The Eye of the Wolf (45 page)

          Victoria’s eyes
gleamed, sending shivers of panic through Mikayla. “She’s mad!” was all Mikayla
could think. A shudder went through Mikayla as the image of the blood pooling
around Dejeune seeped into her consciousness, a memory repressed by happier
images. “You killed him?” Her voice squeaked slightly, betraying the cool
exterior she tried to portray.

          Victoria smiled
that feline smile that many found endearing, but instead made Mikayla all the
more nervous. “Of course, Darling. I also knocked you unconscious with the
scepter from the jewel case, but of course, you would know that since you
opened the case after the police had sealed the building off as a crime scene.”

          Mikayla glanced
over her shoulder as the brightly lit festival area disappeared into the
darkness. She drew in a deep breath, drawing the salty air into her lungs in
gulps, seeking calm and clear thoughts. “Why didn’t you just kill me then, when
you had the chance? Why did you let me live?”

Victoria kicked aside the sweeping skirt and began
the descent down finely chiseled stone steps, pulling Mikayla along with her.
“Because, darling, you are important to me. I still need you. I couldn’t kill
the best investment I had ever made, could I?”

If it hadn’t been for the maniacal gleam in
Victoria’s eyes, Mikayla could have believed Victoria actually cared what
happened to her. It was the pure evil in her eyes that told Mikayla different.
She stumbled over her own skirt and high heels as Victoria gracefully swept
along the staircase. “Where are you taking me, Victoria?”

          Victoria smiled
at Mikayla, that smile that originally had led her to believe they might be
friends. “Why, Mikayla, we’re going on a treasure hunt, and you,” she pressed
the barrel of the gun into her rib cage making her gasp, “you are going to do
the hunting.”

          Mikayla swallowed
and clenched her dress in her trembling hands, willing calm to come over her.
She knew she didn’t have a chance against Victoria if her thoughts weren’t
clear. If she focused on her terror, she would die terrified. She wasn’t
willing for that to happen. She allowed herself to be led down the stairs and
through the gate. It struck her as strange that there were no guards at the
gates when normally no one could enter the Secluded City without passing five
guards at that one gate alone.

          “You’re wondering
about the guards, aren’t you?” Victoria’s voice was cool in the evening air as
they crossed the bricked street and mounted the stairs to the cathedral looming
in the dark.

          When Mikayla
nodded faintly, Victoria’s tinkling laugh echoed through the air. “We don’t
have to worry about them. They are all inside, enjoying the party.” She removed
her arm from Mikayla’s and shoved Mikayla in the back with the barrel of the
gun, forcing her to pull open the heavy doors of the cathedral. “You see, my
dear Mikayla, I have had this evening planned for a very long time. It is
unfortunate that Dejeune and Kankaredes can’t be here to celebrate with me. You
will do just fine though.”

          Mikayla stepped
into the darkened cathedral, stumbling as one of her heels snagged on the
threshold of the ancient building. It broke off, sending her sprawling to the
floor. She whimpered as Victoria grabbed her hair, yanking her to her knees.
Victoria’s face was inches from Mikayla’s; the gun pressing against her temple,
cold steel against her sweating brow.

          “Mikayla, I would
recommend to you that it is in your best interest for your health, to get to your
feet, quit pretending you are helpless, and get to work. Find me the Eye of the
Wolf, and I might let you live!” Victoria’s perfectly shaped brows rose and her
perfect lips curved into a slight smile.

          Mikayla swallowed
the fear and regained her feet. She followed the aisles of the cathedral
towards the lanterns that decorated the alter. As she moved carefully in the
dark, she was aware of Victoria’s movements behind her and the barrel of the
gun pointed at her back. Satin and silk swished in the stillness as they moved.
Mikayla’s mind whirled, trying to come to terms with the swift turn of events
that she had not expected. She also tried to figure out a way of escape, but
deep inside, she knew she wasn’t strong enough or smart enough to outwit the princess
who had turned into a demon.

