WINDOWS: A BROKEN FAIRY TALE (26 page)

“So what do we do
now?”
 
The blonde wasn’t close to calm,
but understood the situation.

“First, turn
around a pull up your shirt.”

           
“Why?”

 
“I’ve got to remove your mark because they can
track us using it.”

           
Sarah
exploded like one of Raven’s fireballs.
 
“WHAT
DO YOU MEAN ‘TRACK ME’!?”
 
She yelled,
startling a flock of late migrating birds from the trees overhead.

           
“It’s
a safety precaution, if one of us is kidnapped.
 
It’s how I found you in that prison.”

           
Though
Raven’s voice was soft and comforting, Sarah was having none of it.
 
“Well how are we going to get rid of
yours?
 
In case you haven’t noticed, I
can’t use magic.”

           
“Mine
doesn’t work.”
 
The words were heavy with
emotion and as quickly as it erupted, Sarah’s anger subsided.
 
Raven was hurting, having just lost her
entire world.

           
“Why
not?”

The lull before
Raven answered was something Sarah never forgot.
 
The wind ceased its gentle rustling of leaves
on the forest floor.
 
Birds and insects
stopped their harmonious calls.
 
Even
Bryson, whose breath was a constant rumble of distant thunder, was silent.
 
It was as if the world held its breath.

“Because of what
Malleus has done to me.”
 
Before Sarah
could interrupt, Raven held up a hand.
 
Speaking
of this was like pulling a tooth; once she got started it hurt too much to
stop.
 

“The truth is
Malleus is corrupting my body, changing it so that it can contain her
power.
 
I don’t know how she’s doing it
but the side effect is that I’m getting stronger to the point energy is
constantly seeping out of me.
 
The magic
in the tattoo was, basically, negated by contact with my skin.”

           
Without
another word Sarah turned and lifted her shirt.
 
She felt a small jolt of electricity, not unpleasant at all, when
Raven’s hand brushed against her shoulder destroying the mark.

           
The
day was clear and cold, not even a stray cloud passed through the cobalt
sky.
 
Raven and Sarah sought warmth under
a blanket, resting against Bryson who was shielding them from the worst of the
wind.

 
“Sarah,” Raven’s voice hitched as she looked
for the right words to point out the dragon in the room, “I need to tell you
everything but before I do, I am sorry.”

           
The
blonde didn’t respond except to bury herself further under the blanket, the
adrenaline rush had worn off and she could feel the weariness creeping into her
joints.

           
“Sis
and I have known for a couple of years now that there is a spy working for the
Protectorate; someone that has access to all of our secrets.”
 
Raven shifted her body slightly to give Sarah
more room.
 
They had talked about
building a fire but decided against it because the smoke would be seen by
anybody following them.

           
“We
knew that I was a prime suspect because Elspeth doesn’t trust me.
 
Our plan was to have me tried in court, which
worked like a charm, in order to give the real spy a false sense of
security.
 
Then they would do something
foolish and we could nail them.”

           
Sarah
tugged the blanket up under her chin with shivering hands.
 
“So you two have been planning this since
before we met?”

           
“Yes.
 
I needed to act normal and opening a shop has
always been a dream of mine.”

           
“So
I’m just an innocent dupe who was sentenced to death for the sake of your
little plan?”
 
Sarah’s hands were
trembling more fiercely now but with rage rather than cold.
 
“Do you even care that I’m involved.”

           
“Of
course I do, Lil’bit.
 
After you moved to
Valentria, Sis and I were extra careful to make sure you couldn’t be blamed,
that you weren’t around any suspicious activity.
 
Didn’t you find it strange that no matter
where you and I went, one of my sisters was around?”

           
“But
we went to Augusta
alone.
 
How was that being careful?”

           
“I
used Sis’s ID at the bank, remember.
 
That way she could prove that we were in Augusta that night and not in some
clandestine meeting with our enemies.
 
Plus I tipped that bartender really well so he’d remember us.”

           
Sarah
shook her head.
 
Everything was making
sense now that she was looking back on it with new information.
 
