A/N: Thank you SnidgetHex, pallysAramisRios, and Musketball1 for reviewing!
Chapter 4
Athos stormed into Governor Magnier's house, throwing the doors against the walls and startling the servants into scurrying away. Some city guards came running toward him, hands going to their swords.
"I'm here on the King's business," he snapped with such austere authority that it gave the guards pause. "Where is the governor?"
"He's not here," one of them replied.
"Where did he go?"
The men exchanged a look and shrugged. Athos didn't have time to figure out whether they were covering for Magnier or not. He pushed past them and strode toward the governor's office, Ninon right behind him. The room was empty, so perhaps Magnier wasn't on the premises. Had he gone to the palace to see his handiwork? Or to meet Boudier and retrieve the "package"? Athos began searching through the governor's things, haphazardly tossing books and papers on the floor in search of that artifact.
"I'm getting Captain Lahaye," one of the guards outside the door warned.
"You do that," Athos replied, not slowing down in his ransacking.
"Over here," Ninon called, standing before a large cabinet.
He rounded the desk to come stand at her shoulder where she was holding the wooden doors open. Inside on the middle shelf was a bronze box that looked very much like the picture in her book. And it had a handful of crystals plugged into some of the notches that appeared to be pulsing faintly.
Athos stepped back and drew his pistol.
"What are you doing?" Ninon exclaimed.
"Destroying it."
She shoved his arm down. "You have no idea what that could do to the beetles. For all we know, breaking the controlling mechanism could unleash them on the rest of the city. If we want to reverse their behavior, we'll have to use the device to do it."
Athos huffed and holstered his pistol. "And do you know how to do that?"
"No, but I can try to find out," she replied, holding up the book she'd taken from her old library.
He didn't know if they had time for that, but she did have a point—sending the swarm out wild across Paris wasn't going to help matters.
"Read fast," he said and picked up the box to take with them.
None of the city guards stopped them from leaving, and Captain Lahaye hadn't arrived yet, which was fortunate; Athos would probably shoot the man if he tried to get in their way.
They hurried outside to where Savron was waiting so he could fly them back to the palace quickly. The beetles were in the same holding formation as when they'd left, and the other Musketeer dragons were still pacing agitatedly around the perimeter.
Athos set the artifact on the ground and Ninon knelt beside it, opening her book and flipping through the pages.
"We don't have time," he said impatiently. "Just start fiddling with it and see what happens."
"Fiddle?" she repeated incredulously. "Honestly, Athos, since when are you so reckless?"
"Since the King and the rest of the royal family have been trapped inside a swarm of magical beetles."
"They're not magical," she corrected, eyes fixed on the text.
They were close enough, in his book. Athos watched Ninon attempt to work in growing trepidation, his gaze flitting often to the palace. She finally reached out and moved one of the crystals to another slot, but that didn't seem to do anything. Mouth pursed tightly, she transferred another. A loud buzzing began to emanate from the beetles as they took wing again. Athos felt a surge of relief when they started to detach from the palace walls…but then they were heading straight for him and Ninon.
"Um, Athos," she said tremulously.
"Savron!"
His dragon let out a trumpet call and then leaped in front of the humans and unleashed a stream of flames, now that the beetles were far enough away from the palace so as to not light it on fire. The other three dragons responded to Savron's roar and came in to help. Ayelet and Rhaego lumbered around the sides of the palace and spewed cross columns of fire at the departing bugs. Vrita swooped in from above and incinerated the ones that were swerving away. Even so, many more were scattering, and the buzzing became even louder, almost angry.
"Ninon…" Athos said, standing over her but having no viable way of protecting them from the swarm.
She kept skimming the pages of her book and fiddling with the crystals. Then, just as she slotted them into new places, the buzzing abruptly ceased, and every single beetle within sight plopped to the ground like a stone.
The dragons blinked in bewilderment and looked around. Athos held himself tensely and waited for the insects to get up again.
"What did you do?" he asked tentatively.
Ninon got to her feet. "I found the inert command."
"So, they're not dead?"
"No, the artifact could wake them up again."
"Can you remove the crystals from the artifact and keep them in this state?" he asked.
