by Garry Spoor
“Oh, I guess it’s not who I was thinking of.”
“Clearly. Lady Isabel Kinns of the Sutton Province was the king’s mother.”
“I knew that,” Kile mumbled.
Jerald didn’t reply. He gave her one of his exasperated sighs
When they got to the top of the stairs, there was a small landing and a large door. Reaching into the folds of his robes, he produced a key and inserted it into the lock.
“I know it would difficult for someone of your… station,” he said, turning the key. “But please try not to sully the room.”
Pushing the door open, he stepped aside for Kile to enter.
The room was enormous. It was easily thirty feet across with an arched wall and a door leading out onto a balcony that overlooked the city. There was a massive fireplace on one side, and a huge four-poster bed on the other. Decorated with a thick carpet on the floor, heavy woolen curtains, and an assortment of paintings on the walls, the room wasn’t as gaudy as the rest of the palace.
“Someone will come for you when the king is ready,” Jerald said as he closed the door.
“Wait, when that’s supposed to happen?” Kile asked, but it was too late. She heard the familiar click. Trying the door, she wasn’t surprised to find it locked. Was that Jerald’s idea, or was it Roland’s?
“Well, Vesper, it looks as if we’re staying for a while,” she told the yarrow while looking around the chamber.
-Green woman?-
“Erin will be all right. She can take care of herself, and Alex will keep an eye on her.”
But how much of that did she believe? She had no idea where the Sons took Erin, and although Alex was clever and could think on his feet, he was not cut out to be a real field Hunter. Kile stepped onto the balcony and looked down on streets of Azintar. While she could see some of the city, most of it was lost to her as it rolled down the hill. Alex and Erin were somewhere in that maze of streets, and all she could do was wait and hope they were safe.
Stepping back into the room, she surveyed it again. What do ladies do to occupy their time when they are confined to their royal chambers? It must be a dreadfully boring life, she thought as she paced the floor. The paintings on the wall only offered a temporary distraction. There were only two she was interested in. One was a portrait of the royal family, or at least that’s what she thought. It hung over the fireplace and was mounted in a tacky frame, more ornate than any of the other paintings. The two young men in the portrait resembled the two boys in a painting she’d seen earlier. Roland identified those boys as himself and his brother Jonland. These two young men were slightly older versions. She was even sure she could pick out which was which. They were accompanied by a large, round man, who was standing behind a chair, which was occupied by an attractive older woman.
“Lady Kinns, if I’m not mistaken,” Kile greeted the painting. She could definitely see the resemblance between Roland and his mother. Jonland, on the other hand, took after his father, whose name escaped her. All she knew was that he was known as King Waltair.
The second picture that caught her eye depicted a landscape and it hung over the bed. Tall, snow-covered mountains overlooked a quiet, crystal-clear lake, surrounded by pine trees. There wasn’t anything particularly special about it, and it was rather simple, but of all the paintings in the room, this was the one she was drawn to. On the bottom right-hand corner was the name Ross.
The only other object of any interest was an unfinished tapestry, still on its stretcher. It was sitting quietly in the corner. Needle, scissors, even the floss was neatly laid out, all waiting patiently for the owner to return and finish it. How long ago did Lady Kinns start it? It almost seemed as if she had stepped out of the room and would be returning at any moment. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. She was gone and the room had remained this way for over a decade, waiting in vain.
Kile picked up one of the books from the table. A romance novel, no surprise there. Didn’t Roland say his mother had an extensive collection of them? Collapsing on the bed, she opened the book to page one.
~~~***~~~
When Kile opened her eyes, she was staring up into the pages of an open book. Slowly peeling the paper off her face, she set the mostly unread novel aside and sat up. It took her a moment to remember where she was. The room looked different now. Although she was still in Lady Kinns’s chambers, something had changed. It was the light, she realized, now streaming in through the windows. The curtains were pulled back and the morning had not only come but had gone as well. It was now well past noon.
“How long was I asleep?” she mumbled, climbing out of bed.
The second thing she noticed was the smell of the room had changed as well.
Kile looked over at the small table that sat before the fireplace. It had once held an assortment of books, most of them romance novels. Now it was covered with an assortment of food and a very hungry yarrow. Vesper was making himself at home in a large fruit bowl. He’d already devoured two pears and a bunch of grapes and was trying to figure out his way around an orange.
Pulling up a chair, Kile sat down. “I see you didn’t bother waking me when the food came.”
Vesper looked up from his orange. -Food here, you sleeping.-
“Did you happen to see who brought it?”
-Woman,- he answered, and in his words, she saw Clara enter the room with a tray of food. She set the table and pulled back the curtains before leaving. She never tried to wake Kile. Did that one glass of wine affect her that much? It only added to the mystery of her imprisonment. She would have at least liked to know what was going on. Why was she locked in? What was Roland doing? Had he heard anything from his military eyes and ears?
Too many questions and not enough answers. She should be used to that by now.
