Oracle (2 page)

CHAPTER
TWO

    
Daniella
relaxed into a bath of warm milk. While one
maidservant washed her hair, another set out her perfumes along the edge of the
vanity table. The High Priest would soon arrive to begin preparations for
Richard’s crowning and
Daniella
wanted to be at her
best to greet him.

    
The small
formality of assuring there were no other contenders for the throne would have
to be dealt with first, but this gave
Daniella
no
cause for concern. Their father was not the sort to have royal bastards running
about and thus her brother was certain to have no competition for the crown.

    
Soon
everything she had worked for would come to pass and the vision of death the
crystal had for so long shown her would be changed to one of victory. Anastasia
had escaped the nightmare, but no matter. She was in hiding now and could not
possibly cause any trouble. Once Richard was king he would take care of the
threat their cousin posed. Everything was bound to go smoothly from there on.

    
A tug on
her hair caused
Daniella
to twist around in the tub
to glare at the maidservant. “Mind your clumsy fingers, girl, or else I’ll send
you to serve my brother in his chambers tonight.”

    
The young
woman’s already pale complexion drained of what little color it possessed. “I
beg your pardon, your Highness.”

    
Daniella
smiled smugly, confident the threat would be
enough to make the girl more mindful of her actions. As it was, her personal
maidservants were off limits to Richard and they would certainly prefer to stay
that way.

    
The
second maidservant finished with the perfumes as a third girl came into the
room carrying an arm full of dresses. She hung them from hooks on the wall facing
the bath so
Daniella
could take her pick.

    
“The dark
blue will do nicely,” she said. The neckline was deep enough to be suggestive
while still maintaining a certain propriety. She doubted she would need any
feminine charm to influence the High Priest when she could think of no one who
might contest Richard’s title of Crowned Prince, but it never hurt to play to
the side of caution.

    
After her
bath,
Daniella
was
lotioned
and powdered and perfumed, then squeezed into a dress with a bodice so tight it
was a wonder she could breathe. She admired her reflection in the floor length
mirror.

    
“How do I
look?” she asked, running a hand through her long, black locks.

    
“Beautiful.” “Stunning.” “Simply lovely, you Highness.” Came the reply
from three sets of lips.

    
Daniella
smirked. She could have been the most hideous
woman to ever walk the earth and they still would have claimed her beautiful.
Not that it mattered. She knew her own worth and hardly needed servants to
boost her ego. Having them tell her so was simply another way to remind them of
their place. It was necessary to do so with servants from time to time. Kept
them from getting ideas.

    
“You’re
dismissed.” She waited until the girls were gone before crossing the room to
open the window shutters. Staring out into the blue sky, she wondered what had
become of
Gibli
. She’d expected him to return by now.

    
Had the
archangel perhaps discovered her little spy? The thought was troubling. If the
imp were caught and questioned, he would likely spill her name. And she could
not afford to be associated with a demon. Her interest in witchcraft was well
known, but none had proof she actually practiced the craft. So long as this
held true she had no need to fear the Order. Princess or no, it didn’t bear
thinking on what they might do if they knew she possessed the ability to summon
a demon. Even one so low class as an imp. Of course, she’d also summoned a
nightmare, which was certainly a demon of a higher order, but no one could possibly
know about that.

    
“Where
are you?” She slapped a hand down on the windowsill. How inconvenient it was to
have no means of communicating with her servant while he was away from her.
Daniella
turned from the window and left her chambers. She
had no time now to worry about where the imp might be. Other business was at
hand.

    
Richard
was waiting for her in the main hall when she arrived downstairs. “I expected
you an hour ago,” he snapped. “The High Priest is nearly here and where were
you?” He looked her up and down with a sneer. “Off primping yourself? As if
throwing yourself at the High Priest would do me any good.”

    
“Temper,
temper, little brother.”
Daniella
only smiled though
she would have liked to slap his face. “Do try and remember to whom you owe
your upcoming rise in stature. You might try and show a bit of gratitude.”
 

    
“Gratitude?” He glared at her. “I’ve not turned you over to the Magi for
illegally practicing witchcraft nor had your baseborn lover strung from the
nearest rafter. Is that not gratitude enough for you?”

