Ancient Guardians The Legacy of the Key (30 page)

Simone said
nothing, but Reece could almost see her teeth clench.

Allestaine’s eyes
narrowed. “You will tell me, Simone. Who helped you cross the vortices? Who led
you into the Ciatron’s domain?”

“I was not helped,
I did this alone. Please believe me.”

Allestaine seemed
to grow tall and terrible as she sat there, rapidly losing her patience. “My
son could be in grave danger. If he is still alive, that is. I will not sit
here and be played by a foolish woman whose wicked plans may have put lives in
danger. You cannot have gone alone; the Guardian horses would not carry you.
Who rode you through the vortex, Simone?”

Simone paled. “It
was Michael Visor. He doesn’t live in Pemdas anymore. He brought me home, and
left. I have not seen him since,” she said sadly.

“What? Michael
Visor? Why would he consider something of this nature? Levi always spoke highly
of him.” She put her hands on Simone’s shoulders, and held her captive. “Why,
Simone? Why would he do this, and not return to Pemdas?”

Simone stared
meekly at the lady. “He didn’t say, but he’s always been envious of Levi.”

Allestaine dropped
her hands from Simone’s shoulders. Her expression was deadly. Her voice
lowered, “Of course, and now it makes perfect sense. Michael is Magnus
Sterlington’s nephew.” She looked intensely at Simone, “Is that wretched man
involved as well, Simone? You will tell me!”

Simone’s expression
was unreadable, “I’m not sure; Michael never said anyone else was involved. You
must understand, my lady, I believed Michael when he said no one would be
harmed. I never believed for one second that the Ciatron would hurt Reece or
destroy Pemdas…I only—”

“Enough!” Lady
Allestaine snapped. “The Emperor, his Commander, and I will discuss your
reasons at a later time.” Allestaine rose up from the sofa. “This entire
situation seems to spring from hatred and jealousy, and not only Sterlington’s
and Michael’s. There is more to your story than you have told us. Fortunately
for myself, I have no need to ask you any further questions. But know this: if
lives are lost due to your ignorance, jealousy, and stupidity, you will spend
the rest of your life atoning for the blood on your hands.” The lady looked
toward the doorway, “Charles.”

A servant who was
standing by the door quickly approached and bowed, “Your Majesty?”

“Escort Simone to
her room, and place a guard at her door until the Emperor has decided what is
to be done with her.”

The servant bowed
again at Allestaine’s orders, “Majesty.” He said as he turned to escort Simone
from the room.

Elizabeth stood and
embraced her mother. Allestaine looked calm, showing no fear or grief. Reece
was sure Allestaine was terrified, but she showed no weakness in public. Simone
rejoined her sister and Lillian, broken and in tears. She did not look in
Reece’s direction once, and Reece was grateful for it.

The three young
women walked quickly out of the room. Allestaine remained with her daughter and
Reece, who stood staring numbly at the doors that had closed behind the women.

“Ladies, if you
will excuse me, I must give Navarre this new information.” Allestaine said.

 “Yes, of course.”
Reece responded. “I think Elizabeth and I will head outdoors, and get some
fresh air.”

Allestaine nodded,
“Very well. We must all be strong now, and know that Navarre and Samuel will
bring Levi, Harrison, and the rest of our men, back to us safely.”

With that
Allestaine quickly made her exit from the room.

Chapter
21

It was close to an hour after Elizabeth and Reece
headed out to the Palace gardens that Allestaine rejoined them.

“Elizabeth, darling, I am going to need a moment alone with Reece.”
Allestaine said as she approached where Reece and Elizabeth were sitting.

Elizabeth stood and
smiled, “Yes, Mother. Has father learned any more news?”

Allestaine brought
her daughter into a loving embrace, and stood back and stared confidently into
her eyes. “Your father is planning with Samuel and the other warriors to help
your brother and Harrison. We have no new information at this time; however,
there is no reason not to be hopeful. Harrison and Levi would expect nothing
less of us.”

Elizabeth nodded,
and Reece felt a wave of anxiety rush through her.
Still no answers?

Elizabeth thanked
Reece for her support, and turned to walk back to the Palace.

Allestaine sat next
to Reece, and looked at her with concern. “Reece, I really cannot find the
proper words to express mine and Navarre’s sincerest apologies in regard to the
confrontation you experienced with Simone this morning.”

Reece stared at
Allestaine in disbelief, “Lady Allestaine, please don’t apologize. I only hoped
that I got the information to the Emperor in time. Does he know what could’ve
happened to Harrison and Levi when they returned to Earth?”

Allestaine exhaled,
“Not at this time. Right now, he and Samuel can only speculate. Once Navarre
received your letter, he immediately tried to contact Harrison and Levi to see
if Simone’s words to you could be validated. When they did not respond, Navarre
knew that the reason the Ciatron had left Earth, as Samuel reported, must have
been a trap. We don’t know what Levi and Harrison have faced upon their return,
and that is why Navarre is assiduously sending men back to Earth to help them.
We know very well that the Ciatron will be extremely hostile with our warriors
since they have learned that we have had the Key residing in Pemdas. All we can
do is hope that the Guardians being deployed to recover Levi and Harrison will
be successful.”

Reece’s heart began
to race. What were they really up against? All of this was happening because of
Simone’s jealousy and hatred of Reece?

“I can’t believe
this is happening.” Reece said softly.

Allestaine looked
at her sympathetically, “We are as astonished as you are. Reece, if I may ask,
how is it that Simone would come to disclose such information to you? Please
understand, Navarre and I are extremely grateful she did.”

