Hostage (20 page)

Maybe now that he was closer in time and distance, he’d be able to see something more. Taking a deep breath, he centered himself in a way that came easily, since he remembered the technique now, and focused all his attention on the mirror. Something shifted inside his head, and although he was still staring into the mirror, he no longer saw his reflection.

There was a crowd of people, angry shouts, banners, laser images on high white walls. He scanned the throng but didn’t recognize anyone. Then a face appeared, a familiar one with a grim smile. Following Rowan through the press of bodies, Astrin broke into a clear space in front of a huge gate, where a row of soldiers on horses stood, seemingly made of stone.

Someone was speaking, but he couldn’t make out the words. The crowd gave a great roar and surged forward, pushing him with it. The row of soldiers advanced, with other soldiers behind them. A horse flew over his head into the crowd, which broke and ran. Here and there a foot soldier grabbed a fleeing protestor—that was when he realized this was a protest—and hauled them toward the gate. When they struggled, they were stunned and dragged. Astrin exchanged a look with Rowan, and they began to run forward.

The image shimmered and faded, and there was only his own reflection, pale-faced and wide-eyed.

Astrin jumped when there was a gentle knock at the door, and he turned away from the mirror in time to see Rowan step through. The older boy was dressed in a similar way to Astrin, only with a differently styled jacket, and his weapons were contained on a gun belt around his waist. Astrin suddenly realized what they looked like—mercenaries. Nice.

“I know how we’re going to get into the royal compound.”

Rowan looked a little taken aback. “Well, I was going to say how pleased I am that you’re feeling better, but we can get right down to business if you want.”

“I’ve already started,” Astrin said brusquely, covering his feelings of embarrassment and awkwardness at seeing Rowan for the first time since…. “I’ve had another vision. I know how we’re going to get into the compound… but I still don’t know how we are going to get to it.”

“I don’t understand.”

“My memories have returned. I remember how to ‘see.’ I saw the gates of the compound. I remember it from when I’ve been there with my father, on diplomatic visits.”

“I remember it too,” Rowan said. “What? I’ve been on diplomatic visits,” he added in response to Astrin’s surprised expression.

Astrin shrugged. “There was some kind of demonstration going on, and we got mixed up in it. At the end the military broke it up and started dragging some of the protestors off… presumably to the prison complex inside. I’d imagine the demonstrators would be tried for treason, since they were clearly demonstrating against the House at its gates.”

“Hmm…. House Michael doesn’t like being challenged, and it’s their way to use strong-arm tactics. If we’re aiming to get in that way, you know we’re going to get hurt.”

“Well…,” Astrin said slowly, “my father and your uncle are in that complex, so if you have any better ideas, either now or by the time we get there, feel free to let me know.”

“Are your visions always true?”

“They’re always true, but they’re not always clear. There is always some room for interpretation, and I didn’t actually see
us
get hauled away by the guards.”

“Hmm. Well, it’s all we’ve got for now. Do you feel up to making a start? If we get to Maratebo tonight, we can take a shuttle to Port Home tomorrow morning.”

“I’m with you.”

Rowan led Astrin through cool corridors, decorated in earthy tones, and into a broad terracotta-tiled courtyard. The house they’d just exited sprawled around three sides. It was long and low, two-storied, with a tiled roof that matched the paving in the courtyard. The word that sprung to mind was “adobe” but very, very high-class.

He didn’t have much time to look at the house, since his attention was drawn to what was dominating the center of the square. It was a helicopter—top of the line, of course, and looking as if they’d just stripped the plastic off the blades. It was compact, clearly only meant for two or three passengers. Sleek and silver, it seemed to crouch on its runners, almost purring.

Rowan was already climbing in, so Astrin hurried to join him. Inside, the helicopter was lushly outfitted with soft gray leather seats, a minibar, and screens at each position for watching television or playing games.

It seemed that no sooner had they closed the door and strapped in than the helicopter rose swiftly, silently, and vertically into the air. They barely felt movement as they swung out over the sea, heading toward Maratebo.

