The Ruby Moon

by Trisha Priebe

  She passed disease-ridden people who looked as if they hadn’t eaten in weeks, and she saw others who looked like they could crush her with a stare. Who were these castaways with battered bodies and bold eyes, and what cruelties had they inflicted out in the world? What drove them here?

  She ran from their cries and taunts with everything she had until she feared she could run no more.

  Minutes morphed into hours. Hours felt like days.

  Though Avery had to stop running and start walking to conserve her lungs and muscles, the going seemed no easier. The torches on the walls grew fewer and farther between until suddenly there were none and she had to feel her way along. And she quickly deduced why she had to labor so just to keep moving. She was ascending, now ever steeper, climbing, climbing! Was she finally rising from beneath the Salt Sea? Could it be she was nearing the end of this arduous journey?

  Finally, at long last, when she had begun to believe darkness could grow no inkier in its blackness, a pinprick of light made her stop and squint then pick up her pace and stare. The light was coming through the edges around a door at the end of the tunnel! A beautiful door surrounded by bright light that portended a gateway to the outside, to freedom!

  Soon the eerie, echoing, infernal dripping of the underground began to give way to a sound more pleasant—bells—glorious clanging that signaled some sort of good news. Breathlessly, she rushed for the melody that waxed louder and the light that grew brighter the closer she came.

  When finally she came within reach of the door, Avery shoved it open with all her might.

  Chapter 35

  The Wedding

  Sunlight, glorious sunlight forced Avery’s eyes shut and sent her reeling backward. Shielding her face, she allowed herself to blink once, twice, and finally to let the tree line come into view.

  A graceful sloping white spire, so delicate and ethereal she feared it might disappear if she looked away, rose above the tallest trees and came to a razor-sharp tip that pointed almost shyly to the heavens.

  The country chapel! The stories were true!

  Avery spread her arms wide, as if to embrace the entire landscape.

  Despite her exhausting journey, had she not been here on the quest of a lifetime, Avery believed she could have run all the way back to the underbelly of the castle just to tell Kendrick that his map was right—the longest tunnel snaked its way under the Salt Sea all the way to the tiny, beautiful chapel in the village where country girls married.

  But in her heart she believed she might never see Kendrick again.

  And in the moment she had always anticipated would bring her relief, she felt only sadness at never seeing her friends again. She wished she had found the courage to say good-bye.

  As if in a dream, Avery entered the tiny sanctuary to find that a wedding had just taken place. The bride wore a simple dress and a daisy chain in her raven hair. When she turned, Avery immediately recognized her piercing blue eyes. It was the girl who had led her to Edward in the tunnel.

  The groom—laughing in a circle of friends—also turned slowly, and Avery held her breath. Would she know him, too?

  He made eye contact and approached her, smiling. Speechless, Avery regretted coming at all. “Glad you could make it,” he said. “What a nice surprise.”

  Finally finding her voice, Avery said, “I thought we were just meeting to talk. To come to some sort of an agreem—”

  Edward threw back his head and laughed. “You never responded to my last message!”

  “I didn’t read it! The bird was dead! You obviously didn’t expect me to come.”

  Edward’s face contorted. “Not today, of course. The agreement was for three days ago. It’s been eight days since I met you in the tunnel.”

  Avery’s head swam. Time had lost all meaning. “Well, I’m here now, and I risked everything to get here. So tell me where my family is.”

  “Oh, I wish I could,” he said with a smile that exuded false sympathy. “But Avery, we had a deal.” And he turned to walk away.

  “No!” she blurted. “You can’t let me come all this way and then just decide not to tell me where they are!” Several guests had stopped chatting and were now watching.

  He stopped and turned back, his smile gone. “I just did.”

  Avery closed the distance between them and came face-to-face with him until their noses nearly touched. “How did you get Henry’s boat?”

  Edward put a hand on her arm, squeezing hard. He spoke softly, in measured tones. “I don’t owe you any information, but let me tell you something that could save your life, because I still consider you a friend—despite how you’re acting at my wedding: don’t return to the castle.”

  Pulling back, she studied his face, trying to comprehend. She did feel bad about causing a scene here, now. Trying her best to sound civil, she said, “Just tell me why.”

  Edward glanced both ways, and people looked away. “Look carefully at the guests,” he whispered.

  Avery looked past him and noticed that the simply dressed congregants, talking and smiling in clusters, were young. On closer examination she realized they were all the missing thirteen-year-olds! Alive!

  She closed her eyes and shook her head as he lightened his grip on her arm. “How did they get here? Why are they here?”

  “Let’s just say we’re organized, and the king is about to be dethroned. It would have happened the day of the race had you let Thomas win.”

  Avery let the words sink in. “Thomas would have assassinated the king during his private audience,” she whispered.

  “You’re catching on.”

  A cold, hard look overtook Edward, and suddenly everything became clear to Avery. “You’ve built an army! You snatched everyone from the castle. This is the secret mission you kept referring to, the one you wanted my help with. You wanted me to meet you here so I could be part of your legion. Do you even know where my family is? Did you ever?”