They had never really been alone, except in
the shop.
 
Then an idea struck her.

           
“Couldn’t
they be using those crystals like you and Bekah have?
 
Then they wouldn’t have to meet in
person.”
 
Sarah sat up, her anger failing
in the moment of clarity.

           
Raven
nodded, “They could and they are.
 
Unfortunately they’re passing more than just information.
 
Right before we were arrested, Stephen
captured a member of the Protectorate trying to sabotage Elspeth’s car.
 
He had a work pass stamped with Valentria’s
official seal.”

           
“Why
would he name you?”

           
“Because
everybody knows she doesn’t trust me.”
 
A
rueful smile curled Raven’s lips.
 
“Something about always having these hidden agendas.”

           
“That
document could’ve been counterfeited.”
 
Sarah pointed out.

           
“No,
it can’t be.
 
Each territory has its own
magical seal that can not be duplicated.
 
Someone in the castle had to have stamped that
pass.
 
It’s the same as the tattoos we wear.”

           
Realization
on the depths of this conspiracy slowly dawned on Sarah.
 
It went far beyond simply telling the
Protectorate all of Valentria’s plans.
 
Someone very close to Raven and her family was working with their
enemies trying to bring them down from the inside.
 
She laid her head on Raven’s shoulder, trying
to work through every thing she had just learned.

           
“Could
it be Lance?
 
That guard who said you
were at that bar?”
 
Sarah asked, just
tossing ideas out to make sense of the situation.
 
Raven shook her head.

           
“Nah,
it wasn’t Lance.
 
He’s not a high enough
ranking officer to be allowed into Elspeth’s private chambers unescorted.
 
Besides, Sis cast a reading spell on him
during the trial, and he was telling the truth.
 
I knew that when she called me Branwyen.”

           
“Huh?”
 
Sarah was confused.

           
Raven
grinned proudly, “Yeah.
 
Have you ever
heard us call the other anything except ‘Sis’”?
  
   

           
Sarah
thought back and couldn’t remember a time Bekah or Raven had used the other’s
real name.

           
“When
she called me, ‘Branwyen’, it was her way of telling me I was going to be away
for a while.”

           
They
sat in silence for a few moments, Bryson’s guttural snoring somehow comforting
until Sarah put into words the very thought that Raven had been reluctant to
even consider.

           
“What
if it’s someone in your family?”

           
Raven
took a deep, calming breath.
 
It was an
idea that truly scared her.
 
There were,
at most, twenty people with access to that seal of Elspeth’s.
 
The fact that half of them were related to
her, or close enough to be considered family, meant the chances were pretty
good that Sarah was right.
 
Still Raven
held out hope.
 
She’d beaten the odds
plenty of times in the past and now just had to hope that streak continued.

           
Back
in the stone walls of Valentria’s castle, Stephen read the reports with a sense
of unease.
 
Bryson was last spotted
heading north, towards Vestavia, and that proved that they were right in
branding Sarah and Branwyen traitors.
 
His strong sense of attachment to Branwyen not withstanding, her
betrayal signified a distinct shifting in the balance of power.

           
The
Protectorate army easily outnumbered that of Valentria and her allies
three-to-one and possessed the technological advantage.
 
Valentria held the edge in magic.
 
It was a balance that helped maintain
peace.
 
With Branwyen and Bryson joining
forces with their enemies, that fragile harmony was about to come crashing down
like a deck of cards.

Stephen was a
warrior born and years of battle taught him the best way to win a fight was to
not start one at all.
 
Of course, the
somber man in black thought in the glow of the light hanging in his office, if
Elspeth happened to be right about Raven’s other problem.
 
Stephen closed his eyes and massaged his
temples.
 
He could feel history barreling
down upon them, gaining speed with no care for whoever was caught on the
tracks.

The sun bid
farewell to the day, slowly winking out behind the far horizon.
 
Bryson stirred, uncoiling from the ground and
stretching his wings.
 
His companions still
slept, cuddled under the blanket.
 
Raven’s arms were wrapped protectively around Sarah.
 
