Hail to the Queen (Sage Trilogy, Book 3) (16 page)

“But how are you able to maintain the connection between carrier and user after your new wife finds out what you are?”

“Marriage is like a seal. A bond that gets placed upon the soul until death. Even when she has lost her love for me and learned of my true intentions, the seal is still in place. And besides, they usually have no time to work on breaking it. By then they are well drugged and made docile.”

“Where is your carrier now?”

“Ah-ah,” Thorn said, waving a finger at him. “No amount of trust requires me to disclose that information.”

“Fair enough.”

“Anyways, to continue my proposition…” Thorn suddenly leapt to his feet and shot his head out towards the ceiling, his eyes widening as a maniacal grin came over his lips. Kyran remained frozen in anxiety. What had he just sensed that made him so happy? Had the other Sages been killed? Had Catherine been apprehended?

Thorn turned to Kyran with the same grin and placed both fists on his hips.

“It appears our time together is complete. Please take Scarlet and go retrieve my stones. I’ll be watching.”

“What happened?” Kyran asked in alarm. “What did you see?”

“The ether is finished,” Thorn sighed with relief. “And the time for waiting is over. Before the next 24 hours is over, my genocide will begin, and I don’t want any hiccups. Scarlet will be in the lobby. Please go now. I must prepare.”

Kyran stood up, bowed to the King and then turned to leave. He refused to look
back as Thorn watched him. It was beginning… and he had come no closer to retrieving the stone of Zen-echelon than when he had first arrived. It was pointless trying at this juncture.  If everything Thorn claimed about himself was true, then they were facing an enemy equivalent to a god, and no one could have possibly prepared for it. He had to regroup with Arimus and the others. They had to find the stones and launch an assault of their own. It was their only hope, and it was a faint one at best.

Kyran fought back a shudder as he clenched his jaw. He had
just only begun to feel, and already he was coming up against an emotion that nearly crippled him the entire time he was in Thorn’s presence: a fear that showed no signs of leaving…

“Are you sure you don’t want to stop at the lodge?” Arimus asked from behind. Catherine shook her head vehemently and James ran up ahead to her side.

“Hey, maybe we should stop,” James whispered to her. “Arimus doesn’t look too good.”

“I know that,” Catherine said. “But we can’t afford it, and that stubborn man wouldn’t stand for it if he found out that’s the reason we stopped anyways. No, we move on. Once we get the stone from Prattle, then we can go back to the lodge.”

“But don’t we need the stone of Quietus to prove we’ve defeated them? Or are we just expecting them to go off our word?”

“With all the conflict we’ve come up against since we left Allay, they’ll have to. I’m not going to risk losing it. They know we’ll be coming, and I’m sure word of Quietus’ demise has reached their borders by now.”

“But we can’t just leave the stones like that either.”

“It will have to do. I would rather have it in a neutral location than with us. We’re walking targets.”

“Well, is there anything we can do for him?”

“Yes,” Catherine said, turning to face him directly. “You can stop worrying. Arimus is strong. If you think a lost arm and some burns are going to keep him down, then you never knew him to begin with.”

“Fine,” James grunted. “But I’m not responsible if he falls over from exhaustion.”

“Besides, we have another powerful Sage to pick up the slack, don’t we?”

“
Yeah, right,” James snickered. “I think I can still feel Jester’s blade between my ribs.” Catherine remained silent as they continued climbing the snow covered mountain. A light dusting had begun to brush against their faces and James rubbed his forearms, wishing they still had the wool cloaks they had left Allay with. Out of the three of them, only Arimus still had some of his armor left. Hopefully, it was warmer in Prattle, and maybe the citizens would be especially grateful once they heard of Jester’s death. He needed some warmer clothes urgently.

James looked over at Catherine
to ask how she felt, but stopped once he saw the focus in her gaze. He sighed and kept walking. It felt like the last time they were together it was an eternity, yet only a couple of days had passed. Still, there was no way she was going to discuss what was going through her mind. She cared for him and said that she thought no less of him since learning about his heritage, but she still acted like she had to take on the world alone. Scenarios playing out through her mind, the worries of her people in the background…there was little time for him, and wasn’t this just a glimpse of their future? If they returned to Allay, would it be the playful excursions and sparring sessions he hoped for? Or would it all be politics and diplomatic meetings with the other Kingdoms? Could she be able to ever take a break?

“Something on y
our mind, James?” Catherine asked abruptly. James was taken by surprised and began stuttering. She just laughed and continued on. “It’s okay. I’m sure I have it all figured out. Thinking about our future together again?”

“Am I that predictable?”

“Yes,” she laughed. “But that’s part of your charm. It means I always know I can rely on you. A very admirable trait in such dark times.”

“I was thinking about
proposing to you,” James said slyly.

“No, you aren’t
!” Catherine laughed and punched James on the arm. “And don’t you dare! I swear I’ll say no!”

“Is that a threat?”

“That’s a promise!”

“You won’t keep that promise.”

“Well then why don’t you go ahead and ask away? The worse I can do is give you a big fat no and then go marry the King of Prattle.”

