by E. G. Foley
“Ravyn.” At once his posture stiffened, but he bowed to his birth mother, who joined them without warning.
Jake took a wary step backward. Even dressed in a chocolate-brown, satin ball gown, the tall, athletically muscled Guardian woman was an intimidating person. He was quite sure she had any number of weapons hidden around her person, concealed perhaps in the puff of her long bustle skirt. He would not want to get on her bad side ever.
He could scarcely imagine, if she had kept Maddox, what her brand of motherly discipline would have been like. She’d have probably had him running drills at the age of five.
Guardian Ravyn Vambrace looked from one boy to the other, no doubt sensing that neither was overjoyed to see her.
Jake found her slightly terrifying, and Maddox had all sorts of conflicted emotions concerning his birth mother. But although she sensed the lack of welcome, no self-respecting Guardian was easily chased off.
“I want to thank you boys for your assistance when I arrived. That was bloody awful,” she muttered, then tossed back a shot of some strong drink as easily as the male warriors did.
Blimey, Jake thought. “Er, how’s your Lightrider, ma’am?”
“Better, thanks to your Gryphon.”
“Happy to hear it,” Jake said. “Well, if you’ll excuse me.” He nodded with respect to the fierce-eyed lady, who obviously wanted a moment alone with her son.
And I thought my family history was complicated, he mused, returning to his friends.
By now, only Dani was around, standing next to one of the large, beautiful quartz formations for which the Crystal Ball was named. She greeted him with a sour glance as he rejoined her.
“So. There you are, Mr. Kissy Face.”
He just looked at her, then changed the subject. As if he weren’t already embarrassed about it enough. “Where’s Archie?”
“Where do you think? He’s out there dancing his little feet off, as per usual. You should try it sometime,” she added with a pointed look of reproach.
“Oh, I see. You want to dance, too.”
“We are at a ball, aren’t we?”
“It appears so.”
“Well?” she exclaimed, muttering, “Blockhead.”
“Fine! Come on, then.” He grabbed her forearm, more like a constable arresting her than any sort of proper young gent. “Let’s get this over with.”
“You are so rude. See, this is why I knew you’d succeed at provoking the apparition,” she scolded, even though she went along with him. “It’s too bad they don’t have a special Assessment just for beastliness because you’d win.”
“You’d win,” he retorted.
It was easier to bicker than to think too much about the fact that they were holding hands. But then Jake remembered he had something to say to her, and he couldn’t concentrate on where to put his feet until he got it off his chest. “Dani.”
“What?”
He pulled her back from the thick of the crowd of dancers and stared at her. He suddenly discovered that trying to speak from the heart was way more embarrassing than unwittingly trying to kiss someone under the influence of a blasted Cupid arrow.
“Um…”
“Hello?”
He looked away. “I…er, I wanted to thank you for clearing my name. The whole Queen’s flag debacle. I really mean it. That could’ve ruined my chances of ever becoming a Lightrider, but because of you,” he forced out, “I’ve still got a shot.”
She looked stunned at his earnest tone, then smiled prettily. “’Oy, us rookery brats gotta stick together amongst the toffs ’ere, savvy?”
He smiled ruefully at her use of their old city cant.
She lifted her hand and fixed a wrinkle in his cravat. “I told you, I’m not going to stand by and let anybody rob you of your dream. Even if I think it’s daft and that you’re gonna get yourself killed. You’ve already lost enough. Besides, it was kind of fun getting back at those skunkies.”
“Even if it meant you getting turned into a bunny rabbit?”
Her eyes flew open wide with a sudden look of dread. “You found out about that?”
He grinned. “Sticking Powder, eh? How I wish I would’ve seen that.”
“Who told you?” she cried, aghast.
“Dani, everybody knows. It’s the biggest bit o’ gossip at the Gathering.”
She looked briefly horrified, then realized he was teasing her and walloped him. “No, it’s not! You’re horrible.”
