"Yes, OK," he said dryly. "I understand. There is to be no mocking of the girly blonde twins."
"That"s right," I said imperiously, "because I need all the friends I can get right now."
Soren looked at his watch. "Right, Ms Jonas. I will see you in cla.s.s later on." As I walked past, he put a hand gently on my shoulder. "And I"m glad you have changed your mind. I am sure that this is a sign ..."
"I don"t know what it is. I just have an uneasy feeling," I said, quietly. "It"s just so out of the blue ... Luca may not have chosen me, but if he"s in trouble, I have to go to him."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.
"I am simply asking how loyal you are," Raphael said. He took a swig out of the flask in his hands. "To the Celestial family."
Lowe stood with his shoulders back. "I am a patriot," he told him. "As you know. I am deeply loyal."
Raphael nodded. "And you would do anything I asked of you?"
"Well ..." Lowe scratched his head. "Yes. I respect you, Raphael."
"Why is that?" Raphael put down his flask, looking intently into the younger boy"s eyes.
"Because ... I think you have a backbone," said Lowe. "And you despise dishonesty."
Raphael nodded. "Are you sure it is not because you are frightened?"
"Frightened?" Lowe looked confused. "Of course not. I am not afraid of anything!"
"Perhaps I should have used a better word," Raphael said. "Threatened, for example?"
Lowe"s face clouded over. He looked confused and even more indignant.
"Raffy," he said, "why are you being like this? I would do anything you asked of me."
"But you don"t really know who I am," Raphael went on mysteriously. He moved closer to the boy, their noses practically touching. "How can you be sure I am somebody who deserves devotion?"
Lowe was silent, but his body flinched a little.
"Are you ... feeling unwell," he asked Raphael cautiously. "Perhaps I should leave you to rest?"
Raphael laughed, a short bark of a laugh. "I am not unwell. In fact I am the most lucid I have ever been. I see the world so simply now. And I see it is nothing like what I have been led to believe." He tugged at Lowe"s collar. "You would do well to take those scales from your eyes, Lowe. Your loyalty is misplaced."
"I have no idea what you are talking about. I just know that there have been things happening here lately that I don"t like that need to be stopped before they cause harm. That stranger, that black-eyed stranger, for example. Here with the mortal-"
Raphael smiled, though his blue eyes were cold. "Your enemies lie so much closer to home ... If you weren"t so caught up in the pointless beliefs of your parents, of the state, you might see that. As it is, you enjoy the pain all this deprivation causes others. Even your own brother."
"I too want to protect Luca." Lowe spoke pa.s.sionately, misunderstanding. "I will do whatever it takes."
Raphael sighed then, looking as though he wanted to say something more, but he merely shook his head, patting Lowe in a brotherly fashion on his chest.
"I didn"t mean ..." he said at last, before realising the pointlessness of carrying on. "It doesn"t matter. You had best go home now. I have things to attend to."
Lowe looked relieved.
"Of course," he said, though nervously. Raphael turned from him, already regretting being so outspoken. Lowe was not stupid, though he was notoriously hot-headed. If suspicion were to start to grow in him, it would not be long before ripples of suspicion would grow within the community.
Minutes after the boy had left, Raphael sat on a stool next to the stalls. The horses, as though detecting impending change, stirred and pawed the ground, though Raphael barely noticed them.
He drew out of his pocket a sheaf of paperwork that he had managed to obtain from the state offices. His great father, Cadmium, was the only one with authority to retrieve any official paperwork from the files, but Cadmium was still stricken with some kind of malady and had foolishly granted Raphael access to the state records. It seemed as though events were naturally conspiring to enable Raphael to overturn the status quo starting with the very heart of its political and sociological ethos: the Celestial government.
He unfolded the papers. The first one was his father"s death certificate. Raphael"s heart seemed to freeze a little as he glanced at the ornately inked facts. His father had died in the presence of his loyal servant Milo.
The doc.u.ment went on to state that Milo was now living in the South, in a location that he chose not to disclose on the doc.u.ment itself. Why not disclose it? thought Raphael. Milo did not want any of the family coming to question him too closely. And Cadmium had authorised this.
