Raphael nodded. The prince hadn’t technically admitted she was alive, but this was as close as he’d get for now. Whatever secrets he had about her, he’d been keeping for a very long time.
“My sister was a very mixed up person,” said Ari.
“Like my sister.” The thought of Jazz made Raphael feel sad. What was happening to her wasn’t her fault. The Murderer had her under his spell. She wasn’t there by choice.
“Not really,” said Ari. “My sister was… look, do you mind if we don’t talk about her right now? It’s complicated.”
Raphael nodded, not wanting to talk much about his sister right now either.
As they got closer to the Murderer’s house, they saw that the doors and shutters were all closed up, as usual. When Raphael lived here, he was going to open every single one of them and leave them that way.
Ari led the way this time, directly to the front door where he tapped three times. When there was no answer, he tried again, louder this time with six taps instead of three. But still, it was quiet, despite Raphael being certain the Murderer’s wife was inside.
They walked around to the back of the house and Raphael was surprised to see a small window, up high, with a broken shutter.
“If I stand on your shoulders, I could climb in and have a look,” Raphael suggested.
“But that’s…”
“That’s how we’ll find out if she’s in there,” Raphael finished, flashing him a grin.
“It’s too dangerous,” said Ari.
“Don’t you think I’d know if that were true.” Raphael grinned, despite this being a lie. Danger was hard to sense sometimes, especially when there were so many other things running through his mind. Making guesses about the future was equally as unpredictable.
“I suppose,” said Ari, still seeming unsure. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”
With a bit of maneuvering, Raphael was soon standing on Ari’s shoulders and forcing the broken shutter open.
“If anything goes wrong, don’t come in yourself, okay?” called out Raphael, wobbling a little as he tried to keep his balance. “Get my sister. She’ll know what to do.”
Ari held onto his ankles to steady him and called back. “I don’t think she’ll be much help to you.”
“She will,” said Raphael. “She should be awake by now. Properly awake.”
“But what…”
Without waiting to hear Ari’s question, Raphael squeezed himself through the window. Ari wasn’t the only one with questions he didn’t want to answer.
He fell with a thud on the floor below and winced at the pain in his behind. If the Murderer’s wife really was home, she was certain to have heard him.
However, he heard no sound of footsteps approaching. There was just a terrible smell overwhelming him. He brought his hand to his nose and gagged. He knew this smell. He’d smelled it far too recently. It was the smell of death. The same smell that’d clung to his father when Raphael had found him in his bed.
He picked himself up off the floor and blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light.
There was a small bed on the other side of the room. The Alchemist’s wife was laid on top of the blankets, with her hands folded across her chest. She was most definitely, unmistakably, dead.
She wore a faded red dress with buttons down the front and her long brown hair was draped over her shoulders like a scarf. Her skin was sallow and wrinkled, her eyes closed, yet her mouth wide open with yellow teeth exposed. It was hard to tell how long she’d been dead, but it was certainly longer than his father had been gone when he’d found him.
He stepped closer and reached out, wanting to help Ari by seeing if she wore the other half to his pendant, but he couldn’t bring himself to touch her. Reminding himself that she was dead and couldn’t hurt him, he gagged again, screwed up his face and forced his shaking hand forward. The living were far more fearsome than the dead. He would be okay.
Holding his breath, he dared to move the neckline of the woman’s dress aside. This was important to Ari. He had to check for him. Raphael had put plans in place to save his own sister, it wouldn’t be fair if the prince didn’t have this chance, too.
He gasped to see that the woman did have a gold chain around her neck. He carefully lifted it out from her dress and sure enough, dangling from the end of the chain was a familiar gold pendant. The other half to Prince Ari’s tree.
He gripped the chain in his fingertips and started to slowly slide it over the woman’s head. It caught in her hair and he had to tug harder, wanting to back out but having gone this far, figuring he may as well finish the job.
“I’m sorry,” he said to her. “If it’s really yours, I’ll get it back to you.”
He paused when he heard a knocking on the internal wall next to the room he was in. Was someone else home? Or had something fallen over? He tilted his head, waiting to see if the noise would come again.
It did. More frantic this time. Was that Ari? Had he somehow gotten inside? He’d told him to get Jazz if he needed help!
He was soon distracted by a loud bang in the hallway and his fingers dropped the chain as he left the room to see what was going on. There’d be no need to remove the chain if Ari had ignored his instructions and come inside himself.
No sooner had he stepped into the dark passageway, he ran into a solid wall. A solid wall that quickly revealed itself to be a man with a look of pure fury wrapped around his face.
It wasn’t Ari.
The Murderer had returned home and Raphael was done for.
He let out a scream, loud enough that he was certain even his mother must have heard it from the clouds.
JASMINE
THE NOW
Jasmine closed the lid of the large wooden chest she’d filled with her most treasured possessions and sat down on top of it. She brought her sachet of smelling salts to her nose and drew in its floral scent, noticing that it had grown faint. It was time to refresh this one for a stronger dose.
