“The last is easy. I’ll just return the same way that I came to Brn in the first place, a way that cannot be tracked or traced. You are right about all the magical protections, though. They’d cancel any magical disguise I chose to don.”
“I’d only feel better about it if we had a swarm of security men totally surrounding you at all times,” Janos admitted.
“Look, this is a funeral ceremony,” Zoran protested.
Janos thrust his hands through his hair in utter frustration. He knew only too well the deviousness, callousness, the wickedness of his old Baron. Nothing was sacred when it came to the desires of that man. Zoran was still a boy without a clue of court politics and treachery. “Son, think about the situation that the Baron is facing.” He knew well not to use the word father to Zoran. “Put yourself in his mind set for a minute. He must have an heir to his throne — that is paramount in his mind. For years he has groomed Radek to step in and continue down the path he is carving. Suddenly, he finds his heir and protégée gone. He looks at what remains, knowing well the traditions of the Royal Houses. He has two choices, your older twin daughters or take the heat and bypass their rights and choosing you.”
“He knows that you have fought against him and his methods since you were a lad. You’ve even run away from home rather than go along with his policies and brutal suppression of his people. Yet, in the back of his mind, a male heir is vastly superior to a female heir. Why? The woman will marry and that husband will inevitably take over the actual running of the planet. Which to choose? My money is that the Baron will make one last attempt to convert you to his way of thinking and operating. Failing that, only one choice is left to him. Do you realize what this must be, Zoran? Think lad, think!”
Zdenka listened in awe to her father’s speech. She had never heard him speak so knowledgeable about the Court, the Houses, and their Politics before now. He was talking about an entirely different world from what she knew. She didn’t like what she was hearing very much at all. It sounded so utterly ruthless, devoid any freedom of choice which she valued above all, the right to control your own destiny.
Zoran sighed, Janos was right. He was thinking only of himself and his desire to say farewell to his mother, crazy as she had been. “Even if he tries to talk to me, you know I am not going to submit to him, not ever.” He thought of his two sisters and paled. “You think that he is going to try to force them to marry someone he’s picked to succeed him?”
“I’ll wager everything that I own on that one, Zoran. Once he has committed himself to that path, he will let nothing get in his way, not even his own daughters. I’m sure that he would even kidnap one of them and ship her off to the man he’s picked to succeed him, forcing her to marry him. He’d drug her to gain her acceptance. He’d do anything to her so that his picked heir can then sit on his throne when he passes on. This Ceremony of Passing is where something will happen so that he can secure his heir, announcing it to all of the gathered Royalty. My money is on it. This so called funeral is nothing but one giant intrigue, his chance to setup his new heir, not in honoring his deceased wife, who he cared for about as much as he does a farmer’s pig!”
“He’ll meet with you, see that you cannot be swayed, order your execution, force one of your sisters to marry his chosen man, and announce it to the gathered Houses, making it a formal recognition. Neither you nor your sisters will be safe at this ceremony. You simply must not go there.”
The mere mention of his sisters convinced Zoran that he had to go now, more than ever. “I cannot abandon my sisters to this despot! I am going and that’s final. If need be, I will rescue my sisters. What kind of a man would I be if I abandoned my own sisters to him? No, I go and that’s final.”
“I’m going with you!” Zdenka said firmly and with conviction. “You need protection.”
“Me too,” Bernard added. A chorus of “Me too’s” came from his other team members.
Karel growled, “Where you go, Zoran, we go!”
“I cannot ask you to go. It’s far too dangerous; there’ll be assassins everywhere. Besides, none of you know the castle layout. It will be totally unfamiliar territory. All of you will be at a horrible disadvantage there. Janos knows the politics and intrigue and deception that go on there. I really appreciate you all wanting to come with me, but it is simply far too dangerous for you.”
“Look, Zoran, if one of us was in danger, wouldn’t you come to help us out?” Zdenka asked him pointedly, her hands on either hip.
“Of course, but that’s different. I’m a Duska. I can handle myself in tight situations.”
