WINDOWS: A BROKEN FAIRY TALE (25 page)

To Sarah, none of
it seemed real.
 
She saw Chad Longman, a
customer who had visited their store numerous times, so enraged that spittle
flew from his mouth.
 
A pocketbook just
missed her head.
 
Terrified beyond words
she cringed against the onslaught.
 

Raven remained
frighteningly calm.
 

Finally order was
restored, despite a few random calls for Raven’s head.
 
Elspeth was visibly shaken.
 
“You dare stand inside my throne room and
tell us that you used forbidden magic while breaking a direct order.
 
You have gone to far Branwyen Chandlish.
 
You are aware of the punishment for this
crime?”

“Death, the same
one as the crime of treachery.”
 
Raven
shrugged her shoulders.
 

           
 
The silence that followed was all the more
ominous for the excitement a moment ago.
 

After a long
moment, Emma spoke.
 
Her voice was firm
and crisp.
 
“Sarah Petty, this court
finds sufficient evidence to try you for conspiracy to commit treason.”
 
Sarah hung her head at the words, not knowing
how to protest her innocence but Judge Lockwood wasn’t finished.
 
“Lady Branwyen Chandlish, this court finds
sufficient evidence to try you for conspiracy to commit treason.
 
For the crime of using forbidden magic, this
court finds you guilty.
 
The trial is set
for tomorrow at noon.”

Rebekah screamed, the unexpected cry
startling everyone.
 
“Branwyen, how could
you?
 
Don’t we mean anything to you at
all?”
 
Rebekah collapsed, wails of sorrow
turning the attention of the court to her.
 
Raven, for once, remained silent.

In the confusion
nobody noticed Brian slipping through a side door.
 
Once he was safely out of hearing range he
pulled a small crystal from his jacket pocket and whispered into it.
 
Almost immediately the face of Richard DeGuire
appeared in the cragged gem.

           
“Your
plan worked even better than expected, sir.”
 
Brian said with a smile.
 
“Raven
and Sarah are going to be tried tomorrow.”

           
Richard
asked in a hollow voice if Brian were certain they couldn’t escape.

           
“I
made sure that Raven’s shackles were a pair of her own design that negates
magic power.”

           
“A
witch trapped by her own spells.
 
There’s
a certain poetic justice in that.
 
Are
you certain you are alright with your sister-in-law and her little friend
dying?”

“Sacrifices must
be made, sir.”
 
Brian answered, tilting
his head slightly.

“There’s no reason
to be so formal Brian, after all today is a day of celebration.
 
Now we can begin the next step in our plan to
help ease the world into its new age.
 
Keep me informed.”

Brian Thompson
smiled and once more bowed his head to the crystal before shoving it back into
his jacket.

Sarah sat alone in
darkness, trying desperately to come up with some final defense for tomorrow,
before they were tried.
 
The lawyer
assigned to their defense suggested, based on the amount of evidence gathered,
throwing themselves on the mercy of the court.
 
Sarah doubted if there were any mercies to be found there.

Knowing she would
need her wits tomorrow, Sarah tried to rest.
 
Sleep, when it came, was fitful.
 
She dozed off only to jerk moments later, certain that she heard a key
in the cell door, signaling her last day.
 
Twice now she had been imprisoned, falsely
accused of a crime she couldn’t possibly have committed.
 
This time her only hope for salvation was
asleep in the cell across the hall, snoring gently.

Not for the first
time Sarah wondered if Raven was really dense or if she had no concept of
fear.
 
In the short time they’d known
each other, Raven had jumped off an airship, been blown up by her sister, broke
into a Protectorate prison and been stabbed at least twice by Sarah’s
count.
 
What made matters worse was that
Raven’s seeming disregard for her own existence extended to everyone unlucky
enough to find themselves in her general vicinity.
 
Sarah’s life had been in danger more often than
was comfortable for someone who just wanted to be a blacksmith, and it terrified
her.
 
Raven just walked head first into
the monster’s lair, grinning from ear to ear.
 
She didn’t know whether to admire the possibly insane redhead or be
annoyed.
 

The girl whose
sanity was in question snorted and sat up, blinking stupidly in the dark.
 
She tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes
but banged her chin on the manacles around her wrist.
 
The sharp pain woke her fully and she
remembered where she was.
 
Carefully
Raven stood and searchingly ran her fingers over the stones on the left side of
the room.
 
