A Little Rhine Must Fall (22 page)

“What!” Cecily sounded outraged. “
Song pan!
Moh-sok!”

Alien/Karen leaned forward. “What is going on?”

Cecily explained. “He wants two-thousand baht to take us there. I called him a thief.”

“How much is two-thousand baht?” I asked.

She did some quick math in her head. “About sixty-five dollars.” She turned to the driver, “
Haa roi baht
,” she offered, then translated for us, “That’s five-hundred baht.”

“
Mai piang por
!” he protested. “
Neung pan bpaet roi
.”

“One-thousand-eight-hundred,” Cecily translated. She shook her head. They continued to haggle for the next five minutes. I saw a street seller across the road with sticky rice and meat-on-a-stick dipped in a peanut sauce. If I’d had any
baht
I would have run over and gotten some. Since I was penniless I had to sit there and smell it and wait patiently for Cecily to quit arguing.

Finally they agreed on
Neung pan haa roi
, or 1,500 baht, about fifty bucks. Cecily squeezed onto the seat so that the alien was smashed in the middle and Cecily and I were half hanging off each side. It was a wild ride. We cut in and out of traffic, up on the sidewalk, through crowds of people, bounced down narrow alleys, and finally out onto a busy highway where our little cart played chicken with tons of red covered trucks that were packed full of people.

“Those are called
songtaews
,” Cecily pointed. “Cheap taxis. They have two bench seats in the back of the truck and, if you can squeeze in or hang off the back, you can ride.”

We passed one that had three young men standing on the bumper and holding onto handles on the roof. My eyes must have lit up because she then said, “If you like, we can catch one on the way home and you can ride on the back.”

I grinned. Every kid wants, at some point in their life, to be a garbage man, just so they can ride on the back of the truck. This looked like more fun. You didn’t have to stop every fifty feet and there were no heavy trashcans to deal with.

The drive was over far sooner than I wanted. We were about ten miles northwest of the city and entering an obvious tourist zone. There were little open-front shops lining the road selling a wide assortment of souvenirs. The place was closing down. The last buses were pulling out and the shop owners were putting away their wares and locking up.

Cecily paid the driver and soon we were standing at the foot of a wide stairway that led up the mountain and out of sight in the dark. At the base of the stairs were two multi-headed dragons, at least twenty-feet high, their bodies leading up the mountain as a balustrade on each side of the stairs. Impressive.

“Wow,” was all I could say.

“Deerhurst likes the Naga imagery,” Cecily said. She started up the stairs. Alien/Karen and I followed.

It was dark, with weak and widely spaced artificial lighting, and the steps were a bit uneven. The third time I tripped and bashed my knee, I stopped, sat on the step, and looked out to enjoy the view.

“Come on, Piper,” Cecily called from above.

“I’m resting.”

Cecily lightly hopped back down to the step I was sitting on and gave me a smirk. “Do you want to
complain
about anything?” she asked.

I smiled as sweetly as I could. Trust her to remember my earlier comment about never grumbling. True, if I hadn’t said that, I would be loudly critiquing monks who built temples on top of high mountains with ridiculously long stairs. I had to put my money where my mouth was now, though.

“What a lovely view,” I said happily, meaning,
I’m out of breath and my eyes are the only part of my body that isn’t aching and tired.

Cecily raised her eyebrow. “It’s dark.”

“Yes, but I can imagine what it would like look in the daytime.” I pointed at the serpents’ bodies railing the stairs. “Do those scales have gold borders?”

She ran her hand along one sinuous side. “Yes. Aren’t they beautiful? Just wait till you get to the top. The temple itself is amazing.”

“I thought you were into the Bible and stuff,” I said. “Isn’t this a pagan place?”

She smiled. “It’s still beautiful. Just because they’re worshiping a false god doesn’t make their artwork any less stunning.”

I shrugged and stood up. My legs were not shaking quite as badly, so the sooner we got to the top the better. “Why is it that Buddhists build their temples on top of mountains? Why can’t they build it in a nice flat accessible place?” (I was, of course, assuming that all Buddhist temples were built on top of mountains, based on my vast Buddhist knowledge from watching movies like
Batman Begins
.)

