by Carey Corp
I heard, rather than saw, Emily cross the room to help us. As if by magic, soft slippers slid onto my feet. A strong hand grasped mine and hoisted me to standing. A second hand joined the first, securing a fluffy robe over my favorite fleecy pajamas that proclaimed, “Make Musicals, not War.”
Forcing my eyes open, I noticed that Vee was kneeling beside Blaz and whispering in his ear. She wore Jamie’s dark green robe over her sleep shorts and tank top. It was about a zillion sizes too big on her. I caught the way she slyly buried her nose into the collar and inhaled, making me wish I had something from my own prince to wear.
Before my thoughts could wander further down the path of Duncan’s clothing, Emily held the door to the sitting room open for us. In the adjoining room, Adam paused mid-pace. He regarded us with feverishly bright eyes as he ran his hands through his short salt-and-pepper hair. The gray would’ve made any other guy look older, but it merely accentuated the scientist’s baby face and long, inky lashes. From a purely objective girl perspective, he was a cute guy, even more so when his face flushed with new knowledge.
Adam gave Vee a quick deferential nod. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but Oliver and I found something.” He didn’t need to explain that we needed to go with him — the urgency of his discovery was imprinted on his face.
Vee led Blaz to his dog bed and told the puppy to stay. He obediently swallowed a whine as Vee, Emily, and I walked out of the queen’s chambers and followed Adam down the stairs. Three night guards flanked us as we wound our way through the castle toward the chapel.
When we were a little over halfway there, Adam stopped and turned back toward us. The spacing of the wall sconces in the stone hallway caused half his face to be in shadow, reminding me of a Batman villain as he said, “Oliver went to fetch the princes. But we really need to gather everyone. Your Highness, might we send the guards to get the others?”
Thankfully, everyone had quarters in the castle. Castle MacCrae provided apartments to any who wanted to live within its walls, and consequently attracted most of the singles in the kingdom. They usually moved back to the village after marriage, with the exception of Fergus and Fiona, who’d been given a suite in the southeast tower. Eòran lived in the army barracks on the south wall above the dungeons, and the rest of our group had individual apartments along the eastern corridor.
Vee issued a command in the form of a request to the guards, who obediently scattered, leaving just the four of us to resume our trek through the castle. At the next intersection, Adam turned left. Emily and I followed, but Vee stopped. We backtracked a couple of steps as my bestie frowned at our guide. “The chapel is the other way.”
Adam shrugged nervously, his expression sheepish as he explained, “I know that. I probably should have mentioned that what we found in the chapel is connected to the throne room. We need to go there first.”
“But the others . . .” Vee glanced back the way we came.
“No worries,” he replied. “Oliver and the princes will meet us up ahead and then we’ll fill the others in when we get to the chapel. You’re really going to want to see this.”
For a split second his self-conscious veneer cracked and I saw a flash of annoyance, but before I could puzzle it out, he resumed leading the way. I guess I couldn’t find fault with his impatience, as he was obviously anxious to show us his discovery. At the next corridor, we went right and down a short hallway to the darkened throne room.
I remembered the room vividly from my first trip to Doon and more recently due to a private tour of Castle MacCrae hosted by Duncan. In addition to a single throne on a marble dais at one end, the formal receiving hall had three entrances. The general assembly entrance, the way we had come, was for the people. The ornate door to the right side of the throne led to an antechamber and the old king’s quarters, which had remained vacant since his death. The heavy, wooden door off to the left of the dais connected to the keep — a fortress within a fortress, or panic room, as Vee had aptly called it. It was impenetrable when closed and barred from the opposite side, allowing the royal family to flee the throne room and be safe within an instant — though it hadn’t been needed since before the Miracle. Duncan had whispered that bit of information against my neck in breathy gasps between kisses. Hands down the best tour I’d ever been on.
Deep in memories, I collided with Vee, who narrowly missed crashing into Emily. Adam stopped in front of Vee’s throne, rubbing his hands together in anticipation of the information he was about to share. His gleaming eyes swept the three of us as he cleared his throat nervously. “First, in order for you to get the full effect, I’m going to need the Rings of Aontacht.”
