The Ruby Moon

by Trisha Priebe

  “Tell them yourself,” he said with his trademark confidence. “Meet me in the chapel on the other side of the Salt Sea in five days, and I promise to reunite you with your family before month’s end.”

  Avery turned the paper boat over and over and sighed. “I’ve heard so much about that wonderful place, I actually began to wonder if it really existed. How do I get there?”

  But when she looked up, Edward had gone, his footsteps fading.

  The next morning Avery met with Kate, Kendrick, and Tuck and said, “We need to find where they’re holding Babs.”

  The others looked at each other before Kendrick finally spoke. “Avery, you need to face the reality that they’ve probably already executed him.”

  “But if not? He told us to find him!” she said. “We have to at least try. What if he’s still alive and counting on us?”

  Kate nodded. “She’s right.”

  “Fine,” Kendrick said. “But don’t get your hopes up. I’ll see what the scouts can do to help, but getting into the Tower will be dangerous.”

  “We owe it to him,” Avery said. “And there’s something else. I don’t believe the king is dying of natural causes. He’s being poisoned, and I need you to help me prove it.”

  “No one is poisoning the king,” Kate said with a wave. “You know how difficult it would be to slip anything into his food or drink? Everything is first tested by a taster.”

  Avery nodded. “Which is why whoever’s poisoning him has to be someone he trusts—like Angelina. Look at his symptoms. It’s not impossible.”

  Kate shook her head. “If Angelina doesn’t have a son with the king, it would not be in her best interest to kill him.”

  “Which is why I suspect she already has a baby on the way.”

  “Still too much risk,” Kendrick said. “What if her baby’s a girl?”

  Tuck nodded. “Right. The only way she could risk poisoning the king was if she knew he had an heir to the throne. And since we all know he doesn’t, we can be sure the queen wouldn’t kill him.”

  Avery held Kendrick’s gaze. It’s time to tell your friends that the king’s blood flows in your veins.

  Chapter 27

  Kate’s Secret

  Avery, Kate, Tuck, and Kendrick gathered in a tight circle in a room in the kids’ old quarters upstairs and looked down through the grate to where the king lay surrounded by a handful of his closest advisers.

  He looked gravely ill.

  If the scouts’ reports were accurate, he was about to undergo a procedure that could cost him his life.

  Angelina paced nearby, her ladies-in-waiting lurking in the doorway.

  Avery sucked in a breath as the medic wielded a glinting knife and the advisers made room. “Brace yourself, Your Majesty.”

  He drew the blade across the king’s skin, and the king moaned and closed his eyes. For an instant Avery thought he might be dead already. A line of deep red crossed his arm and pooled into a tiny bowl.

  “Barbaric!” Avery whispered.

  “No!” Kate said. “Everyone knows bleeding is best.”

  Ten minutes later the medic dressed the wound and said, “Now we wait and pray while he rests and nature takes its course.”

  Avery knew he meant, Either way, don’t blame me.

  When the four council members disbanded, Kate went her own way without a word, leaving Avery with a sudden urge to follow her.

  She gave Kate a head start and then took a new route that led to a room above the king’s private dining area. But regardless what grate she peered down through, Avery saw no sign of Kate. Finally she heard her friend’s familiar laugh and looked down into a small kitchen beside the dining hall where the king and queen were usually served.

  The staff seemed to be in a frenzy as someone called out items to prepare for the king in case he awoke hungry. With still no sign of Kate, Avery was about to move on when she heard her familiar voice.

  Kate, unhappy, appeared. “You must work faster!” she said, inches from a cook’s face. “His Majesty could awake at any moment. We can’t tell him we have nothing, can we?”

  The plainly frightened cook shook her head.

  But as she got a better look, Avery realized the young woman only looked like Kate, but she was older! Could it be that Kate was not an only child? This girl must have been the one who accompanied Angelina upstairs the night before the wedding to see her gown. It hadn’t been Kate after all!

  But why wouldn’t Kate have ever mentioned a sister?

  And if she has an older sister working in the castle, why is Kate hiding among us thirteen-year-olds?

  The young woman with Kate’s voice ordered everyone else—including the cook—to carry out platters immediately for the queen and her court. Avery was about to go look for Kate when Angelina suddenly arrived.

  A queen had no reason to enter a kitchen, especially when her husband was on his deathbed. Angelina looked over her shoulder, eyes darting.

  “Did you bring it?” she asked.

  The woman who looked and sounded like Kate slipped a hand into her pocket and handed a tiny box to Angelina, who dumped its contents into a goblet and quickly stirred.

  “You know what to do with it,” the queen said, handing her the goblet and patting her on the shoulder before sauntering out of the kitchen.

  Avery could hardly believe it! If Angelina was poisoning the king, just as she suspected, Avery had to act quickly.

  Is it possible Kate knows?

  Avery would be racing the clock, so she would start by telling Kendrick. He’d know what to do about Kate.

  Chapter 28

  The Locket

  Avery met Kendrick on the rooftop that overlooked the sea and blurted what she had seen.

  He lay back, propping himself on his elbows and staring at the stars, hardly the response she expected. “And you’re sure this powder was poison?” he asked, his voice as dismissive as she had ever heard it.

