Hidden: Tales of Ryca, Book 1

by Shereen Vedam

  She was about to call out to Tom when her uncle spoke.

  “I’m sorry.” Ywen’s voice was barely audible.

  She had not expected that.

  “He fooled me, you see,” the twisted and bent king said. “I thought he was my friend.”

  “Step any closer to her and it will be your last,” Tom said from the doorway. Behind him stood Mam, Anna and the children.

  Stomping footsteps on stairs announced new arrivals. Gilly breathed a sigh of relief as Talus ran upstairs, at the head of a group of King’s Warriors.

  “I see you’ve all started without me,” he said as he stepped onto the landing. At the sight of Ywen looming beside Gilly with his dagger, Talus drew his sword.

  “What took you so long?” Tom asked.

  “Couldn’t find a way to get past the dark cloud,” Talus said. “Then suddenly, like smoke, it vanished.” His attention remained trained on the king. “May I be of help, Missus Gilly?”

  She took his hand and stepped carefully away from her uncle. “Thank you.”

  “Your Highness,” Talus said to Ywen, “give Tom that dagger. This fight is over.”

  Ywen seemed to come out of a stupor. He raised the dagger to look at it as if he hadn’t realized he still carried it. His glance slid from Talus to settle on Gilly.

  “I killed Keegan. I would have killed your brother. All for nothing.” He turned the dagger as if hoping it would clear his confusion. Then he glanced at her. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

  “What are you talking about?” Gilly asked.

  “You’re the Defender of the Light. It wasn’t my brother who held the gift in the family. It was you. That’s why Tamarisk wanted you. If he could kill you, he would have your immense power for himself.”

  “Uncle Ywen, have you not learned from these tragedies? Light cannot be stolen without paying a price. Tamarisk almost destroyed Ryca by draining the powers of sorcerers he captured. The legend of Tarrius shows you Light must be shared freely to reach its full potential. It did that when Anna and I shared our powers. Between you and Keegan, the Light could have been as powerful as ever it had been when King Tarrius wielded it.”

  Ywen swung the dagger in an arc. “Keegan would never share anything with me.”

  “Did you ever ask?”

  “I’m the elder twin, the heir to Ryca. Why should I grovel for a favor from my younger brother?”

  She shook her head. What a reunion this was. Did Ywen realize his only living kin surrounded him? She sighed. What was the use? Ywen had never appreciated his own brother, how could she expect him to feel anything for his nieces and nephew?

  She had nothing further to say to her uncle. All she wanted was peace. She was finally reunited with her family and it was the darkest moment of her life. She hated this landing. It added nothing but horror to her life. The sooner she was off it, the better. She headed for the stairs. Mam could handle her defeated brother-in-law.

  “Don’t turn from me, niece,” Ywen said. “I was duped by Tamarisk, just as you were.”

  She stopped. Ywen was right in one thing. She must not turn her back on her family again. She faced him. As confused as he was, Ywen was her uncle.

  Tom sliced the air with his sword. “You chose your own path old man.” There was no mercy in him for his king. “Your hand killed Keegan. Now give me that dagger.”

  Ywen nodded and lowered his hand, the blade coming to rest by his knee. “Even an old man can learn from his error.” He pointed to himself. “Do you not think I have paid for my mistakes, niece? Can you find it your heart to forgive me?”

  “The one to ask forgiveness of is my mother.”

  “You were right all along.” His glance fell to Mamosia and then swung back to Gilly. “All that bloodshed, when all I had to do was kill you.” His hand snaked forward as he lunged toward Gilly, glinting steel thirsting for blood.

  Talus pushed her behind him and deflecting the king’s blow, in a fluid motion, he struck his sword true at Ywen’s heart.

  Mam ran to pull Gilly toward her and huddled in her arms. Her mother was shaking as if winter had set into her bones.

  Gilly understood that sense of sorrow. Even at the end, she had been unable to dissuade Ywen of his mistaken beliefs. He’d killed papa, then her grandfather, and now tried to murder her to steal the power of Light. The moment he struck at her, his bitterness and frustration had licked at her like a scorching flame.

