Deliverance (21 page)

And then, for the first time since as long
as he remembered, Blaze’s face bore a genuine smile not of
arrogance or pride, but of happiness.

CHAPTER 14

Valamar’s study glowed as the embers coming
from the lit hearth danced around and illuminated the shadows.
Since the early afternoon, Valamar tried to distract himself by
reading several books, but he did not get past the first sentence
of either one he picked up. His blood was boiling even hotter than
the fireplace with anger and humiliation over the events that
occurred over a month before. Not only had he been robbed of one of
his most valuable possessions, but the woman he desired had been
stolen as well.

Crystal was truly the most beautiful
creature Valamar had ever laid eyes on, and with his promiscuous
lifestyle, to say that was more than a compliment. He was desirable
to every woman in Ordale, yet the one woman he wanted more than any
other rejected him without a second thought. Never had a woman
refused his advances before, and when faced with the fact that he
wasn’t going to get what he wanted, he lost all control and
attacked her. He had Crystal all to himself, and his heart raced
when he thought of that moment when he lay on top of her and had
her at his mercy.

But then he had to interfere!

Most of Valamar’s anger lay with Crystal’s
mysterious companion, Blaze. Had he not been there, Valamar would
have had Crystal all alone that night, and by now, he would have
had her as his wife. Instead, for an entire week, he sat with an
enormous bruise on his cheekbone from where that insolent brute had
punched him.

“If this leaves a permanent mark, I will
personally send him to the gallows!” Valamar had yelled after
regaining consciousness and learning what happened. His beautiful
face had been damaged, and he did not dare show it to the public.
For a week, after that night, he stayed locked up in his mansion,
giving orders to bounty hunters to bring Crystal back to him
unharmed and alive and also to bring back Blaze so that he may
stand trial for robbery. After all, Valamar was well-respected and
he knew that no matter what Blaze or Crystal claimed, no judge in
town would believe their story over his.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and
Valamar’s head snapped in its direction.

“What?” he barked.

The door opened slowly and Quincy nervously
stepped through the doorway and said, “My Lord, a soldier from the
castle brought a letter for you.” The butler then held up an
envelope.

“The castle? It is from the king?” Valamar
asked in disbelief.

“I do not know, my Lord. I was instructed
that it was for your eyes only. The soldier asked me to bring it
straight to you and return to him with your reply once you have
read it,” replied Quincy. He then approached Valamar, handed him
the envelope, which had ‘Lord Victor Valamar’ written neatly on the
front, and stepped out of the room, closing the door tightly behind
him.

As soon as Quincy left, Valamar set his book
on the small table next to him and flipped the envelope face down
to open it. Immediately after spotting the dark red and gray
Daldussa royal seal sticking the paper together, Valamar knew that
it was from the king. He tore the envelope flap open with a nervous
finger and pulled the paper out. The letter read:

Lord Victor Valamar,

I request your presence at my castle in
Cartigo immediately to discuss an important matter with you in
person. I have arranged for my soldiers to accompany you by
carriage. Failure to comply will result in your immediate and
permanent imprisonment. I shall await your arrival.

His Royal Majesty

King Bogdan Dracnov

Valamar sunk into his chair and let the
paper fall from his hand and fall gently to the floor. He couldn’t
possibly imagine what the king could have wanted with him, but it
must have been something quite important if the king threatened to
have him arrested if he didn’t go. So many unanswered questions on
top of being robbed by Blaze were beginning to take their toll on
Valamar. It seemed, of course, that Valamar had no choice but to
comply with the king’s orders. He rose from his seat and approached
his window, which faced the front gate of his property.

As the king had promised in his letter,
several Daldussan soldiers waited with a carriage on the other side
of the gate. It seemed he would have to leave sooner than he
thought, just as it was also quite apparent that the king did not
like to wait.

Very well then. Valamar picked up the
letter, folded it, and left his study. Quincy waited just outside
the door and straightened up as soon as Valamar emerged.