    
“My, my,
has the thought of being ruler of Hyacinth caused you to grow a backbone?” She
trailed one red tipped finger down the sleeve of his shirt. “Let’s not forget
I’ve rid this castle of one king already. I could as easily dispose of
another.”

    
Richard
took a step back. “You are as vile and poisonous as a snake hidden in the
grass.”

    
“True,”
she said. “Something you should consider when you open your mouth to me. You
will show me some respect. I’m not one of your playthings.”

    
“Mores
the pity,” he muttered.

    
A blast
of fanfare cut the conversation short as the double doors swung open and the
High Priest of the Grand Temple entered the castle. Dressed in blood red robes
trimmed in white rabbit’s fur, the aging, balding, rotund leader of the
kingdom’s predominate religion strutted toward Richard and
Daniella
as if he were a peacock in full plum. A young acolyte, dressed in grey and
bearing a brazier of flowered incense, strode alongside him.

    
Candlelight twinkled off gem encrusted rings as the priest offered his
hand to Richard. The prince bowed to kiss the purple signet ring on the man’s
center finger. He wore no expression on his face, but
Daniella
knew her brother well enough to catch the flash of fury in his eyes. She had to
bite the inside of her lip to keep herself from laughing right out loud.

    
Daniella
had no more love for the man than Richard did, but
it was a sad fact he was the one who would decide the next king. Therefore
deference was essential, though she had no doubt it would strain her brother
greatly to rein in his temper.

    
“I am
honored to have you here as our guest, your Grace,” Richard said. And he didn’t
even choke on the words.

    
“It is a
holy and sacred duty we must perform,” the High Priest said. His attempt to
look down his nose at them was a miserable failure, seeing as how they were
both rather taller than he was. “The God Above would see only the most worthy
sit the throne of Hyacinth. We are most humbled to be his lowly servant in this
world and to be allowed to see his will be done.”

    
The
corner of Richard’s right eye twitched, prompting
Daniella
to step in before the strain proved too much. “Would you care for something
with which to refresh yourself after your long journey, Your Grace?”

    
“A carafe
of wine would please us. And perhaps a platter of spiced cakes.” He rested his
hand on his protruding stomach. “We are rather famished. But first, a soft,
quiet place to sit. Two days traveling in a carriage is most trying on the
nerves.”

    
“Of
course.”
Daniella
motioned to a waiting servant. “See
His Grace is settled into a guest room and provided with whatever he needs.”

    
The servant
dropped a quick curtsy. Before following her from the room, the High Priest
smiled at
Daniella
. “You are as courteous as you are
lovely, my dear.”

    
Daniella
smiled back, lowering her gaze as if embarrassed
by such praise. “You are too kind, your Grace.”

    
Once the
High Priest and his acolyte had moved out of sight, Richard cursed and spat on
the floor.
Daniella
smiled. “Temper, dear brother. Do
not forget the power that man wields over us.”

    
“I
haven’t,” Richard growled. “If I didn’t need the disgusting pig to put me on
the throne I wouldn’t let him within fifty feet of me. He’ll have the whole
castle smelling like a cheap brothel before he goes. I swear, once I am king
I’m going to see he’s taken down a peg or two. Maybe I’ll dismantle the
priesthood altogether.”

    
“You
think it would be so easy?”

    
“And why
not? Who would stand in my way? The God Above?” He scoffed. “No such being
exists. Those who believe in the twin gods are fools.”

    
“Perhaps,
but those fools make up the largest portion of the kingdom’s population,”
Daniella
said. “It might not be wise to go about attacking
their religion.”

    
“I fear
nothing from those peasants,” Richard said. “They thought things were so bad
under my father’s reign? Wait until
I’m
king. I’ll soon have them cowed
so low they won’t dare raise their eyes to me, let alone their arms.”

    
“Brave
talk,”
Daniella
said. “But better men than you have
been laid low by peasants. You might know as much, if you ever bothered to pick
up a book.”

    
Richard’s
eyes narrowed. “Do not condescend to me, woman. I’ve put up with much from you
because you’ve proven useful to me. But don’t press me or you may regret it.”

