Royal Affliction (The Anti-Princess Saga) (18 page)

The office was small and a bit cramped.  One wall was covered with TV screens depicting different locations of the store, the one in the top right clearly showing my men looking far from happy about our current situation.

I’d given them my bags of purchases and all the receipts, but by the way they were carelessly rummaging through the bags I had my suspicions that it was a false motive.  Violet gave me a glance that she was thinking the same thing, but they made no attempt to attack us or anything like that.

Though both of their backs were too us I could hear the sound of paper rustling, and I was getting fed up with how long this was taking.  “How much longer?” one of them whispered to the other so quietly that I had to strain to hear him.

Violet tapped me on the shoulder then pointed at one of the monitors.  A man was strutting through the store like he owned the place but he wasn’t someone I recognized so I looked back at Violet and shrugged.  She pursed her lips and pointed back at the screen with more of a jabbing motion this time.  Once the man had crossed over to another screen I noticed that he had about five men trailing behind him, all of them walking with purpose, and I understood.  They were Boru, and Violet could sense them.  These dimwitted rent-a-cops were just holding us until they could get here, and by gauging where they were on camera, they would be here in a matter of minutes.

My eyes gave Violet a silent message that she must have understood because her hands flew up and both the guards were flung backwards, shattering a few monitors as they hit the wall before landing on the ground unconscious.  I tried to open the door but it was locked.

“What is it?” Kafkus shouted through the door.

“Boru, six of them, headed our way,” I shouted back before turning back to Violet.  “Check them for keys.”

She looked confused as if she had no idea what “keys” were so I shoved past her and grabbed the ring from one of the unconscious men.  But as I fumbled through the keys a sword busted through the door an inch away from my face and I shrieked and promptly backed up.

“Sorry,” grunted Kafkus with another hack of his sword.

“Hurry,” Violet shouted and a glance at the nearest monitor told me why.

Finally, the door was open and not a moment too soon.  Violet raced out to help the group fight off the Boru but Kafkus shoved me back into the room with unnecessary force which caused me to hit the far wall before landing on the floor.  I could only imagine that he was trying to keep me safe but his methods
sucked
.  The back of my head was throbbing and I felt a little nauseated from the blow to my head.

My eyes were blurry with tears as I got to my feet.  The monitor nearest told me what was happening outside.  It at least looked like my guys were winning, though it was hard to tell from the grainy picture.  Three of the Boru flew out of a frame and into the next from Violet and I watched the remaining two grab their fallen and take off.

Kafkus raced into the room, threw me over his shoulder and took off for the exit.  He didn’t put me down until we had reached the car.

“Damn, Kafkus, you didn’t have to shove me so hard.”  I touched the growing lump on the back of my head.

“Sorry, but I did not want you to get hurt.”

“Well that’s kind of ironic, seeing as
you’re
the one who hurt me.”  He glanced away and I felt a strange twinge of satisfaction.  “Violet, I hate to ask for such a minor injury, but this headache is getting pretty bad.   Would you mind?”

“Of course.”

“Why did they hold the two of you?” Quino asked.  “Quartessa, I understand, but why did they want Violet?”

“You understand why they wanted
me
?”

“I think it’s safe to say that they need you to accomplish their plan.”  His gaze shifted to Violet.  “But why did they want you?”

“How am I supposed to know that?”

Why
did
they want Violet?  She hadn’t even been there when I was first attacked.  Had the rent-a-cops merely chosen to take Violet thinking her weaker than the rest of our party?  Had that been the case that were sorely mistaken…literally.  Perhaps these guards had just been told to nab the female and hadn’t known which.  And then a thought struck me almost as hard as the wall had.  “How did they know where we were going to be?”  My eyes scanned through the semi-busy parking lot and I suddenly felt paranoid.  I wanted to get as far away from this place as possible, but we would be leaving here for somewhere far more dangerous.  Loach was supposed to be taking us to the warehouse where he’d been held hostage, but as I thought of that I noticed that Loach was nowhere to be seen.

“Quartessa,” Kafkus shouted and my head jerked in his direction.  “Were you listening to me?”

“Huh, oh…sorry.”

“I was just saying how we need to get to this warehouse.  The Boru took off before we could get any information from them but they seem to be soldiers following orders.  We need to find the one in charge.”

“Well that sounds good and all, but we seem to be missing the person who can lead us to them.”

“He’s there,” said Violet pointing towards the store we had left.  Sure enough, Loach was running towards us, carrying the bags of clothes we’d left behind.

“You shouldn’t have gone back in there.  They might have come back.”

“I thought it would make you happy.”

I sighed but turned my focus on Kafkus rather than Loach.  “Do we have to go to the warehouse right now?  I don’t think I want any more excitement for today.”

His eyes were soft but his words were firm.  “No procrastination, Quartessa.  We must press on.”  It was such a warrior thing to say.  I wouldn’t have expected anything less of him.

“Fine, but no more shoving…got it?”

“Agreed.”

We drove for a long way, seeming to end up in the middle of nowhere.  Tall, decaying buildings stood spread out on either side of the street.  The area showed signs of once being prosperous, but now lay unused and forgotten for some time.  Even the trees seemed to weep as we drove past, saddened by the memory of a better time.

“We are being followed.”

Chapter Eight

I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that Loach was right.  I had noticed that white Explorer behind us when we’d left the mall, but I hadn’t paid much attention to it.  I guess I should have.  Two men sat in the front seat, but I couldn’t see them well enough to see what they looked like.  Though, at first glance they didn’t appear to be Boru.  Well…not in their Boru form anyway.  I instinctively sped up, but so did they.  My body filled with panic, I didn’t know what to do.  “Should I stop or try to lose them?”

