by KM Fortune
Willow felt bad about keeping her plan a secret from Blaze. Still, she knew if she tried to explain it to him, he would have wanted to join her. Or try to stop me from it all together, she thought. What she was going to do held a lot of risk. The multi-day trek through the mountain wilderness alone was danger enough. An encounter with the wolves by herself would be nearly impossible to survive. Especially if the pack leader was involved. Even though he was nothing more than a beast of the forest, Willow believed in her heart the animal hated her with an almost humanlike fury and would be eager to seek vengeance. All the more reason to be overly cautious.
The climb was steep and would continue to be so for a long while more. Willow’s strategy was to get up high enough to travel along without being spotted by any soldiers who might be patrolling the usual mountain passes. She also hoped it would keep her above where the wolves hunted. There was a third reason though. Willow’s aim was to get to an elevation which would help her come in from above the heavily guarded main entrances of the Great Cave. If she was going to gain access to the fortress and rescue Mouse, she knew it would need to be through some other means. Raven never gave exact details to Willow as to how Matthew helped her escape, but Willow knew if there was a secret way out, there had to be a secret way in.
Raven was clean. She wore fresh clothes, although a size or two too big, and smelled of lavender instead of dirt and sweat. Her short hair was washed, and she was no longer worried bugs were taking up residence there. Even though she was in a strange and possibly dangerous place within the cat mutant's colony, for the moment, all of it felt like heaven. Now all she needed was something to eat. Walking down the corridor, she caught the scent of meat roasting and followed her nose. After a couple of turns and a detour through a sitting area, she found the dining room. It was an impressive space, large and decorated like the other rooms with tapestries and a large fireplace. Logs snapped in a fireplace and even though the room was spacious, it was warm. Especially compared to so many days out in the elements, Raven thought. A portion of the space was filled with a long table with seating for at least a dozen people. For the moment, only one person sat at it. Prince Edward had taken up residence at the head of the table. He picked from a full plate of food and watching him eat made Raven's mouth water. She could not remember the last time her stomach was full. It suddenly growled in protest at being empty, and Prince Edward looked up at the sound. He stared at her without expression at first but then smirked. "The Lady Raven," he said with a wave of his paw. "Please, join me. I'll call for a second plate."
Raven walked to a spot at Prince Edward's left, and before she could sit, the cat mutant stood and pulled out the chair. Raven smiled at the gesture and sat down. "Thank you," she said politely. "You're very kind."
"Of course, you are my guest," he said and then looked to another doorway. "Randell, fetch another plate from the kitchen." Raven followed his gaze and saw a servant she had not noticed was standing just outside the threshold. It was a rat mutant, and the homely creature nodded obediently before turning to go. Prince Edward retook his seat and gazed at Raven. "I am assuming you are hungry," he said.
“Yes, frankly I’m ravenous,” Raven replied.
“Slim pickings on the frontier?” the prince asked, his tone carrying a touch of sarcasm.
Raven chose to ignore the bait and nodded with another smile. "Indeed. Especially when traveling quickly. Prince Hector was in quite a hurry to get us here," Raven said.
Prince Edward raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? Honestly, I am surprised he showed up at all. It was not like we sent messengers out to locate him,” he said. “For all we knew, he was dead.”
"Hardly," Raven said and then at the last second decided to twist the facts about her past with Hector a bit. Even though he had initially taken her with him against her will, it was not information she felt the prince needed to know. Her guess was the less ammunition Hector's brother had against him, the better. "Prince Hector has been a great help to me. In fact, he saved my life in an altercation with the Patrols from the colony up in the mountains."
Prince Edward nodded. “Well, I’m not surprised to hear that fact. My brother has always played the hero,” he said. “Still, he should not be engaging the soldiers from Eden. It goes against policy.”
“Your truce, you mean?” Raven asked, excited to possibly have an opening to talk about a negotiation with the Patrols.
