by Kit Morgan
“What if you could, but you didn’t know it?” Lany suggested. “They were just unfamiliar. Maybe it’s why you can sense this one.”
Dallan picked at a nearby fern. “I dinna think so.” He turned to them. “D’ye remember all the different places we went to before coming here?”
“In Vegas?” Shona squeaked. “Oh, my, there were a lot. Grocery stores, gas stations, and of course Melvale insisted on seeing the gift shops at the Venetian …”
“Not to mention restaurants, coffee places, that silly donut shop …” Lany added.
Dallan smiled. “I canna believe he bought so many to take back.”
“Never mind that,” Shona said. “The point is we were around a lot of people. Especially when we were in the Empire Casino. It could very well have been someone that saw Mitzi chase after Lany. Maybe they thought they’d be a good Samaritan and help.”
“That’s plausible,” Lany said.
Dallan studied the ground again. “Weel, there’s only one way to find out. Let’s see if we can find this man before he gets himself in trouble. Ye never ken what a man will do in extreme circumstances.”
They continued their search, the sense that the man they were looking for was someone they knew. They’d gone to the casino several times to check it out and to rehearse their plan with Duncan and Cozette. It could be an attendant for the casino, a cashier, perhaps even one of Mitzi’s fellow security guards. One in plain clothes, most likely.
Shona watched Dallan follow the faint trail. She knew he could track, but hadn’t seen him do it physically like he was now. She smiled with pride, and hoped Mitzi would be just as pleased with Asger. How far had their bonding gone since her arrival? She was different from the women in their last two assignments – she had more Muiraran blood in her. How much, they weren’t sure, but half at least, and a different set of genes than Lorelei or Tory.
Dallan picked up speed, and Shona and Lany had to trot to keep up with him. When he broke into a run, only Shona could follow. “Dallan, what is it?” She glanced back at Lany who trotted along. He’d catch up eventually.
Dallan didn’t slow. Hurry, Flower. I’ve got something.
She did. There was no urgency in his heart when it spoke to hers, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She finally caught up to him beside a little stream meandering through the woods. It was a beautiful spot and somewhat familiar. No, someone familiar had been there … “Mitzi?”
“Aye, she was here.” He crossed the stream, heedless of his tall leather boots.
She had no idea if they were waterproof or not. She stopped at the edge of the stream, looked at the so-called “practical shoes” Melvale had given her and decided they definitely weren’t. She backed up a few feet, ran up and gracefully leaped over the water, only realizing as she landed that she probably would’ve broken the Olympic long-jump record if she’d done it in competition. Score one for Muiraran genes – and all those ballet classes.
On the other side she found Dallan staring at the base of a large tree about thirty feet from the water’s edge. “What is it?”
“They were here.”
“Mitzi and … Asger?”
He smiled. “Aye,” he said pointing at the trail. “Two sets of footprints. One a man’s.”
She noticed the narrow path leading from the tree. “Well, that’s some good news.”
His hands went to his hips. “Yes and no.”
“What do you mean?”
He shook his head, went to the tree and leaned against it. “I made a mistake bringing her here the way we did. I shouldna have done it like that.”
She went to him. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You and I both know from experience that trying to explain all this to someone and expecting them to believe it doesn’t work.”
“How do we ken it doesna? We’ve never tried, Flower.”
“No, but would it have worked for you if you knew what I was ahead of time?”
He sighed. “Nae.”
“Do you think it would have worked for me?”
He chuckled. “Definitely no.”
She shrugged. “There, you see? Toss a couple together and letting them bond is still the best way, rough as it is at times. As time goes on, we’ll get better at it.”
He straightened, closed his eyes, and she gave herself over to him so he could search with their shared heart. As individuals, they could do a lot, but together so much more. “She’s in the castle, or near it,” he said.
“Yes,” she agreed.
“And so is he, but … he’s angry.”
Shona opened her eyes. “Maybe we’d better head to the castle. Give up the search for a time.”
“Aye, we’re so close. The castle canna be far. We must have cut a straight line through the woods – we should reach it quick enough. Let’s go.”
“Yes,” she said, looked toward the stream and smiled.
Lany waved his arms. “Hello! Would it be too much trouble to get a lift across the water?”
Dallan smiled too. “Just as soon as I fetch Master Lany.”
Chapter Fifteen
Albert sat stock still as the well-dressed man circled him. He had a bearing about him he couldn’t place. He was above the others, that was for sure – though no one said a word, all eyes were on him.
He wasn’t much older than Albert, maybe mid-twenties, with thick brown hair, blue eyes and a golden complexion. He looked Albert over several times, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. When he finally did speak, it was in German, which Albert wasn’t familiar with other than vaguely knowing what it sounded like – like two cats fighting in a sack.
The man stopped directly in front of him and finally said something in English. “You’re rather skinny for someone who abducts innocent women.”
Albert’s jaw dropped. “What? I didn’t abduct anybody!”
He leaned toward the one called Kolbeck. “American, as you say.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Albert’s eyes rounded to saucers. “Your Highness?”
“Quite so. Prince Asger of Dalrovia, at your service.” He bowed. “And you are?”
