Royal Promenade Read online

  “Practice.” The stylist smirked. “I have an eye for these things.”

  Once the hair and makeup artists had finished, Alice had fluffy lashes, a flawless complexion, and well-defined lips. She looked nothing like her usual self but concluded that was for the best. If she could not escape the scrutiny of cameras, she would pretend to be acting in a play—hopefully one with a happy ending.

  ∞∞∞

  Blade and Ambassador called for Alice mid-morning, just as the salon staff was leaving. She couldn’t help but be pleased at Blade’s awestruck expression at her chic apricot suit and Quincy’s beaming smile of approval.

  “Stunning!” The ambassador clasped his hands together. “His Majesty will be so terribly pleased. You truly do look like a princess.”

  Alice laughed. “I should hope after two hours with a hair and makeup team, I would look more like a princess than I did in Vanguard.”

  “You’ve always looked like a princess to me.” Blade sketched a gentlemanly bow. “Now, everyone will see you the way I see you.”

  The compliment brought a pleasant warmth to her cheeks, but she reminded herself that Blade’s compliments were probably freely given to every girl he encountered. Her best course of action would be to act accordingly.

  “You’re a silver-tongued fellow, Mr. Blackmon.” She fluttered her lashes. “I can’t wait to see the girl you choose at the Promenade. I’m sure she’ll be dazzling.”

  “The Promenade, did you say?” The ambassador peered at the wizard. “Are you participating this year, Mr. Blackmon?”

  “That depends on the final roster of debutantes.”

  His glance slid to Alice and she wondered if he was seriously suggesting she should participate as well. The notion was so absurd, she decided to make no reply at all.

  She crossed toward the door. “Shall we go? I can’t wait to see my mother.”

  When they reached the lobby a few minutes later, heads turned. Blade leaned closer to murmur, “Everyone is staring at you.”

  Alice met his gaze. “On the contrary, they are staring at you.”

  He grinned. “Why not both of us? We make a beautiful couple.”

  Merciful heavens but the man thinks well of himself! Alice sailed from the hotel and into the waiting Pomparriage. Blade drove a very short distance from the hotel to a dock and onto a small ferry decorated with the royal seal. Once the vessel set sail, Alice left the Pomparriage and stood inside the deckhouse to enjoy the scenic view. Although Quincy went out onto the deck to smoke a pipe, Blade joined Alice inside.

  “Do you feel any seasickness coming on, Princess?”

  “Not yet but we have hours to go.” She sighed. “And at this rate, we won’t reach Pearl Bay until dusk.”

  “Let’s see if I can’t move things along.” He paused. “You might want to hold on to something.”

  Her eyes widened as she grabbed a nearby post. “If you’re going to use magic, shouldn’t you warn the ambassador, the captain, and the crew?”

  “You’re right.”

  Blade tapped on the window to get Quincy’s attention and then twirled his finger in the air. The ambassador sighed, crossed over to a bell and yanked the chain several times. Afterward, he grabbed onto the railing and took a pull on his pipe.

  “Warned and ready.” The wizard’s expression changed to one of concentration as he wove a lifting spell. Moments later, the ferry creaked and groaned as it rose into the air. Once it had cleared the surface of the water, Blade wove a propulsion spell and the ferry gained momentum. The speed of their progress was more than doubled, and the swaying motion disappeared.

  A muscle in his jaw relaxed. “We should arrive at Port Pearl more quickly now and with a minimum of seasickness.”

  Alice acknowledged the feat with a genuine nod of respect. “Well done, sir. I can see why you finished in the top of your class.” She released her grip on the post.

  Blade grinned. “Nothing is too good for a princess. Excuse me while I use the comscreen on the bridge to let Briarwood Castle know we’re ahead of schedule.”

  Her gaze flickered toward Quincy. “You might want to check on the ambassador to make sure he doesn’t have a bout of airsickness.”

  “Good idea. I have a spell for that.”