  His friend, Tamarisk, casually cast spells have also seared him with jealousy. Ywen’s eyes, ever focused outward, had never perceived that Light could only ever come from within.

  She released her mother and stood back. Tamara ran over to take her mother’s hand, her face pale and terrified. Gilly couldn’t think of anything to say to reassure her sister that their family nightmare was over. Was she capable of bringing peace to her land? Her people?

  “What are you thinking?” Tom asked, coming over as he wiped his sword clean.

  She shrugged, feeling the weight of responsibility. “The tradition of my journey east has continued. Another ruler murdered because I came to town. How many does that make? Vyan in Nadym, Aton in Erov, Hagan in Perm, Ywen in Tibor.”

  “It leaves the field open for a new regime across the breadth of Ryca,” Tom said with a cheeky grin, considering he was the one who was responsible for Vyan’s demise. But his infectious humor did lighten her mood.

  She put a sympathetic arm around Tamara but her sister shrugged it off and huddled closer to her mother.

  The queen brushed a strand of Gilly’s hair behind her ear. “I knew if anyone could bring about a happy resolution, it would be you. So did your father.”

  “Papa would not have wanted me to be responsible for his brother’s death.”

  “You did what needed to be done,” Mamosia said. “Now it is time for the telling.” She opened her free arm to Garren who ran over to hug his mother. “We three are orphans in time. Take us to where the scenery is less violent and recount what has happened since we last saw you.”

  “It will be a long telling, Mam,” Gilly said. “I may not be up to it this night.”

  “You’ll have me to help,” Anna said, coming over.

  “And I.” Talus said.

  “Don’t forget me,” Tom wrapped a supporting arm around Gilly’s shoulders. She leaned into his strength, so very grateful to have him beside her.

  Mam’s eyebrows rose at the gesture and Gilly blushed.

  Tom’s grin widened and, if anything, his hold tightened.

  “She always forgets us,” Anna said. “You wouldn’t believe the trouble we’ve had with her confiding in us. I have been in the dark almost as long as you have and I wasn’t even trapped in time.”

  Her mother’s stern look slide her way before Mamosia set the guards to clean up the carnage on the landing.

  The senior staff was given instructions to meet with her later this morning, for a new order had taken over the castle and the land. Her mother then directed Gilly’s group down the stairs and toward a wide chamber with tall windows on the third floor. Tamara still clung to Mam’s hand as the queen glanced around the chamber with a fond look. “When we lived in the castle, this was my favorite place to sit and listen to a telling.”

  In moments, a cozy fire blazed on the hearth and servants brought in trays of sweetmeats and roasts, bowls of hot aromatic soup and fresh bread. Talus appreciated the jugs of ale most.

  Tom settled in a seat next to Gilly, seeming reluctant to let her out of his hold.

  “Marton has left with the children and the vessel full of sorcerers to Emba,” Anna said, coming into the room. “I asked him to safeguard their journey. I want them far away until the changeover of rule is complete at the castle. In case we discover pockets of resistance.” She sat on the arm of Gilly’s chair, looking every inch the princess she was, as she addressed her mother. “Have you noticed yet that Gilly no longer limps?”

  “I didn’t think you had noticed,” Gilly sa
id.

  “I knew the moment you sat next to me fully cross legged.”

  Mamosia looked shaken as she stared at Gilly. “How could I have missed this change?”

  “We have been a little busy, Mam,” Gilly said with a tolerant smile for her overburdened mother.

  “But how were you healed? I tried every spell at my disposal and failed.”

  Gilly took Anna’s hand and kissed the back of it. “We did it together. When Anna combined her healing powers with mine by a stream outside Tibor, the land around us was healed, as well as me.” She glanced at her mother. “Mam, the land around the castle needs healing too. The dark cloud did much damage to this city.”

  “Then let us take care of that problem right now,” Mamosia said and jumped up.

  * * *

  Gilly, Anna and Mamosia stood on the castle parapet holding hands and overlooking the city below. Tom and Talus stood watch a few feet behind them. All around, the land appeared dark and scorched. The first rays of sunlight painted details of the cloud’s destruction.

