The Red Door Read online

  The band finally reached the outskirts of the vast forest. The land sloped down into a valley with a small town comprised completely of white buildings.

  “Insurgent headquarters.” Jaco smiled at me, his white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

  We marched down the hill and within the hour, we reached the outskirts. Men and women carrying machine guns surrounded the walled town. Although they had a job to do, hushed whispers rose up whenever I passed the guards. Word had reached the insurgency that Jaco had found the foreigner that was to be queen.

  The massive stone wall rose up out of the ground, making the town nearly as impressive as the Red Palace. This was Jaco’s side in his game of chess—Athena, the red queen versus me, his white queen.

  Within the walls of the town, men, women and children stopped working and playing to get a glimpse of their future leader. Jaco jostled me to the front of the line beside him, showing off his crown jewel. People bowed their heads. Some dropped to one knee.

  “This is your destiny, Megan,” Jaco whispered into my ear as if his propaganda would ever work. “You’re the one they’ve been waiting for to rescue their loved ones from Athena and make the land whole again.”

  At the end of the road through town, he paraded me into a large building but only allowed four of his guards to follow.

  I caught a glimpse of Carter as the door slammed behind me. “What about Brek and Carter?”

  “They’ll be taken care of.” He ushered me into a parlor room and pointed to a chair. “Here, you’ll be trained without the distractions of boys.”

  My body tensed. I wasn’t sure if it was from anger or fear. It was probably a combination of both. “And what exactly does my training consist of?”

  Jaco plopped down in a white chair across from me, crossed his legs, and touched the tips of his fingers together. “There will be combat training, etiquette sessions, and of course, history lessons.”

  “And how long will all this take?” It sounded like a never-ending high school nightmare of gym class and social studies.

  He laughed and stood up to pour two drinks from a crystal pitcher. “Why are you in such a hurry? We’ve waited such a long time for you to arrive. What’s a few more months?”

  “Months?” If each of the doors took this long, I’d be going to college when I was sixty. “I’m not staying here alone with you for months.”

  “We won’t be alone.” Jaco placed one of the glasses on the table beside my chair. “I have servants, also your teachers. And I’m sure you’ll grow to like me.”

  “It’s not that,” I sputtered as my mind churned with what he was insinuating. “I want my friends back.”

  Jaco stepped behind my chair, and a chill ran through my veins. He placed a hand on my shoulder; his fingers massaging my muscle. I pulled away from him and glared. “Don’t touch me.”

  “You’ll learn to appreciate my protection, my queen.” He rang a bell and a young girl stood in the doorway moments later. “Vena, take our queen to her quarters to prepare her for our dinner.”

  The girl curtsied and then crossed the room. “Yes, sir. Come with me, your highness.”

  I sent daggers at him with my eyes one last time. I stomped behind Vena up the stairs to my room. This house appeared more decked out than the other buildings I’d seen on my way in. Maybe Jaco already had a taste for fine things, and he expected to continue the tradition as my head guard.

  The girl led me into a tiny room with a large canopy bed occupying most of the space. Two dresses covered the bed, one green velvet and the other was a cream brocade complete with headdress. The first order I’d give as queen was casual Fridays.

  “Do I really have to wear one of these?” I plopped down on the bed and stared up at the white ceiling.

  “I can check with Master Jaco, but I’m sure he gave explicit orders that you should be properly dressed for dinner.”

  “The question was rhetorical,” I grumbled.

  “Pardon me, your majesty?” Vena opened the drawers of a vanity on the far wall, pulling out a brush, make-up, and multiple bottles.

  “Never mind.”

  A bird soared on a current past my window, ascending higher into the blue sky. If I had wings, I’d follow it far away from this suffocating hellhole.

  “Do you need me to assist you in dressing?” She turned away from arranging the vanity. “It might not be my place, but the green one’s my favorite.”

  “No, I don’t need help, and no, it’s not your place.” I gathered the green dress into my arms and marched into the attached bathroom. For added effect, I slammed the door. If I were to be queen, I’d have to start acting the part.