  “Of course! She told the girl she knew what to do with it. What else would it be?”

  Kendrick shook his head and met her gaze. “Avery, you’re overreacting. The king is on his deathbed, likely being fed every imaginable herb and potion to help him rest and heal, and you jump to the conclusion that some powder his own wife adds to his drink is poison?”

  “I know what I saw, Kendrick. I watched the queen clear the room before adding the powder—”

  “Come on, Avery, you can’t even keep your story straight. You said the girl who looked like an older Kate sent everyone out first and that the queen looked around to make sure no one else saw her in there.”

  “Okay, so I’m upset. Regardless, why would Angelina have to do it herself, and why secretly?”

  Kendrick shrugged. “Why does she do anything she does?”

  “Well, did you know Kate’s older sister worked in the castle?”

  “No, and neither do you! You’re just jumping to another conclusion! Just because this girl looks like her and sounds like her doesn’t make it so. Kate’s never mentioned anything about a sister.”

  “I know, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true either.”

  They sat watching the waves crash against rock.

  “But think about it, Avery. Why would Kate hide a sister from us?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know, but I think we need to find out. None of this makes sense to me. Don’t you wonder what happened? How did you get sent away and mistaken for dead? And why? The king had every reason to be the happiest man on earth.”

  Kendrick shrugged. “My mother died within hours of my birth. He was probably so overcome with grief about her that he believed whatever they told him about me and never gave me another thought.”

  “I’m sure that isn’t true. Someone else wanted you dead, and I think the king thinks you are. You know Queen Elizabeth didn’t want you harmed.”

  Kendrick laughed. “It must be nice to believe whatever you want to just to make you feel better.”

&n
bsp; “I do believe the queen is still alive.”

  Kendrick sat up and looked deep into her eyes. “My mother? What are you talking about?”

  Avery told him about the fishwife and how Babs had described her eyes.

  He sighed heavily. “Does that fanciful mind of yours ever stop? We have really got to find you more to occupy your time.”

  Avery pulled the ruby necklace from her pocket, popped open the locket, and showed Kendrick the image of the baby. He studied it a long time, tipping it to get the full light of the moon on it. “It’s not me, Avery. Look. The nose is wrong.”

  Avery took the locket back and shifted so she could hold it near Kendrick’s face. She had been so sure. But he was right. “Then who could this be?”

  “Avery,” Kendrick said solemnly, “look very closely. Do you know who I see?”

  “Who?”

  “It looks like you.”

  Avery laughed and smacked him on the shoulder. “You’re funny! Why would my face be in a locket alongside an image of the queen?”

  Kendrick shrugged. “Your mother loved the queen. Makes sense that she would put your faces side by side in a special piece of jewelry.”

  “Nah, I don’t know.”

  As they crawled down, Kendrick said, “A mother’s love always outlives her.”

  Because of the damp conditions of the underworld, thirteen-year-olds began getting sick, starting with a cough that became something more sinister deep in their chests.

  One morning, after three kids were found sick in their beds, Kate called an emergency meeting of the cabinet. She showed up with a stack of clean blankets. “We need to move everyone who is sick until they are well again.”

  “A makeshift infirmary,” Avery said.

  Kate nodded. “We’ll forbid visits, and I’ll look after them.”

  “Tuck and I can do the heavy lifting,” Kendrick said. “We’ll find and secure the right location and start moving them.”

  Avery wished more than ever that Babs was still around. He would know what to do. Plus, he could carry the beds over his shoulder in half the time it would take the thirteen-year-olds to do it like ants on a hill. It struck Avery that the kids could die in the underworld without the right kind of help.

  Kate asked Avery to cut the blankets into strips. “We need to make cloths from them we can soak in warm water and use on the patients.”

  As the council broke up, Avery grabbed Kendrick and motioned for him to follow her to a private spot. “You can’t go anywhere near the infirmary,” she whispered, “once even one patient is moved there.”

  “Why?”

  “Do I need to remind you that you could be the next king?”

  Kendrick drew a finger to his lips. “So what am I supposed to do, stand around and watch? You don’t think the others will notice I’m not helping?”

  Avery pointed to the blankets. “Start tearing these into strips.”

  Something scuttled in the shadows, making Avery hope she hadn’t been overheard.

  Chapter 29

  Secrets

  Avery peeked into their chamber as Kate sat on the corner of her own bed, pinning her hair.

  Kate was meticulous about the way she got ready each morning, and today was no exception. First she washed her face. Then she dressed, fixed her hair, and then—when she thought no one was watching—carefully reapplied the star to her wrist using paint from a tiny porcelain jar she kept hidden.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about her?” Avery asked.

  Kate jumped, whirling so quickly she knocked the porcelain jar from the mattress, spilling ink onto the floor.

  Both girls stared at the jar, neither moving to clean the mess.

  “Tell you about whom?” Kate asked, straightening.

  Avery came to sit beside her on the bed, carefully stepping over the spill. “I know about your sister. I saw her in the kitchen.”