          Victoria ordered
Mikayla to stop when they reached the foot of the alter. Mikayla turned slowly
to face Victoria, whose beautiful face was now distorted with greed and the
energy that comes to the insane when they have finally seen their plans through
to fruition. Victoria prowled back and forth in front of Mikayla, the gun and
her eyes never leaving Mikayla’s face. The brilliant green of the hunter’s eyes
piercing the dim light, glowing from the darkness. A fresh wave of fear
slithered along Mikayla’s spine as the cold trickle of sweat rolled down her
back.

          “Now, my dear, I
want you to start digging.” Victoria gestured with the pistol to the shovel and
pick-axe on the altar.

          Mikayla gestured
helplessly. “I already dug in the spot I thought the stone would be, but it
wasn’t there.” She narrowed her eyes on Victoria’s face, a cold thought
entering her mind. “But you already knew that since you’ve been following every
step of my research since I started.”

          Victoria shrugged
elegantly and draped her shoulder wrap over the end of a pew. The gun never
moved from where it pointed, now at Mikayla’s forehead. “Yes, I have, and I
must admit, you are much more intelligent and clever than I originally
perceived.” She perched on the arm of the wooden pew, elegantly crossing one
leg over the other. “You see, you were my idea. I figured a female professor
couldn’t possibly be as intelligent as some of the imbeciles Dejeune wanted to
bring to complete the project. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I should have
assumed that another female might be just as clever as I am.” She raised an eye
brow. “Which is why I know that you know exactly where the sapphire is. You
purposefully led my brother on a hunt in the wrong grave. You’ve known for
quite awhile, and you are going to lead me to it now.”

          Mikayla
swallowed. She willed her voice to remain calm, even as she entwined her
fingers behind her back trying to calm the tremors that quaked along her body.
“What makes you believe I purposefully led Will to the wrong grave?”

          Victoria smirked.
“Because, darling, you believed he was the murderer. You were afraid that if
you led him to the correct grave, he would no longer have use for you, and
probably kill you in your sleep as you lay next to him.”

          Mikayla’s eyes
widened as she realized that Victoria’s sources of information were better than
she could have ever imagined. Mikayla tried for a laugh, but she knew she was
transparent. When Victoria continued to smirk, Mikayla untwisted her fingers
and smoothed her sweaty hands across the skirt of her dress. She kept her eyes
on the marble floor, her mind working, seeking some answer. It was then that
she realized, the longer she kept Victoria talking, the more likely it was that
someone would notice that they had disappeared and hopefully would come
searching for them. As pitiful as the idea seemed, she knew it was possibly her
only salvation from the fate that seemed inevitable.

          Mikayla raised
her eyes and locked them with Victoria’s cold green ones. “So, Your Highness,
where do you think the sapphire is hidden then, since you’ve been so careful to
follow all of my research, including stealing the diary from my living room?”

          Victoria slowly
uncrossed her legs and stood from her perch.  She crossed to Mikayla and
slowly pressed the barrel into Mikayla’s forehead until tears formed on the
brims of her lashes from the pressure and pain. “Find it, Mikayla, or I kill
you now!” Her voice was calm, every word evenly measured. She knew what Mikayla
was trying to do, but it wasn’t going to work. She had been one step ahead the
entire time, and this little American professor wasn’t going to prevent her
from becoming Queen of Amor, the sole sovereign of the island nation.

          Mikayla gasped in
tiny breaths as panic bubbled up inside of her. She nodded her head slightly
and turned towards the shovel and pick-axe. Carefully, she hefted the pick-axe
before climbing the three steps onto the altar. She took a deep breath and
looked down at the marble plaque at her feet. With a hefty swing, she let the
axe fall, striking and cracking the eight hundred year old marble, desecrating
the tomb of Queen Elena.

          Victoria cackled
from behind as Mikayla swung the axe, chopping the marble into small pieces,
pieces that could easily be moved. Victoria climbed the steps and stood on the
opposite side of the tomb from where Mikayla worked, sweat glistening on her
skin as she moved the marble aside and began to dig into the dirt and rock
beneath the floor of the cathedral. She kept the gun level with Mikayla’s head,
prepared to end the life of someone who was an innocent except for being in the
wrong place at the wrong time. She sang softly to herself the national anthem
of Amor watching as Mikayla worked. The greed filling her until she believed she
was invincible. Once she had the stone, the island would be hers. Then, she
would move on to the next step in her plan, marrying the heir to the throne of
another nation and creating a great empire.