  Alice was perplexed as she watched him saunter out of the deckhouse—the very picture of a dashing gentleman. Blade Blackmon had looks, extraordinary talent, and true style on his side and he seemed genuinely eager to win her over. Furthermore, she felt an undeniable tug of attraction that couldn’t be explained by any underhanded magical charm. If all that was true, why did she still feel as if she couldn’t trust him? Either something else was at work or all of her mother’s cautionary tales had soured her on wizards forever.

  Chapter Four

  Audience With the King

  Once the lighthouse at Port Pearl became visible, it was just after noon. After Blade drove the Pomparriage off the ferry and into the picturesque port town of quaint clapboard houses and nautical artifacts, he glanced at Quincy in the rearview mirror.

  “Anyone interested in lunch?”

  The ambassador shook his head. “You and the princess should stop and eat if you wish.”

  “I’d rather not have lunch, actually.” Alice gave Blade an apologetic smile. “My makeup artist did such a wonderful job that I don’t want to mess up my lipstick.”

  The real reason she wasn’t hungry was her rising sense of anxiety. Now that the introduction to her father was so close at hand, her midsection seemed twisted into knots.

  Blade shrugged. “I don’t mind driving straight through, then. We’re only an hour away from the Node.”

  Alice examined his profile. “The Node?”

  Blade grinned. “The Node Network is a means of traveling instantly from one point in the country to the other.”

  She cocked her head. “I know about the Network but in her last letter, my mother told me it’s not functional yet.”

  “There are still a few glitches, but we hope to be fully operational by the time the Promenade begins ten days from now. At the moment, it’s used for official government business only.”

  She gave Blade a sharp glance. “If the Node Network is operating for government business, my mother should have come with you to Vanguard. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  His laugh seemed forced. “That’s silly.”

  “Is it? I was unable to reach Mother by comscreen yesterday afternoon and she never returned my call. That’s not like her.”

  Ambassador Quincy stirred. “You simply have no idea how busy the Ministry of Magic has been, Princess. Not only are preparations for the Promenade underway but there’s pressure to get the Node Network open to the public. Wealthy families want to travel to Briarwood City as efficiently as possible.”

  Alice frowned. “I don’t care how busy my mother was, she would have returned my call unless something was wrong.”

  Blade’s smile was warm and genuine. “I’m sure everything will be cleared up soon. Obviously, somebody neglected to give the Head Wizard your message.”

  “I suppose so.” She sat back in her seat. “But if you’re keeping bad news from me, I’ll never forgive either of you.”

  “If anything had happened to the Head Wizard of Colossus, don’t you suppose it would be all over the newspapers and vidscreens?” Blade stared straight ahead. “Nobody would be talking about anything else.”

  “You would have heard about it, even in Vanguard.” The ambassador nodded. “Set your mind at ease, Princess. We’ll be at the castle in approximately…” he consulted his pocket watch, “…a half-hour.”

  “Twenty-five minutes, I’d say.” Blade increased the speed of the Pomparriage. “Sooner, if I can manage.”

  Alice took several deep breaths and fished her worry stone out of her pocket. As she rubbed her thumb across the slight indentation in the center, she felt the muscles in her shoulders relax a trifle.

  Blade glanced
down at the oval object. “Is that some sort of talisman?”

  “Not at all. My mother bought a pair of worry stones at a Squirrel Flats street fair a long time ago and gave one to me. I carry it around out of habit.”

  He smiled. “Maybe I’ll get one, too.”

  Alice tried to maintain her composure. Everything Blade and Quincy had told her was certainly plausible and probably likely to be true. Still, she would not relax until saw her mother’s smile and knew that she was perfectly fine.

  ∞∞∞

  Ranger Headquarters. Briarwood City.

  Inside a weight room adjacent to the barracks, Paddy stood at the ready while Kellan lay on his back and pressed up on a steel bar bell. After ten repetitions, Kellan’s movements became slower and sweat rolled off his brow.

  Paddy’s hands hovered over the bar. “Okay…one more.”

  “No.” Kellan gritted his teeth and kept pressing. With increasing effort, he finally made it to twenty.

  Paddy took the bar and lowered it into the brackets. “Sometimes you just don’t know when to quit.”

  Kellan sat up. “Story of my life.” He buried his face in a hand towel.

