Tagan's Child (4 page)

“Unfortunately,
Tagan killed the son of a very powerful woman where I come from and
she wants revenge,” he said with a hint of regret.

This was more
like the image I had of Tagan. “So he’s a murderer?!” I knew he was
a waste of space. Oh Katie, why oh why did you have to get tangled
up with someone like that?!

“You
misunderstand,” Ahran said in his cousin’s defence.

“Well, you
either kill someone or you don’t.” I gave a humourless laugh. “If
he killed someone then he was a murderer.”

He looked like
I had just slapped him in the face. I’d obviously hit a nerve and
it took him a moment to recover.

He shook his
head. “You are wrong,” he said quietly. Tagan was a brilliant
soldier, he had no choice, it was kill or be killed.”

“Tagan was in
the army?” I digested this piece of information. I wasn’t sure I
really want to know any more about him.

Ahran
continued. “Yes, he was also the heir to my uncle’s very extensive
estate, which makes Toby the next rightful heir. Capturing Toby
would not only be a just revenge in Bazeera’s eyes but he would
also be a very useful bargaining chip for her to get her hands on
my family’s land.”

I laughed.
“This is some kind of joke right?”

“I have never
been more serious in my life,” he replied without a hint of a
smile.

“Okay, so you
are telling me that some woman wants to kidnap Toby because his
father was some kind of lord?” I asked incredulously. The picture
Ahran was painting of Tagan as a titled soldier who had fought
honourably for his country, jarred with my image of him being a
druggy good-for-nothing who slept around.

“Not a lord, a
prince.”

“A prince!”
Jesus! I was happier thinking the worst of him, it made it easier
to accept that he had deserted my sister.

“Yes, he was a
prince from a very wealthy and respected royal family.”

“And Toby is
the next heir?” I asked, hardly believing what I was hearing.

“Yes,” he
replied patiently.

It felt like my
brain was made of cotton wool. I was having difficulty processing
the simplest of his answers. I sat there for some time staring at a
mark on the floor. I turned it over in my head. Toby’s father was a
prince, which means Toby is a prince and heir to some wealthy
foreign kingdom. No matter how much I repeated it in my head it
didn’t sound any less crazy.

“My family
would like you and Toby to accompany me back to my family’s home
where we can offer you full protection,” he said, repeating his
earlier proposal.

Despite feeling
bewildered I started to think about the practicalities. We couldn’t
just up sticks and leave with this stranger. We had our lives here.
“And how long do you think we would need to stay with you?” I
asked, playing along.

“As long as it
takes for my people to remove the threat,” Ahran said with little
emotion.

“And how would
you do that?” I asked not sure I wanted to hear the answer. I was
from a rural community in East Sussex, nothing like this ever
happened.

“Until Bazeera
is overthrown,” he replied matter of factly.

I had a sinking
feeling that overthrown was a euphemism for being killed. It all
sounded rather too serious and dangerous. What had we found
ourselves in the middle of?!

I tried to
reason with him. “Surely the police can deal with this. If Toby’s
life is in such danger then the police or special branch or whoever
deals with this kind of thing should be able to do something about
this Bazeera.”

He frowned and
shook his head. “There is no need to involve the police. We are
capable of dealing with our own problems.”

I still wasn’t
convinced that they weren’t part of the mob. I stood up and started
to pace the kitchen. “I can’t take Toby out of school, away from
all his friends and everything he knows to go off with a stranger
for an indeterminate amount of time.” I stopped in front of him.
“Besides I’ve got a business to run.” I hoped that I might be able
to convince him he was being melodramatic.

“I don’t think
you quite understand what Bazeera is capable of,” he warned.

“Maybe not, but
we can’t just walk away from our lives.” I took a deep breath and
tried to calm my nerves and temper my frustration. “Look, you’ve
got to try and see this from my point of view. A guy I’ve never met
before turns up on my doorstep and tells me that my nephew is a
prince and heir to a fortune and that his life is in danger from
some power hungry woman because she wants vengeance and a slice of
that fortune.”