Maratebo was an island, owned by House Gabriel, on the very limit of its southern borders. In fact for many years, it had been fought over, with House Michael also claiming ownership. Eventually there had been a compromise, in that now it was technically owned by House Gabriel, which maintained an estate and naval base there, but with a large House Michael presence.

This presence was concentrated in the sprawling town that had grown up, almost overnight, around the main port. It seemed to be spreading closer and closer to the Gabriel estate every year, especially as the island grew more and more valuable for trade. Being policed by armed House Gabriel soldiers, it was far safer to anyone who was not of House Michael than the larger, but less well-governed, Port Home, only two hours away on a swift hover.

F
RIENDLY
AND
N
OT
S
O
F
RIENDLY
F
ACES

W
ITHIN
FOUR
hours the helicopter landed on a helipad, inside the confines of the estate, where they were met by the governor and his wife.

“Rowan. Oh, Rowan, it’s so good to see you again, but in such terrible circumstances! Oh my goodness, how you’ve grown. You look so much like your mother. And who is this handsome young man? Ragnor was very sketchy with details. Are you really sure it’s safe for you here? You are the king now, you know, and with Charles…. Well….”

Rowan smiled at the excited little woman who, leaving her husband three steps behind, had flung herself at him and thrown her arms around him. Her husband frowned at her while managing a fondly indulgent look at the same time.

“Steady,” Rowan said as he gently disengaged himself from her embrace, while Astrin stared at her with a somewhat shocked expression. He took two quick steps back when it looked as if she were going to attack him too.

“Aunt Sophia, this is Astrin Raphael, um… I suppose he’s King of the Western Territories now.” Turning to Astrin, Rowan grinned and said, “This is my Aunt Sophia and Uncle Phineas. Aunt Sophia was my mother’s sister.”

Astrin still seemed shocked but had a carefully schooled smile on his face when he held out his hand to Sophia. He was halfway through “Pleased to meet you” when, ignoring the hand, she hugged him tightly.

“Astrin, my dear, I’m so pleased to meet you at last. You were five or six the last time I saw you. We are so tucked away here—not that we don’t love it—but we get so out of touch.”

Astrin was stiff in her arms, an expression of extreme discomfort on his face. He did his best to smile, but it was strangled.

“It’s all right, Astrin. She’s a member of my family, so she’s allowed to touch you,” Rowan snapped sarcastically.

“It… it’s not… I… It hurts,” Astrin hissed.

Sophia immediately backed off and peered at Astrin with concern. He took a steadying breath and tentatively rubbed at his side, biting his lip.

“Are your ribs still hurting?” Rowan asked. Astrin nodded. “But I thought… I assumed that when you healed me, you would have healed yourself.”

Astrin shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. I can’t heal myself.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.” Astrin shrugged. “It’s just the way it is. No one can.”

Rowan shook his head and frowned. “Who am I to criticize? I don’t have anything at all… yet.”

Astrin opened his mouth to say something, but Sophia beat him to it. “Don’t you worry your head, sweetheart. Your mother was a late developer too, and I didn’t get my full range until I was twenty-five.”

Rowan blushed scarlet, which wasn’t helped by Astrin’s snigger. “Yeah, well… I’m not worried. I’m doing fine as I am.”

“Of course you are, dear,” Sophia said, patting his arm. Then, linking arms with both of them, she led them into the house.

They spent a pleasant evening with Sophia and Phineas, or at least Astrin did, as they regaled him with stories about Rowan when he was a child, complete with photographs and digital footage. Astrin tried his best to keep a straight face, but it wasn’t easy, and by the time they went to bed, Rowan was furious with him.

“You got on well with Aunt Sophia.”

“She’s a lovely lady. She reminds me of my aunt.”

“Remind me to visit her one day, so she can show me all the embarrassing footage of you.”

“Oh, you won’t need to—my mother will do that at her first opportunity.”

“I can’t wait.”

Astrin laughed. “Someone might think you’re embarrassed by all those sweet images of you doing awesomely cute things.”

Rowan growled. “Don’t push it, Raphael. I might remind you about all the times this evening when my aunt pinched your cheek and announced what a ‘pretty angel’ you are.”

