Suspicion? He didn’t give a rat’s tail about arousing suspicion! All he cared about was getting to Cinderella. Shortly after the accident, he’d ridden home in a frenzied state and told his mother everything that he’d done. He told her about taking Edward to see the Sorceress Griselda and how he’d tried to ensure that Josselyn, not Cinderella, would be the damsel in distress. She was angry at first that he’d gone to Griselda without telling her then softened when she realized how distraught he was. She listened to him vent and howl until she could stand it no longer. “I’ll go and see how Cinderella’s doing,” she finally said, winding her scarf around her head.
He sat at the table, cradling his head in his hand, going over and over the events. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out how Cinderella had come to be in the marketplace. When the door opened, he jumped up and searched his mother’s face. “How is she?”
“She has a sprained ankle and a few bruises. Otherwise, she’s perfectly healthy.”
Rushton let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God Almighty,” he breathed, and then he got a look at her worried expression.
“There’s more.” She paused, looking at him. The sympathy welling in her eyes cut him to the quick. He felt a shiver run through him.
“What’s wrong?” he said flatly.
“I think ye need to sit down.”
He gave her a questioning look, and she pulled out a chair and bade him to sit. She began pacing back and forth in front of him, her index finger to her lips.
“Mother, tell me,” he implored. Whatever news she had couldn’t be as bad as not knowing.
She turned to face him. “Thou were right about Edward. He firmly believes that Cinderella is the maiden of which Griselda spoke.” She looked directly at him. “He intends to marry her, Rushton. He intends to make her his bride.”
He clenched his fist and beat it on the table. “Nay! I’ll go to him. I’ll tell him the truth!”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “The truth? Like how ye tricked him into going to see Griselda … and how ye were going to trick him into saving Josselyn? Is that what you’re going to tell him?”
“Nay … I … ” He ran both hands through his hair, trying to rack his brain for a solution. His mother was right, he couldn’t tell Edward the truth, and yet he couldn’t bear the thought of losing Cinderella. His eyes were dark with anguish as he looked up at his mother. “I won’t let him have her,” he said fiercely. “I love her.” The words got caught in his throat, and he placed his head on the table, his shoulders wracking in silent sobs.
She went to his side and tenderly placed a hand on his shoulder. “Rushton, I’m sorry. I know ‘tis a difficult situation and all seems bleak, but you will get through this. The sun will rise again. You are stronger than ye think,” she finished firmly. Silence settled between them, and she sat down in the chair beside him. She gave him a tentative look and cleared her throat. “I’m afraid I have more bad news.”
He looked at her through glistening tears.
She retrieved a rolled parchment from the fold of her gown and held it out to him. “This was delivered earlier in the day. I would’ve shown it to you sooner, but due to all that has happened ...” Her voice faded into the stuffy air.
He unrolled the parchment and began to read, hardly believing the words he was seeing. He swore under his breath and tossed the parchment onto the table. His eyes had a crazed look in them. “Cinderella is trapped in the castle with Edward, and I get summoned to go on a suicide misssion to defend the outer realm of the kingdom, leading into the forest?” He let out a sarcastic laugh. “Unbelievable!”
“‘Tis your duty to go, Son.” She paused. “Although it pains me to say it.”
He began shaking his head back and forth. “I refuse.” His eyes went hard. “I suppose Edward twas not on the list.” He read the answer in his mother eyes. “Of course not. King Aalexander would never send his precious son on a suicide mission,” he finished bitterly.
A slow fire started flickering in his mother’s eyes, and he knew his words had hit their mark. “Nay, he most certainly would not,” she agreed, her jaw hardening. She put a hand over his. “Son, I want you to listen to me.” She leaned in and lowered her voice. “There are some important things that I must tell thee about this mission.”
“I told thee, mother. I will not go. I will not leave Cinderella trapped in the castle with him.”
She clutched his hand. “Listen to me. You will go. You must go! For you are the only one that can strengthen the outer perimeter.”
He made a face. “What are you talking about, Mother? Thou art not making any sense.”
She let out a frustrated sigh. “A long time ago … before thou wast born, Aalexander and I … ” Color crept up her neck, and she began twisting a lock of her hair. She shifted in her seat. “Things were different then between Aalexander and me.”
“He hurt you,” Rushton cut in. He cringed at the pain that settled into her eyes. That deep, soul-searing pain that he’d only caught glimpses of on the few occasions when she’d been unable to hide it. At that moment, he hated King Aalexander who sat on his throne while his mother pined away in this pitiful hut.
“You loved him,” he said flatly.
“Yea, I loved him,” she admitted. Her eyes took on a far-away look. “I loved him heart, body, and soul … as much as any woman has ever loved a man.” She gave him a sad smile that vanished in an instant. “But that time has past. The man I loved is dead.” She threw back her head with a haughty shake, her nostrils flaring. Rushton felt a tremor of fear run through him. She’d loved the King as fiercely as he loved Cinderella, and it was destroying her, leaving only a shell of the woman she might have been. Was he doomed to face the same fate?
