The Red Door Page 12

  “So glad you care.” These people didn’t impress me despite all their pomp and supposed preparations. “If I’m to be your leader, I’m not going to hide behind my soldiers.”

  “We don’t have time for your training or to muster more troops.” Jaco set both hands on the table. “My source says that Athena’s troops will be at the canyon by daybreak. We leave tonight.”

  The self-proclaimed, future head of my military had to learn to take orders from me. I glared at him.

  “Don’t worry, My Queen.” The malice dripped from every word that left his lips. “I will leave behind a couple of soldiers to protect you.”

  “And what about Brek?”

  “Brekken will leave with us tonight.” Jaco stepped into Brek’s comfort zone with a satisfied smirk on his face.

  My best friend winced.

  “His magical abilities are worth more than ten men with weapons.”

  “He better come back in one piece, or you’re going to wish you never picked me as your queen.” I gripped the map and tore it off the table; multiple markers bounced and rolled along the concrete.

  Jaco stared at the map, now reduced to a heap on the floor while he addressed his counsel, “Krashid, Maree. Can you take care of this while I’m gone?” He pointed at me, turned on his heels, and left the room.

  “I see how it is.” Maree bent down to lift the edge of the map. “Leave us with the toddler prone to temper tantrums.”

  I stormed out with Brek on my heels. The stairs to my room echoed as I raced up to the corridor. Although I put on the tough girl persona a majority of my life, there were times I wanted to flop down on my bed and let it all out. This was one of those times. I flung open the door to my bedroom and slammed it shut, locking it from the inside. Pull it together, Meg. Your boyfriend will lose an appendage because of you. There wasn’t one of Carter’s fingers I could part with.

  Brek pounded on the door. “Come on, Covington. Open up.”

  I crawled onto the four-poster bed and wrapped the blankets around me, as if the comfort might make this terrible nightmare go away.

  He stopped knocking, but I could hear him talking to me outside the door. “We’re in this together.”

  I let out a breath, pushed the covers off, and crept over the floorboards. With my back against the door, I slid down and pulled my knees to my chest.

  “We’ve always been in this together.” It seemed like he was sitting in a similar position on the other side; his voice was so close. “This game’s not worth playing without you. You’re the reason I’m in it. You know that. And if something happened to you or Carter, I’d be devastated. If you stay here, I won’t be distracted in the battle trying to protect you.”

  I longed for the wood of the door to disintegrate, to be in his arms, but my pride kept the door locked, and it stood in the way of my true desires. There had always been a wall between the two of us, one that I’d erected years ago. Brick by brick, I began to build it the day my mom walked out on my dad and me. It kept others from getting too close, to occupy the part of my heart that died when she left. If I opened the door, he would make me love him more, and I’d be left behind again by someone who could smash me to pieces.

  The door remained locked, my knees pulled tighter and tighter into my chest. Jaco’s soldiers arrived ten minutes later, and I heard Brek’s protests. He didn’t want to leave me without saying goodbye. Hot tears stung my eyes while the soldiers dragged him off to be part of the protective crusade. My pride raced through my veins, but I held it at bay. As much as I wanted to fight alongside Brek, even with my limited abilities, I was to be Jaco’s good little queen and stay put.

  From my window, I watched as the soldiers left, marching like a row of ants through the town as the sun set. One of them was Brek, and it killed me to see him go.

  But if Jaco only left two guards, maybe I could give them the slip and try to find Carter. Because my room faced the front courtyard, I could see the two soldiers that stood guarding the entrance. Brek’s room was in the rear of the house, and when I was in there I had seen a trellis that reached up to the second story. Jaco’s need for adornment and the finer things provided me an opportunity.

  The door creaked. I’d never noticed that before because it usually wasn’t so quiet in the house.

  “Megan?” Crap. Maree. He’d left behind the one woman who could meddle with my plans. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes. Brek has my backpack, and I’m going to get it out of his room.”

  The woman downstairs, listening to my every sound, put a real crinkle in my plan. She’d probably wait to hear me go back.