  Edward let go of her and smiled. “Listen, Avery, this may look like a wedding, but it’s not. It’s a call to arms. Everyone here knew that. And now so do you.”

  “Smart,” Avery said, nodding. “Use my family to draw me here. Find one of the paper boats in my brother’s room and make me think you got it from him so I’d believe you could take me to him and my father. Gotta hand it to you.”

  Edward pressed his lips together and cocked his head. “Guilty,” he said, “but here you are, and here we are. And your best—and probably only—chance to find your family is to join the resistance.”

  “You really believe the end justifies the means,” she said, shaking her head. “Good-bye, Edward.”

  “Last chance, Avery!” he called after her as she strode toward the door. “Join us as we take back the throne or die in the tunnels!”

  Avery turned. “The king isn’t our problem. Kill him and we could be in worse trouble than we are now. Not to mention, you could be hanged for treason!”

  “Don’t say you haven’t been warned. And you should know that if the entire castle needs to be destroyed in order to kill the king, we’re prepared to do that.”

  “You wouldn’t! Your sister could be locked in the Tower right now.”

  “Is that so?” Edward nodded over his shoulder, and Avery followed his gaze to where a nicely dressed Ilsa stood chatting in a group. “Who do you think started the fire?”

  Is there no limit to what these two might do?

  “You, too, could disappear without a trace, Avery. Stay with us and let your friends think something tragic happened to you.”

  She shook her head. With the entire castle in jeopardy, Avery knew what she had to do.

  Edward said, “Be careful. Tell anyone what you know and that paper boat will be the last thing you ever see of your family.”

  Avery slipped out of the chapel and raced to the door of the tunnel that led back to her friends. She would never stop trying to reach her family, but it was time to warn the king.

  Chapter 36
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  A Friendship Uncovered

  Somehow the journey back took longer. Why did that always seem so?

  Avery returned to Tuck’s sick chamber—winded and anxious.

  “Where were you?” Kate whispered, rising from the stool beside Tuck’s bed—where he lay sleeping.

  Avery shrugged. “I needed time to think.”

  The look in Kate’s eyes told Avery she knew there was something more.

  Kate didn’t press, and Avery didn’t offer.

  In the days following, Avery took a book to the infirmary each time she took her turn on the stool beside Tuck’s bed. Some days she read to him, and other days she asked him to tell her stories from his childhood. She sensed he enjoyed their time together as much as she did. Nearly every day when she arrived, he was deep in conversation with Kendrick.

  But then one morning at breakfast, Tuck appeared in the doorway, and the dining room burst into applause. Everyone moved to clear a spot and find him a plate.

  Avery had to fight the urge to cry as she watched Tuck sit in his usual spot. And as if he couldn’t manage it himself, kids helped fill his plate and pour his drink and push his chair closer to the table. They did everything for him except spoon the food into his mouth.

  Avery smiled at the frustration on his face. They were one step closer to getting the old Tuck back.

  Of course, this also meant they were one step closer to learning what Tuck planned to do next. Avery was certain she wasn’t ready to hear it.

  Kendrick invited Avery to join him where he kept his castle replica and said, “The strangest thing happened. One of my maps—this one—went missing, but it was returned the next day. You know how neatly I like to keep them, but you can see it has been folded. Any idea who might have borrowed it?”

  Avery wondered if Kendrick could hear her heartbeat the way she did. She was certain she was blushing from her neck to her hairline.

  “I’m sure whoever it was had a good reason,” she said, trying to sound casual but knowing she sounded anything but.

  “No doubt.”

  “And I’m sure she—or he—would love to tell you what happened but doesn’t feel like she—or he—should.”

  Kendrick set down the map and smoothed it out. He sat back and looked her in the eyes. “When you’re ready to tell me where you went and why you’ve been so quiet since you returned, I’m ready to listen. I hope by now you know we’re friends.”

  Avery looked down then nodded. Lying never solved anything. She began cautiously. “Edward asked me to meet him in the chapel.”

  “Ilsa’s brother? I thought he was—”

  “He’s back.”

  “And you’re telling me my map was accurate? It took you to the chapel?”

  Avery nodded. “It was perfect, except—”

  “Except you had to guess at the fork.”

  “Right. I went left.”

  “And it worked? You didn’t have to double back?”

  “No, left was correct.”

  Kendrick grabbed a quill and filled in that portion of his map, asking, “So what did Edward want?”

  Avery bit her lip, considered Edward’s threat, and decided it was a risk she had to take. If she didn’t tell Kendrick, she’d put her friends at risk. If she told Kendrick the truth, she put her family at risk. She moved to stand close to Kendrick so she could whisper the words—

  “He’s planning to destroy the king.”

  She expected Kendrick to doubt her or at least criticize her for meeting him, but he merely nodded. “I know.”

  “You do? How?”

  “Why do you think I tried so hard to map the route to the chapel? We need a way of escape. A war is coming. I don’t know when or with whom, but if we stay here, we’ll end up fighting for our lives.”

  “Then I’m right that it’s time to talk to the king,” Avery said.

  Kendrick blew out a long breath. “I think you might be.”