She found it after a
heart-stopping moment, a smooth surface undetectable by sight but easily
noticeable when touched.
 
Raven used the
edge of her cuffs to smash the orb, trying to make as little noise as possible;
she didn’t want to have to kill someone for just doing their job.
 
After a second’s pause to make sure she
wasn’t heard, she reached into the small opening, cautiously avoiding the
shards of glass.
 
Grinning in the
darkness she pulled out a large metal key and quickly fit it into the
shackles.
 
There was no way these
shackles could’ve kept her chained if she didn’t want to be, but it wouldn’t do
to let the spy know how powerful she really was.
 
Besides, letting everyone wonder how she had
gotten a key would make things more confusing and that could help in the
escape.
 
The cuffs sprung open and Raven
was free.
 
With a small jerk of her
fingers, the prison door unlocked and she stepped into the hallway.

Immediately two
guards jumped to their feet.
 
One drew
his sword and advanced on the unconcerned Raven.
 
The other ran for a red button on the
wall.
 
Raven calmly reached out both of
her hands and clenched them tightly into fist.
 
Hands of stone grew from the floor, ensnaring the two men who struggled
mightily to escape, but to no avail.

Before the men
could shout, Raven cast a quick spell to take away their voices.
 
Now the only question was if she wanted to
leave quietly, with as little destruction as possible, or have some fun.

“Hey, Lil’bit,”
Raven decided to ask someone else’s opinion, “When we escape do you want
dramatic and death defying, or do you want boring and safe.”

Sarah thought
she’d heard something and walked cautiously to the door of her cell.
 
Looking through the small window she saw
Raven standing there looking like a child faced with a mountain of presents.
 
Sarah tried to say something but her voice
was still lost.
 
Raven smacked herself on
the forehead and groaned before remedying the problem.

It took Sarah’s
stunned mind a second to realize her voice was back.
 
“Let’s get out of here quietly, please.”

Raven’s shoulders
slumped.
 
After being stuck in that cell
for hours, she really wanted to make something explode.
 
Acting like her birthday had been forgotten,
Raven opened Sarah’s cell.
 
“Are you
sure?”
 
She pleaded, “We could make it
the stuff they write poetry about.”

Sarah shook her
head as Raven turned back to the desk.
 
She saw the redhead grab a pen and quickly jot down a note before
turning to the two guards.

“Chad, Clay, you
two alright?”

The men nodded.

“Those rocks
aren’t too tight, are they?”

The men shook
their heads.

Raven waved
good-bye and slipped into a dark hallway followed by Sarah.
 
Twenty minutes later Elspeth would be
standing in front of the guards, fuming and reading the letter Branwyen had
left behind.

           
Dear Elspeth,

Don’t be to upset with them; they tried their best.
 
I’ll see y’all

when this fiasco is over.
 
Say
bye to Sis for me.

                                               
Love,
Raven

CHAPTER
22: THE ESCAPE

Raven led them
through a labyrinth of tunnels Sarah never knew existed.
 
At one point she could hear guards through
the wall they were hiding behind but that was as close as they came to being
stopped.
 
Eventually Raven slid open a
small panel and the two fugitives stepped into the dark kitchen.

           
“We’ll
go out through the service entrance.”
 
Raven whispered.
 
Sarah’s didn’t
answer, fear having stolen her voice more completely than Bekah’s spell.
 
They angled around the tables, feeling their
way slowly.

           
Two
guards had been posted at the door and turned as it opened.
 
Raven moved fast but one cried loudly, his
voice ringing in the dark.
 
Both men were
unconscious before they hit the ground.
 
Raven looked peeved as lights flared in the castle windows.
 
“I wanted to wait until we were further
away.”
 
She fussed, stepping over the
guards, “But I think it’s best if we put a lot of distance between us and here quickly
as possible.”

Raven’s familiar,
a silent mass of darkness hidden in shadows, lumbered into the yard.
 
The morning sun peeked over the mountains as
the two girls climbed onto Bryson’s back and flew away from the castle.

“Pack some clothes
in a hurry.”
 
Raven barked briskly as
Bryson landed heavily on the shop’s roof.
 
Already sirens could be heard in the distance.

           
“What
about Snuffles?”
 
Sarah asked, sliding
from the dragon’s neck.

           
Raven
cursed.
 
She had forgotten about the
damned prairie-thumper and there wasn’t a lot of time.
 
“Put him in his cage, we’ll take him to Beverly’s.”
 