"We stay out of each other's way, if that is what you mean," Prince Edward replied. "They don't come to our valley, and we don't intervene in their crusades."
“I see,” Raven said. “So you don’t care that they kill and capture people out on the high desert?”
Prince Edward shrugged. “Not really,” he answered. “Humans are not our concern. In fact, I’m surprised Hector brought you here.”
Raven felt a hint of unease. “Why is that?” she asked.
Prince Edward leaned forward toward her. Their eyes met, and Raven saw a hint of malice in the prince's dark eyes. "The last time your kind was in the palace, it did not end well," he said. "Not—" Before he could explain further, there was movement in the doorway. Raven turned to look, expecting the rat mutant to be back with food. Instead, it was Queen Helen with Hector behind her.
“But times change,” Queen Helen said with a gracious smile as she moved into the room. “And we all learn from our past. Don’t we Prince Edward?” Prince Edward leaned back in his chair and chuckled.
“Of course,” he said. “Of course.”
CHAPTER 3
Matthew looked from the narrow sled he stood beside, to down the steep slope, and then back at the narrow sled. “So let me make sure I understand this,” he said slowly, pointing his finger as he spoke. “You want us four to sit on this ... and ride down that?” Brody stepped up and slapped Matthew on the shoulder good-naturedly.
“You got it,” he said.
“Time to put some miles behind us,” Toby added with a grin.
Matthew shook his head. “And you’ve done this before?” The twins looked at each other, shrugged, and then turned back to Matthew.
“Sort of,” Brody admitted. “Maybe not quite this steep.”
“But don’t worry,” Toby said. “I’ll be doing the driving.”
“And how exactly do you steer?” Blaze chimed in from where he sat resting on a snow covered log.
Matthew watched Brody rub at his bearded face with his gloved hand. “We lean,” he said.
"Yep," Toby confirmed. "I yell right or left, and everyone tilts in that direction to turn the sled." Matthew raised his eyebrows at the strategy. He had some experience with sleds. They had used them occasionally on his scientific expeditions. These were strictly for transport of supplies or the recovery of artifacts. No one rode on them, and steep grades were avoided at all costs. Now he was being presented with the idea of riding what appeared to be a rather fragile vehicle down a sharp decline, which ended in a location they were not sure of exactly. The idea seemed insane and yet he was a little excited to try it. He quickly calculated the angle of the slope and likely weight of the men and sled. The rate of speeds they could reach made his heart beat faster.
“If we miscalculate a turn or collide with anything, we will be unlikely to survive it,” Matthew said.
“Then I guess we best not screw it up,” Brody said as he looked hard at Toby. “Right, brother?”
“No problem,” Toby said but with a little less bravado than the last time. Blaze stood up from his seat and walked over to the sled. He started to untie his stuff.
“Well I think I’ll walk,” he said.
Toby held up a hand. “Whoa,” he said. “Think this through. We will be miles away from you in minutes.”
Brody nodded. "We can't leave you behind. We all ride, or we all walk," he said. Blaze tilted his head at the twins.
“Miles?” Blaze said. The two brothers nodded. Blaze looked at Matthew. “Okay scientist, are they being serious?”
Matthe
w sighed. "Yes, unfortunately, they are. If we can avoid any obstacles, we could easily make the high desert floor by midday. What took us two days to climb will be covered in an hour. Give or take." Blaze's jaw dropped. Matthew could see the man's mind turning over the options. He knew Blaze wanted to make fast time and reach the forbidden city sooner rather than later. Still, the trip down was not without obvious risk. A crash would be devastating.
“I’ll do it,” Matthew said and looked at Toby. “I trust you.”
The blonde man grinned with renewed confidence. “We can do it,” Toby said.
"Well, Blaze?" Brody asked. "Want to take the ride of a lifetime?" The three men all looked at Blaze. The brave young man's face was pale behind his thin red beard, but after a pause, he nodded.
“I hope I don’t regret this,” he said. “But count me in.”
