Royal Affliction (The Anti-Princess Saga) (19 page)

“Call?” Quino repeated.

Kyle held out his arm.  There was a sapphire colored spiral tattoo on the inside of his forearm.  “It burns when they call.  It means that they wish to speak to us.  We can go to the warehouse if you want, but I’m sure it’s empty.”

“What else can you tell me of their plans?”

“They never told us much, just enough for us to do our job.  The mark glows blue when I’m near a Zolera and green when I’m near a Boru.  It is how we eventually found the meeting place.”

“That tattoo might come in very useful.”  I was eager for the prospect of lack of surprise attacks.

Kyle shrugged.  “It has been for us.”

Clifton stepped forward, trying to get a better look at the tattoo.  The spiral shifted at once.  The inside ridge changed to emerald while the outside remained blue.

Kyle and Bruce both stared between the spiral and Clifton, looking horrified.  “He’s a Boru?” Bruce asked.

“Half, actually.  I share only my blood with the Boru…nothing more.”

“Take us to the Zolera meeting place then,” I said, drawing their attention off of Clifton.

“Sure.”

“I think that the warehouse is worth a visit while we are here,” Kafkus commented while looking around.  “Which one is it?”

Bruce raised a shaky hand and pointed at a large building about quarter of a mile away.

The building, from what I could see, was made of red brick and looked like it was or should be condemned.  Though the walls seemed to hold, it appeared as though they might collapse at any moment.

“You stay here,” Clifton said to me.

I had no desire to set foot in the rotting building if I could help it, so I nodded in agreement.

Clifton and Kafkus went to go check out the building, leaving the rest of us standing in uncomfortable silence.  They returned a short while later looking disappointed.  “Nothing.”

“We told you.”  Kafkus flashed Bruce a warning look and he turned away and grunted, “Sorry.”

“We can’t all fit in my car so I want a couple of you to ride with them.  Any volunteers?”

Violet spoke first.  “I will go with Bruce.”  She gazed at him with compassion, wanting to help him, but restraining herself from trying.  Violet was a very caring person and I knew that she was using tremendous willpower not to try to heal Bruce.  But I also knew that Quino was right.  They had to help us first.

Quino kneeled before me, and kissed the back of my hand.  “I will go with Violet.  I will make sure that she comes to no harm.”  He got up and moved to stand beside her, looking at her with what resembled admiration.

If I didn’t know better, I would think that he liked her.  He looked at her in the same manner that both Clifton and Kafkus looked at me.  I wasn’t jealous.  Though I’d had a crush on him at one point, I already had two men that I’d promised myself to, and that was enough for me.

It was a beautiful spring day outside.  It was warm and there was a pleasant breeze in the air that swept across my face.  I basked in it for a moment before I forced myself to get back in the car.

Kyle had told me where the place was, just in case we got separated on the road.  Clifton joined me in the front.  Kafkus and a reluctant Loach sat in the back.

The drive was much quieter with Violet gone.  Though it was definitely annoying, I actually missed her never-ending chatter.  Clifton held my hand as I drove.  His touch gave me the comfort and warmth I needed.  I was beginning to stress more about my fate with each passing day as I felt my body growing weaker.  I was happy that we seemed to be accomplishing something after days of nothing.  I hoped that these Zolera could help us, though, I felt more desperate than hopeful.

********************

We soon drove into Granite Bay, a very rich and beautiful area.  Large expensive houses lined the streets and I couldn’t help but admire them as we drove past.  I wanted to live here.

The Explorer parked in front of the largest and most lavish house on the block.  It sat upon a large hill and it had a long, and very steep, driveway.  I parked on the street behind Bruce.

“Clifton, I think that you and Loach should stay here,” I said firmly while clutching his hand tight.

He stared at me.  “Why?”

“You saw how you were welcomed in Kortis.  We really need these Zolera’s help, and I feel that your presence might be more of a hindrance than a help.”  I wished to avoid a long argument, and possibly a fight, before they would agree to talk to us.

He said nothing.  He just ripped his hand from mine, crossed his arms, and looked angry.  He avoided my gaze, staring out of the window instead.

I didn’t want to hurt him, but I also didn’t want his presence to cause a scene.  It killed me to have to talk to him this way but I had no other options.  I leaned over and kissed him on his cheek.  I whispered, “I love you, Clifton” in his ear before getting out of the car.

Kafkus was already standing with Violet and Quino, waiting for me.  I hadn’t even heard him get out of the car since I’d been busy with Clifton.

We hiked up the steep driveway and towards the front door.  It was then that I felt something wrong, something bad.  The front door was cracked and there was a stale, putrid odor looming in the air.  I felt uneasy about going inside, but I followed them in.

Crimson blood coated the walls and body parts were strewn across the lavish marble floor.  The stench that filled my nostrils was indescribable.  I had never witnessed such a horrific scene.  I felt myself start to grow queasy and I ran back outside to throw-up in the grass.  I didn’t want to go back in, but I forced myself to.  My body told me to leave, to run far away from this house.  I ignored it.

We spread out, searching the house for any clues as to what had taken place here, though deep down I already knew.  I was careful not to trample anyone.  I knew they were dead, but it just felt wrong to step on them.  I never did handle death well, mostly because I was afraid of it.  All of this carnage just reminded me of my own looming fate.  Part of me felt dead already.

They couldn’t all be dead, could they?
 
Someone had to be alive to help us, they just had to be.
  As I thought it, unharmed looking legs sticking out from behind the kitchen counter caught my eye.  I felt a glimmer of hope flicker.  Maybe someone was still alive.