Vee’s eyes widened but the look of surprise was quickly replaced with a scowl. “I’m really not comfortable with us taking our rings off.”
Beside her, Emily hesitantly suggested, “Perhaps we should wait for the princes.”
Adam’s nervousness vanished. For the first time since I’d known him, he looked unbalanced — like someone who tortured kittens for kicks. With a humorless chuckle, he replied, “I’m afraid I must insist.”
Quicker than I would have thought possible, Adam grabbed Emily. He twisted her arm behind her back as he held her in front of him like a shield. At her throat he held a wicked looking dagger that seemed to have materialized out of thin air.
“I’ll take those rings now.” Adam’s smirk caused goose pimples across my flesh.
“No, Your Highness,” Emily croaked. Her terrified eyes were so large that she resembled one of those ceramic figurines that were more creepy than precious.
“Your choice, Your Highness. The rings or Emily’s life.” To emphasize the point, he pressed the tip of his dagger into the soft flesh underneath Emily’s jaw. She yelped as a tiny stream of blood trickled down her neck.
“Stop!” Vee pleaded. Adam paused, lifting the blade slightly as he waited to see what she would do next. With big, slow movements, she slid the ring off her finger. “There’s no need to do that. We’ll give you the rings. Okay?”
She turned to me. “You too, Kenna. Give Adam your ring. Calmly . . . there’s no need to panic.”
I wasn’t panicked. Freaked out — yes. Possibly in shock. But not panicked. As I slipped my uncle Cam’s ring from my finger, I realized Vee was staring at me like I was the densest girl in the universe. Why? Because I wasn’t appropriately reacting to the situation with fear? If I truly felt like our lives were in danger, I’d be plotting to barricade us in the panic room.
Oh — the panic room!
Vee’s gaze flicked to the heavy wooden door behind me and then back to my face. I saw in her expression the moment she realized I got her unspoken message. Resisting the urge to glance over my shoulder at the door to the keep, I stepped toward Adam. When I was an arm’s length away, he said, “That’s far enough. Set your ring on the throne and back away.”
Doing as he instructed, I stepped onto the dais and placed my ring on the red velvet seat cushion of the throne. Without taking my eyes off of Adam, I backed away from the chair and began edging toward the door that led to the keep.
“Now you, Your Highness.” Adam nodded toward where my ring sat.
Slowly, Vee climbed the dais and crossed to her throne. She placed her ring toward the back of the chair — about as far away from mine as possible. Smart — Adam wouldn’t be able to scoop them both up at once. Then she shuffled backward until her body brushed mine.
Concealing her action with her body, she slipped her hand into mine. Being two organisms who shared the same brain, we tensed and waited for the right moment to run. Which, to me, was ten minutes ago.
As soon as Vee stepped away from the throne, Adam giggled, an airy, high-pitched sound at odds with the person I thought I knew. His hungry eyes devoured his prize as he murmured, “Too easy.” He might as well have crooned, “We wants it, we needs it.”
Vee squeezed my hand, a quick burst of pressure and release meaning be ready. “The princes will be here any
second,” she said.
Now Adam laughed outright. “You stupid little impostor. No princes are coming to your rescue. And before you ask, Oliver’s sound asleep in the chapel. I drugged him.”
In one fluid movement, Adam wrenched Emily’s arm up, forcing her to her knees, then pushed her onto the hard stone floor by placing his knee between her shoulder blades. With her cheek against the ground, facing the main entrance, all I could see was the back of her head.
Crouching next to her, Adam murmured, “Stay. If you move — at all — I’ll slit your throat. Nod if you understand and agree.” Emily’s head bobbed once.
Satisfied, Adam straightened and climbed the marble dais. From the opposite side of the throne, he pointed his knife at us. “Don’t you two move either. I have something very special planned for you.”
As Adam scooped up the first ring, Vee demanded, “Why are you doing this?”
