Chapter 13
Aradella was standing by the bedroom window looking out at the sculpture of a bird in flight. Mekos said it was the room his
father and Kaley had stayed in. He also said that later the house had disappeared. Wonder who the resident witch is? she thought.
She turned to look at Mekos stretched out on the bed. His hair had fallen back and she could see that his ears were still.
While they’d been in the cave, his ears had constantly twitched as he listened to every sound around them.
When they’d arrived at the cave, the two guards had stayed outside with the horses while she and Mekos entered. In the outer
room, he told her where Nessa had slept, and where Kaley and Tanek had been with her pet tabor.
“Arit showed Kaley the hidden room,” Mekos said as he led Aradella to the back into what appeared to be an area with solid
stone walls. If they hadn’t been told there was a door, they wouldn’t have seen it.
Mekos lit a little stick lamp that Zeon had given them. It had an eerie green light that showed the outline of the doorway.
They had a bottle of some chemical that they dabbed along the edges of the door that Zeon had sealed.
When the door opened, they stepped inside. The room was full of machines such as they’d never seen before. All of them looked as though they’d been beaten with a hammer.
“Kaley said they’re computers and they’re full of information. My—” Mekos broke off because Aradella had turned on an old
lantern hanging on the wall. The light was weak but it showed the whole room.
There was writing on the wall in the ancient swan language. “What does it say?” she asked.
Mekos’s voice was so low she could hardly hear him. “R, T, M, I will be with you forever. I will not abandon you, H.”
She didn’t have to be told what it meant. The H was Haver, R and T were for Roal and Tanek, his son and grandson. The M was for Mekos. Aradella put her arms around him and held him.
“I was six years old when he didn’t come home. I couldn’t understand where he was. He was as close to the swans as my father
is. They loved him, and when he didn’t return, they cried. The sound was horrible!”
She stroked his hair and waited for the pain to lessen. If there was anything Aradella knew about, it was grief.
After a while, Mekos stepped away, wiped his eyes, and looked about. He told her that his great-grandfather’s remains had
been found near the far wall. He didn’t go there, but she did. Peeping out from under a long black cord was something small
and white. Bending, she picked it up. It was a bone, probably the tip of the smallest finger. The bone of a righteous man. Zeon had said it would be needed. She put it in her pocket.
They didn’t stay in the room for long. Mekos said he wished he had Kaley’s camera, and that set him off to telling the story
of taking photos.
Aradella was glad to see him remembering good things.
They left not long afterward and rode the horses back to Zeon’s house. They were told he was still working and wouldn’t be
out for a couple of hours.
In their room, they found food and drink. They filled the tub with hot water, took a bath together, then made love on the big bed.
“Thank you,” Mekos said softly as he held her. “I couldn’t have survived today without you.”
Her mind filled with all that had happened since they’d met, then she thought of the mystery of the task they must complete.
As they snuggled together, she held on to him tightly. “You’re in this because of me. You should go home to your swans and your beautiful family. You should—”
“Please stop.” There was no pity in his voice. He pulled back to look at her. “What do you think the people on Abicis look
like? Three heads? Six eyes? Are they as big as Sojee?”
“Maybe it’s full of tabors, only they’re the size of your mother’s fox father.”
He rolled over on top of her. “You sure liked that wolf you rode on.”
“Gorgeous creature. I would have thought his fur was rough but it was silky smooth. Why don’t you have furry skin?”
He kissed her neck. “I could—” His head came up. “Someone is coming.”
“Besides you?”
Laughing, he rolled off her. “It’s Zeon’s footsteps.”
At the knock, Mekos got up to answer the door.
Zeon was there, resplendent in a silver-and-black robe, and he stepped inside. “I apologize for intruding but I’ve been talking
to my son. He’s adamant that I tell you something before we meet for dinner.” He looked at Aradella. “Your cousin, Sojee’s
daughter, is involved in this. She—”
Aradella gasped. “Not again! She’s to be sacrificed, isn’t she? Those two have no other use than to be sacrificed for something.
