as far as anyone else was concerned, but Fredrik always maintained the air of being superior. The buxom young girl hoped that His Highness managed to steal some food this time. Any less to eat and Niki would start losing her figure and that was unacceptable. If Fredrik couldn’t start taking care of her like the Princess she should be, she would find somebody who could. Niki waved her hand in the air and the door to the shack slid open smoothly allowing the young boy to enter. Fredrik glided in and placed a turkey on the table.
“A twelve pound tom,” Fredrik proudly exclaimed, “and already stuffed and cooked to perfection.”
“What about vegetables?” complained Niki. “Meat by itself is not good for the digestion. Honestly, Fredrik, you promised that we would be living like royalty and all you can do is pinch a turkey.”
Fredrik turned and frowned at the young redhead. Her curly hair was neatly combed, but the blue satin dress was obviously a poor fit. “You shouldn’t be using magic for such mundane things as opening doors,” he scolded. “One of these days somebody will detect you using magic and there will be the demon to pay for it. If you must use magic so often, why don’t you use it to make your dress fit better.”
“The nerve of you ordering me around,” she protested. “I’m not a bloody seamstress. I’m a princess and I demand to be treated as one. Look at this shack! Is this the type of palace that a princess belongs in? If I didn’t use my magic, I wouldn’t even have a dress to need altering.”
“Quite true,” Fredrik laughed, “but you didn’t have to leave the poor woman in the street naked, did you?”
Niki laughed too. “Probably not,” she admitted, “but it certainly made a convenient diversion. Nobody was watching us get away. Really, though, Fredrik, this place is not to my liking. I deserve better, much better.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” conceded Fredrik, “but is it my fault that Forgum has been overrun by rogue armies? Too many people knew us in Trekum and you got us run out of Caldar by tossing all of those guardsmen around like toy soldiers.”
“They were toy soldiers,” Niki insisted. “Besides, I refuse to put up with their insolent behavior. Just because I’m smaller than them, they think they can have their way with me. Well, they hadn’t reckoned with who I am. They’ll think twice at accosting a woman again.”
“I’m sure they will,” sighed Fredrik. Niki was Fredrik’s only friend, but there were times when he wondered why women had to be so pushy. She seemed to delight in impressing people with her magic, mindless of the possible repercussions if the wrong people knew of her ability. The only place for a magician today was in the Black Devils serving the Dark One and Fredrik had no desire to serve anyone. Anyone found with the ability was given a choice of joining the Black Devils or dying. The only exception might be to endear yourself to one of the great armies. They would welcome the skill and give some measure of protection against the Black Devils, but that option also entailed serving someone. Fredrik wished Niki wouldn’t live so dangerously.
“What are you thinking about?” quizzed Niki as she cut slabs of turkey to put on the two plates.
Fredrik snapped his head around and realized that his mind had been far away. “Oh, I was just thinking that maybe we should head for the next town north. Perhaps it will not be destroyed like this one. Cidal is a good-sized town and should present some better opportunities.”
“Is there a palace there?” Niki inquired. “You haven’t forgotten your promise to make me a queen have you?”
“I didn’t promise to make you a queen,” Fredrik reminded her. “I said I could see you in a palace someday.”
“It’s the same thing,” insisted Niki. “Let’s eat this while it’s hot, but next time try to remember some vegetables.”
“All right,” Fredrik agreed, “but in the morning we travel north again. Maybe Cidal does have a palace.” Niki actually brightened up at that statement and was eager to get to bed early so they could leave first thing in the morning.
The gray sky of morning came too soon for Fredrik, but he slid into his brown leather pants, tan woolen shirt, and brown leather vest. Quietly he stepped outside and strode down an alley that ran behind the businesses along the coastal highway. In a short time, he came to the stables behind one of the inns and spoke to the stable boy as he walked past.
“Can you believe it?” he asked. “After all these years, we finally have an Emperor again.”
