by Mike Shelton
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
For the next two days, Harold and his group stopped again at two more towns on their way to Riverton. His carvings had sold well, but he still held back a few crates to sell at the fair in the capital city.
Orin seemed to be able to move his arm fully now, and both him and Shaeleen seemed to be back to full strength. Orin was anxious to move quicker, and earlier that day had offered Shaeleen the use of his speed again, but, being on foreign soil, they needed to be extremely careful about the use of their powers.
They were now approaching Riverton. The sun had set an hour before, and the city gates glowed with a faint pink in the last gleam of twilight. So they decided to stop and stay at an inn on the outskirts of town and enter the next day.
Shaeleen was looking forward to a good bath, a more comfortable bed, and a different meal than stew or soup. Then I’ll be ready to meet the queen.
After bringing the horses into the stable, the group of travelers entered the common room for a meal. Tonight’s special was pork roast, steamed vegetables, and freshly baked rye bread. They ate their fill and then sat for a time, enjoying two men and a woman playing the lute and singing.
Soon the crowd in the room grew larger, and then a few couples stood up to dance.
Harold and Genevieve stood up to join in. But Aaron and Marianne excused themselves and their baby to go to their room, leaving Shaeleen and Orin all alone at the table.
Shaeleen’s nose twitched as she smelled something sweet, and she looked around.
“What’s wrong?” Orin leaned over to ask.
“Nothing is wrong.” Shaeleen smiled and took a deep breath with her nose in the air.
Orin laughed heartily. “Must be something sweet. How do you do it?”
“My nose has a special ability.” Shaeleen grinned and turned her head toward the kitchen. “There is no sweet cake or roll that can hide from me. I’ll be right back.”
Shaeleen stood up and wound her way through the crowd. Coming to the door of the kitchen, she peeked inside and caught the eye of one of the younger cooks. The woman smiled as if knowing what she wanted.
“Looking for something sweet, young lady?”
Shaeleen smiled. “Oh yes, please. Two, please.”
Taking two large rolls off a steaming tray and putting them on a plate, the young cook put a dab of sugared frosting on each and then handed them to Shaeleen.
Shaeleen took a deep breath and giggled. Putting her finger on one roll, she tried to take off a small piece, but she yelped in pain instead.
“Wait a few minutes, sweetie.” The cook laughed. “They’re barely out of the oven.”
Shaeleen was turning to go, when a young man dressed in some type of official uniform came through the back door. He carried a rolled up piece of paper with him and seemed determined to get through the kitchen. Shaeleen started to leave the kitchen herself just as the young man passed her. The uniformed man frowned at her and then continued on his way. After walking a few feet, he turned back around and stared hard at her.
Shaeleen sensed something was not right and ducked behind a large man. The young man shook his head, as if trying to think of something, then continued to the front of the room, where the owner was greeting people. Shaeleen watched the young man unroll the paper he held and tack it up on a board just inside the front door.
Shaeleen was curious, so she made her way over, trying not to be seen by the young man. Popping a bite of sweet roll in her mouth, she squinted to see what was on the sign. She was so surprised that she dropped the sweet rolls onto the floor, turned around, and pushed her way through the crowd. Before she had even reached her table, she was calling out Orin’s name.
“Orin! Orin!” Shaeleen said, finally pulling his attention away from the music. “We have to leave now!”
“What?” Orin scrunched up his face at her as if she were crazy.
“We’re wanted,” Shaeleen explained. “A soldier showed up with a ‘Wanted’ poster. Your face and mine are on it—or at least a fairly good likeness. We are to be apprehended at once. And it’s signed by Commander Kerr.”
Behind them were raised voices that caught her attention. Walking toward them was the owner, accompanied by the young man who had put up the sign. Both looked intently in their direction.
“Now, Orin,” Shaeleen demanded, her hair moving around her head as she turned back toward him. “Get us out of here! Now!”