So that’s what this is all about.” She looked at Mekos. “We need the mask. This time you and I will work together.” She looked back at Zeon. “Where’s she being held? Who sent her there? Olina?”
The two men were staring at her with identical expressions of astonishment. Aradella was talking very fast.
“Or did she get on a ship with the men from Selkan? Sojee will be blamed for this! This will keep the islands apart forever.” She looked back at Mekos. “We need Perus so we can leave this minute. Those girls are idiots! They’ll be dead soon.” She
stopped talking and glared from one man to the other, silently asking why they weren’t doing something.
Zeon swallowed. “She’s here,” he said softly. “Bree is here.”
“Of course she’s the one,” Aradella said. “Shay would be so obnoxious they’d release her.”
Mekos looked at Zeon. “Why is her cousin here?”
Zeon was looking bewildered—and a bit afraid. “She’s going with you. To Abicis.”
At that, Aradella backed up against the bed. “All right,” she whispered. “I’ll marry Nessa. That will be better than spending
even a day with one of my cousins.”
Mekos opened the door and Zeon gladly hurried out of the room.
When they were alone, Mekos turned to Aradella, ready to say that things couldn’t be as bad as she thought they were. But
he saw a princess. Not the woman he loved, but a stranger who had glassy eyes and an unreadable expression.
“I’m sure it’ll be all right,” he managed to say. “She’s Sojee’s daughter so surely—”
Aradella stepped past him. “I must get ready for dinner.” To his consternation, she went to the wardrobe that held clothes
for them. Earlier, she’d happily chosen their robes. For him, she’d pulled out a black garment. “Like your hair.” For herself,
she chose red with sparkling swirls of rose gold.
But now Aradella ignored the gown on the chair, went to the wardrobe, and removed one of light brown, then she went to the
bathroom and shut the door.
Mekos sat down heavily on the bed. Right now, more than anything in the world, he wanted to talk to his father. Or better yet, to Kaley. He needed someone to explain what was going on.
But contacting them was too risky. In theory, no one knew where they were. If Queen Olina was searching for them, no one should
have to lie.
In minutes, Aradella came out of the bathroom—and he was shocked by her appearance. Her hair was pulled back tight against
her head, and she had on a thick robe that was huge on her. Was it made for a man? The color was so bland that it seemed to
make her disappear. Worse than the clothes was the deadness in her eyes.
“It’s how she expects me to look,” she muttered. “I am ready.”
If he’d heard the voice unseen, he’d say it wasn’t Aradella’s. In fact, he wasn’t sure it was human. Maybe one of the stone
statues was speaking.
“I’ll be ready soon,” he murmured and picked up the robe she’d chosen for him. He didn’t go to the bathroom as he didn’t dare
leave Aradella alone.
They didn’t speak as a guard ushered them to the dining room. Zeon and Bree were waiting for them.
Mekos hadn’t seen Aradella’s cousin often and she was certainly beautiful. She had on a blue dress that clung to her perfectly
proportioned body. Her thick dark hair was fastened up on her head and looked like it was about to tumble down to her shoulders.
She was totally perfect—and boring, Mekos thought. He couldn’t imagine her sitting on top of a wall and watching a giant lizard
snap at a Never. Nor could he see her caring for the injured Ian. Or riding a wolf as she ran to save someone’s life. She
definitely wouldn’t sink a knife into an evil woman. And she wouldn’t—
He realized that Aradella was watching him as he stared at Bree. He might not know a lot about women, but he could almost
read her mind. Aradella thought he was entranced and awed by the beauty of Princess Bree. “She isn’t—” he began, but Aradella
briskly walked away, her chin up in a defiant position.
The table had been set for six people, but there were only five of them. A pretty guard led Aradella to a chair. Another one sat Bree directly across from her. As was customary, Mekos was put next to Bree, and Zeon took the chair at the head of the table.
Zeon nodded to the empty chair next to Aradella. “My son was to be here tonight but he’s with his wife and son.”
“Piks is a beautiful child,” Bree said.
Zeon’s face glowed. “He is. And very smart.”