  The bathroom window was locked, which I suspected, so I slipped out of Esme’s dress and filled the tub with warm water. Dirt caked my skin, and I had to scrub extra hard to remove it from the crevices. I’d love a steaming hot shower but there was only a bath, so I sank deeper into the water, letting its warmth envelope me.

  “Pardon me, your majesty.” Vena cracked the door open. “Master Jaco says you are to be down in ten minutes. You’re the guest of honor.”

  “More like the prisoner of honor.” I grumbled to myself. I stepped out of the tub and dried off with a towel. Despite its beauty, the green dress was suffocating and scratchy. I stormed out into the bedroom. In a very ungraceful move, I plunked down in front of the vanity, slumping my shoulders. If Vena wanted to play beauty shop with me, then so be it.

  Ten minutes later, she had run a brush through my hair and applied a light layer of make-up to my skin and eyes. She finished it off with a pale pink gloss to my lips. “Much better.” She stepped back and smiled.

  “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” I stood up and crossed the room to the door.

  “Pardon me?” She gathered the items from the vanity and placed them back in the drawers. “Is there a pig in here?”

  “It’s an expression.” I already had one foot out the door, ready for this damn dinner party to be over. “Dressing me up won’t make me a queen.”

  She chuckled but immediately placed her hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to be so rude. It’s only that you’re not a queen because of this.” She waved in front of my outfit. “You’re a queen because of the prophecy. You know the prophecy, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” I shifted to the foot that was halfway out the door. “But it doesn’t mean I’m the one to fulfill it.”

  The descent down the stairs was a lonely one. My heels echoed through the hallway, making the place seem large and empty. Voices came from a room at the end of the hall. When I entered, the occupants pushed back their chairs and stood to bow and curtsy.

  “Queen Megan.” Jaco was by my side, offering his arm, and raising one eyebrow at me. “Let me escort you to your seat.”

  He dared me to defy him, glaring at me with his dark brown eyes. I was going to play nice for now. My priority was Brek and Carter’s safety. I looped my arm through Jaco’s and let him lead me to the table. He pulled out an ornate, white chair for me.

  The three other people at the dinner party stared as I adjusted my dress to sit down. Satchel sat across from me with a silly, lopsided grin on his face. The other two people were unfamiliar. Next to Satchel was a woman with thick, dark braids framing her face. To my left was a man old enough to be my grandfather. A small, gray dog lay at his heels, eyeing me suspiciously.

  “Your highness.” Jaco lowered his eyes as if he actually respected me. “This is Maree.”

  The woman on the other side of the table dipped her chin.

  “She will be your history professor.”

  “My grandmother was the twenty-fourth queen of Rushna. The history of this place runs deep in those of us who wish to keep it.” She gripped the tablecloth. “In this past monarchy, the history has not been remembered, in fact, just the opposite. Athena has burned many of the books that held onto our past.”

  “Then how will you teach me?” I
asked.

  Maree pursed her pallid lips, and a single vein protruded out of the dark skin on her forehead. “Our history is the purest form of storytelling, and this storytelling originated as an oral art.” She tapped her spoon on the side of the bowl in front of her. “It would do you well to know your place, young Megan. You are not queen yet.”

  The man with the dog at his feet cleared his throat. “My name is Krashid and I will be your etiquette instructor.” He stared at my elbow on the table. “We have our work cut out for us, Ms. Maree.” But instead of the stern expression I expected, the old man winked at me.

  Satchel reclined in his chair, needing etiquette lessons himself. “Combat has to be our number one priority. She can’t be queen if we can’t overthrow the current establishment.”

  Maree dipped her spoon in her bowl and swirled the thick liquid around and around. “Yes, but once the monarchy is gone, she has to convince the people that she deserves to lead Rushna.” She paused her stirring and stared directly at me. “She certainly hasn’t convinced me.”

  I propped my elbows onto the table again and rested my chin in my palms. “Give me some time. I’ll grow on you.”

