“I don’t think so.” Tejus looked disdainfully down at his brother, who had now caught sight of us, waving his arms in the air.
“PLEASE!” he cried. “Tejus, brother, help me!”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Tejus muttered, sighing in frustration. “What’s wrong?” he called down.
“The wind! It’s fearsome here—I’m afraid I can’t hold on for much longer!”
I looked doubtfully over to Tejus. It didn’t seem windy to me. At the end of the stone steps that Jenus had come from was a small viewpoint, decorated with potted plants and an outdoor bench. It hardly seemed perilous. Maybe Jenus had truly lost his mind.
“Ugh, maybe we should help him.” I sighed. “He might know where Queen Trina is.”
“Or send us on a wild chase when we’re already running out of time.”
Good point.
“Well, we can’t just leave him here, can we?” I asked, hopefully.
“We can.” Tejus shrugged. Then he smirked in my direction. “How hungry are you?”
“Famished.” I grinned.
“I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Be careful,” I warned, wondering if this was an elaborate trick of some kind…
Tejus nodded, but he was already starting down the steps. He descended them with ease, and soon reached his brother.
“Thank you! Oh, brother, thank you!” wailed Jenus.
Geez…overkill much?
With a huff of irritation, Tejus grabbed hold of his brother’s arm, hauling him up the rest of the way. Rather than help Tejus, Jenus went limp, making the process ten times harder for his rescuer. I rolled my eyes. This farce was the limit—we were wasting time.
I stood back as Tejus appeared in the archway, flinging his brother’s body to the floor.
“Where is she?” Tejus demanded, looming over a shaking Jenus.
“Where’s who?”
Jenus started to cringe away from his brother, as he noticed Tejus’s icy glare.
“You know who! Queen Trina. Where is she? Where are the children?”
“If I tell you, will you take me away from here? Please, Tejus, I implore you. The queen—she is capable of great evil! Don’t leave me with her! She has manipulated me—possessed me, encouraged me to commit sin upon sin!”
I eyed Jenus with disgust. I was convinced that he was lying, and trying to bargain with us when the kids’ lives hung in the balance made me despise him more than I thought possible. I didn’t believe Queen Trina would ask him to do anything that he wouldn’t happily do with a smile on his face.
“Where ARE they?” Tejus roared.
“A promise that I will be protected, and then I shall tell you!” Jenus beseeched him, spittle forming at the edges of his mouth.
Ash and Queen Memenion came closer. I had hardly been aware of the group that had formed around us, but they all stood watching the wretched creature on the floor as he wriggled like a worm on the edge of a hook.
Tejus looked at Ash, who nodded, looking at Jenus with the same disdain and hate that the rest of us were.
“Fine. You will come with us, and have our word that you can join us at the summer palace.” Tejus barked out the promise.
“That you will protect me. Promise that you will protect me!” Jenus cried.
“Fine, you have our protection.”
Jenus sighed, closing his eyes briefly. I swore if I saw a hint of a smirk across the sentry’s face I would smack it right off him, but he remained earnest, staggering to his feet with a grateful expression.
“The cove—she’s at the cove with the rest of the Acolytes. If we hurry, we can still save the children.”
Tejus turned to the guard nearest him. “Tie him to one of the horses. Tightly. We need to leave immediately.”
Three guards moved toward Jenus. As we walked back to the waiting army, I heard Jenus’s wild screams. “I don’t want to be tied up! Release me!”
I had no idea if they were genuine or not, but either way, he was getting what he deserved. I would be riding next to him as we made our way back to the cove, finally satisfying my hunger.
“What do we do now?” I asked Tejus. “I’m worried that we’re not going to make it in time.”
“We just have to hope that we will. We should fly though. It means dividing us, but we’ll have to risk it. Hopefully we’ll be able to create a diversion at least.”
“Agreed,” Ash replied from behind me. “We won’t make it there on time if we don’t hurry.”
I ran to keep up with Tejus. His long strides and haste to get to the cove outstrode my much shorter legs…and, increasingly, my complete lack of energy.