Jake was laughing. “I try,” he said with affection. “I can just picture you with whiskers and the cute, floppy ears…”
“I hate you. Are we gonna dance or what?”
“Sure, carrot. That name’s got a whole new meaning now, doesn’t it? Carrot…rabbit, get it? Heh.”
“You think it’s funny I got turned into a monster for your sake?” she exclaimed, but he could see that she was trying not to laugh. “Lucky for you Gladwin put me back!”
“She should’ve waited till I could take a picture with Archie’s camera.”
“Oh, shut up,” Dani grumbled.
Then they attempted to sort out the dancing, and Jake felt about as graceful as Ogden Trumbull, though he tried to act normal. Dani put her hand on his shoulder, and he rested his hand gingerly on her waist. It was all too bizarre to him, but she seemed happy. Girls. He shook his head to himself.
“Jake?” she asked at length.
“Yes, Daniela?”
“Things are going to change soon, aren’t they?”
“They always do.” He looked into her green eyes, feeling protective of his trusty little sidekick and strangely philosophical after their battles of the previous night. “But one thing will never change,” he said abruptly. “You and I will always stick together.” The second the words left his mouth, he realized the cringing, awful mushiness of what he had just said and turned three shades redder than his Gryphon. “I mean, all of us, that is. Archie and Isabelle and Derek…uh, everybody.”
“Of course. I-I knew what you meant.” She nodded vigorously, staring at the crystal nearby.
“Hey, there’s Archie and Nixie!” Jake said rather desperately. “I have an idea. Let’s go ram ’em!”
Dani seized upon the game, too, and they put the moment’s awkwardness behind them. Laughing like two rascals, they interlocked their fingers and thrust their front hands out like a battering ram, then sashayed toward Archie and Nixie, bumping them so they stumbled, only to be bumped in return.
Their raucous laughter and jolting about in the middle of the dance floor illustrated why youngsters under sixteen were not usually invited to a ball. But it seemed to Jake that, when it came to being kids, they all had best enjoy it while it lasted.
EPILOGUE
The Captive
Meanwhile, still standing at the edge of the Crystal Ball, Isabelle decided to do it. She had fought with herself about it since they had arrived, but when she saw Archie and Nixie and Jake and Dani all having fun out on the dance floor, she couldn’t hold back anymore. In that tuxedo, Maddox just looked too handsome.
If he was too shy to ask her, she’d ask him—though this would have horrified even her lenient governess. She swallowed hard, steeled her courage, and then slipped away from Miss Helena, who was distracted anyway, in some fierce, private conversation—more like an argument—with her twin brother, Henry.
Mother and Father were also busy, chatting away with the haughty contingent from King Oberon’s court.
Maybe if I just give him a tiny bit of encouragement, he’ll ask me first.
One dance was all she wanted, really. That would be more than enough, especially now that he was coming home with them to Gryphondale. She understood he was to stay at Jake’s, but Griffon Castle lay just across the fields from her own home of Bradford Park. Why, they could see each other every day now if they liked…
Her heart pounded as she made her way toward him through the crowd.
Earlier today, at her wit’s end about why she
could not read him, she had sought out the expert from the Healers and Empaths session while everybody else had been catching up on their sleep.
“I just don’t understand why I get nothing off him,” she had confessed to the Elder empath.
“My dear, haven’t you ever heard?” The kindly woman had taken Isabelle’s hand between her own. “It means your fate is somehow tied to his.”
“My fate?” She had stared breathlessly at her. “Does that mean I’m going to marry him?”
“No, not necessarily. Fate can show up in many different ways, dear. The only thing that can be said for certain is that this person is going to be extremely important in your life. You’re not permitted to read him because, if Fate’s plan were revealed to you too early, then what’s supposed to happen might not happen at all. And besides, it’s good for us not to have our usual advantage over others sometimes. Don’t you think?”
“I suppose.” She had heaved a sigh. “I just wish I understood him.”
“Talk to him.”
“He’s a Guardian. He doesn’t talk.”
“Not everybody uses words to speak.”
