CH. 37.2 — When Eli closed the door of his room, the cat appeared on his bed.
“Well?” said the cat. Eli tossed him a strawberry tart, which Felix devoured.
Eli paced back and forth as he went through all that he’d heard.
If his father died now, who would rule Nelsonia? Esther was newly married and had no children. His uncles had died, one by one, this past year. Or had they been killed? Their sons had been turned into donkeys and disappeared. The kingdom was ripe for a take-over. And how convenient that Princess Zelda was going to visit Nelsonia just now.
“You need to see Zelda’s garden,” said Felix. “There will be a break in the storm tomorrow night. I can keep the bells on the garden walls from ringing for a short time if you want to investigate.”
Dread filled Eli. He didn’t want to know if the rumors were true, but Felix was right. There was something wrong in Saltonia, and Zelda was at the heart of it.
The next evening, Eli rode his horse through the woods to the enclosed garden. While Felix kept watch, Eli crept inside with a shovel and his magic lantern. The scent of lilac hung in the air, and although it was cold, the ground was free of snow. At one end of the garden was a row of eighteen mounds. All but the one on the end were covered with bushy plants. He went to the most recent grave – a mount of bare earth — and began to dig. It contained the body of a girl whose heart had been ripped out.
He barely managed to cover the grave. Then he grabbed his lantern and shovel, and staggered outside. When he reached the trees, he vomited. Sweat ran down his back. Horror filled his heart.
The cat hissed. “We need to leave. Now.”
Somehow Eli made his way deeper into the forest, stumbling after the cat, blind to where they were going. Snow pelted them, covering their tracks. After a while, Eli leaned against a tree, trembling with cold and shock. His horse touched his face with his nose and nickered.
“I’ll be okay.” Eli patted the horse’s cheek. “I’ve never heard of magic like this before. Zelda must be a witch.”
The cat twitched his tail. “Guess again. Magic doesn’t run in the Saltonia royal lines.”
“Well, what else could it be?”
“Sorry, you’ll have to figure it out yourself. I can’t tell you.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?”
“Can’t. Literally.”
Eli growled. If only the Fey were more helpful.
“Princess Zelda left for Nelsonia this morning,” said the cat. “She is, after all, the most beautiful maiden in the four kingdoms. She will go to the dragon’s cave, kiss Ezra awake, and marry him.”
Eli’s heart lurched. “No. I won’t let her.”
“How can you stop her?”
Eli swung up onto his horse. “We’re going to get there ahead of Zelda.”
“In this storm?”
“I’ll warn the dragon. Maybe he’ll eat Zelda.”
“Wouldn’t that be wonderful? But I wouldn’t count on it.”
Eli clenched his jaw. “Then it’s up to us. Hop on up here, Felix. We’ve got a long, hard ride ahead of us.”
Carol Nicolas 