“Who else could be at fault?”
“Demons,” answered Wylan. “I am not saying that demons are at fault, but I am asking how you know that they are not.”
Brother Samuel frowned deeply. “I am not sure that demons really exist.”
“I am sure,” declared Wylan, “and it makes sense in a way. There is always good and evil to keep in balance. If you believe in the gods, you have to believe in demons. They go hand in hand. Doesn’t that make sense?”
“I suppose that it does,” conceded the monk.
“Then my question to you is, how can you be sure that all of the misery is the fault of the gods and not the demons?”
Brother Samuel opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He shut his mouth. Wylan smiled with satisfaction as he rose from the rock and began heading back towards the monastery.
* * * *
Bonnay cracked open her door and glanced into the hallway. No one was in sight and she opened the door and slipped into the hall with the books in one arm. She tiptoed down the hall to the stranger’s room and bent down to place the books where she had found them. At that very moment, the door opened. She looked up in shock at the young man staring down at her.
“Who are you?” asked the prince.
Bonnay rose, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “I only borrowed them,” she apologized. “I have never seen such books in the library. I brought them back.”
Prince Harold looked down and saw that the books were about Alcea. His eyes rose to the woman’s face, and he looked at her with curiosity.
“I have not seen you before,” the prince said. “Who are you?”
“I am Bonnay,” answered the baron’s daughter. “Who are you?”
“I am Harry. Do servants often take the books of others to read on their own?”
“I brought them back,” Bonnay said defensively. “You needn’t get upset about it.”
Harry smiled and closed his door. “I am not upset. I am just curious. Do you have time to spend on the balcony, or are you expected to return shortly?”
“You are going outdoors?” frowned Bonnay as she examined the man. His skin was still far too pale, but he no longer looked like death as he had the first time she had seen him. His face was also covered with the beginnings of a beard, and she thought it looked good on him. Bonnay thought that he might look quite handsome with a bit of color in his skin. “I thought you were too sickly for that.”
“Sigfrid says that the sun is a healing agent. I am under orders to spend some time on the balcony each day. Will you join me?”
“I think I can manage the time,” smiled Bonnay as she moved towards the balcony at the end of the corridor.
Prince Harold stood in front of his door watching the woman saunter away. Seldom had he seen any women in his castle prison, and certainly none as beautiful as the woman before him. He watched as her hair swayed from side to side. Unexpectedly, she stopped and turned around.
“Are you coming?” she called.
Prince Harold broke out of his trance and nodded vigorously. He smiled as he hurried after her. Together they made their way to the balcony, closing the doors behind them. They leaned on the railing and stared at the coastline. The fields outside the city were cloaked in a blanket of fresh snow, and the sea was frothy. The waves coming into the rock-strewn harbor smashed against the boulders, throwing fountains of icy cold water up into the air. For several minutes, neither of them spoke. They both stood and gazed at the sea.
“Are you sure it isn’t too cold out here for you?” Bonnay asked with concern.
“It was worse yesterday,” shrugged the prince. “The wind was quite stiff then. It’s not so bad now.”
Bonnay turned and studied the prince. “Who are you?”
“I told you. I am Harry.”
“And who is Harry?”
The prince turned towards the woman. “You ask a lot of questions for a servant. Isn’t Harry enough for you?”
“I am not a servant,” Bonnay replied. “I am a guest at Herinak Castle. What is so important about you that this whole level of the castle is off limits?”
Prince Harold stared at the woman anxiously. He suddenly realized that mistaking her for a servant had been presumptuous, but her questions were disturbing. Sigfrid had stressed the need to remain hidden, and he understood the reasons why, but he did not care much for lying.
“I do not make the rules in Herinak Castle,” he finally answered. “You should address your questions to Baron Stikman. Why are you on this level if it has been deemed off limits?”
“I made the mistake of stumbling into your room one day,” answered Bonnay. “When it was discovered that I had seen you, I was forbidden to leave.”
Prince Harold frowned deeply, and his face flushed with embarrassment. He did not remember the woman coming into his room, which meant that it had happened a while ago, but he could imagine what he must have looked like at the time.
“I am sorry that my presence here has caused you a hardship. Perhaps I can talk to Baron Stikman for you.”
“I thought you would die,” Bonnay said softly. “I have never seen anyone so close to death before, yet here you stand on a balcony in winter. You must be someone very important to have the Royal Sorcerer at your side for so long.”
“Perhaps they think that I am more important than I actually am,” sighed the prince. “In any event, I will not return their hospitality with rudeness. The truth is, they saved my life, and I am forever indebted to them. I will not reveal what they want hidden.”
“They?” asked Bonnay. “Do you mean Sigfrid and the baron, or Sigfrid and the elf?”
“You met Zalaharic?” gasped the prince.
“Zalaharic?” echoed the woman. “Is that his name? I have never met a creature so strange. I will not say that I met him, but I saw him. He scared me, and I am not anxious to see him again.”
“Then you are a poor judge of men,” replied the prince. “Zalaharic is the one who saved me. He risked his life to save mine, and I started off fearing him just like you.”
“Which makes you just as poor a judge of men,” Bonnay pointed out.
