“You have my support; you'll always have my support. I don't like this, but of course, you are right and so go alone, I guess. Go do your super-hero thing....” Jericho smiled sadly down at me, and his expression was so caring, so filled with longing that I almost gave into him even though he wasn't fighting me.
“Ok, good.” I cleared my throat, tearing my eyes away from Jericho's and stabilizing my resolve.
“Sebastian, rumor has it that underground tunnels lead to a pool house. Are they true?” Jericho turned from me, asking our prisoner for directions to kill his cousin with the first hint of respect I had heard in his voice.
“Yes, they're true, and they do lead to the pool house on the north side of the property. Kiran and I used to play in them when we were younger, so unless something drastic happened in the last five years then they should still be open. I can draw you a map of the grounds, Eden. Once you're on the greens, you'll still have to get inside the house, and to Kiran's room,” Sebastian explained quietly.
“I should be clear right now, Eden,” Jericho interrupted, “I know that we use the word, 'palace,' but really it's an extremely large house in the countryside just outside of London. It's not like what you saw in India. It just happens to be one of the larger, nicer estates in the country.”
“Ah, ok.” I had to mentally adjust my thinking. I pictured a medieval stone castle, dark and gloomy with lots of secret passageways and echoing hallways that would be easy to hide in. I pictured Romania. Now, I would be breaking into a house, with narrow hallways and smaller spaces. “So are there security cameras?”
“Of course,” Sebastian snapped and then shook his head as if to come back to himself, “I apologize, there will be security cameras, but the palace is not a fortress, it is not like Romania. Give me some paper, I'll draw you a map.”
Silence prevailed for a few minutes while the rest of us searched the apartment casually, looking for a paper and pen. Gabriel found what we needed in a desk in the sitting room and brought it over to Sebastian who immediately began drawing a rough sketch of the grounds.
“Here is where the tunnel will come out.” he drew a building labeled pool house and a treed area with an arrow pointing outwards from it toward a large box labeled main house. His sketch was basic and crude, but obvious enough so that I could understand the lay of the land.
A large main house sat in the middle of ten acres of land. Five different swimming pools dotted the property, but only the largest pool had a house connected to it. From Sebastian's drawing I could tell a thick wooded area and a tall, secured, stone wall surrounded the entire property.
“It might be easier,” Sebastian continued, “if you could get to Kiran's room from the outside, instead of breaking into the house.” He sat back on his chair, biting his thumbnail; the simple gesture reminded me of Avalon, sending an agonizing chill down my back.
“Where is his room?” I asked, wishing I hadn't missed the P.E. rock climbing trip so I could do my Eternal Walk in India, after all.
Sebastian pointed to a box on the south side of the house with a large balcony drawn around it. He explained that it might be possible to scale the outside of the house using the vined lattice that adorned the backside of the mansion. I could climb the lattice and shimmy my way over the balcony, quietly take out Talbott, or whoever was in there with him, finish the job, and leave the same way; no one would know the difference.
The plan actually sounded like it could work.
“It sounds way too easy,” I mumbled, finding my own thumbnail to chew on.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Gabriel offered, less than comforting.
“Sebastian, if this is some sort of trick, I swear to God, I will kill you myself,” Jericho growled, from behind me. He ran his fingers through his hair and then started pacing the length of the kitchen nervously.
“Well, obviously, the Guard doesn't anticipate someone without magic wanting to break into the palace and that is why it will be easy. If Eden, can turn off her magic then she can move around the grounds undetected, theoretically, anyway. That's why it sounds easy, this is not a trick,” he insisted sadly, slumping down further in his chair, his sunken eyes turning black with misery.
“My magic will not be a problem,” I promised everyone in the room, including myself. “Are you sure he will be in this room, though?” I asked, pointing to the rough map on the arm of Sebastian's chair.
“That is his room, but whether his is there for sure, I cannot say.” Sebastian looked up at me, with desperation. He was giving me directions to murder his cousin, his best friend, and his crowned prince and I almost broke for him. Kiran was my enemy, and Sebastian too, for that matter, but I couldn't separate my compassion for a human life from my desire for revenge.
“How many Guards will be there with him?” I asked, trying to put together as much intel about this mission as I could.
“The grounds will be covered with Guard, and the house as well, but as far as in his room, last time I visited there, it was just Kiran and one other Guard, usually Talbott. There will be a nurse as well, but as far as magical ability, she won't be anything you need to worry about.” Sebastian looked to the side, towards a window on the far side of the apartment. My eyes followed his and I stared out at the busy London street, wishing I was meeting all of these beautiful cities under completely different circumstances.
“Will Lucan be there?” I asked. My fears subsided at the mention of his name and the angry vengeance that swallowed my soul, swelled inside of me, reminding me of my purpose.
“No, he is in....” Sebastian cleared his throat nervously, “Romania.”