Vankara (Book 1) (15 page)

It wasn’t until
the door was closed behind them that Inara demanded, “How could you just let
them go?  They probably know a hell of a lot more than their admitting to.”

I looked at her
and shook my head. “No, I seriously doubt either of them knows anything that
will help us.”

Only then did I
turn my full attention on Thomas.

“I think Thomas
might have more information for us than either of them could ever possibly
dream up.”

Thomas played his
part well.  He was calm in the face of my accusation, but I knew in my heart it
was just a ruse to help deflect suspicion away from him.

“Me, your
majesty?” He said with just the right amount of astonishment.  “I assure you I
know nothing more than you yourself do.”

It was like I
could see right through to his core.  He knew what I needed to know, but
whether or not he would admit it freely was another question.

“Where is my
daughter?” I asked him point blank.

“I’m as clueless
as anyone,” he said, arms opened wide proclaiming his innocence, trying to act
sincere.  “I promise you if I knew where she was I would tell your majesty.”

“That may be
true,” I admitted.  “But you know who took her and so do I.”

Thomas stared at
me mutely, trying hard not to show his surprise in hearing my statement.  It
was all the confirmation I needed.  Thomas had been the one who wanted Dena to
participate in the show that evening.  His reaction to Gabriel’s suggestion
that I not meet with the leader of the Plague-bringers was also fresh in my
memory.  The pieces fit but would Thomas admit to his treachery freely?

“Where is Adam
Bellas?” I asked him.

“W-w-why would I
know where he is?”  Thomas stammered.  He dropped his gaze from mine and
quickly looked at the door to the study as if he were judging whether or not he
could make the short distance before someone could stop him.

“Who is this Adam
Bellas and why would he want to abduct my niece?” Aleksander questioned,
completely lost by the turn of the conversation.

“He’s leader of a
group who call themselves the Plague-bringers,” Gabriel answered before turning
his gaze to me.  “Do you really think they would go to such extremes?”

“I think they’ve
become desperate enough to do what they must to be heard,” I answered, never
taking my eyes off of Thomas.  I noticed Fallon slowly make his way to Thomas’
side in case the later tried to attempt a quick escape.  Apparently Fallon
sensed what I did: Thomas knew the truth.

“Thomas,” I said
in a controlled voice, finding it increasingly difficult to not let my anger
rule my actions.  “Where can I find Adam Bellas?”

“I don’t know,
your majesty,” he replied, keeping his eyes averted to the floor.

“Thomas!” I
slapped my hand hard against the lacquered desktop, causing most everyone in
the room to jump and finally bringing Thomas’ eyes back to mine.  “If you lie
to me one more time, I will personally take you to the front of this castle and
hang you for your treacherous actions.  I’ll leave your remains there to rot as
a warning to anyone else who might be considering treason against me and my
family!  Your wife and your children and anyone else I can find related to you
will be thrown out into the streets without a penny to their names.  Now,
either tell me what I want to know or by God I will make sure anyone who has
ever loved you will pay dearly for the association.”

A white hot rage
filled the emptiness where my heart should have been.  I would do just what I
promised without any regrets.  I knew Thomas held the key to Dena’s safe return
and I wasn’t about to let him walk off the palace grounds alive without telling
me everything he knew.

The ensuing
silence in the room was almost deafening.  I didn’t take my eyes off of Thomas
but knew the others around me were in a state of shock.  Whether it was because
of Thomas’ betrayal or my threats, I couldn’t be sure.

“You are mistaken,
your majesty,” Thomas replied in a voice which lacked his previous conviction.

Before I knew it,
Fallon had Thomas lying across my desk face down with one of his hands around
Thomas’ neck and the other holding the point of a dagger to the side of the
other man’s throat.

“If you don’t tell
us what we need to know, I’ll slit your throat from ear to ear,” Fallon
growled.

“I swear!”  Thomas
pleaded hysterically.  “I don’t know anything!  Please, you have to believe
me!”

“You know,”
Aleksander said in a casual voice as he walked over to the other side of the
desk, drawing out the sword hanging at his side from its sheath.  “If this were
Chromis, I would have already had this man’s hand cut off for lying.”

