“Nice try,” Mistake shook her head. “Although,” she added thoughtfully, “the sacks and binding of our hands is what you would expect to see if they knew they were arresting mages. Maybe it does have something to do with our learning magic, but Garl would protect us. I cannot see him ever bowing down to anyone. He does what he thinks is right.”
“Well,” posed MistyTrail, “maybe we should concentrate on what to do to get out of here instead of wondering why we are here.”
“I am sure that I could pick the lock on the door,” assured Mistake, “but we have no idea what lies beyond it. Let’s wait until they bring us a meal or something. Be alert when it happens and try to see as much of what is outside as you can.”
“At least our room was so small that we had to sleep with our packs,” MistyTrail said as she rummaged through hers for a bite to eat.
Mistake brightened as she watched MistyTrail rummage through her pack. She reached into her own pack and extracted the carozit.
“Give me your hand,” Mistake said to MistyTrail as she turned the carozit upside down.
MistyTrail placed her hand over Mistake’s and watched as the balls separated barely enough to slip a piece of paper between them.
“We are close,” Mistake said. “Our relative is in this city, probably only blocks away from us. I wonder what he or she is doing right now?”
“Probably sleeping,” frowned MistyTrail. “We might want to do that ourselves. If we do escape out of here, we will not have time to sleep along the way.”
The girls curled up on the cold stone floor and went to sleep. A few hours later MistyTrail heard a noise beyond the door. She quietly nudged her sister. Mistake sat up and listened to the noises. A key turned in the lock and the door suddenly swung open. A tall man in a white cloak walked in the door holding a torch high above him. The shadows distorted the man’s features, but his long black beard was obvious to both girls. He glared down at them as he placed the torch in a holder on the wall.
“Who are you?” asked the man.
“I am MistyTrail, and my sister is Mistake,” answered the Sakovan. “Why have we been arrested?”
“I will ask the questions,” snarled the man. “You have made statements that you are descended from Kieran. Is this true?”
“I am from Fakara,” Mistake said quickly before MistyTrail could answer. “I do not know what a Kieran is. May I ask your name?”
The man glowered at the girls for a moment before exhaling in frustration.
“You may call me Karaza,” declared the questioner. “Are you denying that you were overhead stating the you are descendents of Kieran?”
“I think whoever overheard us must be mistaken,” smiled Mistake. “We have no idea who our parents were. They died when we were quite small.”
The interrogator looked on with suspicion. He suddenly waved his hand, and Mistake felt a wooziness come over her. She closed her eyes tight and tried to will the feeling away, but it did not help.
“Have you ever said that you were descendents of Kieran?” asked Karaza.
“Yes,” replied Mistake.
“Mistake!” scowled MistyTrail. “What are you saying?”
The man waved his hand again and it was MistyTrail’s turn to feel woozy. She also fought the feeling, but she was incapable of doing anything about it.
“Who told you that you were descended from Kieran?” asked Karaza.
“Garl,” they answered in unison.
“And what leads him to believe this?” asked the interrogator.
“Our ability to cast a certain spell,” answered Mistake.
“It can only be cast by those of the Kieran line,” added MistyTrail.
“Do the names Alahara or Alastasia mean anything to either of you?” inquired Karaza.
“No,” Mistake and MistyTrail answered in unison.
“Are you aware that Garl is a criminal?” asked Karaza.
“We know that he was banned from the Society of Mages,” answered MistyTrail.
“Because he is a criminal,” declared Karaza. “If you allow his deceit to enter your minds, it will bring trouble for you. You are not of the Kieran line. He lied to you. Do you understand now?”
“No,” MistyTrail shook her head. “Garl is nice to us. He would not lie.”
“He lied to you,” shouted the interrogator. “You are not of the Kieran line. Repeat it. You are not of the Kieran line.”
“I am not of the Kieran line,” Mistake offered instantly.
MistyTrail’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. Karaza glared at her.
“Say it,” demanded the questioner. “You are not of the Kieran line. Say it.”
“I am not of the Kieran line,” came the sound from MistyTrail’s mouth.
“You are not to have any further contact with Garl,” declared Karaza. “Never again.”
“Does that mean that we are free to go?” asked Mistake.
Karaza shook his head and stared at Mistake. He frowned deeply at her question.
“You will be free to go when I decide that you may go,” he snapped. “I am not yet through with my questions for you, but I have enough for now.”
The interrogator rose and grabbed the torch. He left the room and the door slammed shut. Both girls shook their heads as the spell dissipated.
“What was that all about?” asked MistyTrail. “What happened to us?”
“He used magic to make us tell the truth,” explained Mistake. “It took me a while to understand what was going on. I guess we had already said too much to save Garl from the trouble that will now come his way.”
“I couldn’t answer his last question,” MistyTrail declared, “but he seemed to think I did.”
“I answered for you,” smiled Mistake. “My years of being a thief made the lie come easily to my tongue after I understood what he was doing to us. I just cast a small air tunnel to your head and answered for you. He would not have left until you promised something that your mind would not allow you to say.”
“What were those names he asked us about?” questioned MistyTrail.
“I do not know,” frowned Mistake, “but I got the impression that some one thinks those names belong to us. Alahara and Alastasia. They are pretty names.”
Chapter 24
The Royal Family
Karaza stepped into the throne room and bowed to the queen.
“What did you discover from them?” asked Queen Alycia.
“They were fed a line of nonsense from an old meddling fool that I once begged you to execute,” replied the head of the Society of Magic. “Garl convinced the girls that they were of the Kieran line. I am sure that he is plotting against you. He is probably aligned with Vitalora and the other renegade elder.”
“Volox,” supplied the queen. “So these girls believe that they are of the Kieran line?”
“Not any more,” smiled Karaza. “I convinced them that Garl was a criminal using them for his own ends. They will be no more trouble to you. I will visit them again later to ensure that they remain no problem to you.”
“They will be no trouble as long as Garl is eliminated,” replied the queen. “I should have acceded to your wishes many years ago, but Garl is a Kieran. It did not seem right to me.”
“I understand,” nodded Karaza, “but now he has shown his true colors. You must understand that we cannot tolerate his existence any more.”
“I do,” sighed the queen. “Find some reason to have him arrested. Make it a major offense.”
“With all due respect,” frowned Karaza, “he might try to use a trial to convince others that the girls are Kierans. It is best to just eliminate him.”
“Murder?” balked the queen. “I could not do such a thing.”
“The stealing of the throne of Elvangar is an act of war,” declared Karaza. “Do you not send soldiers out in wartime to eliminate the enemy?”
“But that is different,” protested Queen Alycia.
“It is no different,” advised Karaza. “Elvangar can be defeated by the attacking humans, or it can be defeated from within. Make no mistake about this; Garl is an enemy of Elvangar. He seeks to destroy your rule as much as the humans do. He is an enemy soldier. Eliminate him.”