The Royal Pursuit (9 page)

Athen, Jaz and Falon walked behind
her. Ann was sure they were making plans to escape, but she
wondered if such planning was in vain. They wouldn’t be getting out
of these chains unless one of the Nicals released them, and from
the way things looked, they weren’t likely to do that.

Again, she felt helpless. She recalled
the comment the man in white had made to her. He was disappointed
in her because she didn’t put up a fight. He was right. What good
was being the Queen of Raz if she relied on others to protect her
all the time? She forced aside her doubts about her
abilities.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on her
insecurities. There would be plenty of time for that when she was
safely back on Raz. If she got back… There were no guarantees. In
her line of work, there was never any guarantees.

She sighed. She wished Hathor was
here. She was glad to have Athen, Jaz, and Falon with her. They
were good friends, but she needed Hathor’s strength. She never
realized how much she’d depended on him until that
moment.

Chapter
Seven

In the Wilderness

Planet: Lone

Ann was having difficulty keeping up
with the Nicals. They walked amazingly fast for a group of people
who wore soft-soled shoes. Her own hard-soled boots should have
been better than their shoes against the rough terrain, but she
reasoned they were used to walking on rocks, twigs and tree
roots.

Jaz, Falon, and Athen kept up with the
Nicals’ pace without the trouble she had. She was surprised the
Palers could keep up with them because Pale was flat and smooth.
Raz had similar patches of forests like the one they were currently
walking through. Athen, however, often traveled through the forests
in his job of searching for any problems to introduce to Hathor,
who in turn informed her of anything he felt was a concern to
address. Therefore, she had expected Athen to be experienced with
such hard terrain.

Ann was the first captive in the
single line. One of the male Nicals walked beside her, ensuring
that she would not try to escape. The man wearing white walked in
front of her. When she ventured to look behind her, the Nical would
direct her attention back to the front, obviously wishing to
discourage her from sending any secret messages to her friends. She
sighed and resigned herself to an unpleasant encounter with the
other Nicals who were undoubtedly waiting for their
arrival.

At mid-afternoon, they stopped to take
a break. Ann and Athen sat on a log. She moved uncomfortably on it,
trying to find a smooth spot, but it was no use. She watched as Jaz
and Falon sat on another log several feet from them. The Nicals
remained standing, their attention directed to the man who wore
white. He spoke softly to them, so Ann couldn’t hear what he was
saying.

“
I’m sorry I failed you,
Queen Ann,” Athen said, staring at the ground. “Hathor will be
disappointed in me.”

She looked over at him. “You didn’t
know this was going to happen. Whether or not you were here, we
would have been captured.”

“
I know, but he trusted me
to protect you. If I hadn’t lost the Book of Spells, then I might
have been able to cast a spell over them to freeze them. Then we
wouldn’t be in this situation.”

She shifted so she could face him.
“Athen, listen to me. It’s not your fault we’re stuck in this
predicament. Everything happened so fast. I didn’t have time to use
my own magic. I don’t need to use spells to protect myself or
anyone else. But it does neither of us any good to concentrate on
what we should have done. The point is we’re alive.” After a
moment, she added, “To be honest with you, I froze up back there. I
knew how to work a parachute. They have them on Earth, but my mind
went blank when we jumped out of the spaceship. If you hadn’t been
there to help me out, I wouldn’t have made it. You saved my
life.”

He glanced at her, as if seeing her
for the first time. “Hathor’s right about you. You are
amazing.”

“
He said that?”

“
Only all the time,” he
teased.

She blushed at the thought of Hathor
complimenting her to his friend.

“
You two are good together.
There are times when I look at you two and wish I had that kind of
love,” he confessed. “It can get lonely working in the palace. I
don’t get many chances to meet women.”

His words sobered her. “We’ll have to
change that when we get back to Raz. You deserve to have a wife.
You’ll make a good husband.”

“
Thanks.”

Someone walked over to them,
interrupting their conversation. Optima, the only female Nical in
the group, stood before them, a key in her hands. Her hair was
still green, which Ann wondered about. The other Nicals’ hair had
changed color since their initial interaction.

“
I’ve been volunteered to
give you a bathroom break since I’m the only female in the group,”
Optima said, her voice void of emotion.

Ann wasn’t going to turn down the
offer. Her bladder had been full for the past half hour. She raised
her wrists so that Optima could remove the chains from her. As she
stood up, Optima pointed the Paler gun at her.

“
I can’t have the Queen of
Raz running off on me,” Optima said.

“
I’m sure you’d outrun me
so why bother?” Ann replied. Even with a better pair of boots, it
would have been pointless to try. She’d never been great at
running. There was a reason she was the last person picked in gym
class when she was in school.

“
We will go behind those
trees over there so you can get some privacy.”

Ann glanced in the direction Optima
pointed at. She led the way to the spot, Optima following. She
didn’t know why Optima felt it was necessary to take her so far
away from everyone else. They weren’t even in hearing distance of
the others. A chill raced up her spine. Perhaps the Nical intended
to kill her out here.

“
You can go behind that
bush,” Optima instructed, her back turned to her.

Ann shifted uneasily. “Okay but it’s
going to take a while. I’m not used to being monitored while I
go.”

“
Take all the time you
need.”

Ann obeyed. After what seemed like
hours, she was finally able to go. As soon as she was done, she
returned to Optima. She was ready to walk back when Optima stopped
her.

“
What is it?” Ann
asked.

“
How does it
feel?”

