Kara (24 page)

“That is where my second-in-command recovered
the shard. From the Mordock.”

We will leave at once. Ready my
carriage.

“But….”

Euphoria looked up so quickly that Kreitan
flinched. Her eyes scoured his, the azure color giving way to black
darkness.

You are not in charge. If you insist on
questioning everything, I will have you removed. Permanently.

Kreitan wanted to look away, but he knew in
doing so, he would be giving away any power or strength he had
left. But her eyes felt like they were eating away his insides.

“Yes…your majesty.”

Oh, and Kreitan.

He stopped at the door and turned back.
The mirror. Make sure there is enough room for the mirror. It
needs to accompany me.

***

“Does anyone know where the heck we’re going?
It’s almost night, and I don’t see a church or castle anywhere in
sight. Remember, Kara still is in trouble.”

Snow was in a disturbed mood ever since they
started for the castle to rescue Kara. Ynob wanted to run back to
the Territories after his ‘something evil knows we’re here’
announcement.

“We came here to rescue Kara and that’s what
we are going to do!” she told him.

He didn’t put up much of a fight, but
continued to slow the party down, stopping every five minutes to
chant. ‘Protective spells’ he called them.

On these breaks, Hambone finished off most of
the food he had packed for the journey. Grace tried to keep Snow
company, but she was engrossed in her own thoughts. The sprite soon
gave up and entertained Birch.

Now, all were under a nearby tree, resting
from the most recent protective enchantment. Hambone rummaged for
more food in his pack. The wizard collapsed in the grass, exhausted
from all his casting and the walking. Birch curled up next to his
head.

Snow paced. She was getting adamant again
about doing something.

“Tell me again, what is this ‘evil’ that you
detected?”

“I was scanning the area, like I told you
before. And this other magic latched on to me.” The wizard rubbed
his forehead, fatigue visible in his face.

“But what kind of evil? Is it like bad-guy
evil? Katrena evil?”

“No, no…nothing like that. There are things
in this world that only possess a dark magic, a magic that is only
used for their gain and the harm of others. They have no choice in
the matter because they are made from that dark magic.”

Hambone paused in his searching. “I think I
get it. These creatures only know the bad choices in life. They
cannot decide between right and wrong.”

Ynob nodded. “I need some sleep.” He yawned
and stretched.

“But, if this thing knows we are here, isn’t
it stupid to wait around for it to find us?” Snow asked, anxious
again.

“I’ve put up barriers, and warnings and also
some deflective magic that masks where we are exactly. Even if the
evil were to show up down the road a bit, it would have to be
pretty powerful.”

Snow sat down next to the wizard. “But what
if it is?”

Ynob sat up and grabbed hold of her shoulder.
“My dear rabbit. The world has not seen such powerful dark magic
since Guillaud. This creature is minor. We will be fine.” Ynob then
tilted her in and kissed her forehead before standing up fully. “We
should be moving again. I think the castle is close.” Ynob started
hiking the road.

Snow sat there, silent. Birch looked from
rabbit to wizard. He quickly trotted after Ynob. Hambone watched
her as he got to his feet.

“You okay, Snow?” Hambone asked.

Snow answered by nodding. He offered her a
hand and pulled her to her feet. He left her standing there and
proceeded on ahead after the wizard.

Grace zoomed down and chirped.

Snow nodded again and then whispered, “He
kissed me.”

***

Kara didn’t slow down until the castle was
barely visible. It was hard to see if anyone was following her, but
she wasn’t going to take that chance. The guards had known it was
her.

She did her best to steer the cart, but the
horses had their own plan. They were going home and taking Kara
with them. The trip became a lonely, sad one. Rose hadn’t spoken to
her again, even though Kara made every attempt to communicate with
her. She stopped after a bit. It was a little awkward talking to
herself.

Few travelers marked the road. Most were on
horses or in wagons. This last stretch was barren of life other
than nature. Kara stared out at the meadows, wishing to go back
just three days ago when she and Birch laughed and played without a
care.