“Uh.” He glanced at the guards in a semi-circle around him. “Albert. Albert Golden.”
The prince looked at Kolbeck. “I thought you said he was talking like a fool earlier.”
“He was.” Kolbeck shrugged helplessly. The guards nodded to confirm.
The prince sighed and crouched next to Albert. The “good cop,” presumably. “What were you doing in the Queen’s Wood?”
Albert figured he might as well play along. “Looking for my friend Mitzi. I think she might be lost.”
At the mention of Mitzi, the prince went pale. “Really?” He took a deep breath. “Describe this woman.”
“Well, she’s a little under five feet tall, blonde hair, blue eyes … feisty.”
The prince covered his mouth. Was he trying not to smile? “I see. And where did you see her last?”
Albert’s heart sank. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Prince … Asker? Asgard? … stood and loomed over him. “Try me.”
Albert gulped, looked around at the guards and decided to just tell the truth and hope he didn’t hang for it. “I saw her chasing a man and … I thought I’d try to help. But when I rounded a corner, I was struck by a white light. I couldn’t see a thing. The next thing I knew I woke up in some woods.”
“Half-naked?” Kolbeck asked.
“Let the man speak, Captain,” the prince said. He nodded at Albert to continue.
“I was fully clothed at the time.”
Everyone looked at his khaki shorts. “Really?” the prince drawled.
Albert glanced down too. “I had a shirt and shoes on. Then I came across this weird guy with a cart. He gave me some bread and water and must’ve knocked me cold, took my shirt, shoes and wallet and left me there.”
The prince and captain exchanged a quick look. “Why didn’t you
tell me this before?” the captain asked.
“You guys grabbed me, tied me up, made me ride a horse – which did nothing good for my allergies – brought me down here, tossed me in a cell and tied me to a chair! Why would I do anything for you after that?!”
The prince gave the captain a look as if to say, the prisoner has a point.
“Now, though, I’m not tied up and you gave me something to eat, even if it was only bread and water again. Thank you for that.”
Captain Kolbeck smiled nervously. “Don’t mention it.”
“Tell us more about your friend,” the prince said. “Where is she?”
Albert shrugged. “That’s what I’d like to know! What if she’s hurt? What if someone really did abduct her? I have to find her!”
The prince crouched again. “You sound genuinely worried. What is she to you?”
He stared at them. “She’s my friend.”
“Nothing more?” the prince asked.
“Well, no. I care about her. We work together. I’m not her boyfriend, if that’s what you’re getting at – she’s way out of my league.”
The two men exchanged another look before the prince reached into his pocket. “Have you ever seen this before?”
Albert couldn’t believe it. “Hey, that’s my watch!”
“Ah. Captain Kolbeck and his men found it the night before they found you.” The prince held it up to examine it. “How did you manage to lose such a fine piece?”
“Um, it’s just a Timex. Nothing fancy.” Though he did pay over fifty bucks for it.
“Hmm,” the prince mused. “And what of your friend, was she wearing a …” He looked at the watch again. “… tie-mex too?”
“Mitzi doesn’t wear a watch – she just uses her cell phone.”
Both men’s foreheads creased in curiosity. “What is a .. sell-fohn?” Captain Kolbeck asked.
Albert gaped at him. “Seriously? You don’t know what a cell phone is?” No, they really didn’t seem to. Where was he?! “I’d, uh … show you mine, but I must’ve lost it when I first stumbled into the woods …” He trailed off, wondering how they couldn’t know. Homeless people in Vegas had cell phones – surely anyone rich enough to build their own castle could afford one …
The prince studied him as if weighing something and probably was. Would he have him tossed back into his cell to rot? Yell “off with his head”? Put him on some torture device? But eventually he just said, “Come with me.”
“Your Highness …,” the captain said.
The prince raised a hand to silence him. “Come, Mr. Golden. I want to show you something.”
Albert exchanged a look with the captain, who looked as confused as he felt, and stood. He still wore only his khaki shorts. Would he be pushing his luck to ask for a bathrobe and slippers or something?
“Come.” The prince motioned to the door.
“Is this wise, Your Highness,” the captain warned.
“We shall see.” He motioned to the door again. “If it makes you feel any better, two of your guards may accompany us. But I do not wish to draw attention.”
Captain Kolbeck nodded at a pair, who fell in behind Albert as he headed for the door.
Prince Asgard or whatever looked Albert up and down. “You’ll need some decent clothes. See to it, will you, Captain?”
The captain rolled his eyes. Pretty gutsy doing that to a royal – either they were friends, or the prince was very casual. Or they were just playacting at this – but if this was a fake, it was a really good one. “I’ll take care of it. Where are you taking him?”
“The east tower.”
Captain Kolbeck’s eyebrows rose. “The eas … oh, I see. Very well. I shall meet you there.”
“What’s the east tower?” Albert ventured.
The prince handed him his watch. “You’ll see.”
One of the guards behind him gave Albert’s shoulder a little shove, so he followed the prince out the door into a room with a desk, table, chairs and a bookshelf. There were two other doors leading into the room, but he had no idea what was behind them. He strapped on his watch as he went, feeling a little better once it was on. It was something familiar.
