Vankara (Book 1) (21 page)

“I am ready to
move on,” I finally said.  “But I need to go at my own pace.”

Aleksander looked
at me for a long while.  I could tell from the subtle way his eyes twitched he
was trying to consider his next words carefully.  I felt as though he wanted to
ask me something but was having difficulty in deciding if he should voice his
question or simply let the matter drop.  Finally, he made a decision.

“Does your change
of heart have anything to do with Fallon being back in your service?”  The
unmistakable tone of jealousy wasn’t hard to miss in Aleksander’s words.

“Fallon?” I asked
dumbfounded by the others name even being mentioned. 

It took me a
moment to realize Aleksander must be referring to the Queen and Fallon’s
affair. 

“That relationship
was long ago.  I can barely remember it,” I said, not lying completely.

“I see the way he
looks at you.  He still has feelings for you even though he’s trying to hide
them.”

I could only
assume Aleksander’s own jealousy had tainted his supposed observations of
Fallon’s affections for me.  I felt sure whatever he thought he saw had been
misconstrued because of his romantic interest in the Queen.  Fallon no more
loved me than I him.  The notion of us having secret feelings for one another
was laughable. We had just formed a friendly alliance, one which could shatter
into a million pieces at the slightest misstep. 

“You mistake what
you think you have seen,” I said truthfully.  “Fallon and I are just now
finding friendship again.  There are no romantic intentions between us.”

It probably would
have been more prudent of me to let Aleksander think Fallon and I had feelings
for one another but for some reason it just felt wrong to lie to Aleksander.

“Then why are you
trying to push me away?” He asked, desperately needing to understand my
actions.  My heart ached to tell him the truth, even though I knew that
admission could only lead to folly. 

“I thought you
understood my feelings for you, Emma,” he whispered, broken, like only a man
who has given his heart to another and been rebuffed could.

I so desperately
wanted some flash of the Queen’s memory to tell me what her feelings for
Aleksander had truly been.  Had her heart led her to believe she could fall in
love with the brother of her dead husband?  If it had, why hadn’t she mentioned
something so important before her death?  If she could have given me some sort
of warning, perhaps I could have given Aleksander a better reply.

“I need some more
time,” I said lamely.  “Will you give me that?”

Aleksander lifted
his face to the ceiling and closed his eyes, letting a heavy sigh escape
between his parted lips.  He looked back at me and nodded as he turned on his
heels and walked away without saying another word.

I leaned my head
back against the door allowing myself time to relish in the womanly feel of
being desired, even if I wasn’t exactly the woman who Aleksander truly wanted. 
A man like him would have never given Sarah Harker a second glance.

Aleksander was in
love with a Queen.

And as Fallon had
said that first night on the airship, I was no Queen.

Chapter 13

I’m not sure how
long I stood in the hallway leaned against the door, probably only a few
minutes.  I finally prodded myself into entering my chambers.

A fire was lit in
the hearth of the sitting room and all was quiet.  I was sure Dena would be
asleep by now, as well as Emily.  I yearned to find my own bed and rest even
for just a little while but knew that was impossibility.

I quickly made my
way to my bedroom and found the clothing Inara said would be waiting for me.  I
couldn’t imagine myself traipsing through fae territory in a long skirted dress
so I asked to borrow one of her aviator uniforms.  Not only would the leather
provide me protection against the cold but the leggings would make it easier
for me to ride a horse comfortably.

I quickly disrobed
and changed clothes.  Inara was slightly taller than the Queen but once I put
the boots on and stuffed the extra two inches of leather inside them, the
difference was negligible.  Once dressed, I searched the Queen’s closet for a
heavy cloak or coat but found nothing of an appropriate thickness.  I settled
for a woolen black cloak with white fox fur trim.

When I stepped
back into the drawing room, I found Gabriel sitting on the sofa in front of the
fireplace.  He stood as I entered the room.

“Why are you
wearing one of Inara’s uniforms?” he asked, his eyes squinting as if I were out
of focus.

“I thought it
would be more comfortable,” I replied, not exactly seeing why I needed to
explain my choice of wardrobe.