  Kate unrolled a thick canvas onto Avery’s mattress. “I’ve discovered how your mother knew so much about life within the castle.”

  Avery stood shoulder to shoulder with her, peering at a painting of Queen Elizabeth in a velvet chair surrounded by beautiful ladies. It had been commissioned around the same time—if not the same day—as the other painting Avery had discovered in the storage room on the kids’ side of the castle. Avery could tell because the setting, backdrop, and style were the same.

  The portrait featured the queen’s smooth skin and exotic mismatched eyes. One of the ladies behind her had light hair and a radiant smile, clearly muted by the painter, probably in an attempt not to detract from the queen.

  “My mother!” Avery said, gasping. She ran her fingers over the canvas, marveling at the image of this younger version of the woman she had known, but made up, and with her hair done up, and dressed as Avery had never seen—in castle finery.

  “From what I’ve been able to uncover,” Kate said, “she was a lady-in-waiting, a fixture at court. I hope this answers some of your questions.”

  “Hardly,” Avery whispered, unable to tear her eyes away. She was dying to know how Kate knew this woman was her mother, but that question could wait. “May I keep this?”

  “For a day or two. I need to return it before anyone knows it’s missing.”

  Avery accepted Kendrick’s help pulling her up onto the sloping rooftop with the painting under her arm. She unrolled it and held it before him. “That’s my mother,” she said, pointing. “Can you believe it?”

  Kendrick’s face was blank.

  “What is it?” Avery asked.

  “I knew her.”

  Avery rerolled the canvas and set it on her lap. “What are you saying?”

  “The lady in that painting was a friend of the woman who raised me. She was the one I told you about who was talking to the woman who cared for me the day I learned of my connection to the king. Avery, if that’s who you say it is, your mother knew who I was.”

  “That can’t be possible.”

  “She often visited us.”

  “No,” Avery said, but she knew Kendrick had no reason to lie. “It can’t be a coincidence that our mothers were friends. Maybe I’m here because my mother knew the truth about you.”

  “Maybe you’re part of the secret,” Kendrick said.

  But Avery wasn’t ready to even consider what that might imply.

  Chapter 37

  Tuck’s Announcement

  Avery sat with Tuck in the tunnel Great Room where their friends gathered to read or talk. The rest looked as weary as she felt. Months of dark, cold underground living had taken their toll.

  “I need to talk about the ring,” she said, unable to look in his eyes.

  “Ring?”

  Avery considered dropping it. If Tuck had forgotten about the ring or never intended to return it, she didn’t want to make things awkward between them. And yet he was getting better, and she wanted their friendship fully restored.

  “On Christmas Day you gave me a gold ring shaped like a crown with small pointed spikes.”

  Tuck smiled, and Avery knew he hadn’t forgotten. She held out her hand. His pause told her she wasn’t likely to get it back.

  “Tonight I plan to make an announcement,” he said quietly. “You’ll want to hear it, because I suspect you won’t want the ring anymore.”

  At midnight court, the chatter was upbeat, but Avery felt only a pit in her stomach as she took her seat at the front beside Tuck’s chair. She wished she could enjoy getting back to normalcy when Kendrick and Kate took their seats and Tuck entered to the greetings of the rest of the thirteen-year-olds.

  Though tonight he would sit rather than stand, it was still great to have him back. He looked as nervous as he had the day he announced Ilsa would be the nominee for lady-in-waiting.

  He called for order and dived right in. “No more halfhearted efforts,” he said. “We must overturn every stone to find the missing friends and brothers and sisters among us. Alr
eady scouts are doing everything they can.”

  Avery shot a glance at Kendrick as Tuck continued. “We’ve employed residents of the underworld to see what they can uncover on the streets. Thanks to Kendrick’s efforts, we are scouring the castle—room by room—until we exhaust every nook and cranny. And yet there is one place we have not looked.”

  Scanning the room, Avery could tell she was not the only one on the edge of her seat.

  Tuck licked his lips and glanced at the floor. “Tomorrow I set sail for the Forbidden City, our last hope to end our captivity.”

  No clapping, no hugging, no shouts of praise. The kids sat wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Avery assumed they were all thinking what she was.

  After tomorrow we likely won’t ever see him again.

  He needs to know the truth about Kendrick’s identity.

  Kendrick was waiting for her in an alcove off the dining room.

  “Tuck can’t travel!” Avery blurted before he had a chance to open his mouth. “He’s barely well enough to be out of bed, let alone sail on the Salt Sea! Either you tell him the truth tonight or I will!”

  Kendrick shook his head. “I don’t want him to go either, but I can’t tell him who I am just to keep him here. I haven’t told anyone.”

  “You told me!”

  “No, Avery. You figured it out. I wouldn’t have told you, either.”

  Though his comment cut deep, Avery steeled herself against taking it personally. She paced. “We can’t let him even get in a boat. Think of something.”

  “Why? What if he’s right? What if he finds something in the Forbidden City that can help? Give me one reason he shouldn’t try.”

  Avery stopped. “Because I love him!”

  The words were out before she could stop them or explain.

  “Oh,” Kendrick said, his eyes widening. He dropped into a chair, staring, a hand on each knee.