Coronation: A Kid Sensation Novel (Kid Sensation #5) (9 page)

As my grandmother dictated, we left for the Acropolis around dawn. It took about an hour to get there, and we made the flight in her personal transport.

I spent most of the trip glued to one of the observation screens, which showed a view of the city-palace as we approached. One of the first things Indigo had done, once we were underway, was explain how the controls for the display worked, including how to magnify the view. After that, I was essentially like a kid with a new toy, zooming in and out with respect to numerous areas of the Acropolis: courtyards, bastions, gun turrets…even construction work being done on the outer edge of the city. (Upon reflection, I realized that showing me the screen controls had probably been a distraction. I had started peppering my grandmother with questions about our destination almost as soon as we were aloft, so teaching me how to manipulate the view was probably just a way to get me focused on something else.)

Thankfully, we reached our destination without incident, eventually setting down on a landing pad atop one of the lower towers. A few minutes later, through the use of an odd elevator that moved both vertically and horizontally, we found ourselves inside the cavernous living quarters that would be our home for the next few days. Not unexpectedly, a small pack of servants was waiting for us when we arrived.

“Welcome back, Princess,” said one of the servants (whom I later learned was the head steward) with a slight bow.

“Thank you,” Indigo said.

“Would you care for any refreshments?” the steward asked.

“We haven’t had breakfast yet,” my grandmother replied. “I think we’ll take it downstairs, in the twelfth-level parlor. Come along,
Sxibbo
.”

I fell in step behind her, following blindly as I contemplated what she had just said.

Twelfth level?

*****

I had to admit to being impressed. I’d grown accustomed to the level of luxury that seemed to pervade the lives of Caelesian royalty, so I had anticipated my grandmother and I having quarters in the Acropolis that would be on par with a penthouse. What we got were accommodations that rivaled an apartment building in scope, with many aboveground floors as well as subterranean levels – not to mention a huge ballroom, a library, an armory, and more.

These were my thoughts as we sat at a small dining table in the parlor, partaking of the breakfast my grandmother had requested. The fare consisted of some kind of purple-and-green mush; it looked particularly unappetizing, to say the least, but actually tasted so exquisite that it was all I could do not to make yummy sounds.

The meal itself was mostly a silent affair, with conversation being almost nonexistent. From the moment we had sat down, Indigo had been almost completely preoccupied with viewing the screen of something akin to a computer tablet. So engrossed was she that she practically ignored her breakfast, doing little more than nibble on a couple of crackers.

After a few failed attempts to engage her, I finally decided that whatever she was looking at was important, so I simply sat there quietly. Once or twice I leaned forward enough to get a glimpse of the tablet’s screen, and saw Caelesian symbols scrolling up at a high rate of speed.

My grandmother probably would have spent the entire time looking at the tablet if not for an incident that occurred near the end of breakfast. One servant had just cleared the table and was walking away while another was approaching with a couple of glasses on a tray. As she drew near, the approaching servant gasped and stumbled, sending the glasses she was carrying – and their contents – soaring through the air towards Indigo, who was just turning in the poor girl’s direction.

I didn’t think; I just reacted. Reaching out telekinetically, I latched onto both the glasses and their spilled contents, catching them in mid-air and holding them there. The serving girl’s eyes were as big as saucers as she watched me mentally put the liquids back into the glasses, which I then set on the table – one in front of me and the other before my grandmother. Plainly nervous, the servant made a hasty bow and then practically raced away.

To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time my grandmother had seen me display any power other than my telepathy. I was slightly surprised that she hadn’t asked for a demonstration before, but circumstances had just given me the perfect opportunity for a little show-and-tell. The only problem was that, while I’d done the show, Indigo didn’t seem interested in the tell. Rather than express curiosity, she had merely given me an approving nod and gone back to staring at her tablet.

Finally, after a few moments, I stammered out a few words, saying, “I, uh, I guess that, uh, I kind of scared that serving girl.”

“Possibly,” Indigo agreed without looking up, “but telekinesis isn’t completely unknown among Caelesians. It may have startled her slightly, but she was probably more embarrassed than anything else.”

“Oh,” I said. “Hopefully I didn’t startle
you
.”

Still staring at the screen, she shook her head. “No,
Sxibbo
. I’ve seen what you can do.”

I frowned. “How? I don’t think I’ve really done very much in front you.”

For an answer, she merely tapped her temple with a forefinger. I concentrated for a moment, trying to get a handle on what she was referring to, and then it dawned on me.

The memory capsules!