  Krashid stifled a laugh, and Satchel’s face held a satisfied smirk. It wasn’t that I wanted to be queen, but I had to show this woman that I had it in me. Why wasn’t she queen? Her grandmother had been the leader of Rushna, and the woman in front of me looked regal enough, or at least she thought she was regal enough to sit her skinny little butt on the elegant couches of Buckingham Palace.

  “I highly doubt it.” She arched her eyebrow and lifted her nose higher in the air. She addressed Jaco, “But I am sworn to Rushna and the resistance, and if this girl fulfills a prophecy, then I will do my best not to stuff her in a broom closet.”

  Jaco rattled on about his plans for my ascent from apparent riffraff to royalty. Krashid elbowed me every ten minutes to remind me to sit up straight or to reprimand me for using the wrong fork. Words of schedules, ungodly waking hours, and fancy balls to work on my dancing abilities meandered through my head, but my mind turned back to an escape plan. I had no idea where they brought Carter and Brek. For all I knew, they were held prisoner somewhere.

  “Then it’s settled.” Jaco slapped his palms on his legs, waking me from my daydream. “Sword training with Satchel in the courtyard tomorrow at five o’clock.”

  “In the morning?” I usually rolled out of bed at six-thirty on a school day. To get up in the middle of the night was torture.

  “A queen’s day starts early.” Krashid patted my hand. He narrowed his eyes at me. “Always.”

  “And what if I don’t want to be queen?” I shook my hand free from my etiquette tormentor.

  Jaco stood up. Lines of anger crossed his face. He closed his eyes and let out a breath. When he opened his eyes again, his body relaxed. “You fit all the descriptions of the prophecy. Foreigner… head strong, and you’re the only female we’ve found with the bracelet.” His eyes moved from one dinner guest to the next. “We’ve prepared for this battle for twenty years. I will not give up our only hope.”

  “And what if you’re wrong, Jaco?” Maree placed her napkin beside her plate and scooted her chair out. She lifted her long braids over her shoulder. “Are you ready for whatever disaster will ensue?”

  “I have an insurance policy in place for that very purpose.” His mouth was set in a firm line but he shot me an unnerving glance.

  Vena escorted me back to my room. The entire way, I thought of ways I could dispose of her so no one would know I was gone. Hit her over the head with an ancient stone statue? No, too gory and loud. Shove her into a closet like Satchel did to me? Two problems—I didn’t know what was behind the doors and had no way to secure them. Vena was also larger than me. She had spent days on end doing physical work. I had spent days on end playing video games and eating Cheetos.

  The silence of my room engulfed me. In Worthington, car horns beeped and people shouted curses at each other throughout the night. Here, it was as if I’d been transported to the moon and the stillness of the air around me threatened to overtake my very being. I used the quiet time to sift through my thoughts. We had to start by defeating Athena. Did that happen with the brute force of a coup, or beating the queen at her own game?

  Love is patient … love is kind … it does not envy, it does not boast.

  What were the rest of the words? And why did someone hide them in Athena’s torture room of love? How could someone possibly embody all of these qualities? I was too sarcastic to be kind all the time. And patience? Don’t get me started on that one.

  A tapping noise came from the window. I gripped my covers and stared at the it, the two moons in the night sky backlit a shadow that clutched the ledge. The figure pushed open the window, tumbled through the opening and landed with a thud on the floor. He groaned.

  “You better be here to rescue me because I have a sharp knife beneath my pillow.” In case my assailant didn’t believe me, I scooted to the other side of the bed, ready to jump out and grab a heavy object.

  “It’s just me.” Carter crawled across the floor and pulled himself up to the empty side of the bed. “I’ve got to get you out of here.”

  “Where’s Brek?”

  “Down below.” He tilted his head to the open window. “He’s the one who hoisted me to reach the ledge.”

  Carter slid closer to me. His arm snaked around my back.

  I placed a hand on his chest. “You’re here to rescue me, Reyes, not to seduce me.”

  He leaned his forehead against mine. Tendrils of his dark hair brushed against my face. His lips were so close to mine. “We never get to be alone.” The warmth of his kiss brushed my jawline.