“I have been summoned to the castle in
Cartigo, so I will be gone for a few days, Quincy. Tell the
soldiers I will come down to meet them as soon as I am packed,” he
ordered the butler.

“Yes, my Lord,” Quincy responded, bowing. He
then turned and walked away, leaving Valamar alone.

****

Once Valamar had packed his trunk, he walked
down to the awaiting carriage and was on his way to the Cartigo
only an hour after reading the king’s letter. The journey was a
bore to the wealthy man, even though he brought plenty of reading
material. The carriage made no stops on the way to the castle, and
so much to his annoyance, Valamar was forced to sleep in the
carriage without bathing or so much as being able to check a mirror
to see if he was decent enough for the public to view.

As soon as he arrived in Cartigo, the
carriage brought him all the way to the drawbridge of the castle.
After it stopped, Valamar emerged from the carriage, which felt
very cramped after being stuffed inside it for a day and a half,
and was greeted by two castle guards.

“The king wishes to see you immediately,
Lord Valamar,” one of them said.

“Already?” Valamar muttered. The king
certainly did not like to wait. When neither of the guards remarked
back, Valamar kept quiet. They then told him to follow them and he
obediently trailed behind them into the castle.

After the carriage driver assured Valamar
that his luggage would be moved to his guest room, Valamar felt a
little better knowing that he would not be stuck in a measly inn.
He was a little curious to see how much better the castle interior
was than his own manor, and walking inside the front doors, his
heart nearly stopped.

The walls were made of light gray polished
stone that were covered in rich, dark red tapestries and the floor
was polished marble that was covered in matching rugs. What had
once been the home of the royal family of Cierith was now covered
in Daldussan culture. In the foyer, which was twice as big as his
the one in his own manor, a gorgeous, crystal chandelier dangled
from the high ceiling.

The ceiling was high enough to show the
second story that wrapped around the room and led to other rooms.
The second story was connected to the ground level by a grand
staircase in the middle of the room directly across from the front
doors and as the guards led Valamar up the stairs, his shaking hand
gently brushed along the intricate designs in the railing of the
staircase.

After reaching the top of the stairs, the
guards led Valamar to the left. They then turned the corner and
walked down the side path and took the first corridor on the right.
Further down, the corridor made another sharp turn to the right,
and Valamar saw stained glass windows that had a view of the
surrounding forest and some mountains beyond that. From what he had
heard, he concluded to himself that those were the very mountains
that the Daldussans snuck through to invade Cierith.

About halfway down this corridor, the guards
stopped and faced another set of double doors. The stood on each a
side and opened the doors at the same time. Valamar stepped inside
to see an enormous library with a roaring hearth which was once
again, bigger and nicer than his own. It was when he looked at the
fireplace that he was greeted by a large man who he could only
assume was King Bogdan.

“Welcome, Lord Valamar! So glad you could
come on such short notice!” He said. Valamar’s eyes were instantly
drawn to the hideous scar across the king’s left eye and it didn’t
take him long to see that the same eye was milky white from
blindness while his right eye was onyx black. Well past middle-age,
the king’s black hair was starting to become gray in some areas. He
also had rugged sideburns, which Valamar considered to be hideous,
paired with a patch of chin hair. The king’s rough and coarse look
sharply contrasted Valamar’s charming and well-groomed
appearance.

Valamar tried his best to ignore the king’s
brute appearance out of fear of losing his head, dared to approach
him, and then bowed before him. The king told him to rise and then
Valamar asked, “You wished to speak with me, Majesty?”

“Indeed, I did.” Bogdan replied, “This is a
very important matter that must be discussed in private; I hope
that my library will be comfortable enough. Please have a
seat.”

The king then gestured to an armchair in the
middle of the room. Valamar did as he was told and sat down in one
of the armchairs while Bogdan took a seat in another chair directly
across from him.

“I must say, you are not what I expected,”
the king said.