“Do you really want an answer?” She was easily pacing my labored climbing.

I looked up ahead. The end of the stairs was not in sight. Alien/Karen was above, still climbing and looking almost as tired and miserable as I felt. For some reason that gave me more energy.

“Sure,” I said. “Educate me.”

“Buddhism is a religion of mediation,” she explained. “It’s easier to mediate and be at peace if you’re not in the middle of civilization.”

I waited a few steps for her to continue, but that was apparently all. “Really?” I said. “So, it’s kind of like, they can be at peace if there’s nothing disturbing their peace?”

“Sort of.”

“That’s silly,” I huffed. “It’s like saying my children are well behaved if they get whatever they want.”

Cecily laughed. “Don’t let the monks hear you saying that.”

“Besides,” I continued, “if they don’t want to be around civilization, why is this a tourist destination? Kind of hard to meditate with tourists tramping around the place.”

“I don’t know. Probably money reasons.”

We trudged on in silence for a while. Or at least, I trudged and she effortlessly skipped from step to step. We caught up with alien/Karen who was leaning against one of the serpents and panting.

“There must be an easier way to reach the Synod,” she said between gasps.

The corners of Cecily’s mouth curved upwards. “There’s a tram on the other side of the mountain,” she announced.

“A what?” I yelled.

“A tram.”

I glared at her. “Now you tell us.”

“You’re not …
complaining
are you?” she asked.

I stomped off up the stairs muttering to myself about evil vampires who tortured their friends. Good thing the Synod didn’t require fancy attire because I was going to be one sweaty mess before we reached the top.

And then we were there.

Chapter Twenty-One:

Doi Suthep

In the daylight, I am sure that the gold-covered pagodas and statues and decorations are impressive. At night, they reflected the light and sparkled like King Solomon’s treasure house.

“Wow,” I said again. It was my word for the day.

Cecily and the alien stood on either side of me. “This is indeed ‘wow,’” said the alien.

Torches had been set up among the many buildings of the temple complex, and the flames danced and moved hypnotically in the slight breeze. There was no one in sight and I trailed after Cecily as she confidently set off through the maze. We passed a double line of bells, each about two feet high, hanging between golden poles. We passed weird enameled creatures that looked to be a mix between dragon and lion. We passed a row of golden statues standing behind a low table. In front of each was a bowl as if they were getting ready to sit down and eat.

As we came around a corner I saw the main temple building. It had a huge golden spire on top and, in front, large golden poles with what almost looked like golden umbrellas. Cecily headed for a building on the right. It was more of an open, raised pavilion with two iguana-shaped dragons guarding the steps.

More torches were set up around the sides and I could see the Synod members sitting on piled cushions on the floor. They looked up expectantly as we climbed the steps and then stood before them.

Deerhurst, the Chairman Naga, was sitting on the plumpest cushion and dressed in a stunning silk robe. It should have looked odd and affected to my modern eyes, but somehow, it was just right. To his right was Svobadova, icily beautiful and angry looking as always. Next to her was my old pal something-or-other Dhodrim, the UnSeelie Fae. If I thought it would make her like me more, I’d try to remember her whole name. As it was, barring cutting my own throat and letting her bathe in my blood, she wasn’t going to like anything I did.

To the Chairman’s left was Daniel Eckhart, the werewolf, and to his left was Eirvain something-Nimlae of the Seelie Fae. He’d been pretty friendly the last time we’d met but I couldn’t remember his whole name either.

These were the people who’d considered themselves too valuable to risk and had thus sent others in their place to the moon. Others like me and Cecily. Deerhurst had gone, but there didn’t seem to be a whole lot that a dragon was afraid of. I felt a little disdain for the rest of them. Oh well, they were about to come face to face with the alien now and we’d see how they liked it.

A woman stepped out of the shadows and whispered something in Svobadova’s ear. I heard Cecily draw in a quick breath of air and realized that the woman was Luna Oceania, the WAND priestess who’d tried to kill me on more than one occasion. Peachy.

Cecily knelt in front of Deerhurst and spoke. “Thank you for agreeing to hear us, sir.”

