Veiled Shadows (The Age of Alandria: Book Two) (26 page)

It was fascinating to watch and Kaeleigh stood there mesmerized by instruments until she felt a presence lurking in the shadows of the room’s edge. There was a girl, maybe a little younger than Kaeleigh, who also watched the instruments. She then turned to face Kaeleigh with a sly smirk that interrupted her bored expression. Kaeleigh had seen the girl earlier at the table sitting next to Hal.
This must be Rheina, Hal’s sister.
Hal had briefly mentioned that he had a sister on their ride up to the castle. She had the face of their dad and an air of superiority like her mom only with strawberry blond hair, but she had Hal’s eyes. Where his were a warm hazel, however, hers were a cool striking green.
Wait! Those are the eyes from my nightmare... and outside my window, but why?
A chill ran the length of Kaeleigh’s spine; although, she didn’t fear Rheina. Maybe she should, she wasn’t sure. Kaeleigh studied her face for a minute trying to gauge Rheina’s energy. She had a cool blue thread of color with shadowed by wisps of a faint almost ghostly-looking thread of gray.
Well, that’s new.
There was a spark in Rheina’s eyes then she returned to her bored study of the instruments.

“
Look closely
”—the words barely even a whisper—“
Things are not as they appear.
” Then she blended with the shadows and was gone at Kaeleigh’s sudden intake of breath.

Kaeleigh could see them. The band was not just made up of enchanted instruments, but Fae playing them, veiled from sight, the truth glamoured to all in the room, except of course to those that did the glamouring and those able to see through it.

Not only were these beings hidden behind the glamour to enchant the guests, but they were apparently not there at their choosing, if the chains around their ankles said anything about the situation. They were bound, imprisoned, and taunted with the freedom and revelry of everyone in the room.

Outraged at the indignity, Kaeleigh turned on her heels, seeking out Maleina for explanation. No, there was no explanation that could account for this! She found Maleina off to the side of the large room, but had to pause when she saw a very angry Finn with fists clenched tight but trying to remain calm as he spoke quickly to Maleina then stormed over to where Chel was by the table.
Huh.
As she scanned the room further, her breath was ripped from her lungs. Others, so many others veiled in the shadows of deceit, scattered throughout the room. Some sitting in the corners huddled together on a floor made of large stone slabs seen in medieval castles of old, straw the only thing separating them from the cold. They were emaciated, disheveled, clothing tattered and torn. There were others actually chained to the wall barely covered, left with scarcely a scrap of dignity, heads hung low. How no one bumped into them or trampled them in their dancing, Kaeleigh couldn’t figure out. As soon as she saw them, her rage could no longer be contained; children dressed in rags, covered with dirt and god knew what else attending to those chained, offering sponges soaked in water to subdue their parched throats and in turn prolong their suffering.

Kaeleigh turned her wrath on Maleina, raising her voice loud enough that she knew it would carry across the room, but with a barely contained fury that was unfamiliar. “What is the meaning of this?” She held her arms out wide, taking in the expanse of the room. Maleina, caught off guard, stumbled a minor step before recovering her well-built facade of control.

“Explain your outburst you, insolent child!” Maleina said condescendingly.

“Outburst? Did you expect to get away with this?” Gesturing wildly, Kaeleigh advanced on Maleina. “I can
see
them! I can see them all in rags and chains! Explain yourself!” Even though she was enraged beyond reason, she could still see the slightest twitch in Maleina’s eyes giving away her shock of discovery. At the barest flicker of her fingers, guards came out of the shadows taking only one step toward her, but definitely taking the hint Kaeleigh was not going to be tolerated.

“I explain myself to no one, you ungrateful, impertinent child!” Maleina retaliated. “This is my home and you dare to question me, let alone in front of all my guests.” She gestured toward all those who had now stopped dancing and gaping at what was unfolding. Breaths were held. Mouths and eyes were wide with astonishment and fear. Apparently no one stood up to Maleina, not even her dear husband, as he took a step back with a resigned but curious smile that Kaeleigh didn’t miss. She also noted that Daegan was among the guards who took up to
protect
the “queen.” Kaeleigh couldn’t help feel the prick of pain in her chest at seeing him standing against her. This was his position, she had to remember, and to him she knew duty came first.

