Tara Duncan and the Forbidden Book (51 page)

Fortunately, Xandiar wore a cape that mostly hid his four arms, and Tara and her friends had transformed their familiars so they looked like big dogs. So except for the empress's staggering beauty, and her crown, flowing pink hair, and jewel-strewn clothes, and the emperor in his golden breastplate, they could almost pass unnoticed.

Almost.

The villagers, who'd been alerted by some mysterious gossip line, were all out watching them with astonishment. Manitou sighed when a man from the local newspaper ran into his office and emerged with a camera.

“Tara,” he called discreetly. “Can you please overexpose that guy's film and fast?”

“Sorry, Grandpa, I can't,” she said, watching as the reporter squeezed off shot after shot of their little parade.

“Tara dear, I know you're hesitant to use your power, but this is an emergency!”

“It's not because I'm afraid of using my power,” she retorted indignantly. “It's because he's using a digital camera. It doesn't have film!”

“Blasted newfangled gadgets!” growled the dog. “Well, do whatever you have to, but stop him taking pictures, now!”

Tara concentrated and wiped the camera's memory chip clean. It was a dirty trick to play on the poor man, but she didn't have a choice.

When they reached the gate of the manor house grounds, Isabella and Selena were waiting. They didn't look especially surprised, so the count must have made a discreet cell phone call to warn them.

Selena paid no attention to etiquette or protocol. Ignoring the empress and the emperor, she ran to hug Tara so tightly it practically squeezed the breath out of her.

Tara didn't try to free herself, but instead returning the hug with joy. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed her mother!

“Darling, darling!” Selena kept repeating. “I was so afraid. At first we were getting news from Chem, and then suddenly all communication with Travia was cut off. We didn't know what was happening. We thought we'd lost you!”

Tara was just as moved and was about to answer when she was interrupted by a discreet cough behind her.

“Hrrm,” said the empress, clearing her throat. “Are you my late brother's wife?” she asked in perfect Lancovian.

Selena stiffened, and after giving Tara one last kiss, straightened up. She looked anxious. “Yes, that's right. Though I've only recently learned that we're related, I'm indeed your sister-in-law.”

The empress gave her a big smile, while eyeing her up and down.

“I'm very glad to meet you,” she said, while thinking that Selena shouldn't give her too many problems. “I wanted to get to know the mother of our remarkable Tara and talk over a few things in detail.”

“I'm also glad to meet you, Your Imperial Majesty,” coldly broke in Isabella, who hadn't stirred. “I am Isabella Duncan, Tara's grandmother.”

Lisbeth turned and met the old woman's green eyes. Evaluating her adversary, the empress thought, Hmm. This one will be tougher.

Selena broke the silence.

“But please, come into our home,” she said with a smile that displayed her charming dimples. “Let's not stay out here. We've probably already given the gossipers enough to chew on for the next decade.”

The empress raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She strode majestically across the grounds, this time without any commentary.

They entered the old pink stone manor house and Tara sighed with pleasure. She was home at last!

Selena led them to the little yellow parlor. Isabella's spellbinder servants Tachil and Mangus had prepared delicious refreshments, and the empress waited until everyone had a sandwich and a cool drink before attacking. Sipping her lemonade, she started with Selena.

“So, tell me a little about how you met my brother,” she said with a smile.

Tara hadn't expected a question like that, and she listened up. She, too, was eager to learn more about her parents.

Selena smiled at the memory.

“He fell on top of me,” she explained. “He'd just arrived in Lancovit, and his flying carpet had ‘mechanical' problems—right over my head. Before I knew what was happening, I found myself buried under it. I had just spent a good hour fixing myself a very complicated hairdo, and was going to show it to some friends. When I saw that all my work had been wrecked because of Danviou, I got so mad I nearly turned him into a toad! He apologized, kneeled down to beg forgiveness—and fainted!”

“Fainted? Why?”

“He didn't realize he'd broken his leg in the fall. When he kneeled, the pain was so intense that he passed out. Naturally, I took him into our house.”

