A Queen To Come

by Frances Ellen

  “At three a.m. tonight, the Ceders will travel to Brazil and they will be accompanied by Percy Kelly,” Axel continued. Surprised, Sophie turned her head and realised there was another man in the room she hadn’t noticed before. He was standing against the wall of filing cabinets and looked creepily the same as Jackson. Sophie had never seen the man before, but his posture, the red-brown scruffy hair and the dark brown eyes were practically identical to his twin brother’s.

  For the past thirteen years Percy Kelly had been disguised as a regular martial arts sensei in the town Gayle Mendosa had grown up in. It had been one of the conditions set by the Small Council when Tomas and Cara Mendosa had decided not to raise Gayle on Saluverus. Even if Gayle wouldn’t know about her magic until she returned here, she would at least already be a semi-professional when it came to combat.

  Percy Kelly was as skilled a soldier as his brother. The two of them had become known as the best Affinite soldiers during the war against Astaroth, and had headed up the training programme of all Affinites and Asters on Saluverus since that war. Aside from Madeleine Mayne on occasion, Percy Kelly was the only one who travelled back and forth between Saluverus and Gayle Mendosa’s home town in Brazil. He had been cloaked just like Tomas, Cara and Gayle were, so that no Disciple would ever recognise any of them if they happened to wander into their vicinity.

  “Madeleine and Percy will meet the Mendosas on the edge of the town, while the other Ceders will watch the town for any signs of danger; Gayle will remain asleep and unaware in her house. This will be at eleven thirty p.m. their time. In this meeting you will discuss the plans for Gayle to travel here tomorrow afternoon. Timings and place need to be worked out. All the air routes need to be free, and everything needs to happen undetected. There must be no room for interception. We don’t know how this new King is using his magic, but we do know the extent and limits of Astaroth’s magic, so we work with those in mind,” Axel explained.

  Tomorrow.

  Gayle Mendosa was arriving tomorrow.

  The Queen was coming home.

  It was no surprise that the Ceders were given this task. Just because Sophie and the boys were the active Aster generation, didn’t mean that the Ceders were any less capable of doing these jobs. They might even be better in some circumstances; their powers had matured, they had even better control over their magic, and they had years of experience dealing with Kings and Disciples from all over the world.

  This was the very first time Sophie and her generation of Asters would even face a King. Having the Ceders there to help with a mission as important as this one only made sense. But even with the Ceders’ help, there were still so many things that could go wrong. Sophie just hoped that whoever this King was, he wasn’t as unpredictable as he might think he was.

  Axel continued explaining the rest of his plan. “In the meantime, the Asters will remain here. They will be helping with the arrival of Affinites until this evening, while being ready to be summoned at any moment. The ten o’clock signal still stands for the families not ready to leave before then. The scientists in Glacialis are continuing to develop a technology that can track Affinite essence in the Underworld. The technology should be live tomorrow afternoon, which is when you,” he indicated the Asters with a nod of his head, “will head into the South American Underworld in search of the missing Affinites. We will make sure that the technology doesn’t pick up the undercover Mergers already down there looking. We need to avoid blowing their cover at any cost.”

  Sophie’s heart began to thump. Their scientists had created something that would help them find the Affinites in the Underworld. Finally. Sophie had doubted Axel slightly until now. She knew the Ambassador must’ve been working on something, but it was good to hear it spoken aloud and that it was almost finished.

  Sophie wished Axel would share more of his plans with them, but he was the Ambassador for a reason. He didn’t need to tell the Asters everything about what he was planning. Sophie should’ve known that the scientists in Glacialis were already working on something. Aside from housing the Frozen Dungeons, Glacialis was most known for making all Aster and Affinite weapons in its factories. What was less known was that there were labs filled with scientists working on any number of innovations to help protect the Affinites and humans in the world; including, apparently, this tracking system.

  Axel’s final words sounded through the room. “That is all for now. You are all dismissed.”

