Heirs of the Enemy (59 page)

“Sign it,” snapped Brother Nicholas.

Wylan felt the edges of the paper and scrawled a signature at the bottom of it. Brother Nicholas scooped up the coins as Brother Louis witnessed the document. Wylan did not wait. He turned and walked out of the room without a word of farewell. He was only a few paces from the door when he heard Brother Louis running past him. As soon as the monk turned the corner, Wylan raced for the front door. He darted out the door and ran into the forest. He reached the rock before Louis even discovered that Samuel was already gone.

“It went exactly as you predicted,” Samuel said sadly. “I can’t believe that I was so foolish for so many years. I meant nothing to them other than an opportunity for gold.”

“Now that your eyes are open,” smiled Wylan, “you can begin to see the truth, but right now, we must hurry. I am willing to wager that Louis and his thugs will be after us shortly.”

“He would go against Nicholas?”

“No,” chuckled Wylan. “He will chase us with the head monk’s blessing. Now that they have my gold, there is no longer any reason to let you go.”

Twerp shot down out of the sky and landed on Wylan’s shoulder.

“Three monks just left the temple. One is going north, one is going south, and the third is heading this way. If we head to the north now, we should be safe as the trail the monk is on will move away from us.”

“Head north,” Wylan ordered Samuel. “Run as fast as you can. I will follow the sound of your footsteps. Go!”

The prince needed no prodding. He turned to the north and ran into the trees. Wylan ran right behind him. After they had run for fifteen minutes, Wylan whispered for a halt. The prince stopped and put his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. Wylan stood alert listening for any sounds of pursuit. There were none. Wylan whispered something to Twerp, and the fairy departed into the darkening sky. A few minutes later, two horses emerged from the woods. Samuel straightened up and stared in wonder.

“Where did they come from?”

“They have been waiting for us,” grinned Wylan. “Brother Louis will not catch us now. Do you remember how to ride?”

“I can ride,” grinned the prince. “It is one of the joys that I have greatly missed at the monastery.”

The men mounted the horses, and Wylan let the prince take the lead after telling him to head westward. After a few hours of riding, Wylan called for a halt. They dismounted and went to sleep under the stars. Two hours before dawn, Twerp woke Wylan. The Knight of Alcea rose and began packing up their gear while the fairy cast a sleep spell on the prince and levitated him onto the back of one of the unicorns. Wylan mounted the other unicorn and they all took to the skies. Before the first rays of sunshine entered the remote valley of Tarashin, the unicorns set down on the ledge near the waterfall. Wylan explained what he wanted and two dwarves picked up Samuel and his belongings and carried them into the tunnels. Wylan gave instructions to the unicorns and then followed the dwarves. Within minutes, Wylan carried the sleeping prince through the Door to Herinak Castle. Sidney greeted him.

“Brother Samuel?” asked the merchant.

“Prince Samuel,” grinned Wylan. “Is a suite ready for him?”

“It has been waiting for him. How much does he know?”

“A little more than I had planned on telling him, but I think he will do well. He has at least seen the true nature of his fellow monks. I will be staying until he awakens, but he may need some additional guidance over the next few days. The shock of being in Korocca will be hard enough for him to swallow. I don’t want him to feel as if we tricked him.”

“You need to stay around for a few days,” stated Sidney. “I know you are anxious to get back out there, but this task is not complete until he feels comfortable here.”

Wylan sighed and nodded. “I had planned to go to Candanar next.”

“For Prince Bultar?”

Wylan nodded.

“My son knows the prince rather well,” suggested Sidney. “I am sure that Edmond could convince the prince to come here, but I am not sure if it is necessary. Candanar has never really been part of the Federation. They have no army to speak of. They merely joined the Federation to avoid being conquered.”

“Garth wants him here,” shrugged Wylan. “If your son can make that happen, fine. If not, I need to do it.”

“I will contact Edmond. You stay here and make sure that Prince Samuel understands what we are doing.”

Zachary Nolan removed the magical wrinkles from his case and carefully applied them to the corners of Sheri’s eyes. Sheri frowned at the thought of being made older, and Zack sighed with frustration.