Raphael leafed through the rest of the paperwork until he came to the one he thought was most important. It concerned the terms of succession should Cadmium cease to rule Nissilum. If he stepped down, it was stated, that if the ma.s.ses of Nissilum, a quant.i.ty of more than fifty percent of the population, were to call for a change of leader, even the removal of the Royal family itself, then an election could be called.
The boy dropped the doc.u.ments on the stable floor. He loved his great-father, even admired his fierce but fair governance, just as he loved Celeste, and would wish no harm to come to her. But they had lied to him. All the time that they were claiming that he, Raphael, was mentally unstable, they had been lying to him about the true fate of his father.
Why had they not called for a search for him? Why had they let him disappear into the darkness?
What had Gabriel done to be treated like that?
This place, this place far from being a beacon of morality, had its own share of corruption, of dishonesty. And yet it dared to preach to its people about loyalty, to family and state; about curbing impulses, urges, power; about the importance of marrying, breeding within the various breeds. The boy realised that he had been living under a vast misapprehension over the years. That it was time for the truth to be uncovered.
Time for Nissilum to be set free.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.
"This is getting rather boring now, dear." Vanya folded her exquisite silk dressing gown around her. "I thought you had resigned yourself to a life of mundane mortality." She sighed, turning her attention to Soren, who had helped himself to a plate of caviar and toast. "How did you convince her to come back?"
Soren swallowed a mouthful of food, then brushed his lips with a napkin. "I did nothing. It was Luca who called her back."
"Luca?" Vanya drew out a seat, more animated now. "Tired of his paramour already." She glanced warily at Soren, who was frowning.
"Leave her out of it, Vanya. She is a separate issue."
"Whatever." Vanya waved her hand about dismissively. "The point is, the boy is still pining for Jane."
Soren flashed an odd sort of look at me.
"I don"t know what he was trying to tell me it wasn"t like before. But I first came to know Luca in my dreams," I told them. "It was the way he communicated with me, before we actually met."
"Was it a dream?"
"That"s just it. I felt as though I was awake ... But then that"s how I felt before." I shook my head, feeling a bit muddled about it all now.
"The wedding is not far off you must act quickly if you have any chance ..." Vanya narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "Though whether it actually happens or not."
"What do you mean?" Soren and I spoke together.
"Just that there seems to be something going on at the Celestial Palace." She needlessly lowered her voice. "Cadmium appears to be unwell. And the boy Raphael has been pacing around in a state of some distress."
"How do you know?" Soren arched an eyebrow.
"Valdar has been advising Celeste on the renovation of the Great Room and has been privy to some palace gossip." Vanya nodded at me. "He says there are whispers in the higher echelons of the Angelic circles. The tension in the palace has been palpable these past couple of weeks. With no fit heir to take over from Cadmium, Celeste is wringing her hands."
"But what about Evan I mean, Raphael?" I asked. "He"s the rightful heir, isn"t he?"
"Technically, yes. But what sort of a leader would he make? All that ghastly business ..." She gave a disdainful little shake of her head.
"So what are you saying?" Soren changed tack, thankfully. "That there will be no wedding because the Celestial family are going through turmoil?"
"Who knows?" She inspected her fingernails. "That boy has been snooping around in affairs of state, I hear. I don"t trust him. Nor, I imagine, does his great-mother."
"Wedding or not, I have to try and see him," I said. "Alone, I think." I glanced at the two of them apologetically. "No offence."
"Don"t be ridiculous," said Vanya. "You won"t get anywhere near him ... Or if you do, that headstrong brother of his will be on you like a tonne of bricks."
"But if it was him, last night? He might be expecting me ..."
"Henora is no doubt watching him like a hawk ... No, no you must have some kind of plan. You cannot go storming over to his house. Apart from the fact that you would never find it before a creature of the night got to you first, you will have his entire, vitriolic family to deal with."
"She"s right let me come with you." Soren looked a little imploringly at me. "Perhaps Lila is-"
"Be careful," hissed Vanya, getting up from her seat, clutching at her dressing gown. "The girl does not know you you must approach with extreme caution." She put her hand on his arm. "Remember what you did."
