Anilyia (17 page)

“I do not hear Master Tathan’s voice.” Sir
Danth began moving through the plaza in the direction Vevin was
looking.

“Oh no, something’s wrong!” Vevin broke into
a loping run. Sir Danth followed quickly, as did Liselle. It was a
testament to her concern that she left a plate with uneaten
drumsticks on the edge of the fountain.

They dashed across the plaza, taking the
shortest route possible. It wasn’t crowded enough to slow them down
much and they were agile, dashing around the people who meandered
between stalls.

“There he is,” Vevin pointed while running
toward a spot where shoppers and a few vendors were milling about
with confused looks. Nothing was there, but people were searching
for something in the area.

“He’s invisible,” Sir Danth stated just as
Vevin reached the spot and fell to his knees. Tathan had tested the
invisibility with the group, only to discover that dragons could
see invisible creatures if they wanted to. Vevin mentioned at that
time how many thieves had foolishly tried sneaking up on a dragon
while invisible, only to discover that thieves were not covered
under the no-eating-humans pact. Most were especially discouraged
to learn that thieves were tasty. Not as tasty as princesses, but
dragons weren’t really as picky as reputed. Sir Danth’s armor gave
him the ability to see through spells of invisibility as well.

“Tathan needs you, dearest. He’s terribly
injured.” Vevin’s voice was filled with concern. He waved a hand
over the space where Tathan lay. Purple electricity radiated from
his hand over the body, removing the invisibility.

Liselle gasped when she saw Tathan lying
face down on the ground, blood pooling underneath his unconscious
body. His foot was half eaten from acid to the point where bone was
showing. The sight of it made her queasy and a nearby woman
screamed.

Shaking off the queasiness, Liselle knelt
beside her cousin and began gathering energy. She didn’t use words,
as silence was more appropriate during healing. However, she had
discovered that gestures were useful, especially weaving gestures
that mended.

Liselle didn’t like that so many people were
watching, but there was no time to move him. She could sense the
life draining out of her cousin. Sir Danth, perceiving Liselle
needed space, drew his sword and turned around to stare the crowd
down. While they didn’t leave, people did back far enough away to
give Liselle room to work.

It didn’t take long for the energy to
gather. She put healing power behind it and began moving her hands
back and forth above Tathan’s body. The first motions calmed his
breathing and stabilized him. She paused over the foot to stop the
acid that was still eating deeper into bone and flesh. The biggest
problems were the gashes in the side and the loss of blood. The
next biggest problem was the drug running through his body. It
clouded the nerves and Tathan’s mind, which made Liselle’s healing
much more difficult.

Liselle lifted her hands to the sky to
gather more energy from the air and sun. That was when she realized
the wings on the buildings were magical receptors. They vibrated at
her gathering of energy, sending magical drafts toward other wings,
but there was no time to dwell on it.

Soft blue light eased from her hands over
Tathan’s body. It began slow healing throughout. Then she straddled
him to get at the cuts in his side. Liselle laid hands upon the
wound, flowing powerful magic into it. She could see the cuts
closing. Liselle left her hands there for a moment even after they
closed. The shirt and the jacket mended as well. Liselle didn’t
know why she mended the clothes too, but it was easy and she knew
Tathan’s jacket was magical.

When that was done, she shifted to his side
and moved her hands down to the foot. It took longer to heal that
wound. It wasn’t as critical, but there was more damage to repair
to the bone, muscle and skin in addition to it being dirty from him
running on it. By the time the foot was done, Liselle was becoming
exhausted. She skipped the footwear. He could afford new boots.

Taking a deep breath, Liselle moved her
hands to his upper back. She closed her eyes to concentrate on
Tathan’s heart. Flowing power into it, she began creating more
blood within his body. She sent some of it to his head in hopes of
clearing out as much of the drug as possible.

Liselle became light headed from using so
much magic. She was using it wisely, but Tathan was in bad
condition. He could use a little more blood, but it would be enough
for now. As she released the energy, Tathan regained consciousness.
A groan escaped from his lips.