Of course! No wonder she hadn’t expressed an interest in seeing my other powers. As she’d stated before, Mom and Gramps had already shown her what I could do. Still, there’s nothing like a live demonstration. Maybe she’d–

My thoughts were cut off as my grandmother grunted in annoyance, clearly exasperated by something on the tablet screen.

“What is it?” I asked.

“More shenanigans,” she replied. “Now about the Beobona.”

“What about it?”

“Word is out about how it saved you from Yolathan poisoning. It’s not something we could keep quiet; you were healed at a banquet in front of a hundred and fifty people.”

“So what’s the issue?”

“Everybody wants it,” she declared. “I’ve got formal requests from some royals who simply want to see if it will activate for them, others who are promising their political support if I hand it over to them, and still more who are demanding that I surrender it to their custody or they will institute formal charges for theft of a cultural icon.”

“What will you do?”

She gave me a solemn look. “I don’t know. I brought it with us to the Acropolis out of an abundance of caution, b–”

“Hold on,” I said, slightly bewildered. “It’s here?”

“Yes, it came aboard the transport with us. As I was saying, I brought it with us just in case we needed it. In case…”

She trailed off, but I knew where she was going. “In case something happened to me again,” I said.

She nodded. “Yes. But if I can trade it for influence, get enough support to overturn this desire for the
prexetus
, maybe it would be worth it.”

“Not to me,” I said, shaking my head. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the Beobona, so I’m not quite willing to just hand it over. More to the point, if what you said earlier is true, it’s not ours to give – the Beobona will make its own choice about whether to stay with us or go elsewhere.”

“True,” my grandmother agreed, “but enough of this.” Placing the tablet on the table, she pushed it away.

“So what do you think of our home-away-from-home?” she asked, finally being sociable (as well as changing the subject).

“Very nice,
Sxahnin
,” I replied, glancing around the parlor. “Very roomy. I’m honestly surprised that the queen provides guests with this much space, despite the size of the Acropolis.”

Indigo laughed. “Yes, it is rather commodious, but these are not guest quarters.”

I raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“No. This is the Castellum Cardinal – our permanent residence in the Acropolis.”

“Permanent? As in forever?”

“Yes. Officially, the entire Acropolis constitutes the queen’s castle and belongs to her, but perdurable dispensations – which informally act as deeds – can be obtained for the use of certain areas.”

“And that’s what happened with the castellum?”

My grandmother nodded. “For all intents and purposes, it belongs to the House Nonpareil. Most of the Caelesian Empire – in terms of wealth, government, and more – is controlled from the Acropolis. Due to our family’s large and influential role, both in front of and behind the scenes, having a permanent residence in the heart of the empire was both a convenience and a necessity. Being able to come here and stay any time we like is just a bonus.”

“It certainly sounds like a nice perk to have.”

“There’s a benefit to be sure, but also an attendant obligation, which you will learn about soon enough.”

I was curious as to what my grandmother meant by “obligation,” but didn’t press her. Instead, I allowed her to change the subject, and we spent the next twenty minutes chatting amiably about lighthearted subjects, such as how I was liking Caelesian food. I recognized this to be, at least in part, an effort by Indigo to make up for having ignored me initially during breakfast, but that didn’t make our gabfest any less welcome or pleasant.

Our conversation came to an abrupt end with the arrival of Berran, who was shown in by the steward. I hadn’t seen the courier since the day before, and was genuinely pleased to know that he was here in the Acropolis with us. The bad news, however, was that Berran always seemed to be on the clock, and if he was being ushered in before us there had to be a vocational reason.

“There you are, Berran,” my grandmother said as the courier approached. “Punctual, as always.”

Berran inclined his head in acknowledgment. “Thank you, Princess. I trust I am not interrupting?”

“Not at all,” my grandmother replied, then tilted her head in my direction. “He’s all yours.”

Confused, my eyes darted back and forth between them, but before I could ask what was going on, Berran spoke.

“If you would come with me, Prince,” he said.

I reached out telepathically to my grandmother, hoping to get an explanation, but the only reply I got was,

Not quite satisfied with that response, I rose from my seat and left with the courier.

*****

I spent the rest of the morning getting an abbreviated tour of the castellum that focused on a subject that was cool in its application but disturbing in its implication: secret rooms, entrances, and exits. Having them was awesome, but the fact that we needed them was alarming.

