Never Let You Fall (The Prophecy of Tyalbrook) (30 page)

“I am immortal, Princess, so I don’t really know my age. That is to say, it isn’t of any importance. I met your mother when she was pregnant with you, and then once you were born she visited me.”

“In her dreams, or in uh, real life?”

Griffin laughed and smiled down at me as we strolled. “This IS real life, remember?”

“You know what I mean!” I argued; stopping to smell a patch of glowing violet flowers.

“Yes I do. We met in real life. I wouldn’t have been able to meet her in her dreams if we hadn’t first met in real life. That’s how I form a connection with someone. Once I’ve met a person, I have a piece of their essence with me forever. I use that essence to search you out and to find you in your dreams.”

“So why look for me?” I blurted. He made me nervous. I couldn’t help but wonder why he followed me.

“I told you, I knew your mother. Plus you’re the Princess. Why wouldn’t I seek you out?”

“So what is it that you want from me? My hand in marriage? My life?”

“There will be plenty of time to talk about marriage and life later, Princess. Right now, I want to talk to you about your mother.”

I pulled my hand from his arm and walked a few paces ahead of him. The rock bridge was right ahead of us, and I sped up to put some space between Griffin and I.

“That upsets you?” he queried; confusion in his voice.

I shrugged and leaned over the bridge rail, peering into the crystalline water.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember my mother,” I admitted to him, as if that explained it all.

“You don’t remember her? Well no - I guess you wouldn’t - you were only two when you left here. Surely your Guardians told you about her? About your dad?”

Sighing I acknowledged, “They died when I was seven. I don’t remember them either.”

Griffin snarled. It wasn’t quite human sounding, and he turned me to face him; his eyes searching mine intensely.

“You were seven, yet you don’t have any memories of your Guardians? Nothing at all?”

“No. I don’t have any memories of my life before I went to live in group homes after they died. I didn’t even know Xander when I first met him.”

“Hmmm, that is interesting,” he commented, as he let go of me and turned away. “I believe there is more at play here.”

“What do you mean?”

Spinning on his heel he was back in my face again. He really did move as gracefully as a dancer. “You should have some memories. You should have been raised by the Guardians, and you should know more. I can’t see why they wouldn’t have kept you.”

“You’re confused, Griffin. My Guardians, Xander’s parents, were killed. I got lost and ended up in police custody. I guess they thought I was an orphan, so they put me into a group home.”

“Yes, but what about the Guardian Rioden and the witch?” he added, and I sighed in frustration.

“What about them? They didn’t know where I was.”

“HA! They didn’t know where you were?” he replied sarcastically. “A Guardian and a witch couldn’t find the Princess of Tyalbrook? For how long? How long were you alone?” Griffin was starting to get agitated, and I pulled away from him again until the back of my legs pressed against the bridge wall.

“I met them all for the first time this past week. I…” I started to explain everything, and then realized that I couldn’t. His sarcasm had sparked something in my mind. He was right! How could they not have found me?

“Ten years. They let you live alone for ten years and you have no memories.”

“I… I trust Xander, Griffin. I don’t know why I have no memories, other than that Xander said Rioden wanted me to be eighteen before they brought me back,” I told him weakly. Their excuses didn’t seem to make sense to me now that I thought about it more.

“What does it even matter now?” I finally fumed. “Why did you want to talk to me about my mother?”

Griffin’s face became sad again. He looked away, and his eyes stared off into the deep forest. He straightened his deep blue shirt, stepped back, and then turned away from me and walked back across the bridge without a word.

“Griffin!” I called after him.

“You need to ask Selene why they didn’t find you. Make sure you can trust them, Princess. There is much to do, and we need people we can trust to get there.

“What does that have to do with my mother? She’s been gone for a long time.”

“No, Princess. Remember that things aren’t always what they seem...”

TWENTY FOUR - VILLAGE SHERIDAN

Xander

Skye was out cold, and Cillian and I kept up a steady stream of conversation as we galloped slowly toward the village. I couldn’t wait for a hot bath, meal and warm bed. The rest could all wait until morning.

“How has the Kingdom fared under McClintock?” I questioned, after we’d run out of mundane things to discuss.

His look of disgust told me all I really needed to know. “We don’t really fare at all, Xander. The King, and I use that word with no respect for the man, has locked himself in the castle and only sends his army out to scare people into submission.

“Our village, as well as the village of Birsk, does well because we are farther away from the King’s reach. However, the villages of Ridgecrest, Ballinger, and Marlin all suffer from his cruelty. He hasn’t allowed anyone into the Castle since he took over.”

Anger bubbled up inside at the thought of the villages surrounding the Castle being left to rot and ruin. “Does he not care for his people at all?”

“Not particularly. It’s more than that, though. No matter what he does, nothing prospers. When he first took the crown, he planted crops and kept livestock in an effort to appease the people. They all died. I’ve spoken to many who left the Castle, and they all speak of damnation and curses.”

“It’s the prophecy,” I offered to Cillian. “He’s not rightfully the King, therefore he
is
cursed.”