The stable boy started running to catch up to him. “What do you mean, an Emperor?” he inquired. “You mean here in Forgum?”
Fredrik stopped and turned towards the boy. “Why, yes, haven’t you heard?” Fredrik asked in mocking shock. “He’s entering the town on the coastal road from the south at this very moment. Word is he’s looking for people to serve him in the new palace they are going to start building tomorrow. Forgum is going to be the capital. I’d like to stay and tell you more, but word is that only the first few to greet him will get the high-paying positions and I want to be one of them.”
“But you’re not much older than me,” protested the stable boy.
“The new Emperor likes his people to be young,” Fredrik insisted. “Sorry, but I’ve got to be moving along.”
Fredrik snickered to himself as he watched the stable boy’s reaction. The boy was looking around frantically to see if anyone would notice if he left his post. Fredrik continued sauntering down the alley and caught a flash as the stable boy went running between buildings to the highway. The fact that he didn’t run down the alley past Fredrik indicated that he was willing to take the extra chance of getting caught by the innkeeper to beat Fredrik to the Emperor. Fredrik smiled as he turned around and entered the stables. He quickly threw saddles on the two closest horses and led them along the alley back to the shack.
Although he hadn’t awakened her before slipping out, Niki was already packed and ready to go. “We need to hurry,” Fredrik simply said.
Niki needed no explanation and mounted one of the horses. Fredrik mounted the other horse and they headed out of town to the north. “How much of a lead do you suppose we have?” Niki calmly inquired as she inspected her face in a small round mirror that she had acquired in Trekum and greatly treasured.
“The boy won’t be too eager to admit he was so stupid,” Fredrik commented dryly. “Still, we will have an hour at the most, much less if the owners of the horses decide to leave. If we hear anything coming, we’ll cut into the woods and watch them pass. We can determine if they’re looking for us before we need to take a different path to get to Cidal.”
Fredrik looked admiringly at the dark green leather outfit that Niki wore today. Unlike the dress she wore last night, the leathers fit her exceedingly well. Of course, they should fit well considering the price he paid in Trekum. Fredrik had enjoyed life in Trekum, gambling with groups of guards and mercenaries who had too much pay to know what to do with. They had always considered Fredrik to have too much luck, but they enjoyed his company and they always liked it when he brought Niki along. Fredrik enjoyed the lifestyle of the old capital city, even if there were occasional times when someone got an overheated temper during a game. It had been one of those occasions that had forced them to leave Trekum. The guard had accused Fredrik of cheating again and Fredrik had laughed at him as he always did. The guard drew a dagger and was threatening Fredrik. All of this had happened before and Fredrik always dealt with it using words, but Niki had been along at that game and she did not realize that the threat was just the guard’s frustration at losing. She reacted instinctively and forced the guard’s dagger into his own stomach. The rest of the guards had leaped to their feet in anger and magic was the only way that Fredrik and Niki could survive long enough to get out of the city.
Then there was the incident in Caldar. Niki again had used magic to attack guards that she thought were getting overly friendly. Niki always seemed to resort to magic before trying any other way of handling things. It was a habit that Fredrik had to break her of if they were going to survive.
Fredrik’s thoughts were disrupted by the sounds of galloping horses coming from behind. “No illusions,” Fredrik warned as he and Niki turned quickly into the woods. They had no sooner secured cover, when a dozen Dark Riders appeared around a bend in the road and went thundering past. The pair sat silently for several long minutes listening as the sound of the galloping horses faded away.
“They certainly weren’t after a horse thief,” Niki whispered.
“No, they weren’t,” agreed Fredrik. “I’m glad I mentioned no illusions. Niki, I’ve been thinking about the dangers of using magic too quickly. It is surely going to get us killed. I think this incident helps to illustrate how easily we could slip up. We were expecting someone after us because of the horses, so we had time to hide, but we cannot always expect to be lucky. We have to start being more careful.”
