“I’d better be able to fit through here,” I said to Rodin. “I sure don’t want to climb back down.”
The bars were just wide enough that my head slipped through, twisting my shoulders and feet, I squeezed between the gap. If I were any bigger, like the captain or baron, I wouldn’t have fit. Once inside the room, with a raised center, the edges acting as a drain that flowed to the pipe. In the center of the room chains lay on the floor. I realized I was in a dungeon. I was glad to see Genevieve wasn’t here.
In the distance, voices beyond the door made me plaster myself against the wall next to the wooden door. I tapped my shoulder and Rodin landed. Neither one of us made a sound.
The voices grew louder, passing the door just inches from where I stood, and then trailing off in the distance. I let out a long breath and Rodin rubbed my head. As quietly as possible, I pulled on the large iron ring and opened the door. Thankfully, it didn’t creak. I double-checked my Thumpers were loaded, and stepped out into the hall.
CHAPTER 15
RESCUE MISSION
Like the dungeon I’d climbed into, there were several other rooms cut from the rock. Rodin flew forward, in and out of each empty room, and landed back on my shoulder.
“She’s not being kept in the dungeons, so where is she?” I said. “I guess we head upstairs now. Stay close.”
Rodin secured his grip on my shoulder, digging his claws into my shirt. Together we slipped up a curving, rock-hewn staircase. I paused at the top and peered into a hallway. I stepped out and slowly navigated a series of corridors lit only by torches. Faded paint on the walls depicted mountain scenes of farming and hunting, along with unusual animals and frightening demons. The once glorious decorations had faded with age. The palace must have been a luxurious place at one time. The Knights of the Golden Circle only bring decay, I thought.
I stopped at two crossing passages as angry voices rose in the distance. An argument. “Sounds like the Golden Circle.”
Keeping my back pressed against the wall, I slid toward the heated discussion. This hallway led to large room, so I veered down a side passage until I came across a wall cut in a lattice design. Through the wall, I could see into the room and hear everything without being seen.
I hunkered down next to a column hoping no one would pass through this hallway. On the other side, several people sat surrounded by lavish pillows. I didn’t recognize anyone at first, but then I heard a voice that sent a chill through my body. Fear dug itself out of the depths of my memory and sunk its teeth into my heart. The southern drawl was something I would never forget, something I could not scrape from my soul—Colonel Hendrix.
Hendrix was the shadow that loomed over my life for the past two years. He was the nightmare that haunted my dreams. My heart pounded, and blood raced through my throbbing temples.
A man with a German accent said, “General Hendrix, you need to calm down. Everything is on schedule. The Templar will take weeks to discover us, and by the time they do, it will be too late.”
“Do not try to placate me. The Templar are here; I feel those righteous bastards in my bones.”
I held my breath.
With a Chinese accent, another man said, “You still have not explained what happened to Lord Kannard.”
“All you need know is that I am in charge now!”
“The inner circle runs this organization, not you,” a third man with a strange accent said with a sneer.
“Perhaps at one time, Lord Xerxes, but the world has changed. I am the one who retrieved both the ancient hearts and the Crusader hearts. I am the Horseman of War! I am the inner circle.”
“No one can deny your greatness,” the Chinese accented voice remained calm. “But we have worked on this much longer than you.”
“And you failed. But that was Kannard’s fault, and he has paid for that misfortune. I am the one who provided the gold. I am the one who will provide more. I am the one who holds the power, and I am the one who controls the Iron Horsemen.”
A woman, with a smooth, sultry voice, silenced the rhetoric. “Gentlemen, your dueling egos are sucking the air from this room.”
The baroness! I drew back, realizing the woman’s voice belonged to Genevieve’s mother. The assassin who had struck fear at Eton, blamed my friend the Zulu for her crimes, and caused us to chase her across the African continent. I was in the right place, but I had been foolish in not waiting for the others. Mr. Singh was right. I turned to Rodin, who had crouched low on my shoulder, his teeth bared as a low growl escaped his belly.