Isabelle understood what the woman had meant, so as she approached Maddox, she vowed to be patient until she could figure out his preferred “language.” When it came to Guardians, she supposed that actions spoke louder than words.
She smiled shyly at him as she approached. “Good evening, Mr. St. Trinian.” She smoothed her dress and clasped her hands behind her back as she sauntered toward him.
“Miss Bradford.” He gave her a gentlemanly bow.
“Are you enjoying the ball?”
“Uh…”
She chuckled at his inability to lie. Well, she supposed she wasn’t surprised. He wasn’t the ballroom type. But at least he was here. Might that have something to do with her?
Heart pounding, Isabelle braced herself to speak the boldest words of her life. “Perhaps you’d like it better if we, er, joined the others?” She gestured hopefully toward the dance floor.
He gave her a long, hard stare. And one didn’t have to be an empath to understand that this meant no.
“I just don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“No, you’re probably right. I’m sorry,” she blurted out, turning away in humiliation so sharp it nearly stole her breath. “Never mind. I-I don’t know what I was thinking,” she stammered, backing away.
Then she turned around and fled.
# # #
Maddox shut his eyes. This was going to be torture. For both of them. Because all the while, in his pocket, he’d been gripping the small silver unicorn brooch he had made for Isabelle at the forge the very first night he’d seen her.
He had fashioned the delicate piece with such care, but he had not been able to bring himself to give it to her yet, and probably never would. For he knew full well that, once he did, there’d be no turning back.
# # #
Isabelle ran to the edge of the Yew Court and asked a gnome to show her the way out. It was all she could do to hold back tears at his rejection. She was so angry at herself for being a fool.
At the moment, she was glad she could not read him. She did not want to know what an idiot he must think her!
In any case, the gnome led her safely to the exit of the maze, where Isabelle mumbled her thanks, picked up the hem of her long skirts, and strode toward the palace.
If this was how it was to be between her and Maddox for the future, she needed some time alone to adjust to his rejection before they all left together for Gryphondale tomorrow. Oh, how would she endure having to see him every day after that?
Walking toward the front steps of the palace, she stopped when she saw a flash of light out on the lawn at the waypoint. Another portal was opening up. She turned, shading her eyes and squinting toward it.
Is that Derek coming back?
Her own evening had been ruined, but at least Miss Helena would be comforted if her Guardian beau had come back safely. Rather than going into Merlin Hall, Isabelle was drawn toward the portal to see who it was.
As she looked on, the Guardian who leapt out of the pulsating tunnel of light was not Derek, but a towering mountain of a man packed with muscles, his skin as dark as coffee. She had seen him around the Gathering before. She did not know his name, but it would have been difficult to miss anyone that huge, nor fail to hear his loud, jolly laugh on occasion.
Catching his balance, the big, imposing Guardian stepped out of the way to await whichever Lightrider he was protecting.
A moment later, the princely wood elf, Finnderool, stepped through. Isabelle recalled Jake saying that the graceful fellow had taught the first half of the young Lightriders’ session.
Finnderool had not arrived alone, however. Presently, Isabelle saw that he was escorting someone through the Grid—a brown-haired man with a big, full beard, whose massive frame stood as tall and nearly as broad as the nearby Guardian, only this man was dressed in the uniform of a prisoner.
“Urso!”
Without warning, Prince Janos stepped out of the shadows, his arms wide. Isabelle went instantly on her guard at the sight of him.
“Janos!” The big, brawny prisoner managed to give the elegant vampire a hearty bear hug despite his chains. “Knew you wouldn’t leave me to rot, mein Freund!”
“Never.” Janos laughed and gave the shackled man a comical kiss on his bald front pate, then clapped him on both mighty shoulders. “Ha, ha! So good to see you, you old grizzly! But, Lord, you stink!”
Urso laughed like a pirate. “I hope the smell offends you! Took you long enough! A whole year, you useless bat?”