Birch!
She had forgotten all about her
dog. What had happened to him after she jumped…tumbled into the
river?
Please don’t let Birch be dead!
Another ignored slap
of the reins, the horses continued forward at their steady
pace.

Ahead in the roadway, a strange green light
hovered. Three travelers also shared the road with the light.
Kara’s insides tensed as the wagon drew closer.

And then all of a sudden, the green light
shot toward Kara. Her eyes grew wide and she pulled back on the
reins causing the horse to rear up in their traces. A twittering
sound followed the glow that came rocketing at her. Kara opened her
mouth to scream, but closed it with a squeak when recognition
dawned on her.

“Grace!”

She so wished she could hug the sprite. It
zipped about her head. A second later, a rabbit tackled Kara.

Schunk!

Kara and Snow fell from the wagon into the
grass, laughing, their arms wrapped around each.

Birch leapt on top of them and began licking
them.

“Birch!”

Hambone next appeared. He helped Kara up from
the ground and crushed her in an immense hug. Her fear, sadness,
and loneliness vanished.

When the hug broke, Kara saw the third member
of the party. “You?”

“Well, I am glad to see you too.” Ynob
said.

“But you threw us out!” Kara turned to her
friends for an explanation. It was then she saw a man looking out
through an opening in the tarp that covered the wagon.

“Father!”

***

Jesset did his best to explain the situation
when Kara spotted him. He saw her hesitation, but once she saw Kirt
in the wagon, that hesitation disappeared.

Ynob worked on Kirt’s wound while Jesset told
his tale.

“…and I ran into Kirt.”

“So this is my uncle?” Kara asked her father.
She had not let go of the man, even when the wizard complained
about how difficult that made the bandaging process.

“I thought the Witch Guard was after Jesset.
That’s why I didn’t say anything.”

“But they weren’t after me. It was that
mirror shard.”

Ynob interrupted. “Mirror shard?”

“Wizard, can’t we just enjoy this moment of
reunion without you ruining it for us?” Snow said.

Ynob gave her a stern look. He then turned to
Jesset. “What mirror shard?”

Jesset looked at the wizard. “Just a piece of
dark glass, or maybe rock. I’d never seen anything like it. Kirt
gave it to me.”

“And I found it on the midden heap after the
princess broke her mirror,” Kirt replied.

“Why would they come after us for that?” Kara
asked.

Everyone shrugged. No one knew. Eventually
all eyes turned to look at the wizard. His face had gone pale, a
look of horror slowly etched on his face.

“What?” Snow asked irritated.

“Remember the thing I mentioned that knew I
was here?”

“You said it was nothing to worry about.”
Snow replied, but her voice lost some of its conviction.

Jesset looked around the group of non-humans,
unsure of what thing was being talked about. Kara too had a
quizzical look.

Hambone was the first to break the silence
then. “What is it?”

“It could be Guillaud’s mirror.”

“You mean the wizard who made the necklace?”
Snow asked.

Kara pulled out the necklace. “You mean this
one?”

Ynob’s face contorted at the sight of the bat
pendant. “You’re still wearing it!” His eyes were wide and his
hands flew up in the air.

Kara shrank back against her father. The
necklace gave off a soft glow.

Ynob paced a moment, his hands tugging at his
hair.

“Everyone into the wagon! We need to go!”

Nobody moved at first. The wizard looked up,
his eyes wide, but demanding. Hambone coaxed Snow forward.

Once everyone was loaded including Birch,
Ynob took the reins. “We’ll head back to that blacksmith’s house
first, then we can decide what to do next.”

“Wait a minute. Blacksmith’s house? You mean
you came from my house?”

Ynob looked back at Jesset, blinked once, and
then looked toward the horses. “I hate fate.” He snapped the
reins.

***

Kreitan prepared the carriage and a squadron
of well-armed men in less than an hour. He checked on Euphoria’s
foretellings of the escapes. They were as she, it, had told him.
How incompetent were these men under his command?
If he only
had the time to deal out punishment.

Kreitan rescued his second-in-command from
the locked cell. Taylon had inhaled a good deal of the smoke, but
like a good soldier, he was ready to serve. Kreitan needed someone
he could trust at his side.

