CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Phoenix and Jade turned horrified looks on Marcus. His father was Governor Agricola – this cold, hard man in front of them? Agricola chuckled at their dismay. Marcus kept his eyes on his own toes, his mouth thin, his hands gripped into tight fists.
Phoenix had a flash of recall. That was exactly how he had stood before his stepfather only a few days before in the real world. In that second of understanding, the brief flare of anger he’d felt against Marcus vanished. In its place was empathy. If this unpleasant Roman was Marcus’ father, Phoenix could easily see why the boy had run away – if he really had.
That was the key question: had Marcus run away, or had he just been planted to betray them to his father? Was that how Agricola knew so much about them now? His momentary empathy vanished. He couldn’t think of any other logical explanation. The Romans had known exactly where to find them and what their names were. Who else could have told them that? Anger burned again in his veins. They took Marcus into their group in good faith and he betrayed them to their enemies.
Phoenix slid a glance sideways at Jade. She was looking thoughtfully at Marcus. She rubbed the palm of her left hand with her right thumb. Then she looked under her lashes at Phoenix. She seemed to be trying to send him some sort of message. Her green eyes narrowed. She tilted her head a little and rolled her eyes downward.
He looked down but all he could see was her finger pointing and tapping at the palm of her left hand. What was that all about? He inspected his own left hand but saw nothing. Catching her eye again, mouthed ‘what?’ to show he had no idea what she was trying to tell him. Jade grimaced in frustration and shook her head a fraction.
A sudden movement attracted their attention back to the Governor. He stood up. They stayed mute as he approached. He brushed past them and picked up the wine jug. In silence, he offered them a drink, shrugging when they all shook their heads. Agricola poured himself a glassful and sipped it. Over the rim, his hard eyes were thoughtful. With a voice like silk, he invited them to sit. When they continued to stand, he laughed and took the throne again, idly flipping a dagger over in his fingers.
“Where is the Jewel of Asgard?” He spoke in a pleasant tone, as though the answer was of little consequence.
Phoenix looked up in shock. How could he know to ask them about it? He cast a fulminating glance toward Marcus, torn between relief that the Romans clearly didn’t have the Jewel and anger at being betrayed. Instead of catching Marcus’ eye, he encountered a fierce glare from Jade that surprised him. What the...?
“Where is the Jewel of Asgard?” the Roman Governor repeated softly. He swirled the deep red wine in his glass, apparently fascinated by its colour. “If you tell me now, we can avoid a great deal of unnecessary bloodshed.” He smiled again.
Jade wrapped her arms around herself and Phoenix gripped instinctively for his absent sword.
Agricola stood up and strode over to Jade. Tilting her chin up, he raised the point of his dagger to her face and pressed the flat of the iron blade against her pale cheek. She gasped and flinched away, raising a hand to her cheek. When she dropped her hand again, Phoenix saw an angry red mark there, like a burn in the shape of a blade.
Agricola sneered. “I thought so. A Faery half-breed.”
Pacing in front of all three prisoners, he spoke in smooth, almost casual tones. “There is a man. Feng Zhudai. Ah! I see you know of him and of course,” he nodded at Phoenix’s start then bowed politely towards his son, “Marcus foolishly attempted to kill him not long ago.” He laid a hand on his son’s shoulder. Marcus jerked away.
“Zhudai will be here tomorrow.” Agricola stepped in front of Phoenix and caught his eye.
Phoenix lifted his head and stared back defiantly.
Agricola leaned closer, his tone menacing. “You would be wise to tell me what I want to know. If you don’t I will hand you over to Zhudai for interrogation. Believe me,” there was a flicker of loathing in his dark eyes, “you truly do not want to be interrogated by that man if you can avoid it.” He straightened and paced back to Jade, touching her marked cheek with the tip of his finger. “He will do much worse than that, so take this last chance and tell me where the Jewel is.”
When none of the three spoke, Agricola shook his head in mock regret. “Such a pity. It doesn’t really matter, though. We know that it will be in the great Stone Circle tomorrow with the druids. We’ll just get it then. It may be a little more bloody than we anticipated. A great many druids will die and that will be your doing. Your choice.” He cocked an eyebrow at them. “Still silent? Very well. Guards!”
Four more soldiers came in and saluted.
“Take these three to the prison tent and guard them well.” Agricola eyed Jade speculatively. “Set at least thirty men outside the tent and another thirty at ten paces away. That should be sufficient against whatever barbaric powers you possess.” With a sharp nod, he dismissed them.
Marcus, Jade and Phoenix silently followed the Roman soldiers through the camp. Whispers and talk followed them in turn. One soldier standing by even threw a clod of dirt at Jade and yelled something rude about her Elven blood. She flushed red but kept her head down. Phoenix, however, ignored them, feeling fractionally more hopeful than he had since they’d left the Druid realm.
