Page 34 of Bearly Free (The Emerald Realm 2)

Just as the sun crested over the horizon, the all too familiar iron gates came into view. I quickly located the gap in the fencing, and squeezed through. My plan was to simply walk through the front door. Elias had unlocked it last night in order for us to exit, and I doubted he had locked it. It was barely dawn, so the only servants who should be working would be in the kitchen. It shouldn’t be too challenging to sneak up to Elias’s room.

Sure enough, my expectations were correct, and I glided up to Elias’s room with no encounters. I positioned myself in front of his door, then froze before knocking. Would knocking be too loud? Perhaps I should enter his sitting room, then knock on his bed chamber door.

I nodded to myself in agreement just before pushing the first door open. I froze mid-open. Elias was sitting directly in front of the doorway, looking enraged. A stack of papers lay spread across the table with a few clenched in his hand. Bear leaned sweetly against his master with the same concern that I felt at the scene.

Bear noticed me before Elias did, and the pup ran to my side in greeting. I half-considered backing out of the room and hiding somewhere else, but Elias saw me before I could process the thought. As his eyes met mine, his fury melted into relieved shock. I opened my mouth to explain, but he crossed the small sitting area far faster than my words could escape. He grabbed my shoulders and enveloped me into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” he whispered into my ear.

The warmth of his embrace made me forget the exhaustion that coursed through my body. I wrapped my arms around him to return the hug as a few stray tears trickled down my cheeks. I’m not sure where the emotions came from, but the pain in my ankle and the fatigue most likely fueled it. When he finally pulled away, his expression softened at my tears. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to me with a worried look before directing me to a chair.

“Thank you.” I smiled as I quickly rubbed away my tears. “Pardon my composure. It has been a long night.”

He took the seat next to mine, never shifting his gaze from my swollen eyes. “I understand the feeling,” he acknowledged a little irritably. My mind wandered back to his earlier anger. What had occurred in the short time I was gone? Before I could pose a question, he spoke up again. “But please, tell me what happened. Why are you back?” His previous irritation drifted away as his full focus fell upon me.

I took a deep breath, then explained how my night ensued. He listened with rapt attention, only interrupting to ask the occasional question. As I spoke, he caught notice of my once again swollen ankle and adjusted me into a position where I could rest it. As I wrapped up my adventure, he let out a long sigh.

“I was worried this would happen,” he reluctantly admitted. “If the hunter can trace you magically, then you’ll have to get over the border faster than he can follow.” He slumped back into his seat.

“At least I managed to leave a note for Queen Arabella,” I said reassuringly. “I’m not certain she can do anything about my current problem, but you never know. She is the queen after all.”

I drew out a loud sigh. If I was being honest, I was only kidding myself. The note was far too vague for the queen to employ any usefulness other than a law change, and that would take months. My time was running short and the longer I stayed in one place, the less of it I possessed. My back ached from my long walk and I actually began to daydream of Elias’s pillowy bed. I was considering making the request to get some sleep, but then I notice a pondering look on Elias’s face. He seemed to be buried deep in thought after my mention of Arabella.

“She is the queen…” he mumbled ominously, then shuffled through the papers scattered in front of him. A light of inspiration flickered into his blooming smile. “She may be bound by the law now, but perhaps you could request a royal favor.” His words grew in volume as a new idea flashed into his eyes. He scrambled through the papers, selecting a distinct few to place in a stack.

“A favor?” I shot him a quizzical look. “What are you getting at? She’s my friend, but I highly doubt the court would allow her to bend the laws for my personal dilemma.”

He gave me an impish smile before placing a stack of papers in my arms. I stared at him blankly, waiting for him to explain their meaning before looking at them. His cheerful expression drew into a more serious look that suited his earlier anger. My fingers twitched at the documents. Based on their sudden arrival, I assumed these were his findings from the dish cabinet. What I didn’t know was what about these papers could have made him so angry?

“I’m not talking about a personal favor,” he stated flatly. “I’m talking about a royal favor, granted by the court by someone who has done the kingdom a great service.”

