Rescuing the Captive: The Ingenairii Series (16 page)

“
Yes,” he replied quietly. “Each of them represents some ability I possess.”

She remained silent, digesting a joke gone wrong. “So how did you get here? How far did you come? How will you go back, and when? You really don’t know any of those things?” she asked at length.

“
I don’t know,” Alec whispered, afraid to admit his uncertain status. “I’m lost and alone and even a little scared and I don’t know any answers.”

There was a pounding on the door. “We’re ready to go,” Nichols called.

“
We’re not,” Caitlen shot back. “Leave us alone. We’ll be out soon.”

There was silence from outside the door, and from within the room as well, as Alec laid quiet, surprised by Caitlen’s delay.

“
Alec?” Nichols’ voice broke the silence. “Treat her with respect Alec.”

“
That’s enough,” Caitlen spoke loudly again. “Leave us in peace. Go back to your room or go downstairs and wait for us.” Again she displayed that easy willingness to command, or perhaps to just be bossy.

The sound of feet descending the staircase followed.

“
You have helped me; you’ve tried to help me by healing my limp. I will help you,” Caitlen told him when the sound of the steps disappeared.

“
Thank you,” Alec said kindly, unable to imagine any real assistance the girl could give, but grateful for the new attitude.

“
Now don’t look,” she ordered as she stood up.

“
Why?” asked Alec.

“
Because,” was the only muffled response. Alec heard a considerable rustling of material. “Okay, you can look,” Caitlen told him.

On the bed Alec saw Caitlen’s dress, stiff with the material of a great deal of padding stuffed into many parts. Next to the bed stood Caitlen, wearing a dress that appeared tailored to fit her, and much more revealing of her true thin, almost boyish body-type. Alec’s perception of the girl changed dramatically as he looked at her, and she, aware of the scrutiny he was giving her, felt herself start to blush.

“
Go ahead and put your other dress back on,” he told her.

“
What? Why?” Caitlen sputtered. “It’s as uncomfortable as wearing a heavy tent filled with hay around all the time. I don’t want to wear it any longer if I don’t need to hide my identity from you; I think I almost trust you now.”

“
Your trust is appreciated, almost,” Alec told her in response. “But, that dress looks like it will keep you warm, with all that cloth,” Alec responded. “And it is going to be very cold on our way to Black Crag. You’ll be thankful for the physical protection it gives you.”

Caitlen snorted her disgust, but picked the dress up and lifted it above her head. With Alec’s help she settled it back over her frame, and then they left their room and went downstairs, where they found Nichols and Esmere waiting for them at the kitchen table, talking to the morning cook as they ate a late breakfast.

Nichols studied each of their faces as they sat down, but said nothing, while Esmere tried to hide a shy grin.

Within seconds though, Esmere’s face lost its smile. “Caitlen? You weren’t limping when you came in here.”

“
No,” Alec’s companion said. “Softly now,” she urged. “Alec has healed my injury. That’s what he was doing this morning, just like he healed Nichols yesterday,” she explained in a low voice. “He’s different from us, isn’t he Nichols?”

“
He is indeed, my lady,” Nichols agreed enthusiastically. “You should have seen him fighting yesterday. No man has ever fought as well as he did,” his voice rose with enthusiasm.

“
Softly now,” the girl repeated. “So, what do we plan to do now?” she looked at Alec.

“
We leave,” Alec said simply. “We go to Black Crag. We find Bethany and the others there, and we plan to return. Now let me go try to get some money for us.”

Travel restrictions had been lifted, allowing Alec to first go to his bank where he withdrew a modest amount of funds and then returned to the others, who had waited for him in the kitchen. They quietly left their refuge at the tavern and traveled through the city to the western gate. The four blended in with the crowds on the streets, and easily passed out of the city under the careless eyes of the guards at the city gate on a snowy midafternoon, walking through the slushy highway outside the city, hugging the southern bank of the river, keeping their heads low and their eyes often closed against the cold wind that blew into their faces as they trudged away from Vincennes.