“Oh, that's so romantic!” cried Sparrow, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.

Cal looked at his friend as if her brains had melted and were running out her ears.

“I don't see what's so romantic about it,” he remarked sarcastically. “It just shows how clumsy he was.”

“By the time he came to,” Selena continued, “I'd treated his leg with a Healus, but the injury was serious, and I urged him to stay off his feet for a while. That's when he started paying me extravagant compliments . . .”

“What kind of compliments?” asked the emperor, who found the young woman extremely attractive.

Selena blushed. “He said I was an angel who'd fallen from heaven. When I pointed out that he was the one who'd fallen from the sky and that he didn't look in the least like an angel, he laughed. He said that my hair was like black silk rustling through his fingers, that my skin was like a pink-tinged white rose, that my lips were like delicious red cherries. He was obviously feverish, because he was talking nonsense. So I suggested he stay with us for a few days. Mom was over at the castle for the biannual Lancovit-Hymlia-Selenda conference, so it was no problem. I put him in the guest bedroom.”

“Wasn't that a little rash?” asked the surprised empress. “After all, you didn't know him! He could have been a thief or a murderer.”

“I realize that,” said Selena. “But I knew his injury was real, since I'd just treated it. He obviously came from far away, because he wasn't wearing Lancovian clothes. He was also obviously rich, because his spellbinder robe held a huge safe full of immuta-credits. In fact, he insisted on paying for all the expenses of his stay. He got me to talk about myself a lot, but didn't say much about himself.”

“What did he tell you?” asked the empress.

“Only that he was destined for a future that didn't suit him. And that to escape that destiny, he'd chosen another path.”

“He certainly did!” said Empress Lisbeth bitterly. “Leaving us to deal with the empire while he went off to fool around in Lancovit! Another path, indeed!”

“He wasn't fooling around!” snapped Selena, rigid with anger. “We were in love with each other right from the beginning! Danviou asked me to marry him several times, but I didn't want to. My mother didn't like him, and she did everything in her power to break us up. Finally, she even made me tell him that we weren't right for each other. I was weak and young, so I did as she said, and told Danviou that I didn't want to see him again. To make sure, Mom sent me off to live on a distant cousin's property, hundreds of miles from Travia. But my cousin there fell in love with me.”

“Him too?” asked Empress Lisbeth. “You're a regular Miss Popularity, dear!” An acid undertone lurked beneath the empress' apparent sweetness.

Selena smiled weakly. “I could well have done without that, believe me. Then my mother decided to lock me up in a tower on the property and have it guarded by trolls, to make sure Danviou would never find me. She didn't trust me, and she knew he hadn't given up hope. He was still searching for me.”

Selena shot a sideways glance at Isabella, who pursed her lips and didn't comment.

Tara was absolutely fascinated by the story.

“What happened then?” she asked.

“Your father found me. He fought with my cousin and the trolls and beat them. Then he countered the remaining spells that kept us apart and carried me off.”

“Ooh, that's so romantic!” cried Sparrow, looking for her tissue again.

“Hmpf!” snorted Cal. “He climbed a wall and kidnapped her. Nothing to it! I can do that any day of the week.”

“Cal?”

“Yes, Sparrow?”

“Shut up!”

“Hmph!”

“When I realized his love for me was so strong and sincere,” Selena continued, “I confronted my mother. She wound up recognizing how deeply I loved Danviou. And we were married.”

“What did you live on?” asked the empress a bit snippily. “On the money in the safe?”

“No,” said Selena with a smile. “Danviou was a terrifically talented painter. His works are on display in many OtherWorld galleries, and the Lancovit Castle bought several for the king's private collection. Our only problem was the terrible antagonism between his familiar, an eagle, and my mother's tiger. They didn't get along at all, so we didn't see Isabella very often. Aside from that, we had some happy, peaceful years together. And the birth of our baby was our greatest joy.”

“Well, well,” remarked the emperor languidly, “I'm happy to see that our little brother managed to make out so well.”

The empress turned to him in surprise.