  Anna, who stood between Gilly and Mamosia, began a chant of healing. It had a musical quality that Gilly appreciated. She could easily picture her sister singing this song to her children at bed time. After a few repeated phrases, she joined in and fed Anna her Light as she had done in the dungeons. Her mother’s sweet voice tuned in to theirs. Anna gasped and Gilly guessed that Mamosia’s power had flowed into Anna as well. She held her sister’s hand tight in support and encouragement.

  A brilliant luminescence of a myriad of colors appeared. Darts of light sped ahead from it and then returned to report where help was most needed. The glow traveled slowly, its touch tender on charred ground, gently enveloping bruised trees and settling with infinite care over the city of Tibor.

  * * *

  The people of Tibor awakened to a new day surrounded by lush plants, fertile fields and sparkling clean water in the streams. Several reports of spontaneous healing passed through the city.

  News filtered out that Ywen and his sorcerer Tamarisk were dead and that until Garren, Keegan’s eldest boy reached twenty-one, Mamosia planned to reign over Ryca as Queen Regent.

  Heralds sped off to all corners of the land to announce the change in leadership. Minstrels gathered at the castle to learn of the manner in which Tamarisk and Ywen had died.

  A day later, Mamosia held a ceremony at which she named the King’s Warriors as the penultimate law of the land, second only to the queen. The Rycan Warriors were then thanked for their efforts in restoring Keegan’s heirs to Ryca’s throne. The men headed back to their families and friends carrying a satchel of gold coins each and the queen’s promise of unlimited favors for them and their descendants for as long her family ruled.

  The queen then bestowed on Tom and Talus a valuable parcel of land and gold each for their invaluable service. Tom, asked for a further favor. He wanted himself and his descendants to again take up the role of Royal Bodyguards. Upon receiving a surprised royal assent, he left to continue his training with Talus.

  Magic was reinstated in Ryca as a respected guild. Mamosia ordered all the netting recovered in the dungeons and in Tamarisk’s quarters to be torched. Then news arrived that the sorcerers had reached Emba where they were treated as heroes and gifted places to live for the rest of their lives. On hearing this, Mamosia proposed a Light University be set up in Emba where the rescued sorcerers, once they were completely recovered, could teach young students how to enhance and focus their inborn magical talents.

  The King’s Horsemen were pronounced to no longer hold any authority in Ryca. A price was placed for the capture of One-Eye and his men. Within days, One-Eye’s head was delivered to the castle and, the bounty was sought. Gilly went to witness the delivery, wanting to be certain this horseman would no longer be a problem to her family.

  Invitations were soon issued to delegates from each region to attend the first joint meeting of the Council of Representatives to advise the queen on matters relating to their particular region. The first member of the newly formed council to arrive at the castle was Jarrod from the legendary city of Erov.

  He was followed shortly by Marton and the children who were then introduced to their grandmother. Anna took her family in hand and showed them what life in a castle would be like. Apparently there was an opening for a royal blacksmith.

  Gilly retreated into her room, into silence and into the past. Traveling back to Nadym to collect her goats dominated her thoughts. She missed the sound of their bleats. She didn’t share her wish with her mother or Anna though, uncertain how those two strong women would respond to her wish.

  Mam seemed different now. At the cottage in the woods, she’d been a mother who trained her children to hide and run from horsemen. Here, she easily fell back into the role of monarch. Easier than Gilly settled into her role of Princess of Ryca. Her full memory had not returned despite the trauma of facing Tamarisk. She had felt more of a lady at Erov with Aton than she did in the palace.

  Perhaps that was why she forgot about the Day of Celebration. Once a servant reminded her, she had to rush to get ready. By the time she entered the hall for the meal, the large wooden table set before the hearth was already full.

  Anna sat between Marton, Skye and Bevan. Skye ran over to give Gilly a hug before returning to her seat. Tom was between Talus and Marton. That left a vacant spot between Jarrod and Talus. She was about to climb over the bench when Talus lifted her up and set her down.

