Royal Affliction (The Anti-Princess Saga) (21 page)

“Why are you so angry?” asked a familiar voice that melted away my current irritation.

“I’m sorry Kafkus, but these car salesmen are like leeches.”

He peered in all directions before leaning close to me.  “We have been talking.”

“About?”

“The bomb.”

“What about it?  It was obviously an attempt to kill us.”

“I think it was meant only for Kyle for betraying them.  I do not think they planned for us to go there.”

“Surely they are smarter than that.  If they knew anything about me they’d know that I would go to any measure to get Violet back.”

“I do not think they plan on letting her go.”

“But why did they take her in the first place?”

“I have no answer to that, but Quino was right before, they do need you for something.  That fact is a dead giveaway that the bomb was not meant for us.”

“And I assume that’s why you’re here now, right?  To keep an eye on me?”

“I could not bear the thought of you being taken from me.  And you are my eyes favorite target, so I do not mind.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Clyde was striding his way back over to me and my smile vanished.  “You just lost your bonus, come back again and I’m going $1,000 under sticker.  And if you won’t accept that I’ll find one of your associates that will.”  He turned on his heels and skulked off.

Kafkus let out an amused chuckle.  “You seem to have these ‘leeches’ under control.”

“It’s a never ending battle, all they understand is money.  Paying cash gives you the upper hand.”

Another half hour of searching and I settled on a green Rav-4.  It was small for an SUV but there was room enough for all of my guys.  Though Clyde hadn’t gotten his extra cut he was still happy that I didn’t haggle him lower.  After a ton of paperwork, we headed back to the apartment.

Could anything go right?  My once peaceful life was in complete turmoil.  It was one thing after another, and it was really starting to piss me off.  I just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and go back to what I used to have.  I missed working.  I missed having a positive outlook on life.  All I thought about now was what was going to happen next to make my life even worse.  The only positive thing that had come out of this whole mess was my two loves.  That part I wouldn’t change.  I thought of fate again.  If fate existed, why would it be making my life so miserable?  No, there was no such thing as fate, I was quite sure of that.

As I approached my apartment, I found a note attached to the door.

Meet me at the warehouse three days from now at nightfall.  Your witch’s life depends on it.  -L

“What do we do?”

Kafkus approached me and placed his arms around me.  “Then we wait the three days.  We can use that time to get you and Clifton up to par for battle.”

“I know where we can practice,” Clifton added.

I heard motion coming from behind the door and backed away.  I flashed Kafkus a fearful expression and I could tell that he understood.

He looked at Clifton who seemed to understand his silent meaning, like they had discussed tactics ahead of time.

Clifton grabbed me around the waist.  He began to back down the stairs and he didn’t let me go until we were in the safety of his apartment with every locked clicked in place.

Chapter Nine

I looked around Clifton’s equally small apartment.  I had never been in here before.  It was very simple.  He had just the necessities, and nothing more.  I could hear footsteps walking around in my apartment above along with muffled voices.  Try as I might, I couldn’t make them out.

I wandered into Clifton’s bedroom.  Just a queen-sized bed and a small dresser were the only furniture in the room.  A small pile of clothes sat in the corner.  I breathed in deep, the room still smelt of Violet.  She must have been sleeping in Clifton’s bed before she disappeared.  I hoped that she was ok, wherever she was.

“I have simple tastes,” he muttered, obviously trying to cover up the fact that he didn’t have much.

“Except, it seems, when it comes to women.  I couldn’t be simple if I tried, and believe me, I
have
tried.”

“You are right about that.”

I didn’t care that Clifton didn’t have much.  All that he had, he’d earned himself, and I respected that.  Besides, it wasn’t like I was with him for his wealth.  I had plenty of money to take care of both of my men for the rest of our lives.  I loved Clifton for who he was, not what he had.

I jumped as three loud knocks came from the ceiling.

“It’s ok.  It means it’s ok to go up.”

“When did you guys find time to plan all of these secret knocks and stares?”  He just shrugged.

Though I knew that it was safe to return to my apartment now, I still walked cautiously up to the door with Clifton holding my hand.

“It’s ok, Tessa.”

I opened the door like you would rip off a Band-Aid, quick and hard.  The door flew open and hit the wall opposite, making a loud crashing sound.  The entire room turned to stare at me.

I noticed a ridged looking woman sitting on the couch across from me.  She looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place her; that is, until she spoke.

“Hello, Quartessa.”  Her voice was rather condescending, and had a slightly bitchy tone.

I stared at her before responding in the same manner.  “Hello, Gwinny.”

We had never really gotten along.  She was much too prim and proper for my taste,
blah
.  She was the epitome of what a princess was supposed to be, and everything that I wasn’t.  She had always thought of me as childish and unworthy of my title.

With her human skin tone she looked remarkably like a librarian.  Her long deep brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun.  Her aquamarine eyes illuminated her face.  They might have looked welcoming if not for the stiffness of her classic facial features.  Her nose was small and pointed and her mouth looked as though she were sucking on a sour candy.  Though she wasn’t completely royalty, she was wearing a long golden gown that fell to the floor, hiding her feet from view.  I hated to admit it to myself, but it actually looked good on her.

“You look nice.”

She eyed my jean skirt and t-shirt with evident revulsion.  “You, uh, look nice too.”  I could feel the sarcasm that she vaguely tried to conceal.

“Come on, we are all family.”

“Gader!”  Though his skin was pale, and his long, wavy hair was a golden blonde, I knew that it was him.  He held his arms out to me and I threw mine around him.  “What are you doing here?”