Kile finished off four slices of toast with jelly, two pastries, an apple, a glass of juice, and half of Vesper’s orange before pushing herself away from the table. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she started eating. Using Lady Kinns’s lavatory, she washed her hands and face, combed her hair, straightened her clothes, and continued to pace the floor once again. It didn’t take long before her patience wore thin.
“This is ridiculous,” Kile said as she approached the door.
She tried to open it, but she already knew it was locked.
“Hey, is there anybody out there?” she shouted while banging on the door with her fist. She didn’t expect an answer but stopped when she heard a noise on the other side. Somebody was out there. There was movement, followed by a brief moment of silence, and a small panel at the top of the door slid open, revealing a young man’s face. Kile had to step back, away from the door, to see him.
“Yes, my lady. What do you need?” he asked in a timid voice.
“What do I need? I need to get out of here.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”
“What do you mean, you can’t do that? Just open the door.”
“I’m sorry, but my orders were clear. You are to stay here until further notice.”
“Whose orders? What further notice?”
“I’m sorry, that’s all I know.”
Jerald. Only he would have the authority to take it this far. He was trying to keep her from speaking to Roland, but why? Was it possible Jerald was in on this as well? Did the conspiracy go that high?
“I need to speak with the king,” she told the guard.
“I’m sorry, my lady, but the king is no longer in Azintar. He left early this morning.”
“He left? How is that possible? Where did he go?”
“I’m sorry, that’s all I know.”
“Well, when is he supposed to return?” she asked.
“Not until next week, my lady,” the guard answered.
“Next week. I can’t stay here until next week.”
“I’m sorry, but those are my orders.”
“But I need to get out of here now.”
“I’m sorry, my
lady. I can’t let you out. If there’s anything else you need—”
“How about a battering ram?”
“Um… I… I don’t think that would be such a good idea. I’m—”
“Don’t you dare apologize.”
“Yes, my lady. Will there be anything else?”
“No, you’ve been very helpful, thanks.”
The man stepped back and the small panel slid shut. It was a curious addition to the door of a lady’s chamber. That alone should have been a warning.
Kile returned to her seat at the table where the yarrow had finally finished off his half of the orange and was now dining on a few strawberries.
“I don’t believe this, Vesper.” She helped herself to one of the berries. “Roland left the city. Erin was taken by Terrabin Hunters. Alex is… I have no idea where Alex could be. Grim is half a province away. The Heart is probably in the wastelands by now, which means the Maligar is on the verge of being released, and I’m stuck in a tower. I’m actually locked up… in the tower… of a castle. How very storybook of me.”
-What now?- the yarrow asked.
“I don’t know. If you have any idea, I’m all ears, because I’m fresh out.” She got back to her feet and started pacing the floor again. “But I’ll tell you what I’m not going to do. I’m not waiting around here for my prince charming to come rescue me.”
-Fly?-
Kile sighed. “You know, it just shows how desperate I am when that’s the only option.”
Stepping out onto the balcony, she looked once more over the city. It didn’t look any better in the daytime than it did at night. If anything, it looked even more depressing. Somewhere down there, she thought, Erin might need her help. There wasn’t anything she could do locked up in a tower, and waiting a week for Roland to return was simply out of the question, but could she do it? Could she pull off the transformation a second time?
There was only one way to find out.
She didn’t want to give herself time to change her mind, but first, she would need a pouch to carry Vesper. After a thorough search of the room, the only things she could find were the cloth napkins that came with the meal. Folding one in half, and using a needle from Lady Kinns’s unfinished tapestry, she quickly sewed up the sides. The stitching was crude and the work uneven, but it seemed strong enough to hold the yarrow. All they had to do was reach the ground. There would be no flying long distances over water this time. Kile tugged on the seams again to make sure. Her mother would have a fit if she was alive to see it. It was merely one more of those little life skills she was never able to learn.
Pulling one of the chairs over to the door, she covered the small window with the second napkin. The last thing she wanted was for the apologetic guard to peek in on her since she needed to undress to avoid the problems she had last time.
“Come on, Vesper, let’s try this out.” She said, picking the yarrow up off the table. He was still clinging to a strawberry when she slipped him into the napkin pouch.
Carrying him out onto the balcony, she carefully set him on the rail while looking down into the courtyard. Her first thought was simply to wrap her clothes up and toss them over the edge, so she could recover them when she landed, but that wasn’t going to work. Below her was the main bailey. It was still within the walls of the palace. Even if she could recover her clothes without being seen, she still had to walk through the King’s Gate to leave. If Jerald was behind this, which was the only likely scenario, the guards at the gate would stop her before she could reach the exit. That could be a problem. She couldn’t believe she was thinking this, but it meant she’d have to fly into the city. She had to admit, she would cover more ground and she might even find Alex somewhere along the way, but there was also the problem of clothing. She couldn’t run around the city looking for Erin, stark naked.
One thing at a time, she kept telling herself. There was no use trying to plan too far ahead when she didn’t even know how far she was going to get.