“General Hendrix is our leader now,” the baroness continued. “He has seized control, and not a one of you can take it back. However, your contribution to the cause is still significant. Why fight amongst ourselves when we can all share in the glory? Soon the world will be encased in the Golden Circle. And when that happens, we will all be emperors, or in my case, an empress.”
“Wise words,” the German said.
“Indeed,” General Hendrix said as he raised a golden goblet. “A toast to the baroness for recognizing exactly where things stand.” He took a drink and slammed the cup back on the tray.
I’d found the inner circle. Kannard and Hendrix had fought over control on the Milli-train as we crossed the savannas. And I knew the fate of Kannard. Hendrix had run him through with his sword, I used to think their fight was about the gold Kannard had wasted, but now I understood. It had been about control. Hendrix would have remained a colonel under Kannard, but now he was a general who had seized control of the Knights of the Golden Circle.
Hendrix’s southern drawl pulled me back to the lattice wall. “So where are we on the plan? Are the machine’s ready?”
Another man, one I hadn’t heard before said, “Soon.”
I leaned in hoping they would tell me their plans, but heavy boots stomping down the hall. The sound drew closer and I knew they would soon spot me. Then Rodin sniffed the air, and flew off. I reached out and tried to stop him but he was gone.
I couldn’t remain here, so I rushed after the little dragon. He turned down another passage and I ran after him, trying to be as quiet as possible. As Rodin soared up a set of stairs, I whispered, “No, Rodin, get back here.”
I slowly made my way up the stairs, hugging the wall, and taking each step with caution, looking behind me again and again. I didn’t hear any alarms or guards yelling, so Rodin hadn’t been discovered, but I still feared being discovered.
Once I’d reached the doorway, I peered around and didn’t see anyone, including Rodin. Letting instinct guide me, I walked down a hallway. My heart pounded, my breathing shallowed. My stomach lurched and twisted as footsteps, two pair, walked in unison. I had to hide. I opened the first door I found and slipped inside.
I pressed my ear against the door and waited for them to pass, but then from behind me I heard a voice.
“Alexander!”
Genevieve.
I spun around and found Genevieve sitting on a low bench surrounded by silk cushions. She was dressed in a light blue sari and adorned with gold jewelry on her wrists, neck, ankles, and fingers. Strands of gold chain were even woven through her hair. She held the little bronze dragon in her lap, clutching him close. I stopped. Unable to breathe. Unable to think. I knew I had to say something to answer her question, but I was frozen.
A smile spread across her lips. I finally shook my head freeing myself from the stupor, and managed to croak out, “I’m here to rescue you.”
CHAPTER 16
GENEVIEVE
“I don’t need rescuing.” Genevieve’s brow hardened and one eyebrow rose. “Is my father about to come crashing through the window to save me, like a damsel in distress?”
“No, but he is here.” I stumbled over my words, confusion pulling my mind in so many directions. “Well, he’s not here, at this palace, but he is nearby, on the Sparrowhawk.” My hands went to my hips. “But, you... were... kidnapped. I’m here to save you from Hendrix.”
“I was not k
idnapped.” She rubbed Rodin’s head. “My mother bested me in the sword fight on top of the Milli-train, outside the Zulu village. She disarmed me with a move she’d taught me when I was younger. That’s when I knew she was my real mother.” Rodin rolled over on his back and she scratched his belly. “She told me my father had lied to me, that the Templars were trying to control me, and she demanded I go with her so she could prove it. I needed to know the truth, Alexander. So I went. We climbed into the Milli-train and she showed me proof... in the Templar’s own words.”
“The Knights of the Golden Circle aren’t keeping you hostage?”
“No. I am their guest. My door isn’t even locked.”
“Oh, I didn’t know... I mean I did, I just opened it, but—” I knelt down in front of her. “I found your sword; I thought they had taken you. We’ve been searching everywhere for you.”