  Kate shook her head, furrowing her brow. Was it possible Kate didn’t know she had a sister? The castle was full of secrets, after all. But then her lower lip began to quiver, and all Avery’s questions came flooding back.

  “You can tell me, Kate. Really, you can.”

  Kate crossed her arms, making Avery assume she was going to deny it. But she said, “Her name is Edith, and she and I have had little to do with each other since childhood. There are things you don’t know about me, and it’s better this way.”

  Avery shook her head. “Don’t you think it’s time we tell each other everything? Why do you need to keep Edith a secret? Maybe she could help you—help all of us.”

  Tears clouded Kate’s eyes. “Someday you’ll understand. For now you need to trust me.”

  But Avery was tired of secrets. “Let’s start with this,” she said. She took Kate’s arm and turned her hand over. “Why don’t you have a permanent star like the rest of us?”

  Kate lowered her head, and it was as if she had to squeak out the words. “Because I’m not thirteen.”

  Who in the world was this, and how old was she? Avery sensed she was on fragile ground. “You once told me it was your job to keep me safe. What did you mean?”

  Kate shrugged, pulling away and crossing her arms. “My grandmother told me she was bringing you to the castle and that it was my job to look after you. She said you were hard to tame and worried you would try to run away. I promised to help. After she died, I considered sneaking out, but where would I go? And anyway, you’re the first real friend I’ve ever had.”

  Avery let that sink in.

  “Aren’t you going to ask how old I am?”

  “I assume you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

  “Fifteen.”

  Because she was Kate’s friend, Avery vowed to herself she would never reveal Kate’s secrets to anyone in the world, no matter the consequences.

  Chapter 30

  Dead

  Avery joined a group of kids in a midmorning round of bandy ball, using bats to hit a ball through rings wedged into the tunnel floor.

  She was practicing her swing when a scout approached, one she recognized who’d spent a lot of time talking strategy with Tuck. “Want to join us?” she asked, but he shook his head, leaned close, and whispered in her ear.

  Avery dropped the bat and ran down the tunnel.

  One of the players called after her, but she refused to stop until she reached the tiny alcove where Tuck had lodged his mattress. She swept aside the curtain only to find the alcove empty. So it was true?

  “No!” she said, running farther, checking chambers as she ran. “Please!” she prayed.

  She arrived at the infirmary out of breath, frantically peering into each tiny chamber until she came to Kendrick and Kate standing over a patient. They turned to her, their expressions heavy.

  Avery pushed between them to where Tuck lay motionless, face pale and forehead damp. She willed his chest to rise and fall but detected no movement. Horrified, Avery considered everything she and he had left unsaid. She needed his friendship as fiercely as the rest of the kids needed his leadership.

  “When he didn’t show up for breakfast,” Kendrick said, “I found him like this.”

  Tuck’s eyes fluttered open and closed again.

  “Tell me he’ll be all right,” Avery said.

  Kendrick and Kate glanced at each other, and she finally muttered, “I’m afraid he needs remedies we don’t have.”

  Avery’s mind raced. Surely the castle had medics with a tonic that could heal a thirteen-year-old boy. And then it hit her. “Kendrick! You need to get out of here!”

  He left immediately, and strangely, Kate didn’t ask any questions.

  Hours later, Avery remained sitting alone beside Tuck’s sickbed. Against her better judgment, she touched his forehead and felt the fever then took his cold hand in both of hers.

  She asked God to spare his life and whispered words she’d heard her mother pray, “You give and You take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

  Even as
she prayed, she knew she needed to take her mother’s advice and go to the chapel.

  There were things she wanted to say to Tuck, but her thoughts were jumbled, and she remembered only their needless arguments, the unheeded advice, and the wasted time.

  For hours she did not leave his side. She sent a scout for one of her books then alternated reading and praying. She prayed that God would spare Tuck’s life. And she prayed that God would keep Babs safe—wherever he was.

  Kate checked on Tuck every half hour or so, but she couldn’t confirm he would survive. Only when she insisted Avery go to supper did she leave, wondering if she would ever see Tuck again.

  Returning to her bedchamber after supper, Avery had to smile.

  The familiar wooden crate lay on her bed.

  In truth, she was relieved. She had already decided to send Edward a message telling him she needed more time. She didn’t dare leave Tuck sick in his bed, and she was sure Edward would wait.

  She opened the lid and jumped back. Steadying herself, she peeked into the box again.

  The bird lay motionless, its neck at an odd angle.

  How long has the poor thing been in here?

  She knew better than to touch a dead, potentially diseased fowl, but she needed to see what message it carried. She eased her hand in, trying to reach the tube without touching the bird.

  Suddenly, she heard Kate’s voice and looked for a place to hide the crate. The box was too large, and she knew her only option was to distract Kate. Pressing the box against the wall, she perched on a corner of the mattress right as Kate swung the blanket aside.

  “Just came to check on you,” Kate said. “What’s that behind you?” Avery shrugged. Kate peered over her shoulder. “What’s in the box?”

  “Nothing that concerns you,” Avery said, but Kate reached behind her and pulled it out. “Please don’t open it.”

  But of course Kate did, and she shrieked as the bird fell to the floor. “Why do you have a dead bird in our room?”