“Stop fidgeting,” scowled Zack, “and stop frowning. We are going to be late.”

“I can’t help it,” sighed Sheri. “Why do I have to look so old?”

“You have a twenty-year-old daughter,” answered Zack. “You have to look old enough to have one. Must we go through this each time we visit the queen?”

“I am sorry,” Sheri apologized. “I guess I am proud of my looks. It bothers me to have to hide my youth.”

“Perhaps you are not suited for this type of work,” sighed Zack as he finished applying the wrinkles and closed his case. “Unfortunately, it is too late to change anything now. Tonight is the night that we must mention Rita to the queen.”

“I understand. I am truly sorry for giving you a hard time, Zack. I can play the part well enough. I guess I am just anxious about it. I can’t imagine how we are going to get that detestable woman to change her mind about a son she never loved in the first place.”

“Queen Samir loves no one but herself,” replied Zack. “She will use her children as pawns just as easily as she uses everyone else. You just act charming, and I will do what needs to be done.”

“I just hope she keeps her brats away from me this time.”

Zack sighed deeply and turned to look Sheri in the face. “Do not touch a royal. Ever. We are fortunate that those girls were frightened enough not to speak of it the last time, but we cannot afford to stretch our luck.” Zack gave one last glance at Sheri and turned away. “And wear the pearls again tonight. We will probably need to leave them with the queen when we depart.”

“So she can give them to one of the brats?” scowled Sheri.

“Wear the pearls,” Zack said testily.

“All right,” retorted Sheri. “Can I at least smack one of the girls if I get the chance?”

Zack whirled around with a look of extreme annoyance on his face and found Sheri grinning from ear to ear. When she saw the look on his face, she started laughing. Zack raised an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly.

“You have been toying with me all night, haven’t you?”

“You hardly acted like a proper husband on our last trip to the palace,” chuckled Sheri. “I figured that you needed to be properly trained to get you in the right mood. You have been far too tense today.”

Zachary nodded and chuckled. “I guess I deserved that. The truth is, this mission has long odds. It is only a matter of time before Samir learns that her son is no longer at the monastery. Once she becomes aware of that, our task will be impossible.”

“Wylan thinks that the head monk will not be in a hurry to announce that Samuel is gone. There is no reason for him to volunteer such information.”

“I know,” sighed Zack, “but so many things can go wrong. I am not used to running a mission with so many holes in it. Are you ready?”

Sheri nodded and Zack took her arm and led her out of the suite. When Lord and Lady Zachary reached the courtyard, their carriage was waiting for them. It was a short ride from the Greystone Inn to the Royal Palace of Spino, and half of that was waiting in line behind the other carriages heading to the ball. When they finally arrived at the Royal Palace, it was mobbed with nobles, officers, and wealthy business owners. Anyone who was of note in Spino was at the Royal Palace. The display of wealth was staggering, especially when compared to the pitiful conditions most of the residents of the city lived in.

Lord and Lady Zachary already knew a lot of the people present from their previous invitations to the Royal Palace, but there were many unfamiliar faces as well. The couple mingled with the crowd as servants carried trays of drinks from room to room. After an hour of talking, servants began escorting people into the Grand Dining Room. Each couple was announced as they entered, and Zack asked Sheri to disappear for a while so that she was not available when the servant came for them. As the crowds began to dwindle, the servants came by more frequently, often with a look of annoyance on their faces. By the time Sheri returned, there were only a few couples left to be seated, which is exactly what Zack was aiming for. He wanted everyone in the room when he was announced, so that the few people he had not been introduced to would learn who he was.

What Zack was not aware of was that the seating arrangements in the Grand Dining Room had been prearranged, and Lord and Lady Zachary were seated next to the queen. The whole room fell silent as they were announced and led through the long tables to the head table. The servant leading them halted before the head table. Zack bowed low to the queen while Sheri curtsied and bowed her head. On one side of the queen were two empty chairs. On the other side were the two princesses, and they glowered at Sheri.

