Off Track: A Romantic Magical Quest Series (The Madeline Journeys Book 1)

by P. A. Wilson

  Madeline gave a small prayer of thanks that the food had spilled. It was grey and lumpy and seemed to be the source of the sour milk smell.

  The Fay tapped Simon on his shoulder. “They are close now, in that direction.” They were riding at the head of the small group. Simon stopped and waited until the rest caught up.

  “Okay, what’s the plan?” he asked.

  “We don’t really have one formed yet,” Arabela said. “We are close enough that AaLa does not have to seek. I can smell the reek of Dray on the wind.”

  “So,” Simon said. “We really need a plan.”

  “Dray are creatures of negotiation. They will keep any deal they agree to, no matter what the consequences,” Caver said, his head down.

  “I don’t know what we have to offer them,” Jode said. “If it will free Madeline, I will give them my lands and income.”

  “That isn’t the kind of deal they want. Land and income require work,” Arabela said. “Dray do not like to take on more work than necessary.”

  “Then maybe they’ll be ready to hand Madeline back. She’s a lot of work,” Simon said. Looking at Jode’s expression he added, “Sorry, I guess it’s not a good time to joke.”

  “No,” Jode said.

  “Why can’t we just go in and fight them off and take Madeline back?”

  “They are able to become invisible, and cause anyone they are carrying to become invisible also.” Arabela answered. “If we can convince them that they had no right to take her we can take her back. If we have something to exchange her for it would be better.”

  Caver slid off the back of Jode’s horse. “I caused this. Trade me.”

  “I cannot do that,” Arabela said. “It would not be right.”

  “Then for a year’s service. I go willingly, Lady.” He bowed low again. “It will allow me to remove my foolish error from my conscience.”

  Arabela nodded. “Very well, if we have to, first I would like to find a way to win her without trading anything.”

  “It occurs to me that they would not have taken her from camp if they didn’t think they had a right to.” Jode said. “It might be good to start the negotiation by finding out why they thought that.”

  “Yes,” Arabela said. “If they had no right to her then they will give her up.”

  “So, the plan is we go in and talk these guys around,” Simon said. “They give us Madeline back and we just continue on with the quest.”

  “I don’t know if it will be so simple,” Arabela said. “But, yes, that is the plan.”

  Simon sighed and thought, sarcasm doesn’t fly here.

  “With one exception,” Jode said dismounting. “Only Arabela and I will approach the Dray. The rest of you will stay with the horses.”

  “Wait,” Simon said. “Why only you two, I don’t want to stand here waiting and wondering.”

  “The Dray are masters at this,” Jode said. “The fewer people involved, the less likely it is we will find ourselves trapped in a complex and untenable deal. If we need someone, it will be you. If Arabela, or anyone, waves this white scarf from the top of the hill, you come, only you.”

  Jode and Arabela walked in the direction AaLa had indicated.

  Madeline heard Jode call out. “Dray, come bargain.” Through a gap in the tent flap, she could see him walk towards the small fire.

  “Who calls,” Larry answered. “Who thinks it is wise to bargain with the Dray?”

  “Sir Jode Montgomery of the Lower Plains; I escort the Lady Arabela of the Summer Lands. It was her camp you entered last night.”

  She could see the three Dray huddle together and hear them arguing in low voices.

  “We will speak with the Lady of the Summer Lands. What is it you wish to bargain for?” Mo asked.

  “You took someone last night,” Arabela said without introduction.

  “We took our prize. We come when magic called and we took our prize. You know rules. Do magic without permission and pay a price.”

  “You took the wrong prize,” Arabela stated.

  Mo gestured to the other Dray. They hurried to the tent and came back with Madeline slung between them, Larry at her head, Curly at her feet, her butt dragging in the dirt.

  “Our prize.” Curly pointed. “This is right prize.”

  “Why do you think so,” Arabela asked, not looking at Madeline, as if to keep her focus on the negotiation.