Ahran shrugged
and shook his head as if to say, ‘And your point is?’

“It just all
sounds too far-fetched and why should I believe you anyway, you’ve
not provided me with any hard evidence.” I hoped by talking some
sense I would be able to convince him that his story was too absurd
and that he really shouldn’t believe everything he is told
either.

I moved towards
the door. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to go somewhere.” I felt
more resolute, this sort of thing just doesn’t happen in real life.
Denial was the best policy until I had proof. “If you can provide
me with some irrefutable evidence that what you say is true then
perhaps we can talk again.” I had no intention of putting Toby at
any risk, but this was Hatherley, the most criminal thing that ever
happened here was fly-tipping in a field gateway.

Ahran ran his
hand over his hair in frustration. He went out into the hallway
where I’d hung up his jacket and then came back into the
kitchen.

“Look, take
this.” He handed me a small rectangular tablet.

“What is it?” I
eyed it suspiciously.

“It’s a cell
phone.”

“I’ve got a
phone thank you.”

“You will need
this if you want to contact me.”

Somewhere in
the back of my mind I wondered why he couldn’t just give me his
number. “You obviously need some time to think about this. In the
meantime, if you feel threatened in any way, do not hesitate to
phone one of the two numbers programmed into it. I can get here
quickly if necessary. I will give you two days and then I will come
back for you both.”

I’d had enough
of arguing with him. “I’m sorry I really am going to have to go.” I
tossed the phone on the table as if accepting it would make
everything he had just told me true.

I followed him
to the front door and offered my hand. “Well Mr Elessar, it’s been,
er, interesting, and if there is anything I’m worried about you can
rest assured I will give you a call.” I was pleased I had come up
with a sensible plan amidst this madness.

Ahran looked at
me intently. “I mean it, we haven’t got long. If anyone new turns
up in your village, or threatens you or Toby in any way, you must
call me immediately.”

“Yes of course
I will,” I said in my sweetest and best air hostess voice. “Now if
you don’t mind.” I handed him his jacket and opened the front door
as a signal for him to leave.

“Please be
vigilant, for yours and Toby’s sake.” He sounded angry. It wasn’t
the first time this evening. I’d got the distinct impression that
he didn’t want to be here and he wanted me to be difficult even
less. He had obviously expected us to go with him, but I was damned
if that was going to happen without more proof. He hesitated and
then turned and walked out into the darkness.

I slowly shut
the door behind him. My head ached. As implausible as Ahran’s story
was, could I afford to ignore it? What would be the point of making
up a story like that? Perhaps he was just a very convincing fraud,
albeit a very good-looking one. I leant my back against the door
and took a deep breath. Were our lives really in that much
danger?

*****

The alarm woke
me at 6.30 as usual. I eventually got to sleep about half past
three after tossing and turning thinking about Ahran’s visit. I
slowly put my feet to the floor. My head was pounding as if I had
been drinking. I was still struggling to believe what he had told
me and the evil voice in my head was doing its usual thing,
spouting negativity and insisting that I could be putting our lives
in danger if I didn’t heed Ahran’s warning. “Oh shut up!” I
grumbled and went into the bathroom.

I thought about
the day ahead. My best friend Bennie had just got back from her
latest assignment and she was coming over this evening for a
takeaway and a catch up. She had been in Kenya for over a month
filming a new litter of lion cubs in one of its nature reserves. I
missed her and her sensible counsel even more than usual in the
light of last night’s unexpected bombshell. She was one of those
people who talked sense and at this moment in time I really needed
someone to be sensible. After I’d had a shower my headache had
lessened and I felt a little better as I headed downstairs. Bennie
would know what to do.

Toby was
already dressed and sat at the breakfast table eating a bowl of
Cheerios with Mungo drooling at his elbow.

“What have I
done to deserve the pleasure of your company at this hour of the
morning?” I asked cheerily, if a little suspiciously.

“Nothing,” Toby
said as he slurped down the last couple of spoonfuls of cereal.
“I’m going on a school trip today, remember. I’ve got to be at
school by seven thirty.”