“There are only two of them,” said Quino.  “I say we fight if need be.”

That was good enough for me.  I pulled over on the side of the road and the Explorer parked about ten feet behind us.  Fear pulsed through my body as my heart felt like it was going to break through my chest.

Kafkus leaned forward and touched my shoulder.  “I want you to stay in the car.”  I nodded, unable to speak.  In my weakened state I would be no use at the moment.

I watched with trepidation as everyone got out of the car except Loach and myself.  He crouched down behind the back seat, and out of sight.  I heard Kafkus yell something that I couldn’t make out so I rolled down the window.  After a minute I recognized the two men standing a few feet away from mine.  They were the two humans from the diner.  The ones that I’d overheard talking about Zolera and Boru.

“Why are you following us,
humans?
” Kafkus yelled.  Neither of them spoke.  They just stood there looking as if it was taking all of their willpower just to stay where they were and not flee.  “ANSWER ME!”

“We want to see the princess.”

“No!”

“What do you want with her?”

“We only want to speak to her.”

“Loach?” I called.  He poked his head up, not fully, just enough so that he could see me.  “Were these men involved in keeping you hostage?”

“They came and went, but they did not harm me.”

“What are the Boru doing with these humans?”

“They have been using them as slaves to do their dirty work.  They promised them powers of their own if they agreed to help.”

“But, you can’t just give powers.”

“You can with stolen powers, powers that were drained from someone else.”

Rage flowed through me, clenching my fists and leaving me with a craving for blood.  So the Boru had promised these men
my
power in exchange for their help.  I couldn’t stop myself if I tried.  I got out of the car, slammed the door shut, and approached them.  Quino held out his arm to stop me from getting past him.  The younger one gazed at me with shock evident in his face. 
Had he recognized me from the diner?

“So, you are Princess Quartessa?”

“Yes, I am.  And who the fuck are you?”

“I’m Kyle, and this is my father Bruce.”

“Charmed.  What do you want with me?”

Kyle looked at his father for a moment before turning back to me.  “We wish to bargain with you.  We fear that we have gotten in too deep.  We want out.  We offer information in exchange for our safety.”

I scoffed.  “You need no protection.  You have been offered my powers in exchange for your services.”

“What?” Kafkus shouted.  “They cannot offer that.”

“Apparently they can,” I said, not taking my eyes off of Kyle.  “Loach just informed me that stolen powers can be transferred.  And the Boru have promised these humans mine.”

Kyle looked offended.  “I didn’t know that the powers we were promised were yours.  I swear it.  It isn’t the powers that we were after anyway.”

I stared at Kyle, taking in his sincerity.  I believed him, though I wasn’t sure why.  There was something in Kyle’s soft, sea green eyes that called out to me.  His hair was a bright orange-red color and was cut short and spiked up with jell.  His skin was pale and covered with freckles.  He must have been of Irish decent, yet his voice held no trace of an accent.  He was probably born here.  His build was small, but his arms showed signs of strength.  He was wearing a faded Metallica t-shirt and baggy jeans.

“I believe that you did not know that it was my powers you were offered,” I said to Kyle before shifting my gaze to Bruce.  “You, on the other hand, knew what was going on.  Didn’t you?”

He avoided my eyes, staring at Clifton instead.  He answered my question without even saying a word.

Bruce looked nothing like his son.  His short hair was jet black but streaked with gray.  His eyes were a light shade of brown, but they were cold.  Lines of age covered his face.  He must have been at least fifty.  He was dressed rather formal to be standing on the side of the road in this deserted area.  He wore a black pinstripe suit and shiny black dress shoes.

“What is wrong with you Bruce?” Violet asked with what I thought was unfounded concern.

I looked at Bruce again.  He looked fine to me, though maybe a little tired.

He lowered his head and stared at the ground.  “Lung cancer,” he said as loud as he could muster.

“What is lung cancer?” asked Violet.

“His body is killing itself from the inside,” I said, and my heart broke.  “How much time do you have, Bruce?”

“The doctors have given him a month at best,” Kyle said softly, his pain evident in his voice.  “The Boru have promised him a cure, but I do not believe it to be true.  That is why we have come to you.”

I understood now why they had agreed to help the Boru.  It wasn’t for money or for self-gain; it was for Bruce’s life, and I could empathize with that.  There was still one thing that I didn’t understand though.  “Why did they need human assistance?  They have enough power and strength to take us on themselves.”

“They said that any Zolera would sense them.  They needed someone to poke around, unnoticed.”

The night I’d been attacked I had felt the Boru’s presence before I’d seen him.  The truth is I probably would have overlooked these humans if I had just seen them around.  That is, if I hadn’t overheard parts of their previous conversation.

“Do you think that you can heal Bruce?”  I asked Violet.

She looked doubtful.  “I can try.”

“Wait!” Quino shouted, and Violet froze.  “If you heal him, then we will have no leverage.”  He shook his head.  “Help us first, and then we will help you.”

I knew it was harsh, but I also knew it was the only way to ensure their cooperation.

Kyle looked at his father who held his gaze.  They shared no words, yet they seemed to speak with their eyes.  “We do not know where the Boru are right now, but we have found the Zolera meeting place…We haven’t told them that yet.  We can take you there.”

“You do not know where they are?” asked Kafkus.

Kyle looked insulted by Kafkus’ impolite attitude.  “We meet them at the warehouse up the road whenever they call but that’s the only time they’re there.”