  “Magic done,” Curly said holding up one hook-nailed finger.

  “Yes, we are aware we violated the rule,” Arabela said. “By taking the wrong prize you have forfeited payment.”

  “Prize right.” Curly held up a second finger. “We take woman.”

  “Why this woman? She did not commit the crime.”

  “She not belong to anyone,” Curly said, holding up a third finger and nodding as though he had given proof.

  “Why do you think that? What is it about her that tells you she does not belong?”

  “Not smell same as others.”

  “If she does belong to someone, will you agree that you are at fault?”

  They huddled again, and then Curly turned back, and with clear reluctance said, “Yes. Need proof.”

  “She belongs to me. She is my sister.”

  “No, Lady of Summer Lands has no sister.”

  “She is a secret sister,” Arabela leaned forward. “This is something no one knows.”

  “Why she not smell of you?”

  “Maybe because she also belongs to someone else,” Arabela said. “If she belonged to someone else would she smell the same as me?”

  “No,” Curly’s response was sullen. “Who else?”

  “To Sir Jode,” Arabela said, leaning in close. “They are to become one.”

  Madeline stared at Jode and Arabela, knowing she should maintain the lie, but hoping she wasn’t being committed to something.

  “How we know this true?”

  “I can bring forth a witness,” Arabela offered. “I can call them from the top of that hill. You can watch me all the time.”

  “How you call?”

  “I wave this handkerchief and one will come.”

  Curly pulled Mo forward. “No, this one will take scarf and wave. You stay here, no tricks.”

  The Dray took the scarf from Arabela and ran to the top of the hill. He waved the scarf and waited. A few minutes passed and he ran back to the camp. Simon appeared on the rise.

  “Man come,” Mo announced pointlessly.

  As they waited, Madeline tried to understand what she needed to do. There had been no clues from Arabela or Jode; in fact, neither had looked at her beyond their first glance when she was dragged out of the tent.

  “You called,” Simon said as he strode into the clearing. “Can I be of some assistance?”

  “You know this person?” Curly asked, pointing to Madeline.

  “Yes, I’ve known her for a long time.”

  “Who she?” Curly asked watching Jode and Arabela closely.

  Simon simply answered the question, “Her name is Lady Madeline Higginbottom of the Far Lake,”

  Madeline could tell from his blank expression he also had no idea what was going on. She trusted his ability to act on the fly. It had served him well in the old world when faced with impatient or untrusting clients.

  Curly turned to Arabela. “Where is Far Lake, I not know it? Is it true place?”

  Jode answered for her. “It adjoins my lands. It has been a favorite hunting area for generations. It is not unusual that you would not have heard of it. Most people believe it is part of my land.”

  “What more do you need?” Arabela asked. “We have proven you were in the wrong. You must now release Lady Madeline and allow us to return to our party.”

  “Why magic happen?” Larry shouted from behind the rest of the group. “Forfeit this prize, but should have other prize.”

  “By taking the wrong prize you forfeit any prize.” Jode stepped towards Madeline and pulled a knife out of his
belt. “We will leave now; this negotiation is over. Or would you prefer we spread the word that you are incompetent?”

  “You take,” Curly’s voice was sullen. “No tell. Us need to eat. If you tell, we be cast out.”

  After freeing her hands and feet, Jode helped Madeline to stand. She rubbed the circulation back where the ropes had been tied, then followed them back to the top of the rise. She didn’t speak, fearing to ruin her freedom by accidentally saying the wrong thing in hearing range of the three Dray.

  As they topped the hill, Madeline looked back and saw the three small creatures watching them.

  22

  They rode back to camp, Madeline sitting behind Arabela in the absence of her own horse. The trail was rough, and because each horse carried two riders, they were forced to proceed at a walk. Madeline wanted to get back to camp as quickly as possible. Camp was clean water, food, and clean clothes in her mind.

  “Can we go a little faster?” she asked.

  “We go as fast as is safe,” Arabela said. “Do not think I am satisfied with our pace. This delay in our travels is hazardous to our quest.”