The group went through an open door into a hall, up some stone stairs, through another door, up another set of stairs, and on and on. Albert promised himself that if he got out of this, he’d start working out instead of sitting playing video games after work. He was starting to get gassed.
Finally they reached a wide, beautiful hallway decorated with portraits of what looked like kings and queens. “Wow. What is this place?”
“My home,” the prince replied. “The Palace of the Kingdom of Dalrovia.”
“Dalrovia?” Albert glanced around some more. “Where’s that?”
“Please don’t tell me you’re dimwitted.”
“I’m not. But I’ve never been here.” Time to try a different tactic. “I come from Nevada. It’s in the United States.”
The prince stared at him in silence. “Las Vegas.”
Albert’s eyes lit up as he gasped. He might be ignorant of the geography of Europe or wherever he was, but he wasn’t stupid. “Where is she?”
The prince studied him more. “Come with me.”
Albert followed him down more fancy hallways full of more fancy portraits, furniture and tapestries, up stairs and more stairs, until the prince opened a door and waved him through it. “Cool,” slipped out before he could stop it, but Albert didn’t care at this point. The place was impressive. It was a tower room, complete with balcony, straight out of a Disney film.
The prince headed straight for the balcony, opened the French doors and stepped outside.
Albert followed, and his jaw went slack. “What the …?”
“Behold, Dalrovia.” The prince waved at what was before them.
Albert saw a forest in the distance, and below them, beautiful gardens. And that’s not all he saw. “Mitzi!”
“Yes, I found her wandering in the Queen’s Wood and brought her here.”
“Is she all right?” He squinted to see her better. “What is she wearing?”
“More than you at the moment. But Captain Kolbeck will remedy that.”
Albert reached out to wave at her, but the prince grabbed his arm. “Hey!”
“Do not alert her to your presence. I have questions.”
Now it was his turn to look the prince up and down. “What questions?”
“She wasn’t dressed like you. She had on a simple dress. One a merchant’s daughter might wear.”
Albert stared at him. “What happened to her?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
Albert noticed the man’s jaw was tight. He looked like he was doing his best to control himself, but from what? Tossing him off the balcony? Albert casually looked to see how far the drop was, gulped and backed up. That fall would kill him. “Er, she’s all right, then?”
“Yes, but she suffered … pain earlier. Do you know the cause?”
“What kind of pain?”
“As if …” The prince turned away and gazed at Mitzi and a redhead that was with her.
They were at least seventy-five yards away, but Albert knew it was Mitzi despite the blue dress and the different hairstyle. She looked like something out of the Victorian era, but not quite. The woman she was with had on some gaudy bright-colored … something. But she didn’t matter, Mitzi did. “What do you want?”
“If you think I plan to do her any harm, you are mistaken.”
Albert faced him. “That didn’t answer my question.”
“I want answers. I want to know how to help her.”
Albert’s face fell. Was the guy crushing on Mitzi? He turned to watch her again, swallowing a drop of envy. She was so beautiful, even from a distance. She really was out of his league, but not the prince’s – he looked like an extra Hemsworth brother, not a doughy half-Jewish barista.
If he shouted, got her attention, she�
��d see him. But what would the prince do? Was she a prisoner too? She didn’t look like one. If the prince liked her, maybe that’s why Albert had been locked in a dungeon and she was walking free. But was she? “What will you do with her?”
“Look after her, of course. She is a guest of my parents the Queen and Prince Consort.”
Albert turned to face him again. “So what am I?”
The prince sighed. “I apologize for your arrest. But you were in the Queen’s Wood. That’s not allowed.”
“You found Mitzi there,” Albert pointed out.
“Yes, but she was running from someone. I had to help.”
“I was running from someone too. Your men.”
“They were doing their job.” He glanced at Mitzi and back. “We can’t be too careful these days.”
Before Albert could say anything, Captain Kolbeck stepped onto the balcony with an armload of clothes. “As you requested, Your Highness.”
“Ah, good.” He motioned to the clothing. “Be so kind as to put these on, Mr. Golden. Then I’ll take you to Mitzi.”
Albert eyed him. Why was everyone suddenly so accommodating? Unless it was to see if he was telling the truth. Well, they’d see it soon enough once he could talk to Mitzi. He took the clothing, left the balcony and went to change.
Mitzi stopped now and then to smell the roses surrounding them. She and Mildred had finished their picnic and were working their way back to the castle. Their guards kept their distance, looking around suspiciously. She was beginning to wonder what they were so worried about. But if there were any real danger, no one would have allowed the picnic in the first place.
“What are you thinking, my dear?” Mildred asked.
“Nothing really, other than how beautiful everything is. This place is like a fairyland.”
Mildred laughed. “Hardly that, my dear. There are no witches or monsters here to carry off a fair damsel such as yourself.”
Mitzi laughed. She didn’t think of herself as a “fair damsel” – she’d rather be a warrior, a fighter. But she had no idea how to fight her way out of her current predicament. She stopped and turned to Mildred. “How do I go home?”