Orin grabbed a hold of Shaeleen’s hand and pulled upon his power of speed. Once again, Shaeleen noticed everything around them freeze in position as she and Orin moved in a quick blur between the tables and through the crowd, then out the front door.
Once they were out of the inn, Orin dropped his power, and they stood there breathing hard for a moment.
Orin’s face went dark. “I guess Commander Kerr didn’t like us escaping.”
“No, he didn’t,” Shaeleen said. “And now, word of it has reached the capital. I need to speak to the queen as soon as possible.”
“It’s too late tonight,” Orin said. “Unless…?”
Shaeleen knew what he must be thinking. With his speed ability, they could be inside the city in less than half an hour, she guessed. But then what? They would still have to wait until morning to see the queen.
Shaeleen’s hands were in fists, and she glanced up and down the street. “We can hide until morning. It will be easier to hide out here and then blend in with the crowds entering the city tomorrow.”
She led them around the side of the building. But, as they turned the corner, large, meaty hands grabbed them from behind. Cuffs were placed on their wrists immediately.
“It doesn’t matter how fast you are or what you might do to us if you could touch us.” The man laughed. “We have you now.”
Orin pulled against his cuffs and then shook his head at Shaeleen. “I can’t get away, Shae. They’re too strong.”
Her own cuffs had gloves attached so she couldn’t touch anyone with her bare hands to force the truth from them. Compliments of Commander Kerr.
The man that held them and two other soldiers standing to his side were three of the largest men Shaeleen had ever seen. Their necks were as thick as oxen’s. Their muscles bulged through their shirts, and their veins popped out as their muscles flexed with power of the StrengthStone.
She struggled but couldn’t do anything about it.
“Seems you kids must have done something really bad, to make the commander so angry,” said one of the men, his hair longer than the others.
“Put them in the wagon, Ned,” the third man said. He appeared to be in charge.
A few minutes later, the wagon began rolling its way eastward, toward the city gates. Ned and the one in charge sat up front, driving the horses, and the third with a scowl on his hardened face, sat inside the wagon with Shaeleen and Orin.
Orin continued to try to pull on his cuffs. And, once, Shaeleen could have sworn she saw his body shake a bit with a modicum of speed. But nothing else happened, and she shook her head at him to stop.
She knew she couldn’t touch anyone, but she wondered if her powers still worked upon hearing a truth or a lie. So she started up a conversation with the men.
“Where are you taking us?” Shaeleen asked the man closest to them.
“Does it matter?” Ned asked from up front.
“It does to me,” Shaeleen responded, and the men laughed.
“Have any of you ever even met Commander Kerr? Seems as if you’re most likely far below him,” Shaeleen said, goading them.
The two drivers laughed and waved their hands at her to dismiss her statement.
But the third soldier gritted his teeth and then said, “We are strong soldiers, and Commander Kerr needs strong soldiers.”
“Then why were you left behind, when the rest have gone to North Bay?” Shaeleen asked, trying to get more information from them.
The man’s cheeks turned red. “He trusts us to keep things running smo
othly around here. He told me so personally…”
Shaeleen’s stomach lurched. So, she knew now that the handcuffs did not bind her powers. After that, she didn’t even listen to the man as he blathered on about how important he was.
“Tucker,” said the man in charge, “shut up. Don’t let the girl goad you on.”
Tucker growled but then closed his mouth.
* * *
Two hours later, Shaeleen looked up as they were taken out of the wagon and saw that they were at an entrance to the castle at Riverton. She gulped and put a hand to her breast to slow her beating heart. This was not the way I had planned on coming to the castle.
As the soldiers took her and Orin out of the wagon, Shaeleen continued to look up at the tall, imposing structure. It was made of dark stone blocks, stood at least four stories tall and was built more like a fortress than the castle at Stronghaven had been. The dark stone, Shaeleen knew, was from Mount Orelia to the northwest. Smaller buildings were next to the castle, intermixed with gardens, trees, and small ponds. The beauty of the grounds was a stark contrast to the castle itself.