“Dammit! I’d
forgotten all about your trip and I need to make you a packed
lunch,” I said, moving from one foot to the other as I tried to
decide what to do first.

“Don’t worry,
I’ve made it already,” Toby said.

I was always
dubious of the nutritional value of a packed lunch Toby had made
but I didn’t have time to argue. I hardly even noticed when he put
his breakfast bowl on the floor and Mungo began to lap up the
leftover milk. It was one of my pet hates. I went over and gave him
a hug.

“You are
amazing Toby McAllister, do you know that?” I gave him a kiss on
the cheek. Ahran’s words came back to me and I contemplated life
without my little nephew. A lump formed in my throat and tears
stung my eyes. I quickly turned away and busied myself with putting
some toast in the toaster. I hoped we would never see Ahran Elessar
again.

“Yeah, I know,”
Toby replied.

“And modest
too,” I laughed, wiping my nose on my sleeve.

“Are you
alright Auntie Sophie?”

“I’m fine,” I
said, dodging his question. “Go and brush your teeth, we’d better
get going.” We made it to school just in time.

It wasn’t as
busy at the coffee shop as it had been the day before, so the three
of us made the most of the lull and got on with some of the mucky
jobs we’d been putting off for a week. I cleaned the coffee
machine. Sandie worked on the grills and Audrey tackled the fridge.
It was a hive of activity and just what I needed to keep myself
occupied. I hadn’t told Audrey about Ahran’s visit because I didn’t
want to worry her. I decided I wouldn’t say anything until he had
proved to me that what he’d said was true. I fully intended to tell
Bennie tonight though. I needed to share it with someone.

It had been a
busy day cleaning and we rewarded ourselves with tea and some
unsold cake. We congratulated ourselves with what we had achieved
and shut up shop safe in the knowledge that everything was spick
and span. I picked Toby up from afterschool club and was regaled
with stories of his school trip to the Natural History Museum. He
flaked out after his bath not even able to stay awake for a story.
I tucked him in and kissed his forehead. We had got through the day
without being attacked by evil, vengeful enemies from far off
places. I began to think that Ahran’s visit had been some kind of
stupid prank.

I put some
plates in the oven and a bottle of wine in the fridge. It had been
too long since I had seen Bennie. I smiled at the thought of my
best friend. Her name wasn’t actually Bennie it was Cordelia. I
remember the day I met her so clearly, it was at the village
primary school, the same one that Toby now went to. We were both
five. I had been at school for a term and she had just moved into
the village with her parents. She had been a real tomboy and
figured that nobody at school would be any the wiser if she renamed
herself Benjamin. She reasoned that boys had more fun and decided a
name change might make her life more exciting. She was an only
child. Her parents, Edward and Gwen Blythe-Smith, after twenty
three years of trying, had resigned themselves to never being able
to have children and then Bennie came along.

Mrs
Blythe-Smith became a first time mum at the age of forty eight. It
was a dream come true for her and her husband but it meant that the
first eighteen years of Bennie’s life were suffocated by aging
parents who were over-protective and unrealistic in their
expectations. Bennie had been pretty rebellious in return. She was
nearly expelled from the local grammar school on more than one
occasion. Her father, a successful lawyer, was over the moon when
she got a place on a law degree course at university, finally it
seemed she was taking life more seriously. Unfortunately for her
parents, her time studying law was short lived when an affair with
one of her lecturers brought an end to their dream of Bennie having
a successful career in law. Her parents were less than encouraging
when she enrolled herself onto a photography course, but two years
later she proved them wrong and set herself up as a freelance
photographer. Her lucky break came when she met a producer of BBC
wildlife films at an industry ‘do’ and the rest, as they say, is
history.

I couldn’t wait
to see her.

The doorbell
rang. I half-ran to the front door. For a split second, I wondered
whether it was her and that maybe I should check before I opened
it. “Bennie?” I said through the door feeling really silly and not
a little bit paranoid. Damn Ahran Elessar!