  “Thank you,” she murmured. She had to have a talk with him about constantly lifting her off her feet without warning. A glance down the table suggested Tom hadn’t cared for Talus’ familiarity or where she’d chosen to sit. Too bad. He should have saved room for her.

  Talus chuckled beside her and she sent him an inquiring side-glance. “You find something amusing in your meal?”

  He held up a piece of roast dripping pink juice. “I was going to ask that this be roasted more. Now I’ve decided the looks you and Tom are sending each other should char it to perfection.”

  She decided to ignore him and turned to study the guests at the table. Her mother sat at the head beside Garren. Something struck her as odd about the placement around her. Then she realized Tamara wasn’t nearby. Her elder sister, younger now since she was still thirteen summers, had remained glued to her mother after Gilly broke the time spell. But now she sat at the other end of the table, as far from her mother as she could have placed herself. By her hard expression, she seemed to hate Mam. Why?

  “I wonder what’s upset Tamara?” Gilly murmured.

  “She needs time to recover,” Jarrod said quietly.

  Gilly glanced at him in surprise and was instantly swamped by the most terrible visions. While her mother, brother and sister were trapped by the time spell, only Tamara had remained awake through it, watching life go by, day after excruciating day. She had witnessed every moment of time’s passage over her years of captivity. Listened to Ywen’s ranting and raving. Tamarisk trying spell after spell to free his Mamosia. Endless hours of being alone with nothing to relieve her but her thoughts.

  Gilly shivered in horror. Mam had said it was as if they went to sleep one moment and awoke the next, decades later. Not so for her poor sister. The time spell had not stopped time entirely for Tamara. While she had not aged, she had remained awake.

  “Jarrod, I must tell Mam about Tamara,” she whispered.

  His smooth dark hand landed over light her one in a firm hold. “No! I shouldn’t have read Tamara’s mind like that. Among my people, it is forbidden to read another’s thoughts without permission. I hadn’t meant to. But despite her silence, her thoughts were blasting out and I couldn’t block them. If you heard them through me, you cannot betray her. She must speak of this on her own terms. It is her secret to keep or share.”

  The queen tapped a knife against her goblet, distracting Gilly. Once the diners grew silent, she said, “Going forward, there will be changes to the way this land is governe
d. The first will involve the Erovians. Lord Jarrod, I wish Erov to play a stronger role in Ryca’s development.”

  His head tilted sideways, gray-green eyes faintly inquiring, his dark ringlets swinging. “Such as?”

  “Saira tells me that your people do an exemplary job of recording history. Yet you do not share your knowledge outside of Erov. The past several years have shown what happens if people are not aware of the true nature of events. Although our minstrels transmit news, over time, that information can become fictionalized.”

  “You wish us to share our historical records?” The idea seemed to intrigue him.

  “We need good teachers,” Mamosia said. “I want my people to learn how to read and write as well as learn about their past. The true past. Where our youths can learn both practical and historical information.”

  “You mean work with the other guilds?” Jarrod asked.

  Mamosia nodded. “It is time Erov became a part of our world, Jarrod.”

  Everyone smiled and thumped the table to show their approval of this suggestion.

  The conversation veered to other current events. Gilly spent the rest of the evening dividing her attention between Tom and Tamara. Since neither seemed to warm to her, she excused herself.

  Before she made it past the doors, Tom was by her side “Leaving so soon, Saira?”

  “You seemed occupied with Talus,” she said. “I had no wish to disturb you.”

  “Then you failed miserably, my love,” he said gently kissing her hand, “for you have done nothing but disturb me since you kissed me several days ago.”

  Liking his words, she thawed a little towards him. He disturbed her too, in many ways, and had for far longer than their first kiss. Since she had initiated their last embrace, it was his turn to kiss her next, surely. An embrace was long overdue. At least four days to her count.

  “Will you come with me?” he asked.

  “Where?” she asked coyly, hoping he would say to her chamber. Or his. She was tired of sleeping alone.

  To her disappointment, with an irrepressibly devilish grin, he tugged her toward the front doors. “Outside.”