He had seen demons in the sky, monsters ready to swoop down and snatch them all up and carry them back to that hideous dungeon cell, demons coming forth from the dark trees that encircled the house, demons hovering at the top of the stairs in the shadows. Cloud Gift, Fire Gift, Mind Gift, he'd repeated the old lore in whispers to Dertu who had only nodded and held Derek's hand all the way, trying to calm him. Brave Dertu who had pumped the pilot and attendants of the little plane for all manner of knowledge, and chatted away with the chauffeur of the black car about tourism this time of year in the South of France, Dertu who drove the car with amazing ease and dexterity commenting on the speed and the handling!
But he wasn't frightened now.
Not now that she was holding him in her arms and she was saying all will be well, all will surely be well, and there was no reason ever to fear again, and no matter how many questions he asked, repeating the same entreaties and frantic what-ifs over and over again, she held him and comforted him and told him that all would be well. Fire Gift, Mind Gift, Cloud Gift notwithstanding. She, Kapetria, would take care of it and them and him, Derek. No one would ever do to him what Roland and Rhoshamandes had done. And she would, in her own time, see that these monsters were punished.
Suddenly Dertu gave her the phone. "The Prince is on the direct line," he said. "He's off the air. This is private."
She hit the button for them all to hear.
"I want to come to you," she said. "We have enemies as you know who are searching for us."
"I know," answered the Prince in the same French. "I want you to come."
Without a single condition, and in an even, confident voice, he gave her all the relevant information, the location of the Chateau, the distances from the closest towns, the electric codes for the different sets of gates, assuring her that his staff would welcome her and bring her to the village inn and then escort them all up the mountain to the Chateau itself. "But you can't attempt to come here until well after the sun rises," he said. "And you must be inside the Chateau itself before sunset. We are here. And you will be safe. And we will be with you."
"My brother Garekyn cannot be harmed over what happened in New York," Kapetria said.
"No, under no circumstances," said the Prince. "I can assure you of this." Such a pleasant voice, the French so crisp yet melodic. "We want to know what you know about us and about Amel and why you've been watching us. We want to know everything."
"Yes, everything," she said.
"I give you my word," said the Prince.
"And what about these bad ones among you," asked Kapetria, "who imprisoned my brother Derek?"
"They're not part of us," the Prince said quickly. "But can we not agree for the moment that the death of our fellow blood drinker in New York, and the wounding of the other...can we not agree that this cancels out for the moment, just for the moment, the matter of Rhoshamandes and Roland?"
"Yes, for the moment, we can agree to this," she said. "Of course, this is reasonable."
"I promise you, no harm will come to you under my roof," said the Prince. "If I could compass your old language I would say it in those words. But I can't. I give you my solemn word."
"No one there knows our old language?" Kapetria asked. "No one?"
"No. No one here," said the Prince, "as far as I know." Once more he said, "No one."
Did he realize what he was saying, that the spirit Amel inside him, this spirit which supposedly spoke to him all night long if he chose, did not know the language?
Derek could see her disappointment, and see the disappointment in the others.
The Prince went on speaking politely. "You will come here and inevitably you will leave here without being molested by any one of us, I assure you, unless you yourself or one of your kindred tries to harm one of us."
"Thank you," said Kapetria. "And you have my word that we will not do anything under your roof that would be a sin against your house. If you only knew how much we want to come to you."
"Is it possible we could come for you now, you and your friends?" asked the Prince. "If you allow that, we can protect you completely."
"No, it would be too soon," said Kapetria.
But why? Derek wondered. He had told her how he'd been carried through the skies by Rhoshamandes. But then, she knew all the lore and powers of these beings. The Prince and his companions could come now through the air.
"Very well," said the Prince. "But you do understand the quality of the danger?"
"Yes, I do," said Kapetria. "We'll be there well before sunset tomorrow."
"Excellent. And I make one final request. Say nothing whatsoever of our private concerns to my village people, my workers."
"You don't have to worry in this regard at all."