The meal was served. A large lump of brown meat was placed on Mia’s plate, and it oozed slightly with rich red blood.
‘Is there something wrong?’ Satine asked as she saw Mia flush.
‘Mia’s a vegetarian,’ Jack explained quickly.
‘What is that?’
‘It means I don’t eat meat,’ Mia said softly, mortified with embarrassment.
Satine and Altor stared at her uncomprehendingly.
‘Why?’ the prince asked bluntly.
Staring at her hands in her lap, she tried to keep her voice steady. ‘I don’t believe in cruelty to animals.’
Daring a glance up at them, she met Altor’s eyes. The expression on his face seemed like he might actually be offended by the stupidity of what she’d said.
‘Of course. Bring Mia a meal without meat, and make sure that she isn’t offered meat for the rest of her stay,’ Satine ordered one of the servants and Mia’s plate was removed immediately.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I don’t mean to be an imposition.’
‘Not at all,’ the queen said.
The moment passed quickly enough as the boys entered into a conversation about the merits of firing an arrow versus being able to fight with a sword, Jack listening in rapt attention. Mia used the opportunity to talk to Satine. ‘Your highness,’ she said.
‘Please, just call me Satine.’
‘Okay, Satine. Do you ... did you believe in the prophecy? About the six of us?’
‘Wholeheartedly,’ the queen said softly.
‘So then, do you have any idea why ... why we weren’t really a part of it? Was it a mistake in the prophecy? Was it only supposed to be about the four of them?’
Satine put her knife and fork down and contemplated Mia. ‘I’ve thought about this for a long time, Mia. I’ve wondered about telling Harry, or Altor about my thoughts, but I never did, because if I’m right, it means bad things for all of us.’
‘What do you mean?’
Satine sighed. ‘Everyone thinks the prophecy has been fulfilled. But I think it has yet to happen. And I’ve always thought that if ever you and Jack turned up, that it would call for the true fulfilment of the augury – that your arrival would herald the coming of a new threat. I just don’t know what that is yet.’
Mia stared into the bright blue eyes of the queen, and she shivered.
‘I hope you’re wrong.’
‘So do I, Mia. So do I. But there are things in this world that make me think that maybe I’m not.’
Mia’s eyes moved to the sky outside the window. The threads that surrounded the city were almost completely invisible, but occasionally, when looked at from the right angle, they could be spotted.
Satine nodded, following Mia’s gaze. ‘They’re called dream protectors. Made by the Elves with magic that humans know nothing about.’
‘But why would you need dream protectors?’ she asked.
The boys had grown silent and were listening to the conversation.
Satine looked at Harry. He cleared his throat. ‘You must be wondering what those creatures were, guys. The ones that attacked you.’
‘I didn’t want to bring it up,’ Jack said nervously.
‘Well, it’s too dangerous for you not to understand what they are. Not everything’s as perfect as it seems in daylight. There is a force attacking us when the sun goes down. Valkyries. Creatures that delve into your dreams, turning them to nightmares, preying on your fears before carrying you to the underworld forever.’
‘Jesus,’ Mia whispered. The monsters that had seemed so terrifying now seemed so much worse. There
was a whole other element to them that was infinitely more frightening.
‘Oh, is that all?’ Jack muttered. ‘I thought you were going to tell us something really scary.’
‘It’s okay,’ Satine added quickly. ‘We have plans in place. I have watch-towers around every inch of this city, and every other city in Lapis Matyr, plus the dream protectors keep us safe. It’s only if you wander outside the city’s walls that you’re in danger.’
‘Right,’ Harry agreed. ‘No leaving Burmia without me.’
‘Aren’t we headed to Uns Lapodis soon?’ Mia asked quickly.
There was another silence. Altor, who hadn’t really been part of the conversation, was staring out the window. Satine frowned worriedly, looking between Mia and Jack.
Harry, for his part, folded his arms across his wide chest, his voice suddenly grave. ‘I’ll protect you.’
And the strange thing was, Mia actually believed him.
Bayard quickly reached the men where they’d stopped.
‘Right,’ he called, ‘You know what to do, men.’
The sabre-tooths were upon them quickly, but the beasts were met with deadly force. These men were not his hand-picked, carefully trained knights for nothing. They were excellent fighters, deadly swift, wickedly accurate. The battle would have been over quickly if it had not been for a certain young woman arriving on the other side of the river, unarmed, forcing herself across towards the fight.