After just a few short miles Alec began to look for an inn where they could spend the night. His small troop was dispirited and cold, and he worried about the ability of Caitlen and Esmere to withstand the rigors of the long journey ahead.

There was little talk among them as they journeyed towards the setting sun, and an hour past sunset Alec directed them into a small village’s only inn. “There’s only one room left, I’m afraid,” the innkeeper’s wife told them as them gathered around the front desk. “”It’s got two beds though,” she added as a positive afterthought.

“
We’ll take it, and we’d like some dinner too,” Alec told her as he pressed small coins into her hands. He led the others upstairs to the room they had just rented. As he opened the door and looked inside, his heart dropped. The room was little larger than a closet; it made the tight rooms of the night before look spacious. Two narrow cots, each just barely large enough for a single person, were pressed against dingy walls, with a narrow aisle between them.

Alec stepped out of the doorway, and the others shuffled and craned forward to see. “This will be cozy,” Esmere said.

“
You ladies can have the beds. Nichols, you take the floor between them. I’ll go stay in the stable,” Alec announced as he looked at the situation.

They all went down to dinner at the tavern room of the inn, sitting quietly at a small table far from the fire, and ate greasy mutton stew with beer for Nichols, wine for the women, and berry juice for Alec. “You can’t sleep in the stable,” Caitlen said vigorously. “You’ll freeze out there.”

Alec had never lived in such a wintery climate before, and he had experimented during their walk to the inn, learning how to moderate his body temperature be elevating his metabolism and blood circulation. The effort had been successful, and he had managed to moderate his healing energy use so that he didn’t feel drained. He assured his companions that he would be able to sleep comfortably in the hayloft, and after a long debate, they conceded the point and went up the stairs to their own room, leaving Alec alone at his table, where he lingered in the warmth and watched the people around him.

The crowd at the tavern dwindled to only a few guests and locals, when the door opened to admit more than a dozen soldiers, who took the tables closest to the fire. Alec feared any possible contact with the men in uniform would lead to trouble, so he left money on his table and left the tavern, talked to the stable keeper, received a blanket after giving the old man a small coin, and he climbed the sturdy wooden ladder that led up to the bales of hay that were piled up to the rafters in the loft.

Alec wormed his way deep into the columns of hay, protected from any breezes, pulled some hay loose from the bales surrounding his selected spot, and covered his blanket with the insulation as he settled in for the night. He focused his attention and his energy on his own body, and began to increase his body’s warmth, then closed his eyes and began to doze.

He thought about Noranda and Brandeis, back in Stronghold, and he thought about the battles with the Conglomerate guards in Vincennes. As his mind wandered from one topic to another, there was a rising hub-bub of noise from below him, and then the sound of someone climbing up the ladder to the loft. He pulled his sword from its sheath and waited tensely.

More noise followed, and the planks of the loft gently vibrated as boots walked about on it. “Everyone spread your blankets where I can see you, and Marston, you start the watch rotation,” he heard a voice command the guards from the tavern, who had come to spend the night in the hay loft, just feet away from Alec.

“
Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, we search the village for the princess and the other three. Remember, one of them is a Jagine, so keep an eye open for blue skin. If we don’t find them, we move on west towards Black Crag. This group is smaller than the last lot of scoundrels we fought, so we won’t be taken by surprise. There’re only four of them, and I want them taken alive if possible, especially the princess and the foreigner,” the officer was instructing his men. “But don’t go easy on the foreigner – he fights like a mountain monster.”

Alec’s breath was coming in shallow gasps as he listened to the plans being laid to trap his companions. Their destination was known, and possibly Bethany’s group had already fought them, apparently with some success, based on the unspoken inference of the officer. He had to find a way to escape from the hayloft and awaken his friends so they could escape.