She stood and opened the chest, rummaging around for her spare sachets. Tying a new one to the ribbon around her neck, she inhaled deeply. It smelled a little different than usual. Had the Alchemist upgraded the elixir? Perhaps the plague was becoming immune to the old formula and he’d had to alter it to keep them safe. She’d ask him about it when she returned to the apothecary. This one had a nice smell, more citrus than floral. She could pick up notes of bergamot and lemongrass. There was cardamom in there too. It was quite invigorating. Just what she needed to get all this packing done.
If Raph didn’t return soon, she was going to need to start on his bedroom herself. She’d barely seen him all day, which was highly unusual. Of course, this had to happen on the day she needed him most. The Alchemist had been very clear about their need to pack their things today.
She went to Raph’s room and pushed open the door. It was in chaos, as usual. He had his own workbench where he’d experiment with making oils and it was covered in plants and flowers. His bed was unmade and had clothes draped over it. She could barely see the sheets.
Raph loved this room and the way it overlooked the garden. It was a beautiful view and a lovely way for him to grow up. They were so lucky.
She drew the salts to her nose and inhaled once more, before deciding to tackle his clothes first. She picked up a pair of Raph’s trousers and folded them, laying them neatly on his bed, noticing a hole in the knee at the fold. These trousers were ruined! Raph needed to be more careful. Jasmine was hopeless at darning. If only their mother were alive to fix them. She’d been able to mend clothes so they’d be as good as new. Jasmine pictured her mother sitting in her favorite chair and smiling up at her as she pulled at a needle and thread.
A sick feeling wound its way into her gut and she clutched the salts to her nose, desperate for some calm. Her mother was gone. Gone! Never to come back. She’d been far too young to die. Just like her father. Why had he died anyway? He’d still had so much he could offer the world.
Her stomach heaved and she raced to Raph’s workbench to take hold of a bucket and empty what remained of her breakfast into it.
Her parents should be here with her now. With Raph, too. This wasn’t fair!
She reached for her smelling salts once again and inhaled deeper this time.
Were they really so lucky? If they were, then why were they being asked to leave the only home they’d ever known? Actually, now that she came to think of it, they weren’t particularly lucky at all. Their life had been quite awful. Ever since… ever since what? She took in another breath of her salts and her eyes opened wide.
Ever since the Alchemist had come into their lives.
First, their father fell ill, then their mother died, then the blue plague struck, taking the lives of so many good men, then their father succumbed to his illness and now they were losing their home. This felt fairly unlucky now that she considered it properly.
A loud knock sounded at her front door, breaking into her thoughts.
Could that be the Alchemist? He’d said they had until morning to pack. It couldn’t be Raph. There was no way he’d knock on the door of his own home. His own home! Those unspoken words reverberated inside her head. This was their house. What was she thinking, handing it over to the Alchemist like that? How dare he even ask that of her!
She reached for her salts again, drawing them to her nose more out of habit than any need to do so. The scent was definitely different. Far too different than if the Alchemist had upgraded his elixir. What was happening here? Who was messing with her mind? She clutched the doorframe to steady herself as she tried to think. How could she trust any of her thoughts? What was real and what was she being made to believe?
The knock sounded at the door again, louder this time.
“Jasmine!” a man’s voice called. “Are you there?” That didn’t sound like the Alchemist, and the only other man she’d seen in a long time was Doctor Abner. But she was certain she hadn’t told him her name.
Whoever it was, they weren’t going to let up. The knocking was getting more determined.
She went to the door and opened it a crack. Doctor Abner was there, only he looked different somehow. Not as frightening, when in fact he should be far more intimidating, knocking on her door so desperate to talk to her.
“Jasmine! Thank goodness you’re here.”
He was out of breath, puffing in a way that meant wherever he’d come from, he’d been running. He was either very unfit, or he’d run a lot further than the gazebo.
“You have to come with me,” he gasped. “Quickly.”
She closed the door on him and leaned her forehead against it. Too much was happening and her head felt far too confused to deal with any of this. She drew the salts to her nose again, recognizing the scent from Raph’s bedroom. Had he made this elixir for her? Why? He hadn’t trusted the Alchemist, he’d made that clear. But did she trust her little brother? Of all the people in the world who had no reason to want to harm her, it was him. Was he trying to help her?
“Jasmine!” Doctor Abner called again. “Open the door. You have to come with me!”
“Go away!” she called back. “I’m busy.”
“He has Raphael! He’s locked him in his house! Raphael asked me to come and get you if he needed help.”
Jasmine opened the door so quickly that the bottom of it caught her on her toes and she yelped.
“Who has Raphael? What are you talking about?”
“The Alchemist. He has him. I saw it all. Raphael went in through the window, then the Alchemist came home and there was a scream and…” The doctor was puffing hard now, struggling to get his words out.
“Get in here,” said Jasmine, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him inside, before someone heard his ramblings. If Raph was in trouble, then she needed to get clearer answers than this.
She led him to the kitchen and pulled out a chair for him, while she fetched him a glass of water.
“Drink,” she told him, watching him gulp down the water. He’d taken off his hat now and looked surprisingly handsome. How strange that she hadn’t noticed this before. She remembered thinking he looked quite untrustworthy. Although did being handsome make someone more worthy of her trust?