There was still a chance to get the Jewel before the Romans; still a chance to complete the Level successfully. If Agricola was right then tomorrow must be the Spring Equinox ceremony. The Jewel would be at Stonehenge with the Druids. There had to be a way to get there in time. They had to escape.
The soldiers marched them straight to a prison tent not far from Agricola’s pavilion. The tent was not conveniently near the edge of camp and the sixty guards set outside were not in any danger of allowing them to easily escape. On the contrary, the Romans assigned to guard them appeared grimly keen on their duty.
Inside the small tent were just the bare essentials: three stools, three camp beds, a jug of water and a large, lidded pot. After a moment’s thought, Phoenix realised it must be a chamber pot – to be used as a toilet. He screwed up his nose and dwelt for a moment on home and his own private bathroom with brief longing.
All three companions slumped on either a bed or a chair without speaking. Phoenix sat with elbows on his thighs, hands and head hanging. Marcus lay on his back, staring blankly up at the canvas ceiling. After awhile, Phoenix heard a noise and looked up to see Jade sitting with her hands covering her face. Slow tears leaked out from between her fingers and her body shook with sobs.
Unable to stand the sound, he moved over and put an arm awkwardly around her shoulders.
“Hey,” he patted her back, “it’ll be ok. We’ll find a way to escape. C’mon!” he gave her a little push on the arm, “we can’t quit now, we’re almost there!”
Jade dropped her hands and stared at him in despair. “I know that.” She sniffed and scrubbed at her face, wincing as her sleeve scraped the iron-burn there. “Don’t you think I want to get out of here?” She held his gaze for a moment then looked away. “I just don’t know what to do!”
“Can’t you...” Phoenix waved at the tent flap and made a vaguely magical motion with his hand. “Y’know.... do something to the guards?” he finished lamely.
“No.” It was a flat denial. “On a good day I could probably put twenty of them to sleep.” With a sniff and a tremor in her voice, she continued. “But I’m tired. I haven’t slept much for two days. Plus there are sixty of them and a whole camp-full beyond them. I’m useless.”
“Don’t belittle yourself!” Marcus’ deep voice interrupted her self-criticism. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up to face them. “You’re far from useless. Your magic might be limited but you’re smarter than anyone else I know. Agric...” he clenche
d his jaw and started again. “My father thinks he’s got us trapped but he’s underestimated us, Jade. We can think our way out of this. We have to stop him and Zhudai from getting the Jewel.”
“We? What makes you think we want you to come along?” Phoenix leapt to his feet, growling at the Roman boy. “It’s your fault we’re in this mess!”
“My fault?” Marcus jumped up and stood toe to toe with him; dark eyes snapping with anger.
Phoenix poked him in the chest with a finger. “How did Agricola know our names? How did he know exactly where we were? How did he know about the Jewel and the Druids?” With each poke, Marcus paled and edged backward.
“You told them, didn’t you?” Phoenix hissed. “You betrayed us; you spied on us and now we’re here, because of you!” Seeing through a red haze of anger and pent-up frustration, Phoenix reached out and grabbed Marcus’s tunic, ready to punch the living daylights out of him.
“Stop it! Stop it, Phoenix! Marcus!” Jade shoved between them, pushing Phoenix backward with surprising strength. The bed caught him behind the knees and he sat heavily, panting in anger. When Marcus tried to step around her, she gave him an ungentle shove and he, too, had to sit down.
“Marcus did not betray us, Phoenix.” Jade stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at both of them.
“How do you know?” Phoenix was scornful, certain he was right.
She thrust her left hand under his nose. “Remember the Binding spell I did?” She snatched up his hand and Marcus’ and turned them palm-upwards. “If one of us betrays the others, you get a sharp pain the hand and the vine reappears, remember?” She shook their hands. “No pain, no vine. Marcus did not betray us.”
Phoenix pulled his hand away and inspected it. She was right. He felt nothing. He’d forgotten about that aspect of her spell. That’s what she’d been trying to tell him in the Pavilion. He’d been so caught up in righteous anger, he hadn’t been thinking clearly. Feeling guilty, he looked over at Marcus.
“Sorry,” he apologised gruffly, “but you have to admit it’s a logical thing to think.”
Marcus glanced up, eyes glittering for an instant before he turned away again. His shoulders slumped.
“As much as I hate to say it, you’re right.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Even though I didn’t mean to betray you, I did.”
“What!?” Jade and Phoenix both yelped at the same time, fixing the Roman with hurt, disbelieving stares.
“What do you mean?” Jade demanded.