The trip to Black Crag had just grown even more daunting. In addition to little money, a treacherous route, and dangerous weather, there was added pursuit by enemies. Was there any alternative, Alec wondered. Not if he planned to meet Bethany at Black Crag, he reminded himself, and even without his commitment to Bethany, he had no knowledge of anywhere else in this world that was safe from the pursuit of the Conglomerate.

Slowly, and as quietly as possible, Alec began to work his way through the bales of hay, trying to worm his way to the back of the loft. The hay rustled continually whenever Alec moved, and he hoped it was assumed by the soldiers to be mice, or cats chasing mice. He shimmied for a minute or two, then remained still for several minutes, gradually making his way free of the bales, to where a narrow aisle ran along the side of the barn wall. He rapidly advanced along the wall to a corner, where he turned, and found a trapdoor that allowed the bales to be dropped below. Alec dropped down, then snuck out through the back of the stable, and circled around the block to the front of the inn.

“
Nichols. Nichols! Caitlen, open the door. It’s me, Alec!” he pounded on the door, then waited several seconds until it opened.

“
What’s the matter Alec? Is it too cold for you in the hayloft?” Caitlen gibed.

“
No. It’s too hot!” Alec countered. He closed the door behind him, and crouched on the floor between the two beds, in which the sleepy women sat up.

“
A troop of Conglomerate guards came to the hayloft to spend the night. They reviewed their orders; they’re here to recapture the princess,” he looked at Esmere. “And they know we’re heading to Black Crag.”

What should we do?” Nichols asked. “Is there someplace else we can go for safety?”

“
What about going to one of the seaside cities, Cearche, or Raysing? They are in the opposite direction from Black Crag,” Princess Esmere suggested.

“
We could do that. We could go down river on a boat, quickly,” Nichols agreed.

“
They know you’re a Jagine. They’ll be looking for someone with Blue skin,” Alec added.

“
Let me go as a decoy. I could go on to Black Crag, and you could take the women to Raysing,” Nichols proposed.

Alec considered the idea; the guards would be looking for the blue skin, but they would be looking for a princess as well, and they would be watching the route to Black Crag. He suddenly had an inspiration, and stared at Nichols, letting his health vision engage and examine the pigmentation that differentiated the man from everyone else Alec had seen.

The room was dim, but Alec’s examination didn’t need light to evaluate what he was looking for. “Alec, what do you think? Should we split up?” Caitlen asked him as the silence stretched out..

Alec reached out and placed a hand on Nichols, and focused his attention on his skin, shifting the epidermis to produce the typical pale skin color of everyone else in the wintery climate, then he removed his hand, and focused his attention on his own skin, making blue pigment burst forth across his body.

“
How did you do that?” the Princess asked.

“
It is a part of my ability to heal,” he replied.

“
If they think a blue man is accompanying the princess to Black Crag, then that’s what we’ll give them,” Alec said. “I’ll escort this new princess,” he placed his hand on top of Caitlen’s shoulder, “while you escort the real princess to Raysing. You’re a good swordsman; you’ll be able to protect her from most threats. Meanwhile, Caitlen and I will lead them on a merry wild goose chase towards Black Crag.

“
Here,” his hand dove into his pocket to pull out a collection of coins. He thrust most of them into Nichols hands. “You’ll need this to try to treat the princess to something like the best style you can arrange for travels. We’ll be able to get by on less,” he smiled at Caitlen, who smiled weakly back.

Alec had faith in the girl who was to be his companion. There was more to her than he had expected from a typical lady of the court, and he believed she had the character to rise to the difficult circumstances he had just thrown her into. Her spirits had been up and down several times already in their journey, and she always seemed able to pull herself together quickly. He’d had glimpses of the insecurity behind her façade a time or two, but that only made her seem more genuine to him. She was not like the Princess who expressed so little.

“
But Alec,” Nichols began to object, looking to both girls as if seeking support to oppose the plan. The two girls looked at one another, and then Caitlen spoke.