HECTOR SAT AT THE END of the table furthest from his brother. He knew it was probably better form to have the queen sit there, but he refused to be any closer to his sibling than necessary. Picking at his plate of roasted boar, he half listened to the small talk the others were making. Raven was complementing Queen Helen on how lovely the palace was or something. None of what she was saying mattered to Hector at the moment. Instead, he was filled with mixed emotions, and his mind wandered. He had so many questions of which how Queen Helen became queen was foremost. Unable to contain himself, Hector pushed away his plate and interrupted the queen's explanation as to how they used hot springs to keep the palace so warm. "Okay, enough chitchat. I want some answers," Hector said. Everyone grew quiet. Hector could not help but see his brother's smirk at the outburst. It took all of Hector's self-control not to leap down the table and smack it off his face. I’ll deal with him later, Hector thought and instead focused on Queen Helen. The beautiful cat mutant suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. “First off, how in the world did you end up as queen?” Hector asked.
“Hector!” Raven said from where she sat near Prince Edward. “Is this really the time or place for this?” Hector waved her off with a paw. The question had been gnawing at him from the night before. The last time he was in the city, Lady Queen Helen was betrothed to him. In fact, it was on the eve of their wedding that everything fell apart and Hector had fled the city. Even though the union was one prearranged since he and Queen Helen were cubs and there was never anything more than sibling-like love between them, he knew his actions had to have hurt her. But still, he thought. She married my father?
“It’s complicated,” Queen Helen began. Before she could explain further, Prince Edward burst out with a roar of laughter.
"Oh that's an understatement," he said. "But why do you care, big brother? You left poor Queen Helen pretty much standing at the altar. What did you expect?" Hector glared at Prince Edward. A roar of frustration started to build up in him, but he also knew when he was being baited. Prince Edward had been an expert at pushing Hector's buttons when they were younger, but now Hector refused to give him the satisfaction.
"How about you keep out of this?" Hector snarled. Prince Edward laughed again and stood up from the table.
"Fair enough. As much as I would love to stay and hear the queen's undoubtedly eloquent explanation, someone needs to keep an eye on things," Prince Edward said looking at Hector. "Not all of us are creatures of leisure." Hector gritted his teeth but kept his comments to himself. He wanted nothing more than for his brother to leave and was determined not to do anything to dissuade him. After a pause, as if waiting to see what Hector would do, Prince Edward grinned and turned to the females. "My Queen. Lady Raven. Until we meet again," he said with a bow. Hector watched as first the queen, and then Raven smiled politely.
“I look forward to it,” Raven said. Hector almost gagged. She cannot actually be falling for my brother's false charms, he thought as the prince gave Hector one last smirk and then left chuckling.
“You look forward to it?” Hector burst out as soon as his brother was gone. “Seriously?”
"Well, what was I supposed to say?" Raven replied. "Someone has to try and keep things civil here. I'm possibly going to need his help so I can't exactly be rude."
“Help with what?” Queen Helen interrupted. Hector held up a paw to stop the conversation.
“Whoa,” he said. “Do not change the subject. I want answers.” Queen Helen tilted her head at him.
“As much as I do not care for your brother’s approach, he did have a point. Why does it matter to you now?” she asked looking into his eyes. Hector paused at her question. Why do I care? he thought. She is just an old friend. Suddenly he was not so sure what he was feeling. Isn’t she? Looking at her, he could see real hurt in Queen Helen's expression, and he was not sure how to deal with it. Usually his approach was to go crashing through things, but it was not going to work in this case. Unsure of how to answer, he dropped his eyes to look at the table top. He nearly sighed with relief when Raven loudly cleared her throat and broke the silence.
“Perhaps this is not the time to discuss it,” Raven said.
“Perhaps not,” Queen Helen agreed. Hector glanced up and saw the queen was still looking at him but when their eyes met, she turned away to address Raven. “Instead, let’s discuss what you need help with.” Hector closed his eyes and let the other two talk. He had his own puzzles to work out.