He nodded regally and gave me a smile. “You said you have information regarding the Endring?” He made it sound like a question.

Cecily glanced at me and the alien, then stared at Luna. “But first, sir, what is the witch doing here? She is not a member of the Synod.”

The looks that flashed among the Synod members were over before I could decipher them all. If I had to guess, I would say that, predictably, Svobadova was angry that her vampire was questioning a WAND member. Nimlae and Eckhart were angry that the witch was allowed to be at the meeting, and Dhodrim merely wanted to see someone, anyone, get killed. She wasn’t picky.

Deerhurst frowned. He didn’t like being questioned. “The WAND are here to discuss Zipline usage. Does this truly concern you, vampire?”

Cecily bowed her head. “I am sorry, sir.” She looked back at me and the alien. “Are you prepared to hear us at this time?”

“Yes.”

She stood and motioned alien/Karen forward. “Then, may I present …” I saw it hit her at the same time I realized it. We had no idea what the alien’s real name was. She looked so much like Karen that I’d just been calling her that the whole time. Cecily fumbled for a moment, then covered with, “… the Endring.”

Svobadova yawned. “I see no Endring, merely the human’s sibling.”

My eyes flew open wide. Not good. Not good at all. I did
not
want her knowing what my sister looked like.

Deerhurst looked at me. “Why have you brought your sister here,” he asked. “You know that it is against USB regulations for a human with no abilities to know of our kind.”

“I recommend executing them both, at once, to stop any threat to our organization,” Luna offered helpfully. There,
that
was the friendly witch I remembered. Every time I turned around, they were trying to kill me.

I bared my teeth at her in a less than friendly smile. “
That
would be a mistake.”

Deerhurst did the one eyebrow thing. Apparently I was the only person in the world who couldn’t raise one eyebrow at a time. “Explain.”

I pointed at the alien who was standing quietly and merely observing the whole scene. Any question about whether I was the leader of my people had to have been clearly answered at this point. “Ask her,” I said. I had done my bit. I’d gotten her to the meeting. Now it was up to her to deliver her message.

Deerhurst looked at my sister’s doppelganger. “Why does your sister believe that executing you would be a mistake?” he asked her.

Alien/Karen smiled and no longer looked much like my sister. Oh, she kept the same facial features and body type; it was just that I had never seen such a cold, non-human look on my sister’s face before. This creature was obviously
not
human.

“Destroy me and you destroy yourselves,” she announced.

Dhodrim sat up straight, “You threaten us,
human
?”

“I am not human. I am the Endring.” There was a general outcry at this, but she held up one hand for silence and continued. “I observed your arrival on the moon and decided to learn more of this planet before revealing myself.” She pointed at me. “I took a form from the human’s mind and have been her guest for the past few days. Piper has graciously hosted me and, at my request, has arranged for this meeting. Now hear the message I bring from my people.”

“
You
are the Endring?” Eckhart asked in disbelief. He looked to me, “Piper?”

I nodded. “This is not my sister. I see no alternative but to believe that she is who she claims to be.”

Luna chimed in, “I still say that you should kill them both now. Why listen to these lies? We have more important matters to discuss.”

Alien/Karen gave her a look that made her cower back a step. “I say again, that would be a mistake on your part. My ship is hidden on your moon and any threat to my person will detonate the engines, destroying your moon and, eventually, your planet.”

Deerhurst held up placating hands. “Before we resort to hostilities, I would wish to hear the message you bring from your people. Please,” he motioned at some empty cushions, “sit, and talk with us.”

Alien/Karen sank down on a cushion and said calmly, “The Endring are taking your planet to grow food for our people. You have the option of becoming our slaves or dying. Decide, and I will send the message back to my home.”

There was silence. The kind of silence that crickets fill in the movies, and, what do you know, there
were
crickets singing!

Luna reacted first. Never let it be said that the WAND is slow to jump to conclusions or spends too much time thinking before they speak. “Kill it now!” she screamed.

Deerhurst gave her the same look that the alien had given her earlier and, once again, it shut her up. I needed to learn that look. I wondered if it worked on toddlers.