    
“Will I?”
She stepped closer, practically daring him to raise a hand to her. “You don’t
frighten me, Brother. You never have and you never will. I raised you. If not
for me your mother would have let you starve to death in your crib for all she
cared about your life. I am the reason you are alive. I made you what you are.”
She stepped closer still, knowing she was playing with fire and loving every
minute of it.
     

    
“Maybe
our father was right,”
Daniella
said, her voice so
low no one else could have heard. “Maybe you really aren’t his son. Maybe you
really are a bastard.” She smiled at the way the word made him flinch. “Whether
you’re truly of royal blood or not, we both know he means to strip you of the
title of Crowned Prince. It’s because of me you will be king. So don’t make
threats you know you’d be a fool to carry through. You still need me. You’ll
always
need me. Without me, you are nothing.”

    
Richard’s
expression was tight, his eyes bright with rage.
Daniella
smiled coolly, unafraid. The moment hung between them for several long breaths,
waiting to see which way it would turn. Then Richard spun on his heel and
stormed from the room. His footsteps echoed off the stone walls.
     

    
Daniella
chuckled.

CHAPTER
THREE

    
Jesse sat
in the saddle and stared out across the flat grasslands of the Wild Lands,
where he had spent so much of his youth. This place was his home, it’s people
his family, and here he was come to steal from them. It wasn’t for the first
time since he and his companions started out on this journey he found himself
having second thoughts.

    
“How far
is it to the temple?” Ethan asked.

    
“I don’t
know. I’ve never been.”

    
“What?”
Ethan turned to Manny. “Then surely you have.”

    
Manny
stared steadfastly ahead, his one eye set with stern lines, and said nothing. Jesse
shifted in his saddle. “Manny hasn’t been there either.”

    
“But he’s
a wildling.”

    
“A
wildling can only go to the temple if he’s communed with his chosen spirit,”
Jesse said. He did hope Ethan would leave it alone. It was a sore subject for Manny
even if he wasn’t the one speaking of it. And he was already upset enough.

    
“Katherine, my dear, I do believe we have something of a problem here.”
He twisted around to address the only female member of their group. “It would
seem our guides have no idea where the temple is.”

    
Kat
readjusted the staff strapped across her back. “I know. Jesse already told me
as much.”

    
“Well,”
Ethan folded his hands on the pommel of his saddle, “isn’t it lovely everyone
knew this but me. Pray tell, how are we to find our way to the temple if no one
knows where it is except to say it lies somewhere in the middle of a desert?”

    
“We’ll be
picking someone up along the way.” Jesse saw Manny’s muscles stiffen. He hadn’t
told his friend they would be adding another member to this little party, but
the man knew whom he meant in any case. “She’ll lead us to the temple.”

    
“Another
person to share the
starstones
with?” Ethan asked.
“The surprises keep coming.”

    
“She
won’t want a cut,” Jesse said. He could feel Kat staring at the back of his
head but he refused to turn around. “If I can convince her to come it will only
be because I asked it of her.”

    
“
If
you
can convince her to come?” Kat asked, a bite to her words. “What’s wrong, did
you leave her on bad terms?”

    
Jesse
chose to ignore the remark. “See that building?” He pointed to a plain wooden
building. It was the only human habitation in sight. “That’s the trading post.
We’ll stop there to resupply. Beyond that... I don’t know. It’ll take however
long it takes.”

    
“Why are
you the one giving orders?” Kat kicked her horse up beside his. “
I
was
the one hired for this job.”

    
“And
I
was the one you brought along to help you deal with the wildlings,” Jesse
countered. “Well, we’re about to enter the Wild Lands so I think it only makes
sense I take over from here. I know this land and these people. You don’t. Have
you ever even dealt with any wildling aside from Manny?”

    
“No,” Kat
said. “But I’m not sure I like the idea of you being in charge. It hasn’t
worked out well for us in the past.”

    
“Hey, I
only got us arrested twice and --”

    
“Three
times.” Kat waved her fingers in his face for emphasis.

    
Jesse
batted them away. “The first time I was drunk, so it doesn’t count. Can you
never let anything go?”

    
“I don’t
know. Can
you
never resist taking a tumble with any willing female who
crosses your path?”