Cillian nodded and glanced around at his men before leaning toward me and speaking in a low voice. “I fear you may be right, although many men still don’t want to admit this. There is a fear of magic in these parts. There always has been, but it’s become more pronounced since the King took the throne.”

Selene had worked her way up to my right side and was now listening intently to our conversation.

“What has happened that has caused so much fear of magic?”

“McClintock warded off the castle with magic so that no one could get in. He has a powerful sorcerer as his right hand man, and it has been said that anyone who leaves the employ of the King ends up either dead or completely wiped clean of memories. We can’t get intel from anyone.”

“Wiped clean of memories?”

The alarms went off in my head. Sorcerers can wipe out your memories!? My eyes shifted to Selene riding by my side, and it was all there in her face. They could. She could…and had. Skye.

Not having seen the glances we’d exchanged, Cillian continued on. “Yes, sometimes it’s something simple. A maiden who goes to help with a party at the castle comes back with no memory of being at the party. A local village farmer who delivers products to the castle, but comes back with no money and can’t recall where he went. When it kept happening we realized that someone must be messing with their memories. Something has to be happening that the King wants no one to see or remember.”

“Does he ever leave the Castle? Could we get access to him?”

“No. He hasn’t been seen by anyone outside in years. The thing is, there are many people who still love him. His popularity has been growing as of late, even as the conditions keep getting worse.”

I felt Skye shiver against me in her sleep. Cillian must have seen it as well, because he pulled off his overcoat and handed it to me.

“I apologize, I should have thought to offer it to her earlier when I saw how wet you both were. We won’t be much longer now, and we can get her warmed up.”

“Thank you.” Taking the cape I wrapped it around her front the best I could. My fingers brushed her cheek as I tucked the cape under her shoulder to hold it up. She was freezing.

Cillian saw the concern on my face and excused himself. I watched as he rode to the front of the line and spoke with those riding up there. They immediately picked up the pace and we started to gallop faster.

I wrapped my arm back around Skye’s waist to hold her in place as we began to move faster. Her head banged against my chest and I tried to tuck it into the space between my shoulder and arm.

“We’re going to have a private talk as soon as we get to the village, Selene,” I hissed without looking over at her. “As soon as I get Skye into a warm bath, you have some explaining to do.”

“Xander, I would prefer that you speak with Rioden.”

“Well he’s not here, is he? I can’t wait for him anymore, and I want answers to what happened ten years ago.”

When she tried to protest again, I shot her a look that clearly stated the conversation was officially over; temporarily, at least.

After another twenty minutes or so, we began to see small huts and homes sporadically along our trail. We had moved out of the forest a while back, and the countryside was dotted with mostly crops or livestock.

The men ahead of us began to break off and slow, as we came to an area with a large stable and several homes spread out. I could see the glow of buildings and homes lit up in the dark down the road from where we were stopping. I assumed that it must have been the main shops of the village.

It would make sense that Cillian would set up camp right outside of the main village area. Cillian called out to a few men and gave directions before turning to us.

“Let’s get you three inside here.” He dismounted and went to Selene’s side to help her from her mount. He then strode over to my side and offered up his help. I hated to refuse his offer, but I wasn’t quite ready to relinquish Skye to someone else yet.

“I don’t want to startle her,” I lied, holding up my hand. “If you could go in and get hot water ready for her bath, I’ll wake her so that we can come in.”

I saw the telltale glance of his eyes as he took in my arm holding her tightly to my chest. He nodded knowingly and escorted Selene into the largest home in the area.

I watched as the other men with us began to break up. Some took up posts around the houses, while others went inside. A young boy ran out from the stable and grabbed the reins from the horse I had been riding. I took that as my cue to wake Skye.

I leaned over and lightly shook her shoulders before whispering into her ear, “Skye, come on, time to wake up.”

She stirred sleepily and I repeated myself a few times, lightly stroking her cheek with my free hand.

“Wait!” she grumbled angrily, and pushed my hand away. After a moment she grumbled again, “Griffin, don’t go.” Her voice trailed off and she shot up so fast, her head bumped into my chin in her haste.

“Dang!” I’d bitten my tongue, and my chin smarted from the hit.

Skye swung around on the horse and narrowly missed unseating us both.

“Stay still!” I told her, quickly preventing a fall.

“Oh! Oh crap, Xander, I’m so sorry! I was dreaming, and…” She fumbled for an explanation, “I guess I just didn’t know where I was. Sorry.” She rubbed her head and then took a look around.

“Where are we?”

“We’ve made it to the village Sheridan. Cillian has gone in to make sure a hot bath is drawn for you. Let’s go get some dry clothing.”

She sat forward and I swung my leg over to jump down from the horse. Then I reached up and helped her down by grabbing her waist, and she placed her hands on my shoulders.

“Whoa.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her wobbly legs as she tried to stand, and I kept my hands on her until she was steady.

“It’ll take a few minutes to get your land legs back. Tomorrow you’re going to be mad at me for this ride. Just warning you now.”

“Fabulous,” she snorted.

The young boy who had been holding the horse’s reins led him away to the stable, which left us standing there for all to see. I noticed a few glances, but for the most part the men surrounding us were just going about their business for the evening.