When all was ready, Kreitan went to fetch the
princess. She had changed from her silk gown into a one of silver
and violet. In her hair, she wore Euphoria’s crystal tiara. If he
hadn’t known any better, Kreitan could have sworn it truly was
Euphoria in the flesh.

“I see you are impressed.” The wraith voice
was gone, replaced with Euphoria’s natural tone.

“Your carriage is ready.” Kreitan said. His
mind kept repeating,
She’s not the princess, not the princess,
not the princess.

“The mirror, captain. Bring it with us.
Please.” The last word broke his chant and almost melted his heart.
This wraith played an excellent game. He turned to retrieve the
mirror, covered with a black satin cloth. Carefully, he lifted it
and led the way out in the hallway. Euphoria followed.

He stopped once to get a better grip and the
princess almost ran into him. She jumped back with a start.
Stay
ahead…of me.
The voice changed, anger and ice. Kreitan quickly
obeyed.

Once at the carriage, they strapped the
mirror to the back. All the guards bowed as Euphoria came out. She
stopped for a moment before entering the carriage.

Dusk tinted the horizon. A few of the riders
carried torches and the carriage had two lanterns. Kreitan
approached the draped curtain.

“Captain, both the necklace and wizard are
together now. You may still be able to prove your worth to me.”

“Yes, your majesty. Just direct us, as
necessary.” He called for the party to move out. “Forward!”

“Soon.” Euphoria said as Kreitan left her
side. Laughter echoed from inside the vehicle as the carriage
rumbled away.

Chapter Twenty-One

All Kara wanted to do was sit down, relax,
and compare stories. But from the moment the wagon made it back to
Jesset’s house, defense mode began with Ynob leading the
charge.

“Something unnatural, evil is coming this
way.” Ynob said. “Coming for Kara or for the necklace. Soldiers are
coming too. So board up these windows and gather whatever weapons
you can, just in case they get past my protection spells.”

He went outside to begin casting. The rest of
the group looked at one another, unsure of what to do.

Kirt had fallen asleep on the ride and Kara
helped Jesset get him to a bed once they arrived at Jesset’s
cottage. The crossbow wound looked sore, but did appear to be
healing. Kara wanted to stay by her father’s side, but Jesset
nudged her out of the room.

“We may need you out here. He’ll be just
fine.”

Ynob came inside an hour later, barely
keeping his feet under him. He collapsed in a chair. Snow brought
him a drink and something to eat, which he took without a word.

“What should we do next?” Hambone asked.

“Nothing.” That one word appeared to drain
the wizard. “My enchantments may be able to hide us from this
thing.”

“May?” Kara spoke up.

“Yes,
may
.” The wizard closed his
eyes, leaning his head back against the chair. Shortly, a soft
snoring sound came from the man.

“How can he sleep at a time like this?” Kara
asked. She looked at her friends for answers but they all shrugged.
“And where is Dante? He should be back by now.”

Snow yawned and stretched. “He’s probably
lost again. Dante has a terrible sense of direction, especially
when he’s trying to follow someone.”

The yawn was infectious and soon Jesset and
Kara felt the nagging pull of sleep.

“I hope he’s okay.” Kara said before looking
for a soft spot to lie down.

***

Dante hated the dark. Even in his fox form,
everything about the night simply freaked him out. Now alone and
lost on the human side, he trotted skittishly through the trees,
not wanting to be seen or shot at again.

The moment he chased after Snow, his heart
had good intentions.
Take care of your older sister.
He had
followed that dictate his entire life. Unfortunately, his good
intentions and impaired sense of direction led him completely the
wrong way. There was one tree on his route he swore he had passed
several times already. But then again, all trees tended to look the
same after nightfall.

Finding the wall had sent surges of hope and
triumph through him. It lasted right up until the first arrow
grazed his ear. Soldiers fired down upon him. He ran along the
wall, praying he would find someone friendly.

When he found the secret door, open and
glowing still, relief washed over him. Snow must have come this way
and possibly the wizard too. Soon he would be reunited with her and
maybe Hambone.