Ketura let out a sigh of relief at a mission accomplished when she and Tempest, who was still in her copied state, dropped Margo and Zipfarah on the longest couch in their sitting room.
“I will be heading back to the containing room. Or rather to my place in the other side of the forest. You can come over to communicate with me whatever information you have. I still don’t think it’s a right idea that any of them know of me yet.”
Ketura nodded, understanding what Tempest was talking about. They couldn’t afford a hole in their plans now, holes they couldn’t predict how it would come about, and so they would altogether eliminate anything that might look like something to trigger a hole.
“We can leave them here. I’ve already activated the safeguards. We can talk in the adjourning room. I think that they would be out for more than an hour.”
Tempest gave a slight nod, and headed to the particular room in question.
“So, we have achieved the first phase of the plan. What do we do next? Do we go ahead and get the girl, Emma? Then deliver her back to the pack, so that she could see Sheila?”
Tempest shook her head.
“I have the feeling that the last thing Emma would want to do is to return to the pack. I have been thinking about it whilst on our journey back here. I think we should leave the job to Margo. You mentioned that Margo had made contact with her more than once. So, you can go with as her savior to see the girl. Maybe tomorrow, when Margo is well and rested. Margo might be able to convince her to go with her to someplace safer, probably back here. My mother shouldn’t be involved, although I believe that Prescott is with the Emma girl. Yet, don’t tell my mother of the plans, she wouldn’t agree to them. She would want to take Emma back to the community, and I don’t think the girl would like that, or appreciate the coercion that my mother would employ to make sure she is back to the community. I don’t think mother is aware of the extent of the girl’s powers yet. We can’t take any chances now. As I said earlier, we can’t afford to make mistakes now. My sister would double up her efforts too. If I should take a guess, she might send Casper’s ghost after Emma. So the best thing would be to pray that Margo wakes up faster. She has been in Florida before, and knows her way around to Emma’s house. So that’s a plus, an advantage to us. Casper doesn’t.”
“Okay, not a problem. Should I hasten Margo’s wake up process?” Ketura asked, taking a seat on the stool in the kitchen.
Tempest walked to the pot on the kitchen counter, and sighed when she saw no food there.
Ketura chuckled.
“Did you forget that we had consumed all whilst going for energy and strength.”
Tempest sighed again, rubbing her stomach as if the motion could quell the hunger pangs.
“Completely. But back to your question. I don’t think so. Let’s allow her to have the needed rest. Using magic to hasten her waking up isn’t really advisable, especially when she might encounter Casper’s ghost. She wouldn’t be able to fight it if she’s not at her full strength. She would be weak and exhausted.”
“Okay then. So, what will you do?”
“I’m not sure. Eat?”
Ketura laughed out loud, then covered her mouth, giggling, remembering that they were not alone in the house.
Tempest shrugged, before walking out of the kitchen through the back door that led to the forest, happy that she and her friend were back to their positive synergy.
Keturah’s laughter followed her out.
***
“How could you let them escape?!” Leonarya shouted, as she dropped a whip on Kyran’s back.
The latter gritted his teeth, choosing not to say anything, not to repeat himself for the hundredth time. Hundred whips now, and hundred questions. He only worried about Leonarya’s hand. She had whipped him a hundred times in less than an hour.
Whipping at that max rate like a robot, was tiring even for a strong magician as her. He could see his tissues splattered on the ground, probably from his naked back or neck, but he had taken care to release an aura of magic around his body that would barely be noticeable to her, seeing as she was emotionally driven now. But she probably noticed, hence the hundred whippings.
“If you don’t answer my question, you will be receiving another.”
“I followed your order to the latest, my Queen. I dropped Zipfarah at the cell you had instructed me to keep her in, and then left. There had been no infiltration. I had not seen or heard anything.” He said, biting his lips from saying the one thing he hadn’t said since he had been interrogated by Leonarya.
That whilst in the passage, his ears had picked an argument that had seemed to fly in the air. He had waited for more, but had heard nothing, and had relegated the incident to the thing of his mind.
If he mentioned that now, he knew that Leonarya’s will kill him for his recklessness. And so he couldn’t say it. For if he dies, who would take care of her?
His queen might act like she didn’t care about a lot, but he had seen the sadness in her eyes many times.
He waited for another lash, but when none came, he looked up to see her gone. He stood up, and then fell down. He couldn’t move, blood was tripping.
The doctor rushed in, but he waved her away, and called out to his friend who was watching him with an emotion he didn’t understand. “Follow her.”
Leonarya ran to her magic room to take up Casper to go and do his work, but met a guard standing there, panicking, fear oozing around him.
What happened? She thought. Was Legardo here? Had he come to kill her or bring her child’s head? Her heart beat plumped.
“What is the matter?”
She didn’t even know the guard’s name.
“The witch, Margo, is missing. I …”
Before the guard could continue his report, his head left his neck and tumbled to the ground.