  “You should go home. Don’t we have a history lesson tomorrow?”

  Maree appeared at the bottom of the stairs. The dim light of a candle illuminated her face. Her eyes appeared drowsy. Jaco had kept them all day to discuss Athena’s offensive moves. “Maybe you’re right. He wants me here to watch over you, but my own bed is calling me. And, the soldiers are here to protect you.”

  She played right into my plan.

  “Exactly. They won’t let anything happen to me. You go home and get some rest and in the morning, we’ll both be ready for my lesson.”

  Maree turned but hesitated. “Are you sure you’ll be all right, My Queen?”

  Chills ran up and down my back. She held real concern for my safety, as if there might actually be a threat. I smiled. “Don’t worry about me. I sleep with a knife under my pillow.”

  She raised an eyebrow but then walked away. I listened to the front door as it opened and closed and then proceeded across the hall to Brek’s room. I tiptoed as the noisy floorboards creaked beneath my feet to the opened window. It appeared to be twenty feet to the ground below. Even if the trellis gave way from the house, in my fighting gear, I could probably jump and survive the fall unscathed.

  I climbed to the windowsill and lifted my right leg over to secure my footing. Next, I reached over with my right hand and drew my left foot over. I shook the trellis. It seemed semi-secure, but I wasn’t taking any chances by hanging too long in one spot. I quickly found my next foot hole and worked my way down. Rose branches twisted their way through the trellis, their thorns biting into my palms. I jumped off near the bottom and wiped my hands on my pants.

  On the left side of the house, there was a gate that might have been guarded, so I went to the right. The fence had to be eight feet tall, but I was going to scale it one way or another. In the moonlight, I spied a chair beneath a tree. I rushed over and carried it to the fence. I hoisted myself up, my skin burning as I gripped the wood at the top of the enclosure. If the soldiers came looking for me, it would be obvious how I escaped, with the chair and the blood left as evidence. I scrambled down from the top and moved to the shadows the buildings created.

  This was the hardest part of the mission. How would I get past the soldiers? I had my escape planned out to this point. I peeked around the front of the house. Both of the soldiers stood at attention. My heart sank. For some reason, I thought they’d be sleeping like in the movies. I scanned the courtyard for a route to freedom. All of the shadows were on the other side of the courtyard from me because of the angle of the moons’ beams. I’d have to cross in front of the soldiers to reach them. What if I reasoned with them? Commanded them? I was their queen, after all, and more importantly, Megan Covington, the girl who didn’t back down from anything.

  I marched into the courtyard and hid my bloodstained hands behind my back. I looked more like an assassin than a queen in my black fighting gear, so I hoped they wouldn’t kill me on sight. “At ease, soldiers.” Wasn’t that what I was supposed to say?

  “Halt.” The larger of the two raised his weapon. The sword gleamed in the moonlight. Jaco’s soldiers didn’t have a set uniform, but wore clothes I imagined on country militiamen.

  They both stepped closer to me with their weapons drawn. Maybe this was a bad idea. I backpedaled a couple of steps.

  “Put the weapons away, f
ellas.” I did an awkward little curtsy, my damn heart pounding again. Why couldn’t I be all calm, cool and collected? “I’m your queen. As my guards, you should recognize the person you’re protecting.”

  The smaller one screwed up his face as he scanned me from head to foot. His demeanor changed, maybe realizing his mistake. “Boris, lower your weapon. This is the woman who was in the war room.” They both sheathed their swords, and he swallowed. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. But what are you doing out here at night?”

  “I want to take an evening stroll through town.” With my heart rate back at a normal pace, I took on the part. I held my nose up in the air. “I’m a bit of a light sleeper.” Without waiting for their approval, I turned toward the outer gate of the courtyard.

  “We can’t let you do that.” The smaller one ran after me and blocked my exit to the town. “Jaco’s ordered us to keep you in the house.”

