The Pendant Read online

  She turned her attention to the others, greeting Seth, Dean and Brodin like old friends, though not as affectionately as she had Cirren, Seth noted. Then she regarded Dal. Though she was dressed in trousers, Dal had grown her hair longer and was no longer taping down her breasts in an attempt to keep them hidden; she now looked very feminine. Tibia had also not failed to notice the fact that she and Seth were holding hands. “If I am not mistaken, you were posing as a boy last time we met.” She did not sound happy that she had been tricked. Dal nodded. “We have a lot to talk about young lady.” She took her by the arm and began to lead her away. “Dinner will be served at the usual time,” she called over her shoulder. “You gentlemen have one hour to make yourselves presentable.” She moved her head close to Dal’s and whispered, “I am not sure that will be long enough.”

  While the men bathed and dressed in clean clothes, Queen Tibia took Dal to her personal chambers and instructed her maids to pamper the young woman. She was scrubbed from head to toe, massaged with lotion, dressed in a tight-fitting silk dress which emphasised her curves, had her hair brushed and curled, then had makeup applied subtly to her face. By the time the maids had finished, she looked stunning. During the entire procedure, Dal did her best to fill the Queen in on her complete story, starting with why she had pretended to be her twin brother and ending with her rushed marriage to Seth.

  “You seem very happy,” Tibia noted.

  Dal nodded her head. “I am. Seth is a wonderful husband.”

  Tibia sighed. “I hope that I like whoever is chosen to be my husband. I cannot see it being someone I can fall in love with.”

  Dal understood how the Queen felt. It was her arranged marriage that had caused Dal to run away in the first place. “When the quest is over, have your advisors speak with Tor. I am sure he would be able to find someone who would be good for you as well as your country.”

  Tibia thought this was a good idea and decided she could not wait until the quest was over; she endeavoured to speak with Brodin later that evening. Dinner was served in Tibia’s personal dining room. It was not an official state visit so she tried to keep things as informal as possible. The reason for the Princes’ presence came up and Brodin reluctantly explained the difficult situation Dean had found himself in.

  Tibia took them all by surprise by bursting out laughing. Nobody knew quite how to respond, so they all remained silent until Tibia quietened down. “Sorry,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “I know you see this as a serious matter, but with all of the things I have had to deal with recently, I find it amusing that something so trivial still needs my involvement.”

  “We did try to avoid this,” Cirren assured her, “but the Lady in question would not believe our identities so we had no hope of convincing her that Dean really is engaged.”

  “Which Lady are we speaking of?”

  “Lady Vex.” Seth almost spat the words.

  Tibia appeared delighted by this news and smiled at Seth’s frowning face. “You dear boy. I am so glad you brought this matter to my attention. I am going to very much enjoy bringing that woman down a peg or two. I am sure she was a supporter of my uncle, but I never managed to prove it.” She called over a servant who was standing by the door and requested that he have a message sent to Lady Vex’s house, requesting her immediate presence at the palace.

  “Is that a good idea, your Majesty?” Cirren asked in concern. “The hour is growing late.”

  “That makes it even better,” she said, grinning impishly at him. “And please stop calling me ‘your Majesty’. I have a name you know.”

  “Sorry Tibia,” he said, dropping his head like a naughty schoolboy who had just been reprimanded by a teacher. This made Tibia laugh once more.

  A short while later, the servant returned, announcing that Lady Vex had arrived and was waiting in the formal meeting room.

  The Queen pursed her lips. “This feels wrong somehow.” Then her face lit up. “Please give me a few moments, then show her into the throne room.”

  “Yes your Majesty,” the servant replied, bowing low before leaving the room.

  Tibia stood up and walked towards a door in the back of the room. “This is the quickest way to the throne room,” she informed her guests. Looking back at them she said, “I hope you will all be joining me.”

  Cirren was not the only one smiling. “I would not miss this for the world.”

  Chairs had been placed close to the throne and everyone was seated by the time Lady Vex was announced.

  “Your Majesty,” Lady Vex said, curtseying as soon as she walked into the room. As she raised her head, her eyes fell on Brodin and Cirren, who were sitting on either side of Tibia. She had not been expecting them to approach the Queen, thinking instead that she would be able to give her side of events before demanding that they be brought into the palace in chains. “I see the charlatans have already spoken to you,” she said waspishly. “That was a bold move, but also a foolish one.”

  “Lady Vex, how nice of you to come and see me, especially at such short notice,” Tibia said in a sickly sweet voice. “It seems that you already know my good friend Prince Cirren and his brother Prince Brodin, so I will not bother with introductions.” Lady Vex swallowed loudly, hoping she had misheard the words ‘good friend’. It had never occurred to her that the two men were actually royalty. She suddenly realised what a dangerous position she had gotten herself into.

  “Now, you were saying something about charlatans, were you not?” Tibia continued, pretending not to see the look of alarm that passed across Lady Vex’s face.

  “Forgive me, your Majesty,” she stammered. “It appears I made a mistake.”