“Listen well, my son, to what I am going to tell thee. Aalexander and I joined together to create a perimeter, a shield of energy that would protect the kingdom from marauders and predators. There are those that would destroy the kingdom and lay waste to everything that we hold dear. The shield is growing weaker with every passing day. Yesterday’s events are a testament of that.” She suppressed a shiver.
“What happened yesterday?” He had been so consumed with Cinderella that he’d paid little attention to anything else.
“As ye know, Aalexander keeps a moderate-sized group of soldiers on the outer border at all times.”
It struck him odd that his mother was so connected with the affairs of the kingdom. Even he, one of the King’s most trusted squires, was unaware that a group of soldiers regularly patrolled the outer perimeter of the kingdom. He certainly had no knowledge of some shield of energy. Perhaps there was no shield. Perchance his mother was losing touch with reality. Did she really expect him to believe that she and the King had joined together to create some energy shield? He knew his mother was powerful, but she wasn’t that powerful, and magic was forbidden in the kingdom. He tried to find a way to phrase the questions battling around in his mind. “Exactly how was this energy shield created?”
She rubbed her hand across her forehead, her sharp eyes missing nothing. “You doubt me.”
“Nay, I am simply trying to understand what thou art telling me.”
She waved her hand in the air and gave him an exasperated look. “Magic … how else?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Magic is forbidden by the King himself. Do you really expect me to believe that the King—the very person that has forbidden the use of magic—helped you to create some magical shield?”
Her face grew flush. “Believe what thou wilt. I am telling the truth!” She sat back in her seat, her arms folded tightly over her chest. “Aalexander is a selfish and insecure man. The only reason he outlawed magic was because he feared that I would grow too powerful, and that he would lose his control over me.” She looked Rushton in the eye. “My magic is more powerful than Aalexander’s. I have always been the stronger one, for I am the one who taught him.” She lifted her chin in the air, her jaw taut.
As the gravity of her words settled in, his head started to spin. He studied her face, trying to determine if she was telling him the truth. She patiently endured his scrutiny. Yea, he decided. She was telling the truth, he could feel it. “Why is the energy shield growing weaker?”
“Because it was created by the both of us … when we were united … it hinges on us. The larger the chasm between us grows, the weaker the shield will become.”
His thoughts went back to something she had said earlier. “What happened yesterday?”
“A bag containing body parts was left at the castle entrance.”
His eyes grew wide. “Body parts?”
She nodded. “Yea, body parts of the soldiers patrolling the perimeter of the kingdom. Ruben and his band of thieves are, no doubt, sending the king a message.”
Revulsion settled over him. “Those poor soldiers,” he murmured. “Who is Ruben?”
She cocked her head in surprise. “You don’t know?”
“Nay.” His frustration was mounting. Clearly his mother still had strong connections to the King and the kingdom—connections she had concealed from him.
“Ruben is Aalexander’s older brother, his twin. When the kingdom went to Aalexander, Ruben became incensed. He took a band of his followers, and they fled into the forest that surrounds the North side of the kingdom. Ruben and his men are robbers of the worst kind, preying on the weak that are unfortunate enough to stray beyond the borders of the kingdom. Because of the energy shield, they have never been able to penetrate into the kingdom … until now.”
He gave her a dubious look. “But Edward and I went to visit the Sorceress Griselda. She lives beyond the perimeter of the kingdom, does she not? We did not encounter any type of shield.”
She held up a finger. “All residents of the kingdom may come and go freely. The shield was designed to keep the undesirables out, not to imprison the people within.”
“So, the Sorceress Griselda, is she able to enter the kingdom? I’m sure the King would deem her a threat.”
Wisteria chuckled. “I would venture to say there is not a magical shield on the earth that could keep Griselda from going where she wanted.”
It was hard to believe that the old hag he had visited was as powerful as his mother described. Had he known, he would have thought twice about taking Edward to visit her. “You said earlier that I was the only one who can strengthen the shield. Why me?”
She sat up in her seat. “Thou art my son—a part of me. The same blood that runs through my veins also runs through yours. That blood will keep you alive. Aalexander and I designed the shield so that it could only be manipulated by one of us … or our children.” Her face colored slightly, and he caught the meaning of her words. When Aalexander and Wisteria created the shield, they had intended to spend their lives together … to raise children together. He wondered again what had gone so terribly wrong between them.
He began drumming his fingers on the table. “So, according to what thou art telling me, I am not the only one who can strengthen the shield.” His eyes met hers. “Edward can as well.”
“Yea,” she admitted and then rushed on. “But you and I both know that Aalexander will not send the Crown Prince on a dangerous mission.”
He let out a sarcastic laugh. “Nay, we would not want the golden Prince to get injured, would we now?” He shook his head, hardly believing the words he was hearing. The whole situation was utterly unfair. He was the one that loved Cinderella, and she loved him. Under different circumstances, it would have pleased him to have an added connection to Edward. After all, they were like brothers. But at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to give Edward a good flogging for all of the trouble he was causing.
