The curse of Kalaan (33 page)

The evening ended in laughter, especially when Amélie teasingly brought up the subject of Clovis’ ridiculously small pistol.

“Just the same, it makes big holes!” the butler responded putting on a falsely disdainful air and pointing to the splintered doorframe, before joining the others in their laughter.

Chapter 21

Only death shall release you

            
 
V
irginie and Kalaan waited until the others had gone to their rooms to meet outside and go down to the longhouse and spend the night there together. They made love passionately and voluptuously, after which they fell asleep, blissful in each other’s arms.

The following morning, Virginie witnessed Kalaan’s incredible transformation for the second time. He still couldn’t understand why when he transformed in her presence, he felt no pain.

“Perhaps you should share this with Jaouen,” she suggested as they were leaving their love nest to meet Amélie and Isabelle for breakfast and above all to expedite the Duchess Delatour’s departure.

Virginie couldn’t keep her eyes off Catherine. She was magnificent with her dark curls dancing on her shoulders and her beautifully symetrical fine features. She was once again dressed in the men’s clothing that suited her so well.

‘Tis perfectly normal. She is Kalaan, after all.
Virginie said to herself. Try as she might, she still couldn’t completely accept that the man and the woman were one and the same. It was all just so… unbelievable! She told herself that, with time, she would eventually get used to the transformations, and she smiled when she thought how she’d been blessed by life because she would have Kalaan every night from now until the end of time and a real true friend in Catherine every day.

It took all morning to prepare the duchess’ departure. She was her typical shrewish self, as usual. Yet, much to everyone’s surprise, she seemed resigned to boarding the little fishing boat with all her bags and baggage and return to the mainland.

“I wager she’s ill before reaching the ramparts!” exclaimed Isabelle who was following her departure through a telescope. Catherine, Amélie, and Virginie were next to her.

“And I,” countered Catherine, in her tinkling lilt, “Wager she is already feeling the effect.” Lil’ Louis would be able to confirm Catherine’s prediction when he returned later that evening.

“Is it not a little cruel to make her travel on that nutshell?” asked Amélie, who was a charitable soul and knew a strong stomach was essential on that boat, known to pitch and roll on even the calmest of seas.

“Retribution mother, retribution!” Catherine sang out, “And don’t worry about gossip. The old bat Delatour won’t say a thing for fear I reveal she was friends with a murderer.”

“With no proof, it won’t be easy to bring Darius to justice,” Virginie said with a heavy heart.

“Let’s put our faith in Vidocq,” Catherine replied, confidently. “We’ll tell him about Josephe, as well as Georges Maltinard, when we deliver the scoundrel. It won’t take the chief of the Parisian police long to bring him to confess.”

“Let’s hope so,” Virginie murmured again, taking Catherine’s hand in hers.

“Isn’t that
Ar sorserez
, ready to set sail?” Isabelle suddenly exclaimed. Catherine laughed and gave her telescope to her curious sister who grabbed it.

“Oh! Kalaan! You rascal!” she exclaimed before giggling. “Delatour is going to be furious!”

And for good reason. All of Her Grace’s personnel had boarded the dinghies and were already passing her ship on their way to the luxurious frigate moored in the closed port. The crew had instructions to welcome her servants on board and to treat them like royalty, giving them the best crossing of their lives, all right under the duchess’ nose.

“Such a scoundrel. You will never change, my son,” Amélie said, amused by the story when Kalaan explained what he’d done.

“My lady buccaneer,” Virginie laughed, looking at him with her beautiful gray eyes sparkling with joyous love.

Everyone went about their business after dinner. Dorian and Catherine went to see Jaouen, Amélie and Isabelle oversaw their staff’s move back into the castle, while Virginie helped Gwendoline move her belongings. It was a calm and peaceful day especially knowing Darius was well guarded, under lock and key in a stall at the stables.

Virginie was coming up from the village where she met many of the islanders all of whom were warm and friendly and very happy to be living on Croz. She was smiling as she breathed in the salty sea air brought in by the cool wind. In the distant blue sky the gulls were flying in groups, whirling and swooping, calling out to each other in screams that sounded like laughter. Then they would plunge down behind fishing boats probably heavily loaded with fish.

This isle is a true paradise, with its fertile green land surrounded by a sea that goes from bluish gray to turquoise depending on the weather. Today the waters were a lovely dark blue capped with ribbons of white foam where the currents met. Virginie was breath-taken by the majestic beauty of it all. The sun would be setting in an hour and her heart was full of joy thinking that should finally be with Kalaan again at the longhouse; but she then blushed, berating herself for the provocative thoughts that crossed her mind.

“Mam’selle! Mam’selle!” called out the breathless and hoarse voice of a young boy she recognized right away.

“Oh, Gerald! You look upset,” she said, noticing his distress. He avoided her eyes by searching for something his bag.

“I’m so sorry, Mam’selle! Mama boxed my ears earlier to punish me, but I didn’t do it on purpose, honest!”

“What are you talking about?” Virginie asked with curiosity. She frowned as Gerald brought a large crumpled envelope out of his bag and held it out to her.

“I was to give it to Clovis with the other letters, but later I saw I’d forgotten it. Then it was the cap’n who returned from Egypt with my papa and I completely forgot about it, until this morning when my mama told me to clean the mess in my bag.”

Virginie’s head was spinning and she held her breath. She recognized the distinctive handwriting on the cover as Georges Maltinard’s. Quaking inside, her trembling hands took the letter from Gerald and she felt a sense of hope coming back to her. Could he have sent her proof incriminating Darius in her father’s death before he was murdered?