  “I’m sorry,” Madeline said. “I couldn’t have done much about being kidnapped by those smelly beasts.”

  “No,” Arabela said, “I did not expect you to be able to do anything. It has happened, and now we must minimize the damage.”

  “How long was I gone?” Madeline worried that she had been unconscious for days.

  “A day.”

  “How can that be so significant? One day delay isn’t that much.”

  “We cannot afford any delays. Remember we must be done before the next full moon.”

  “So,” Madeline still wasn’t clear. “We skip a village. We travel faster. It can’t be that hard to catch up.”

  “Any sign of hurry on our part may attract Sayer Goddard’s attention. That would be a disaster.”

  “Okay,” Madeline said. “For the sake of our peace agreement, I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Thank you for that.” Madeline felt Arabela relax slightly. “I am not blaming you. I apologize if it seemed that I was. If there is fault, it lies with me. I should have left Blu to protect you.”

  “Stop,” a raspy voice called from the side of the trail. The Fay and Sylph slid off the backs of the horses and Simon and Jode drew their swords as they dismounted. When all was still, the three Dray popped into sight. Their hair quills standing on end, hands clenched into fists, almost vibrating in anger.

  “You lie,” Curly spat. “Not your sister.” He pointed at Madeline.

  “What do you mean?” Madeline asked sitting up as royally as she could. “I demand to know why you accuse Lady Arabela of such a thing.”

  “You stranger.” He pointed at Arabela. “She say you stranger. You not know danger.”

  “Why do you think that allows you to call her a liar?” Madeline put her best cross-examination face on, right eyebrow slightly raised, head tilted upwards so she could look down her nose. “That is a very serious accusation.”

  “Sister to Lady of Summer Lands cannot be stranger.” Curly tried to copy Madeline’s posture, failing when he placed his fists on his hips and stamped his right foot.

  Madeline forced herself not to laugh. This behavior could be perfectly acceptable here in this situation. The sight, though, reminded her of a client’s four-year-old brat who had kicked the client because the meeting was taking too long. “Why cannot?”

  “Would know.” Curly shook a finger at Madeline. “Would know danger. Would know protective magic. Would know why taken.”

  Arabela tapped Madeline’s knee. Madeline took it as a signal to stop talking. The rest of the party had drawn up around the two women. Jode and Simon stood, swords in hand, ready to fight if needed. The Fay and Sylph held the reins of the horses. Madeline saw the Sylph looking down at the ground, stepping lightly in place, fidgeting.

  “Are you saying that you are reneging on our deal?” Arabela asked.

  “No deal,” Curly screamed. “No deal. You lie.”

  “You followed us after agreeing to the deal. Why?”

  “Thought there was trick. Humans trick Dray all time.”

  Madeline recognized the situation. They were stuck in a circular argument, and it was going to go on as long as it stayed in the ‘you lied, no I didn’t’ stage. While Arabela and Curly traded opinions on the deal, Madeline tried to come up with a way to break the cycle. She sorted through her memories of the negotiations and realized there was a loophole, a fine distinction that might work. She tapped Arabela on the knee away from Curly’s sight. This was tag team arguing at its best. Arabela stopped responding to Curly’s argument.

  “Please,” Madeline said. “Help me to understand. You are right. I am a stranger and I don’t know the finer points of your bargaining rules. It seems to me that Lady Arabela has told the truth from her viewpoint, but it seems a lie to you.”

  “Lie is lie. No viewpoint,” Curly snapped.

  “Well, you think that because I am a stranger I cannot be her sister.” She waited for him to nod. “If that is so, she lied.” Again, she waited for the nod. “If sisters are able to be strangers, then she didn’t lie, and the deal is good.”

  “Yes, but cannot be true.”

  “Lady Arabela and I are sisters of the soul. Do you know what that means?”

  Curly checked with Larry and Mo. “No, what is sister of the soul?”

