Between Darkness and Light Trilogy (26 page)

The onslaught of smells is overpowering, I
have to think of something else! Listen to my surroundings instead,
that couldn’t possibly be worse. Immediately I notice it - sound
doesn’t travel quite properly here, as though something I can’t see
is altering the acoustics around us. Even my music has been
affected; it’s changed style, becoming slightly more… primitive –
less structured. It is strange, but compelling. I don’t know if it
happens because I need the added comfort and strength, or for some
other mysterious reason, but Mathair’s flute becomes the central
core of my song, with the strange compelling music becoming the
background. The interplay of flute and this new background is truly
intricate and fascinating, very harmonious, it comforts me.

Thus strengthened I find it easier to
analyze the strange acoustics around us. In Lumina, continuity is
the core of existence, but here, in the outskirts of the realm of
Chaos, change is the norm. Vibration here is not only affected by
the distance of surrounding objects and their texture and density…
here there is another force acting to effect sound. It’s a
fascinating aberration – I have to figure it out! Change, decay,
entropy; in a word, Chaos. The only way to compensate for
unpredictable change is constant observation and re-calibration. It
takes more concentration than I’m used to having to devote, but I
can do it; I can work within this realm.

I begin small experiments, testing my
theories, and my confidence grows; this place is fascinating! There
is a beauty to it unlike anything I remember encountering before.
After I come to that realization, reality suddenly snaps into the
foreground once again and I become aware of those around me. I find
myself on Darius’s arm. He smiles down at me, his expression almost
bemused.

Are you alright, Shi'ahn?”

“Yes, I’m fine. What a fascinating place
this is!”

He smiles in earnest, “I’m glad that you
find it so.”

I don’t know how to respond, so I take a
moment to glance around at my relatives. William now has a slight
greenish cast to him, looking rather ill, but he tries to smile at
me as our eyes meet. Alma, Casanova, Celeste and Nero don’t look
particularly happy, but are not the least bit debilitated, just…
disapproving. Gwenllian is fine, but the look of distrust she casts
my way is disconcerting, my fascination with our surroundings does
not favorably impress her. Casanova looks between Gwenllian and I
with concern. I try not to let my fascination show so much, except
for when the night sky is visible, which is actually rather often –
light levels have no relation to the passage of time on this trip.
William joins me in looking at the stars when they are visible, and
it seems to help him. No one, aside from Darius, ever manages to
have an appetite when we near restaurants.

Chapter
15

An Evening in Chaos

Eventually we come upon a very large
castle.

Darius proudly proclaims, “Welcome to
Uisnach Keep.”

Once inside we’re taken into a large entry
chamber where a very large yet stately gray haired man awaits us.
“Greetings, Lords and Ladies of Lumina. I am Ultor, Dominar
Uisnach. Welcome to our home. He reaches out and takes Gwenllian’s
hand, turns it over and kisses her palm. She raises an eyebrow, but
otherwise shows little reaction. He does the same with Celeste and
Alma who also don’t react, so as he takes my hand I don’t expect
much. I do notice how graceful he is in turning it over, then he
brushes his lips across my palm just before kissing it and a thrill
runs down my spine. I try to conceal its effect upon me, but I can
see in his eyes that he knows exactly how much I enjoy it. How
could the others have been so unaffected by the perfection of that
caress?

He smiles to us all, “Again I welcome you to
House Uisnach. Know that we have pledged to protect your safety
while you are in our lands and our company. Beware, though, that we
can do nothing for you if you leave our presence. Now I am sure you
are hungry – Darius informs me that you did not stop during your
travels to eat. That particular passage can have that effect on
people, it isn’t the most pleasant, but it is unusually swift.” He
gestures to a servant who steps toward us. “Wolfsbane will escort
you to your rooms to freshen up – dinner will be in one hour. This
is to be Lydia’s last dinner before the trial, and so it will be a
somewhat formal occasion.” Darius catches my eye then looks down at
my travel bag and nods. Oh good, I won’t have to ask the servant
what I should wear… Dominar Ultor continues, “If you will excuse
us.”