          “Tell me,
Mikayla, how did you determine that the final resting place of Queen Elena was
also the final resting place of the Eye of the Wolf?”

          Mikayla continued
to dig, her hair slipping from its pins, her dress smeared with dirt. She
huffed out a breath and considered ignoring the princess with the gun, but one
glance up at Victoria, who prowled along the edge of tomb like a caged animal
had her changing her mind. “Elena was like a mother to Malachi. He never really
knew his own mother so it would make sense that he would tell himself to look
to his mother’s hand, the only mother he ever knew.” She leaned heavily on the
handle of the shovel and pushed hair from her face. “Plus, the disappearance of
the sapphire and the death of Queen Elena coincide perfectly. Sometimes, the
greatest mysteries are solved by coincidence. It merely required logical
thinking.”

          Victoria paused
and stared down at Mikayla for a moment who rested against the handle of her
shovel. Anger rose inside her at the insinuation that she, Princess Victoria,
was not intelligent enough to put together the story that had plagued the
island and the family’s history for generations. She growled, deep in her
throat. “Get back to work.”

          Mikayla
straightened and grabbed at the shovel as Victoria moved off into the darkness,
her movements smooth, sinuous, like a giant cat stalking in the dark. Her back
was to Mikayla as she moved along the steps of the altar. Her shoulders were
straight and her head high. Mikayla swallowed and picked up the shovel. She
braced the weight and stepped from the grave to the altar. Each step slow,
measured, her breathing shallow so as not to be heard. She knew she was only
going to get one chance.

          She raised the
shovel above her head, held her breath and swung down.

          Victoria jumped
out of the way of the shovel and laughed brightly as the gun leveled again on
Mikayla’s forehead. “Ah hah ah, Mikayla, it isn’t a good idea to try to knock
out the one person who controls your life. You kill me, you go to prison. You
wouldn’t be able to escape this one and the Amorian law is pretty strict about
taking the life of a royal personage. Whether I hold the gun or not, I am still
the Crown Princess of Amor.”

          Mikayla sighed
and backed into the hole she had begun to dig. With her eyes on Victoria, she
resumed her digging. Her brain working furiously, trying to remember every book
she had ever read, every movie she had ever seen where the female lead was held
captive. Unfortunately, for Mikayla, the female lead usually escaped when the
male lead appeared to rescue her.

          Victoria squatted
next to the hole Mikayla stood in so they were eye to eye. “Darling, I know you
are wondering why my fantastically gorgeous brother has not come to rescue you
since that’s how these things happen in romance novels and movies.” Victoria
twirled one of Mikayla’s stray strands of sweat-drenched hair and then pinched
her nose. “Unfortunately, darling, William won’t be rescuing you.” She smiled
and straightened. “He’s dead, dear. It’s just you and I.” The pure evil in her
smile sent shivers of terror along Mikayla’s spine as tears welled in her eyes
and her heart wrenched with pain.

          Victoria sobered
slightly though the glint remained in her eyes. “I know, I shall miss him
greatly also, but…” She shrugged her shoulders and gestured to the digging.
“Get back to work, Mikayla, and you may live to write that book about Amor.”

          Mikayla sniffed
the tears that rolled down her cheeks and dug into the hard-packed dirt. Her
voice was clogged with her grief. “Why, Victoria, why are you doing all of
this?”

          Victoria leaned against
the lectern, watching every move made by Mikayla, no trust between them. “Why,
Mikayla, that one’s easy. I was never going to inherit any throne when I’m the
one who really wanted to inherit it and who had trained for it.”

          Victoria smoothed
her skirt, flicking dirt from the blue fabric. “Mikayla, do you know what it is
like to be the second child, since I am technically four minutes older than
William, and to know that you will never inherit because a male must inherit
the throne?”

          Mikayla continued
to dig, but she listened. Her tears dried and her mind began working again, a
new frantic energy filling her as she tried to find a solution.