They were served their first course, a type of patè.
“You met him?” Mekos asked Bree.
“In the garden, with his father.”
“My son . . .” Zeon hesitated. “Tam says he’s going with you.” It was obvious that he didn’t like that idea.
“How wonderful!” Bree said.
Mekos looked at Aradella. She wasn’t eating and there was no light in her eyes. He turned to Zeon. “Have you foreseen any
more about what we’re to do?”
Zeon sighed and his jaw tightened. “I am being blocked!” He worked to calm himself.
“We’re to meet Qip, aren’t we?” Bree asked.
Everyone looked at her.
“Yes,” Zeon said. “How did . . .?” He waved his hand. “Qip will know what to do. He lived on Empyrea for most of his life,
and he’s the key to everything. I wish I could tell you more, but I can’t see past that.”
Mekos said, “We’ll ask him.”
Zeon leaned back as the second course, medallions of meat, was served. “The problem is that Qip is very difficult to find.
You must understand that the people on Abicis are . . .” He paused.
“Unwanted, as the name implies?” Bree turned and looked at Aradella. “The word means ‘thrown away, discarded.’”
Mekos saw fire flash in Aradella’s eyes. He would not like that to be aimed at him! But Bree didn’t seem to notice.
“Yes,” Zeon said. “The people are outcasts from Empyrea for one reason or another. It could be the way they look or that they lack approved forms of socialization.” He turned to Bree.
“Anyone who is different is sent there, and that includes pretty people. It seems that on Empyrea, they’re considered ‘offensive.’”
While Zeon smiled at Bree, Mekos looked at Aradella. Her eyes were so full of rage—or was it hate?—that she looked like an
executioner who delighted in her job.
“So!” Mekos said loudly, “your son is going with us. Tell us about him.”
Zeon’s face showed his love, but before he could speak, Bree said, “He is a lovely man. I’m so glad he’ll be with us. I’m
sure his friendship with Qip will help us solve this problem.
Zeon’s surprise was obvious. “I didn’t know Tam knew the man.”
“He does.” Bree smiled angelically. “But perhaps you can tell us more about him.”
“Maybe I should ask you,” Zeon said.
Bree gave the silent Aradella a look through her lashes. “I do know a few things,” she murmured. “Certainly more than people
think I do.”
The two men looked back and forth between the women. It was like seeing the beginning of a war—and they had no idea how to
arm themselves.
It was an hour after they’d left the dinner table, they were in their room, and Aradella was still ranting.
“Did you see the snide look she gave me?”
Mekos was stretched out on the bed while Aradella was pacing back and forth. The big, bland gown had been tossed over a chair
and she was in her underwear. He thought she looked very, very good!
“She was telling me that she knows so much! About what? Dresses? Hair? How long her nails should be? She spends whole days with the Beauty Girls. Hale often saw her slipping around at night, but she wants people to believe her beauty is natural. Ha!” Aradella stopped, hands on hips.
“She couldn’t wait to tell everyone that she’d coaxed Zeon’s son into blabbing about some man.
Qip! Doesn’t she understand that he has a wife? ”
“Qip?” Mekos asked.
“No! Tam! He has a wife and a child, but my cousin can’t bear for any man not to lust after her. I should warn Tam’s wife.
I should—”
“I like what you have on,” Mekos said. “Why don’t you come to bed?”
“This is not the time for that.” She squinted her eyes at him. “You certainly didn’t protest when you were told to sit next
to her.”
“I could better see you from across the table.” He smiled, proud of himself for coming up with that.
“It didn’t help you defend me when she attacked.”
His puzzlement showed. “When did that happen?”
Aradella looked aghast. “Really? You didn’t see it? Didn’t hear it?”
Mekos could see there was no winning this battle. He got up on all fours and stealthily moved to the end of the bed. Like
a fox stalking prey.
She’d not seen him do that before and it made her stop talking. In the next second, he pulled her onto the bed and wrapped
his body around hers.
“Then she—” Aradella said, but Mekos kissed her and finally, she stopped talking.