“Well, I can’t say
it’s the most appropriate thing for a Queen to wear, but I do see its
practicality.” 

I started to lay
the cloak I had retrieved from the Queen’s closet on the coral wingback chair
beside the sofa when I saw the spot was already occupied by another cloak, the
Mantle of Power.

“You should wear
the Mantle in fae territory,” Gabriel said.  “It has the same spell the palace does.”

“What spell?” I
asked, laying the cloak in my hands on the back of the chair and then picking
up the heavy maroon cloak with fur lining.

“The palace and
the cloak have spells on them which protect any Vankar from being physically
harmed by anyone or thing.”

The night of
Dena’s disappearance came to mind.  I had wondered then why Aleksander told the
guards I would be safe after returning to my study in the palace, sending them
away to search for Dena.

“How does the
spell work?” I asked, draping the cloak over my shoulders and clasping the gold
phoenix broach at the neck.

“When worn by
someone with Vankar blood, it protects them from anyone with hostile
intentions.”

I looked up
sharply at Gabriel.  “But I’m not a true Vankar.”

“Oh,” he said
caught off guard.  “That hadn’t actually occurred to me.  I suppose we should probably
test it.”

Gabriel walked
over to stand directly in front of me. 

“I’m going to try
to slap you in the face.  If the spell doesn’t work, I heartily apologize ahead
of time for any discomfort you might feel, but the spell won’t work unless I’m
completely committed to hurting you.”

I braced myself. 
“I’m ready.”

Without any other
warning, I watched as Gabriel raised his hand beside him and swung it directly
towards my cheek as hard as he could.  An inch before making contact with my
flesh, I saw his hand stop in mid-swing and watched as Gabriel was knocked back
by some invisible force.  From my perspective it appeared something had hit him
straight in the belly lifting him off his feet and propelling him at least four
feet backwards.  Gabriel slid against the wood floor only coming to a stop when
he hit the opposite wall.

I ran to him and
knelt down at his side.

“Are you all
right?”

He nodded his head
but I could tell from the grimace on his face the spell had indeed hurt as
badly as it looked.

“I’ll be fine,” he
said in a strained voice.

I stood and
lowered my hand to him as he tried to recover at least a small bit of his pride
back.

“I forgot how
violent that spell could be,” he admitted, straightening his coat and collar
back from their skewed positions.

There was a quiet
knock on the outer chamber door which we were now standing beside.  I opened it
knowing who to expect to see in the doorway.

Fallon came in
carrying a medium size brown leather horse saddle pouch across one shoulder
.

He took in my
outfit in a glance and smirked.

“I’m glad to see
you wearing the mantle, but I’m not too sure about your choice of outfit.”

“For heaven’s
sake, would the two of you stop worrying about my clothes?” Men choose the
oddest things to exasperate a woman about.  “We have more important things to
concern us at the moment.”

Both men raised
their eyebrows at me as if I were taking their criticism far too closely to
heart, which, in point of fact, I probably was.  No woman likes being told she
has made an inappropriate selection in her attire.  Besides, I felt perfectly
just in my decision to weigh comfort over decency.

Gabriel looked at
Fallon.  “Have you prepared an alibi for your absence just in case people ask
where you are?”

“Yeah, I spent
most of the day drinking and flirting at Maggie Mae’s.  The men will probably
just assume I’m still there tomorrow, whether they see me or not.”

I didn’t have to
ask what Maggie Mae’s was.  I knew it to be the most popular brothel in the
slums of Iron City.  If you wanted to go someplace where no one asked many
questions, Maggie Mae’s was the place to hide out.

“Good,” Gabriel
nodded his head affirming that Fallon had made a wise decision.  “Tomorrow I’ll
tell anyone who asks to see the Queen that she’s indisposed.”

“I
was
sick
earlier this evening,” I added.  “But only Aleksander saw it.”

“What’s wrong with
you?” Fallon asked.  “You look fine to me.”

I shrugged.  “I
have no idea, but the smell of food at dinner this evening made me lose what
little was in my stomach.  Perhaps it’s a good thing Aleksander saw me being
sick, he can certainly confirm for anyone who asks him that I was ill tonight.”