Prince Harold sighed and nodded in agreement. “I hope never to make such a mistake again. Zalaharic did more than heal me, if that was not miracle enough. He made me look at things differently.”
“Was he Alcean?” asked Bonnay.
The prince looked curiously at the woman, but she smiled sheepishly.
“I did read the books that I borrowed from you,” she chuckled. “I noticed that there are several areas of Alcea that are marked as elven lands. Where is Alcea?”
“Across the ocean,” answered the prince, “and yes, Zalaharic is an Alcean. I wish I could magically fly across that ocean to live in Alcea.”
“The books do make it sound ideal,” replied Bonnay, “but the Federation will soon change that. You do know that they are planning to attack Alcea, don’t you?”
“So I have heard. It does not sound as if the Alceans have much of a chance for victory, but I pray for it just the same.”
“As do the Zaroccans.” Bonnay nodded. “My father is very impressed with the Alceans that he has met.”
“You are Zaroccan then?” asked the prince. “Who is your father?”
“Baron Ohmson. We live far to the west of Traginak. Have you ever been there?”
Prince Harold shook his head. He knew that Bonnay was trying to squeeze information out of him, but he could not imagine her being a spy for the Federation. “I am not well traveled. Look, Bonnay, this level is off limits because they do not want anyone to know that I am here. I think that you are just curious, which I would be in your position, but please do not pry. It makes me feel bad to not answer your questions, but I am obliged not to reveal too much.”
“I understand.” Bonnay nodded with disappointment. “I am naturally curious, but I will try to bite my tongue until the day you are able to speak freely.”
; “That day may never come,” sighed the prince as he realized that he might have to remain concealed for years. “I will speak to Baron Stikman about having you released from this level so that you are not held captive as I am. I am sorry for getting you involved in all of this.”
“Actually,” smiled Bonnay, “I have adjusted to my confinement. If you would continue to share your books on Alcea, I could be quite happy up here.”
The prince’s eyes brightened and he smiled broadly. “My books are yours to read, but you must remember to return them. They are not to be returned to the libraries downstairs.”
“I wonder where they come from?” Bonnay mused out loud. “I have spent weeks browsing through all of the libraries in Herinak Castle, and I have never seen a book on Alcea. In fact, no one in Zarocca had heard of Alcea until a year ago.”
“I do not know,” admitted the prince, “but I am grateful for them. Perhaps there is a private library that you were not familiar with. Maybe the Royal Sorcerer holds them with his magic tomes.”
“That is possible,” Bonnay replied skeptically. She looked at Harry and noticed that his pale skin was turning blue. “You are looking chilled. Let’s go back inside. You can show me what other books you have.”
“I have a whole suite to myself,” smiled the prince as he opened the door for Bonnay. “There is plenty of room for both of us to read in the sitting room.”
They reentered the corridor and made their way to Harry’s suite. He opened the door and scooped up the books that Bonnay had placed outside his door. Bonnay walked through the door and looked around. The suite was practically identical to her own, and she moved to the fire and stoked it to life. Harry closed the door and placed the books on a table next to his other Alcea books.
“There are more books about Alcea over here. Maybe we should just trade piles.”
“We could do that,” agreed Bonnay, “but it might be more fun if we shared our knowledge another way. We could just sit and talk about Alcea. That might be fun.”
Prince Harold did not respond. He turned and stared at Bonnay as she stoked the fire. He frowned as he wondered if she might be a mage. The prince had seen many women in his years at the palace, although there had been few such visitors at the castle in recent years, but he had never felt so attracted to one before. Having just met Bonnay, he should have no such feelings of attraction, but he did, and the feelings were strong. He wondered if she was casting a magical spell upon him.
“What are you gawking at?” chuckled Bonnay as she turned and saw Harry staring at her.
“What do you know of magic?”
“Magic?” echoed Bonnay. “I know very little about it. Why do you ask?”
“I was just curious,” shrugged the prince. “Let’s sit on the couch and talk about Alcea.”
Prince Harold decided to speak to Sigfrid the next time the Royal Sorcerer came to visit. Perhaps the mage could give him some type of protection against such spells. As Bonnay rose and moved to the couch, Prince Harold sighed and wondered if he wanted to bother the Royal Sorcerer after all. He shook his head as if to clear it of such thoughts and moved quickly across the room to sit next to Bonnay.
Chapter 34
Impregnable
Clint woke and saw Morro sitting with his back to the wall of the canyon. Sparky stood on the elf’s shoulder staring up at the mountain towering above them. When Clint moved to sit up, Morro turned and looked at him with a pained expression.
“I have been thinking,” Morro began.
“Let me guess,” Clint interrupted with a chuckle. “You have come up with some reason not to continue learning how to climb mountains.”
Morro laughed and nodded. “We have been at this for days,” he complained, “and I am sore all over.”
“You will get used to it,” Clint replied sympathetically. “You are using muscles that you normally don’t use as much as you are now. You have shown vast improvement. You just need more training.”
“Any more training and I will be bedridden,” laughed the elf. “Why can’t I just use the hourglass? I can scurry up the trail until the sands run out and then hide somewhere. I will only have to use my mountain climbing skills whenever I come across one of those magical shields.”
