by Dyan Chick
“Do all children in Gallia get tested for magic, even royals?” I asked.
“Yes, they are. It’s a big part of our culture,” she said.
The thought of my mother training in sorcery warmed my heart. Maybe I’m following in her footsteps.
28
I took a deep breath. Today’s the day. Saffron pulled the ribbon on my corset tighter and I gasped.
“Sorry, but we need you to look the part today.” She let out some slack and then tied it up.
“How am I supposed to fight in this thing?” I tried to wiggle a little and struggled to move.
“You don’t.” She brushed my long hair away from my face and pulled it into a gold net at the base of my head. “You’ll be able to change after you’ve caused enough gossip.”
“What if the king just shows up?” I swallowed. I had seen my fair share of sorcerers teleporting from one location to another with no effort.
“He won’t right away. There aren’t any sorcerers in that town to get information to him quickly. It’s a half day’s ride to the nearest guard station, which will be under our control. And it’s a full day’s ride to the castle from there. You’ll have at least a day and a half before he arrives.”
My stomach had been in knots all morning, making me feel nauseous. I closed my eyes and went over the plan in my head again. I was to act the part of a noble lady out with a friend for a day in town. The fact that two women were on their own in town without male escorts would draw enough suspicion that people would start to talk. After letting my pendant slip a few times, people would figure out who I was. We didn’t want the king to know we were drawing him in, but we had to get people to discover me. A lot of people. The more people who knew, the greater the chance that somebody loyal to the king would go to tell him.
I touched my hair and frowned. I didn’t enjoy having my hair pinned up on my head. I knew I’d end up with a headache before the day’s end.
An entire corner of the small tent we were sitting in was taken up by the dress and cloak I had to wear. I sighed as I glared at it. “Let’s get this over with.”
Saffron helped me into the gown. “Don’t you think this is a bit excessive?” I lifted a sleeve and ran my finger over the pearls sewn around the cuff.
“We want you to stand out,” she reminded me.
“That won’t be a problem,” I said under my breath.
Somebody outside of the tent cleared their throat. “You dressed?”
My heart jumped. It was Ashton.
“Come on in.” Saffron pulled open the tent flap.
There was barely enough room for the three of us to stand in the tent.
Ashton’s eyes traveled from my head to my feet. He lifted his eyebrows. “You look like a princess.”
Saffron placed a hand on each of our shoulders. “You have two minutes. That’s all I can do. Do not mess up the dress or her hair.” She left us alone in the tent.
Ashton stared at me for a moment. “You look beautiful, but I think I prefer the real you.”
That was probably the best thing he could have said. I smiled at him. “I’m nervous.”
“You’ll be great.” He tilted my chin up to him and lowered his face to mine. The kiss was hard, hungry, intense. It was like a floodgate had been opened and everything we wanted to do over the last few days was suddenly possible. His hands roamed my body, exploring places they had never been. I ran my fingers through his hair and wrapped my arms him around him.
He moved his mouth down to my neck, kissing me on the sensitive skin. He kissed the exposed skin of my shoulder, under my chin, my collar bone. Shivers ran through my body and I pulled him in tight, resting my head on his strong chest. “You’ll be there, right?” The brave facade I had been putting on for everybody else was collapsing around me. He was the only person I could show my fear to.
He took hold of my hands and stared deep into my eyes. “I”ll be watching every step you take. I promise.” He pulled me in for another tight hug.
I closed my eyes and breathed him in. I wanted to carry this memory with me, no matter what happened after I left this tent. “Our time is probably up.” I felt a lump rising in my throat. If something goes wrong. I couldn’t think like that. It’s going to be fine. “I’ll see you soon.” I couldn’t handle saying goodbye. That seemed to final.
He kissed me again. This time, it was softer, his mouth barely touching mine. He lingered, his mouth less than an inch from mine, warm breath against my skin. I didn’t want it to end. Finally, he pulled away and I sighed, every inch of my body aching for more.
“See you soon,” he said. He squeezed my hand then left the tent.
I swallowed back the tears that were threatening to rise up. If everything went according to plan I wouldn’t see him again for two days. If things didn’t go according to plan, I might never see him again. I cursed silently. Where were these thoughts coming from? As we drew nearer to the moment of truth, my confidence was waning. I needed to fight the dark thoughts, keep them away. I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin. I can do this. I walked out of the tent into the sunshine. Saffron was waiting for me.
“I’m ready,” I said.
She nodded. “Good. There’s only a few hours of daylight left. It’s time.”
Celeste was dressed in a gown only slightly less ornate than my own. Master Flanders gripped our hands and I closed my eyes as the familiar darkness of teleportation descended. I clenched my jaw and before I could take a breath, we were outside of Luxor.
“Good luck, ladies.” Master Flanders squeezed my hand. “You won’t be alone. Our eyes are already in town.”
“Thank you, for everything,” I said.
“Don’t get sentimental on me now.” He smiled. “You are the strongest sorceress I have ever met. You’ll be just fine.”
I nodded.
“Take care of each other,” he said as the gray smoke enveloped him.