He opened his eyes and jerked up to hands
and knees, coughing up blood that had gathered in his lungs.
Liselle patted his back while breathing deeply to clear her own
head. Tathan shook his head and looked around to see where he was.
A smile cracked his face when he saw her.

“I think we have company, darling,” Vevin
said next to her. Liselle looked up to see Rojuun guards in yellow
and burgundy uniforms surrounding them. Sir Danth had put away his
sword in order to keep peace. Vevin remained calm as well. “I
wonder if they saw the way your magic fluttered the wings on the
building,” he mused. Liselle was thrilled that he had noticed it
too.

“An unauthorized use of powerful magic has
been noticed in this location,” a tall meju said. His long knives
were sheathed. The other Rojuun had theirs out but were relaxed.
“However, it has been observed that the use was benign and for the
benefit of another’s wellbeing.”

The Rojuun speaker had beautiful maroon eyes
and was looking at Tathan. “I was in time to notice the severity of
the wounds. The injury to the foot was unusual. I believe they are
battle wounds and therefore require the two of you,” he indicated
Tathan and Liselle, “to come with us in order to explain them.” The
speaker examined Vevin and Sir Danth. “By their behavior, I assume
these are your companions and therefore require them to come with
us as well.”

“Of course,” Sir Danth agreed. The knight
reached down to help Tathan to his feet while Vevin helped Liselle.
Both cousins swayed as they stood. Luckily, the Rojuun were patient
and allowed them time to regain their feet.

“Very good. I am Sergeant Niirrii. We will
move slowly to compensate for your weakness. This will please you.”
The Rojuun surrounded them and led the companions toward the
mountain side of Puujan where the administration offices were.
There were six guards, all of who had put away their weapons upon
meeting no resistance.

It wasn’t good for the companions to be
taken somewhere and questioned. They wanted to rescue the princess
as quietly as possible. Being escorted through Puujan by the guard
was not exactly quiet.

Liselle wondered what they would tell the
Rojuun about their abilities and Tathan’s injuries. In fact, she
wondered
what
had happened to her cousin. She had seen him
fight. Few people would be able to harm Tathan, let alone nearly
kill him.

Tathan was still dazed and Sir Danth was
holding him up by an arm as they walked. He had a hand on his
forehead, attempting to rub the rest of the cobwebs out. Liselle
thought that perhaps the spiders didn’t want to move out, which
caused her to giggle. Vevin looked at her with a questioning
eyebrow raised. She was leaning on him, so had little room to
giggle at her cousin.

In all honesty, she hoped Tathan would be
clear headed enough to handle the questions. Liselle didn’t know
what had happened to him and her diplomacy skills didn’t come close
to his. Sir Danth didn’t like talking and Vevin was likely to eat
the Rojuun if things went poorly.

The young guard next to her was very serious
about his job. He walked with his head high, occasionally glancing
at the companions to make certain they weren’t going to become
hostile. Liselle asked him, “Why don’t the human guards wear the
same colors as Rojuun guards?”

He was surprised that she had spoken to him
and looked to the sergeant who had also heard the question, but
appeared content to let him answer.

“Well . . .” he began. The meju had light
blue eyes that were entrancing, or would be if he had any idea how
to use them properly. “They didn’t like the colors,” he finished as
if that explained it all.

“The human guards didn’t like the colors?”
Liselle asked. “Why not?”

He looked uncomfortable with the
questioning, but the sergeant didn’t intervene. “They said no one
would take them seriously. I believe that it is more difficult to
take them seriously with such boring colors, but it was not my
decision.” He looked straight ahead as they walked. It was clear
that he hoped she wouldn’t ask another question. She took pity upon
him and let it go.

The administration office was one of only a
few buildings built by Rojuun instead of humans. It was shaped like
a winged insect, called raasciib, from the deep caverns. Liselle
had seen a few. They were round, lavender creatures with
translucent glowing heads and legs. The Rojuun revered them as a
holy bug and put them in many of their paintings and works of art.
Each one had six legs and wings. The four rear wings were on the
sides of the body and the front wings were on top of the head, just
behind the antennae. It was a fascinating and beautiful insect.