They rushed through the roof’s door.

           
Sarah
raced to find Snuffles and grab her clothes but Raven headed down to the
shop.
 
Quickly she grabbed some
inscribing tools and the new sword she had Sarah make for her.
 
Then she tore up the stairs and snatched an
already packed duffle bag out of her closet.

           
When
they were back on the roof, Raven thought of how to proceed next.
 
She hadn’t meant for Sarah to be involved but
now she was so precautions had to be taken.
 
Biting her lip to stop from screaming she drew the blade of her sword
across her palm.
 
Blood welled from the
deep wound and splattered wetly on the tiles.
 
Working quickly Raven dipped her fingers into the crimson liquid,
drawing intricate patterns.
 
Bryson
watched, unnerved by what he saw but remained silent.

           
Sarah
was through being quite.
 
“What do you
think you’re doing Raven?”

           
“I’m
putting a seal on the shop.
 
There are
things I don’t need getting out.”

           
“By
using blood magic?
 
You know that’s
illegal?”

           
Raven
finished the rune and poured a little healing potion on her hand.
 
The truth of their situation settled in
Sarah’s stomach like a stone when Raven calmly asked, “What are they going to
do?
 
Arrest me?”

           
Before
they could talk anymore, Bryson coughed.
 
“Ladies, I think it’s time we go.”
 
As they lurched off the shop, Sarah saw Valentria guards milling around
the store front trying to get in.

           
Bryson
dodged and weaved through the city streets, heading towards the middle of
town.
 
Early morning commuters dove out
of the way as he crashed down on the pavement sending small tremors through the
nearby buildings, no longer trying to be discreet.
 
Raven leapt from his back.
 
Grabbing Snuffles cage she rushed up to Beverly’s house.
 
After a third strike rattled the flimsy door
a man appeared, demanding to know what was going on.
 
Any thought of barring Raven’s entrance was
quickly forgotten as he stared nose to snout with the dragon.

           
“Beverly!”
 
Raven shouted before spotting the small woman
clasping a housecoat tightly around her chest.

           
“Lady
Branwyen, what’s going on?”
 
She asked
haltingly.
 
Being woken up by a member of
the nobility was taxing on the nerves.

           
Raven
was in a hurry and dropped the cage to the floor making Snuffles howl in
protest.
 
“The guards will be here in
five minutes so I need you to pay attention.
 
Take this money,” Raven shoved 2,000 gullions into the surprised woman’s
hand, “and take care of Snuffles.
 
Don’t
go to the shop.
 
It’s sealed tight.”

           
“Why
are there guards coming?
 
Lady
Branwyen…”
 
Beverly stopped talking as Raven shook her
head.

           
“Sarah
and I are in a bit of trouble so we have to leave for a while.
 
We’ll explain eventually.
 
I hope.”

           
Beverly’s husband, who
Raven eventually remembered was named Josh, asked what they needed to tell the
guards.

           
“Everything.
 
Don’t lie to them and don’t try to hide
anything.
 
In fact, as soon as we leave
it would be a good idea if you were to go find them yourself.”

           
Then
Raven noticed Alma
staring up from the hem of her mother’s skirt.
 
Taking a deep breath she knelt down and patted the brown haired
girl.
 
“Promise not to believe everything
you hear, little one.
 
Okay?”
 
Alma
nodded and Raven dashed outside.

           
Bekah
was alone in her room when a sharp knock at the door jolted her.
 
Hurriedly she tossed her Congreve crystal
behind the bed and started crying again.
 
The powdered remains of a similar looking crystal glinted on the night
stand.

           
“Who
is it?”
 
She croaked.
 
Elspeth’s voice came from the other side of
the door.

           
“Go
away!”
 
Bekah screamed shrilly.
 
“You killed her!”

           
Elspeth
opened the door despite what her daughter said.
 
She felt the need to explain things now, before the feelings of betrayal
could fester.
 
“She’s still alive.
 
The guards are reporting that both Branwyen
and Sarah flew off on Bryson.”
 
Bekah
cried louder and jerked away as Elspeth tried to touch her shoulder.
 
“Honey, I had no choice, you know that.”

           
“You
could have banished her.
 
You’ve always
hated her, haven’t you?”
 
Bekah screamed
wildly as tears ran down her cheeks.
 
Rather calmly she thought about what they should have for dinner.
 
Pot roast sounded delicious.

           
“Of
course not, Bekah.
 