Aleksander looked
at me with a definite twinkle of mischief in his eyes and I understood his
ploy.  I decided to play along.

“Then by all
means,” I said with a flourish of my arm over Thomas’ prostrate body, “please
show us the proper way to deal with traitors, Aleksander.”

Fallon sheathed
his dagger at this side and grabbed one of Thomas’ arms by the elbow, forcing
the man to stretch his arm out high above his head on the desk

“Now hold him
steady,” Aleksander said lifting his sword over his head with both hands.  “I
haven’t sharpened this sword in a while so we may have to saw through what
isn’t cut with this first swing.”

Thomas’ eyes went
wild as he tried to thrash against Fallon to get away.  He begged me for mercy
but all I wanted to do was make him pay for his treachery.

Aleksander let out
a guttural sound like he was putting all of his weight into the swing as the
blade of his sword swung down towards Thomas’ wrist.

“I don’t know
where he took her!”  Thomas yelled just as Aleksander’s sword broke through his
skin.

Thomas stared
horrified at the joining of metal with his blood, but quickly relaxed when he
realized Aleksander had only sliced through the upper layer of his skin causing
no permanent damage.

“I don’t know
where he took her and that is the truth,” he said in a voice filled with defeat
and perhaps shame for being so weak.  “I had no idea he planned to kidnap
her.”  Thomas’ voice was almost a whine now.  “He just said he was going to do
something to force you into finally having a meeting with him.  That’s all.  I
swear it.”

“And it didn’t
occur to you that my daughter’s life might be in danger?” I asked, unable to
keep incredulity from drenching every word.

“No,” the word
fell from Thomas’ mouth in a whisper.

Fallon stood up,
yanking Thomas by the collar of his coat to his feet.

“Adam’s always
been a man who just wants peace and an answer to the plagues.  If I had any
idea he planned to abduct the princess…”  Thomas became chocked by emotion.  I
knew it was genuine but was beyond the point of caring.

“Was it his idea
to have Dena participate in the show this evening?”  Gabriel asked.

Thomas nodded.  “I
was simply supposed to make sure the Queen let her daughter play along.”

“Thomas,” I said,
feeling tired all of a sudden. “You’re a man of reason and order.  What in the
world did you think was going to happen to my daughter?”

“I didn’t think he
would kidnap her!” He protested hotly.  “I just thought it would be some sort
of demonstration.  You have to believe me, your majesty.  I would never do
anything to harm the princess.”

I raised a shaky
hand to my brow and closed my eyes trying to temper the anger I felt so I could
think clearly.

“You know Bellas
better than any of us,” I finally said, lowering my hand and forcing myself to
look at Thomas once again.  “What do you think his next move will be?”

Thomas took a
moment to compose himself before speaking.  I was sure he knew his life and the
well being of his family depended on how well he cooperated.

“I would have to
presume he intends to make you speak with him before giving Dena back to you,”
he answered.  “That’s all he’s ever wanted, just a moment of your time to
discuss the cause behind the plagues.”

I slowly lowered
myself back down into my chair.

“Then I suppose
all we can do is wait,” I sighed, seeing no other course of action that
wouldn’t endanger Dena’s life.

“We should go to
this Bellas’ home,” Fallon said, not willing to give up so easily.  “I’ll find
a way to make him return Dena without you having to give in to any of his
demands.”

“I seriously doubt
he’s there Marshall,” I said.

“No, he probably
isn’t,” Fallon agreed.  “But his family might be.  An eye for an eye, Emma.”

“No,” I replied
feeling drained of energy.  “I don’t want to anger him any further.  He has
Dena, so he has the upper hand for the moment.  We will not stoop to his
level.”

Fallon’s shoulders
slumped slightly, knowing I was right, but not liking my orders to stand down. 
He was a soldier, used to action and resolving conflicts quickly at the point
of a sword.

I looked at Thomas
but only found myself feeling an uncontrollable urge to beat him into a fleshy pulp.

“Marshall, take
Thomas out of here before I do something I might later regret.”