  “We do not have the same parents, but we share the same fate.” Madeline felt a rightness in her words that surprised her. “Without her, I cannot fulfill my destiny. Without me, she will not be able to fulfill hers. We share a fate.”

  Curly pursed his lips. “Wait,” he said and promptly the three Dray disappeared.

  “They will discuss this idea,” Jode said stepping back to his horse. “It is their belief that a deal is sacred. If they cancel it with no real grounds, they will be cast out by the rest of their people. They will die without the support of their clans.”

  The Sylph stepped forward and spoke quietly to Arabela, “Please, lady, I remind you of the offer I made. I will willingly serve these creatures if it would allow me to erase the stain of my error.”

  “Caver,” Arabela said. “I will not trade your freedom to the Dray. There is one thing I still have to offer if the deal is not accepted. Remember how they treasure a secret.”

  “We decided.” The Dray popped back. “Deal is not clean. It is tricked.”

  “And your decision for settlement?”

  “Three choices.” Curly held up three fingers. “Cancel deal, return prize.” He tucked one finger down and looked at Arabela, hope painted all over his face.

  “No,” she said.

  “Add to price for prize?”

  “And, the third choice?”

  “Change deal,” he said. “Start again.”

  “What would you take as an added price?”

  “What you offer?” Curly crossed his arms on his chest and waited with a smile of triumph on his face.

  “A secret.” Arabela held out her hand and there was a blue bead in the center of her palm. “One secret of the house of the Summer Lands to be given in return for the prize.”

  “One secret each,” Curly offered back. “Three secrets forever.”

  “No secret is forever,” Arabela said. “Two secrets and we will give you the right to tell the secret in one year.”

  “Three secrets,” came the counter offer. “One year rights.”

  “Three secrets,” Arabela agreed. “Six week rights. That is my final offer.”

  “Wait.” The Dray disappeared again.

  “That is the weirdest negotiation I’ve ever seen. They just disappear when they need to talk.” Simon stood shaking his head and chuckling.

  “Do not be amused, Sir Simon. It is quite serious.” The Fay spoke for the first time. “If the Dray come back and reject the offer, we will have to return Madeline to them and start all over again. This ma
y result in the delay of days rather than hours.”

  “Done,” Curly shouted as the Dray snapped back into visibility. “Three secrets, six weeks.”

  Arabela asked Madeline to dismount. She produced two more blue beads and passed them to Madeline. “You must present the beads. When you pass them over tell him that the key is ‘home’.”

  Madeline walked to the three Dray who stood in a row with their right hands out. She placed a bead in each palm and then told them the key. They bowed and popped out of existence. She hurried back to the horse and allowed Jode to lift her up behind Arabela.

  “What was that all about?” she asked as they started campward again.

  “Each bead is a spelled secret. For the next six weeks, they can say the word home over a bead and it will reveal the secret. I cannot tell anyone else until that time has passed.”

  “So, how does that make the deal good?” Simon asked.

  “Dray are captivated by secrets. They will return to their clan with these three beads and will enjoy six weeks of high status. The secrets of the house of The Summer Lands are valuable, indeed,” Jode answered.

  “But won’t they just tell everyone in six weeks?” Simon asked.

  “By that time, it will not matter,” Arabela said. “I would have preferred that Dray not be the ones to tell these things to the world, but Lady Madeline is vital to us and the rights to those secrets are not.”

  Once they reached smoother ground, they pushed the horses to a gallop. The afternoon had passed while they rode. When they got back to the camp, Blu waited with one Eldman and two horses.

  “We sent word to the village that you would not be staying. You have had an unavoidable delay due to matters of court,” Blu said. “The camp moved out at dawn as scheduled. If we hurry, you will be able to make a short visit and then join camp before dark.”

  23

  After a flying visit to the village, they returned to the camp and left their horses in the care of the grooms. The rest of the camp was well into the evening distractions, drinking and gaming. Madeline saw people playing a few interesting games of dice and stones just outside the bright firelight.