We were alone. Celeste pulled her hood up over he head. “Ready?”
I pulled up my hood. “Now or never.” I closed my fingers around the pendant clearly prominent against my chest. I dropped it, feeling a rush of butterflies in my stomach at the thought of leaving it exposed. If only my grandmother could see me now.
Our first stop was the nicest inn, The Tiger Lily. We entered and Celeste set an elegant, blue silk coin purse on the counter. The woman behind the counter looked up, eyebrows raised at the sight of the bulging purse.
“How can I help you, ladies?” she asked.
“We would like your best room for the evening.” Celeste allowed her Gallic accent to come out as she spoke. I bit down on my lower lip to keep from laughing at the scene. Most of the time Celeste spoke Illarian with no trace of her Gallic tongue. She sounded like a different person.
The woman raised an eyebrow. “Just the two of you? No escorts?”
Celeste lifted the purse. “We’d appreciate your discretion.” She lowered her voice. “Sometimes us ladies just need a break from all of the expectations,” she glanced at me, “and pressure of everyday life.”
The woman looked from Celeste to her purse. “Of course, my lady.” She inclined her head in a slight bow.
Celeste pulled out a gold coin. Probably enough money to cover a week’s stay at the inn. She passed the coin to the woman. “For your kindness.”
The woman’s cheeks flushed and she covered the coin with her hand. Her eyes traveled around the room, then she tucked it in her bodice. I caught her gaze fall on my pendant, she flinched, then looked back at Celeste. She cleared her throat. “I’m Bethany. If there is anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable, please let me know.”
“Thank you, Bethany,” Celeste said. “We have some business in town. Will you have our room ready for us when we return?”
Bethany inclined her head. “Of course.”
Was she reacting to my pendant or the gold? I kept my face expressionless and followed Celeste out of the inn.
�
��That went well,” Celeste said. “We might not need to go anywhere else. She might be turning you in right now.”
“Probably not after that coin you gave her,” I said.
“Did I give her too much?” Celeste asked. “The money in Gallia is different.”
I laughed. “Maybe I should take over the purse. You gave her enough for her to buy food for a month.”
We stopped in front of a dressmaker’s shop. I eyed the simple dresses in the window with envy. “Let’s go buy something more comfortable.”
When we entered the shop, all three of the seamstresses froze. I knew what they were staring at. The dresses we were wearing would have taken a team of seamstresses months to construct. Even one dress of this quality would keep a shop like this running for a whole year.
One of the women came to her senses. “Good morning, ladies.” She dipped into a curtsy.
“Good morning.” I inclined my head toward her. “My sister and I are visiting your town for the day and found that we didn’t pack anything for travel. Do you have anything ready we could purchase?”
“I’m afraid we don’t have anything as grand as you might want.” She lowered her eyes.
Celeste waved her hand dismissively. “We don’t want grand. We want comfortable. These dresses draw too much attention.”
The woman nodded and gestured for us to stand on the raised platforms in the corner for measurements. She called her ladies over and they brought measuring tapes. A mousy woman with light brown hair started to take my measurements. She froze when she came face to face with my pendant. Her breath caught. I looked away, pretending not to notice her gaze locked on my family’s crest.
This close to the king’s castle, the people of Luxor had been in the path of the Battle of the Dead. They knew the history even if it wasn’t supposed to be talked about. They would know the crest of the old king.
I risked a look down and noticed that the other two women were now staring at my pendant. I cleared my throat and she went back to taking measurements. I think we found the right place.
We left the seamstress with a couple of boxes of simple skirts and blouses that were already prepared. Probably for somebody else who had ordered them. The generous payment we left would make up for the unhappy customers.
We dropped the packages off at the inn with Bethany. Having packages to return to made our stay more believable. I longed to change into the more comfortable clothes, but it wasn’t time yet. We had to wait for the signal.
As much as I was dreading the king and his Reapers, I was hoping that the seamstress or one of her ladies was on their way to him now. The longer we waited, the more time I had to imagine all of the terrible possibilities ahead.
Celeste seemed to be just as restless as I was so we decided that going to a busy tavern for dinner would be one of our best ways to get noticed while not having to keep smiles plastered on our faces. Bethany provided the name of a location and we found our way there.
“This corset is stabbing me,” I whispered to Celeste.
“I know.” She rubbed her side. “Mine too.”
As we walked, my fingers began to tingle. I stopped mid-stride.
“I feel it, too,” Celeste said.
I reached for her hand and pulled her into an alley. We cut through the alley way and the tingle in my fingers started spreading to my arms.
“It’s getting stronger,” I said.
We exited the alley onto a busy street lined with vendors selling from tables and tents.
“This way,” Celeste threaded her arm through mine and we walked into the crowd, arms linked.
My eyes darted from side to side as we cut our way through the crowd. I searched the faces we passed for familiar ones or for anybody who looked too interested in us.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw pink sparks fly up in the sky. My heart rate quickened. The seamstresses sent word to the king.
“It’s time.” I lifted my chin toward the sparks.
Celeste nodded.