Astrin laughed and rubbed his face. “No need, I have the bruises to remind me.”

At the door of his room, Rowan paused. “Do you want to come in for a drink… or something?”

Astrin hastily shook his head. “No. We need to get up early in the morning, and I’m tired. Besides, I’m still sore. Your healer is a spiritual healer. She can heal injuries to the psyche but not the body. True healers are very rare outside of our House. Where they do exist, they are usually weak. As you can imagine, there won’t be many Raphael healers in the North at the moment.”

Rowan’s heart and face fell, but he nodded and smiled. “You’re right. We should both get straight to sleep.”

Rowan watched Astrin disappear into the next room, and wondered why he felt so… lost.

The next morning, they were awake early and managed to eat breakfast before Sophia and Phineas were up. They appeared, still in their nightclothes, as the boys were about to leave.

“We’ve had provisions loaded into a hover at the dock. Here’s the key. The berth number is on there. It’s nothing special, and we made sure it wasn’t one of the household staff who moored it.”

Tearfully, Sophia embraced them both and made them promise to take care of each other. Before they left, Sophia drew Rowan aside.

“Don’t be downhearted, sweetheart. He’s a darling boy, but he’s very confused. He’ll work it out.”

“What do you mean, confused?”

Sophia kissed him on the cheek. “You’ll find out, dear. Now listen carefully, this is very important: take care of that boy. He has a hard time ahead, and I’m concerned by the darkness I see surrounding him. This venture is a dangerous one, and I can’t shake the feeling that he isn’t coming back. You can trust him absolutely and rely on him totally, but there will come a time when his only hope is you. If you fail him, he will never set foot in his home again.”

“Thanks, Aunt Sophia—no pressure, then.”

She smiled and patted his cheek. “Forewarned is forearmed, my dear.”

“Do you know what will happen to him? Where?”

“My vision was not that precise, Rowan. It rarely is. From the moment I first saw that boy, I saw the darkness around him. He is walking into something bad.”

“Are you saying we shouldn’t go?”

“Not at all. You must go. My vision tells me you will succeed in finding Charles and Hersten, since they are with you and you are free, but… that is when the darkness is at its most intense, and the only one who can break through it is you. To do that, you have to follow your heart and be fearless.”

“Okay, now you’re really not making sense.” Rowan laughed.

“Rowan, I’m serious. This is bad, really bad. If you don’t find a way to save him, Astrin will die.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Very sure.”

“How?”

“I’ve told you, Rowan, I don’t know how. He’s safe until you rescue Charles and Hersten. After that….” She shrugged. “Be very careful with him, and if… when it happens, you have to find a way to save him. Only you, Rowan.”

“I understand. No, I don’t understand, but I’ll do my best. I only hope it’s good enough.”

“It will be, my cherub. If anyone can figure it out, you can. You were always such a bright boy, and now you’re so grown-up. Be brave. Follow your heart.”

Rowan was very unsettled by this. He studied Astrin, who was laughing at something Uncle Phineas had said. He was beautiful, his hair on fire, his face animated and glowing. The thought of something happening to him was unbearable. Gritting his teeth, Rowan made a vow to take care of him, no matter what it took. This time, it didn’t even occur to him to wonder why.

Ensuring that no one saw them, the two boys slipped out of the compound and made for the town. Taking shortcuts Rowan knew from his times on the island when he was younger, they made it to the dock without being observed.

Instead of going straight to the hover, they took some time out to have a drink in the tavern. This was no idle time-wasting but a valuable reconnaissance mission, to pick up the word on the street about traffic in and out of Port Home and beyond.

No longer princes of the royal Houses, Rowan and Astrin were now Ansel and Cody, respectively, mercenaries who had become companions when they were messengers on opposite sides of the border in the Raphael-Gabriel war. There was no point trying to pretend Astrin came from anywhere but the West, since he was too fair-skinned and blond. It was easier for Rowan to pretend he came from somewhere near the border and had become involved in mercenary work through acting as a messenger in the war.