‘Gods, what is she doing?’ Bayard muttered and then swore. He kicked his horse around the fray and into the river, hoping to intercept the girl before she reached
danger. But before he could do so, one of the sabre-tooths spotted her, and started to wade deeper into the river. Bayard swore again and urged his horse faster, but Bell was being bogged down by the mud. He wasn’t going to make it—the sabre-tooth was at her feet.
Bayard opened his mouth to call out, but the words died on his lips, for as he watched, the woman gracefully flicked a small knife out of her boot, sweeping it down with one motion into the beast’s neck, killing the animal instantly.
She rode her horse over to Bayard, and in a low, musical voice said, ‘Hand me your sword.’
Bayard was so perplexed by her presence and her actions that he almost did exactly that. He realised what he was doing and snapped his mouth shut. ‘No!’
Clicking her tongue angrily the girl moved on.
Bayard watched, a little aghast, as she rode quickly to one of his men and, punching him in the face, stole his sword. The look on the man’s face would have been comical, if Bayard hadn’t been so vexed. Was the woman completely out of her mind?
There were only two beasts still alive, and the other nine men stopped to look at the girl as she killed both with apparent ease, leaning far out of her saddle to slash the stolen sword into the beast’s necks.
Finally she stopped and looked at them calmly.
Bayard’s mouth was hanging open. ‘What in all hell are you doing?’
‘What does it look like I’m doing?’
‘But
why?
’
‘The business of revenge is not an easy one,’ she replied with a shrug. ‘I fight where I can.’
‘What do
you
have to be vengeful about?’ one of his men, Caleb, asked with a touch of scorn, still smarting from the punch and rubbing his swollen lip.
She turned towards him and Bayard had a strong urge to laugh at her ferociousness.
‘Who are you?’ he asked instead.
‘My name is Ria del Torr.’
Several of his knights gasped, and Caleb groaned and shook his head in mortification.
‘You are the singer,’ Bayard stated shortly.
‘I was once. Now I am a vigneron. Would you still speak to
me
of vengeance?’
‘I apologise,’ Caleb said quietly.
‘That is enough for today, men.’ Bayard said loudly. ‘Let’s get back to the barracks. Will you accompany us, Lady? It’s nearly nightfall.’
‘How far to your barracks?’ she asked.
‘Perhaps an hour’s hard ride.’
Ria nodded. ‘It is much closer than Torr. I’ll come for the night, and leave on the morrow. Thank you.’ Pausing, she added almost as an afterthought, ‘What is the name of your barracks?’
‘I am the captain of the army at Karangul.’
‘Vezzet’s barracks?’ she asked sharply and he nodded.
‘I’m sorry, I cannot come with you. I will make my way back to Torr tonight.’ She turned to leave.
‘Wait!’ Bayard called, ‘You can’t go all the way to Torr on your own! You will be caught in the dark. Why change your mind?’
She didn’t reply, just shook her head and turned her horse. ‘Can I keep this?’ she asked Caleb, holding up his sword.
‘Of course, Lady. But you can’t go out onto the plains at night!’
‘Leave it be,’ she snapped. ‘I’m not going to Karangul. I’d rather face the Valkyries.’
Bayard stared at her, incredulous. He knew Vezzet
was not universally liked, but to actually ride out into the night rather than go to his fortress? It was madness!
Ria was already riding towards the horizon, growing smaller by the second. Swearing loudly, Bayard kicked his horse into a trot, calling out to his men from over his shoulder. ‘I’ll meet you back at the barracks, now go!’
He leant low over Bell’s back, gaining on the girl quickly.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked breathlessly, reigning her horse to a halt.
‘I’m coming with you. I’m not the sort of man who lets a lass go off on her own into the night.’
‘
Lets
a lass?’ she repeated scornfully. ‘You aren’t
letting
me do anything, Captain. And I don’t take kindly to insults about my sex. If you’re coming, you’d better be able to keep up, and hope to the gods that I feel like protecting you if we run into trouble.’
And with that Ria kicked her horse into a canter. Bayard stared after her in astonishment, then caught himself and followed her into the distance.
Jack looked at the two Harrys standing in front of him and tried to figure out which one was real.