“I had forgotten one rumour about Feng Zhudai’s magical powers.” Marcus’ reply was heavy with regret. “He has the ability to Farsee people he knows. Zhudai knows me. He must have been ‘watching’ me – and, of course, you – ever since we defeated that Centurion in the forest. That’s how he knew to send the Cohort to us at the Dryad tree; that’s how he knew we were going to talk to Dewydd and the Druids; that’s how they know the Druids will be at the Circle tomorrow with the Jewel. He couldn’t find you in the faery realm because I was in the Hyllion Bagia but it didn’t matter because they knew where we were going.” Marcus slumped forward, his head in his hands. “So it is my fault. You were right, Phoenix.”
The three were silent awhile, digesting this astonishing piece of information.
“Well,” Jade cleared her throat and sat down like her legs had given way, “that explains a lot.”
Phoenix struggled for a moment with his anger toward Marcus. It was hard to forgive him but how could he really blame him, either? The hairs on the back of his neck prickled at the thought of previous conversations. What had they said about their goals, powers and ideas that might put them in further danger from their arch-enemy? Luckily a lot of the vital conversations he’d had with Jade had been held out of earshot of Marcus. Hopefully that had protected them a bit, anyway.
He shook himself, seeking conviction and purpose again. Whatever happened, they couldn’t stay here and wait for Zhudai. If he had found out about their amulets then they needed to get away fast. The old woman in grey had specifically told them to protect the amulets. Handing themselves and their pendants over to Zhudai seemed like a really dumb move.
“So,” he began, “what do we do about it? We can’t stay here just waiting until Zhudai shows up tomorrow. We’re too close to give up now. Isn’t the Druid ceremony at Dawn?” Energised by his own frustration, Phoenix began to pace the small tent, looking vainly for some miraculous escape route.
Nothing appeared.
“I think,” Jade began then paused when the other two looked at her expectantly. “I think I might be able to do something to Marcus that will stop Zhudai from eavesdropping on us, at least.”
Marcus looked apprehensive, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of more magic being performed on him.
“We could shove him back in the Hyllion Bagia,” Phoenix suggested, only half-joking.
Marcus cast him a strait look, one brow raised in scorn.
Jade shook her head. “For starters, we don’t have the bag, remember? I can’t tell you what I’m going to do – for obvious reasons. I’ll just have to do it.”
Marcus squared his shoulders and stood up. “Well, get on with it then.”
“OK.” She tapped her teeth and glanced around. “Lie down on the bed with me. Phoenix, cover us completely with those blankets and don’t uncover us until I say so – no matter what you see or hear. I don’t want Zhudai to know what I’m doing.”
Phoenix almost choked in shock. Marcus gasped, stammering out an embarrassed refusal.
Much to Phoenix’s relief, Jade burst into self-conscious laughter. She blushed, shook her head and called them both idiots. The boys exchanged sheepish grins and the lighthearted episode did much to restore their friendship.
Marcus lay on the bed and Jade sat up beside him. When they were both completely draped in blankets, they looked extremely silly. Jade began to murmur soft Elvish words and Phoenix heard Marcus gasp. A faint, purple-blue light shone through the thin blankets. It seemed to be centred somewhere around his chest. As Jade continued to chant, the light travelled slowly all the way down to his toes then right back up to his head before settling again on his chest.
In less than ten minutes, it was over. Jade’s form beneath the blanket slumped and Phoenix heard her draw a deep, shuddering breath. Marcus quickly cast off the covers and sat up. He caught Jade in his arms just as she collapsed sideways. The red mark on her face showed livid against her pale skin.
“Is she alright?” Phoenix dropped to his knees beside them.
Marcus slid awkwardly off the bed and they manoeuvred her onto it. Phoenix knelt on one side of her and Marcus the other. Her shadowed eyes were closed; her face white and drawn.
“What did she do to you?”
The Roman shook his head. “I have no idea. It just made me feel kind of cold all over. I don’t feel any different now. Do I look any different?”
Phoenix inspected him. “Nope. Whatever she did it sure took it out of her.” He laid light fingers on her neck and sighed in relief. “Her pulse is regular. I think she’s just sleeping.”
Marcus reached out and gently touched the tip of his finger to the burn on Jade’s skin. “Why did my father’s blade mark her so?” His eyes were full of her pain.
Phoenix thought about it. “I think iron is deadly to the Faery folk. She’s only half-Elven, so it just burned her.”
The Roman nodded absently, smoothing Jade’s white-blonde hair back from her face before clearing his throat and moving away. He sat back on another bed and stared hard at Phoenix.
“So now what?”
“We can’t really make any plans until we know what she did. We’re probably pretty safe from Zhudai until he gets here tomorrow morning. We all need sleep so,” Phoenix quirked him a grin, “we wait.”
> Marcus groaned. “Somehow I knew you were going to say that.”
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