“Absolutely not!” exclaimed King Byron. “The Crown Prince does not go traipsing around in a foreign capital when the two nations are about to go to war. You wouldn’t even make it to the Royal Palace.”
“Alex had a very good rapport with General Fernandez,” stated General Gregor. “If any man could get to speak with the Cordonian General, it would be Colonel Tork.”
“I can’t say that I care much for the idea,” offered Prince Oscar, “but I would value his opinion on the Sordoan troop movements and other things that we are facing. Let me go get him. I’ll be right back.”
Oscar walked down the stairs to Lord Habas’s laboratory and through the Door to Egam’s cave. From the cave he passed through another Door to Jenneva’s study and found it empty. He looked out the window and saw Shanor playing outside with a monkey. Figuring that Alex might be out back again, he trotted down the steps and out the back door.
Alex and Jenneva were walking along the path and Oscar waved to them. “So, how is the new mother feeling?”
“Great, Oscar!” Jenneva answered. “The baby just fell asleep and I figured I would steal a walk with this handsome fellow who has been prowling around in the backyard.”
Oscar laughed. “It’s that handsome fellow whom I came to steal. The Sordoan Army is on the move and we could use Alex’s input. We also haven’t heard back from John yet.”
Alex frowned. “I don’t think General Fernandez would have imprisoned him. The General struck me as an intelligent officer. He may not have believed John, but he wouldn’t harm him for making statements and if I know John, he wouldn’t do anything but talk.”
“I agree,” replied Oscar. “I’ll try to get him back as soon as possible, Jenneva.”
“Hang on, Oscar,” halted Alex. “I am going to bring Kaz in case I need to get somewhere quickly.”
Alex kissed Jenneva goodbye and called Kaz. Together with Oscar they started for the building when Jenneva called to him. “What about Aurora’s baby?”
“The Spiders still haven’t been able to get near her,” called back Oscar.
Oscar, Alex and Kaz went through the Doors to the Royal Palace. Alex told Kaz where the stables were so that he could view some Targan horses and see what they were like. Alex and Oscar proceeded up to the meeting room.
When they arrived, Larc was drawing a map of the Sordoan forces and marking the location of the Targan forces as well. Alex greeted everybody and focused on the map. There didn’t appear to be any feint this time. The mass of the Sordoan forces were heading for Melbin. “What is their Navy like?” Alex asked.
“Not much to speak of,” answered Larc. “They have pressed a few freighters into service like we did in the last war, but I don’t see them launching a large naval attack.”
General Clark nodded approvingly. “The worst they can do is hide out and disrupt our Navy if we should attempt to sail south towards Trekum. This is going to be a land battle all the way.”
Just then Jenneva bounded into the room. “Oscar, you can’t just leave the problem to the Spid...I mean, Aurora is a magician. It will take a magician to get close to her.” Jenneva’s face reddened. She hadn’t thought that everyone present might not know about the Spiders.
“Jenneva, you need to be home with the baby,” argued Alex.
“Alex,” Jenneva retorted, “if you remember, a great deal rides on keeping her baby alive. You can stay with the baby while I go to Trekum. I won’t be long, but we cannot take the chance of something happening to her baby. Too many lives depend on it.”
“Let me go and get your baby,” offered Oscar. “I’ll come back here and nobody will be left alone. I’ll bring Shanor, as well. Jenneva is right. She is the only one who stands a chance of getting close to Aurora. I should have realized that right away.”
“Okay,” agreed Alex, “I don’t like the idea of you going to Trekum alone though, Jenneva.”
“Where does the Door come out down there?” asked Jenneva.
“At the Continental Shipping Company warehouse,” answered Larc.
“Okay, Alex,” decided Jenneva, “come with me as far as the warehouse and we’ll see what the situation is like. While it may not be safe for an armed man to walk around the city, no one will question a woman walking alone, but I will feel better with you nearby.”
“Well, you two had better come along, then,” stated General Gregor. “It is starting to get dark out and I think we are due for a storm. There is no sense in walking around in Trekum on a rainy night. The Door is in my office.”