“And how would you detect the shields?” Clint asked as he rose and walked over to the elf. “Sparky cannot move when you use the hourglass, and you cannot expect him to survive dozens of head-on collisions with the shields.”
“I am sure if we think hard about it, we can find a solution to those problems.”
“Well,” chuckled Clint, “while you are thinking about it, we can continue your training.”
Morro nodded and rose to his feet. Clint stared at the elf, not sure what was bothering him. Suddenly, it hit him. Sparky had remained on the elf’s shoulder, even when he rose. Even stranger, Sparky kept staring up at the mountain.
“What are you staring at, Sparky?” asked the Ranger.
The fairy didn’t answer and Clint walked around Morro and stood blocking Sparky’s view of the mountain. Sparky blinked and stared into Clint’s face.
“What were you staring at?” Clint asked again.
“Nothing,” answered the fairy as he tried to move to see around Clint’s face.
“Don’t lie to me, Sparky,” Clint scowled at the fairy. “What is going on?”
Sparky bowed his head and stared at Morro’s shoulder. He spoke so softly that no one heard his reply.
“What is going on?” pressed Clint. “Speak up.”
“I am worried about Peanut,” Sparky confessed with a nervous sigh.
Clint’s brow creased heavily as he stuck his finger into an empty pocket. Peanut was gone. “Where is Peanut?”
“Up there,” Sparky answered with a nod towards the summit of the mountain. “He insisted on spying on the Black Citadel. I told him it was a bad idea, but he was sure that he could pull it off. He should have been back by now.”
“When did he leave?”
“He has been gone for hours. Should I go see if he needs help?”
“No,” Clint replied quickly. “We cannot afford for the Federation to learn about fairies. I can’t believe that Peanut would do such a foolish thing.”
“Peanut does not understand fear,” frowned Sparky. “He thinks he will live forever.”
“He may wish for an early grave when I get my hands on him,” scowled Clint.
Sparky stared at Clint in horror. Morro caught the look and scooped Sparky off his shoulder. He walked away from the Ranger and spoke softly to the fairy. “Clint is angry, but he would never harm Peanut. They are two of a kind. If Clint could fly, he would probably be up there, too.”
“It is not the flying that will aid Peanut,” stated Sparky. “He is not stupid enough to think he can just flutter into the Citadel and fly about.”
“How else can he spy?” asked Morro.
“We are able to disguise ourselves at times,” answered Sparky. “It is an advanced skill, but Peanut is very good at it. He is almost as good as Flea, and Flea is the best. Peanut planned to portray a small bat or maybe a lizard. I wish I had not alerted Clint to his absence. I feel really bad now.”
“Peanut should have discussed this with Clint,” replied Morro as he walked back towards Clint. “He has to learn the same trust that we share.”
“So you are not angry with me for not telling you?”
Morro laughed softly. “You had a fine opportunity there to remain quiet, Sparky.”
“Oops.” Sparky blushed bright green when he realized what he had said.
“Just what are you two finding humorous about this?” snapped Clint.
Morro’s smile immediately fled from his face. “The situation is not humorous,” he replied, “but it might not be as bad as you think. Sparky informed me that Peanut is an expert on changing shapes. He thinks that Peanut will portray a bat or lizard.”
Clint raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I did not know that the fairy
people could do such things.”
“Not all of us,” offered Sparky, “but Peanut is very good at it. It is a hard skill to master. I am still trying to perfect it.”
“Why isn’t it used more often?” asked Clint. “Why have I not seen it before?”
“Nothing is faster than our normal shape,” answered Sparky. “It takes time and great effort to change shape, so we do not use it often, but there are times like today when it is the only way to survive. No one would think twice about a lizard on the walls of a mountain.”
“Except maybe a bigger lizard,” suggested Clint.
Sparky cringed at the thought and fell silent. A few moments later, Clint felt a familiar weight on his shoulder. He turned his head and glared at Peanut, even though his heart jumped with joy at the sight of his constant companion.
“You are in big trouble,” Clint scowled as he held out his palm for Peanut to jump onto. “We need to talk.”
Peanut leaped onto Clint’s hand and defiantly returned his partner’s glare.
“You will never go off like that again,” scolded Clint. “If they discovered you, the damage to our cause would have been severe. Do you understand?”
“I understand that you are angry,” retorted the fairy, “but I think your point is overstated.”
“What?” growled Clint.
“Are we partners?” asked the fairy. “Or am I your slave?”
“What are you talking about? Do I fly off on a dangerous mission without letting you know?”
“You do let me know what we are trying to accomplish,” conceded Peanut, “but you never ask for my permission. Why is it that I must ask for yours?”
“You didn’t ask my permission,” retorted Clint.
“No, I didn’t,” agreed the fairy. “I didn’t ask because I knew what your answer would be, but what would you do if I told you that a mission was too dangerous? We both know the answer. You would do what you thought best. Why is it different for me?”
Clint opened his mouth to reply, but he was too flabbergasted to summon the words. Morro put Sparky on his shoulder and moved closer to Peanut.
Heirs of the Enemy Page 43