Reece cleared her
throat, “I don’t think she planned to. But this morning, she saw me outside
saying goodbye to Levi—” Reece knew she had to tell Allestaine about her and
Levi. She hoped the Empress would receive the information well. “Lady
Allestaine, there is something I have to tell you, and I’m not sure how you
will take the information. I know you have all been through so much already.
You see, Levi and I –”

 Allestaine placed
her hand gently on Reece’s, “Reece,” a faint smile lifted in the corner of her
mouth, “I already know.”

Reece swallowed
hard, “You know?” She asked unsure of what to say.

Allestaine nodded,
and then her countenance grew somber, “Reece, this may be the reason for
Simone’s betrayal; however, it will also be the reason I believe my son will
return to us.” Allestaine stood, and extended her arm to Reece.

When Reece stood
up, Allestaine embraced her. “Reece, you must understand, Levi will be doing
everything in his power to return to you. Stay strong for him, and trust that
he will.” She said softly. She withdrew from Reece and smiled.

Reece had no idea
how the lady could have known about her and Levi, but she was a very intuitive
woman, and Reece had no doubt that Allestaine could have picked up on this long
before Levi told her he loved her.

Before Reece could
say anything more, Allestaine spoke. “Now, I must go speak with Simone, and I
am sure Elizabeth would love your company.”

  Over the next
three days, the atmosphere in the Palace was extremely tense. Everyone wore
somber expressions, and if Reece encountered Navarre or Allestaine, it was
usually while walking through the corridors. Allestaine would stop and give
greetings to Reece and Elizabeth, but her mind was obviously elsewhere. She
would offer assurances to Reece and Elizabeth that, even though there were
still no answers; they must know that no one was giving up. On the rare
occurrence that they saw Navarre, his expression was grave. His acknowledgement
consisted of no more than a subdued nod. The noble man appeared not to have
slept since the night before Harrison and Levi went missing. The distress was
apparent on his face, yet he seemed determined all in the same.

  Reece saw that
the tension in the Palace was troubling Elizabeth. Therefore, instead of
worrying for herself, Reece put all of her energy into comforting her. Even
though the weather grew cold again, and light snow would fall, Reece encouraged
Elizabeth to get outside of the Palace with her.

  Eventually, Lady
Allestaine consented to allow Simone to join the other women at meal times. The
Emperor and Allestaine made it clear to the woman that she was not to be
trusted, however, the only reason she wasn’t treated as a common traitor was
because of who her father was; Navarre and Pemdas’s most loyal subject. It was
clear that Simone was not only victim to the Ciatron, but to Michael Visor’s
motives as well. He had led Simone to believe that it would be a simple trade,
and no one would be harmed. Simone, driven by jealousy, agreed to help. She
might not have been treated as a criminal, but life as she knew it would never
be the same. A guard was to remain at her door each night, and she was heavily
watched throughout the day, due to the threats she made towards Reece.

  Simone was a
different woman since the morning she threatened Reece. She seemed feeble and
broken now. It made Reece wonder if Simone actually did believe that the
Ciatron would make a simple trade with the Pemdai. Apparently, she was ignorant
about Pemdas’s greatest enemy, and of how important a person Reece was to their
way of life.

  Despite her
grief, Reece did her best to remain strong; however, comfort only came to her
when she curled up with the coat that she wore the morning Levi left. With the
fragrance of his cologne still lingering on it, she would close her eyes and it
would seem as though he was there, lying next to her. She would imagine his
face, his vivid blue eyes, and the breathtaking grin he displayed that showed
his love for her.

Reece knew Levi
would return to her, he had to. It was only a matter of time. Navarre had men
searching throughout all of the dimensions trying to find Harrison and Levi,
and she knew he would find them.

  On the fifth day
of Harrison and Levi’s disappearance, Reece walked into the sitting room, and
stared out into the valley below. She gazed down at the village, and silently
begged for Levi to return to her.

  She had no idea
how long she stood staring out of the window, before she heard a group of men
talking in the hallway.
Levi?
Could he have returned without her notice?
There were other roads beside this one that led back to the Palace, maybe he
had returned. Her heart raced as she turned in hopes to find him standing in
the doorway. She quickly walked toward the door, but when she looked out into
the corridor, she realized that the voice she heard was Navarre’s.

  She listened as
Navarre and Samuel approached a group of about fifty Guardians.

  “Gentlemen, as
you are all well aware, this is an extremely dangerous mission. Every Guardian
we have sent out has not returned to us yet. But, I ask you to remember who you
are, and who the Pemdai are. We will not stop until all of our men are
recovered. Pemdas is depending on you to help us bring our men home.”

  All of our
men—what is going on?

  “We are changing
our approach about how we are returning through the various vortices.” Samuel
added. “This should help make this mission a successful one.

  “Give us our
orders, Emperor. We are ready, and await your command.” One man said.

  “Very well,
gentlemen. Let us go to the command center where Samuel will show you the
strategy that he has planned for this mission.” Navarre said as he and Samuel
led the way into another room.

  Reece felt a
sharp pain spasm in her stomach, yet the determination and confidence in
Navarre’s voice kept her from believing that she may never see Levi again. She
exited the room, she needed to get outside. With every step she took, she lost
hope that Levi would ever return. It had been five days now. They were sending
men, and now it seemed as though all of the other men were going missing as
well. What was going on?

  That night was
the first evening that Navarre had joined the women in the sitting room. He
seemed confident, but Reece knew something wasn’t right.

She pretended to
read a book of poetry. Elizabeth sat close to Reece, reading a book of her own.
They stayed close together, lending each other unspoken support. Simone,
Lillian, and Catherine sat in their usual corner in quiet conversation.
Allestaine was writing in a journal of some sort, and even though Navarre had
joined them in the room, he remained withdrawn from everyone. He stood alone
near the sofa Reece and Elizabeth were on, staring out the enormous windows.

Allestaine walked
up to him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and he held her in his arms. “Navarre,
what has happened?”