Rescuing the Captive: The Ingenairii Series

A
lec
has been dropped into a new land, without memories or knowledge of his powers, and manages to become embroiled in rescuing a hostage…

“
By order of the ruling council in Vincennes, you must open this door and cooperate with our search for the runaway Princess Esmere and any accomplices she has,” a loud, masculine voice shouted through the door.

Shocked, Alec stood up. How many pairs of feet had he heard coming up the stairs? A considerable number, possibly a whole platoon. He ran to the window and threw it open, looking to escape out into the alley, only to see another platoon of men standing below.

“
Lord of heaven! We’re trapped!” he turned to Caitlen. They had successfully drawn pursuit after them, away from Esmere and Nichols, but they had been caught. The high visibility of a Jagine had been too much.

An inspiration struck him. “Caitlen!” he called, turning to her. “Blow out the candle and get in bed!”

“
What? Now, Alec?” her face was ashen. She clearly feared being caught and held again.

“
Yes, now,” the room became dark, and the wooden door began to splinter. Alec heard Caitlen stumble across the dark room, and the ropes holding the mattress squealed as she flung her body into the bed. Alec took a moment to engage his Healer powers, and applied them to himself as he jumped onto the bed, and rolled against her.

“
This is it? You’re not going to fight? You’re doing this now when we’re about to be captured? You’re not the man I thought you were. Coward!” she started to shout at him when he rolled on top of her and pressed his mouth against hers, his hand reaching up to smooth her hair back away from her face.

Her lips resisted his, and her teeth were firmly clenched together. “No,” she said through her teeth. Light came shining into the room as the door burst apart, and Alec heard men’s feet stomping into the room. Hands reached for him and pulled him off Caitlen, and they were captured.

The Ingenairii Series

2. At the Seat of Power: Goldenfields and the Dominion

3. The Loss of Power: Goldenfields and Bondell

4. The Lifesaving Power: Goldenfields and Stronghold

5. Against the Empire

6. Preserving the Ingenairii

7. Rescuing the Captive

8. Ajacii and Demons

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Rescuing The Captive

The Ingenairii Series

Book 7

Jeffrey Quyle

Index

Chapter 1 –
Found at Sea
Page 1

Chapter 2 –
Arrival at Krimshelm
Page 4

Chapter 3 –
The Road to Vincennes
Page 20

Chapter 4 –
A Place to Practice
Page 28

Chapter 5 –
Escape From the Palace
Page 58

Chapter 6 –
Meeting the Princess
Page 67

Chapter 7 –
Flight Underground
Page 70

Chapter 8 –
The Gable Above the Kitchen
Page 77

Chapter 9 –
Arrival in Valeriane
Page 104

Chapter 10 –
Snared by the Guard
Page 111

Chapter 11 –
Changing Colors
Page 115

Chapter 12 –
Deadly Wounds
Page 117

Chapter 13 –
Fear of Prophecy
Page 128

Chapter 14 –
The Estate Hunt
Page 131

Chapter 15 –
Into the Mountains
Page 137

Chapter 16 –
Raspute’s Cave
Page 140

Chapter 17 –
The Lokasennii
Page 147

Chapter 18 – The Blue Pool Page 154

Chapter 19 –
Black Crag Hospitality
Page 160

Chapter 20 –
Descent from the Mountains
Page 172

Chapter 21 –
Alin the Guard
Page 182

Chapter 22 –
Isial’s Injury
Page 193

Chapter 23 –
Captive in a Cell
Page 200

Chapter 24 -
Battle in Abelard’s Room
Page 209

Chapter 25 – Memories of Jeswyne Page 219

Chapter 26 – Back in Michian Page 224

Chapter 27 – Mulvane’s Squad Page 232

Chapter 28 – The Reckless Carnival Page 240

Chapter 29 – The Pain of Rescue Page 250

Chapter 30 – Intimate with Caitlen Page 268

Chapter 31 – Distrust of Foreigners Page 271

Chapter 32 – The Prophecy’s Exile Page 280

List of Characters

Alec, the lost ingenairii

Bethany, his adopted sister

Rahm, adventure-seeking small town boy

Delphi, owner of Vincennes gymnasium

Kage, advisor to the Princess

Elena, Kage’s wife

Nichols, Vincennes Jagine

Esmere, from the Princess’s court

Caitlen, from the Princess’s court

Abelard, Valeriane nobleman

Gottfried, nobleman of Eckerd

Connors, officer at Black Crag

Isial, Princess’s bodyguard

Mulvane, Black Crag squad leader in Vincennes

Stocker, Valeriane Army leader

Bernadina, Lokasennii leader

Baltasar, Lokasenna

Chapter 1 – Found at Sea

At last there was awareness, and sensation, as his mind began to emerge from the oblivion of its cocoon. He felt the uncomfortable pressure of his shoulder blades resting on a hard surface. He felt that surface moving rhythmically. Beyond the feelings, there was noise too, also intruding on his consciousness. He heard two sounds, contradicting each other as the harsh cries of the gulls interrupted the soothing shush of the waves that were rolling over the water.

When he opened his eyes, the sky was white, white above, white all around. The man closed his eyes again, and listened to the waves for a long time. The boat he was in pitched with exaggerated energy as a wave larger than the others broke the rhythm and vigorously rocked him.
You are here for a purpose,
he imagined he heard a voice tell him. With a sigh, the man in the rowboat opened his eyes again, and sat up. His feet scraped over a bench in his small dinghy as he raised his eyes above the gunwales to observe his surroundings.

Long, swelling waves were approaching from the right and passing to his left, lifting his small vessel and then releasing it as they fled through the heavy white fog. He lowered his head against the hard wooden bench and closed his eyes again. He thought of the dream he had just risen from, a dream of a dimly lit stairway that stretched beyond visibility in an enormous stony chamber. He had climbed the staircase unceasingly, seeking some critical goal that awaited him at the top, but never sensing that he was making any progress.

He opened his eyes as he heard another noise. It was the sound of oars stroking water, at a great distance perhaps; sound traveled deceptively in the fog. He found that he had a pair of oars of his own, though one was useless because of a wide crack that ran the length of the handle.

Something bumped on his chest. He pulled the neck of his thin shirt open, and saw a heavy item suspended on a fine silver chain. Alec reached in and pulled the item out, a heavy gold ring. A ring with many jewels, almost garish with the sapphires and rubies and diamonds it boasted. There were words,
Dominion and Empire
, circling its face, while
King and Consort
were inscribed on the band. It fit his finger perfectly. The chain was affixed to a silver collar, too rigid and too tight to raise over his head. He let the ring and chain fall back to his chest.

Alec lowered his one good oar in the water and began to alternate his strokes, paddling on one side and then the other, trying to move his small craft in the direction he thought he heard the noise coming from. There were tattoos on his forearms, he noticed; they were a collection of attractive but meaningless shapes and symbols that he idly studied as his sleeves rose and fell with his motions; all were lovely images, all but one, a dreadful skull that gave him chills as he considered it. After ten minutes or longer he wasn’t sure how far he had traveled, or if he was heading in a straight line, curving wide circles or aimlessly meandering on the blue green sea.

He stopped to pause, and noticed that the fog seemed lighter. He hoped it was really lifting, and not just the desires of his imagination. A noise from a boat bell sounded directly behind, at no great distance. He paddled on just one side to turn his boat about, and began to move in the direction of the regular clanging. As he moved through the fog he entered a pocket of clear air, empty of fog. He looked up and saw a blue sky above, and off to his left he saw the top of a mast poking above the fog, while the first boat’s bell continued to invisibly ring in front of him.