“You’re right about the storm, General,” offered Jenneva. “It passed over Atar’s cove a couple of hours ago and it was heading this way.”
Alex and Jenneva followed General Gregor to his office and Prince Oscar left for Lord Habas’s library. He wondered how they could accomplish anything without the Doors.
Dalgar and his men lay in the bushes of the tropical jungle, the ground soaking wet and the leaves still dripping from a storm that had passed over not long ago. The Black Devil was clearly uncomfortable in the muggy atmosphere. He hated the jungle and cared even less for the animals that roamed through the dense foliage. After a while they had found the path lined with shells and coral and followed it towards the large structure, which appeared to be set in the side of a mountain. Somewhere in that structure Dalgar knew he would find the Book of the Beginning.
A young girl came skipping down the path and Dalgar motioned for his men to stay hidden. Just as she came abreast of Dalgar, he leaped up and swung his sword, slicing open her young throat. Before the girl’s body hit the ground, Dalgar heard a growling sound rushing towards him through the bushes. He called to his men and they jumped onto the path just as a large tiger came leaping out of the woods. The tiger connected with one of Dalgar’s men and both man and beast went flying into the jungle on the other side of the trail.
At that moment, Oscar walked through the Door into Jenneva’s study and heard the man’s scream. He ran to the window and peered out. Seeing Shanor’s bleeding body lying on the path, Oscar’s fist clenched in rage. She was obviously dead and Oscar’s attention was drawn to a human body falling out of the jungle onto the path, his throat ripped out and his body landing limp.
The tiger leaped out of the jungle and attacked another man. Prince Oscar did not waste any more time watching. He raced down the stairs to Jenneva’s bedroom and grabbed the baby. Even as he was hoisting the sleeping baby into his arms he heard the footsteps on the stairs going up towards Jenneva’s study. He had recognized Dalgar as one of the men and knew he could not use the Door. He would have little chance of getting to it. Frantically, he grasped for a solution to his dilemma. Prince Oscar turned and raced out the back door searching for Yorra. Alex had said that the unicorns could fly. Prince Oscar intended to find out how well they flew.
The back yard area was rather large with many paths and pools interspersed with jungle. He ran along the main path and tried to send a mental message to Yorra. He rounded a bend in the path and Yorra stood before him. Without further thought, he grabbed Yorra’s mane with one hand and threw himself on the unicorn’s back.
Fly, Yorra, fly. There is trouble here and we must get the baby to safety.
Yorra needed no further instructions. Her wings popped out and Yorra leaped into the air.
Where is Alex and Jenneva? Why are they not here?
They are on their way to Trekum to rescue Aurora’s baby. I came to bring their baby and Shanor to Tagaret so they would not be left alone. Black Devils have already killed Shanor and I think they are looking for the baby.
Oscar pointed eastward and Yorra followed his direction. Within an hour they caught up to the storm and the turbulence was unsettling. The sun had already set and Oscar realized that neither he nor Yorra would ever know when they were over land, not to mention that the rain was soaking all three of them.
Yorra, swing to the left. There is land much closer in that direction and we need to get the baby out of t
he rain. We will need to be careful, though, because the people there are not friendly to us. See if you can find a desolate stretch to set down in.
Yorra turned towards the Cordonian coastline and eventually passed out of the storm. Neither Oscar nor Yorra had any idea where they were, but they saw lights of towns and campfires between the towns. Finally, they set down in the darkest area they could find. They had seen no campfires or torches for a good distance around their landing site. Oscar removed his vest and stripped his purple tunic with gold stitching off of his body. The tunic was not exactly dry, but it was the driest piece of cloth that he had. He wrapped the baby in the tunic, trying to keep the wettest parts away from the baby’s skin. Oscar vacillated over starting a fire. They could all use the warmth of the fire to remove the chill brought on by flying through the storm, but he did not want to alert anyone of their presence.