“I had a feeling you would.”
“We chased you across Africa, and I thought we’d catch up with you in Egypt but we missed. Then we waited in Acre, but again, you slipped past us. It wasn’t until we came to these mountains that we finally found your trail, which led us—me—here.”
I pulled off a long bundle wrapped in cloth slung across my back and set it before her. “Your saber. I even sharpened it.”
Her hands caressed the package and she looked into my eyes. “Thank you.” She unwrapped the cloth, revealing the silver hilt with an oval-shaped piece of lapis lazuli in the pommel. “I’m so pleased you’ve returned it to me.”
I nodded. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“My mother’s explained everything to me. My father and the Templars haven’t been completely honest with us. Not that the Golden Circle is always right, but what they did to her—the Templars—the choices they forced her to make... it broke my heart.”
My mind swirled, my thoughts became a jumbled mess. I tried to speak, but the words jammed up before I could utter them. Hendrix had been trying to tell me the same thing on the train. He insisted I wasn’t a prisoner, but a guest, and he’d told me how evil the Templar were, but I didn’t believe him. Now, Genevieve’s mother told her the same thing. I could see how it would be easy to believe. I didn’t know what to think, who to trust. Genevieve wasn’t easily fooled. More than anyone else in the world, she had my complete confidence. I pushed the pillows aside and sat next to her on the bench.
“Mr. Singh and Ershou are waiting outside. We can get you to safety.”
Her face softened for a moment at the mention of Indihar, but then she shook her head. “I have no idea who Ershou is, but I’m not leaving. Nor am I going back to England to be put into a gilded cage with the Duke’s son!”
I cringed at the mention of Richard, Genevieve’s betrothed. I certainly didn’t want her marrying him, but how could she stay with the Golden Circle?
“Did you know it was the Templars who set up my marriage? Against my mother’s wishes. My father went along with the plan, but—” She stopped and took a breath, then locked eyes with me and shuddered. “Alexander, the Templars want power, a leader with royal blood on both sides. I’m to be a broodmare, with no other destiny than to bear Richard a son who will be groomed to be the future Grand Master of the Order.”
The idea of Genevieve and Richard enraged me. But knowing the Duke and Richard, it sounded like one of their dastardly ideas. Her disgusted radiated like heat, and I shared her anger.
“But I can’t leave you here.”
“It’s not up to you whether I stay or go.” She reached over and touched my cheek, her fingertips electrifying my skin, like I’d been zapped by the captain’s lightning cannon. “You, however, have to leave. Hendrix still wants you to become a Horseman.”
“I can’t leave you with the Golden Circle. What if we take your mother along, too?”
“My mother?” She laughed, and her smile ignited a fire within me. Then she shook her head again. “My mother would never go with us. As much as I’m glad to see you, you have to leave before anyone—including my mother— realizes you’re here.”
I took her hands in mine and looked into her eyes. “But I just found you. I don’t want us to be separated anymore. Not one minute longer.”
“Hendrix is obsessed with you. He claims you’re the key to the hearts.” She slid closer to me, and I wrapped my arm around her without even thinking about it. Like it was the most natural action. Something I’d done countless times before. She rested her head against my shoulder. “I never want to be apart, either, but I’m afraid fate has other plans for us.”
“But...” Words failed me, I’d come to rescue her and she didn’t want to be rescued. “You look amazing,” I mumbled. “I like your dress. It’s very pretty, especially with all the gold. You look like a princess.”
“Thank you,” she said and nuzzled closer. Her fragrance, a mix of roses, and exotic spices I couldn’t name, drew me ever nearer. I could stay in this moment here forever. I had to admit I no longer wanted to leave. “It is really good to see you, Alexander. In truth, I have missed you.”
I lifted her chin, staring into her eyes, they dazzled like starlight. Time, the world, and all my troubles disappeared. I tried to think, but all my mind would focus on was her. I leaned in and kissed her. Her touch and the soft caress of her lips zapped me again, sending a buzz of electricity through me.