Gently he nuzzled Raven’s ear with his
snout.
 
She grinned up at him while the
blonde shifted, not wanting to leave the warmth of cover.

“We have to wake
up, Lil’bit.”
 
Raven absent mindedly
kissed Sarah on the forehead.

Sarah groaned at
the unaccustomed stiffness in her neck.
 
She’d happily gotten used to the rather large and extremely comfortable
bed that was currently sitting empty back at the apartment.
 
She wasted no time in blaming Raven for her
various aches and pains.

“Everything isn’t
my fault you know?”
 
Raven insisted with
a mischievous tone, the old fire back.

“Yes it is.”
 
Sarah rubbed her eyes and rolled her head
around trying to loosen the muscles in her neck.

“Nope, Sis was a
bitch long before I met her.”

Sarah smiled a
little, Raven’s infectious humor already chasing away the gathering clouds of
anger.
 
There was justifiable anger at
first, when she thought she was being used, but the explanation made sense and
she knew Raven and Bekah would never put her in harms way intentionally;
whoever the spy was just picked the perfect time for their meeting.

CHAPTER
23: THE RAGING STORM

           
The girl read the map held in her delicate
hands.
 
According to it they should be
reaching their destination sometime within the hour.
 
She was terrified.
 
She bet everything she had on a reckless
gambit that could mean her death, but that wasn’t what worried her.

           
Slowly she walked to the portraits
that hung on the wall.
 
With uncustomary
gentleness she caressed the picture of a blonde haired girl.
 
“I’m gonna keep you safe.” she promised
softly.

           
The shadow squirmed and
twisted.
 
Four windows were now shut but
it wanted more.
 
It understood the need
for patience though, and soon its time would be here.

           
Richard
DeGuire smiled at the multi-faceted jewel.
 
“So you’re telling me that Branwyen and her little friend were able to
slip past all the guards in the castle and escape?”

           
The
figure in the crystal nodded and apologized.
 
Richard chuckled.
 
“It wasn’t your
fault.”
 
He said, “I’m just amazed at how
resourceful the girl is.”

           
“You
aren’t angry?”
 
The voice could barely be
heard, as if it were whispering.

           
Another
chuckle from the leader of the Protectorates, “Of course I’m not.
 
With her running around, Valentria will be to
busy trying to catch a wanted fugitive to pay attention to our plan.
 
This works in our favor.”

           
“It
wouldn’t be wise to underestimate her, My Lord.”, said Brian, “We discovered
that she used a key hidden in the cell to escape.
 
There is no telling how long Raven has been
planning this.

“Just remember to
keep me informed.”
 
Richard said with a
wry grin.
 

           
The
figure nodded once more and the crystal went dark.

“Who were you
talking to?”
 
Bekah asked as she opened
the door.
 
Brian held a Congreve crystal
in his hands and looked up quickly.

           
“I
was talking to Mandy.”
 
He lied.
 

Bekah smiled at
her brother-in-law.
 
They were so cute,
using their crystals to talk even though Mandy was running around somewhere in
the castle.

“Have they found
Raven?
 
Mandy’s worried about her.”
 
Brian stuffed the crystal in his pocket.

“Not yet, but
we’ll keep looking.”
 
Bekah started to
leave but turned back with a smile.
 
“But
tell Mandy that she gets second dibs on hitting her once we do.”

Brian laughed as
Bekah closed the door.

           
“Where
exactly are we going?”
 
Sarah’s teeth chattered
incessantly.
 
After nearly two hours of
flight beneath the frigid moon, the heavy jacket she wore wasn’t doing a whole
lot of good.

           
“To
Jimmy’s parent’s farm.
 
Sis sent word by
him that we would be staying for a while.”
 

Sarah mumbled
something indistinct.
 

“What was
that?”
 
Raven asked.

“I said, ‘Aren’t
you two tired of getting his family involved?’”.

Raven nodded,
“Yeah, but this was the only option.
 
Since the farm is outside of Valentria’s borders, they won’t be breaking
any laws.
 
Besides, nobody will think to
look for us there.”