  Dewar and Gus appeared in the gym clad in their dress uniforms.

  “What are you doing messing around in here?” Gus scowled at them. “We’re to be at the castle in a half hour.”

  “What?” Kellan shot to his feet. “Blast it. Why didn’t anyone tell us?”

  Dewar shrugged. “Captain Woods called to say our reporting time had been moved up.”

  Gus nodded. “We assumed you knew.”

  “Gah!” Kellan exchanged a grim glance with Paddy. “We’ve been in the gym since eleven.”

  “Spilled milk.” Paddy slapped him on the shoulder. “No time to waste.”

  As Kellan and Paddy sprinted toward the locker room, Gus called out. “We’ll saddle your horses and meet you out front!”

  Kellan waved to indicate he’d heard but he didn’t stop.

  Paddy laughed. “Just like old times at the Academy, after a late night of drinking.”

  Kellan grinned. “Yep.”

  Twenty minutes later, he and Paddy burst out from the headquarters in their dashing black ceremonial uniforms festooned with gold braid, sashes, and buttons. As promised, Gus and Dewar had brought their mounts around front. The sight of the horses, with their glossy golden coats, white manes and tails, and regal attitudes filled Kellan with pride.

  He settled into his dragon hide saddle. “Let’s ride. Double time.”

  As the four Rangers set off at a brisk clip for the castle in a two-by-two formation, passersby stopped to watch. Although the Colossusian Rangers were often viewed as anachronistic in a modern age of horseless carriages and steam engines, their storied history and swashbuckling presentation never failed to attract attention. Even so, since magic was increasingly part of everyday life in Colossus, several members of the Privy Council were pressing to get them defunded. Kellan knew it was just a matter of time before the ceremonial unit was disbanded for good.

  As long as wizards went rogue, however, he was certain his particular specialty as a Wizard Hunter, First Class would always be in demand.

  ∞∞∞

  Outside of Port Pearl, Blade turned off the main road and drove toward an intricately carved archway, two stories tall. As the Pomparriage approached the structure, a translucent shimmering within the opening became visible.

  Alice’s lips parted. “Is that the gateway to the Node Network?”

  “One of them.” The wizard nodded. “You should see the gateway at night. It’s illuminated by blue spotlights and the effect is spectacular.”

  The ambassador chuckled. “The color blue is just for this one. The lights at the capitol gate are gold and white, to match the flag. Each gate has a different color scheme.”

  Blade brought the Pomparriage to a stop outside a guard shack and waited for the attendant to check his credentials. Once the guard was satisfied, he raised the gate. “You’re cleared to proceed, Mr. Blackmon. Don’t forget to punch the destination code into your Key.”

  The wizard punched some numbers into a handheld device the size of a card deck, and the car accelerated toward the archway. As the Pomparriage passed through the iridescent field, Alice felt a slight squeezing sensation on her skin. In the next moment, the vehicle was in Briarwood City, and she was staring at a castle up ahead.

  “That was truly amazing.” Alice twisted around in her seat to stare at the gate through the rear window. Its profile was exactly the same as the one in the Southeast, but the surrounding landscaping was far more elaborate, with magical flowerbeds and moving topiary bushes. “What a wonderful invention!”

  “Give the credit to Wizard Pompano.” Blade grinned. “Without wizards, I think humanity would still be living in caves.”

  Alice peered at him. “That’s a trifle arrogant, don’t you think? History books tell us Colossus was a thriving kingdom before wizards arrived from the Shadow Realm.”

  Quincy’s laugh sounded forced. “I’m sure that was just Mr. Blackmon’s attempt at humor, Princess.”

  “Yes, I’m just joking.” Blade gave Alice a sidelong glance. “Please don’t take offense, Your Highness.”

  Your Highness? The title sounded exceedingly strange…if not off-putting.

  “Don’t address me as ‘Your Highness.’ Princess is bad enough but I’m no better than anyone else.”

  Blade shrugged. “It’s not a matter of being better, exactly. It’s a matter of being in power.”