Political status seems very important here,
as perceived in their realm. William’s having ascended the path
while I have not seems to have put him ahead of me, leaving me to
be shown to my room last. It is interesting, though, that they
place Nero behind Celeste. I wonder if they don't care for
Vespasian and his heir? Oh dear, Vespasian killed Lydia's
brother.

I'm shown to a very nice suite. The bath
looks wonderful, but I don’t have enough time to spare… maybe I can
more completely enjoy it later tonight. Instead I once again use a
cleaning spell to remove the scents of our recent travels, removing
all scents but that of Zah-Ha'Gor. For the first time I begin to
put on Zah-Ha’Gor’s gift, and find a scarf in one of the sleeves,
it is translucent and yet I sense it is almost impenetrable, much
like the rest of the dress. I lay it to the side and don the dress
– it’s beautiful! Its cut much like the example I had given her of
Helen’s design, but the bodice laces and is much stiffer than the
rest of the dress. I don’t understand how material that refuses to
be bent sharply or folded can also flow so elegantly, perhaps it is
part of the magic of dragons, who manage to move with utter
gracefulness even though they are covered in impossibly hard
scales. When I add my fire diamonds, the belt shifts to perfectly
outline the bottom line of the bodice as though it was made for
this dress, and both the belt and necklace sparkle even more than
usual. I have no idea how Zah-Ha’Gor could have arranged for such
changes, but they, like the dress, are perfect. I pick up the scarf
again, it is of a slightly different material than the dress, a
higher percentage of the ancient mythical ore is woven in with the
dragon scale material, giving it a silvery shimmer. I wrap it
around my neck and it shifts of its own accord, draping over all
uncovered skin below my chin. It somehow makes the ensemble far
more formal; I decide to leave it off for now and save it for
tomorrow.

I hear knocks on doors down the hall, and my
theory proves right, I am the last to be collected, but from the
look on Casanova’s face, not the least. William offers me his arm
and following his queue, Casanova offers Alma his. Nero smiles as
though he has won a minor victory and offers Gwenllian and Celeste
each an arm, but they arch their brows, then step side by side and
begin walking toward our guide. He resolutely follows them just
ahead of Alma and Cas. I hear William’s thought, ‘Wow, Sis,
Zah-Ha’Gor would be proud to see you like this!’ We stay in
formation all the way to the feast hall, so I’m the last to see our
destination as well as the last to be seen. It takes all of a
second to realize that our hosts appreciate my dress far more than
the majority of my relatives do. I begin to wonder, are dragons
poorly thought of in Lumina? Who could possibly not revere
dragons?

There are several people at the table before
we arrive, but most are to Dominar Ultor’s right. Only Cas Darius
sits to his father’s left. Seating begins with Gwenllian, of
course, but we are not seated in line; Alma is placed at the end of
the long line of our hosts’ family, providing a large barrier
between her and Lydia, who, apparently, is the Lady of the
Household. I end up next to Cas Darius, who smiles and almost
whispers,

“Very nice, Shi'ahn - beautiful, in fact. It
is fashioned of heart scales, is it not?”

“How did you know?”

“It is a tremendous gift, Shi'ahn; your
dragon loves you.”

“And I her.” He smiles, then turns to his
father who begins to speak.

“As you all know, tonight is Lydia’s last
with us before her trial. There are to be no recriminations
tonight, no tears, no regrets. Tonight, we revel in life!” He picks
up a goblet and holds it high. We all follow suit. “To Life!” He
drains his cup in a single drought, and we all join him. My throat
catches fire! It takes all the self-control I possess to not cough,
though I hear on my left that William gasps quietly. I look to
Darius questioningly and it almost seems as though flames flicker
out of my eyes since I wouldn’t let them escape my mouth.

Darius laughs appreciatively. “Well done,
Shi'ahn! Care for some more fire-wine?”

My fingers and toes feel slightly numb and
my entire body must be flushed… “No, I’m fine for now.” He pours
more anyway. I look to my left and see that William is still
recovering, but all the others are fine… then I see that they
hardly touched their drinks.

Casanova looks apologetic, “I should have
warned you about that. Drink it slowly if at all – you might want
to stick with water.” I look around at the food on the table and
begin to understand… much of it is still alive.