“
Better.” Why did the Nical
care how an empty bladder felt? Didn’t Nicals go to the
bathroom?

“
No. Your pregnancy. How
does it feel to be pregnant?”

“
Pregnant? I’m not
pregnant.”

“
You can’t
tell?”

Ann didn’t like the knot that formed
in her stomach. “No. I’m not supposed to get my period for another
week and a half.”

“
It takes you that long to
discover such an important thing?”

“
Well, for Earthlings it
does. I may rule Raz, but I am an Earthling.”

“
Nical females can tell
right away when they conceive. We have also been cursed to know
when other human women have conceived.”

“
Why is it a
curse?”

“
Because we lost our
ability to conceive before the virus invaded our world. It’s
terrible to know you will never carry life inside of you when
others do it so easily. You weren’t even planning on this
pregnancy, but here you are and that child will rule
Raz.”

Ann felt her face flush. She found it
disturbing to discuss such personal matters with a
stranger.

“
You conceived five days
ago. You have a girl,” Optima revealed.

Ann’s mind rushed back to the events
that transpired five days ago. She had taken the day off from her
royal duties to be with her family. It was the day she discovered
the Augurs’ desire to visit Raz.

“
That man, the one who
wears white, is not one of us,” Optima quickly explained. “He came,
acting as our protector, but I fear he has malevolent intentions
for us. We don’t know who he is or where he came from, but I know
he has plans for your child. I overheard him talking to someone
about killing you if you were pregnant. If you were not pregnant,
they planned to sterilize you. Unfortunately, you are with child. I
am the only Nical who knows this, and I didn’t have time to warn
the others.” She peered around a tree and calmed when she saw no
one was coming for them. “There isn’t time to explain what we are
going through, but we do not wish you or anyone else harm. That is
why I have to release you.”

“
You’re going to let me and
my friends go?”

Optima shook her head. “I cannot do
that. We’re not that strong. You need to run as far and as fast as
you can. I know the man in white will want to come after you when
he discovers you’re gone. Run and don’t look back. If you must
stop, then do so in a cave. There are many in that hill over there.
The caves around here have a mineral in them that will hide your
presence from our technology.”

“
Where am I supposed to
go?”

“
I don’t know. All I can do
is warn the other Nicals as soon as it’s safe. We will do what we
can to help you then.” Again, Optima peered around the trees.
“They’re starting to get anxious. They will be coming after us
soon. You must go now.”

Ann didn’t know if this was a trap or
not, but she had to assume the Nical’s intentions were honorable.
She turned and ran into the wilderness.

***

Optima’s heart pounded as she watched
Ann leave. The man in white would be furious with her. She knew
what she had to do. If she was going to lie, she had to make it
look convincing.

She bent down and scooped up dirt from
the ground. She rubbed the dirt into her hair, on her face and all
over her body. Then she tore her clothes to make it look as if she
had been in a fight. Finally, she took the gun and shot herself in
the arm. That was the hardest part to do since she knew it would be
painful. She screamed as the sharp pain ripped through her. It was
only a flesh wound, but it stung like fire.

“
No! Don’t!” She yelled as
loud as she could, hoping the others would believe she was trying
to prevent Ann’s escape.

She heard the concerned voices of her
companions. They were running to help her. She threw the gun as far
as she could into the trees in the other direction and fell to the
ground. She rolled over some sharp tree roots and
groaned.

By the time two male Nicals reached
her, they found her, crying and badly injured. She grabbed her
bloody arm to her chest. Her hair was yellow from fear that they
might discover the truth.

“
She overtook me,” she
sobbed. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”

One of the Nicals took her in his arms
and held her. “We’ll help you. Don’t be scared,” he gently assured
her.

“
Which way did she go?” the
man in white demanded, his face red with anger.

She forced herself to speak through
her hysterical tears. “I don’t know. It all happened so
fast.”

“
Shh… Don’t talk. We’ll get
you to the Austere Complex,” the other Nical said. “The stone we
have will heal you.”

“
Who cares about her? We
need to get the queen!” the man snapped. “We can’t let her get
away.”

“
Optima is the only one who
is well-traveled in these woods,” the Nical holding her said.
“We’ll never find the Queen without her.”

The man grunted. “A lot of good she
did us just now. Thanks to her, I’m in serious trouble.”

Optima didn’t have time to dwell on
his words. She was in too much pain to care.

The Nical picked her up and carried
her to the group. She leaned against his chest and felt herself
drift into unconsciousness.

Chapter
Eight

Ann and Hathor’s Bedroom

Planet: Raz

Exactly at sunrise, a loud knocking on
his bedroom door woke Hathor from his sleep. Was Ann in trouble? He
rushed to get out of bed but only succeeded in falling to the
floor. He quickly jumped up and opened the door. To his surprise, a
servant—instead of the Great Magician—was standing in the
doorway.

“
Forgive me for waking you
up, King Hathor, but the Augurs are insistent you arrive to the
Grand Oak Room to continue your meeting with them,” she
said.

He blinked the sleep out of his eyes.
“I’ll be there as soon as I get dressed.”

She nodded. “I will notify them at
once.”

He shut the door as she left. He took
a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He didn’t appreciate being scared
like that. Maybe he should have been thankful the Augurs were
simply giving him orders again. It was better than finding out Ann
was in serious trouble.

He got dressed in a blue silk suit and
slipped the chain with the emerald that Ann had given him around
his neck. It was all he had to feel close to her.