“I’m really sorry Mam’selle.” Gerald repeated, feeling very guilty. “I can see ‘tis very important to you.”

“I’m not upset with you my boy.” Virginie spoke softly to him, lifting his chin and looking him in the eyes. “In a way, it was good that you forgot this letter because it is now that it has a precious value.”

If the letter had arrived earlier, it could have made things more difficult, if Darius had searched her belongings and found it before she had a chance to talk to Kalaan about it, it could have been her body they found instead of the sheep. Now that danger was out of the way, the letter could only bring more support for what was to follow.

“True?” Gerald smiled.

“Oh, yes!” Virginie exclaimed, flashing a wonderful smile before leaning over to kiss the boy on the cheek. “Run along now. You’re a hero!”

He took off down the steep slope into the village, running in his wooden clogs, which made Virginie worry he might fall and hurt himself. But the boy was used to running that way. He whooped in joy as he went along, raising his hands to the sky.

Smiling, Virginie opened the envelope and began to read Georges’ letter. She quickly leafed through the four pages he’d sent, getting paler and paler as she read.

“’Tis worse than I thought,” she gasped, her hand on her throbbing heart. She had to find Kalaan, right away!

When she reached the broken circle, he was there. He had obviously taken a detour on his way back from seeing Jaouen and, as she had earlier, was admiring the view of the sea, which was even more beautiful on this side of the island.

“Kal... Catherine!” Waving the letter from Georges Maltinard above her head, Virginie called out to him, but was careful with his name in case there were indiscreet ears around.

The lady pirate turned to look at her and waved, a big smile on her face. Kalaan was happy to see her, here in this unique and magical place, the spot where they’d loved each other passionately for the first time. As he watched Virginie approach, his smile became hesitant. She looked devastated by something, almost in a state of shock.

“What is it, Ginny? What’s wrong?” he asked in a worried tone, quietly cursing his feminine voice.

“It’s… the letter from the detective! Gerald forgot to give it to Clovis the morning you arrived here. You must read it. It…it’s beyond understanding.”

Kalaan eagerly took the pages with his slender fingers and fervently began reading the letter. When he came to the end, his face was taut with tension and his amber-green eyes were colder than Virginie had ever seen them.

“I will kill him,” he growled.

“And who do you wish to kill, young lady?” It was the inimitable and reviled voice of Darius Borgas, mocking the couple.

Virginie let out a scream of horror and turned to see the man close to one of the standing stones. His clothes were covered in dark dirt and straw and he didn’t have the same bearing as before, yet he had a terribly dangerous aura about him. How did he manage to escape?

Kalaan grabbed Virginie by the arm and pushed her behind his back to protect her from the man pointing a pistol at them. The young count unconsciously made the same life-saving gesture his father had just before taking the bullet that killed him.

“Oh now, how very sweet,” Darius said, maliciously mocking them. “There is a code of chivalry among women. Isn’t that interesting! However you are wasting your energy trying to protect the marchioness, young lady,” he continued, “I have a bullet for each of you.”

Kalaan berated himself for not bringing a weapon with him. How was he going to save Virginie? He would have to find a parry and distract the monster. With a little luck he might be able to seize the weapon and kill the man before he carried out his threat.

“Don’t you move young lady!” Darius ordered, when he sensed that Catherine was preparing to act. “So,” he added waving the barrel of his gun in their general direction, “What did Georges the snoop tell you? Oh! I know… First he told you why I killed your beloved papa.”

Virginie stiffened behind Kalaan and gripped the back of his jacket. He heard her gasp when Darius mentioned her father.
Don’t move, Ginny
, he thought, praying the young woman would remain still.

If only he had Dorian’s gifts! Kalaan widened his eyes and Darius misinterpreted the expression. The repulsive man thought Georges hadn’t mentioned the Marquis de Macy, whereas Kalaan had simply thought of a way out of this situation. He would summon Dorian by calling him using his thoughts. He would tell him where he was, who was with him and that Virginie was in deadly danger.

“Your dear father, Virginie, was nothing more than a damned snoop! In order to meet him at your home several times, and thwart him, I invented the excuse that I wanted to ask your hand in marriage. Sorry to dash your illusions, but ‘twas only a ruse. You are of no significance to me whatsoever. Then one day I caught him red-handed. He’d seen me conversing with a few disreputable characters. They, and I, are members of the Poisoners’ Guild
[71]
. Hmm, yes… I see that you’ve heard of us; our reputation as assassins precedes us. It is nothing more than a job, but with very lucrative contracts. So, I couldn’t let him live, with that knowledge. It was very easy to have him drink a lethal substance such as
Cantarella
[72]
. Especially since as an apothecary, I have all the necessary ingredients at hand.”

“You are an abominable human being!” Virginie preferred to hide her pain behind a mask of anger, but Catherine, kept her safely in place behind her.

“Oh no, I’m not abominable in the least; I’m only trying to get my throne! Yes, yes, yes... Georges Maltinard must have told you my plans, which were to mount a
coup d’état
, and overthrow Charles X, that buffoon! Besides now ‘tis only a question of time. I will poison him as with the others; and it will be easy, because I’m often with him. Then I will kill everyone who might potentially stand in my way — from the aristocrats such as the pudgy Delatour to the members of parliament and even the clergy. All those who go against my wishes will die! Each and every one, down to the very last rebel! And in less than a year I will become the King of France!”

Darius spoke with demonic pomposity, his eyes lit up with complete insanity. Only a madman could possibly believe in a project of that kind, or that degree of slaughter. The bloodthirsty madman only had one word on his lips: kill!