Darius interrupts my thoughts, “Don’t be
silly – you are our guests and under our full protection, you may
eat and drink freely, nothing here will truly harm you. How often
do those of your realm have such an opportunity to experience
ours?” He turns to me and lowers his voice, “Tell me, Shi'ahn, what
is your favorite food – aside from desserts, we’ll get to those
later.”

“You will think me silly.”

“Nonsense – what food gives you the most
pleasure to eat?”

Well, OK… “Chocolate aside, cold leftover
steamed broccoli.” He looks at me disbelievingly.

“What is it that you like so much about
it?”

“Well, you see…” Can I do this? Can I share
such a personal secret? His eyes look so intent on knowing what
pleases me, though. I try to keep my voice as low as possible while
still allowing him to hear my words. “I like the way the stalks
turn to cream as I chew them, they feel like cool silk as they
glide down my throat. The florets hardly require chewing at all,
and their nubbliness massages my throat as I swallow.” He looks
almost enraptured, then clears his throat as he tears his eyes away
from mine.

“I think I know something you would enjoy.”
He reaches for a bowl of entirely unappetizing looking things and
picks one up. It squirms. “These are a favorite of mine. Now do as
I do, place one on the back of your tongue and swallow without
chewing. It’ll feel odd at first, but in a minute or so you will
understand.”

I dutifully follow his example, and while it
squirms down my throat Darius continues.

“Now when you think you understand why they
are considered a delicacy, swallow another – you won’t feel it like
the first.”

He smiles reassuringly, but my doubts
continue. Then… warmth builds in my stomach and radiates up my
esophagus, and an amazing taste… it’s fantastic! I swallow another
willingly and he was right, I don’t feel it at all. The second rush
of heat begins warming more of my body and tastes even better. The
third leaves me caring about nothing but continuing this decadent
pleasure. I reach for a fourth, but Darius catches my wrist.

“I think, Shi'ahn, that that is enough for a
little while. They are good, but dissipate and provide little
nourishment.”

“What are they?”

I like his playful smile. “Marinated bile
leeches.” My eyes widen. “Now don’t go forgetting what they taste
like just because they sound unappetizing. You have to keep an open
mind. Here, try these. He holds up some kind of bug and I can’t
keep from pulling back. “Hmm… you have only eaten on one world
until recently, is that correct?”

“Yes, I only left Shiral a short time ago,
and haven’t traveled for pleasure at all. We were not fed in
Mithridia’s dungeon.”

He pushes away the dish with bugs on it. “I
have an idea… if you are willing to trust me, and again I remind
you that we are sworn to keep you safe.”

“What are you proposing?”

“That you close your eyes and let me feed
you tastes before you open them again. If you already know
something tastes good, it should be easier to accept what it looks
like.”

William takes my arm, “Shi'ahn, I don’t
think that’s a very good idea…”

Darius isn’t offended at all, “Why don’t you
watch over her then, Lord William. If she likes something, perhaps
you would consider trying it yourself as well.”

William looks hesitant, but curious. “All
right, let's give it a try.”

Casanova adds, “I’ll watch over you as well
– both of you.”

Darius hands me my goblet first and smiles,
“Here, this will help your courage.” I gratefully accept the
goblet, and drink the entire glass. He laughs, “Close your eyes,
Shi'ahn.”

He was right, I now feel more confident –
drinking around here is dangerous! He is honor bound to keep me
safe, though, and Cailli said I should try new foods; she even said
I should have fun.

I close my eyes and part my lips. He places
something within that crunches slightly, like lightly breaded meat.
It tastes quite good. But when I open my eyes I see the tray of
bugs nearby!

Darius speaks before I can scream, “It
tasted good, didn't it?”

“Yes, but…”

“No buts, Shi'ahn. Here, have another
drink.” I quaff it without pause.

“I don't suppose you have any vegetables
here?”

“Of course. Close your eyes again.”

I feel awfully nervous, but I comply. What
he places in my mouth reminds me strongly of broccoli dipped in
hummus – I don't even try to stifle my groan of pleasure.