The Royal Pursuit Read online

  Hathor groaned as he began to wake up, Kent and Stacey following suit.

  William patiently waited for Hathor and his friends to stand up.

  “Why am I not surprised to see you again?” Hathor dryly asked, his hard gaze on William.

  It wasn’t the reaction William had hoped for. He’d hoped Hathor would display some level of fear, but William should have known that his nemesis would say something to piss him off.

  “I remember everything that happened from the time you bothered me on Earth,” William replied, not hiding his hatred for the Razian. “Do your friends remember?”

  “Remember what?” Kent asked.

  William chuckled. “This is going to be better than I anticipated. I have some distressing news for you, Kent and Stacey.”

  “I remember you,” Stacey interrupted. “That’s William Nichols, Ann’s ex-boyfriend. He’s the one I told you about.”

  William frowned. “Yes, it’s me. I found Ann without your help. Of course, you weren’t willing to help me.”

  “Why would I?” she snapped. “You broke up with her so you could date her friend Teresa. Not that I can think highly of Teresa either. I will never understand why she wanted you back after that, but I talked to her earlier today, and she has no desire to see you anymore so your game won’t work on her this time.”

  William burst out laughing. “That’s rich. Why does everyone assume I want Ann back?” Turning to Kent, he asked, “You don’t remember meeting Hathor before?”

  “You shouldn’t mess with the past,” Hathor tensely replied.

  He ignored Hathor and showed them the mirror. “You don’t remember meeting Hathor at Wright State University?” he asked Kent as the memory on the mirror played before them. “You two were good friends. Or were you? Wouldn’t a good friend let you remember that friendship? Perhaps he didn’t trust you enough to keep his identity a secret. What kind of a friend does that?”

  Kent looked at Hathor in disbelief. “Is this true? Did we already know each other, and you robbed me of my memories?”

  “Yes, but for a good reason,” Hathor replied.

  “A good reason? You didn’t trust me to protect your identity?”

  “Ann and I wiped everyone’s memories of that time. We didn’t want to cause any potential damage. William had known Ann was the Queen of Raz, and he sent us back into the past so he could marry her and be the king of Raz. It created a lot of chaos on Earth.”

  “Yeah, a lot of good that did you. Look where you’re at now,” William snickered.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t trust me.” Kent shook his head. “I’m nothing like William.”

  “It wasn’t a matter of trust. We just thought it was easier to keep things simple,” Hathor argued.

  “So he says.” William yawned. “The fact remains he didn’t think much of you as a friend. I would understand if you left now and never saw him again.”

  “Let’s get out of here,” Stacey told Kent.

  “What did I do to make you think you couldn’t trust me?” Kent asked.

  “Kent,” she interrupted. “Don’t waste your time.”

  “Listen to her,” William said. “For once, she’s making sense.”

  She rolled her eyes, but he didn’t care.

  After Kent and Stacey left the room, William grinned, loving what he would say next. “You have not only lost your friends, but you have also lost Ann. You’ll be happy to know she will live after all. However, the man who wears all white and carries that ridiculous cane is in love with her and plans to marry her. Of course, we still have to eliminate Amanda, which we’ll do by performing an abortion.”

  William knew the attack would come so he dodged Hathor’s punch when it came.

  Furious, Hathor lunged at him. “I’m not letting you go. This time you’re a dead man!”

  William quickly slipped out of the room and pressed the red button on the side of the doorway. He smirked in satisfaction as the invisible field shocked Hathor, throwing him back into the room.

  “I may not be able to outfight you, but I can outwit you.” William threw his watch into the room, which landed beside Hathor, who was still lying on the floor. “You have five minutes to live before the room self-destructs. Enjoy your torment.”

  Hathor bolted up, raced to the doorway and yelled, “I’m going to get out of here, and when I do, I’m going to hunt you down and kill you! Do you hear me? I’m going to kill you!”

  William ignored him and kept walking. The more threats Hathor made, the sweeter the victory tasted. Revenge, indeed, was sweet.

  ***

  Ann couldn’t stop crying. She was trying to be strong and plan for a way to escape, but it was hard when faced with the very real possibility of losing Hathor and her child. She had to get her magic back. If she had that, then she could at least do something. She wasn’t sure what she could do, but it was better than sitting around and crying.

  When the door opened, she turned to it. She recognized Captain Reed but hadn’t expected to see him. She thought Pallid was coming for her. Her heart lifted. “Did Kent and Stacey send you?”

  Reed looked at her as if she was crazy. “No. I came to take care of your child.”

  She backed away from him.

  “I’ve been ordered to give you the abortion. The sooner we do it, the sooner I can inject you with the amnesia fluid so you won’t remember it. William has also ordered that you forget about Hathor. There’s no need to put you through needless suffering.”

  “No.” She rushed behind the couch.

  He followed her movements, making her feel like a caged animal. “You don’t want to fight me. I don’t mind hitting a woman,” he warned.

  She continued to shake her head and walk around the couch. Her mind raced through her options. She had to try to get away. Without warning, he leapt over the couch and grabbed her hand. She screamed and pulled her hand back. Fortunately, he slipped and let go.