“I was under the distinct impression that you invited me here.”

“I did, but you said no.”

“Well, I am glad that I did.  Kafkus has been telling me some most interesting things.”

I pulled away from him to look at Kafkus who flashed me an innocent grin.  “I bet that he couldn’t wait to tell you that he is my Zezka.”

“What!”

“He, uh, didn’t tell you that part?” 
Why’d I open my big mouth?

“No.  He told me about the humans, the Yaro, and of Violet’s disappearance, but he seemed to have left out this interesting bit of news.”  He walked right up to Kafkus and slapped him on the back.  “Why would you keep this most exciting news from me?”  Gader flashed me an "I told you so" kind of smile.

“I did not want to announce it to the entire room.”  He looked like there was something he wasn’t saying, like there was another reason.  I wasn’t sure what that reason could be, but my female insecurities told me that he was ashamed of me for some reason.

Kafkus strutted across the room, placed his hands on my face, and kissed me with such raw passion that I nearly collapsed from it.  He said with his mouth just how much I meant to him. He rested his forehead on mine, still keeping his hands on my cheeks.  “I did not want you to think me embarrassed of what we have.”

He left me for the couch where Gwinny sat.  Though he struck up a conversation with her, he kept steeling glances back at me.

Gader was positively beaming at me in a very satisfied way.  “Don’t look so smug,” I said and stuck my tongue out at him.  He wiped the smirk off his face and came to stand by me.  He playfully nudged me with his shoulder, making me smile.

“I’m glad that you came.  Though, I wish that you would have come alone.”

“Come to this world and not bring my wife?”  He chuckled.  “No, she wanted to come.  I do hope that one day you two will be able to get along.”

I didn’t want to talk ill of the woman he loved (well, not in front of her at least), so I kept my comments to myself.  “Maybe someday.”

“May we speak in private please?”

I nodded and grabbed his hand.  I was leading him to the front door when I found Clifton blocking the way.  “Where are you going?”

“My brother would like a private word with me, if that’s ok with you?”

“This is your brother?” he asked with an apologetic note to his voice.

I mentally slapped myself.  He had never met Gader.  He thought Gader was just another man pining for my affection.  “I’m sorry, Clifton.  This is my brother Gader, heir to the Zolera throne.  Gader, this is my other Zezka, Clifton.”

They shook hands friendly enough.

“I have heard a lot about you from my father, Clifton.  He seems to be rather taken with you, as is my sister from what she has told me.”

Clifton smiled at us both in turn before unblocking our path.

I led Gader down to Clifton’s apartment and sat down next to him on the couch.

“Clifton is very protective of you,” he commented.

“So, what is the real reason you are here?  I know that it is not to check in on my love life.”

He shook his head.  “Father tried to contact Violet this morning, but he received no reply.  He was concerned for your safety as well as I was.  I, of course, now know why he had no answer.”

I hung my head.  “Because Violet is gone.”

“Exactly.  But how would someone be able to take her against her will.  Someone with her power would be hard to abduct.”

“I know.  I thought of that too.”

“You are dealing with things far beyond your capabilities sister.  I want to make sure that you are alright.”

My head stayed low.

“Hey,” he said, trying to spark my focus.  He touched my chin with his hand and gently raised my eyes to his.  He gazed at me with a deep brotherly compassion.  “
Are
you ok?”

I thought about that, really thought about whether or not I was ok.  Tears began to form in my eyes.  “No Gader, I’m not.  If Violet is dead, it’s my fault.  I never should have let her come here.”  As I spoke I remembered something important, something that I had to tell Gader.  I grabbed his face and pulled him close to me.  “They are going to kill father.  They said that they can bring him here.”

“And how do they hope to accomplish this impossible feat?”  He sounded calm and put together, it was more than I could manage.

“I don’t know!  Just please make it all stop!  Make everything go back to the way it was.  I had a good life, a peaceful life.  Now everything has gone to shit!”

He embraced me as I cried into him, trying so hard to console me.  “Hush, dear sister.  Everything will be ok.  I feel confident in saying that they will not be able to carry out their plan.”  He swayed me in his arms like a mother rocks an infant.  “Your life will be normal once again.”

“And if I die?”

“You have three great men to help you.  They will not let you die.  You will live through this, and you will be stronger and wiser from it.”

I stared into his comforting, soft blue-white eyes.  “You really think so?”

“I do.”  He placed his hand on my cheek and wiped away the tears.  “You have such life inside of you, as well as strength, even if you cannot see it right now.  You are a fighter, Quartessa.  I do not see you dying anytime soon.”

“Thank you, Gader.  You always tell things the way they are and not how they should be.”  I hugged him again, not because I needed more comfort, but just because I wanted to.  “You are a great brother, and an even better friend.  You are going to make a great King someday.”

“Thank you, Quartessa.  That means a lot, especially coming from you.  Well, I had better get back to Gwinny.  She is probably wondering where I am by now.”

“I’m sure that she is having an incredible time trapped in my extravagant apartment.”

He laughed.  “Well I did promise her a day out.  I am sure that she is none too happy about spending part of it here.”

Gwinny seemed even grumpier when we returned.  She was still sitting on the couch where we had left her, although now she was alone.  In fact, no one was in the room with her at all.  It seemed like everyone had retreated to my small bedroom just to get away from her cheerful demeanor.

She stood upon seeing her husband.  “Is it finally time to go?”  She seemed to have dropper her phony—trying to be pleasant, but failing—pretense.  I didn’t really care.  It all sounded the same to me.