  “And who will you serve? Jaco or the queen?” I straightened my back and puffed out my chest. “Because right now it appears to me that Jaco is to be your queen.”

  Boris snorted.

  “No, Your Majesty.” The man knelt in front of me, an apparent groveler. “Jaco’s my first in command. Disobeying his orders means death.”

  “And you think the same’s not true with me? If I ask you to kill Jaco, you must obey my orders, fool.” And Brek thought I was brazen when I passed notes in class. It was only practice for this moment. “What’s your name, soldier?”

  His body physically shook, still on one knee before me. “Samuel.”

  “Well, Samuel. This is an opportunity for you.” I placed a hand on his bowed head. “It will either make you or break you. If you let me go, I will be sure to remember you after my coronation. If you keep me locked up, I will remember you in a different way—an ‘off with your head’ kind of way.”

  His body shook violently. He must’ve been the higher rank of the two because Boris held his position at the door. I hated doing this to the guy. “Please, your majesty.” He lifted his eyes to mine. They were dark brown, almost black. “Please let me go with you for protection.”

  He’d never let me go down to the prison—or would he? He might even have a key to let Carter out. At first, I was going to see Carter, but if I could jailbreak him, it would be even better.

  “You may come.”

  “Thank you, your majesty. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.” He stood up and brushed off his knee. “Boris, keep watch here. I’m accompanying the queen on her walk.”

  16

  The town was silent except for a guard positioned here and there on the streets. Each one simply nodded at Samuel as we passed; their silence told me they suspected nothing. Torches lit each corner with their flickering flames crackling in the cold air.

  My escort remained silent beside me, his grip on the hilt of his sword as if a giant firefly might attack at any second.

  “At ease, soldier.” I kept my eyes set ahead of me. The enormous white wall that surrounded the town rose up in front of us, again guarded by several soldiers.

  “My devotion is to you, My Queen.” Samuel’s hand didn’t move from his sword. His shoulder-length dark hair was pulled back into a tie. “I know what it’s like to be under Athena’s rule. I served next to Jaco before the insurgence was born. He rescued me. We’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

  The sudden need to reveal the depths of my soul to my guard overwhelmed me. I was a stranger in a strange land, a clerk at a rundown record store, a nothing. “But what if I’m not this queen you’ve been searching for? From what I’ve discovered, evil needs to be defeated with good. Haven’t you seen Star Wars? And I’m not so sure I’m this pure person who will defeat Athena.”

  Samuel gave me a quizzical look. “I’m sure you’re better than you give yourself credit for, My Queen.”

  “It’s Meg.” I grinned at him. This charade had gone on long enough. “Just Meg.”

  “Ok… Meg.” The word seemed to taste awkward in his mouth. “But a lot of people in this town are relying on you to lead them to victory.”

  “Then, I’m sorry to let them down.”

  We trudged up the gradual hill back into the main square. Carter could be locked in any of these buildings. To find him, I’d have to use Samuel’s help.

  “Where does Jaco keep his prisoners?” Maybe he didn’t know Carter was connected to me. That he was Jaco’s bargaining chip.

  “Below his home.” Samuel must have been oblivious, or literally out-to-lunch the day Jaco brought the three of us in and laid out the plan. “He likes to keep a watchful eye on the Athena sympathizers.”

  Carter was in the same building as me all along and I had no clue. If I could get Samuel to open the prison, we’d be halfway to escaping Jaco’s stronghold.

  “I’d like to visit the prisoners.”

  He gripped his key ring and shook his head. “Why?” He unlocked the front gate in front of Jaco’s home. “Besides, it’s the middle of the night. They’ll all be asleep.”

  “Athena sympathizers are only Rushna’s citizens controlled by her pheromones. Why hasn’t Jaco given them the green capsules? And I’m sure the brainwashing powder from the red capsules has worn off by now.” It was a valid question, and one I hadn’t got around to asking the leader.

  “The general doesn’t reveal to us the method of his ways.” He held the gate open for me. In other words, Jaco liked to keep certain people under his thumb. Maybe the prisoners saw through his bull crap.