Time ticked onward, but we remained in an endless moment I never wanted to end. Genevieve finally pulled back and rested her head against my shoulder. She ran her fingers along my shirt, and intertwined them with the leathers strap wrapped around me.
She looked up at me. “You should be back at Eton, making a future for yourself.”
“Well...” I smiled, “after the battle at the Zulu village, I sort of told my father I wouldn’t be going back. I joined the crew of the Sparrowhawk.”
“You joined the crew. Wow. How did your father take it?”
“Better than I thought he would, but, he understood why.” I cleared my throat. “He understood I was doing it for you, to find you. Of course, I’ve got a room full of books. ‘Searching for Genevieve is no excuse to slack off on your studies,’” I said with a chuckle, mimicking my father.
“I wish I had been there to see that.” She touched my cheek and I looked down at her. “I do apologize for making you worry,” she said. “There simply wasn’t time. I had to make a decision, and so I went with my mother to find the truth.”
She kissed me again. Flying high above the clouds was the only sensation I could compare to having Genevieve in my arms, her lips pressing against mine. Suddenly my stomach twisted and lurched. I pulled back from her, my eyes wide.
The door swung open and a voice shattered our tranquility. “Hello, Alexander. I see you finally found my daughter.”
I turned and saw Baroness Kensington standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Her hair was longer, and she was dressed like Genevieve, but her sari was a deep purple.
Panic shot through every muscle in my body, and I slid away from Genevieve and Rodin. “We... I came here to rescue Genevieve.”
“Haven’t you learned yet that Kensington women don’t need rescuing?”
“I have now.”
Baroness Kensington, turned her head, and I heard heavy footsteps in the hall. A southern drawl echoed into the room. “What’d I tell you, I knew that boy couldn’t stay away.” Hendrix. A chill shot through me. I’d never forget that voice.
The baroness reached into a silken sash tied around her waist and removed a small metal pneumatic blow-dart gun. She pressed the button and a tiny wooden twig plunged into my neck. I pulled it out and briefly wondered if I’d suffer the same fate as the murdered professors at Eton. Then the room began to spin and it seemed as I was pitching up and down on the high seas. I tried to focus, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Hendrix pushed into the room, and the last thing I saw was his face, half-covered in bronze plates.
CHAPTER 17
CAPTURED
“Alexan
der.”
I heard a soft voice, a man’s, but I couldn’t open my eyes. I didn’t think I was dreaming, but, I couldn’t move.
Someone pressed fingers into my skin and gently shook my shoulders, but still I couldn’t react. In fact, it felt like my body lay miles away.
“He’s breathing,” the voice said. “That’s a good sign.”
I kept willing my body to move, and eventually my fingers tapped against something hard, and then I forced open an eye. I was on the floor looking up at a blurry, blue turban looming over me. I tasted bile in the back of my throat and my face was wet. As Mr. Singh came into focus, I sat up and wiped the drool from my cheek.
“Careful you are coming out from under the effects of the potion.” Mr. Singh helped me sit back against the wall. “You’ve been out for quite some time.”
“How long?”
“Almost three hours.”
“My head feels like it was shot out a cannon.”
Another voice, Ershou’s said, “They used a sleeping potion on you. It will pass.”
“Ershou? What are you both doing here?”
“They captured us on the path. They knew we were here.”
“Yeah, Hendrix and the baroness found me with Genevieve.”
“No, Alexander, we were captured right after you disappeared into the drain. They were expecting us.”
“They even knew that it was just the two of us.” Ershou’s eyes burned.
“The mole.” I clenched my fists until my knuckles ached. “The mole on the Sparrowhawk must have found a way to contact them.”
“He would have had to send a message as soon as I left the ship,” Mr. Singh said.
I looked down and felt for my Thumper, but the holster was empty. Mr. Singh shook his head. “They took our weapons.”
Iron Lotus Page 9