Soren closed his eyes, clearly doing just that. He nodded briefly before opening them again.
"No ... I see that. But I came back here for Lila." He paused. "To make amends and to stop this "marriage"." He looked down at the floor. "It was always my intention to tell her who I am."
"But you have to somehow get her alone," I said. "How do you think Henora will react if she finds out before you have had a chance to win Lila over again? She will see to it that you are locked up before you get the chance. And you will never see Lila again."
Vanya cleared her throat. "Jane is right. You both need to choose your moment. Away from the Hunter wolves or at least the parents. I don"t know how you"re going to do it, but that is your only chance."
Soren and I had the same hopeless expression on our faces.
"Tomorrow is the Celestial Parade," she went on. "The whole area will be teaming with all manner of pathetic loyalists ..." Then her eyes widened, and she put an elegant hand to her mouth. "And the ideal occasion to mingle unnoticed in the crowds."
"Perfect," said Soren. "Jane, you had better borrow something from Vanya. You"re going to stand out a mile in jeans and sneakers."
Vanya visibly perked up, tying the cord of her gown neatly and beckoning to me. "No time like the present dear let"s get you kitted out."
"I don"t know ..."
"Don"t look so concerned," she said, with a chuckle. "We want you to go unnoticed, yet make an engaging impression at the same time."
"This is serious, Vanya ..." Soren said darkly. "Please."
"Yes, yes." She sighed. "I won"t let you down."
Trusting Vanya did not come naturally to me, but I had no choice. I had to take every opportunity to find out the truth. Before all hope was dashed. For good.
It was a beautiful clear, bright day nearly autumn and the colours in the trees that lined the long road to the palace were muted orange and fading green; lovely and understated. Walking from Vanya"s house, Soren and I fell behind a group of women, taking up the full breadth of the cobbled street. Beyond them stretched the road that Soren and I had walked down what seemed weeks ago, but in fact was just a matter of days.
The women gossiped with each other in excitable hissing tones. I recognised one, smaller than the rest, a thatch of wild bird"s-nest hair atop her head. Tilly. I shrank back, sure she would recognise me. Soren looked down at me, frowning.
"I know that witch," I said, grimacing. "She caused a scene at the Great Ball ..."
Soren craned forward to take a better look at her.
"She"s a midget," he said. "Harmless, I"d bet."
"Don"t be so sure ... if she rumbles me now then the whole day will be ruined." I lowered my head, lifting the hood of the cape Vanya had leant me over my head.
"Well, don"t do that!" hissed Soren. "That really will draw attention to yourself." I sighed and eased the hood off again. Vanya had sc.r.a.ped my hair back into a tight bun; so painfully tight I wondered if she had done it on purpose. And then she had placed the short dark wig, a bob with a blunt fringe, over the top of it.
"Do you want to be instantly recognised?" she"d said, pulling my hair up from my neck and examining it. "All this hair is rather lovely if you like that sort of messy milkmaid kind of thing. But no good at all, if you want to stay incognito."
"You look good," Soren told me, taking my arm to slow us down a little. "Very sophisticated."
I sniffed. I dreaded to think what I looked like. I"d caught a glimpse of myself after Vanya had spent hours doing make-up. All I saw was heavy black kohl and dark red lipstick.
"I look like a vampire," I said, trying to keep the disdain out of my voice. "It"s weird."
"You still have those lovely grey eyes." He stared straight ahead of him as he spoke, thankfully. I didn"t know how to deal with compliments from Soren. He always seemed so intense, yet the next minute he would be smiling facetiously.
"Remember, keep by my side," he went on in a low voice. "And try not to engage with anyone not until it is safe."
At the thought of seeing Luca again, face to face, I felt a bubble of excitement. I touched Soren"s hand.
"What will you do if she is there?" I asked. "Lila?"
I looked quickly at his profile. His mouth set impa.s.sively, deliberately. "I"m sorry, Soren. I can"t imagine what it must feel like ..."
"Don"t pity me. Pity my poor sister." He squeezed my hand and the touch of his fingers felt good. Rea.s.suring and cool.
There were shouts ahead of us, boisterous. I put my hand to my chest.
"Lowe," I hissed. "We need to turn back."