and found that noises were getting louder. They were definitely near the kitchens. Before any of them could react, a plump woman with red hair came out of a room on the side, carrying a huge mixing bowl. She looked at them in surprise.
“What are ye doing down here?”
Foster thought quickly and gave her a sly smile. “We’re lost.” he said with a shrug. He gave her his most dazzling smile and used glamour to appear clean and well kept. It worked. She smiled bashfully. “Can you point us in the right direction, Madam?” he said, and bowed with a flourish.
She giggled and pointed down the hall. “Left at the end, and up the stairs with ye.”
He took one of her hands and kissed it as she shifted the bowl and hugged it close. “You have saved us!”
She giggled again and disappeared through another door. They went in the direction she had indicated in case she came back through and found them trying other doors instead. They walked as quickly as they could in case someone else came on them unexpected. There were two other doors on the hallway besides the two the cook had just exited and entered. One was locked and the other opened directly onto a narrow staircase.
“This place is nothing more than hallways and staircases!” Stefan grumbled. They took the stairs cautiously, and once at the top they could hear voices talking somewhere below them. The space opened into a small stone expanse of about ten feet by six feet. The stone was cut across with an opening that was just wide enough to look through. Stefan made the motion of nocking an arrow and letting it go. Foster nodded that he understood. It was a place for soldiers to guard the Queen. Foster looked down into the cavernous room below them and saw that it was in fact the throne room.
“Why aren’t there soldiers here now?” Foster whispered.
Stefan shrugged and knelt before the opening scanning the room below. He dropped back and said, “I think they’re all down there. Maybe she uses this for assassination purposes.” He looked across to the other side. “I don’t think there’s another one over there.” He said indicating the other side. Foster looked and saw that the multi colored glass ceiling only covered part way and the rest was stone. He realized the side they were on was either part of the mountain or built into it, but the opposite side was hewn stone; built like any other castle; yet it looked almost identical to the side they were on. He could see the Queen’s throne was empty, and her guests gave it a quick glance as they began to take their seats. There was at least two hundred there, and he was unable to see his family.
Warren had crept forward and was crouching beside him. “What should we do?”
Foster was about to answer when movement directly opposite from them caught his eye. “Stefan,” he whispered, “I think there is another one of these rooms over there.”
Stefan squinted and concentrated. “Yes! I do see it!” He looked below to see if any of the guests or guards were looking upwards, but they all seemed intent on staring at the empty throne or whispering behind their hands to each other. “Did you see something over there?”
“I thought I saw movement.”
They waited several moments and listened to the hum below them. A horn sounded and a loud voice yelled, “Queen Lily Armstrong, leader of the Eastern Realm of America!” The three watched as the Queen entered from behind the throne. She was dressed in an elaborate gown of rose colored silk, inlaid with brightly colored stones in the bodice that caught the light and made her glitter. She was exquisitely beautiful, and Foster knew instinctually she was as equally malevolent.
“What a pompous ass that woman is.” Stefan muttered.
Another chandelier was lit and raised by ropes, securing it above the queen’s head. The extra light caused a perpetual platform for her to look glittery and beautiful. It also caused a feeling of magic. One thing the extra light did was better illuminate the rooms on either side of the ceiling.
All three of them lowered their heads so that just their eyes and foreheads were in sight. Foster stared at the hidden room opposite and tried to see more movement. He was about to resign himself to it all being a trick of the eye, when he saw it again.
His mouth went dry and his stomach felt like he was falling. Another flicker of movement and Nadia’s face flashed back into view. She saw him the same time that the Queen called her court into order. Foster froze as his mind raced at the sight.
“Things just got a whole lot more interesting...” Foster said to himself.
~ Volume Three: Escape ~
Nadia could barely make out Foster’s pale face from across the vast chamber, but she knew without a doubt it was him. She shot a quick glance down to the Queen’s throne, and saw that she and all the attendees were focused on each other. Garth was watching the Queen too with murder in his eyes. Nadia yanked at his shirtsleeve and pulled him down out of sight.
“Across the room is a place like this one! Foster and two others are in there!” she whispered excitedly.
Garth eased his head up and scanned the opposite wall. When he brought his head back down to her, he smiled. “Aye, and Stefan Anak is one of them.”
“Is he related to Foster?”
“He’s an uncle and a strong Nephilim. There is hope, young Nadia.” He said quietly and patted her head. “We will need to figure a way to get to them, but first I will hear what the Queen has to say.”
Nadia thought that was the worst idea ever, but said nothing. Deep down she wanted to know what was happening as well. Garth had told her she had used something called Glamour, but refused to elaborate on it beyond telling her that only ancient races could use it. He had said a human certainly wouldn’t know how. It all seemed ridiculous, but for now she had no one else to ask.