“You’ve never even met him.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m sure he’s way cuter than you.”

“I have an adorable puppy dog face,” James mused. “And it’s a proven fact that girls cannot say no when proposed by a boy with a cute puppy dog face.”

“Are you cute or adorable? I’m confused. You’re mixing things up.”

“
They’re the same thing!” he exclaimed. “And besides, you’re just trying to change the subject!”

“James, you drive me crazy,” Catherine laughed to herself as she shied away from him. “You make me feel my age. A very hard feat to accomplish.”

“Someone has to keep you young. I think I see a silver hair sticking out.”

“Oh, and that’s going get you closer to a yes.”

“So I’m getting a consideration?”

“It’s not like you actually proposed.”

“True. True,” James said, nodding his head and looking at the increasingly diminishing path beneath their feet. They were almost to the section where Jester was once held captive. Soon, they would meet the Kingdom guards, cutting his time with Catherine short once again…

“
But seriously, please don’t do that,” Catherine pleaded. “Like I need more on my mind.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” James admitted. “But at least I’m letting you know where I stand.”

“You’re really that serious about us?”

“I am. An
d I have a lot more to say…I’m just not sure we have the time.”

“Then worry about your survival and we’
ll discuss it in the future. I’ll be sure to write you into my schedule. Maybe fit in an interview.”

“James, can I speak with you in a minute?” Arimus called from far behind them. James glanced back
reluctantly. Catherine smiled and put her hands into James’, clutching it tight.

“Go ahead, James,” she said. “It might be important, and I can take care of myself for a few measly minutes.”

“I’ll be right back,” he said, giving her a peck on the cheek and then falling back until Arimus caught up. He was breathing heavily, but otherwise his visage was far better than when they left. It was if he had gotten a little of his vigor back.

“
How are you doing, Arimus?”

“Just getting used to my weight loss,” he chuckled, holding up his arm. “And my new tan.”

“The ladies won’t be able to contain themselves now.”

“Very
funny, James,” he said. “But to get on with it, the reason I called you over is because we haven’t had time to catch up.”

“Another conversation about Catherine?”

“In a sense. I want to finish the rest of my story. The one I began in the Langoran forest if you don’t mind.”

“I thought it was already done
.”

“Didn’t you ever wonder what could be so bad that I would actually leave my family and friends behind? Just com
pletely abandon them and join the enemy?”

“I haven’t had time to think about it much,” James said solemnly. “Not really anything. I mean, I
’ve lost my best friend a few days ago, and my teacher, but it still feels like they’re just off on some secret mission and I’ll be seeing them once we reach Prattle. I can’t believe they’re gone at all. It’s only when I see a shade of red the color of his hair or I hear someone laughing uncontrollably that I think of them.”

“Well, listen close,” Arimus replied. “This is the last of my story. I didn’t leave Allay on a whim. I’m far too loyal for that. The reason is because I was in love with Catherine’s mother.”

“What?” James said in shock as Arimus put a finger to his own lips.

“Don’t be so loud. She doesn’t know,” Arimus said, pointing to the Princess in front of them. “
Her name was Ashalynn, and we met when we were children. Back then I was a guard in training within the castle, very much like Dominic was. I wasn’t betrothed to her, but I wish I had been. I fell in love with her the moment we met. Of course I knew she was the Princess, and her father, a very old fashioned and stubborn fellow, would have had me kicked back to the village if he knew, but we found ways to secretly profess our adoration towards one another. You would have loved her, James. She was mature beyond her years, and she carried herself like true royalty.”

“I think I would have passed,” James laughed. “Catherine’s more my type.”

“Catherine forgets her status habitually, and even though you think she should relax more, I believe she hasn’t taken her job seriously enough.”

“Trust me, Arimus, there are plenty of uptight adults to go around.”

“In any case, Ashalynn shared my vision of the Kingdom – a strong and resilient army, an academy that would accept children along with adults in Sage training, better relations with the other Kingdoms. She was nothing like her father, who just wanted the people to work for him and give him the fruits of their labor. He cared little for what the other Kingdoms did and refused to interact with them. From what you’ve seen, we’re still bearing the weight of those decisions even today. Our conversations with the others have been strained at best.”

“So what happened? She ended up marrying another?”

“Actually, she married me – in secret, while her father was on his deathbed. Her mother had already passed a few years earlier and she wanted to ensure that I would be King when she took over as Queen. Our union lasted all of three days, when the unthinkable occurred…her father declared an heir.”

“Catherine’s
father, right?” James said. “Cornelius Herald?”

“Yes,” Arimus grunted under the growing incline. “He was made King, and he was barely known
too. Ashalynn had no suitors besides myself in secret, and I had only heard rumors. He was the son of a deceased guard, like I had been, but I knew nothing of his reputation. Yet somehow, he had gained the most powerful title in all of Allay. He was just like Ashalynn’s father, proud and selfish, and I couldn’t stand the sight of him. Neither could Ashalynn, but she performed her duty. She became his Queen - no matter how hard I tried to convince her otherwise.”

“Is that why you left?”