"Yes."
Athos nodded. "Good, do that. I don't want anyone accidentally—or intentionally—waking them up. We can gather them all in a pile and have the dragons burn them." He swept his gaze around the palace grounds, which were littered with the bronze beetles. Whoever got the job of sweeping them up was not going to be happy.
But the palace was clear, and Athos rushed toward it, leaving Ninon to take care of the artifact. Porthos and d'Artagnan were cautiously exiting by the time he reached the doors, both of them looking around in amazement.
"What the hell happened?" Porthos uttered.
"Long story. Is everyone all right? None of them got in?"
"A few got in but we took care of them," d'Artagnan replied. His expression pinched as he turned to Athos. "Are Aramis and the Queen with you? Or at the garrison?"
Athos blinked. "No, why would they be?"
Porthos ran a hand down his beard. "We noticed they were missing right after the onslaught. So is the Dauphin and his governess."
Athos went rigid, and he reached into his doublet to pull out the note he'd taken from outside Magnier's house. "Governess will have the package ready. Deliver immediately on receipt," he silently read again. Dread settled into his bones like liquid iron. "It was all a distraction," he breathed. "To kidnap the Dauphin."
"What?" d'Artagnan blurted.
Athos handed over the note.
D'Artagnan's brows knitted together as he read it. "You think Marguerite was going to hand over the Dauphin?"
"Then where are Aramis and the Queen?" Porthos put in.
"Maybe they somehow found out what Marguerite was planning," Athos replied.
"But you haven't seen them, at all?" d'Artagnan pressed.
He shook his head.
Rhaego suddenly screeched, drawing their attention to the tree line on the other end of the grounds. They hurried over as Rhaego sniffed the ground urgently, then thrust his nose toward the woods.
"You got Aramis's scent?" Porthos asked.
The russet dragon bobbed his head earnestly.
"With the palace under attack and cut off, they might have fled that way," Athos said. He whistled to get the other dragons' attention. "Find them."
"Aren't we going too?" d'Artagnan asked.
"The King still needs protection," Athos replied, as much as he did want to go after their missing brother and his charges. But they had a duty to fulfill as well.
"Athos!" Ninon called.
"We need to get these beetles rounded up too," he told Porthos and d'Artagnan before heading toward where Ninon was standing by the fountain. She had the box, sans crystals, tucked under one arm but was staring at something on the ground.
Athos rounded the fountain and pulled up short. The Dauphin's governess, Marguerite, was sitting slumped against the fountain wall, blood staining her abdomen. A pool of it was already on the ground beneath her; she must have been sitting there for a long time and no one had discovered it amidst the other chaos.
He moved forward and crouched down in front of her. "Where is the Dauphin?"
She lolled glassy eyes toward him. "Aramis and the Queen…fled with him," she said weakly. "Boudier was…" Her mouth twisted. "Displeased."
"He did this to you."
Marguerite nodded, then made a pained sound. "I'm so sorry."
"Then why did you do it?"
She lifted her gaze, looking lost and desolate. "I used to work for Governor Magnier. He…knows things about me. He threatened to ruin me if- if I didn't do this for him."
"Where has he gone?"
"I don't know." Tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "Things weren't supposed to go this way."
Athos exhaled heavily. He believed her. "We'll get help," he said, but she lashed a hand out to grab his arm.
"No," she rasped. "I have…done the unforgivable."
Athos stopped and dropped his gaze. It was true; should they provide her medical help to save her life, she would only hang for her treason later. So he stayed where he was and waited as her breaths became more shallow and hitched. She had already been left to die here for hours, it didn't take much longer for it to finish. And when she breathed her last and her eyes dimmed, Athos reached out to close them. He then looked up and shared a grim look with Ninon.
"Will you secure the artifact at the garrison?" he asked.
She nodded. "Of course."
Athos stood up and turned to go inside the palace where Porthos and d'Artagnan were handing out orders to the palace guards to begin cleaning up the beetles.
"Governor Magnier was behind the attempted kidnapping," Athos told them once the guards had dispersed. "The governess was his spy. She's dead, but before she passed, she said Aramis and the Queen did get away with the Dauphin. However, Boudier is likely on their trail."