  Boris still stood at attention at the front door.

  Samuel sighed when we reached the front door. He seemed to be dealing with an internal struggle. “I’m escorting the queen to her room and will see to it that she’s asleep before I leave her.”

  Bypassing the stairs, he crossed the room to a heavy, wooden door. I drummed my fingers against my leg as I attempted to keep my excitement to myself. This had to be the way into the Jaco’s prison. He was silent when he unlocked it using a key from the ring he had reattached at his waist. The descent into the basement took longer than expected. It was as if the stairs went down two stories but with no real landing for the first one. The musty cellar smell overwhelmed me and brought me back to the space beneath the Rosenbaum mansion, now a distant memory.

  At the bottom of the stairs, he unlocked another door, this one constructed of metal. The door creaked open and we entered a long hallway lined with cells.

  “I will stay here.” He took on his guard stance in front of the entrance and nodded at me to proceed.

  I approached the first door on my left and stood on my tiptoes to get a glimpse through the small, arched opening at the top. A woman slept on a pile of hay near the back of the tiny room. Her long, gray hair was matted and tangled, the stench rising from the enclosure stronger than the must where I stood. I crossed the hallway and peeked through another opening. This cell held a man, no more than twenty-five. He too, was sleeping, but his back was against the wall. As I went from cell to cell, it became obvious to me that these were ordinary people—not big, bad magicians, witches, or hardcore Athena fans. Maybe they just opposed Jaco.

  In the last cell, I found Carter. He lay on his side on a pile of hay.

  I glanced back at Samuel. He didn’t seem to be watching me, but his own head dipped as if he were giving in to sleep himself.

  “Carter,” I whispered loud enough that if he were awake, he’d hear me.

  He looked up. His eyes squinted in my direction, and then he jumped to his feet. He crossed the cell, his face inches from mine on the other side of the bars. I moved in closer; the chill of the bars penetrated my skin. Without a word, Carter’s lips met mine. I gripped the bottom of the opening, and my feet wobbled on my toes. Even through the awkwardness of the kiss, his mouth felt warm and inviting. His cell door was another door I wished I could melt away.

  I backed up and glanced at the dozing Samuel. “Brek left with Jaco. His soldiers are trying to cut off Athena’s
forces before they arrive here. They have orders to bring me back to her.”

  He yanked on the bars, anger crossing his face. “I’ve got to get out of here. I can help instead of being left to rot.”

  “I have an idea.” I dropped down from my toes.

  Samuel seemed to recognize my rank as future queen, but how far could I take it? When I approached him, he lifted his eyelids and shook his head. “My Queen, I’m so sorry. I’m afraid you’ve caught me sleeping. I promise it will never happen again.”

  I wasn’t too sure I believed that one, but right now, it didn’t matter. “There’s a prisoner in the last cell who’s a friend of mine. I’d like to see him released.” Short and to the point.

  He stood straighter and cleared his throat. “I’m under direct orders from General Jaco that no one is to be released while he’s gone.”

  “We’ve been through this before. Who do you serve? Jaco or your queen? You must’ve been kidding me when you told me I was more important than the general.” I hoped if Samuel did fall for this, he wouldn’t be killed.

  “Jaco’s my supervisor. You have no authority as my queen until Athena is overthrown and you’re coronated.” He stood at attention, his eyes not meeting mine.

  “And when I’m your queen,” I paused. “I’ll have the authority to throw your ass in here, or worse.” I ran my finger across my neck.

  He looked directly at me, and his eyes grew wide. Beads of sweat formed on his brow. “Your majesty, my allegiance is with you.” He grabbed his keys. The jangling sounded through the hallway as he sorted through them. “Where’s this prisoner?”

  I kept my lips set in a firm line, although a smile wanted to burst through. “The last one on the right. Carter Reyes.”

  “The king?” The keys, now in his shaking hand, continued their beautiful melody.

  “Do you know Spanish?”

  He nodded.