Wisteria put a hand on his arm. “Please tell me that you will go. Our very way of life—the kingdom—rests upon thy shoulders. Were anyone else to attempt to manipulate the shield, they would be struck dead in an instant, but you are strong enough to resist its power.” Her eyes met his, and she seemed to be searching into his soul for assurance that he could measure up to the test.
The weight of the world seemed to settle on him, and he knew that he must do as she bade. He gave her a long look. “I’ll go … under one condition.”
“Name it.”
“Thou must go to Cinderella and explain the situation. Tell her that I love her, and that I will come for her as soon as I can. Tell her that I will always come for her,” he finished softly.
Tears glistened in her eyes. “This mission—this thing that you’re doing for the kingdom. I’ve never been more proud of you than I am at this moment.”
“Tell her,” he urged.
“For you, Son, I will do it.”
“Give me thy word,” he said, locking eyes with her. “You will go to Cinderella on the morrow.”
“I give thee my word,” she said resolutely.
“Now tell me what I need to do in order to strengthen the shield.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tell the Truth
“Merek!” Alexander’s voice boomed through the empty house. “I demand that you show yourself at once!”
Silence.
“Merek!” Alexander screamed, “Ruben is here!” He collapsed onto the sofa and began clenching and unclenching his hands. While he knew that demanding that Merek show himself was as futile as ordering the clouds to make it rain, he couldn’t help himself. Seeing Ruben in the flesh had stripped away his confidence, leaving him feeling as vulnerable as he’d felt as a young squire. A shiver ran up his spine as he stared unseeingly into the fire that was flickering in the fireplace. In the other realm, he and Wisteria had used magic to create a protective barrier around the kingdom through which Ruben and his band of thieves could not pass. Consequently, he’d spent the majority of his adult life being separated and thereby protected from Ruben. Never could he have imagined that Ruben would be able to enter this realm. To walk up to his door. To get in his face and threaten him.
After Ruben left, Alexander was so distracted that he could barely carry on a conversation with Wisteria. When Wisteria had asked him what was wrong, he told her he had a pounding headache. Consequently, she’d left shortly after Ruben. Alexander shuddered wondering what evil plan Ruben and Griselda had concocted.
He leaned forward and buried his head in his hands. “Merek, I need your help,” he uttered.
He jumped to his feet when the patio doors opened. Fearing it was Ruben, he looked around wildly for something he could use as a weapon to defend himself. A gush of wind circled through the room in the second before Merek materialized, causing Alexander’s knees to go weak with relief.
It took a moment for Alexander to adjust to the fact that he was seeing Merek in the flesh. Merek was wearing the same brown robe that Alexander remembered from the other realm. His leathery face was etched in wrinkles, his bald head elongated and smooth. For a split second, Alexander feared that he would be angry with him for summoning him, but his face was as expressionless as always. His grey eyes settled on Alexander, and there was the slightest hint of reproof in them. “We agreed that thou wouldst not summon me unnecessarily.”
“Yea, we agreed that it would have to be a dire emergency.”
Merek crossed his arms over his chest. “Speak,” he prompted.
“Ruben is here.”
Merek twitched in surprise. “Here? In this realm?”
It jolted Alexander to see the shadow of fear that came over Merek’s features. Never, not as long as he’d known him, had he ever seen Merek look startled, and yet this had caught him unaware. Alexander’s voice became animated. “Yea. He came to my house! He threatened me!”
“Griselda!”
“Aye, it had to be Griselda’s doing.”
Merek began pacing back and forth. “It would’ve taken a great deal of cunning and power to get Ruben to this realm. My sister has become more powerful than I thought.”
“You have to stop Ruben. He’ll ruin everything. Wisteria was
here tonight … with me. Ruben went to hear her sing. He’s had several interactions with her.” He shuddered as the horror of it overtook him.
Merek stopped pacing and began stroking his long beard.
“You have to stop him!” Alexander repeated.
“Nay, I cannot. I will not use my power to interfere.”
“But you have to!” Alexander’s eyes took on a crazed look.
“You know the rules, Alexander.”
“But you wrote the rules! Rules are made to be broken!”
He held up a hand. “I will not interfere. The Grimm Laws forbid it, and I will not go against the law. Without the law, we are nothing.”
A blaring anger seized Alexander. “If you refuse to help then we are nothing! What you’re saying makes absolutely no sense!”
“Thou agreed to abide by the rules. That was the condition. I warned thee about the unpredictability of this realm. The risks were made known unto thee. I will not interfere.” There was a note of finality in his voice.
“Well, what am I supposed to do? How can I protect Wisteria and Edward from him? He’s a monster!”
“You can start by telling Wisteria the truth.”
“What?” The comment hit him like a punch in the gut.
“The only way to protect Wisteria is to tell her the truth.”
Banished: Book 1 of The Grimm Laws Page 25