"We need to get out there," Porthos half growled.
"Kidnapping?" a high-pitched voice blurted behind them as the King came stumbling out from an adjoining room. "My son, where is he? What's happened to him?"
"Your Majesty, we're doing everything we can to find him," d'Artagnan assured, moving forward to support Louis's arm.
But the King was utterly distraught and seemed to barely hear him. He took a lurching step toward the door, crying out for his son. Porthos and Athos both moved to prevent him from going outside, but then Louis's legs buckled and he collapsed to the floor.
"Your Majesty!" d'Artagnan exclaimed.
"My son, my son," he moaned, eyes wide and bloodshot and looking past them all.
"Get Doctor Delacroix!" d'Artagnan bellowed as he cupped the King's head where it was lolling on the floor.
Louis let out a hitched sob. "My son…"
.o.0.o.
Aramis and Anne were picking their way through the woods at a more steady pace when their pursuers caught up to them again. A flash of movement and brown leather was the only warning Aramis had before a musket ball struck the tree right next to him. He grabbed the Queen and pushed her down behind another trunk, then drew his pistols. Darting his head out for a look, he counted five men closing in on their position. If he was careful with his shots, he could take out two, but he wasn't sure he'd have enough time to reload before the remaining three were on top of them. Not that he couldn't take out three on his own, but it was strenuous and he was flagging from the earlier scuffle and hours on the run.
But it turned out he didn't have to worry about it, because a shriek suddenly sounded from above, and the tree tops crackled in the wake of a dragon swooping down. More branches snapped as Savron tore his way down to land, and Rhaego touched down several yards in the opposite direction. Both of them belted out bone-rattling roars at the encroaching mercenaries, who turned and fled without a second thought.
Aramis clipped his pistols back on his belt and gave Anne a help up. "As always, your timing is impeccable," he complimented the dragons, mildly surprised to find all four had come to their rescue but without their riders. He wondered what the state of the palace was, but they were only going to find out by heading back there.
He gave Anne a boost up onto Rhaego's back, the Dauphin still nestled in the makeshift sling, then climbed up behind her.
"Don't let us fall," she whispered.
He wrapped his arms around her and the child. "I won't."
Rhaego walked a ways until he had more clearance to take flight without battering them against nearby trees, and then the four Musketeer dragons escorted the Queen and the Dauphin back to the palace.
Aramis was relieved to see the beetles were no longer swarming the place. Handfuls of guards were on the grounds sweeping up what looked like dead shells of the bugs, and there were some scorch marks on the east lawn where the dragons had obviously had a go at them. Perhaps that meant this entire nightmare was over.
Aramis dismounted swiftly, then reached up to help Anne slide out of the saddle. With a hand at the small of her back, they made their way into the palace, only to find it in chaos. Servants were rushing about and shouting if anyone had seen Doctor Delacroix. Aramis and Anne quickened their pace, crossing through the foyer into the next hallway where they pulled up short at the sight of the musketeers on the floor, crowded around the King.
Anne sucked in a sharp gasp and surged forward. Athos and Porthos scrambled out of her way as she slid to the floor next to Louis and reached for his face. D'Artagnan was bracing the King's head as he jerked and writhed, hitching coughs punctuating each stuttered breath. Eyes blown wide locked on Anne's.
"I'm here, shh, I'm here," she soothed as his breathing became more jerky.
His gaze shifted downward toward the bundle wrapped in blue against her chest, and he stretched out a trembling hand toward it. Anne clasped it in hers. Then Louis's entire body spasmed with another hoarse round of coughing, followed by a reedy exhale, and then he fell still.
Anne stiffened, eyes widening in alarm. "No, no…"
Aramis could only watch in stunned shock as d'Artagnan shifted his grip from Louis's head to his jaw. After a few moments, he looked up at the musketeers and gave a subtle head shake.
They all physically reeled back as though struck.
The King was dead.
NEXT TIME
With Louis dead and Anne regent, her enemies make their final move to take the throne, and the Musketeers must once again put everything on the line to protect the Crown.