“The banquet yesterday revealed that the House Nonpareil has fewer allies at present than in the recent past,” Berran said as he was showing me how to access a hidden room beneath the floor in the library. “Thus, knowing the more inconspicuous means of ingress and egress will be helpful should any untoward events occur.”

“You talk like someone’s going to try to storm this place,” I said.

“While a direct assault is unlikely, it has been known to happen. That’s why it is imperative that you be aware of these things.”

This, then, was the obligation that my grandmother had referred to: if I was going to be staying here, my knowledge of entrances and exits needed to go beyond just the front door. Of course, with my power set, getting in and out of any place was about as much trouble as blinking an eye, and I said as much. I even went so far as to offer proof by phasing and then walking through a wall.

“Quite impressive, Prince,” Berran said as I came back into the room, “but, with all due respect, it does not negate the need for practical knowledge.”

His words struck me as something my mentor Mouse would say (and actually had said on previous occasions). That being the case, I couldn’t argue with his logic and allowed him to continue teaching me this bit of cloak-and-dagger without further interruption.

All in all, I learned the details of about a dozen secret rooms, tunnels, and passageways (including several in the suite of rooms assigned to me). I got the impression that there were more, but thankfully there seemed to be a limit to how much I was expected to retain in a single sitting – especially since I also got a crash course in Caelesian firearms.

This last also came courtesy of Berran, who made a stop by the armory part of the tour I received. I had to admit to being surprised; seeing the weapons stockpiled there, one would have thought my family was planning to outfit a field regiment. There were firearms, of course (which conformed to a general design that I was familiar with), but also a number of devices that were completely foreign to my experience. For example, there was an implement that resembled a highlighter, except it happened to be filled with acid instead of fluorescent ink. Another reminded me of the eraser from a pencil, but was capable of producing a lethal electrical charge if stepped on or put under pressure in some other way.

Oddly enough, Berran had an almost innate knowledge of just about every weapon in the place. Not only could he explain their construction and use, but he also broke down several firearms in mere seconds in order to show me how they worked. Reaching out empathically, I felt a cool detachment from him when he disassembled the weapons, giving me the impression that his mind was elsewhere. In other words, breaking down a gun was second nature to him, an ingrained skill that he didn’t need to think about.

I gave him an appraising glance as he put a Caelesian plasma rifle back together. “You’re far more comfortable with this stuff than I would have thought.”

Berran smiled as he placed the now-assembled weapon back in its place. “I will take that as a compliment, Prince.”

“Come on. I realize that I was born yesterday compared to most Caelesians, but with the knowledge and skills you just displayed, there’s no way you’re just a courier.”

Berran gave a short laugh, probably the most humor I’d seen him display since we’d met, and then half-jokingly said, “I prefer the term ‘internuncio.’”

“Whatever. It’s pretty clear that you know your way around the business end of a gun, and I’m betting your experience isn’t strictly academic. You’ve been in the field, so to speak.”

His eyes narrowed and he looked at me in a very focused manner, as if deciding something, then gave a sad sigh. “I carry – often on my person but most certainly within my head – some of the most intimate secrets of the House Nonpareil. Information that would be very damaging and dangerous in the wrong hands. Ergo, it would not do for me to be easily taken by our adversaries.”

“You mean kidnapped?”

“It’s an occupational hazard.”

“As is being a member of the royal family,” I said, almost as an afterthought. “Anyway, if I understand you correctly, being a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to weapons is just a job requirement.”

“Only for those who have been fortunate enough, as I have, to earn the full trust of the house they serve.”

“Well, at least you had a choice. I was born into my role in this.”

“You make it sound as though you have no options when, in fact, the opposite is true.”

“Oh?”

“You could always renounce.”

“Renounce?” I repeated, caught a little off-guard. The idea hadn’t really occurred to me.

“Yes. You could give up all Caelesian honors, titles, and claims.”

I took a moment to contemplate what that would mean. If I renounced, I could in all likelihood get out of the center of this political firestorm I seemed to be caught in. I probably wouldn’t have to worry about the
prexetus
, either. I might even be able to go back home, to Earth.

On the flip side, though, what would that mean for my family on Caeles? With no other eligible males, my grandmother would be next in line to inherit. Renouncing would probably shift any existing targets from my back onto hers. Moreover, since Indigo had indicated that our enemies were out to destroy us, there was no guarantee that renouncing would take me out of anyone’s crosshairs. At most, it would probably just give me a false sense of security.

I shook my head. “No, renouncing isn’t an option.”

“Very well, my Prince,” Berran said, in an odd tone that gave me the impression that he was secretly pleased by my decision.