“Oh, so you think that just because you are a Duska and that we are not makes us less of a person because of that, do you?” she fumed, knowing that she was hitting a sore spot and that this was precisely why she was worried about marrying him. She was not a Duska, never would be.
His face felt hot, really hot. “No! I don’t think less of you because you are not Duska!”
“So it’s all right for a Duska to risk his life for one of us, but it is not all right for one of us to risk their life for a Duska?” she retorted angrily. She was fuming and she realized that they were having their first argument.
Zoran looked at her stunned. What was she saying? How was it okay for him to risk everything for one of them and not allow them to do the same for him? Sheepishly, Zoran said, “I’m being prejudiced aren’t I?”
Still with her hands defiantly on her hips, she retorted, “Yes you certainly are, Zoran Vladislov!”
“You know what we say around Brn,” Bernard added rather bored with this whole pointless discussion, “what is good for the stallion is good for the mare. I don’t see what all this fuss is about. You would willingly help us in a crisis so why cannot we willingly help you in a crisis?”
Zoran relented. “Look, any of you who want to come with me are welcome to do so. However, if you would prefer not to come, I will not think any less of you for so doing. This is likely to be very dangerous, and I cannot ask you to come with me into such danger. Yet, if you want to, I will be grateful for your aid. Honestly, I don’t have a clue about how to deal with this Ceremony and what may happen there.”
“Thank you, Zoran,” Zdenka finally relaxed. “Now then, you have two days at most to get us all familiar with the castle and what’s where and the Court and all that. Let’s get moving.”
Jarka, who had been silent this whole time, grinned. She was going to get her first look inside a real baron’s castle, the ruler of a whole planet!
“We should begin by sketching maps of Castle Dorumova, Zoran. It’s been a long time since I was there, plus I only saw a small portion of it,” Janos suggested. The two set to work, hastily drawing out the layout.
They had just gotten a good start when Lida made frantic mental contact with Zoran. Zoran! Zoran! I got to talk to you! Help!
Lida! What’s wrong?
Dad! He’s forcing me to marry that pig Strom, you know, his ally Baron Bogdan Clav’s son. Strom is worse than Radek ever was! You know I want to marry Leo.
What did he say, Lida? Zoran’s mind was suddenly filled with hatred of his father, picking on his own daughters like they were some cattle to sell.
He said that at the Ceremony, he will announce that I will be marrying Strom Clav in the spring. If I do not do this, he swore that he would first assassinate Leo and then if I still refused to marry Strom, he would assassinate me! Zoran, what am I to do? I don’t want anything to happen to Leo! What am I to do? Please, help me.
Damn! Damn! Damn him to hell!
Should I tell Leo about what’s happening? I can Shadow Walk over to Castle Matous. Can Uncle Milan protect us, do you think? But then will he try to make Rayna marry Strom? What can I do, Zoran?
Hang on a second, sis. Let me think. I am coming to the funeral. I’ll be there to help you out of this mess. Okay, I got it. Don’t do anything until I get there. Play along with the bastard; at least don’t give him any reason to send out as
sassins to kill Leo. I think you ought to tell Leo what is going on, but do not let him take any drastic measures, not until he comes to the funeral with Uncle Milan and Aunt Marjeta. They will certainly bring along a lot of security forces with them. That will help. When I get there, we can meet and figure something out. Be brave Lida. We can figure something out. Okay?
Okay, Zoran. Rayna has already told her fiancé, Stefan Pavel, about what’s going on, just in case dad has me killed and goes after her next. He’s promised to bring along a whole lot of extra security men.
Have Leo do that too. This whole Ceremony of Passing is nothing but a front for the Baron to establish a new heir to his throne. You be careful, Lida. Don’t do anything to provoke him, not until I am there, please. He is not above having you killed, Lida.