CHAPTER 4
Kit was having a great time. Over the last few hours, she had explored a large part of the underground tunnels both around the king's palace and even traveled through mine shafts into the city. There was a lot going on, and she had to use some of her best hiding techniques to remain undetected. The natural darkness combined with her dark cloak helped tremendously, and cat mutants on their way to work in the silver pits had walked within inches of her without even knowing she was there. What amazed her most though was the lack of lookouts at the palace entrances and exits. She was able to move almost at leisure behind the walls of many rooms. Only the dungeon was guarded, and it was just as well. The cries and obvious suffering of the inhabitants were not something Kit was eager to see. The most interesting place so far, however, was the royal crypt.
Exploring the room, Kit noticed not many were buried in the space, but there was an impressive shrine to someone named Dr. Edith Shelley. There was writing on a few stone tablets at the foot of the statue of the woman, but Kit had no idea what they said. Reading the scribbles was beyond her. If only Raven were with me, she thought. Her friend would be able to explain it and Kit considered going to find the woman and guide her to the crypt. I should probably check on her anyway. Although Kit had a good sense about the gracious cat mutant queen and believed Hector would protect Raven if he had to, there was still the other prince to be concerned about. Kit did not like him. Not at all.
Backtracking through the winding tunnels, Kit stopped to listen at different openings hidden behind tapestries. Most of the rooms sounded empty, and she was contemplating how she might find Raven when she came to an opening and someone talking. She immediately realized it was Prince Edward. Pausing to listen, Kit could tell the prince was talking to someone yet she could not make out a second voice. "I have to admit, Hector's timing could not be worse for all of us," Prince Edward said with a sigh. Kit's ears perked up at the mention of Hector's name. The night before it was evident the two brothers hated each other. Kit was not clear what the feud was about exactly, and frankly, she did not care, as long as it did not result in Raven being in danger.
“So what do you think I should do now?” Kit heard Prince Edward ask. She was puzzled when no one answered. What room is this? she wondered. Curious now, she leaned as far forward as she dared and tried to see through the gap between the tapestry and the wall. It was the smallest of slits, and she could not make anything out. Frustrated, she moved closer and ever so gently eased the fabric away from the wall a minute amount. Then she saw which room it was, and she froze. Kit could see a giant, elaborately crafted headboard of a bed. In the center of the wood was carved a king's crown.
"Duck," Brody yelled from the front of the sled. Blaze did and felt the brush of the evergreen tree branch skim the hood of his parka as they blasted out from under the forest canopy. From behind him, he heard Toby let out a laugh of delight.
“Yeehaw!” Toby hollered. “That was a close one.” Blaze gritted his teeth. He had no idea how the crazy man supposedly driving their vehicle could find enough breath in the onrush of frigid air to make any sound at all. Blaze could hardly even breathe and focused instead on holding on for dear life.
“Left!” Brody called again. “Lean left.” Again, Blaze responded exactly as instructed and threw his weight to the side along with the other three men. He felt the runners shift and they started to turn.
“Harder, boys, harder!” Toby yelled with what Blaze thought was a hint of concern. This is it, Blaze thought as he felt the skids start to stutter over the ice-crusted snow. We are all going to die. All Blaze could do was close his eyes and hold on, waiting for the crash. After a moment of sheer torture, the sled started to settle again.
“Up!” Brody said. “We’re good.” Blaze let himself shift back to being more upright and peeked open his eyes. They were now out in an expanse of white and finally he could see the high desert floor was growing closer. Grinning with relief to almost be done, Blaze relaxed. We did it, he thought. Somehow these crazy fish eaters got us through it. And these two are most definitely crazy. Blaze was so relieved he even patted Matthew, who sat in front of him, on the shoulder. Matthew glanced back, and Blaze was pleased to see the scientist was as pale as Blaze figured he looked. It had been a harrowing ride for certain.