He paused. His head tilted our direction and I saw the complete and total devotion that fueled his purpose. “Because she asked me to.”
The instant he turned his attention to getting the second ring, Vee’s hand clenched mine in a bone-crushing grip. Now!
I sprang toward the door to the keep, dragging Vee with me as she shouted, “Emily, run!”
Adam growled. Aware that he was mere steps behind us, I reached the door and let go of Vee’s hand to fumble with the latch. The door gave way and I stumbled forward, using my momentum to curve around to the other side.
As I turned, I saw Adam lunge at Vee and grab the back of her robe. Her eyes widened as she thrashed to get away. Reaching across the doorway, I clutched the front of her tank top and tugged. With a wriggle, she shed the robe like a snake and sling-shotted into the room. Praying the discarded sleepwear didn’t block the door, I shouldered it closed, just as something — make that someone — slammed into the other side. I staggered back a step from the impact, but then Vee was next to me, adding her force to mine.
The door banged shut and I barked, “Lower the sneck.”
“The what?”
“The latchy thing.” She clicked the metal lever into place and then wrestled with the top wooden crossbar. It slid across the door as Adam battered the other side, the impact followed by a spine-chilling howl. We hurried to bolt the remaining five crossbars into place. Once the entrance was secured, we collapsed against the door, huffing like the big bad wolf.
Vee shot me an incredulous glare. “Sneck?”
“What? That’s what it’s called.” I remembered it distinctly because Duncan had whispered the word against the side of my neck.
High slits along one wall diffused the incoming moonlight so that the room appeared murky, barely bright enough for me to see her roll her eyes. “Since you were so studious on your recent tour, what about other ways in or out?”
“All the doors are locked. You have to have the key. This is the only one left open, because it’s off the throne room.” I gave her a moment for that to sink in before asking, “Do you think Emily got away?”
“I think so. I saw her running down the aisle.”
Good. She could get medical help and others would learn Adam had us trapped. When Duncan and Jamie heard about this, they would pummel him into dust. Hopefully after we got some answers.
“That psycho said, ‘Because, she asked me to.’ ” Chills cascaded up my arms, making me wish I had more than just a pajama top for warmth. “It’s got to be Addie, right?”
Pacing away from the door, Vee scrubbed her face with her hand. “That would be my guess.”
“But she’s forbidden from crossing into Doon, isn’t she?”
Vee turned around to regard me with somber eyes. “Yes, but she seems particularly awesome at finding loopholes. Like enchanting Gideon or when she sent Lucius Jobe across the bridge to do her bidding.”
“Lucas Who?”
“Lucius Jobe. I read about him when we were researching the limbus. He was Addie’s minion. She sent him across the Brig o’ Doon two Centennials ago to sabotage the kingdom from inside. What we need to figure out is if Adam was already the witch’s lackey when he came to Doon or if she somehow corrupted him from inside the kingdom.”
“I don’t see how it matters. Either way, Adam’s embraced the dark side.”
Pacing away, Vee mused, “If he’s like Gideon, he can be saved.”
I thought about the overzealous guard who’d wasted away under the influence of an evil enchantment that caused him to do unspeakable things. “But Addie’s curse corrupted Gideon from the inside out. By the time we figured out what was going on, he looked like Skeletor — cadaverous and bulge-eyed. Adam looks great for an evil henchman.”
Vee gasped at me from the opposite end of the room. “That’s it. Gideon wasted away because his will rebelled against Addie. He didn’t want to do evil things. Adam seems to enjoy doing them. He comes alive — ”
“Because he was the witch’s flunky long before he came to Doon,” I said, finishing her thought.
Holy Schwartz! We’d blindly embraced him. Let him into the Scooby Gang, asked for his help with the limbus. I blinked at Vee, who’d moved farther into the room. The chamber, which hadn’t seemed particularly large before, now looked to be the size of a football field. The murky light touched Vee’s head but allowed shadows to swallow up her body. Those shadows seemed to carry her away even more . . . Or was I the one being carried?
