ROAD TO CORDIA (17 page)

     “Why?”

     “Do not discount the possibility of civil unrest,” he warned. “I would offer my personal guards, but of course only the Crown’s own soldiers have the authority.”

     “You would have me empty Cordia’s garrison?”

     “My personal troops stand ready to protect Cordia and Your Majesty’s person.”

     “You do seem to travel with an impressive number of troops,” she said thoughtfully.

     Lord Raptor couldn’t help himself; he swelled with self-importance. “My position requires a show of power. After all, I am a Queen’s minister.” With fury, he saw the Queen’s lips twitch with amusement. The bitch was laughing at him.

      “At any rate,” she said. “Before more troops are sent, intelligence must be updated. I have dispatched several observers.”

     He stiffened. “You don’t trust me?”

     The Queen mentally rolled her eyes. The egos she had to contend with. “There are sure to be new developments. Your report is several days old,” she said.

     He looked at the Queen coldly. “We should have responded immediately.”

     “Well “we” didn’t,” drawled a young woman’s voice from the doorway.

     Lord Raptor, turned and bowed to the teenage girl who had entered. “Princess Lil'Li, I didn’t realize you took an interest in state affairs. Charming.”

     The princess did make a charming picture. She was tall and slender. Her hair still had a tinge of childish green, but was mostly white and very shiny. She wore it long and straight down her back except for two thin braids on either side of her face. Her chin was pointed and her forehead wide. Her complexion was so soft and creamy green that all declared it her best feature. She was a pretty girl, but not a beauty.

     “But obviously,” continued Lord Raptor, “your mind is maturing along with your physical person.” His eyes did a quick inventory of her physical person and he smiled at her. “You are becoming a beautiful woman, Princess. No doubt all the young gallants are buzzing around you. Is there anyone in particular that has caught your eye?”

     Princess Lil'Li rolled her eyes.

     “Did you want something, Lil'Li?” asked the Queen.

     “I’m riding First Attack on the Queen’s Team this afternoon. You said you’d be there. After all, it is your team. How long are you going to be discussing this so-called flood?”

     “So called flood!” snapped Lord Raptor. “There’s nothing “so called” about it. A tsunami has crashed into the Eastern coast devastating the area. People are dying, crops, and herds are decimated.”

     Princess Lil'Li yawned.

     “That will do, Lil'Li.” The Queen’s tone was sharp with irritation. The chit couldn’t even pretend politeness. The Queen studied her daughter through narrowed eyes. Lord Raptor was correct; Lil'Li was growing up. I’ve been neglecting her, she thought guiltily. She’s too arrogant, too self-centered. