Scrivener's Tale (52 page)

Through her tears, Florentyna pointed at him. ‘But if you're alive, why not —'

Gabe shook his head helplessly. ‘For whatever reason, I have been granted a skill. It's hard to explain, but it's as though I can hover within myself. I was able to withdraw, hold myself back from them. They had assumed I died when we first entered this world.' He shook his head as though unable to accept that he was here.

Florentyna wasn't listening and Cassien wasn't sure if Tamas was either. They stood in each other's arms, drawing whatever solace they could.

Cassien felt a prick of envy but pressed on. ‘Why did they need to go to the trouble of a host? Why not come in the guise they were in? We would not have known.'

Gabe looked up in puzzlement. ‘Yes, I've queried this repeatedly. They needed my body for a reason I don't grasp. Or at least she did. She couldn't come as Angelina. Angelina belonged there.'

‘And you belong here,' Hamelyn finished.

Gabe looked even more confused. ‘No, I don't mean …' and then he stopped, considering the words of the boy.

Ham pressed. ‘It has to be so. If bodies from the other world are dangerous to this, how come yours isn't … unless it belongs here?'

‘That can't be,' Gabe railed. ‘It doesn't work. I've lived a whole life before this.'

‘Enough,' the queen said, rallying and wiping her tears. ‘Cassien, I'm entirely confused. We need clear thinking. You know more about this than any of us here.'

He stared back at her vacantly. ‘The demon is among us, your majesty. And, fortunately, we know in whose guise. You cannot stay here. I can't permit it. We must get you away, but we must also watch Darcelle. She is our only clue to his next move.'

‘Which is?' she asked.

‘I think I can answer that,' Gabe said. ‘He spoke of destruction. He wants to tear down all that a person — whom I know only as Elysius — holds dear.' At this the queen and Cassien shared a glance.

‘Fynch mentioned Elysius to me,' the queen admitted.

‘And Fynch is now the keeper of the Wild, as Elysius was before him,' Cassien explained, although Tamas frowned with lack of understanding.

‘Then Cyricus will destroy the people Fynch cares about and the land he loves, but most of all, he will lay waste to a magical force known as the Thicket, and what I gather are hallowed lands beyond that he called the Wild.'

‘Magical?' Florentyna repeated. ‘The Wild in the far northwest of Briavel is just that … a wild place where nothing flourishes. People hate it, speak of it feeling wrong.'

‘That's the magic they're feeling,' Cassien counselled. ‘I have learned about this place from Fynch. It repels most.'

‘You know the man and the place that Cyricus speaks about,' Gabe said. ‘So you know I am telling you the truth. I now realise Reynard was telling me the truth as he knew it.'

Cassien saw the queen sag. She looked as though she'd been punched and all the wind in her body had been expelled.

‘Poor Reynard,' she whispered.

‘He warned me. And yet, I still get the feeling that he wanted me to come here. He pushed me into it but at the same time needed me to understand the danger. I can't explain it. I still don't understand the quill. He called it a scrivener's quill, because he knew I liked history and also to write.'

‘No,' Florentyna said, ‘that's not why he gave it to you. It was a message to me. I gave Reynard that quill, because he always told me the old stories from when I was very young. He was a great storyteller. I begged him all of my life to write them down and I gave him the swan quill with the royal sigil on it and told him it was a royal order.' She laughed mirthlessly. ‘I was eleven. He knew I'd notice it had disappeared, knew I'd notice if it came back in the wrong hands. He was sending me that message from far away. Why couldn't he just come back?'

Gabe shrugged. ‘I don't know.'

‘Because he needed magic to travel,' Ham said, understanding quicker than any of them. ‘He probably didn't have access to that magic once Fynch had sent him.'

Before anyone could ask more, the door hammered.

‘Queen Florentyna, we have an urgent messenger from Princess Darcelle.'

Cassien shook his head at them and moved to the door, opening it slightly. ‘We are not to be disturbed.'

The guard had a frightened-looking maid alongside. ‘Forgive me, sir,' she mumbled. ‘The princess said I was to bring either King Tamas or Queen Florentyna, or both, in my wake.' She curtsied. ‘Sorry, sir, that's what I was ordered to say.'

‘And you have, thank you,' Cassien said. ‘Tell your mistress they will be along shortly. Oh, and can you send the queen's private maidservant, please, with her majesty's warmest riding clothes.'

The maid frowned.

‘Just give her the message.' He dug a coin from his pocket and handed it to her. ‘And that's between us alone. The queen wants a little time to herself. Don't tell anyone at all.' He beamed her a bright smile.

She thanked him, shyly curtsied, and ran. Cassien eyed the guard. ‘You can move all the guards now, Fend. We're done here.'

‘Very good, Master Cassien. All of them? What about the personal guard for their majesties?'

‘Send everyone away. The queen wishes some private space. I will escort her the short distance back into the palace.'

The man frowned but nodded. ‘I'll attend to it.'

‘Thank you.' He closed and bolted the door from the inside.

Everyone looked up expectantly, but Tamas. The king looked dark and Cassien recognised the storm gathering.

‘King Tamas —'

‘Let me kill him,' Tamas said.

‘That would require you to kill Darcelle,' Cassien said bluntly, ‘and I doubt you could do that. Besides, you are not dealing with a mere “him”, your majesty. You are confronting a demon. He doesn't die on your order or necessarily beneath your sword, although I'm not fully sure of the latter. I suspect he is vulnerable in a body.' He looked at Gabe, who nodded.

‘That makes things interesting.' He began to pace. ‘We could drug Darcelle, possibly.'

‘Wait. I'm not having my sister slaughtered in her sleep.'

‘It's not her, your majesty,' Cassien said.

‘Yes, but Darcelle the impostor will walk, talk and act like the princess you know,' Gabe warned. ‘No-one who loves her should attempt this.'

‘No-one is going to until I'm absolutely certain that my sister is not buried deep within herself. If
you
can, Gabriel, she might be able to emerge as well,' Florentyna said, ignoring the appeal in Cassien's eyes that begged her to believe the opposite. ‘Will he tire of her body?'

Gabriel considered this. ‘Definitely, if he senses that anyone suspects she is acting strangely. If you want to keep her under watch, then she has to be watched either clandestinely or by someone she implicitly trusts and thus has full access to the princess.'

That made sense to Cassien. ‘We're getting you away from here, Florentyna. And I suggest you come with us,' he said to the king. ‘We must work from a position of safety. It is not safe here. I don't know who he might become next, but the palace has myriad hosts to choose from.'

‘Except the princess gives him power,' Ham reminded them. Cassien was glad he'd brought this youngster along. His advice was sage counsel.

‘I've gone along with this talk of magic and mayhem since I can't explain it any other way — especially because I saw your dead body,' Tamas replied, looking at Gabe but including the group. ‘But do you expect me to just give up everything I've worked toward?'

Florentyna shook her head. ‘Tamas, Cassien is right. We're trapped here. We need to go somewhere that the demon doesn't know about. Right now, he can only know what Darcelle is being told. Soon she will start exerting herself and not care a whit about protocol. Let's get away before that begins.'

‘No, leave me behind to find out more,' he said. ‘I have to see this with my own eyes. I am the one who has access to her and whom she trusts. More importantly, I can keep her occupied and give you long enough to get Florentyna away to safety.'

The queen looked to be in pain.

‘But you are the very one she can compromise,' Gabe warned.

‘I will be on my guard, I promise you, Queen Florentyna,' Tamas said, taking her hand and surprising everyone by putting it to his lips for a heartfelt kiss.

Gabe stood up, looking a little stronger. ‘Your majesty, please, if you're going to do this do not let her become intimate. And remember, the demon can become anyone. I'm not sure how the magic has evolved. I thought I had it worked out, but the possession of Darcelle broke the rules as I understood them. The most important thing is that he doesn't know that we know anything. Cyricus is moving around in the smug belief that he is the one springing the surprise. Best we keep it that way.' He looked around at the small group.

Cassien nodded. ‘King Tamas, we cannot tell you what to do. I would prefer that we stick together, but I'm also grateful for the time you'll buy us. Please heed Gabe's warning.'

‘Believe me, I have no intention of being possessed by the devil.' He shot a glance at the queen. ‘Forgive me, Florentyna, that was clumsy of me.'

She put a hand on his arm in silent forgiveness and the king absently reached and covered her hand with his own. Cassien noticed the intimacy, as he said, ‘I have asked the guard to leave. We are going to slip out of here and hope to move unnoticed. I don't know how yet, but I plan to get the queen well away from Stoneheart. We will use Ham as a go-between. He can move far less obtrusively than any of us, masquerading as anything from a page to a —'

‘Gong boy,' Ham finished for him, looking excited. ‘Where will you head?'

Cassien shook his head. ‘I'm more worried about getting out of the complex. We'll head north and we can all meet up in a couple of days. Any suggestions?'

‘Majesty?' Tamas asked. ‘You know Morgravia best.'

Florentyna frowned. ‘Farnswyth is logical.'

‘We want the least logical,' Cassien suggested.

‘There's a hamlet called Tyntar in the north,' she offered.

‘I know of that place,' Ham remarked. ‘Isn't it where people go for their health?'

She nodded. ‘Yes, it's famed for a spa.'

‘We don't want anywhere famous,' Cassien frowned.

‘No, but it's only known to Morgravians. I doubt that the demons will know of it,' the queen replied. ‘And it's tiny, on the southwestern edge of the Great Forest.'

‘Be careful,' Gabe said. ‘The demons may not know but they have access to Darcelle's knowledge. Presumably she knows of it.'

‘Yes, Darcelle knows of it, but she doesn't care for the place. It's too remote for her. I'm suggesting it only because we can get supplies there and if I choose somewhere entirely unknown then Tamas and Ham will have a hard time finding us.'

Cassien nodded. ‘All right. Let's go with Tyntar. Buy us one day's ride, Tamas, and then get out of Stoneheart. Use whatever excuse you can, but put distance between yourself and Darcelle.'

‘Cyricus will swap bodies. He's looking for a male,' Gabe said, glancing at Tamas.

‘Well, he can't have me!' the king snarled.

Gabe gave a sympathetic shrug. ‘I say this only so that everyone is under no delusion. We won't know who he becomes so we have to mistrust everyone. And you must believe me when I say he has the most cunning of minds, so he will not be obvious and he is patient … he will use many bodies if he has to, especially as I know he wants to get rid of Aphra sharing the same body.'

‘Let me get this straight, Gabe. His intention is to topple the imperial Crown?' Florentyna pressed.

He shook his head. ‘No, that is merely for his amusement — part of his revenge is because of this man I mentioned called Elysius, who ruthlessly protected the land you preside over. His real target is the Wild.' He shrugged again. ‘I think he wants to lay waste to your realm, to Briavel, to do whatever he can to raze all that Elysius held dear.'

‘Well, it is Fynch who is now his enemy,' Cassien reminded them. ‘Fynch brought Ham and myself together.'

‘And that same man paid me a visit too,' Florentyna reminded them. She shook her head in disbelief. ‘The Fynch of legend?' she asked, pointing to the ceiling, where a boy rode a dragon. She glanced at Cassien and caught his nod. Florentyna swallowed, said no more.

‘Let's get on with this,' Tamas said, becoming impatient. ‘The sooner we move, the better our chances are of keeping the imperial Crown safe. We shall meet up at Tyntar in two days. Until then …'

Cassien smiled inwardly at the way Tamas had taken charge, every inch the king, and perhaps a born leader — even though he believed Tamas would dispute that.

‘I am now officially your personal messenger, your majesty,' Hamelyn said and bowed.

‘Excellent. I'll have you kitted out in Ciprean colours in no time. But for now, let's go take our first look at this demon.'

‘Don't jest, Tamas,' the queen said. ‘I'm worried enough about you.'

‘Don't worry. I plan to see you again,' he said and, surprisingly, hugged her close. ‘Cipres is a small place but breeds its royals tough.' He smiled sadly and then turned to Cassien. ‘I know you'll keep the queen safe.'

Cassien bowed to the king and took a moment to kneel in front of Hamelyn. He took him by the shoulders, privately wondering at how small and thin the boy was for his age. ‘I know your skills mean you can remember everything we've shared. They have none of the background we've learned. Stay watchful and careful.'

‘I always am,' the boy said. ‘I suppose it hasn't occurred to you that you and Gabe look alike?'