I tried to move closer, reaching out. But I couldn’t make much progress. The shadows held me back, clinging to my arms and legs like vines. It was like fighting through an invisible jungle.
Vee was also struggling. I could see her straining forward. She called my name but she sounded distant, her shout barely carrying over the whooshing in my ears. No. Not my ears — the whooshing noise came from behind me, appearing much closer and louder than my best friend.
With a final burst of effort, I lunged for Vee’s hand. Our fingers touched for an instant, and then I was plunging backward into the dark. Spinning into nothingness, I lost Vee, the room, everything but the nauseating sensation of blindly swirling out of control. I was Dorothy Gale — but without a house, minus a little dog, and with no hope of encountering a good witch at the other end of my journey. I was at the mercy of evil, helpless to resist the Wicked Witch of Doon.
CHAPTER 11
Veronica
Painful prickles raced along my spine, across my shoulders, and down to my fingertips. My eyes fluttered open — pink-and-green-striped curtains, matching coverlet, an outline on the wall where my “Dance is Life” poster used to hang, a desk covered with stacks of paper shoved in the corner. My room, but not my room. Two large filing cabinets stood against the far wall, my old dresser long gone. I squeezed my eyes closed and willed myself to wake up. My chest rose and fell as I struggled to pull in enough oxygen. I clutched the scratchy synthetic fabric beneath me.
This had to be a nightmare.
“Bob! Start the coffee. I overslept!”
At the sound of my mom’s screeching voice, I popped up, the room spinning around me. I pressed my palms against my closed lids. Blood roared in my ears. “Please let this be a dream. Please let this be a dream,” I pleaded.
A memory rushed back — Adam’s maniacal face, the throne room, the rings, Kenna and I running to the keep. Emily. Oh no, I’d given Adam the rings! I rubbed my empty finger, bereft of the weight and security the ring provided — a link to the Protector of Doon. And I’d given it away willingly, to save Emily, but as a result Doon had lost their queen. A stronger ruler would never have sacrificed their own safety for one individual. But the blood pouring down her neck . . . Adam would’ve killed her to get to the rings.
I buried my face in my hands as a horrifying thought occurred to me; what if this wasn’t the dream? What if Doon had been one big, fat, movie-length dream? I’d had those before, dreams that felt so lifelike that when I woke up I could feel it and taste it for hours afterward. But surely my giant guardian Fergus hadn’t been ju
st a dream? My gifted advisor and friend Fiona? My loyal-to-a-fault sentinel Eòran? The Rosettis? Blaz? The castle with the most spectacular view on the planet? Duncan, the big brother I’d always wanted?
Jamie? My breath hitched on a sob.
Looking back, it all seemed too fantastical to be real. How could I, an eighteen-year-old ex-cheerleader from the Midwest, have ruled a kingdom? How could a boy that noble and beautiful exist?
A short screech shattered my musings and I looked up to find my mom framed in the doorway, her mouth opening and closing like a guppy’s. “Veronica? What are you doing . . . I mean, where did you come from?”
“Good question,” I muttered.
“What?”
“Mom, how long have I been gone?”
“Is this some kind of joke?” Her brows pinched over her nose.
“Where did I go after I left here?”
“You ran off just like your daddy.” She waved her hand dismissively.
If I’d run off, then where was Kenna?
Kenna. Of course! She’d been in Doon with me, and she’d been with me in the keep. She could confirm it hadn’t been a dream. Now all I needed to do was find her. I jumped off the bed. “I need your cell phone.”
“Not until I get some answers, young lady!” Janet propped her hands on her hips, barring the door.
“Who’re you talking to, dumplin’?”
Bob the Slob, fatter and slobbier than before, stood behind my mother, his eyes scanning me from head to toe. “Oh, hey, Veronica. When did you get back?”
I crossed my arms in front of my tank-top-clad chest. “Mom, may I please use your cell phone?”
“What happened to yours?”
I’d left it in my tower room on the bedside table, so I could listen to my music as I fell asleep. The answer popped so readily into my brain that it had to be the truth. Didn’t it?