  She didn’t waste any time. She bolted out the door, her heels clanking against the tiled floor.

  “Get back here!” he yelled as he chased her.

  She glanced at the walls around her as she ran. What could she use for a weapon? Nothing suitable presented itself, so she continued to run down the corridor until she reached the library. She quickly raced up the steps to get to the second level.

  He was quickly catching up to her.

  She groaned as she fell on one of the steps. She had tripped on one of the heels. How she hated high-heeled shoes! She kicked them off when it occurred to her the heels made a good weapon. She bent to pick the shoes up just in time for him to reach her. When she threw one shoe at him, the heel hit him on the side of his face.

  “Hey!” he screamed, alarmed. The heel broke his skin and blood seeped from the wound by his eye.

  She turned to run up the rest of the steps, but he grabbed her ankle and pulled her down. She struggled against him, using the other heel to stab his hands. He managed to snap the shoe from her and threw it across the room. He slapped her face as hard as he could. Too frightened to stop, she pushed him away by kicking him. He groaned and clutched his stomach. She took the opportunity to use a move she was familiar with, thanks to her many combat lessons. She kicked him in the face and punched him in the nose when he leaned forward to grab her.

  Seeing that he was down for the moment, she ran out of the room and back down the corridor. As she left the room, she saw an unconscious Pallid on the floor.

  She turned a corner when someone knocked her down. Before she could get up, William took out his stun gun and froze her in place.

  Reed ran over to them, his nose and temple bloody.

  “Do I have to do everything around here?” William snapped. “Take her to the lab and dissolve the pregnancy. If she gives you any more trouble, kill her. I don’t care how much she’s done for me. She’s not worth all this hassle.”

  Reed picked her up and nodded his agreement. He took her to the lab where he strap
ped her into a white chair.

  The effects of the stun gun was finally wearing off, but she couldn’t get out of the straps. The more she squirmed, the tighter the straps got.

  He wiped the blood off his face then turned to the set of shots laid out on the table next to her chair. “The first thing I’m going to do is inject you with something to put you to sleep. It will take a few minutes to work, but you won’t feel a thing. Once you are asleep, I’ll inject your uterus with a solution to dissolve the pregnancy. And, because I’ve been ordered to, I’ll inject you with a solution to make you forget this ever happened.”

  Tears fell from her eyes as he injected the anesthetic into her arm. “Please don’t do this,” she begged.

  “After what you did to me, I should do worse,” he growled.

  Within seconds, she could feel her body relaxing as the fluid rushed through her body. She doubled her efforts to escape, but it was no use. Her muscles were becoming lax.

  Please, somebody get me out of here, she silently pleaded. Hathor. Hathor, where are you?

  ***

  Meanwhile, Gaius and two other Augurs walked to the room at the top of the arc. No one noticed them. They were careful to remain undetected. The room was currently empty, and it was the right moment to do what they needed to do.

  Amalia handed Gaius a crystal similar to the one that possessed Ann’s Razian magic.

  Gaius climbed the side of the large machine and balanced his weight so that he could remove the crystal already there. He quickly replaced the holder with the crystal they had brought with them. This crystal would sustain Atlantis long enough for the queen and her allies to escape before it sank back into the ocean.

  “Now we give Hathor the crystal with Ann’s magic in it,” Gaius said.

  They nodded their agreement and followed him.

  ***

  Kent and Stacey waited until it was safe to go back to the room where Hathor was trapped.

  As soon as they stood in front of the doorway, Hathor warned them not to enter the room. “The room’s set to self-destruct in three minutes, and once you get in here, you can’t get out,” he explained.

  “How can we get you out?” Kent wondered.

  “Is there something along the door that looks like it might be a bomb?” he asked.

  Stacey motioned to the red button. “There’s a button here.”

  “Press it and see what happens.”

  She obeyed.

  “Get out of the way. I’m going to test the doorway,” Hathor said.

  They stepped aside and watched as he picked up a chair and threw it. It effortlessly passed through the doorway. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hathor ran to the doorway. As soon as he reached it, he received another shock and flew back across the room.

  Kent groaned. “We should have known that would’ve been too easy.”

  “What should we do?” Stacey asked Hathor.

  “Do you have any idea where William took the people who gave me the Book of Spells?” Hathor replied.

  “No.”

  “I’m going to see if I can find William and demand to know how we can get you out,” Kent said as he ran down the hall.

  “Hurry!” she called after him.

  They continued to scan the doorway for any clues to free Hathor.

  “Why didn’t you just leave? After all, I did let you believe we had never met before today,” Hathor finally asked.

  “Well, it’s like Kent said after we left the room. We never would have met if it hadn’t been for you. You didn’t have to introduce us at the music store, but you did, even though you wouldn’t benefit from it. So you are a good friend.” She smiled.

  He smiled back. “You were just pretending to be upset then?”

  “We couldn’t follow William’s script. We knew better than that.”