“Now, slow down and tell me where my brother is.” She took the seat across the table from him and stared at him hard.
“Jasmine,” he said, looking into her eyes for the first time.
“How do you know my name?” she asked.
“The woman in the emporium told me.”
She nodded. Well, at least one thing was explained now.
“You look… different,” he said, tilting his head as he took her in. “Raphael said he’d woken you up, but I didn’t believe him. He’s just a boy.”
She drew in a breath. So Raph had woken her up with his elixir. “If you think he’s just a boy, then you don’t know my brother.”
He nodded. “How does he know so much about everything?”
“He just does. I don’t know how. Our mother was the same.” She sat forward in her chair. “But there’s no time to speak of this now. Where’s Raphael? What have you done with him?”
“I haven’t done anything with him. It’s the Alchemist! The man is deranged. He has him locked inside his house. We must go back and rescue him.” The doctor’s face was earnest. He seemed to be speaking the truth. Which was as confusing as it was frightening.
“This makes no sense,” she said, folding her arms. “The Alchemist wouldn’t hurt Raph.” As these words left her lips, a sense of doubt washed over her. The Alchemist couldn’t possibly care for Raph. Or any of them. He’d been keeping them trapped in a spell, robbing them of their minds so he could steal away their homes. He wasn’t a good man at all. He was… evil!
“You don’t believe me?” The doctor drew his brows together. Clearly, he wasn’t used to having his word doubted. “I saw it myself.”
“So, why didn’t you rescue him yourself?” she asked. “What kind of a coward of a man leaves a boy trapped in a deranged man’s house?”
“How dare you!” The doctor stood so quickly that his chair crashed to the floor.
“Well, answer the question,” Jasmine sneered. “Why did you leave him?”
“Because he told me to get you if this happened.” His shoulders slumped and she hoped it was because he was ashamed of himself. He’d left Raph in grave danger. “He said you’d know what to do.”
“But I don’t!” She raked her fingers through her hair and they caught on her clip. She took it out and threw it across the room, letting her hair spill over her shoulders.
“Stop for a minute. I think he’s right,” the doctor said, straightening his back. “A man like the Alchemist must be outsmarted. One wrong move and it could be deadly. The first rule of any battle is to know your enemy. And you know this man far better than I do.”
“What do doctors know about battles?” she asked, standing to meet his eye. “And besides, I thought you knew him, too. The Alchemist certainly seemed to know your name.”
“He did?” The doctor seemed surprised by this.
She shook her head, not understanding. He’d specifically asked her to tell the Alchemist his name. He must know him. But there was no time for that now. Raph was in danger.
“What were you and Raph doing at the Alchemist’s house?” she asked, wanting to get things clear before she figured out what it was that Raph thought she was supposed to do. “I left you in the gazebo.”
“That’s where Raphael found me. He offered to take me to meet the Alchemist’s wife. I needed to… speak with her.”
“Why would he do that?” Jasmine shook her head. “He knows better than to trust a stranger, whether you’re a doctor, or not.”
“He did trust me.” He looked directly into her eyes, holding her gaze. “Just like I’m asking you to trust me right now. I lied to you earlier. My name isn’t Doctor Abner. It’s…”
“Well?” prompted Jasmine, when
his pause hung in the air for far too long. They didn’t have all day.
“I’m Prince Ari of Wintergreen.”
Jasmine took a step back and blinked at him. Could this be true? She’d never seen the prince before to know what he looked like, apart from in paintings, which were never particularly true to life. His age was right. And he did speak like someone from the palace. Despite her fog, she’d suspected the first time she saw him that he was a man of money. This did explain things, even if the explanation was fairly outlandish.
“What would the Prince of Wintergreen want with the Alchemist’s wife?” This story just seemed to get more confusing instead of less, the more questions she asked.
“That’s not important now,” he said. “Getting Raphael out is all that matters. He took me to the Alchemist’s house, but his wife wouldn’t answer the door so I helped Raphael to climb through the window so he could check.”
“You helped him climb through the window?” Prince or not, she was horrified he’d do such a thing. “Why would you do that?”
“I know now it was wrong. So wrong. Raphael convinced me that he’d know if he was in danger. I believed him. He seemed to know so much about everything.”
“He knows a lot, but he doesn’t know everything.” She wrung her hands, keen to get moving. “If he could sense danger then we’d hardly be in the situation we’re in now. Nobody can accurately predict the future, not even Raph.”
“I’m deeply sorry,” Prince Ari said. “I went around to the front of the house expecting Raphael to open the door for me, except instead I saw the Alchemist. He must’ve followed us. I ducked behind a bush, then ran back to the window to try to warn Raphael, but I was too late. All I heard was a terrible scream.”
Jasmine’s hands flew to her mouth. “We have to help him!”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
Jasmine reached for her salts and drew in their scent, willingly this time. Her brother must have had a reason to make this for her. It was time she stopped treating him like a child and listened to what he had to say. Clearly, he’d been desperate to wake her up from the sleep she’d been walking around in.
The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set Page 27