Fallon grabbed
Thomas roughly by the arm and practically drug him out the study door.  Fallon
returned to the study a few minutes later to wait with us.  If Bellas wanted a
meeting with me, he would most certainly have to contact me to make
arrangements.

Almost half an
hour passed before there was an impatient knock resounding on the other side of
the study door.

Gabriel answered
it. 

“We’ve come to
give counsel to the Queen,” I heard the deep timber of a concerned male voice
say.

When I looked past
Fallon, I could see two men and two women.  I only recognized one of them,
Isabelle Granger, the Royal Sage from the College who cast a spell on the Queen’s
voice during her coronation speech.  She looked almost the same as she did then
except her pitch black hair now had veins of white streaming through it.

“And here come the
politicians,” Inara whispered beside me.

“Who are they?”
Aleksander asked.  I was grateful for his inquisitiveness because I needed to
know the same information.

“Well, the
handsome man with graying hair in front is Thaddeus Irondale, Chief Minister of
Parliament.  He also has the distinguished pleasure of being my father,” Inara
said full of pride.  “The short, rotund pinched faced woman to his left is
Constance Wright, head of the black party and a constant thorn in my father’s
side.  The tall blonde man is Samuel Able head of the white party
. 
The
other woman is Isabelle Granger, the Royal Sage.
”

Gabriel
stood
away from the entrance and let the four newcomers walk into the study.  They
stood together in front of my desk.

“Your majesty,”
Thaddeus Irondale bowed to me at the waist; the other three followed his lead. 
“We came to see if you needed our assistance and to find out if you know what
has happened to the princess.”

“Adam Bellas has
her,” I told them, not seeing any reason to keep it secret from them.  “We’re
waiting for him to contact us to see what he wants in exchange for Dena’s safe
return.”

“Adam Bellas?” Constance squeaked, like the name was poison on her tongue.  “The leader of those
Plague-bringer fanatics?  You’re not seriously thinking about giving into what
he wants are you?”

“He has my
daughter, madam.  What else would you suggest?”  I could immediately tell I
wasn’t going to get along very well with Constance Wright.  I could envision us
having many more arguments during the years to come.

“Parliament has a
strict policy of not giving into threats against the crown,” Samuel Able piped
in, not wanting to be outdone by his counterpart.  “If you do what he says now,
who knows how many other people and disgruntled groups will follow suit.  You
cannot show any weakness, your majesty, or you’ll end up giving every
discontented faction out there carte blanche to commit violent acts against the
royal family to further their agendas.”

“Are the two of
you seriously suggesting that I do nothing?” I didn’t see any reason to hide my
growing agitation.  “This is my daughter we’re talking about!  You want me to
just let her remain in the hands of a mad man?  To not do everything within my
power to bring her home safely?”

“I don’t think
that is what we’re saying at all,” Inara’s father said in a voice meant to
bring a sense of calm to the situation.  “We would simply advise you to view
all of your options first.  As her mother and as parents ourselves,” his eyes
briefly flicked toward Inara, “we understand how much you want Dena back
unharmed.  We’re simply suggesting you not give into his demands too readily. 
There may be other options we can explore.”

Intellectually, I
knew what they were saying was true.  It would set a bad precedent if I gave
into people who would extort the crown by using an innocent to get what they
wanted.  But Dena’s life hung in the balance between doing what was right and
doing whatever was necessary to ensure her safe return.  I couldn’t risk losing
her.  Vankara needed her.  I needed her.

“I think we can
all agree,” Gabriel said.  “That Bellas will more than likely want a private
audience with the Queen.  Since he knows he’ll be arrested if he comes here, I
think we can also assume he’ll try to arrange a meeting away from the palace at
a place and a time of his choosing.”

“If he does,”
Isabelle said, her eyes narrowed in thought, “I may have an idea on how we can
capture him and bring the princess home safely.  Would anyone happen to have
some coins on them?”

The Royal Sage’s idea
turned out to be fairly simple and agreeable to all present.  She enchanted the
thirty silver coins Thaddeus Irondale had on him and gave me one.