“Here goes nothing.” She said before she started to undress. Once she removed the last of her clothes, she sat down on the cold floor of the balcony but found it hard to concentrate on anything other than the fact she was naked. Kile quickly returned to the room and, grabbing a sheet off the bed, wrapped herself up before trying again. At least there weren’t any Valgar to worry about this time.
With the bedsheet around her, she was a little less vulnerable. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and fell into her Edge. She knew what to do this time and simply let herself go. In a way, she was still undressing, but instead of her clothes, she was stripping off her identity. With every layer she shed, the more liberating it felt until she was no longer who she was. The essence known as Kile Veller was simply another Hi’kruul she had collected up to this point in her long journey. She searched through the others, looking for the one she wanted. It was not the albatross, but the red-shouldered hawk she selected.
Her new form was easier to slip into this time around. Losing herself was no longer a fear, because, she was still herself. Each Hi’kruul was not a separate entity; every one of them was a simply different part of who she was. Once she understood that, she threw off the sheet and spread her wings.
Her new form was much smaller than the albatross and took a little getting used to as she fluttered around on the balcony floor. However, many of the mechanics were the same, and she learned so much from the albatrosses it didn’t take her nearly as long to get the hang of her wings. Once she figured herself out, she hopped up onto the railing and looked out over the city with new eyes.
Everything was so much clearer, more vivid. Her field of view was wider than before. She could see the whole city without turning her head and if she concentrated, she could even make out the smallest details.
-This is so cool,- she screeched while picking out targets to focus on. She watched a cat run down an alley and a small bird scratching for bugs on the top of a roof. She even saw a child steal an apple from a vendor’s cart.
-Why didn’t I try this earlier?- she said, focusing on the faces of the vir in the streets. It was a lot to hope for, but if she could find Alex, or better yet, Erin, she would have a destination. She went from face to face in rapid succession, eliminating whole streets before moving on to the next. It seemed as if she’d scanned the entire population of Azintar before she found a familiar face.
-Daniel?-
What was he doing here? At the moment, it looked as if he was chatting up a young woman outside a dry goods store. He made it clear, during their voyage, he wanted nothing more to do with traveling and was planning on returning to the Guild Hospital in Littenbeck. What changed his mind, assuming he ever went back there?
Daniel must have said something amusing because the young woman laughed. He placed his arm around her and the two started walking away.
Not so fast, Kile thought.
-You ready, Vesper?- she asked the yarrow, shuffling over to where he was still curled up in his napkin pouch.
-We go now?- he asked.
-Oh, we’re going. Hold on tight.-
Grabbing hold of the pouch with her claws and stretching out her wings, Kile took flight. It was only a matter of not overthinking it and letting her instincts take over. That’s what the albatrosses were trying to teach her. Riding the currents into the city, she tried to keep Daniel and the unknown woman in sight, but it wasn’t easy. She accidentally overtook them, which forced her to circle back to find them again. Fortunately, they weren’t moving too fast, and the street they were on wasn’t busy. However, if they reached the market district, she would lose them in the crowd.
While keeping them in sight, she tried looking for a safe place to land, but couldn’t find anywhere close that offered even the smallest amount of privacy. If she flew too far away, she would lose track of them, and it would take too long to find them again once she was on the ground.
-Hold on, Vesper. I’m going to drop you on Daniel. Don’t let go of him.-
She circled the city one more time. Flying low, down the center of the street, she lined herself up with the couple. Daniel only looked up when his female companion screamed. Kile released the pouch and Vesper leaped out.
-Bullseye,- she screeched as the yarrow clung to Daniel’s face.
Now it was simply a matter of finding a place to change.
Leaving the chaos behind her, she banked left and entered a residential part of the city, where she was fortunate enough to find a vacant back alley. No one was around, and better yet, it was laundry day, which meant there were clothes hanging out on the lines, ripe for the picking. It would seem her luck was beginning to change. Coming in low, she tried for a landing on the fence but completely missed it. Instead, she crashed into the garbage cans and soon found herself back in her vir form among the rubbish.
“Wonderful,” she cursed, pulling potato skins out of her hair. She needed to work on those landings. Staggering to her feet, she rubbed her shoulder. That was going to leave a mark.
A quick survey of her surroundings revealed she had miscalculated again. The clotheslines were a lot higher than they appeared when she was flying over them. Grabbing a few old crates and stacking them up against the wall, she quickly climbed up to reach the laundry. She was only able to grab a few items before a window opened, and an elderly woman stuck her head out to see what all the noise was about.
“What’s going on out there?” she shouted as she looked down into the alley. Kile pressed herself up against the wall and hoped the woman didn’t look in her direction.
“Damn cats, getting in the garbage again. Carl… Carl… get your lazy ass down here.”
Kile didn’t know who Carl was, nor did she care to meet him. With her ill-gotten plunder, she decided to make a break for it. Jumping off the crates and ducking down a side street, she hid in the nearest door well before trying to catch her breath. Searching through the clothing, she got away with two dish towels, a pair of men’s underwear and an old beige dress. She was better off with the scarecrow.
