Bert had been there when he had woken up from his drunken state with a pounding headache. He knew what he had done the day before was not smart, but being sober and aware was so much worse. If Bert was not there he probably would have gone straight back to a tavern that didn't care how much patrons drank as long as they paid. As it was, Bert had not let him leave his room. As soon as he woke up, she herded him into his bathroom where she had the basin filled with cold water which she succinctly shoved Kol's head into. The icy water did the trick and he reeled back so quickly Bert had to dodge his flailing arms. She only let him shake the wet hair from his face before she started on her tirade. She shouted at him for scaring her and making her worry. She shouted at him for being so irresponsible and drinking so much until her eyes filled with tears. When she was done shouting she wrapped her arms around Kol and gently said how sorry she was about Ebony. Kol let her hug him and he hugged her back tightly. They didn't talk anymore about it, but Bert made sure that Kol did not try and drown himself in alcohol again. Either she or Addison stayed near Kol for the next few days. Both of them could see the light had gone from his eyes and he hardly smiled anymore.
Captain Rydell found out about the broken engagement the day before the princess's wedding. Kol thought that people far away in the palace must have heard his father's shouting. For a good two hours the captain bellowed at his son for disappointing everyone, but Kol couldn't find it in him to care. His father accused him of letting that other woman ruin his life. Ebony. Even the thought of her name hurt. All Kol could see was that other man holding her and making her smile. Near the end of his father's tirade, he gave an ultimatum. Kol had to find some other woman as good as Paislee to marry by the already specified wedding date or he would be cut off completely and out on the street. He was supposed to look for another wife at the royal wedding. It was his last chance, but the only woman there who would catch his eye was Ebony.
Kol watched her walk in with her stepsister and the prince. She was smiling and laughing. At least she was not with that other man; Kol didn't think he could bear to see them together again. He watched as she sat down with Giselle and Christian. She was stunning in a fitted red gown, but something was different. The more Kol watched, the more he felt something was wrong. Ebony was being too friendly with Giselle. The way Ebb had talked about her stepsister, they did not get along at all, but there they were laughing together like old friends. Then after the wedding when Kol watched her walk by, she was even walking differently. Her stride was off and not like it normally was. When she passed by him, he could tell that even her features seemed wrong. When someone talked to her, she tilted her head in a way Kol had never seen before. Curious, he discretely passed and heard a bit of conversation. Ebony was talking to another man about the second ball and how she danced a specific dance with the prince. That was when Kol was certain something was wrong. He remembered that dance very clearly. Ebb had not been dancing when it was played. She had pulled him into that tiny alcove to hide from Ivy.
Despite his promise to Bert that he would not torture himself by talking to Ebony, he had to find out what was wrong with her. He feared someone had given her another potion to muddle her mind. He took a deep breath before approaching her. He knew that Ebb was somehow in trouble and it didn't matter what he felt. All that mattered was making sure she was safe. The person that had spelled her the first time must still be after her. It had not been only Garen after all. Kol knew it had taken someone smarter to pull that off, but who was capable of such a thing?
"Hello, Ebony," He greeted. She turned and smiled at him. The real Ebb would have noticed he had called her by her full name. This was not his Ebb.
"Kol," the imposter said brightly. "How nice it is to see you again. I have not seen you since the last ball. That was quite a kiss wasn't it?"
He put on the mask he had often worn for Paislee. He had never thought he would have to look at Ebb like this. Kol pasted on a fake smile and agreed. It was better to not raise suspicion until he knew exactly what was wrong with Ebony. "I was trying to remember something about that night. That mask you wore, it was a very similar style to what you wore at the second ball when you attended with Christian. Was the color on it real indigo from the northern forest treefish?"
"What an odd question to ask," Ebony laughed. Even her laugh was wrong. It was too high pitched and loud. "I don't know where the paint for my mask came from. I don't think it was from the northern forest though. Only treefish in the southern kingdoms like Conan produce indigo. Everyone knows that."
Kol made himself keep smiling and pretending everything was fine. His Ebb was in more danger than he thought and so was everyone else. Everyone did not know what dyes southern and northern treefish produced. Only someone, or something, from that part of the world would know about that. He had heard his father talking about one of the dangerous beasts escaping from the menagerie. Kol had not heard clearly what the animal was, but now he knew. That mumbled word he had not understood had been mockery, and the beast was standing right before him. Only someone completely devoid of sense would free such a monster. Kol's mind was racing with questions and theories. The mockery must be waiting for something since it was pretending to be someone else instead of just attacking everyone. Whoever let it out must be close by, but who would hold such a grudge against Ebb? If the mockery was here, where was the real Ebb?
"Oh, yes of course, silly me," Kol laughed. "I wish I could stay and chat, but my father wants me to meet some of his friends and you know how he can be."
The mockery smiled and nodded. It must not have sensed anything was amiss. Kol bowed slightly and walked away at a regular pace when he wanted to run. Ebb was in danger. He did not even know if she was still alive or not and that thought terrified him more than he thought possible. Not being with her was one thing, but being in a world in which she was not was unimaginable. She had to be alive; he had to believe she was alive. He would stay for the rest of the wedding to not raise suspicion and look for anyone who would want to harm Ebb.