‘I think you’ve had a bit much to drink,’ both Harrys told him. ‘Don’t feel bad—the ale here is much stronger than on Earth.’
‘I agree,’ Jack mumbled. He’d had a beer or two back home, but they’d never had this effect on him before.
Jack looked around the crowded tavern and tried to find his girlfriend amid the chaos. It was like nowhere he’d ever been before. There were women dancing on tabletops, men having swordfights in the middle of the room, musicians trying to drown out the noise of laughing, shouting, and fighting, a rat race in one corner with men screaming bets, and
ale
—so much ale.
A woman brushed past and Jack looked up to see that she had a snake wrapped around her neck that flicked its tongue at him. Harry laughed at his expression.
‘Maybe I should take you home,’ Harry suggested.
‘I need to find Mia,’ Jack said. He stumbled before Harry righted him.
‘I’ll find her and bring her back. Just wait here.’
Mia stood not far away, hidden by a bunch of palm trees. At that moment she was being challenged by the Black Prince to drink a shot of something bright blue and on fire.
‘Torrean Ice Wine,’ he murmured. ‘It’s a delicacy. It’s so rare we’re probably the only ones in this bar able to afford it.’
‘You mean
you
are. My purse is sitting on a hilltop in another world.’
‘You are guests of the palace. We will accommodate everything you need. And right now you need a shot of Ice Wine.’
Mia laughed and held the shot nervously.
‘On my count,’ Altor said. ‘One—’
Mia downed the shot before he had a chance to say two.
‘Now that’s cheating,’ he purred, quickly downing his own. ‘Are you a cheater, Mia?’
She felt the hairs on her skin rise and closed her eyes, trying to regain composure. It was the way he kept looking at her. As though he could see her naked. How could he do that? Throw her one glance and make her feel more thrilled than she ever had before?
With a jolt Mia pulled her thoughts back to her boyfriend. Suddenly she wished desperately that Jack would come and find her.
‘Want another?’ Altor asked her softly, resting his hand on the small of her back.
‘Absolutely not. You’re trying to get me drunk.’
‘I don’t need to bother, darling,’ he drawled. ‘You’re doing fine on your own.’
Mia was about to protest when she realised she couldn’t feel her feet. ‘You’re right. Time for me to go home, I think.’
Altor shrugged and she could see the interest fade from his eyes almost instantly. For some reason that left her feeling cold. ‘I could have one more, I guess.’
He smiled darkly and Mia had the feeling she had just willingly entered the lion’s den. What was strange was that she didn’t really want to stop it. They were in an entirely new world, and she wanted to try new things.
Was that selfish? she asked herself. How could she even be thinking of such things? And yet her feet stayed rooted where they were, and she accepted the Ice Wine when Altor handed it to her.
She sipped it and listened to him softly relate the rules of the game of cards they were watching. There seemed to be a huge amount of money being bet on the table. Mia didn’t bother paying attention to what he was saying, but let the sweet, deep sound of his voice wash over her like warm water.
A moment later they were interrupted by Harry. ‘Excuse me, Altor. May I have a word?’
‘Back in a moment, sweet. Have to do what the man says,’ Altor drawled.
Harry reached an area free of people and turned to glare at Altor. ‘What are you doing?’
Altor gazed back calmly. ‘Drinking. Talking.’
‘Don’t do this, Altor. Not to Mia.’
‘I’m not doing anything.’ Altor’s eyes turned hard. Harry knew the boy could not be swayed once he had made up his mind. Harry swore under his breath and walked back to Mia.
‘It’s time to go,’ he said into her ear.
‘Already? I’m having fun.’
‘Jack’s really wasted—we need to take him home.’
‘You can do that, Harry. I’ll stay here for a bit.’
‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’
Mia looked him in the eye. ‘Don’t start trying to be my dad, Harry,’ she said firmly.
Harry blinked and took a step away from her. ‘Okay. Fine. Don’t come crying to me in the morning when you sober up and realise you’ve stuffed everything.’ He was about to walk away when the anger seeped from him and he turned back with a pleading look. ‘Mia, honey, just please be careful. You don’t know Altor. He’s dangerous.’
‘But I do know me. I want to drink and dance and have fun. I’ll be good, I promise. You don’t need to worry about me.’
Harry sighed. On his way out he saw Altor. ‘Just make sure she gets home safe, okay?’