  Tomorrow. Sophie didn’t know if it was ever going to sink in.

  Everything was happening tomorrow.

  She and her generation would be going after the Affinites. And Gayle was coming home at long last. Sophie breathed a shaky breath. Everything was happening at the same time. Sophie wasn’t quite sure if this was a good thing, or a very, very bad thing indeed…

  Chapter 11

  There hadn’t been much time to catch up with their parents. Madeleine Mayne, Rose Radbourne, Diallo Madaki and Katherine Griffiths had almost immediately gone off with Percy Kelly and Nicholas Nelson to prepare for their trip to Brazil. They had to get their hands on some appropriate clothing and weapons, and they needed to make sure all their cloaking spells were up to scratch. If any Disciple detected their presence or their magic close to that small town near the Amazon Rainforest, then it would all be for nothing. They would know Gayle’s location and the Ceders would then have a fight on their hands to get the unaware Queen out safely. The fact that the South American King was deploying his Disciples across other territories in a desperate last search for Gayle was in itself reassuring; the King was clearly completely unaware that Gayle had been living in his own backyard all these years.

  There also hadn’t been much time to discuss the plan Axel had laid out for the Asters. About what would happen when Glacialis’ tracking device was ready for use. Less than fifteen minutes after the meeting in the Board Room, Affinites from all over the world had started arriving on the island, and the Asters were expected to help receive them.

  There was an organised way to get them all there. There were static portals all over the world, usually hidden within the training academies in the larger cities. The portals in Asia and Oceania led to Viria in the Indian Ocean, and those in South America and the southern half of Africa went to Auro in the South Atlantic Ocean. The portals in North America, Europe and the northern half of Africa led to Saluverus. The Affinites coming through the portals to Saluverus would be appearing on the large courtyard in front of the castle, which was exactly where Sophie and the other four Asters were standing and waiting for them. It was a dry evening, but the cold ocean wind whipped around them mercilessly. Sophie shivered and pulled the zip from her coat all the way up to her chin. Sky was moving from side to side to keep warm, and everyone else had their hands shoved deep into their pockets.

  Other Affinites working in the castle were there with them as one family after another appeared on the green lawn. Sophie was holding a clipboard and was crossing off the names of the families that had arrived. Behind each name was written the room number in the residential wing of the castle. The four boys and the other Affinite helpers each took a family inside and showed them where they would be staying, before coming back down to the courtyard and doing the same with the next family.

  Sophie knew that it would take a while before all the families would get there; there were plenty of Affinite families who lived a long way away from the big cities that housed the academies and the static portals. The Affinites helping out and bringing the families to their rooms would be there all night. Axel had made it extremely clear that the families should travel there as fast as possible. It didn’t matter what time it was on Saluverus; there was an urgency to keep the families free from danger for the next two days until Gayle was safely on the island. At that point many of the Disciples on the Surface would be expected to return to the Underworld, and the Affinites would be able to go back home.

  Sophie and her brothers would’ve helped all night, too, if th
ey didn’t have their mission the following afternoon.

  A bright light flashed in front of Sophie and a large family group appeared. Sophie recognised the head of the family immediately. Nadine Amsel stood in front of her with her five children close around her. Nadine was a German Affinite, and Sophie knew of her because she had been one of Percy and Jackson Kelly’s best soldiers in the war against Astaroth. She had since retired from fighting, and worked as a Watcher for Felix Hauser, operating out of her home in Berlin.

  Sophie bowed her head to the former soldier and said, “Welcome to Saluverus.”

  Nadine Amsel nodded back. There was no kindness on the woman’s face. She had probably thought she and her family were safe, but when news came that even an Affinite house closely watched by two of Felix’s best Watchers had been ambushed, she knew she could be next. It didn’t surprise Sophie one bit that the woman was here as one of the first families to arrive. There was no Mr. Amsel anymore. He had died of cancer only a few months after their youngest daughter, Amelie, was born.