Sarah figured that
the idea of Raven on a farm was to far-fetched to even be considered.
 
She almost asked if they would get there soon
when Bryson angled downwards, towards a small rectangle of light in the
darkness.

They landed in
front of a large, two story farm house with shingled, tapered roofs.
 
The warm light from the window’s made Sarah
jealous.
 
She had been freezing from the
time they had left the castle, over twelve hours ago.
 
She wanted to be warm.

Raven, who never
seemed to feel the cold, walked up to the heavy oak door and knocked
sharply.
 
A heavy set woman with graying
hair opened it wide.

“What kept you
Lady Branwyen?”
 
She welcomed with a
smile

“Sure glad we
found the right spot or this was gonna be a tad awkward.
 
The icicle is Sarah.”
 
Raven jerked her head towards the other girl,
who rushed into the house and over to the fire to warm her frozen hands not
really caring if she was being rude or not.

           
The
man sitting at a wooden table stood and bowed his head.
 
“Lady Branwyen, Ms. Petty, my wife and I
welcome you to our home.
 
I apologize
that it’s not as nice as what you’re used to.”

           
“Please,
call me Raven, Mr. Browning, and it is we who should apologize for imposing
upon you; you are doing us, and all of Valentria, a great service.”
 

Sarah smiled at
the fire, her back to the room.
 
Raven’s
multiple personalities were a never-ending source of amazement to her.
 
The redhead seemed to flip through them
almost at random, but Sarah knew how to tell which was which.
 
This Raven was closest to the real Branwyen
Chandlish, the same one that had made friends with a little brown haired
commoner.
 

           
After
introductions were complete, and Sarah checked herself for signs of frostbite,
the four settled down to dinner.
 
Mrs.
Browning ladled out large bowls of a thick, meaty stew then put out a loaf of
fresh baked bread and a jar of butter on the table.
 

Sarah’s stomach
gave an excited skip as delicious aromas tickled her nose.
 
There had been food offered back in the jail
but she had been too frightened to eat.
 
Both she and Raven barely remembered to thank their host before diving
in hungrily.
 
Nobody said a word except
to ask for butter and the comfortable sounds of a home-cooked meal filled the kitchen.

 
After second helpings were portioned out,
conversations sprung up.
 
Mr. Browning
and Sarah discussed blacksmithing while Mrs. Browning and Raven giggled and
gossiped over the latest society scandals.
 
When the second bowls were drained, Mrs. Browning hoped everyone saved
room for dessert.
 

“None for me
thanks.
 
I couldn’t eat another
bite.”
 
Sarah felt rather full and
content.

“That’s a
shame.”
 
Mrs. Browning said, carrying the
dishes to the sink, “I don’t know if this Boysenberry cobbler will wait over
night.”
 

Sarah laughed out
loud.
 
No sooner had the words
boysenberry and cobbler been mentioned than she saw Raven’s ears actually perk
up.
 
Knowing the gleam in her friend’s
eye all to well, Sarah suggested that everybody get what they wanted and just
tossing the rest of the cobbler in the general direction of the ginger haired
vacuum.

Mrs. Browning,
following Sarah’s instructions, cut three pieces and poured cups of coffee
before depositing the rest of the dessert in front of Raven, who grinned and
proceeded to finish it off with great gusto.

Pushing the
platter away, having refrained from licking it clean only due to Sarah’s
warning stare, Raven asked why they didn’t just have the cobbler in the first
place.

“Because Lady Rebekah
told me to hide it until after you finished dinner.
 
She was quite insistent on that point.”
 

Raven sat upright,
wondering when her Sis had been by.

“Oh, she hasn’t
come by in person.
 
It was in the letter
that Jimmy brought.
 
I’m supposed to give
this to you as well.”
 
Mrs. Browning passed
Raven a sealed envelope.
 

Tearing it open
with a puzzled look, Raven read the contents out loud.
 
“Dear Sis, do not do anything to embarrass
me.
 
Sarah, you’re in charge of her until
you return.
 