I know. I’m terrified of him, Zoran. He knows it too. I don’t know if I can bear it. I’ll try. I’ll tell Leo now. Rayna sends her love. Hell, here he comes again. Gotta go. She abruptly broke the connection. White with anger, Zoran related to the others what his sister had just told him. Only with difficulty was Janos able to get him back on making sketches of the castle.
“You know, Zoran, that we have one edge over the Baron,” Karel said.
“What’s that?”
“None know that we will have four Archmages and three Mages in our group. We can muster far more firepower than they will be expecting!” Karel was thinking ahead to a battle. Zoran grinned; he was quite right. No matter what else the Baron had planned, he did not know that he would be facing four Archmages and three Mages. Poor Milos would be horribly outgunned, especially if Zoran’s uncles brought along their Archmages as well.
“Say, what kind of clothes should we wear?” asked Jarka.
“Damn, I forgot about that,” Zoran realized another of his goofs. “Since it is to be one of our major ceremonies, everyone will be wearing their most elegant suits and dresses, black of course, but darn, really elegant clothes. We have nothing like that here in Brn, from the little I’ve seen.”
“Well, we can’t go looking like we do now,” Jarka said with a coy smile. “Does anyone besides Zoran know what these dresses and suits look like?” No one had a clue.
“I know, I will have my sisters round up something appropriate for us to wear while we are there. It will give them something to occupy their minds, give them some little relief from the Baron’s treachery. Er, I am afraid I don’t know a darn thing about how to tell them our sizes and all that.”
“Men! Honestly, how can you be so ignorant?” Jarka teased him. “Leave that to us.” She Summoned a tape measure. She and Zdenka began compiling a list of their measurements. Then, she also measured the men’s waists, in seams, and so on. “Here, send this to your sisters. This ought to be enough for a dressmaker and tailor.” He grinned sheepishly and made contact with Rayna.
Who are these people that you are bringing here? Don’t you know that dad will likely put out contracts on their lives as well?
They know the danger and are coming with me anyway. Okay, one is my fiancé. You and Lida will get to meet her.
Oh Zoran! Wonderful news! Who is she? Tell me all about her! She must be one fabulous woman to capture your heart! I wish mom were still here. She again broke down at the thought of her mother’s death. In spite of her mother’s mental illness, she had loved her and did miss her, especially at times like this.
He allowed her some time to regain her composure. Sorry, for security reasons, I can’t tell you more now. I will when we get there in less than two days. Hang in there a bit longer, sis. Love you.
Love you too. Bye.
“Okay, clothes arranged. Now here is the layout of our bedrooms, the only safe sanctuaries we have in the castle, really. Every place else is under the Baron’s control, and he has all sorts of monitoring spells in place. It is not safe to talk anywhere but inside our private chambers.” He continued to outline the details that he could remember of the castle and its defenses.
Just then Brother Jiri came to interrupt them. “Good news everyone. I had another breakthrough with the Circle construction. If all goes well, it should be in operation by Yuletide!” That was the last week of December, the traditional week of winter festivities and celebrations. Only a few more weeks and Zoran could at long last put a major damper on the Baron’s plans of planet-wide conquest!
Because there would be so many other guests in attendance, Zoran decided that they would go the night before. This meant that he needed access to his own private room, where they could stay, which meant that he had to have his old room available. Again, he contacted Rayna and had her check on his room. Luck was with him; the Baron had left it as he had left it. Presumably, the Baron still held out some faint hope that Zoran would come to his senses and return to Castle Dorumova.
“The instant we teleport there, the Baron will know of my arrival. Because of all of the arriving guests for the Ceremony of Passing, he will have to have lowered the protection spells that prevents one from teleporting directly into his castle. However, he certainly will have Alarm spells activated and in full force. He will undoubtedly be notified the instant I arrive there. Be on your guard the entire time that we are there, particularly so after the Baron finally has a meeting with me. After he makes his pitch and I refuse him, the assassins will be turned lose on us all. It is not too late for any of you to decline to come. I do understand; this is extremely dangerous.”
“I’ve packed my blades,” Jarka grinned.
“My sword is ready as are my spells. I aim to kick some butt!” Karel declared hostilely.