  Sophie looked over the children and turned her attention to the clipboard in her hand. She ticked off all the names of the Amsel family: Nora, the eldest at seventeen, Stefan and Hanno, the two sons at ages fourteen and seven. And finally, two more daughters, ten-year-old Lena and little Amelie, aged three. Sophie looked up from the clipboard. The entire family had flaming red hair, pale brown eyes and freckles covering their faces. Sophie wondered what, if any, genes had come from Mr. Amsel, considering that the children were complete replicas of their mother, in looks at least.

  “Nathan will show you to your adjoining rooms,” Sophie said, still smiling. Nathan came up to Sophie’s side, and she added, “Rooms 126 to 128.”

  Nathan looked up at the Amsel family. “Follow me.”

  He leant in and offered to carry two of their suitcases. Nadine Amsel, who already had a bag slung across her shoulder and was carrying her three-year-old daughter, merely nodded and followed Nathan up the stone stairway to the main entrance of the castle. The rest of the family followed in silence. It didn’t seem like any of them were particularly happy to be there.

  As the afternoon turned to evening, Affinite families continued to appear in the courtyard. It was almost midnight before Sophie finally fell backwards onto her bed. She’d been in quite a bad mood ever since Jacob Henderson had shown up later on, just to hit on her and make fun of her brothers.

  “Awh… the Asters are on welcome duty,” he had scoffed, strolling onto the courtyard on his way back to his room. “What was the problem? Did they finally figure out you guys are useless out in the field so they’ve got you playing bellboys now? It’s a good thing the mummies and daddies can be called in to fix your mess.”

  “We’re on call for something bigger, genius,” Sky had snarled, “though you wouldn’t know anything about that. How was Indonesia, by the way? Get a nice tan while you were cleaning up after us?”

  Jacob had narrowed his eyes but didn’t rise to the bait. He had made to walk away but at the last moment he had turned to Sophie and said, “Nice to see you, Griffiths.”

  If it hadn’t been for the sly grin aimed at Sky, and the wink he gave her, the words might have actually sounded sincere.

  Sophie sighed, raising the duvet all the way up to her neck. The guy was a nightmare. Everyone knew all Jacob wanted was to be an Aster. He’d already made sure he was one of the best combat Affinites on the island. Coupled with his affinity for strategy, he would surely have caught the attention of the Small Council. Sophie had no idea how high he was on the Transfer list were she or one of her brothers to die, but the idea of Jacob being at the top…

  Sophie forced herself to close her eyes and think about something else. She wondered how much sleep she would get this night, knowing that in a few hours her mother would be out there somewhere so incredibly close to Gayle Mendosa, working on a plan to get the Queen here safely. And then tomorrow afternoon she herself would enter an area of the Underworld she had never ventured into before.

  Everything they had to do in the next twenty-four hours was uncharted territory for all of them. With her heart pounding in her chest, Sophie doubted she would get any real sleep at all.

  It was eleven p.m. in Brazil when Madeleine Mayne and Percy Kelly strode from an abandoned side road to the outskirts of the small town near the edge of the Amazon Rainforest. They had split off from the other three Ceders about two miles earlier; Rose, Katherine and Diallo would be patrolling the perimeter of the town while Madeleine and Percy had their meeting with Tomas and Cara Mendosa.

  They had tested their cloaking an hour earlier in a town near New York City. Nicholas’s map had shown that there was a whole cluster of Disciples there, so they opted to walk right in their midst there first, to see if any Disciples recognised them or sensed their magic.

  They hadn’t. So they were safe to travel to Brazil.

  Madeleine had been the only person who had visited the Mendosas frequently over the last eighteen years. Percy would go back to Saluverus only four times a year with a full report on Gayle’s progress. Madeleine was the one who brought any other messages from Percy or Gayle’s parents to the Small Council and the other way around. Madeleine took pride in the fact that not once in all those years had she been discovered.