Finally, he compromised by gathering as much dry grass as he could find and heaped it over the infant. It probably wouldn’t do much for warmth, but it would act as a wind block and trap some of the body heat, as well. Yorra and Prince Oscar agreed to take turns keeping watch during the night. Whoever was not on watch would sleep close to the baby and try to keep the infant warm.
Sometime during the night Prince Oscar heard the twang of a bow just before he felt the arrow strike his back and the world turn black.
Dalgar rummaged through the bookshelves in Jenneva’s study, searching for the Book of the Beginning. His last remaining Black Devil stood watch in the hall in case there were other people about on the island. The tiger managed to kill two of his men before he hit it with a Freeze Ball. He had no idea why some young girl was living on Jenneva’s island and he didn’t really care. He just wanted to find the Book of the Beginning and get out of there before Jenneva showed up. Dalgar would feel more comfortable with a few more men around if he was going to have to face her skill.
After he finished trashing all of the bookshelves, Dalgar started going through the desk. In the bottom right-hand drawer he found what he was looking for. He grabbed the book and headed out of the house, his remaining henchman close behind.
Alex and Jenneva stepped through the Door into the Continental Shipping Company warehouse. Eddie, an old friend of Alex’s from Lavinda, came over to greet them.
“Well, aren’t you a friendly sight!” exclaimed Eddie. “Congratulations on your marriage.”
“Thanks, Eddie,” greeted Alex. “What is the status on our magical Empress?”
Eddie did not take offense at the brevity of Alex’s greeting. He knew that Alex was always short on speech when he had a job to do. “She hasn’t been out of the Royal Palace since she buried the Emperor. We can’t get anyone near her. We sent a man over the wall and heard his screams less than an hour later. We sent a woman in through the front gate posing as an emissary from Lanoir. We never heard from her again. If the woman knew we were trying to protect her child, maybe we would stand a better chance.”
“I don’t know,” mused Alex. “That woman is so cold-hearted, I think she would only care for herself. Heck, if she knew that killing the baby would help Sarac, she might even offer her child up.”
“Don’t say such a thing,” scolded Jenneva. “I don’t care how callous the woman is, she can’t help but love her baby. She wouldn’t let Sarac harm her child any more than Kirsta would have.”
Alex flushed and averted his glance from Jenneva’s eyes as he remembered how Jenneva’s mother gave her up so that Sarac would never find her.
“I’m sorry, Jenneva,” apologized Alex. “Now you know why I keep my mouth shut. Whenever I open it something foolish comes out.”
“I’m sorry, too, Alex,” soothed Jenneva. “You are the finest man I have ever known and I know what you meant. I have never met a woman as foul as Aurora is and she certainly is no Kirsta. Who really knows what she would do?”
Eddie had grown rather uncomfortable during the verbal dueling and made himself busy setting up some mats for the couple to sleep on. “I’m afraid our accommodations are not the best in town, but you’ll be warm, safe, and protected while you’re here.”
“What we really need, Eddie,” Jenneva began, “is some way to get to Aurora. Who runs the Black Devils in town?”
“Best we can tell,” Eddie answered, “would be a guy named Borundi. He was supposed to be Stafa Rakech’s right-hand man in charge of keeping Miriam safe and in luxury. What we think he was really doing was setting Ali Kasim up for the fall. He seems to be at the heart of the Black Devil resurgence and also organized the Servants of Sarac.”
“Where can he be found?” asked Jenneva.
“He purchased a mansion directly across the street from the Royal Palace,” Eddie replied, “but he spends an awful lot of time at the Palace. His schedule is unpredictable. He may stay in the Palace all day and leave in the middle of the night. There is absolutely no pattern there to follow.”
“Eddie,” Alex ordered, “get Jenneva settled in. I’m going out to see things for myself. Maybe I can pick up some information.”
Alex slipped out the door and disappeared into the night. Eddie helped Jenneva get settled and turned to leave.
“Eddie,” queried Jenneva, “why did you get nervous as soon as Alex left. Are you afraid to be alone with me? I promise I won’t melt you.”