“The only problem
with Aleksander knowing you’re sick is that I will have to fend him off until
the two of you get back,” Gabriel surmised grimly.  “I’m sure he’ll want to see
you in person tomorrow to make sure you’re all right.”

“Well, you could
tell him I asked not to see him yet.  Tell him I still need time to think about
what happened between us at the end of the evening.”

“What happened?”
Gabriel and Fallon asked at the same exact time as though they had one mind set
for those few short seconds. 

“He kissed me,” I
answered, seeing no reason to hide the facts of the situation.  I turned my
full attention to Gabriel.  “He also asked me why we couldn’t renew our
relationship ‘
where we left off’
’.  Do you have any idea what that
meant?  I thought you said the Queen and Aleksander were only enjoying a
playful courtship of sorts, that it hadn’t turned physical.”

“As far as I know
it hadn’t,” Gabriel said with a grave expression of uncertainty on his face. 
“The Queen and Dena did make a trip to Chromis a couple of months ago.  I
wasn’t able to accompany them though.  They were just going to be there a
couple of days to pick up some items from Dena’s inheritance.  But, I feel sure
Emma would have confided in me if she had decided to progress her relationship
with Aleksander.”

“Well it sure the
hell doesn’t sound like it,” Fallon said, “or Chromis wouldn’t have said
something like that.  He wouldn’t admit his feelings unless he was damn sure
the feelings were mutual.”

“I’ll handle
Chromis,” Gabriel told us in a calm voice even though I could tell what I had
said upset him.  “Don’t worry about him right now.  We’ll deal with him when we
have to.  At the moment, we need information about the plagues.  Hopefully the
two of you will find what you need among the fae.”

“How exactly are
we going to get out of the palace without anyone noticing and asking
questions?” I asked.

Gabriel and Fallon
looked at one another.

“The tree,” they
said once again in unison except this time Gabriel spoke as a matter of fact
while Fallon’s words were more a question.

The three of us
made our way outside to the back gardens.  We followed Gabriel in the soft dusk
of moonlight to the large oak tree.  Once there Gabriel knelt down on one knee
searching along a large protruding root.  I saw his index finger slide all the
way to the knuckle into what looked like an ordinary knot on the root.  I heard
what I can only describe as metallic gears shifting against one another.  The
mighty oak shook where it stood losing a few small, loose branches in the
process.  A large half oval opening appeared on the tree’s trunk in front of us
with the cut out section quickly disappearing into the ground as if it had been
sucked in by the moist earth.  The opening was only about four feet high and
two feet wide.

“Where does it
lead?” I asked.

Just as Gabriel
stepped over the threshold, a light source automatically illuminated the
interior.  With the addition of light, I could see Gabriel was actually
standing on the first step of a set of stone stairs.

“They lead to Dell Lake beside the Iron Wall.  I have horses there waiting for you both.”

Gabriel continued
to descend the staircase not waiting to see if I might have any other
questions.  I got the distinct feeling he wanted us on our way as quickly as
possible.

I followed behind
Gabriel with Fallon taking up the rear.  Once we reached the bottom of the
staircase, my curiosity on where the light was coming from was assuaged. 

A tunnel, just
tall enough for the men to walk without having to bend down, had been cut
through the earth.  A series of lit torches leaned out slightly from the tunnel
walls as far as my eyes could see.  The moist, organic smell of fresh earth
permeated the air around us as we made our way down the tunnel’s path.

I’m not sure how
long it took us to reach the end of the tunnel.  Possibly an hour or more, but
I could definitely tell when we had reached the lake.  The earth in that
section of the tunnel held the unmistakable smell of water, akin to the smell
the air takes on just before a rainstorm. 

As we approached
the end of the tunnel, I saw another set of ascending stairs awaiting us.  As
Gabriel’s shoe touched the bottom of the stairs, I heard the same grinding of
gears I had heard come from the oak tree in the Queen’s private garden and felt
a draft of fresh air touch my face making me realize how stale the air we had
been breathing was.  We ascended the stairs and came out of another tree
located near the banks of Dell Lake.