As I rounded the corner I saw that the legs belonged to a man who was whole.  My body filled with shock as I recognized the man that lay before me.  I was staring down at Brent, wondering why he would be in this house.  It didn’t make sense. 
Was he a Zolera’s human spy?
  He wasn’t conscious but his chest rose and fell with short, shallow breaths.  He was alive, but looked like he might go at any time.  Blood was gushing from the several stab wounds to his torso.

I dropped to my knees next to him.  When I brushed my hand across his cheek his eyes shot open.  Only, they weren’t the soft hazel eyes that I had remembered.  Instead, shimmering sky blue eyes were staring back at me.

“Tessa?”  He looked like he was trying his hardest to stay conscious.

“What were you doing here Brent?”  I had loved this man once, and now he lay dying before me.  All of the anger that I had ever felt for him vanished as I stared down at his rapidly deteriorating body.

“I was sent by your father to protect you.”  He coughed hoarsely and blood spilled from his mouth to my thigh.  I didn’t care.

“You are Zolera?” I asked tears, streaming down my face.

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Your father and I thought it best if you didn’t know.”  He coughed again and even more blood streamed down his chin.

I honestly didn’t know if it would have changed things between us had I known who he really was.  “What is your true name, Brent?”  I just had to know who it was that I had known, and loved, before he was unable to tell me.

“Pram, my real name is Pram.  I never knew you in Kortis.  It was one of the reasons that your father sent me here to watch over you.  I am sorry to say that I failed and I am so sorry for how things ended up between us.  I only wanted to keep you safe.”  Tears fell down his face as he spoke mingling with the blood.  He grabbed my arm with his weakened hand.  “You must listen to me, Tessa!”

“What is it?”

“They are planning to summon King Dobbin to this world.  They plan to kill him for exiling them.  And I fear that they will succeed.  You must stop them at all costs.”  He coughed hard, splattering my lap.

“But how is that possible?”

It was a very far-fetched plan.  When the Boru were exiled, their ability to connect with Kortis had been broken.  They could no longer create portals to gain access to our world.  The kings of Kortis made very sure that there would be no possible way for retribution.  So how were they expecting to bring my father here without going there first?

His cough waivered and I could feel his life draining from him.  “No, Violet can save you.  Please don’t give up?”

“No, Quartessa, it is my time.  The goddess is calling.  It was an honor to know you my sweet Princess.”  His eyes glazed over and with his last breath he whispered “blood” before he went limp, and was gone from my life forever.

I shook him.  “No, don’t be dead!”  He gave no sign of life.  I threw myself on top of him, crying over his lifeless body.

Kafkus entered the kitchen, called by my cries of anguish.  He looked from me to Pram, and he understood.  “You loved this man.”

“At one time I did,” I said through shaky breaths, “though I never knew who he really was until this moment.”

“Was he able to tell you anything?”

“Yes.  The Boru are planning to summon my father here, and to execute him upon arrival.”

“That is not possible.  How do they plan to do this?”

“Blood was the last word he said before he…”

“Blood?”

“That was all he could say.”  I pushed myself off of Pram and looked back up at Kafkus.  “Did you find anything?”

He shook his head.  “Everyone is dead.”

Violet and Quino wandered into the kitchen with their arms wrapped around each other.  They looked distressed, and when they saw what they were walking in on, their faces fell even more.

I looked down at my arms that were coated in Pram’s blood.  “Kafkus will fill you in.  I need to wash myself, and then, I will meet you all outside.”  I didn’t much feel like explaining what that just happened again.  It was hard enough reliving it in my head.

I scrubbed hard, but even after the blood was gone, I still felt dirty.  I scrubbed harder, tying to cleanse myself of something that would never come off.  I splashed cold water on my face and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

What blood could force my father to come here?  I didn’t understand what Pram had meant.  Why had I asked him such stupid questions first?  He could have told me the Boru’s exact plans if I hadn’t wasted his remaining life on my own selfish questions.  I froze, suddenly struck by an unsettling question.  How did the Boru know where to find this place?  Kyle had said that he hadn’t told them about it yet.  I felt anger race through my veins, they had lied to us.  They must pay!

I stormed from the house and slammed Kyle hard against the side of his car with my hand gripped tightly around his neck.  “You said that you didn’t tell them about this place!”  I felt a warm hand on my shoulder.  I didn’t turn away from Kyle but my senses told me it was Clifton.

Kyle struggled to breathe as he tried to pry my hands from his throat.  I may have been weak but I was still stronger than him.  “We, we didn’t,” he gasped.  “I swear we didn’t tell them anything.”

“What happened?” Clifton asked, uncertain of how I might react to him in my towering temper.

“They’re dead!  All of them!  We have been lied to and deceived by these, these
humans
!”  My eyes never left Kyle as I screamed.  I let him go and he fell to his knees.

“I swear,” he repeated frantically.  “I swear on my life that we didn’t tell them.”

I reached down, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back to his feet.  I stared into his eyes, searching for some sign of truth.  I saw the glint of a face in his left eye.  It wasn’t my reflection but the face of my Boru attacker.  It smiled at me and then vanished.  I let go of Kyle as sudden panic overshadowed my anger.

“What’s the matter?” Clifton asked.

“The, the Boru who attacked me, I have just seen him in Kyle’s eye.”

“What?!  Is, is he inside of me?”  He placed his hand on his face and began feeling it, making sure that he was still himself.

“I think that he is using you as his spy in a different way from what he told you.  You don’t need to tell him anything, he can see through your eyes.”

“Can you stop it?!” Kyle asked, hysterical.

“Clifton, get me Violet.”

I heard him run away towards the house without saying a word.

“Does that mean you think you can stop it?” Bruce asked.

“If there is any hope of it, it rests with Violet.”  I stared into Bruce’s eyes, searching for any hint of the Boru.  Kyle seemed to be the only one they had done this to.  “If we cannot block them out, then we will have to leave you here.  I will not risk the safety of my men for you.”