“Welcome to the autumn meeting of my court.” The Queen said sharply. “I assume we can all behave like the regal races that we are and I assume the Nephilim can at least pretend regality for one evening.”
Nadia felt Garth bristle beside her. She dared a look across to Foster and offered him a weak smile. She could see the look of anger, even from the long distance.
“Now, there are nasty rumors of a possible coup. There are even nastier rumors of my not being on the throne in a legitimate manner.” Her eyes scanned the room and she didn’t attempt to disguise the malice practically dripping from them. “Who shall speak first?”
All eyes remained on her but no one spoke. Tension was thick in the room.
“Very well.” She said casually. “I shall move on to the more important matter at hand. Tonight I shall present to you my son, and heir to the throne.”
The room erupted in violent whispers that sounded like too many snakes having a discussion. From the snatches of conversation that could be heard, apparently a few didn’t even know she had a son. One member of the Fae stood and shouted, “Lily, we have never handed the throne over based on blood! All members of the Realm are allowed a vote when the throne becomes vacant!
“Sit down, Thomas.” She replied, standing. “We will have none of your idiotic banter tonight.”
The Queen snapped her fingers and the same one to announce her arrival announced her son’s in a loud voice. A young man of about Fosters age stepped onto the platform. The same golden hair of his mother hung to his shoulders. His skin was so pale that it looked translucent an
d his manner was as cold as hers, as he waited for his own throne to be set beside his mother’s. He looked on the people with contempt. An equally elegant chair with embroidered designs and a high back was set beside the Queen’s throne, and he sat down with a casual air, as if he had always been before the people as their leader.
Queen Lily took her seat again, and focused her attention on Foster’s family. “Anaks, why are you here? You are no longer members of the court. Kheelan, you and your wife were not invited either, so please indulge me with the reasons why you are here.”
Foster and Warren sucked in breath at the same time as they watched their mother and father walk towards the throne. Julia gave the Queen a barely discernible curtsey and Darren simply nodded his head. The Queen twisted her mouth, but said nothing to Darren for the insult.
“Queen, Lily,” Julia began, “we have come because we believe our younger sons, Foster and Warren, are within the Realm.”
She gave them a faint smile. “My goodness, your household is run like that of the heathens. Are there no rules? Isn’t Foster recently involved with a human?”
“Yes, and that human was taken from the human world.”
“Kidnapped?”
“Yes. Foster may have thought she was brought here.”
The Queen and her son stared at them with amused eyes. They exchanged a look and suffocated laughter with the backs of their hands. To Foster they looked like puppets imitating each other. “Well, she isn’t here.”
Darren spoke with a calm voice. “Do you mean she isn’t within the Realm, or she isn’t here in the castle?”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Darren, how would I be able to know every inch of the Realm?”
“Perhaps, one of your spies would know.”
She laughed out loud. “Really, Darren, you act like I run this place like a dictator. There are rules, and as you both know, sometimes those rules are broken, but I can’t be responsible for every mixed breed that wanders into the Realm before their twenty-one.” She paused and eyed them steadily. “So, once again, why are you here?”
Julia exchanged a look with her husband before responding. “We seek your assistance in looking for our sons, and the human girl.”
“Nonsense. If your sons do turn up I will send them home, but the girl, well that is a different matter. Humans cannot be allowed to return to their world with knowledge of ours.”
“You would kill the girl?”
Lily shrugged. “Why not? What is a human to me?” She laughed again at their incredulous stares. “Oh fine, Julia, if it would make you sleep better, I will send Nadia home too. Now be dismissed, and I do mean completely dismissed, and take your aged parents with you.”
Julia and Darren looked at one another for several seconds. Foster couldn’t see their faces but he could sense a change in the tensions of their bodies.
“I said you’re dismissed!” the Queen said sharply.
“Tell me, Lily, how did you know the girl’s name?”
She looked confused, but only for a split second. “The rumors, of course.”
“How odd.” Julia said. She turned her face back to Darren. “Darren, did you know her name?”
“No.” he growled.
Julia turned to face the crowd. How many of you knew of the rumor about my son being involved with a human?” Only a few raised their hands, and as far as Foster could see, they all wore blue collars on their tunics indicative of Council members. “Tell me, of those that knew of the indiscretion, how many knew her name?” No one raised their hands. Julia turned back to the Queen. “Where is the girl, Lily?”
The Queen’s eyes narrowed and she leaned forward in her seat. Her son sat with his face resting on a fist and he frowned. “Careful, Julia, or I will find you in contempt.”
“I demand the help I deserve as a child of the Sidhe.”
“Half Sidhe.” The boy sneered.
Darren took a long stride toward the first step of the platform, but Julia stopped him with an outstretched arm. “A Sidhe has never been denied the help of the throne.”
