Chapter 6: Thief

Kel took a few steps outside. Her feet made a scrunch sound whenever she moved. It had been about a couple weeks since the epidemic. Almost everyone had survived. The past few days had been dedicated to shoveling out the new snow that would fall each night. They made paths going to the stables and other places. "Come to help us some more?" the men called to her. "Yes, I hope you don't mind," she said. Kel had never hated snow, she had just never liked the coldness that went with it. After about an hour she decided to stop for a while.

Kel was about to get into her hot bath when she noticed something strange. Usually she had her Yamin luck cats perched on her dresser but now they were gone. She had noticed other things disappearing also, but they were just small things like paper and pens but now her whole collection was gone. This worried Kel. Tobe had talked about men coming and taking things but she hadn't thought that was true. Now she was having second thoughts.

Over the days she noticed more then paper was missing. Her bruise balm that Lady Alanna of Pirate's Swoop, also know as the lioness, had given her was missing as well. By then Kel had gotten Neal to put protective charms on her drawers and closets but when Kel found that the powder blue dress she had worn to the Winter Ball was gone she got scared.

One night Kel stayed up to see if anyone would sneak into her rooms but no one did. It was only after she went to breakfast did she realize her dagger was missing. "We have a thief in our midst," Neal announced at breakfast. "None of my stuff is missing," Owen said. No one else's was either. Guards were put up outside the window of her room and she used a magic key to get inside, like she had done as a page so the boys wouldn't vandalize her room.

Kel was utterly confused. Jump slept with her every night and if anyone had been in her room he would have caught them.

"I don't know what I'm going to do!" Kel cried a couple nights later at dinner. "My weapons have gone missing, even some of my cloths." Kel neglected to tell anyone about her strange dreams of losing everything she cared for. "Get guards positioned at your door," Owen suggested. Kel didn't want to be too hasty but she was fed up with everything missing. "I'm going to go for a walk," she told her friends.

Outside she looked for her birds. They had been in her room when she woke up but had flown outside to their nests. "Hello m' lady!" a voice called behind her. Kel turned to see Razz running towards her. "It's a beautiful thing isn't it?" Razz said. Kel realized she was talking about the snow. "Yes, when it's not storming a guess it's nice," Kel answered. One of the real reasons Kel came outside was to inspect the area under her window, not make small talk.

Kel started towards her window but Razz followed her. They didn't talk for a while but then Razz asked, "So how are you and Dom?" Kel was so taken by surprise that she almost tripped over her own feet. "Why do you ask?" Kel said coolly, showing no emotion in her voice or face, a trick she had used in the Yamin Islands. "Oh come on Lady, you'd have to be a fool not to notice," Razz explained. "I don't think it is any of your business," Kel replied as they neared her window. "Sorry for asking," Razz said meekly.

Kel looked at the ground. The snow seemed to be untouched, but as she looked closer she saw the remains of old footprints, although those could have been from the guards she had placed there. "Hey, what's that?" Razz said, kneeling in the snow. Kel turned to see her holding something small and shiny. "It's beautiful!" Razz exclaimed. Kel got up to get a better look. It was one of her lucky cats! "That was stolen from my bedroom!" Kel exclaimed. "The thief must have used the window," Razz pointed out. "I thought the guards would have noticed it," Kel said. "Some people don't look hard enough," Razz said frankly. Then Razz handed the cat to her.

"It's really beautiful, what's it for?" Razz asked. "Luck," Kel replied. "You'll need it back if you're going to ketch the thief," Razz said. Kel hesitated. "You can keep it," she said. "Oh Lady I could?" Razz asked excitedly. "Yes, if it stays with me it will probably get taken again," Kel replied. "Thank you Lady Kel!" Razz said happily. "I'm going to go in. I'm starting to go numb. Good luck!" Razz called as she ran off. Kel stayed outside a bit longer, she still wanted to find her birds.

Razziel stared at the prize she had been given. The cream colored cat had been hard to spot in the snow but she had found it. It was slightly cracked along thee back but she didn't care. The cat held one paw up as if it were saying 'hello' and its eyes were sapphire like her own. Sure Razziel had obtained lots of gifts from her father, cloths mostly, but this one interested her more. She put it in her small room connected to Owen's and quickly rushed back outside. She was supposed to be cleaning the smelly horse stalls. That thought made her stomach roll.