Immediately when he returned home, Kol locked himself in his room and dressed in black leather gloves and jerkin. He would not rest until he had found Ebb. If someone was dealing with the mockery, they would not keep a prisoner in the upper city. They would go to the lower level where Kol reigned. To avoid questions, he slipped out from his balcony. Silently he saddled Lady in her stable and rode quickly to the lower city. He would start with Tim. Even though the man was as harmless as a kitten, he knew where to find almost anyone in the lower city. Kol thought of that man he had seen Ebb with. Did he know something was wrong?
Tim was in his usual square selling his hay from the back of his cart. Today he even had a few other odds and ends to peddle. Without even dismounting, Kol hurriedly explained who he was looking for to Tim. The old man sat back in his cart and closed his eyes in thought.
"I haven't heard of anything strange dealing with that dark haired maid you mentioned. I can send my boys out to see what they can find. Do you happen to know which part of the city she might be in?"
Kol shook his head. He had no idea where Ebb was and that terrified him. He had no way of searching the entire lower city quickly and he didn't want to waste time. Tim was the best way Kol could think of to scour the lower city, but even he had only a limited number of people. He was old and had many friends who helped him with various tasks. Not all of them were lawful, but as long as he did not hurt anyone Kol looked the other way in exchange for his help. He had never needed Tim's help more than he needed it now.
"Perhaps if your men find some of mine and relay the message then it would spread faster. I need to find her as soon as possible." Kol suggested as Lady pranced impatiently beneath him. Even she sensed her master's worry.
Tim nodded. "You go run along and find whoever it is you have in this area. I'll get my Gerald to tell the boys to look for your men and then they can all search for this woman. I wouldn't hold out too much hope though, laddie. Some of these lower city types would do horrible things to a maid like yours. If someone willingly turned her over to one of them, then they do not particularly care about her wellbeing."
"I will find her and whoever did this to her will pay." Kol said definitively. "I will be back in three hours. You had better have news for me then."
"I can only do what I can do."
Kol was not satisfied with this answer, but he knew it was the truth. Lady charged off down one of the wide lanes that branched off from the square. Kol tried to recall all of his friends who would be near this area and could help him. The ones he could remember, he went to and described Ebb to them and they began to spread the word. The task of trying to get as many people looking for Ebb as possible took more time than Kol had anticipated. He was riding steadily through the lower city going from one person to the next. He would go through the entire lower city himself if he needed to, but that would take days and Ebb might not have that long.
"Oh, good, you are all ready to come." A boy had scurried up to where Kol was riding on Lady. He pulled the horse to a stop. "Digger thinks he has found something. That old oaf Daniel who lives near the western wall showed up at the Stick and Stone this morning."
Kol knew that the Stick and Stone was a tavern near the west wall, but he didn't see the relevance. "Is Daniel one of ours?"
The boy shook his head. "He's just some dumb brute that lives over that way. Well he showed up with a handful of gold coins and wouldn't say where he got them."
Kol's hands tightened on the reins. "Did someone get him out for questioning?"
The boy nodded. It was all Kol needed to be charging back down the street towards the Stick and Stone, but not before he dropped a generous amount of money into the boy's hands. Daniel could have gotten the money from any number of places, but people with that kind of money to spare did not deal with dumb lower city brutes. He pushed Lady at a full out gallop until he made it to the Stick and Stone. People were dodging out of the way to avoid him. Someone was waiting for him at the tavern. They took him to a house that was a ways down the street. It belonged to one of his people and was where Daniel was being kept. Kol walked in and calmly tugged off his gloves. He wanted Daniel to fear him and for that he needed to be cool and calculating. A pile of gold coins was sitting on a table while two large men held Daniel in a chair. It was definitely more gold than anyone would pay this stinking bear of a man for the usual lower city jobs.
"Where did you get the gold, Daniel?" Kol asked calmly.
The man spit at him and struggled in his seat. He must not have known who he was dealing with. "Dat money be mine an' 'taint right for yous all to 'ttack me in 'de bar jus' fer havin' it!"
"He isn't answering much more than that," The man who had showed Kol to the house said.
The smile that crept onto Kol's face was far from pleasant and even his own man stepped back. Kol pulled a long thin dagger from his belt. "Leave us. I think Daniel might answer better if I were to ask him."
The three other men left the room to wait outside. They did not hear anything and then Daniel was shouting about some run down prison where the girl was being kept. He also yelled about other small indiscretions he knew about before he began to beg. When the door opened again, Kol quickly mounted his horse. One of the men peeked in at Daniel. He was slumped over in his chair and breathing heavily. It was too dark in the room to see much more. So this was the power of the demon he had heard so much about. That Nikolaus Rydell was truly terrifying. He also saw a large bag of gold sitting next to Daniel's pile on the table. When he turned back around it was just in time to see, Kol riding away down the street.
Kol may be heartbroken but that doesn't mean he's crippled. Only a few more chapters left, but there is still so much to happen.