  As the Pomparriage turned into the circular drive leading to the castle entrance, Alice discovered a royal welcome awaited her. Not only had people with cameras lined up on either side of a red carpet but a mounted guard had been arranged. Unfortunately, her mother was nowhere to be seen. Alice slid her worry stone in her pocket and tried to smile.

  Ambassador Quincy beamed. “Welcome to Briarwood Castle, Princess!”

  “Thank you.” She glanced at the mounted guards. “I didn’t know Colossus had a cavalry.”

  Blade frowned. “Oh…those are just Rangers. They are useless relics, really.”

  As the vehicle came to a stop, the Rangers’ horses bowed in unison with their riders still in the saddle.

  “Oh, my word!” Alice gaped. “Now that’s impressive…and done entirely without magic.”

  Blade shrugged. “Tourists like it.”

  Attendants rushed to open the doors of the Pomparriage, and as Alice stepped out of the vehicle, one of the Rangers dismounted, strode over, and offered her his arm. “May I escort you inside?”

  “Thank you.” She slid her hand around the crook of his arm. “Don’t let me trip in front of all these people.”

  The Ranger barely changed his expression. “No, miss.”

  Ambassador Quincy made a gesture of invitation. “Shall we go in?”

  Alice walked alongside her escort as Blade and Quincy fell in behind. As she passed the contingent of people who’d formed a phalanx, their cameras clicked and whirred. She noticed several shoulder-mounted cameras as well, as if her arrival was newsworthy enough to warrant broadcast. Perhaps the Ministry of Information filmed every event at Briarwood Castle, however insignificant, just in case.

  Although Alice was self-conscious, she feigned confidence as she glanced at the Ranger by her side. “The trick with your horse was extraordinary. I’ve never seen anything quite so impressive.”

  The man’s nod of acknowledgment was almost imperceptible. “The breed of horse goes back hundreds of years. They have a history of performing for kings and queens.”

  “The skill of the riders was extraordinary as well.”

  “We’re Rangers.”

  The man’s modesty was appealing, and she rewarded him with a smile. He led her up a short, broad marble staircase and once they had passed through a pair of ornate double doors, they were in the two-story entrance hall of Briarwood Castle.

  The elegant, understated decor
reflected the ubiquitous use of magic. The stone statues of historical figures had also been enchanted to move. As she peered at a barrel-chested figure of a former monarch, he winked at her in a saucy fashion.

  A fountain in the center of the entrance hall featured sparkles of light that changed colors. A small tour group had paused by the fountain and were running their fingers through the flow.

  Alice laughed and glanced at her escort. “I’d love to kick off my shoes and wade in the light, wouldn’t you?”

  A smile played on the man’s lips. “I make it a point to stay as far away from magic as I can.”

  “I’ll take it from here, Ranger.” Blade scowled. “You are dismissed.”

  The Ranger’s merriment disappeared. He bowed to Alice, turned on his heel, and strode from the castle.

  Alice shook her head at Blade as she whispered, “Did you have to be so rude?”

  “I do apologize, but Rangers aren’t supposed to talk to the people they are escorting.”

  “I spoke to him first. Did you want the fellow to ignore me?”

  “Of course not, but His Majesty asked for you to be brought to the Throne Room as soon as you arrived.”

  Quincy hastened over with a dragon hide portfolio. “This is yours, Mr. Blackmon.”

  Blade took the portfolio and tucked it under his arm. “Thank you.”

  The ambassador swept his top hat from his head. “Here is where I leave you, Princess. Best of luck!”

  She was taken aback by the abrupt farewell. “Oh…er, good-bye. It was a pleasure to have met you.”

  The portly man strode off through the entrance hall, humming, and disappeared down a corridor. As Blade led Alice down a long hallway, she took a deep breath and blew it out.

  The wizard gave her a sidelong glance. “Nervous?”

  “I would feel a lot calmer if my mother were here. Why wasn’t she here to meet me?”

  “The Privy Council is in session and attendance was mandatory.”

  “So she’s in the Throne Room.” Alice forced her shoulders down. “That’s a relief.”

  They reached the end of the corridor and turned right. After another lengthy walk, they turned left, and Blade stopped in front of a plain door. “We’ve arrived.”