“I demand to see the queen,” Shaeleen said.
The men laughed, and the one in charge said, “No one demands to see the queen, especially dangerous children like you two.”
“I’m not a child,” Orin tried to pull away, but the shackles held and one of the guards pushed him forward.
They were led to a back door, past a guard, and down a long hallway, until they came to stairs leading downward.
Orin turned to Shaeleen and with a large smile said, “They don’t look that big.”
Shaeleen caught on. He was trying to make the guards angry so as to try and get a chance to escape. “They say the biggest men from Gabor are the dumbest ones,” Shaeleen said to delay them. If they could get out of the guard’s grasp they could possibly hide behind one of the smaller buildings. They had spent enough time on the road already and needed to get to the queen then back to Cole in Galena. “Something about their strength taking the place of their brains.”
Shaeleen’s head snapped to the side, and she yelped in surprise. The sting left by one of Tucker’s large, meaty hands suggested that his slap had surely made an imprint on her face. We are in bigger trouble than I thought.
“Keep quiet!” the man said. “We have no orders about what shape to deliver you in.”
Soon they approached another guard, who opened a door leading into the prison section of the castle. “This is disgusting.” She pulled against Ned, who was holding her arms. The floors were filthy, and her nose crinkled at the rotten smell. “Let me out of here. We haven’t done anything wrong.” She tried to think, but everything was happening so fast it was hard to concentrate.
The prison guard sat one lone torch in the wall, sending dark shadows across the area. No other prisoners were there, and the cells looked like they hadn’t been used in years. A rat ran across the floor in front of them and Shaeleen yelped out in disgust. Both she and Orin were shoved into separate cells, the bars closing tightly behind them. Each cell was barely wider or longer than her own barely five foot body. Bars covered three walls of each cell, with the stone wall of the castle in back.
As the men left, one of them spoke to the guard. “The TruthSeer will be here in the morning.”
The TruthSeer! Normally, one that instilled fear in criminals, she was sure. But to Shaeleen, that was the best news she’d heard all day. The TruthSeer will see the truth and set us free.
“Orin,” Shaeleen called him over to her cell. He took a few steps and looked through the bars at her. “Are you all right?”
Orin clenched his teeth. “As good as can be expected after being grabbed, shackled, and tossed into a prison. I don’t like not having my powers.”
Shaeleen had to agree with him. Even in the short time she had possessed the TruthStone, she realized the addictive nature of holding magical powers.
“You do have a plan, don’t you?” Orin drew her out of her musings.
She shrugged her shoulders, “When the TruthSeer comes, hopefully he will let us go. Let’s get some rest for now.” They both moved away from the bars and found their own corners to sit down against. Sometime during the night she fell into a restless sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The next morning, Shaeleen heard a commotion outside of the prison doors. She stood up with difficulty, stiff from sitting on the filthy floor. The shackles had remained on her wrists in front of her. She brought them up, trying to rub her eyes and to smooth down her messy nest of hair. Then she walked the three steps to the cell door.
A guard opened the outside door and strode into their prison area. Behind him came two other guards, with a middle-aged man behind them. This last man was dressed in the royal red robes of Gabor and had a smug look on his full face.
Looking sideways, she noticed Orin was also standing at his cell door. He tried to put on a brave face, but Shaeleen could tell he was losing hope. As the man approached the cells with obvious arrogance, it seemed to Shaeleen as if his beady eyes took in everything around him. Settling his gaze on her, he gave no indication that he recognized her for anything besides a young woman. She surely didn’t want to prove otherwise.
With that one look, a sudden thought flickered through her mind, and Shaeleen had to stop herself from taking a step back. The man’s eyes had been darker than they should be—especially for one who held the magic of a TruthSeer—so, This man is dangerous.
Then he proceeded over to Orin’s cell. “So, this is the young man causing our great commander so much trouble,” he said, his voice nasal and whiney. “Doesn’t look like much to me.”
The guards laughed.