The administration building was four levels
tall, with leg-shaped braces doubling as runoff drains from the
roof. Membranous wings had a metallic shimmer as they fluttered in
the air.

Four members of their escort split off right
before the front doors. The glass entrance contained seating areas
and plants. They were led into a large hall where the first thing
they saw was a large fountain in the center. The Rojuun were fond
of fountains, every plaza having at least one. Hulda had told the
companions that the first time a Rojuun had seen a fountain, they
instantly commissioned hundreds more and had even begun putting
them up in cities within the caverns.

Polished marble tiles made up the floor with
more marble being used in columns bracing the ceiling four levels
above. The upper levels were galleries around the main hall with
staircases at each corner of the large building. Plants and statues
were placed as decorations throughout. The air inside was cool
after coming in from the summer heat. Murmuring voices mingled with
the sound of fountains, creating a relaxing atmosphere.

There were numerous desks to either side of
a main walkway through the center of the hall. Citizens were at
some of those desks talking to clerks about their problems. Most of
the clerks were human, but each area had at least one or two Rojuun
to handle more important matters. Hulda had described some of it.
This was where a person went if they wanted to start a business,
issue a complaint, get work, or a myriad of other tasks.

Sergeant Niirrii led them to the left where
guard members, both human and Rojuun, moved about their business. A
couple of citizens were at desks, talking to uniformed clerks about
whatever troubles they were having.

Outside a large wooden door was a group of
Rojuun guards speaking in low but excited tones. A couple had blood
on their uniforms. The dual quality of Rojuun voices made it very
difficult to tell who was saying what out of the few words that
Liselle was able to understand. The sergeant motioned for the
companions to hold where they were. Then he went to see what was
happening, leaving only the one guard with them.

The guards talked animatedly about
something. Sergeant Niirrii looked at Tathan briefly before
speaking to the others. All the guards glanced at the
companions.

“Three Rojuun were critically injured
shortly before they discovered Tathan,” Vevin said quietly. The
guard who had remained with them took a step closer to listen as
well. Vevin ignored him and continued. “They say that some sort of
acid created by a spell ate through armor, skin and bone. Our
escort described Tathan’s ankle and the others said the wounds were
the same.”

Tathan took a deep breath and exhaled
slowly. Liselle thought her cousin looked very tired, but there was
clarity in his eyes. She found herself releasing a deep breath of
her own she hadn’t known was held in.

The door opened and another guard came out,
closing it behind him. The others did not snap to attention the way
human guards did, but they stood a bit straighter and showed
respect. Liselle noticed a difference in the uniform. The new
Rojuun had a flap hanging down from his left shoulder with symbols
on it. Sergeant Niirrii had one too, but with different symbols.
Each of the other guards had one. The youngest and most
differential seemed to have fewer symbols. Liselle thought they had
to be some sort of rank insignia, similar to what the human guards
wore on sleeves.

The new guard listened to their escort. He
glanced at the companions during a point in the conversation and
frowned. His black eyebrows lowered over inverted teardrop
eyes.

The two of them spoke a minute longer before
the new guard gestured in their direction and opened the door he
had just come out of. Their escort motioned them to follow. Tathan
led the way, which relieved all three of his companions. It meant
he would be able to do the talking. The companions entered,
wondering what fate would befall them. Their escort followed,
shutting the door behind.

A Rojuun council of six members sat at a
long, half-rounded table. There were benches on either side of the
chamber and a podium at the center of the floor in front of the
council. Chairs were arranged on the floor behind the podium for
Rojuun and humans to sit while waiting for the council to call
them. It was to these that their escort motioned for them to sit. A
few Rojuun and a couple of humans sat on the benches, but for the
most part the chamber was empty and quiet. Everything was spotless
and the room smelled clean.