Ajacii and Demons: The Ingenairii Series (6 page)

Alec felt a subtle popping sensation in the back of his head, and a moment later he realized it was an indication that Caitlen had used the ingenaire power. In the meantime she stepped back and looked at Alec. “I’m just listening to his pompous speeches so that he’ll provide troops and support for our army. You don’t need to be jealous,” she held out her hand to him. “Let’s not fight tonight. If you’ve only got a few hours here, let’s make the most of it.”

Torn by conflicting desires, Alec raised his hand, and grasped hers. Without using his powers, he sensed her affection and desire for him. “Do you feel anything?” she asked. “I’ve been trying ever since you left to find the powers you gave me. I’ve practiced every night. Right now I can tell you feel unhappy about seeing Whilky with me, but you know I never intended to do anything but boost his ego.”
Look into me, Alec
, she added,
see the truth of my faithfulness
.

Alec pulled her against his body, feeling suddenly awash with guilt over his jealousy; he knew he could trust her.
No, I don’t need to examine you Caitlen; I felt you use the power. I will trust you because I love you. I never thought about how odd it would be to love another Spiritual ingenaire, with the ability to probe hearts and souls!

Are you regretting what you did for me?
she asked archly.

If you are happy, I have no regrets
. Alec’s hands slid up her spine to the back of her head, and tilted her face upward, so that he could kiss her. “Let me go get comfortable,” she said softly when the kiss ended. “Go over there,” she motioned towards the bed, as she disappeared into a dressing room.

Much later they lay in bed beside one another, Caitlen’s fingers woven into Alec’s hair.
Thank you Bethany. Everything is fine,
Alec sent a sleepy message to his friend.

“
I heard that,” Caitlen mumbled. “I hope you haven’t been narrating everything that happened here.”

“
I hope she’s asleep and didn’t hear even that comment,” Alec replied blissfully.

“
You haven’t’ told her anything else tonight, have you?” Caitlen pressed.

“
No, oh no,” Alec blushed, mortified by the thought.

“
That’s good. The guards know so much about my life as it is, I want this to stay private at least,” the girl spoke wistfully.

“
So there were many people who could do the things you do where you came from?” Caitlen asked. “What was it like to have all those powers in society? You mentioned loving a Spiritual ingenaire before. Were there more of them, or more like you?”

“
I focused on my Healer powers and my Warrior powers back then. I never really knew much about the Spiritual ingenairii,” Alec reflected. “I knew one or two, one as a good friend,” he paused as he recollected Kinsey. “But I never thought about how their sensory abilities would expose so much of their partner’s heart. It could be frightening for an ordinary person.”

“
So you’ve spoiled me from loving anyone but you?” Caitlen asked. “And here I thought you really were being so noble, trying to give me all these memories and values and abilities for my own sake,” she teased him. “I have tried so hard to send my feelings to you; have you never heard a thing? And why haven’t you told me anything in all this time?”

“
I have never heard a thing from you,” Alec confirmed. “And it just seemed empty to send you one way messages about life in Krimshelm.”

“
It wouldn’t be empty for me!” she protested. “I wanted to hear your voice in my head so much! Promise me you’ll send me more messages,” she insisted, not long before they both fell asleep.

“
Good morning, your highness,” Alec heard a voice, and realized there was a dim light in the room. He raised his head and saw a servant holding a candle. “Good morning, sir,” she said with aplomb, as Alec nudged Caitlen.

The princess groaned. “It can’t be time to get up; you kept me up too late last night,” she reached over to stroke Alec’s hair, before she slowly rose from bed and padded to the dressing room.

“
Would you like something for breakfast sir?” the maid asked politely.

“
I’d forgotten the good things about living in a palace,” Alec murmured. “I’ll have whatever reasonable breakfast the princess is having,” he replied.

An hour later breakfast was eaten, the princess was dressed, and she was prepared to leave the suite. “It’s been most enjoyable having you here,” she said aloud as her chamberlain waited.
I miss you so much. Can’t you come back every night
? She added through the hands they held.

Perhaps;
I have to help them in Krimshelm. A great battle is coming soon. When the war is won in Krimshelm, I will be able to return. Will your court be ready to receive me?
he asked.

That is a delicate question;
we’ll see what can be done
, she acknowledged.
But I know that it will not keep us apart. I will work on sending you my love; please send me messages. Come if you can tonight.

As she left, Alec saw Bethany glance in the door and wink at him.

He got dressed, still bemused by his night with Caitlen, then slipped out of the palace, catching knowing grins and nods of heads that told him the presence of a Jag in the Princess’s suite was no secret, and he ruminated as he walked away from the palace and found a secluded spot to change his color back to his own. The society of Vincennes seemed so contradictory, to place such limits on the role of women in society, yet it condoned the existence of men who were Jags, and women were freely allowed to partake of their services.

And still foreigners were so widely discriminated against, so shunned and disdained.

He reached the bank and waited for the doors to open, then was the first person served, and the size of his withdrawal raised eyebrows. Alec decided to take back one thousand golds as a first gift to Menard, a demonstration of his ability to provide considerable sums of funds. But it would be a bulky, heavy load, one that would create some awkward movements for him.

Alec asked to borrow a cart to take the gold outside, and as he went around the corner, he unloaded the cart, then began to hang the small heavy bags on his shoulders, on his sword belt, and in his hands. With that he began to translocate himself over the stages of the journey to return to Krimshelm.

Minutes later he was in a small closet near Menard’s office. He unloaded all but one bag of gold, and carried that one to the major domo’s office. When he knocked on the door, a muffled voice replied “not now,” after which Alec ignored the command, opened the door, and dropped the bag on the desk where Menard was scribbling on a paper.

“
I said ‘not now’!” Menard exploded. “Even for a heroic foreigner, that means ‘not now’.”