Looking for anyone to back her up, she looked wildly at each of the guests, pleading with not only her words, but her eyes and heart, for someone else to see what she could see. “Can you not see them, chained and bound? The children? Can you not see the facade before you? The trickery for what it is?” At no one’s response she turned back to Maleina. Even though nothing was said, she felt Chel and even Finn’s presence sidle up behind her. She was grateful for the strength of her friends, knowing they didn’t see what she saw, but still they stood with her.

“There is nothing to see here but the outrageous tantrum that
you
are throwing, young one,” Maleina said sternly. “If you do not cease, I will have no choice but to detain you for the sake of my guests’ protection.” A glint of challenge in her eyes sparked, igniting the rage once again in Kaeleigh. “You see, when I invite guests to my home, they are under
my
protection and I do nothing but care for the needs of
my
people,” she finished, unflinching at the anger and rage waving off of Kaeleigh.

At that moment, realization dawned on Kaeleigh that this was a setup and she had played right into it. Kaeleigh knew she was being foolish but she couldn’t help it; these people deserved to know the truth. “You all can’t see it, but there are people in chains glamoured all around you, children as well. This is a dungeon, not a ballroom, isn’t it?” She directed her question at Maleina and saw a subtle smirk on her face. Kaeleigh could feel the shock radiating off of her two friends beside her.

With a flourish of Maleina’s hand in the air the two guards began to advance on her. “I’m sorry, dear child, but it is for their protection until you calm down,” Maleina said, gesturing her hands toward the crowd without the least bit of actual concern.

A slight wind tickled by Kaeleigh’s ear. She heard the voice of her mother, “
Show them.”
Kaeleigh knew this might be her only chance. She didn’t even know if she could do it, as she hadn’t had much experience or knowledge of what her emerging powers entailed, but she had to try. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the actual image of the room surrounding her and tried to project it out in a burst of energy. Gasps of shock all around indicated she must have done it. The image flickered and fizzled out, but at least they could all see the truth. Kaeleigh was left winded at the energy she pushed out. There was commotion coming from everyone, and she could feel the confusion and fear starting to permeate the room. She wasn’t strong enough to tear apart the glamour completely.

Maleina was the picture of cool control even with the betraying twitch her right eye leaked out. “You must be quite the illusionist to come up with something like this, but why? Why would you do something like this to me after I have been nothing but hospitable to you and your
friends
?” She feigned innocence and hurt but nearly spit out the last word, glancing at Chel.

Boiling deep inside her, the rage that she felt earlier started coming to a head that Kaeleigh wasn’t sure she could control. A light touch to her arm brought a sliver of peace to her soul as she felt Finn’s hand grasp her hand. Taking a deep breath, bringing the fury under control, she could see heads bouncing back and forth, looking from her to Maleina, and feel the indecision of who to believe and the fear of what might happen ricocheting in the air around her. She knew the outcome. She was the variable. The one already set up to fail, the one that would have to prove the truth. And she would.

Kaeleigh slid her glance toward Daegan to see his face of cold stone, and oddly a cord of disgust leaked out and right into her chest. It felt like a slap in the face. Releasing a breath of resignation, she gave a nod to Maleina. The queen of nothing cocked her head, clearly surprised at Kaeleigh’s acceptance of loss. Arrogance took control of her demeanor as she took a few overly confident steps toward Kaeleigh and her friends.
Again with the flick of her wrists! What is with this woman?!
Several more guards including Daegan stepped forward to escort them out of the ballroom slash dungeon. Standing close together, the three of them walked out with the guards. Kaeleigh held her head high, but still tried desperately to keep the tremors of fear that she was beginning to feel under control. She had no idea what was going to happen now. Now adding guilt to the equation, she wasn’t able to keep it all contained. Chel came alongside her and held her hand just as Finn held her other one. Chel squeezed Kaeleigh’s hand twice. Kaeleigh felt immediate support and assurance from her friend. Squeezing her hand back, she once again promised herself she would do whatever it took to get them out of this mess.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The hallways were much darker than when they had walked to what they had hoped would be an uneventful dinner. Kaeleigh tried to map where they were headed in her head; nothing looked familiar but then again it wouldn’t if it had all been hidden by a glamour. Her gift was not consistent enough to truly understand when she was seeing something that was actually there or not.
Could the entire castle be hidden by glamour? Some of it had to be real, right?
Not paying attention to the guards in front of her, she ran right into Daegan’s back, not realizing that they had stopped. The electricity that shocked her whenever she touched him flickered at their brief touch. She knew he felt it too by his extremely subtle flinch. Not just from the collision either.