  “You most certainly did,” Tibia said coldly, all trace of sweetness gone from her voice. She stood up so that she was looking down on the visibly trembling woman. “You have insulted not one, but two members of the royal family of Remeny. Your actions could have led to war between our two countries. Therefore I must view what you have done as an act of treason.”

  “Treason,” Lady Vex yelped. “Please. No. I beg you. All I did was demand that a peasant warm my bed, as is my right.”

  Tibia took a step towards her and was unable to hide her satisfaction when Lady Vex took a step back. “A right you no longer have. You have been abusing your so-called rights for far too long. My uncle may have turned a blind eye to it, but I will not. I am formally stripping you of your title and your lands.” She turned to address Cirren and Brodin. “Is this sufficient, or should she forfeit her life?”

  Cirren was too shocked to answer. Brodin, however, was not. “No, I think justice is being served here. She may keep her life.”

  “Then remove yourself from my sight, woman. I give you two days to vacate your residence before it becomes property of the state. A formal announcement of your loss of title will be made in the morning.”

  Lady Vex ran from the room. Cirren, ignoring protocol, rushed to Tibia, grabbing her arm and spinning her round to face him. “You would not really have had her executed, would you?”

  “Of course not,” she assured him. “I would have let her off with just a formal apology if this had been her first offence. Unfortunately for her, it was not. It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.”

  “I guess this means Dean is free to leave,” Dal said, surprised at how easily the situation had been resolved.

  “Of course,” Queen Tibia confirmed. “I will send a guard to retrieve him from the jail at once. It is late. Will you stay the night and join me for breakfast before you depart.”

  “It will be our pleasure.” Cirren took her hand and kissed the back of it before bowing formally and wishing everyone a good night. The rest soon followed.

  “May I speak with you a moment,” Tibia asked Brodin before he left the throne room.

  “Certainly,” he replied, returning to her side. “How may I be of help?”

  “I will need to start thinking about marriage soon and Dal said I shoul
d talk to Tor about finding someone suitable. Will you speak to him for me?”

  Brodin smiled. “That is a very good suggestion. I am sure between us my brother and I can come up with a list of suitable candidates. In fact, I can think of one already.”

  Queen Tibia did not like the look on Brodin’s face when he left the room and she began to think she had just made a very big mistake.

  Chapter 21

  Tor and Nosmas had to physically restrain Patrick to prevent him attacking the woman who was still sitting in the middle of the road. She had not reacted when Patrick had lunged towards her.

  “I take it you are not pleased to see me,” she said calmly.

  “Who are you?” Tor asked, raising his voice so he could be heard over Patrick’s growling.

  “That is the bitch that cursed me,” Patrick spat.

  “Alright. I understand your animosity, but causing her physical harm will not do you any good.”

  “It will make me feel better,” Patrick muttered.

  Tor ignored him. “She is here for a reason. If Nosmas and I release you, do you promise to behave yourself until you have heard her out?”

  Patrick did not reply, so Tor waited. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. Eventually, when it was obvious that he had no real option, Patrick unwillingly nodded his head. Tor and Nosmas relaxed their holds on him and he stood upright, straightening the creases out of his shirt sleeves.

  “It is nice to see that you are still alive,” he said nastily. “I hope it has been as fun for you as it has for me.”

  The witch did not rise to the bait. “I am pleased to finally make your acquaintance, your Highness,” she said, addressing Tor. “I have been following your adventures for quite a long time. I am Zenda.” She turned towards Patrick once more. “Are you not going to formally introduce all of your friends?”

  Patrick sneered at her in response, so Tor took it upon himself to do as she asked. “I am Prince Tor of Remeny, the large man there is the wizard Nosmas. Standing next to him is his ward, Quartilla.” Quartilla, unsure of the protocol regarding witches, especially those prone to cursing people, curtsied. “The slim young lady is Ria and Sam is the one who is with child.”

  While he had been speaking, Tor had heard movement coming from the wagon. “Perfect timing,” he said as Hawk landed beside him. “The final member of our group is Hawk.”

  “The vampire,” Zenda acknowledged. “As I said, I have been following you for a long while so I know quite a lot about you all. It is nice to finally put names to faces.”

  Suddenly Sam cried out and placed a protective arm around her swollen belly. Hawk rushed to her side. “What is wrong?” he asked in concern.

  “Sharp pains,” she gasped. When she looked up at Hawk, her face was filled with terror. “I think something is wrong with the baby.”

  Nosmas moved menacingly towards Zenda. “Is this your doing?”

  “Of course not,” she said indignantly. “May I take a look at her?” She could see that Sam was in real pain and hoped she would be able to help.

  Sam nodded her approval, so Nosmas stepped aside and allowed her to approach. She spoke quietly with Sam, who responded to her questions by either nodding or shaking her head. The witch gently felt her abdomen, then had her sit on the ground in order to take the weight off her legs. “I am no healer,” she announced, “but I fear that if she does not get help soon she will lose her child. Do any of you have training?”

  “No,” Tor confirmed. “Ellen always took care of our needs in that department.” Mentioning her name still hurt. “Until she died.”

  “The other vampire,” Zenda said, demonstrating that she really had been following them. “Then you have a problem. This woman needs professional attention and she needs it now.”