  “Thanks.” He groaned. “I don’t see a way out.” He stopped scanning the doorway and focused on her. “I need you to find Ann.” He quickly looked around the room. “I can’t believe I didn’t see this before. Here’s a gun. Will you use this to kill anyone who tries to harm her?”

  She nodded as he threw it to her. She caught it. “I’m sorry, Hathor. I wish we could have gotten you out.”

  “I’m not ready to give up yet. Anything can happen.”

  She hoped he was right. She quickly turned and ran down the hall, anxious to find her friend.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ann felt so incredibly sleepy. She tried to fight the effects of the injection, but it was getting harder and harder to do. She blinked, staring at the door in front of her. She would love to be able to get up and leave the room, but she could barely lift her foot. Her concentration was weakening, and the room began to blur around her.

  “Queen Ann? Can you hear me?” someone asked as he came into the room.

  She turned her head to the source of the voice. It was the man in white. Pallid.

  “I’m going to get you out of here,” Pallid whispered. “Then I’ll take you to Hathor and you two can leave this place.”

  His words registered through the fog clouding her mind. She managed to focus on the door long enough to see Reed running down the hallway towards them. “Reed,” she whispered. She tried to speak louder, but it took all of her effort to utter the name.

  Pallid glanced behind him then prepared to defend himself from Reed.

  Her mind wove in and out of awareness as the two struggled over her fate. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she was beginning to no longer care what was going to happen to her.

  “He’s no match for me,” she heard Reed say.

  She forced her eyes open. She saw Reed pick up a needle. “In a couple of minutes, you won’t be married or pregnant anymore.” He smiled, as if he enjoyed her anguish. “Sleep well, Queen Ann.”

  She tried to protest but couldn’t. The desire to sleep was too great, so she finally closed her eyes. Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard someone else enter the room. It couldn’t be Pallid. Hathor, she thought. I hope it’s Hathor. That was her last thought before she fell asleep.

  Suddenly a rush of energy flowed through her. She opened her eyes and sat up. She fought against the straps of her chair, but then she realized she was no longer strapped into anything. Then she felt someone’s arms around her and soon realized Hathor was holding her.

  Crying with relief, she kissed him.

  “Are you alright? Is our baby okay?” he asked as he continued to hold her close to him.

  “Yes. We’re okay. Thanks to you.”

  “The Augurs gave me your magic, and I put it back into you.” He helped her stand up. “I was afraid I was too late.”

  “William told me he’s going to kill you. He has a trap set up for you.”

  “I know. The Augurs got me out of it just in time. Then they left to do something else. They didn’t explain it, but I didn’t expect them to.”

  She hugged him, loving the feel of him against her.

  “Pallid and Reed are no longer a threat. I killed both of them when I came in here,” he replied. “Now I need to take care of William.”

  “Wait. Hathor, Pallid had a change of heart. I don’t know why, but he was trying to rescue me right before you entered the room. He said he was going to take me to you and send us away from here. He must have seen something in that mirror he had. The mirror was a way for him to see what would have been if things were done differently.”

  “Oh.” He winced. “I thought he was going to kill Amanda.”

  “Don’t worry about him. Like the Olympians, he can’t die because he has a Stone of Immortality.”

  He kissed her again. “Whatever changed Pallid’s mind, I’m glad it did. He might have bought you the extra few minutes you needed. When I first saw you, I thought I was too late.” He shivered at the memory. “I don’t want to think about it.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “I sent Stacey to find you. Kent was looking for William. Jaz, Falon, and five Nicals are in a cu
bed prison somewhere in this place.”

  “I can find them. As soon as I do, then I should be able to use Raz’s magic to release them,” she offered.

  He glanced up and saw Stacey and Kent running to them. “Please take them with you. I know you’re the queen, but it would make me feel better if you had them with you to help you in case something should happen.”

  She smiled at him. “Okay.”

  “I’m going to find William and kill him.”

  “Hathor-”

  “Please don’t stop me from doing it this time. I can’t keep having that guy coming into our lives and trying to destroy you or our children.”

  “I wasn’t going to stop you,” she quickly assured him. She used her magic to produce a Razian sword. “I just wanted to give you this.”

  Again, he kissed her. “Thanks.”

  As he ran to the top of the arc, she ran to meet Kent and Stacey.

  ***

  The man in white groaned in pain as the Stone of Immortality worked on healing his fatal wound. He hardly recalled Hathor coming up behind him and strangling him. He glanced over and saw that Reed was dead. Hathor must’ve killed him, too.

  He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on the cane. As long as he held onto it, he would recover. If he let go of it, he would die. The healing, as usual, took several minutes. He learned long ago that if he stayed still, he would heal faster. When he sensed that his healing was complete, he opened his eyes.

  He gasped when he saw three Augurs standing above him.

  “May we help you up?” Gaius asked, offering his hand.

  The man took it and stood up. He glanced at them. “I haven’t seen one of your kind since Atlantis fell into the ocean.”

  “We are not the Augurs who lived on Atlantis. We refused to take immortality upon ourselves. We do, however, have careful recordkeeping of everything in our past,” Gaius said. “We came here to thank you for deciding to protect the Queen of Raz.”