“I beg your pardon, Majesty?” Valamar
asked.

“For someone with your vast wealth, I
expected you to be much older. You do not look any older than
thirty-five,” Bogdan responded.

Valamar smiled smugly and responded, “I just
turned thirty-two in the early spring. I inherited my fortune from
my father who passed several years ago. The Valamars have been
quite wealthy for generations.”

“I see.” Bogdan muttered, “I myself will be
fifty soon. Amazing, isn’t it? Half a century old, and yet I have
not accomplished all that I could have. Yes, I have conquered
another kingdom, but I am an ambitious man, and there are things
that I desire that most men would not dare to pursue.”

Valamar became slightly uneasy by the king’s
strangely calm demeanor when speaking of such things, but he
brushed it off. Then Bogdan gestured to a silver tray next to him
and asked, “Would you like a drink?”

An unopened bottle of brandy, a bucket of
ice, and two empty glasses sat on the tray. The expensive liquor
tempted Valamar and he began to grow thirsty.

“I would, thank you,” Valamar replied with a
dry mouth.

Bogdan then fixed two drinks, one for each
of them, and after handing Valamar one of the glasses, the king
relaxed and sunk into his chair.

“Now then,” Bogdan began, “I am certain that
you are still wondering why I have summoned you all the way to
Cartigo, correct?”

“I am,” replied Valamar, who barely removed
the glass from his lips in between sips of the delicious
liquor.

Bogdan had taken a sip of his own when
Valamar was speaking, and he then took a break and said, “Well,
allow me to begin by telling you this: I understand that you have
recently met a young man by the name of Blaze?”

The sound of his name made Valamar
straighten up and fiercely grip the arm rests of his chair. His
entire body shook with anger, which caused the king to laugh.

“I figured that would set you off!” the king
stated, “Then I am positive that you remember a young woman named
Crystal?”

Valamar’s lips trembled as he muttered with
gritted teeth, “He. Took. Her. From. ME!”

The king laughed again and replied, “Worry
not, Lord Valamar. Those two have been thorns in my side for quite
some time, so I can understand your anger. You see, Blaze is
actually my son.”

Valamar’s demeanor became calmer and
steadier. He then muttered, “You mean . . . he’s the prince?”

Bogdan shifted in his chair and replied,
“Yes. However, Blaze has turned traitor by joining a rebel group
bent on overthrowing me, and the rebels are led by none other than
Crystal.”

Valamar’s eyes widened with shock and he
muttered, “She told me she was from the City of Magi!”

“My good man, you didn’t actually think
after the events that occurred at your residence that she had been
truthful?” Bogdan asked amusingly. He then added, “She has kept her
true identity a secret for some time, but I have discovered her
dark secret . . .”

“True identity?”

“You see,” Bogdan continued, “I have a
special informant with the rebels who has told me something
interesting. That, of course, is how I heard of the incident at
your estate. I believe that you will be interested in this as well:
‘Crystal’ is not her real name.”

“It isn’t?” Valamar asked in disbelief.

“No;” replied Bogdan, “I suppose I should
have known she was using an alias, and even though I had my
suspicions about her real name, I never imagined that I would be
right.”

Valamar suddenly became more intrigued than
before. He leaned forward in his seat and asked the king, “What is
her real name, then?”

My, my, eager aren’t we?” Bogdan laughed, “I
think it would be best to show you a little something first.”

Bogdan then rose from his seat and beckoned
Valamar to do the same. Once Valamar obeyed, Bogdan approached a
tall, rectangular object off to the side of the room that was
covered in a black cloth. Because of its shape, Valamar assumed it
was a large mirror or a painting, but he knew he would see soon
enough.

“When I took over this castle, I removed
many of the things belonging to the original royal family and put
them in a storage room. I had this family portrait brought in here
to show you,” explained Bogdan, confirming Valamar’s suspicions.
Then Bogdan continued, “However, I want to share a little secret
with you before I do.”

“A secret?”