  It had seemed like forever since we’d slept in a bed. The temptation to snuggle into his warmth was intoxicating. “Brek’s down there and who knows when someone will come to check on me.”

  Carter let out a loud groan and flopped onto his back.

  I arched over him, kissed him slow, and gripped his hip. “Let’s get through this alive, and I promise to spend more time with you when we get home.”

  14

  After changing into my clothes, Carter lowered me down the wall to Brek’s outstretched arms. He cradled me for a second before he set me on the ground. He turned to help Carter.

  “How are we going to get out of here?” I asked. We were, after all, in a guarded and walled town.

  “Not sure.” Brek brushed his hands off. “But we have weapons.”

  Wren stepped out from behind a bush. Her hair was braided, and she carried a messenger bag.

  “She’s coming with us?” The girl was beginning to be a real pain. It was supposed to be the three of us—the three Musketeers, the three amigos. No outsiders allowed. But then, hadn’t I done the same thing to Brek?

  “We’re the weapons, Covington.” Brek passed me my pack. “Wren and I can use shields and other defensive spells to make sure Jaco knows who he’s dealing with.”

  Carter removed a knife from a belt around his waist. “And in case that doesn’t work, we’ll do it the old-fashioned way.”

  “I’m not sure this is the best plan.” I chewed on my lip. Almost everyone I cared about could die in the span of twenty minutes. I really wasn’t okay with that. “Jaco invited my instructors to a dinner party.”

  “Your instructors?” Carter sheathed his knife.

  “Satchel’s supposed to get me ready for combat.” I stared up at my window, not believing my own words. “If I can go through the motions, maybe we’ll be ready to take on Athena in a week or two.”

  “But he’s holding you prisoner in there.” Brek frowned. “Why won’t he let us see you?”

  “He’s got a bigger plan that he’s not letting us in on yet.” If I could spend more time around Jaco, I was sure I’d figure out what he had planned for me. He was the least trustworthy person I’d met in Rushna. His hidden agendas had hidden agendas. “He told me that boys are a distractio
n from my real mission.”

  “Boys, huh?” Carter puffed up his chest. “He better hope he doesn’t meet me in a dark alley.”

  “Cool the testosterone.” I touched his arm. “Inside Jaco’s house, I might be able to figure out what he really wants and prepare myself for Athena. In the meantime, I’ll keep chipping away at him. He might lessen his grip on me.”

  “Not with you sneaking around like this.” Jaco stumbled into the plaza in front of the house. He was with two of his soldiers. They’d obviously been out drinking. “Did you think the four of you were going to run off?” He staggered and one of his buddies reached out to steady him. “You have to get past my guards, through Mateel without my protection, and then Athena will pick you off one by one.”

  Brek stomped his foot on the ground and the cobblestones of the plaza rose up like a wave, knocking the three men onto ground.

  Despite his intoxication, Jaco scrambled to his feet, a gun in his hand. His mouth formed into a wide grin. The barrel of the weapon pointed directly at Carter’s head. “No one informed me of your friend’s special talents, My Queen.”

  Jaco snapped his fingers and the two soldiers were by his side. He reached into his pocket and removed a set of cuffs. “Don’t move, magician, or my housekeeper will be cleaning your friends’ internal organs off the cobblestone in the morning.”

  “What are you going to do to him?” My protective nature surged through every cell in my body, standing between Brek and Jaco.

  “Nothing.” The leader nodded, and the men advanced toward Brek. “He’ll be an honored guest in my house. But the cuffs will make sure he’s not an unwelcome guest.”

  Brek’s jaw was rigid as one of the men encircled his wrists with the cuffs. Were they similar to the ones that Tyran had no power to remove from Shaol?

  “I’m adding him to my collection of weapons.” Jaco took hesitant steps towards Wren. “This one is such a good girl. Her betrayal will not go unpunished.” He cupped her cheek then drew back his hand, slapping her across the face. Lifting his palm back to her face, he stroked the skin he just hit with his thumb. Tears formed in Wren’s defiant eyes. “The first time she betrayed me, she lost her tongue.”