How could you even
ask such a thing?”
 
Elspeth finally
backed the screeching girl into a corner and reached out a comforting arm.
 
Bekah didn’t shy away this time.
 
“I’ve always cared about Branwyen but I have
the safety of Valentria to consider.
 
She
knows too many of our secrets to just be left alive.”

           
Bekah’s
lower lip trembled and she looked into her mother’s face.
 
“Why did she do it mom?
 
Was it me?”
 
Fresh tears rolled down from red, puffy eyes.
 
Oh, cheesy mashed potatoes would be great
with the pot roast.
 
Maybe some steamed
carrots.

           
“No,
it wasn’t.”
 
Elspeth comforted Bekah who
she felt to be the real victim in all of this.
 
Branwyen’s treachery wounded them all but it was Rebekah who suffered
the most.

           
Still
crying into her mom’s shoulder, Bekah made up her mind.
 
Yes, pot roast would be an excellent choice
for dinner.

           
Beverly clutched her
dressing gown tighter around her thin form, trying to escape the stern eye of
Stephen Alexander, who had just arrived at their door.

           
“What
did they tell you?”
 
The large man
growled.
 
Even if she wanted to there was
no chance of lying to him.

           
She
repeated everything that happened, just as she told the other guard a few
minutes prior.
 
“Lady Branwyen gave me
this money and said to look after Snuffles.”

           
“And
the shop?”

           
Beverly’s husband pushed
his way in front of his wife.
 
“Lady
Branwyen said that it was locked tight.
 
We’ve told you everything that happened so what more do you want from
us?”

           
Stephen
glowered at the man.
 
The information
they provided matched what an examination of the shop reveled.
 
It was shuttered by some form of magic the
guards couldn’t penetrate yet.
 
Still,
this couple was their best chance for tracking down the traitors.

           
Beverly pulled her husband
back.
 
“Please, Mr. Alexander, can’t you
tell us what’s going on?”

           
“Branwyen
and Sarah are criminals, guilty of betraying Valentria.”
 
He didn’t see any reason to hide the truth,
and the severity of the situation might jar something in these people’s memory.

 
A small voice answered from a darkened
doorway.
 
“You’re wrong.”

Alma’s parents rushed to her but Stephen’s
bark stopped them.
 
He gestured the child
forward and bent down.
 
“What do you
mean?”

The little girl
was very afraid but tried not to show it.
 
Staring at the man with the jagged scar, Alma lifted her chin.
 
“Raven made me promise not to believe
everything I hear.”

Stephen looked at
them, the man shielding his wife and daughter protectively.
 
What was Branwyen thinking, he mused.
 
She knew full well all of Valentria’s guards
were after them but still stopped running long enough to make sure a pet was
taken care of?
 
And paying this woman a
few months worth of wages?
 
Were these
really the actions of a traitor?
 
There
were no answers to be found in this small house, so with a curt nod, he left.

Bryson took a
circuitous route up into the mountains after leaving Valentria.
 
They would have to wait for nightfall to hide
their real destination.

The girls slid to
the ground, but before either could say a word, a sharp crack split the cold
morning.
 
A cold and angry beast gnawed
in Sarah’s stomach as a handprint grew darker on Raven’s face.
 
“What the hell have you done, Branwyen?
 
I am going to be executed as soon as your
family catches us.”

Raven swallowed
hard.
 
The sting from the slap was
nothing compared to the pain she felt at seeing the betrayal in Sarah’s
eyes.
 
“You won’t be executed.
 
There was never any chance of that happening
to either of us.”

Sarah’s lips
curved over her teeth, “Her Highness sure seems to think we’re going to be.”

“Before we made it
to the gallows, Sis would’ve told Elspeth everything, except for Malleus.
 
Your life has never been in danger.”

Still not
believing what she heard, Sarah demanded to know how they could be
certain.
 

“After you moved
to town, we made special arrangements.
 
Even if something were to happen to me or Sis, it’s stated in our wills
that you are innocent of all charges.”
 
Raven felt like crying but didn’t dare.

Sarah wasn’t
satisfied.
 
“Bekah cast a spell on me
during the trial, didn’t she?”

Raven sniffled
once.
 
“Yes.
 
She did it because you were about to tell
them about Malleus, weren’t you?

The silence
answered Raven’s question.
 
Sarah could
accept that the two sisters had done everything possible to keep her safe but
she wanted to be told next time.