“Okay, is everyone ready to go?” he asked. All six nodded. Zoran, holding hands with Zdenka and the others in one long line, cast his teleport spell. Magic flashed, but something unexpected happened.
As he visualized his destination point, his bedroom, he ran into an anti-magic barrier, preventing him from arriving. He and his six team members found themselves still standing right where they had been standing in their tower! “What went wrong?” asked Zdenka, suddenly becoming worried.
“He does not want me to directly arrive in my own room, but in the common teleport arrival location, where he undoubtedly has many security men waiting to take me into custody. I must be cleverer than that. Give me a couple minutes, gang. There is another way.”
He knew that he could Shadow Walk them all into his room, totally bypassing the magical barrier. However, this the Baron also knew. Ah, the Baron was being clever. If Zoran used his Duska Shadow Walk, then the priests could easily track from where he had come. The Baron would now know where Zoran was staying. Clever Baron, Zoran thought, but not clever enough. He concentrated on Uncle Milan and made contact.
Hi, Uncle. Zoran here. Can I ask a big favor of you? No questions asked?
Well, Zoran! This is a big surprise. How have you been? The Baron has been relentless in his search for you. Clever of you to have remained hidden from his best spies all this time.
Doing very well, Uncle Milan. I need a favor. I am going to mom’s Ceremony of Passing, but I need to use your Circle of Ascension to get there. Can you lower your protections there so I can teleport to your Circle and use it, please Uncle? That way, the Baron will not be able to track me. I promise you that it will not lead him back to your Circle. That’s how I escaped in the first place, via the Circle.
Sure nephew. Give me a minute to get the orders relayed. We will be there in an hour ourselves. Leo has told me what the Baron is planning to do. We are bringing along an additional fifty men. If need be, Leo will bring Lida back with us. Are you with us in this?
Absolutely. Lida is in love with Leo. We cannot let the Baron force her to marry that pig’s son. We can talk more in my room at the castle. Thank you, Uncle Milan. See you in a while.
“It’s all set. Got to wait a couple of minutes for the protections to be lowered. I will be Shadow Walking us there. Hold on tightly. Whatever you do, do not let go of the person next to you. Jarka, take my other hand, Bernard, take h
ers. There we are evenly balanced now. This will seem strange and highly disorienting to you. If you feel nauseous, it will pass. Just trust in me. First, we will teleport to another Circle, my uncle’s. I trust him. He will have lowered his many protections for us. Everyone ready?” Zdenka took a deep breath. The teleport activated and they arrived in a dimly lit room, deep within Castle Matous. On the floor were glowing, intertwining thread-like lines of various colors that seemed to alter nearly continuously.
“Behold a Circle of Ascension,” Zoran announced.
“It radiates intense magic,” Jarka commented, mostly to herself. She realized that almost no other people in the entire Federation of Planets, other than Duskas, ever saw a real Circle of Ascension! She burned its image into her mind. The others had similar thoughts. It was incredibly beautiful to view; one could stare for hours at the shimmering, changing threads of light.
Zoran began to pace around the Circle, stepping on all of the threads. The room disappeared, replaced with a strange black nothingness, a void. In the distance, periodically a planet came into view and then disappeared, as Zoran followed and mingled with the threads themselves, each of which led to a specific world within the Federation. Only when he felt that he had sufficiently intertwined his path with the sixteen threads did he finally focus on his destination, Adapazan and Castle Dorumova, more specifically his own private room.
His friends fought hard against a total disorientation of all their senses. Awe and hope surged each time a world, tiny in size, appeared in the black void, hope that this was done. Only when the bluish orb began growing did they realize that at last they were finally beginning to arrive. Like a scene observed through a zoom lense, the world grew in size. Then the towering spires of Castle Dorumova appeared, steadily growing in size until it filled all their world. Still it zoomed until a dimly illuminated room appeared and grew to full size.
Zoran Chronicles Volume 1 A Dragon in Our Town Page 16