“Sorry, it couldn’t be helped. But, look! I finally got the medicine that landed you in that dungeon in the first place.” Prince Janos held up a decanter of shining purple liquid.
“Ja, is good. I heard from the wood elf that they let you have it. Now your babes will grow up strong like their uncle, the Bear!”
“Right you are. Take these shackles off him. He’s been released,” Janos scolded Urso’s captors.
“Not yet. Watch them,” Finnderool advised the Guardian, pulling up his sleeve to enter new coordinates into the Flower of Life device embedded in his arm. “Well, gentlemen, let’s not dawdle. I’ve got things to do. Unless you two would rather walk back to the Carpathians?”
“Get me home!” Urso boomed.
Janos clapped him on the back. “My brides will cook you the biggest feast you’ve ever seen.”
“Eh, I’d rather catch it myself. It’s been too long since I hunted!”
“My forests are yours,” Janos said warmly.
“Land of the misfits,” Finnderool muttered. “DuVal, are you quite ready?” the wood elf called into the darkness behind her.
To Isabelle’s astonishment, Henry strode past her toward the portal.
“Henry!” she cried abruptly. “What are you doing?” This must have been the cause of the sibling spat she had witnessed between him and Helena.
“Oh…Isabelle,” the boys’ tutor said awkwardly, turning to her. “Why aren’t you at the ball?”
She did not care to explain. “You’re leaving?”
“Er, I’m afraid I must go…for a while. Tell Archie that he’s to be the tutor until I return. Tell him Jake needs to keep working on his long division. Let them all know I’ll be back soon, would you?”
“But where…? You can’t be going with them?” She gestured at the vampire. “He can’t be trusted!”
Until that moment, Prince Janos had been pointedly ignoring her, but now he sauntered toward her and Henry. “Are you coming or not, DuVal?”
“Excuse me, Izzy, I must go,” Henry murmured regretfully, and then he went to consult with Finnderool about the journey through the Grid.
Isabelle looked at Janos, at a loss. “Why is Henry going with you?”
“Well, if it isn’t my future bride,” he greeted her with an ironic smile. “Oh, I’m sorry, were you talking to me? And
here I thought you despised me.”
“I do. But I still want to know why our tutor’s going with you to the Carpathians.”
Janos sighed, as though considering how much he could safely tell her, then he shrugged. “Very well. The fact is, Henry means to do a little spying for the Elders.”
“Spying?”
“The wolves in my forests can talk to him more freely than to me. They may have useful information.”
“I see.” Isabelle absorbed this with a chill. Henry wasn’t a spy! He was a scholar and a teacher. Never mind that he had fangs that could rip a person’s throat out in his wolf form. She knew he never would.
She looked at the vampire in distress. “Please, Prince Janos, don’t let anything happen to him. He’s like family.”
He smiled wickedly at her. “For your sake, anything, mademoiselle.” He bowed and walked away.
She shook her head, barely knowing what to make of him. What a slimy scoundrel.
“I heard that,” he said smoothly and smiled over his shoulder. “You can come with us if you like. My homeland is very beautiful. And wild. None of the usual rules there, Isabelle. You might like being bad if you tried it for a change.”
“No, thank you,” she replied.
“Ah, well, your decision. Give Guardian Stone my best. If he makes it back alive.”
She ignored the cruel, casual remark. “Henry, please be careful.”
“No worries, Izzy. I’m pretty indestructible in wolf form. Look after Helena for me, would you? She’s rather a mess right now.”
She nodded sympathetically. “I will.”
Then they set out on their journey through the Grid. The Guardian led the way, leaping into the portal. The Bear went next. Henry squared his shoulders and followed bravely.
When it was Price Janos’ turn, he paused to send her a piercing look. Farewell, beauty. He placed the thought into her mind, disturbingly, as he had done before. Tell your cousin Jake that I’ll be calling on him soon. The boy is more important than he knows.
“Don’t you dare,” she answered softly.
“Go,” the haughty wood elf commanded, unaware of their telepathic exchange.