One of the other guards actually snarled at her, “Watch where you’re going half-breed!” Daegan didn’t even turn back to look at her let alone say anything to the other guard.

Kaeleigh had never been called names like that before and had to admit it kind of stung even coming from the neanderthal taking her captive. “No reason to be rude,” she mumbled, but she knew at least Daegan heard her. His head, still without looking at her, gave the slightest shake telling her to back off, which of course only made her angrier. Apparently the guard heard her too because he did turn around this time, practically snarling at her, which she actually found a bit laughable. Maybe she was losing her mind.

“What did you say? No! Never mind,
you
don’t speak to me or any of the guard EVER!”

At his outburst, Hal was suddenly coming up behind the little group. The guard’s eyes widened slightly at being caught talking to the “prisoners.”
Wait, are we really prisoners?

“That kind of outburst is not necessary and if I hear of it happening again, you will be removed from your post,
guard
. Do we understand each other?” Hal spoke with authority.

Kaeleigh was grateful he used his status for their benefit.
Hopefully, he’s still on our side.
His demeaning use of the word
guard
didn’t sit well with the
guard
but he turned around after a much more under controlled, “Yes, sir.”

Turning slightly to not make it obvious, Kaeleigh wanted Hal to know she appreciated what he did when no one else was standing up for them. She gave him an imperceptible nod, which he saw. She also noticed that Chel had already given him an appreciative look. Hal, giving his usual wink, turned in the other direction then was suddenly gone, blending into the shadows of the stone walls.

⚔⚔⚔

Grateful to breathe fresh air, Kaeleigh, Chel, and Finn were led outside into the darkness of night. Hope rose in Kaeleigh that they were being led away from the castle and toward the town, which was where she hoped they could escape to. There was a deep urgency in her gut when she thought of Hunter and she prayed to whoever was out there that he was all right. He would know how to begin looking for her father. They walked for a few minutes down a winding rocky path leading them by what sounded in the dark like flowing water. It was too dark to see it, but she could tell it wasn’t too far away. On either side of them were dark shadows growing taller and thicker the further away from the castle they got. It smelled of fresh cedar and moist moss and dirt. They were near another forest. She could
feel
the energy coming from the trees and it vibrated with tremors of fear and unrest. As they walked further the fresh scents of the woods turned to rot, mold, and mildew. It felt heavy, oppressed, and... sick.

Suddenly they were corralled off to the side into a very hidden away stone bunker built into the mountainside.
I’m sure the lovely and hospitable—insert sarcasm here—Maleina is informing all her guests that we are being led out of town like I originally yet foolishly hoped
. Horrified that they were further from the town in the opposite direction, that they were indeed prisoners, and that she had no idea what to do about it, her panic started to attack. Two of the guards walked in ahead of them while two others stood on either side of the door. Daegan, along with another guard, brought up the rear.

The bunker was deceptively large, leading back
into
the mountain.
This could be bad, very bad.
The only window was in the main door, which Kaeleigh guessed was the only exit. It got darker the further back they went. Torches were already lit on the walls.
I wonder if there are other prisoners here... how long have they been here? What could they have done—or maybe not done as was our case—to deserve to be in here?
Individual cells lined both sides of the bunker—or cave seemed to be more appropriate; the walls, ceiling, and floor were mostly dirt stabilized by stones and thick wooden beams. It was a very old cave.