"Jump!" Kel called. She was in the forest looking for the birds. The big ugly dog bounded over to her. "Jump, I can't find the sparrows. Will you help me?" The dog began to sniff in the snow but after a while it seemed that he kept losing their scent. "I hope they're ok," she said. Then suddenly Jump's ears perked and he started running back towards the palace. Kel ran after him. He was barking his head off. He ran all the way to where her window was.

At first Kel didn't see anything then she noticed the small brown figures lying in the snow. She gasped. Her birds were dead. Jump began to whine. Tears formed in Kel's eyes and she was about to scoop one up in her hand when she noticed something else. The birds were arranged in a certain pattern and there was no doubt that their dead bodies spelled out the word EVERYTHING. Kel gasped and took a step back from the birds. Finally she scooped the one she had named Arrow. His neck had been broken. She looked at the others. All of their necks were broken. She dug through the snow by her bird's nesting tree and asked Jump to dig a hole big enough for all of them. She buried them, said a prayer, and walked back inside.

That night at dinner Kel spotted Neal and Yuki. Merric and Owen were a couple seats away from them. She also saw Lady Alanna sitting with Lord Raoul, the King, and the Queen. Lady Alanna was one of the first lady knights in centuries. She was a living legend. Kel stopped and stared at Lady Alanna for a moment. They were all laughing at something and Kel wasn't sure from where she was standing but it looked like Lady Alanna's eyes were gray blue. They were supposed to be violet.

"Kel!" Owen called to her. Kel got her food and sat down. "Kel, in a couple of weeks I'm going to have to face the Chamber of the Ordeal," Owen told her. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. I know you'll pass," she said, trying not to act like something was bothering her. "When spring comes around I'm going to do border patrol," Merric said. "We can't stay at the palace forever, even though we're welcome too. It's getting real boring." Kel nodded and looked over at Neal. She could tell by his eyes that something was going on. Yuki and he were whispering to each other, both with big smiles on their faces. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits so Kel didn't tell them about her birds.

"What's wrong Lady?" Tobe asked later that night. "Nothing," Kel replied, her Yamin face on. "Yes there is," Tobe countered. "No there isn't," Kel said firmly. She was in no mood to tell Tobe that his hallucinations had been real after all. "Sorry," Tobe said, surprised by Kel's tone. "I didn't mean to scold," Kel apologized. "Tobe, do you remember what you said that night about the two men?" Kel asked. Tobe frowned; he obviously didn't like to be reminded of them. "You mean the ones you said weren't real?" Tobe asked. "Yes. I was wondering if you might tell me exactly-what did they tell you?" "They said to tell you that they'd take everything you ever cared about away and-," Tobe paused. "What?" Kel asked, her heart pounding. "What else did they say?" "Well I heard them say-that they'd be back for me." A chill went down Kel's spine, but she didn't show her fear to Tobe. "But those men weren't real, right?" he asked. Kel didn't answer.

She quickly walked down the hall. She had to tell someone! If somebody was out to get her she would need help. What scared her was that all her friends-everything she ever cared about-were in danger. Kel broke into a run. The first person she thought of was Dom. She quickly banged on his door. "Dom!" she shouted. There was some movement and the door opened. "What is it?" he asked. "I need your help! You're in trouble-everyone's in trouble!" she cried. "Calm down Kel!" Dom said. "Tell me what's going on."

Kel quickly told Dom everything about her dream, the two men, the birds, and the threat. "This isn't good," Dom said. "We have to tell the King." "The King!" Kel exclaimed. "Lives are in danger, we must hurry," Dom said, standing up.

The two ran down the hallway. "King John will probably be in his study," Dom explained. After many corridors and 3 flights of stairs they came to a big door. Dom knocked. The door opened to reveal Lord Raoul, Lady Alanna, and the King and Queen all sitting around a table. "What is it?" King John asked. Kel stepped in and quickly told the whole story once more. "We must put up a magic barrier protecting the castle," the King said. "Also guards will be posted in the halls and outside. All your friends must be informed about the danger they are in." Kel nodded and quickly went to inform them, Dom helping her. Lord Raoul was assembling the

King's Own to patrol the castle and courtyard. "I wish Numeric was here, he's one of the bet mages in history," Kel told Dom. "The King is pretty good with magic himself," Dom replied.