We turned into another alley and tried a door. It was unlocked. Celeste peeked behind the door then stepped inside. I followed her.
We were in a back storage room. The room was small and dark. A strong, spicy scent filled my nose. A curtain separated the space we were occupying from the rest of the building. I pulled back the curtain and peered beyond. It was a small store with shelves full of bags of powder. Spices. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light I saw that the room we were in contained large barrels, boxes, and bags of spices.
We started to peel off the dresses and I breathed a sigh of relief as I untied the corset. The tunic and pants under the dress gave me a feeling of freedom. I roughly pulled the netting out of my hair and tucked my hair into the cap that had been hidden in my skirts. Though my face was too feminine to allow me to pass as a man, I would be far less conspicuous in this clothing. I helped Celeste with her own cap and we looked around for somewhere to hide the gowns.
I pulled the lid off of a barrel and found that it was nearly empty. I shoved the gowns inside. The merchant is sure going to have a surprise when he opens that.
We snuck back into the alley way and headed for our meeting point on the far end of town. Word was out and if all went as planned, the king would be here tomorrow.
29
Celeste and I reached our destination, an old pottery mill on the edge of town, without incident. The tingle of magic never left my fingers and occasionally flared up my arms. My stomach twisted. It wouldn’t be long before we’d be facing the Reapers. I swallowed back the nausea threatening to surface.
Madame Lyndsey was waiting for us at the mill. Her face was dark, eyes grim as we approached.
Something is wrong.
She stretched her hands out to us. “Quickly, take my hands. We’re going back.”
“This isn’t the plan.” My eyes darted around for some reason for the change.
“No time to explain. Hold on.” It was an order.
We grabbed for her hands and before I could imagine why we would leave, my feet touched down on soft grass.
I pulled my hand out and rounded on her. “What happened? Why did you change the plan?”
“You didn’t feel it?” She narrowed her eyes at me, knowing the answer already.
My shoulders dropped. We were so close.
“We didn’t know that one of his sorcerers was in town. They put out a tracing spell. It would have led them right to you. All element of surprise gone. The king could have just sent his Reapers right to you.” Her eyes softened. “I’m sorry.”
I pushed my hair out of my eyes and dropped my hands at my side. This was so frustrating. Then my breath caught in my chest. The people of Luxor.
I gripped Madame Lindsey's arm. “What are we doing to help the people of Luxor? If the king arrives with his Reapers, they won’t stand a chance.”
She looked down. “I don’t know yet. We might not be able to do anything. We can’t risk putting you in mortal danger.”
“This is not what I agreed to.” I glared at her. After everything I’ve done, how could they do this to me? Nobody else can take out the Reapers. They need me. Max. This was all Max.
I could hardly get the words out though my clenched jaw. “I never would have agreed to put all of those lives in danger. We have to help. You have to take us back there. The king is probably already there.”
Madame Lyndsey put her hands up to stop me. “You know I can’t do that. I’m afraid they want to keep you here.”
I looked at Celeste. “I’m right, aren’t I? We have to get back there.”
She clenched her fists at her side and lifted her chin. “Whatever you want to do, I’m with you.”
If Madame Lyndsey wasn’t going to help me, I’d find somebody who would. I broke into a run, heading for the barn. It was empty so I kept running. There has to be somebody here who can help us get back to town. I went from tent to tent and couldn’t find anybody. The place was a ghost town. Where is everybody?
Panting, I stopped running. Celeste by my side, just as winded.
“Nobody’s here.” Panic spread through me. They lied to me. “Celeste, do you have anything to do with this?”
She shook her head. “I have no idea what’s going on.”
“They lied to me. To us. They never planned on having me help. They’re going to try to take on the king without us.” Heat burned in my chest. Fists clenched, I let out a scream. How dare they. I wasn’t the same weak girl that Saffron saved from the King’s Guard. I was tired of being treated like a child.
“Why would they do this to me?” I asked. I turned on Celeste and grabbed her arms, squeezing too tightly. “What’s happening there without us? Nobody can stop the Reapers. We have to get back.”
“They know that I can’t teleport yet. We have to convince Madame Lyndsey.” Celeste took off at a sprint and I followed her.
Madame Lyndsey was gone. I cursed.
“Celeste.” I grabbed her hand. “You have to get us there. You can do this. I know you can.”
Her eyes widened. “I’ve only done it once before. And never with another person.”
“That doesn’t matter. There’s always a first for everything.” I squeezed her hand. “Take us to the Inn. They’ll never expect us to go there. They’ll assume it was a set up.”
She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. “Here goes. Hold on tight.” She crushed my fingers in her grip.
Gray smoke rose up around us and I held my breath. The world went dark and I felt that familiar nausea that came with teleporting. I let out a sigh of relief when my feet hit solid ground. We were both standing at the entryway of the inn. I took a deep breath.
“You did it.” I covered my mouth to keep a laugh from escaping.
“I did it.” Celeste let out a breath and took a moment to compose herself.
Bethany was still manning the front desk. She stared at us, jaw dropped open in surprise. I put my finger to my mouth to tell her to stay quiet. Closing her mouth, she nodded.