Orin sneered at the man. “And you don’t look like much of a TruthSeer either. Looks can be deceiving, I guess.”
The TruthSeer’s eyes squinted, hardly allowing a slit to look through over his fleshy cheeks.
Then one of the guards reached his fist through the bars and tried to grab Orin, saying, “Have some respect for Erwin, Gabor’s TruthSeer.”
“Erwin? There was an Erwin in our town once,” Orin mused. “The townspeople said the name meant boar or friend of boars. Judging by your size, I can see that.”
One of the guards by the outer door tried to hold back a snicker. Shaeleen realized Orin was trying to take Erwin’s attention off of her: to make her appear less threatening than Orin. However, Erlinda hadn’t mentioned a man named Erwin being the TruthSeer—it should have been Justyn. What is going on here?
“Do you have magic, boy?” the TruthSeer said all of a sudden.
Orin smiled as if this was what he had been waiting for. “No,” he said plainly and untruthfully.
Shaeleen felt the pain of the lie in her gut and turned away to hide her reaction. She heard a gasp from Erwin and his breathing quicken. He, too, had been affected by the lie, but his control was better than hers—he had likely been a TruthSeer for longer than Shaeleen had been alive.
“Liar,” the TruthSeer said.
“I never lie,” Orin said with a smirk, and Shaeleen turned back around.
The TruthSeer took a few steps back away from the cells and sucked in a deep breath. But he still hadn’t noticed Shaeleen’s pain.
“Orin, stop,” Shaeleen said to her young friend. “He knows.”
Orin turned to her. “I know he does. That’s why I’m doing it, to hurt him.”
“Others might be hurt also,” she warned him, without admitting openly who she was. She hoped that Orin would understand her meaning.
He did. His eyes apologized to her.
Shaeleen’s TruthStone still remained in the pouch Prince Basil had given her, inside her pocket. The pouch guarded it from others knowing about it. She couldn’t touch the stone with shackles on her wrists, but she could still feel the power within herself.
“Sir,” Shaeleen called to the TruthSeer, “I need to see the queen.”
Erwin turned his head and stared ha
rd at Shaeleen. Then he turned back to Orin.
“Guards, gag the boy. He is not allowed to speak. If he can’t tell the truth, he won’t say anything at all.”
Two guards moved into Orin’s cell. With much difficulty and squirming from Orin, they finally put a gag on his mouth and tied his hands down farther so he couldn’t reach his mouth with them.
Then Erwin came over to Shaeleen’s cell. “I also heard rumors of you, child.”
“I need to talk to Queen Victoria,” Shaeleen reiterated and tried to stand taller in front of the TruthSeer. “There is trouble in our two kingdoms that she needs to be made aware of.”
“Oh, please tell me,” Erwin said, mocking her.
Shaeleen felt the power of the IntelligenceStone, and a question popped into her mind. “Are you the queen’s TruthSeer?”
One of the guards said from behind Erwin, “Of course he is a TruthSeer.”
Shaeleen felt no lie told there, but Erwin had yet to answer her specific question.
“I am, as the guard says, a TruthSeer,” Erwin said, but beads of sweat began forming on his brow.
“But, are you the queen’s TruthSeer?” Shaeleen said more forcefully this time. She was being prompted by the IntelligenceStone to ask the question in that exact way.
Erwin squirmed under her gaze. “Of course I am the queen’s TruthSeer!” he said, his voice pitched high. As soon as these words were out of his mouth, they both knew the lie that had flown from his lips.
Shaeleen leaned over for a moment and tried to control the pain. When she leaned up again, Erwin stood staring at her with wide eyes.
“You are not the queen’s TruthSeer but only an apprentice to him. The queen’s real TruthSeer is Justyn,” Shaeleen said. “I need to warn him and Queen Victoria of Commander Kerr’s intentions.”
Erwin waved the guards back toward the door out of earshot. Then he leaned in closer to the bars of Shaeleen’s cell. “And what do you know of the great commander’s plans?”