That night it was very hard for Kel to sleep. She could here the footsteps of the guards outside her door and Jump's snoring. When she finally did manage to sleep she had another awful dream.

"Did you think you'd escaped me?" the voice asked. Kel was in the nothing world again. "Who are you?" Kel demanded. "Who am I? Who am I!" the voice shouted. Kel had to cover her ears. Suddenly the world around her was shaking. From the dark corners of the corridors a dark creature came. At first it looked like an animal, then it seemed to be smoke. It was changing its form. Now it was a cloaked figure. "I am the soon to be ruler of Tortall!" it shouted at her. The figure turned into a black smoke again, surrounding Kel. Kel tried to run away but the smoke followed her.

"Did you like my little surprise?" it asked chuckling. "Your little birdies came in handy after they were dead." Kel was tired of the voice tormenting her. "Why are you doing this?" she asked. "Why? You ruined my first chance of becoming Queen! Now you will have to pay for ruining my plans!" it hissed at Kel. Kel thought. The voice of the woman didn't seem familiar. Kel didn't remember ever meeting her before. "I never have even met you, how could I have ruined your plans to become Queen?" Kel demanded. "Don't be a fool!" the voice said, taking the form of a cloaked figure again. "We will meet in person soon. By the way, I hope you like my new surprise."

Kel's eyes burst open. "Lady?" Tobe asked. She looked and saw Tobe buy her bed. "You were having a nightmare," Tobe said. Kel sat up and looked around the dimly lit room. She listened. Everything was quiet except for the guards walking outside her door. "Oh no," Kel gasped. She felt around her bed. "Where's Jump?" she asked Tobe. Tobe looked around. Kel got up and lit a candle. Then she heard a sharp intake of breath from the other side of the room. She walked over to where Tobe was standing. There was a knife stuck into the door with a note attached.

Kel ripped the note from the knife on the wall. There was blood on it. She read it. The words were also written in blood.

As I said, we will meet soon.

Don't worry I'll take good care of your dog.

By the way, there's more.

Kel gasped, then quickly opened the door. "There's been another attack!" she cried to a nearby guard. "Nobody's gotten through my door all night," the guard replied. "Wake up everyone, we must have a meeting," Kel ordered.

Forty minutes later Dom, Neal, Yuki, Tobe, Lord Raoul, Merric, Seaver, Lalasa, Owen, King John, Queen Thayt, Lady Alanna, and Kel sat in the King's study, still wearing their night cloths. Kel showed them the note and explained the whole story for the third time. "Creepy," Owen said. "I don't even know who she is," Kel finished. "They-she-whoever killed your sparrows and Jump? Sounds like they're mad," Neal said. "What did they look like?" Lord Raoul asked Tobe. "One was fat and bald. The other was tall and one eye that was just white. They both looked dirty and had teeth missing," Tobe recalled. Kel shuttered. Tobe must be having nightmares like her.

"I have a suggestion," Lady Alanna started. Everyone stared at her. "It would be safest if those in danger were to go into hiding, or at least be kept somewhere safe and secret." "You're right," the King said. "You will have to stay in one of the rooms farthest from the ground. We will supply you with enough food to last a week, the more people visit you the better chance of your enemies finding you. Guards will be put every where and no one will be allowed in or out of the castle." As the king said this Kel didn't feel any more relieved. They had put many guards up but it hadn't helped. Kel was closer now and she could see that Lady Alanna's eyes were gray blue.

"What about the note? It said that there was more of the 'surprise'," said Kel. "Who else is there?" Merric asked. "I think I know," Neal said quietly. "Who?" the King asked. Neal looked at Kel. "We should check the stables," replied. Kel gasped. "Oh no," Kel said so quietly that everyone hardly heard her. "Peachblossom," Tobe said sadly. Owen and Merric exchanged glances. "We will check the stables, but for now all of you must go into hiding," King John finished.