W
ith a groan, Sticks sat up with Ruger and Iris’s help. A cold sweat ran down from her forehead to her cheeks. She panted and said, “Thanks.”
“Don’t do anything crazy,” Iris warned. “I sealed your guts with magic fire. It will hold, but it’s gonna hurt like the Brand for a while.”
Sticks leaned over and touched Shades. “Is he… dead?”
“I’m afraid so,” Iris said as she laid her head on the small man’s chest. “Not even a beat.”
“I tried,” Sticks said with a straight face.
Abraham could still see the agony lurking behind her eyes. “What happened?”
Sticks swallowed as everyone gathered around the table, from the stunning Clarann to the scraggly Eileen. “We followed Prince Lewis, Leodor, and Leah to Burgess. They went back to the Cathedral of Elders. Down in the crypt. They uncovered the mirror and lit the candlestands.”
Abraham’s skin crawled. He remembered the last time he’d been down in the crypt.
Sticks went on. “Images of Big Apple, Fleece, and Lord Hawk appeared. They spoke and talked about their plans.”
“You heard all of it,” he said.
She nodded. “Lewis and Leodor have already turned on the king. As soon as King Hector removed the Brand, they went back to their old ways.”
Clarice spoke up and said, “Leah is with them. I can’t believe that. She’d never betray the crown. Never.”
“Leah is dead,” Sticks said quietly. “The Leah you see is not the one that you know. Raschel the assassin used the Ring of Tarsus to take her form.”
Clarice let out a gasp, and her eyes watered as her mother put a comforting arm around her shoulder. “I’ll kill Lewis. I swear it!” she said through gritted teeth.
“What else?” Abraham asked.
Sticks cleared her throat.
“Get her a drink,” Horace ordered.
“Big Apple is waiting for the king. He wants to trap him in the Spine. Their lair is located at the bottom of the Spine, west of Titanuus’s Crotch.” Sticks grabbed Abraham by the forearm. “Leodor has greatly deceived King Hector. He says that the stones are only meant to be used individually or as a whole. The king is going mad with power, and he will eventually destroy himself if the Sect doesn’t first.”
“We need the other stones,” Abraham said.
She shook her head. “You will never find the stones. Big Apple took them out of this world. I believe he hid them in your world.”
“He wouldn’t be hiding them if they didn’t matter.” Abraham stroked his chin. “I need to get back home and find them.” He put his thoughts aside. “What happened to Leodor, Lewis, and Raschel?”
“After they thought they’d killed us, they sealed us in the crypt, leaving us for dead. I had enough of Iris’s salve to keep us alive and escape.”
“So, they think that you are dead, and they don’t know that we know this,” he said.
“I don’t see how. They won’t have contact again with Big Apple either until they make it to the lair.”
“You know this for certain?”
“Big Apple said so.”
Abraham moved from the table and paced around it. “Finally, we have an advantage that they don’t have. We have to find the king and warn him.”
“He marches to the Spine. No doubt that Prince Lewis will lead him to that trap,” Horace offered. “Will the king take your word over his own son’s?”
Abraham glanced at Clarann. “Probably not. Does Prince Lewis still have Black Bane?”
“He does,” Sticks said. “Big Apple says the other side wants it as a trophy.”
“Yeah, that’s the same thing they told me.”
“You’d think they’d want the crown as a trophy,” Shades said.
Everyone looked at the dead man on the table. Shades’s eyes were still closed.
“What’s everyone looking at?” he said.
The Henchmen exchanged shocked, bewildered looks.
Iris put her ear on his chest. “His pumper beats again.”
“Of course it does,” Shades said. “I managed to slow my heart rate down so that I wouldn’t die. I’ve just been resting.” He kissed Iris on the top of her head and sat up. He held his stump before his eyes. “This is a wee bit of a problem, though.”
Sticks embraced Shades and said, “I never thought I’d say this, but thank the Elders you’re alive.”
Shades stroked her hair. “I’m the one that owes you.” He swung his legs over the table and kicked Vern in the nuggets.
Vern doubled over. “I guess I had that coming.”
“Captain, what about the Golden Riders? They’ll be here soon. It’s time we departed and met at the Rendezvous.”
“The Rendezvous?” Abraham had never heard of the place before, but a part of him thought it sounded familiar.
“Aye, our hiding spot. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been in poor light with the king and many others,” Horace said.
The sound of horses galloping through the rain caught everyone’s attention. All of them turned toward the door.
“Looks like our time is up,” Solomon said.
“No, I have a better idea.” He approached the door and smiled. “Simon can keep them at bay. For a long time.”
He flung the door open, expecting the see Simon the Fenix guarding the courtyard. The rain came down in heavy drops. Simon the Fenix was gone. Only two score riders remained.
He closed the door, put his back to it, and said, “Henchmen, we have a problem.”