Sis, tell Mrs. Browning she
has my permission to beat you if you get out of line.
 
Love always, Sis.”

Nothing builds
friendships faster than a good laugh after an excellent meal so Raven and Sarah
felt quite at home as Mrs. Browning showed them to their room.
 
It was much smaller than they were used to
but a crackling fire and thick comforter gave it a very cozy feeling.
 
Sarah crawled under the sheets, enjoying the
chill of the blankets against her skin.
 
Raven settled down in the single wooden chair in the corner.

“Why are you
sleeping over there?”
 
Sarah asked.

“I’ve put you
through a lot today so you get the bed.”

“Nonsense, there’s
plenty of room for both of us so come over here and get some sleep.
 
You’re going to need it if we’re going to
help tomorrow.”

Raven needed no
further urging and climbed in, her foot brushing gently over Sarah’s silky
calf.
 
A momentary spark ignited but was
ignored. Sleep might have been what they needed but it did not come easily that
night.
 
Both girls lay with their backs
to each other, alone in their thoughts.

Dawn broke too
early, as it always seems to on cold mornings.
 
Sarah awoke to find herself snuggled comfortably against Raven and lay
there for a few moments before sliding out from under the covers, waking Raven
in the process.
 
Neither had been on a
farm before, and were not interested in starting at such an unreasonable hour
but sleep was impossible.
 
Raven
stretched and yawned while Sarah stamped into her boots.
 
The smell of cooking bacon wafted through the
cracks in the door so they headed into the kitchen to find the Brownings
already having breakfast.

As they sat down
to a hearty meal of eggs, bacon, gravy and a particularly aromatic brand of
coffee Sarah really enjoyed, Mrs. Browning asked the girls what their plans
were for the day.

“We’re going to
help around the farm, of course.”
 
Raven
shoveled a large bite of eggs into her mouth, thinking that should’ve been
obvious to everyone.

Mr. Browning shook
his head, “Don’t be silly.
 
You two are
our guest here so you don’t have to lift a finger.”

Before Raven could
swallow the mouthful, Sarah spoke for them both.
 
“Thank you, Mr. Browning, but my father
always told me that a guest stays for one night.
 
It would be rude of us not to help since we
don’t know how long we’ll be here.”

“Well,” the older
gentleman rubbed his chin, “I suppose you two can help me dig up this stump
that I’ve been meaning to get to.
 
Whenever you’re ready, we’ll get started.”

Raven slurped down
another cup of coffee before moving away from the table, saying she might not
be moving back to Valentria if Mrs. Browning kept cooking such wonderful
meals.
 
Then they walked outside and into
an entirely different world for Lady Branwyen Chandlish.
 

Sarah had long ago
grown accustomed to manual labor and thoroughly enjoyed working in the fall
air. Raven, who spent years training her body for magic and fighting found the
going much, much worse.
 
By the time the
sun struck its highest point of the day, she was sore, dirty and using words
that would’ve earned at least a stern rebuke if Elspeth or Stephen heard
them.
 
Sarah and Mr. Browning found the
spectacle quite entertaining but Raven’s nerves were frayed well beyond the
point of laughing at anything.
 

They settled down
for a quick lunch Mrs. Browning brought out to them.
 
Afterwards, Sarah and Mr. Browning picked up
their axes, but Raven had a better idea..
 
Only about a quarter of the roots had been cut, and to her that was time
wasted.
 
With a quick word and gesture
from the sorceress, Bryson strolled into the pasture, giving the Brownings
quite a fright.
 
Raven whispered into the
dragon’s ear and the two of them shared a chuckle before Bryson gripped the
stump in his mighty claws and wrenched it from the ground.
 
Taking flight, the enormous chunk of tree
still dropping bits of earth from its roots, the dragon flew westward and was
soon lost in the afternoon sun.

“I’m going to take
an extremely long and extremely hot bath.”
 
Raven exclaimed as she stomped towards the house.
 
Sarah could only laugh, quite proud that it
took Raven this long to resort to magic.
 
The Brownings stood there, gaping in awe after the flying lizard.