  “Mama Rose will know what to do,” Hawk suggested.

  Tor shook his head. “Her cottage is too far away. There is no way we can get her there in time.”

  “Yes there is,” Ria told him. Before anyone could ask what she was thinking she shouted out as loud as she could, “Salabine.”

  Everyone except Sam looked up in the sky expectantly, forgetting how long it had taken the dragon to arrive the last time they had called her. This time they did not have long to wait. A few minutes later, the sound of beating wings could be heard in the sky above as the orange dragon flew over their heads and gracefully landed on the road in front of them.

  “What have you done to little one?” she asked as her eyes fell upon Sam, who was now lying down with Hawk holding her hand. Ria explained the situation and begged Salabine to transport Sam to Mama Rose. The dragon was more than happy to help, but would need an extremely accurate description if she was to avoid flying the entire way.

  Hawk reluctantly left Sam’s side and moved closer to Salabine. He described every minute detail of Mama Rose’s cottage. Though he had only ever seen it in the dark, he had spent a great deal of time there and was able to talk about the overall size of the house, the small stream that ran through the bottom of her garden and the shape of the main door into the residence. He portrayed the cottage so accurately that all of those listening to his words conjured up identical mental images of the building and its surroundings. However, this was not enough for Salabine. She could imagine what it looked like, but could not go there on her imagination alone; she had to have seen it for herself.

  Tor tried a different approach. He knew that the dragon must have flown over the Great Highway a number of times so he described one of its bridges, the one closest to Mama Rose’s cottage. Ria and Nosmas both recognised the place he was talking about and added a few extra details.

  “I know where that is,” the dragon finally said. She turned to Hawk. “If I get you there, can you guide me to our final destination?”

  “Definitely,” the vampire confirmed.

  “Then climb aboard,” she instructed.

  Hawk bent down to whisper in Sam’s ear. “Keep as still as you can. I am going to pick you up and Salabine is going to take us to see Mama Rose. She will save your baby, I promise.” He knew he could not guarantee that Mama Rose would be able to help, but that was the last thing Sam needed to hear. She had to believe that everything was going to be alright even if nobody else did. He slid his arms gently under her body and lifted her up, cradling her like a child. He flew up into the air and settled on the dragon’s back, making sure he disturbed Sam as little as possible. As soon as he was comfortable and he was certain that Sam was secure, he let Salabine know that they were ready and, in the blink of an eye, the three of them disappeared.

  “Will she be alright?” Quartilla asked.

  “I do not know,” Nosmas told her truthfully. “It does not look good.”

  “Until she met Dean once more, that baby was her only reason for living,” Ria reminded them all. “I hate to think what will happen to her if she miscarries.”

  “If anyone can save the child, it is Mama Rose,” Zenda said with confidence. “I have worked with her a few times. She truly is the best at what she does.”

  “But sometimes even the best is not enough,” Tor said ominously.

  Sam’s plight had wiped the reason for their delay from everyone’s minds. Everyone except Patrick.

  “Why have you been following me?” he asked Zenda, making the question sound like an accusation.

  “To keep an eye on you of course. When I made you immortal, I added a clause to the spell which would enable me to lift it should you show that you have learnt your lesson and changed your ways. Unfortunately it had the unexpected side-effect of extending my life as well.”

  “Learnt my lesson,” Patrick said in disgust. “You have watched me lose everyone I have ever loved until I could no longer bear to allow myself to care about anyone and you have the audacity to talk about learning my lesson.”

  “I have lost loved ones too,” she spat back angrily.

  “Then why did you not remove the damn curse?”

  “Because you never prov
ed yourself. You continued to use women; seduce them then discard them when you had had your fun.”

  “Calm down,” Tor suggested, stepping between the two before their argument became physical. “We have all heard Patrick’s side of the story, many times. Why not join us for a meal and tell us your version of events.”

  “If you think I am going to be able to eat while sitting near that woman, you have another think coming,” Patrick said and walked away into the night.

  “Should I go after him?” Nosmas asked.

  Tor shook his head. “He will come back. He will never admit it, but he is as eager to know why Zenda is here as the rest of us are.”

  Tor set about unpacking Seth’s cooking implements from where they had been stowed in the back of the wagon, while everyone else went in search of firewood and anything edible that would go well with the salted pork he had purchased from a farmer the previous day.

  While they ate, Zenda told them about how she and Patrick had met. Initially she had rejected his advances, but he had been persistent and eventually she had agreed to go to dinner with him. She knew all about his reputation and had no intention of taking it any further, but he had made no move on her, behaving like a perfect gentleman the entire evening. When he had asked if he could see her again, she found it impossible to say no. Weeks went by and she found herself falling in love with him. She believed he felt the same way and that his Casanova days were at an end. How wrong she was. When he eventually suggested that she spend the night with him, rejecting him was not an option. The following morning she asked when she could see him again and he became evasive. That evening, she spotted him flirting with another woman. When she confronted him, he said that their relationship was great for a while, but it had run its course.

  “It was all about getting me into his bed,” she said sadly. “Because I initially turned him down, he saw me as a challenge. As soon as he got what he wanted, he moved on.”