“
Look in the bag. I’ll be back with more,” Alec replied and slipped back to the closet to bring two more bags.

“
Where did you get this? You’ve got more?” Menard asked in astonishment as he opened the bag and saw its glittering contents.

“
I’ll be back,” Alec replied, and after two more trips, Menard’s desk was covered in the strong leather bags that held riches he hadn’t dreamed of seeing.

“
Where did this come from?” Menard asked. “Where’s the rest of it? This was the earl’s own money; it’s the treasury that was stolen!”

“
I can’t get it all, but I’ll bring a great deal more back if you pledge to use it to pay the army and hire the soldiers you need to fight the Conglomerate,” Alec promised. “How I got it is a mystery we don’t need to address today.”

Menard looked at Alec with a long, hard stare. “How much can you bring, and how fast?”

“
Will you use it for the army?” Alec pressed.

“
What else is there?” Menard asked.

“
I don’t know, but you didn’t answer my question,” Alec suddenly felt a strange sense that the major domo could not be trusted.

“
Your insolence is going to have you imprisoned until you return our money to us,” Menard replied, rising to his feet. “It appears that you are the thief who stole the money, and you are going to suffer consequences.”

Alec used his Spiritual energy to sense the emotion of the man who stood across from him. Menard radiated greed and treachery, and suddenly Alec had a flash of intuition. “You were the one who tried to steal it in the first place! And now you’re going to steal it again. You’ll sell the Countess out to make yourself rich and powerful!”

“
That’s enough,” Menard shouted back. “Guards!” he yelled loudly, then yelled again.

“
Who else is in this conspiracy with you?” Alec asked. He heard boots in the hallway. “Who was helping you rob the Earl?”

“
This man must go to the prison cells immediately,” Menard told the guards who entered the office. “He’s a thief!”

“
Take a look at the money on his desk,” Alec told the guards. “All of that is meant to be used to pay the back wages you are owed. If you don’t receive your pay, tell everyone who had it last,” he said. He had decided to go along with imprisonment briefly, to see what he could arrange before he resorted to using his powers.

“
Take him to the cells, then report directly back here,” Menard ordered.

Alec was silently taken deep under the castle, where a jailer locked him in a cell as the two escorts left the dungeon. “I want to see Major Perry,” Alec told the jailer.

“
Good luck,” the jailer responded. “You’ll see who you see if anyone comes down to see you.”

“
Send for Hankins or Moines,” Alec said. “It’s important that I see someone. I think Menard is going to steal the gold that’s meant for your payroll.”

“
You can rest your feet, and your jaws. I’m not sending for anyone. So be quiet,” the jailer replied, annoyed.

“
If that’s the way you want it,” Alec told him, ready to take further steps.

“
That’s the way I want it,” the jailer affirmed.

Alec trans-located himself out of the cell and into the open room where the jailer sat. “What should we do now?” Alec asked. “Should I lock you in a cell, or leave you out here?”

The man astonished by Alec’s inexplicable appearance protested. “You can’t do that.”

Alec turned his back to the man, then trans-located away from the dungeon up to the hall outside Major Perry’s office. “Gallatin, I have to see the major,” Alec spoke hurriedly. “It’s urgent.”

“
He’s on a tour of the castle. I don’t expect him back for an hour,” the corporal replied.

“
How does he get along with Menard?” Alec probed, fearful that Perry might be in cahoots with the major domo.

“
Between you and me, he doesn’t say a bad word about him,” Gallatin answered. “But he doesn’t go out of his way to talk to the man either.”

“
Where’s my best chance to catch him?” Alec asked.

“
Always count on high odds at the armory,” Gallatin. “He’s likely to stop there if he stops anywhere.”

No longer concerned about discretion, Alec trans-located to the armory, where he found Perry sparring with Harbin. “Major, I need to talk to you, urgently,” Alec spoke rapidly, knowing how rude it seemed to interrupt Perry’s match.

The major held up his hand to Harbin, and stepped back. “Something’s so important you’re going to just stop my practice? Something’s so important it’s got that funny accent of yours coming out thicker than ever?”

“
Last year, there was a big robbery, and a lot of gold was stolen,” Alec began his story. “I think it was an inside job, planned by Menard, who knew when the gold was being transported, and where it was going. He set up an ambush with a gang he hired.”

“
If that’s so, why is he still here as the major domo?” Perry asked. “Menard was very upset by that robbery. He didn’t change his life style or run away with his riches. No, that’s not right. Now let us spar. I’ll deal with you later,” Perry said.

“
Wait!” Alec shouted. “I said he planned the theft, but something went wrong, and someone else ended up having the gold fall into their lap practically, so it slipped through Menard’s fingers. That was why he was upset.

“
The man who was driving the wagon the gold was in, his name was Wellson,” Alec hoped that vaguely-remember detail would capture Perry’s attention.

It did. “He’s right,” Harbin said. “Wellson was driving that wagon. We never saw him or his daughter again. I think he was in on it.”

“
Go on,” Perry interjected. “You’ve got my attention.”

“
Wellson wasn’t in on it. He was murdered by the gang that tried to steal the wagon, the gang that I think Menard hired. I’ll bet a lot of criminals mysteriously died right after that theft as a way to cover up what happened,” Alec countered.

“
We could check the morgue records to find out,” Perry answered. “Go on with your story. How do you know these things?”

“
I was a sailor on the
Ingrid
, and we had just docked that day. I was sitting at a cafe drinking coffee, and I saw the ambush happen right in front of my eyes,” Alec said. “I felt sympathy for the driver’s situation, so I jumped up in the seat, helped fight the ambushers off, and drove the wagon out of danger, not even knowing that it was a load of gold.”

“
You?! You took all that gold?” Harbin said, astonished.