As the Vinaforan couple was led around the head table to their seats, the noise in the room picked up again as everyone started talking. Zack halted with a sigh as the servant pulled out the chair next to the queen for Sheri to sit down. He tried to get her attention by pulling out his chair and waving her into it, but she had already made eye contact with the queen and sat down in the proper chair. Zack sighed again and sat in his assigned spot, wondering if Sheri would say the wrong thing.

“You are wearing those adorable pearls again,” the queen commented with a smile.

“Being so close to the Sea of Tears makes me think often of pearls,” smiled Lady Zachary. “Your daughters took a liking to them the last time I wore them here. Perhaps I should leave them with you when we leave the city.”

The princesses heard the comment and their eyes brightened with greed. Sheri looked past the queen and smiled at them, knowing that if she left them with Queen Samir the chances of either princess getting them were slim. The queen’s own eyes were just as large with greed.

“What is this talk of leaving the city?” asked the queen. “I thought you would stay until spring.”

“I could be quite happy staying here,” Lady Zachary said softly enough to not be heard by the princesses, “but we are taking this opportunity east of the Barrier to do some shopping.”

“Some of the finest shopping places in the world are right here in Valdo. There is no reason to go anywhere else.”

“You do have fine shops here,” Lady Zachary smiled broadly, “but I am afraid that I am shopping for something a little different.”

“Oh? And what is it that you cannot find in Valdo?”

“A prince,” replied Lady Zachary. “Our daughter is at an age where it is time for her to marry. As she is the sole heir to our fortune, we have to choose wisely, and that requires quite a bit of travel.”

“You have but one child?” questioned the queen.

Lady Zachary merely nodded and smiled as the last of the guests were announced, and the entry doors to the Grand Dining Hall were closed. The next two hours were busy and noisy. With hundreds of people in the room, someone was always standing up and offering a speech or a toast. A steady flow of people came to personally greet the queen, and Sheri actually felt a bit of sympathy for the woman. Queen Samir hardly had a chance to eat any of the fine food served, but she did not seem to mind. Eventually, the queen rose and addressed the room. Her speech was short, and it ended with an invitation to retire to the ballroom where musicians were standing ready. People began to flow out of the room, and the princesses were among the first to leave. As the crowd thinned, the queen turned to Sheri.

“I always promise not to invite so many people to the palace,” she said with a smile, “but I always get carried away. I need to get away for a little bit. Would you two care to join me?”

“We would enjoy a bit of quiet,” smiled Lady Zachary.

“I will have a man escort you to my private sitting room,” promised the queen.

As the queen was escorted out of the room, Zack leaned close to Sheri.

“What did you say to her prior to the meal?”

“That we were shopping for a prince for our lone daughter and heir to our fortune. Was that wrong?”

“Evidently not,” chuckled Zack. “Brutally forward perhaps, but it was good enough to gain us a private audience.”

As promised, a servant arrived and escorted them to the queen’s private sitting room. The queen was already sitting in a large chair. She waved towards a couch and the Vinaforan couple sat on down.

“Searching for a prince east of the Barrier is no easy task,” opened the queen. “General Alden is already married, and General Montero is not someone that I would want for my daughter’s husband. I think a rabid rat would be preferable. The Empire of Barouk would be a nice catch, except they hide their princes until they are ready to assume the throne. Naturally, they are already married by that time. Why do you seek a prince for your daughter?”

“It is a practical matter,” answered Lord Zachary. “We have far more wealth than we can ever spend, yet we are relatively unknown, even in our own country. We want to change that. We are prepared to share our wealth with our daughter’s husband if it will mean that she will become a queen.”

“We want our grandchildren to be royalty,” smiled Lady Zachary. “I am sure that you can appreciate that.”

“You act as if this is one of your business deals rather than a marriage,” the queen said without inflection.

“That is exactly what it is,” replied Lady Zachary. “We have a sought after commodity to trade, and our price is a crown. Is that wrong?”

“Certainly not,” chuckled the queen, “but I may be one of the few people who could appreciate it. Royal marriages are often promised to bind two countries together. I see no reason why a country cannot be wedded to money.”