“I guess this is a night for new beginnings.” The Queen clapped her hands together two times. “Guards! I wish the Anak family to be my guests!”
“Oh no.” Nadia breathed. Garth stood and motioned to the others across the room.
Foster and Warren watched in horror as multiple guards appeared out of nowhere. The room held a momentary tension as the guards began their approach of Darren and Julia. Foster saw two guards approach Darren and the elderly couple he now knew to be his grandparents. Darren stood and shouted across the room.
“Damn you to hell, Lily! We had an agreement!” The room fell into absolute silence.
“What agreement?” Darren barked.
“I guess it is null and void, Darren.” She smiled. “Guards!”
“We’ve got to go!” Stefan said frantically and pulled Foster and Warren away from the opening.
“Come on!” Garth said and was pulling Nadia out of the little room at the same time that Stefan was herding the others down the opposite stairs.
“What are we going to do?” Nadia asked as they ran down the narrow staircase.
“Whatever we can.” Garth said and placed a long dagger in her hand that had belonged to the dungeon guard. “We have to catch up with the others. It shouldn’t be hard. If the rooms were opposites, we should be able to meet up with them on the hall that holds the kitchen rooms.”
Nadia nodded and looked at the dagger in her hand. The weight of it was strange; as strange as how different this place was compared to her life. She had yearned for adventure, and now that she had it, she wished for it to be over. Foster’s family was in danger. They were in danger because of her. If anything happened to any of them she wouldn’t be able to bear it. She tried to put her thoughts aside and follow Garth.
Sound was erupting all over the castle. Garth stuck his head out of the door they had entered in and pulled it back quickly. Running footsteps and shouts could be heard on the other side of the door. Once they faded Garth stuck his head back out and pulled her close to his back. The hall they were on intersected the main hall from the front, which meant they would have to cross and possibly be seen. Garth positioned the short sword he had taken from the guard in such a way to not be conspicuous, but could be easily pulled from his belt if needed. They crept quickly down the hall and slowed their pace as they approached the entrance to the mail hall. Fae and Sidhe were practically running from the direction of the throne room. Garth and Nadia ran head first into a pale one that was pulling a female along by her hand.
“What are you fools doing?” he said gasping for breath. “We must exit the castle at once?”
Realizing the Sidhe had no idea who they were, Garth asked; “What has happened?”
He rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder briefly. “That bastard son of the fallen has fought off a handful of guards and is trying to torch the place!”
Garth’s eyes grew wide and he looked down the main hall to see most of the guests running from the throne room and coming their way. The Sidhe that was speaking to them, tugged at his female hard, and resumed his hasty retreat to the front of the castle.
It was complete chaos. Nadia could hear someone screaming. It sounded like a man, but the language he was screaming in was like nothing she had ever heard before. It was guttural yet beautiful, and she could feel threads of her mind responding.
“Come!” Garth snapped. “We should be able to blend in somewhat with all of this.”
They began crossing the hall, pushing past others that were trying to leave. Nadia could detect the faint scent of smoke. She wanted to ask Garth if he thought it was Foster’s father that was doing it, but knew that it wasn’t the time for a conversation. Once they were on the other side of the hall, they ran until they were in the west wing where the kitchens and servants quarters were. Several servants and a few guards were lugging large buckets of water, heading for the main hall. A small Fae stepped
out of a room and into the hallway.
“What is happening?” she said in a small voice, her eyes wide.
“The whole place is going up! Get out while you can!” Garth shouted, never breaking stride. The little woman squeaked and started banging on doors to tell others. Nadia looked up at him and saw his smiling face looking down at her. He had just created more chaos; perfect to help mask their escape.
When they finally made it to the matching little room that overlooked the throne room, they were both disappointed to find it empty. Smoke was rising to the ceiling and Nadia could see the orange glow of flames below them. They dared a glance down to the throne room and found it almost totally engulfed in flames.
“Where could they have gone?” Nadia asked.
“I don’t know, but for now we need to get out of here and out of the Realm.”
“No! Not without Foster!”
Garth grabbed her by the arm just like he had done on their trip to the castle. “We will find them once we are out. If I know Darren Anak, he is probably leading the way home already!”
When they reached the bottom of the stairs at least dozen servants were hurrying down the hall. A few had grabbed belongings and one was trying to drag a trunk after herself. Garth bent down to Nadia’s ear and whispered, “There must be a servant’s exit. Try to just blend in with them.” Nadia was not sure how Garth would blend in. He was at least 6’6” or taller. The next tallest one in the hall was just over Nadia’s height. She didn’t argue however; she kept her eyes forward and her mind on Foster.
*****
Foster couldn’t understand why Stefan had insisted that they leave the castle from the way they had entered. His family was in there. Nadia was in there. They would be of no use to them out here.