  Madeleine and Percy opted to stand just outside of the ring of light from a street lamp on the edge of the town. Fields set aside for farming surrounded the town on three sides, and the Amazon Rainforest bordered its back. In the darkness Madeleine couldn’t make out the enormous Rainforest towering above the town on the other side. She had seen it before though, in daylight, and had always thought of it as a thing of immense beauty.

  Rain had started to come down.

  “Do you think she’s ready?” Madeleine asked as she opened up an umbrella.

  The soldier beside her looked down at her. Percy Kelly was one of the few people who was taller than the Ceder of Speed. Even without heels she was taller than the average woman. Her thin stature only emphasised her height.

  “For coming tomorrow?” Percy clarified her question.

  Madeleine nodded.

  “Of course not,” he responded with characteristic bluntness. “She was supposed to have time to process the information before leaving.”

  “As if two more weeks would’ve made such a difference,” Madeleine scoffed. Her dark blue eyes were focused on the single street that led from the town to where she and the soldier were waiting. Madeleine had never agreed with the decision to bring Gayle up somewhere other than Saluverus. The man beside her had been all too supportive, and Madeleine had never tried to hide what she thought of that.

  “She will be all right in the end.” Percy knew full well what Madeleine thought of him, and what she thought of the decision that had been made eighteen years ago. There was no love lost between the two people standing in the darkness and the rain.

  “And what of her training?”

  “Are you doubting my abilities?” Percy asked, a hint of anger in his voice.

  “No. I’m questioning its worth. The girl never knew why she was learning it. To her it would’ve been all for sport—for fun.”

  “What are you implying?”

  Madeleine didn’t bother meeting his gaze. “That she would’ve put in more effort, if she knew that one day her life might depend on it.”

  “You don’t need to know that to excel at something, Madeleine.” He spoke her name with antipathy. “She put in the effort because she was raised to always do so. By her parents, and by me. You don’t know her like I do, so I will not stand here and have you talk to me that way.”

  Madeleine ignored him. “And what of that bubbly, kind nature you were always so worried about?” She chuckled coldly at the small twitch in his face as he stared her down. “Oh, don’t think I haven’t heard of your concerns. She hasn’t grown up with violence and real combat.”

  “Some would say that’s a good thing,” Percy snarled.
/>   “Not for being our future Queen.”

  “Madeleine—”

  She turned to the soldier and interrupted. “If this King is anything like his predecessor there will be a war. And as Queen she will have to lead it.”

  “She will learn to lead,” Percy said firmly.

  “It’s not just about leading. Anyone can be taught to lead if they have to. It’s about the killing. Will she be able to shut out that colourful, gentle part of herself to be able to take a Disciple’s life – a King’s life even – if she hasn’t been prepared for it all her life?”

  Percy didn’t answer the question. Instead he said, “It’s been eighteen years, Madeleine. It’s about time you accepted the choice that was made.”

  Madeleine looked towards the darkened town in front of her and straightened her shoulders. Her grip tightened on her umbrella. “I will accept it once there is proof that it was in fact the right decision,” she said coldly. “Gayle hasn’t even left the town yet and four Affinites are dead, six are missing and an unknown King is on the loose.” She dropped her voice and muttered, “I don’t like it. I don’t trust it.”

  “You’re forgetting the eighteen years where they have lived in peace, exactly what they made the decision for. You’re choosing to ignore how well it has worked so far,” Percy said.

  Madeleine squinted, and made out a black car turning the corner onto the road that led out of the town. Madeleine and Percy moved forward into the light of the street lamp. The car stopped, and two figures stepped out on either side.

  “It’s never about how long it’s gone right,” Madeleine said as Cara and Tomas Mendosa walked towards them. “All everyone will remember, is that one moment when it all went wrong.”

  None of the Asters had expected to be standing in the Board Room in the middle of the night because of a summoning again. It had been the second time in three nights, and even though Sky understood there would be an urgency to it, he couldn’t help getting annoyed that again he wouldn’t be able to get a good night’s sleep.