The Vengekeep Prophecies by Brian Farrey

Author:Brian Farrey
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins

15

The Dowager

“There’s a word for a thief who doesn’t know danger: poor.”

—Minaeris Grimjinx, founder of the Tarana Thieves Alliance

The tall, imposing wall around Redvalor Castle loomed ahead of us. The two Provincial Guards at the gate, halberds in hand, watched us warily as we approached.

“Everyone ready?” Edilman whispered. He was nearly unrecognizable in a scraggly wig, false nose, bushy eyebrows, and dentures that gave him a pronounced overbite.

Callie tugged at the high collar on her dress. “This will never work.”

“You knew what we were doing when you left Vengekeep,” I said to Callie. “Why did you pack a dress?”

Before she could answer, Edilman interrupted. “It’s good that she did. We need to look presentable.”

“This will never work,” Callie repeated. She’d said little else in the two days it had taken us to get here.

Edilman pointed ahead. “Behind that gate is everything we both need. You get your plants, I get whatever I can grab in the castle vaults. Wait here.”

We paused while Edilman went to speak to the guards. A moment later, they unlocked the gates and allowed us through. We walked across a courtyard paved with sparkling stone until we arrived at the huge front doors of the castle.

Redvalor was a castle in name only. It bore none of the battlements or reinforcements of a proper castle. In reality, it was a lavish mansion that had been in the High Laird’s family for centuries. Mostly it had been used as a vacation home for the royal family. However, rumor had it that some years ago, the High Laird’s sister, the Dowager, had a falling out with her brother and had moved into Redvalor permanently.

Edilman tugged on a rope, and a bell sounded. Moments later, the door opened, revealing a tall, stern-looking Aviard.

We jumped, the nestvillage still fresh in our minds. But we quickly recovered and pasted large, fake smiles on our faces. The elderly majordomo looked down the length of his ample beak at us with an air of supreme caution. “May I help you?”

“Greetings!” Edilman trilled in a very high, overenthusiastic voice. “I am Professor Quintas Wenderkin from the Urahl Academy. I do believe the Dowager is expecting us.”

Edilman produced a pince-nez with lenses so thick I couldn’t imagine he could see through them. He parked them on the end of his nose and elbowed Callie. Callie curtsied while I clutched the sides of my vest proudly, as I imagined a student at the “Urahl Academy” might do.

On hearing Edilman’s fake name, the majordomo nodded. “Of course, Professor. Do come in.”

With the setting sun at our backs, we stepped over the threshold into Redvalor Castle. I’d been in some fancy homes in my life. I always imagined that royal residences would put them all to shame. Looking around, I was right.

Sort of.

In the cavernous main hall, where I expected to see a floor of shiny, swirled marble, I found a field of soil. A blanket of transparent grass covered the entire floor. Tall, thin trees sprouted up, their long branches twisting up and around the shiny copper chandeliers.

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