“No, Jenneva,” Eddie answered, “I just fear for Alex. I have always looked up to him as my hero and each time he goes into battle I get a little nervous.”
“Eddie,” giggled Jenneva, “he’s only gone to check things out. He’s not going into battle.”
“You forget that Alex has been here before, Jenneva. He’s probably already over the Palace wall.” Eddie regretted saying it almost as soon as it was out of his mouth.
The Sordoan warship cruised the dark waters of the Grakus Strait watching for signs of the Targan Navy. The Sordoan Navy was reduced to only four ships and all of them prowled the waters between Targa and Sordoa. The Captain knew his ship would be no match if the Targans decided to come down in force. The best he could hope for would be to harass as many ships as he could before they sunk him. Still, the situation was not as dark as the night. The last he heard, Targa was not even aware that war was coming. Perhaps the Army would overrun the Targans before their Navy knew what was going on.
“Lone ship approaching!” came the cry from the rigging. “Off the starboard fore-quarter.”
The Captain strained his eyes and still could not see anything in the darkness. Even so, he readied the crew with a barrage of orders. He cut speed and angled to starboard. A lone Targa warship would be a welcome surprise for the crew and, if properly done, the Targans would never know they had already lost one to the Sordoan Navy.
“Where away?” the Captain shouted.
“Off the bow, Captain,” came the shout from above. “A sleek craft she is, but not enough light to mark her yet.”
The Captain maneuvered his dark ship further to starboard. He would take no action until he was sure she was a Targan vessel.
“Do you see any others?” shouted the Sordoan Captain.
“Not unless they’re running without lights like we are,” came the reply.
The Captain continued straining for sight of the mysterious vessel and finally spied its distant light flickering in the haze. The Captain started to make plans for his attack. He could not afford to light fires for flaming arrows without giving away his own position and he had no idea of the forces which might be present on the other ship. He remembered the devastation the Targan ships had caused in the last war and he was not about to give the enemy a fighting chance.
More softly than before, he called to the crew. “Archers, make ready. No fires. We’ll take them by hand if we have to.”
From overhead the voice sounded again. “She’s Targan, alright, Captain. The vessel was in Trekum port during part of the last war. I recognize her, I do.”
The Captain smiled broadly. This was one Targan ship that would n
ever attack Sordoa again. The Captain angled more to starboard and gave orders to pick up speed. He could see the other ship now and the enemy vessel was considerably smaller than his warship. “Stand by to ram,” he warned.
The dark Sordoan warship picked up speed and headed directly for the side of the other ship. The Targans spotted him now and he could see figures scurrying around her deck, trying in vain to maneuver out of the way of the larger Sordoan ship. He smiled when he realized that their efforts were futile.
With a grinding screech the Sordoan warship slammed into the side of the Princess Lidia. The Sordoan archers let arrows fly at any figure who was available and the Captain saw Targans falling to the decks from bow to stern. The two ships were mangled together and the Captain saw that the Targan Royal Yacht could no longer float. He ordered his ship away from the sinking vessel before his own ship became entangled and drawn into the murky deep.
The Sordoans watched from a safe distance as the Princess Lidia listed and slipped beneath the waves. After the troubled waters subsided the Captain moved closer to the scene of the sinking.
“See any signs of survivors?” he shouted. “Look keenly, we don’t want the Targans to know that they’ve lost their precious ship.”
“There’s one off portside,” came a shout from the bow. “Thrashing like he can’t swim,” the man laughed.
The Sordoan ship swung to port and circled until the survivor was along-side the ship. “There he is,” shouted the Sordoan Captain. “Mate, show the Targan some Sordoan hospitality, will ya?”
The Mate scurried down the deck to where the survivor was floundering. A group of seaman followed the Mate to the rail. The Sordoan Mate pulled an arrow from his quiver and sent it flying into the Targan’s body. The Targan survivor stopped splashing his arms and passed under the Sordoan warship.
Ancient Prophecy Page 17
