“We are here from Dymchurch Redoubt, Hythe, to report to the Prince Regent immediately.”
They were admitted at once. They found the prince eating and drinking port with some of his cronies, oblivious to the danger.
“May we speak to you privately, Your Highness,” said Darcy, trying not to be enraged by this blatant disregard for the prince’s safety.
“Leave us,” said the prince, with a sigh. As the door closed, he propped his head on his hand and looked at Darcy and Redmond with complete disinterest.
“Your Royal Highness, the contingency plan was for you to retreat to Scotland in the event of an invasion. I hope you have been given details of the attack. Napoleon is using balloons—”
“Pa!” The prince made a dismissive gesture with his hands. “We have been informed of this already, and plans have been drawn. Did you not see all the soldiers and cannons outside?”
Did the Prince Regent really think he could defeat an invisible flotilla by shooting at it with rifles?
“I mean no disrespect, Your Highness, but I doubt the cannonballs can reach the balloons. They are more likely to cause damage to us. And even our best sharpshooters cannot shoot at invisible targets.”
The prince laughed. “I appreciate your concern, Darcy, but I believe the experts have taken that into account. In any case, if the Imperial mages are trying to accomplish so many things, they will not be able to hold Concealment spells as well as control the Montgolfier balloons. The balloons will be tossed around by the wind, and when they come down, they will be easily spotted, and the people will shred them. If their goal is to bring the balloons down, where are they to land amongst the chimneys and narrow squares?”
It made some sort of sense, but the reality was far different.
“Your Royal Highness, there are plenty of open spaces for them to land in Hyde Park,” said Darcy. “But that is not their intention. They are using Elemental Magic to steer and disguise themselves. And they will use Elemental magic to attack. My guess would be fireballs.”
“Yourguess?” said the prince, as if Darcy had said nothing else. “Mr. Darcy, do you think I am going to abandon my palace and run to Scotland because of aguess?”
He gave Darcy a smug look. “Besides, I have privileged information that, from that height, they will not be able to fire with any accuracy,” said the prince. “They cannot use an eye glass and cast fireballs at the same time.”
Darcy sought a way to explain that the Imperial Mages were more organized and cannier than the prince gave them creditfor. How could he convey to the prince that the Royal Mages had been outmatched and soundly beaten without making them seem incompetent?
The door opened, and the prince was approached by an officer with an air of command. “It might be best if your Highness left the business of dealing with the balloons to us. We do not want to issue contradictory commands in such an urgent situation.” He turned to Darcy and Redmond. “As Janus Mages, I assume you have come to set up Wards around the Prince Regent himself?”
Darcy gritted his teeth. “It would be far simpler if we could remove His Highness to another position.”
“We cannot afford to put together an escort for his protection,” said the officer, “and we do not believe it to be necessary.”
Darcy shook his head. Providing protection to the Prince Regent would mean focusing all their efforts on building Wards for him, instead of trying to undo the Concealment spells the Imperial mages were using.
There was no way out of it. Being a Royal Mage meant they must protect the prince above all else. That was what they came to do, after all.
“If you will not agree to go somewhere safer, I have no choice but to remain here, along with Lord Redmond.” Darcy said, in a resigned voice.
“Capital,” said the prince. He turned to the officer. “You may attend to your duties. Rest assured I am in good hands.”
There was no time for further argument, no time to be lost. “Redmond, if you will assist me in shoring up the Wards?”
As it turned out, they had no chance to do anything at all. Without notice, the floor below them began to move. The furniture started to rattle and shake, and objects toppled off the shelves,
“An earthquake! Your Highness, we must leave the building at once,” cried Darcy. He was out of his depth. He did not know the best entrances and exits.
“Yes, yes,” said the prince. “We will go through this hidden door to the lower level and leave through a secret entrance to Regent’s Park.” He ran to a bookshelf and pressed a button. The shelves slid open, revealing a staircase going down. “That was the contingency plan. There are horses hidden there to take us away. You need to hold a Ward around us.”
Darcy did not know if the prince was using the Royal ‘We’, or if it included them. In any case, they had no other plan, and they needed to stay with the Prince Regent to protect him.
Once again, the Imperial mages had surprised them by using an unexpected method: Earth magic.
As they fled down the stairs, Darcy Bonded with Redmond and tried to hold the shield around the three of them, but it was difficult enough to stay upright as the stairs swayed and trembled beneath their footsteps.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the prince fumbled with the button that would open the door. “The latch has been displaced,” he said. “I do not know if I can open the door.”
“If you would step aside, Your Highness, I will use a spell.” He turned to Redmond. “Hold the shield.”