I knitted my brow. “What service have I done to deserve such a favor?” His eyes lowered to the documents in my arms, and I followed his gaze. A nervous knot formed in my stomach as the papers gradually felt a little heavier in my mind.

“What you’re holding is evidence.” His tone darkened and his anger returned in full force, directed toward the looming parchments I carried. “Enough evidence to convict the fifth judge, Lord Luke Oberon, of racketeering, treason, and various other crimes against the kingdom of Isalla.”

chapter eighteen

I stared at the freshly read pile of paperwork in horror. Elias had retrieved them from the hidden compartment under the dish cabinet like I had assumed, and I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if I had found them sooner. There had always been an eeriness lurking around Lord Oberon, but I never expected such evil.

Identification papers for dozens of individuals were laid in front of Elias and me. This wouldn’t be a crime on its own, but the nefarious detail was that each person had not one, but two identities. A legal Isallan documentation of citizenship, and a forged identity—complete with a new name, kingdom, and in some cases, an altered appearance.

The worst part was that they were all listed as fugitives. Each and every one was a criminal who had broken the law and was wanted for their crime. It was sickening that Lord Oberon had been facilitating the illegal transportation of convicts across the kingdom’s border for more years than I could count. I scanned over the documents in sheer shock until my eyes caught sight of a familiar face.

“That man...” My stomach turned as I pointed weakly at the corner of a pencil-drawn face peeking out from under the pile.

Elias slid the paper out from the stack. “Him?” His voice held as much distaste as I felt.

“Yes,” I replied shakily. A mixture of nausea and boiling anger churned inside me at the sight of his face. “I recognize him. He’s the assassin who tried to kill the princess. I never saw him in person, but Peter made a sketch of him once that looked nearly identical to this one.”

Elias flipped the paper to view the man’s penciled portrait. His eyes widened in fury as he read through the man’s description.

“You’re right,” he said through gritted teeth. “It says here that he was wanted by the crown for treason, attempted murder, and assault on the royal military.” He flipped to the man’s second form of identification. “The client, hereby known as ‘Mr. Glass,’ was successfully transported across the border, with the destination of Ashbourne. Services included temporary change in facial attributes—eye and hair color, two memory talisman, and falsified documents. Client paid in full, five hundred gold coins.” He set the paper down with shaking hands, his cheeks flushed with rage.

“Hold on a moment. Did you say temporary change in facial attributes?” My brow furrowed as I scattered the papers once more. I paused when my hands landed on the document I was hunting for. “Here, look at this.” I handed him the paper, and he eyed it with severity.

It was one of only four documents that didn’t have a second identity. I had noticed it earlier because it had a few unusual notations on it, but now it was beginning to make sense. I collected the other three documents of a similar nature. Elias’s face dropped in awe as I compared the other papers in my hand.

“Anya Rellier, she’s a mage.” He spoke the name quietly as his mind unraveled what I had seen. “She’s their employee. It says here that she’s a caster with the ability to either permanently or temporarily alter an individual’s eye or hair color. It also lists, ‘Miss Rellier’s services shall be coded in conversation as clothing designs or fabric, dresses referring to hair color and style, and shoes referring to eyes.’” My memories wandered back to the strange conversations Elias had overheard during the business meetings, and Elias seemed to follow the same train of thought. “They’ve been speaking in code right in front of me all along. The last visitor Father had, had been secretly employing the use of this mage. Does that mean she was a convict as well?” Bewilderment seized him as the realization dawned upon us both.

The shock stirred me, but there was more to it than that. “It’s not just her...” I placed my findings down on the table. “He has a whole crew of mages with interesting talents. Oliver Nell, an enchanter who can create memory talismans, used for temporarily erasing one’s memory when touched. George Kettering, an enchanter skilled in brewing potions for agility and strength, made useful for escapes on foot. Billy Granger...” I paused at the familiar name. Elias gave me a knowing look, both of us recognizing the name of Lord Oberon’s recent mage guest. “He’s a caster, with the ability to make individuals temporarily immune to all magic sources, such as magic utilizing bounty hunters.” My nails dug into the table. Lord Oberon knew about the Dugals’ association with Mr. Colburn, so he hired his own mage to counter balance his abilities as a precaution.

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