“Does this mean you don't doubt Tara's legitimacy anymore?”

“No, I don't. Too many of the details fit. Danviou was forever painting canvases, creating holograms, and working on the palace frescos. He used to drive Dad half crazy with his colors when he was little. And he did take a safe full of immuta-credits when he went off, after leaving us that stupid letter in which he rejected his role as emperor. And his familiar was an eagle. Finally, there's the business with the flying carpet. One of the imperial guards' carpets disappeared that night. I'd guess that Danviou didn't want to risk being spotted by taking the Transfer Portal. The carpet must have flown him from Omois to Lancovit, which takes at least a month. Makes sense that the magic charge would be almost exhausted by then. So, I'm happy to recognize her legitimacy.”

Sandor stood up and bowed very low to Tara. “Tara'tylanhnem T'al Barmi Ab Santa Ab Maru, welcome to our lovely family!”

The emperor had been so hostile to her from the very beginning, that Tara wasn't quite sure how to react to this changed situation.

“Thank you,” she finally said. “What should I call you? Uncle Sandy?”

The emperor shuddered and sat back down.

“If you don't mind, dear niece, let's avoid overly familiar terms. I'd prefer just ‘Uncle' or ‘Sandor.'”

“Did Danviou ever talk about his family?” asked Empress Lisbeth, who had trouble accepting the fact that her brother had erased her from his life this way.

“Yes, he did,” Selena answered softly. “He said he had a sister who was wonderful but very stubborn. And a half-brother who never listened to what he had to say, which was actually one of the reasons he left. He clearly had good memories of his childhood, even if he was very reluctant to talk about it. I sincerely believe he loved you and suffered from no longer being able to see you. But he often said that reuniting with you could put our child in danger. I asked him lots of questions at the time, because I didn't know what he was hiding from. Now I know.”

“He was hiding?” asked the empress, clearly surprised. “What was he hiding from? Except shirking his duty by running away from Omois.”

“Not what, but who. And when Tara was born, he became even more cautious. He was always telling me to trust him and not to try to understand his concern. I think he knew that Magister was already after him.”

“Magister?” The emperor sat bolt upright in his chair, suddenly alert. “What does that animal have to do with this story?”

Tara answered for her mother.

“He needs me,” she said. “After killing my father, he kidnapped Mom and held her prisoner for ten years. He set a spy to watch me and waited patiently for me to come into my spellbinder powers. Then he tried to kidnap me twice and finally succeeded. That's when he admitted that he needed me to get access to the demons' power objects, the ones that Demiderus and the four high wizards hid. Because Those-Who-Guard and Those-Who-Judge, who guard those objects, will only allow the descendants of those five powerful spellbinders access to them.”

At that, the empress turned very pale.

“Do you mean to say that you and I are a kind of key that would allow him to free the demons?” Empress Lisbeth stammered

“He isn't especially interested in freeing the demons,” said Tara, “but if that was necessary for him to get absolute power, he'd do it in a heartbeat.”

“He's insane,” said Sandor. “Anyway, his quest is hopeless. I'm in no danger, since we don't have the same mother and I don't descend from Demiderus. My sister is well protected, and as Lisbeth's heir, Tara will be equally well protected in the palace.”

Tara took a deep breath.

“Well, that's exactly where we disagree,” she said. “Where do I get to choose in all this? What if I decide I want to be, I don't know . . . a ballet dancer, say.”

Cal snickered, and she glared at him.

“Well, maybe not a ballerina, but how about a pilot? Or a doctor? I'm only thirteen, and I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. You tried to make my father into a perfect emperor, and he ran away. You don't want to make the same mistake with me, do you?”

“But that's just it: You have no idea what being an imperial princess is like,” countered Empress Lisbeth cleverly. “You might love it. How can you tell without trying it?”

“And it's not just that,” said Tara with a sigh. “I haven't seen my mother for ten years, and I want to live with her—”

“We'll invite her too, of course!” the empress interrupted. “She's my brother's widow, so our protection also extends to—”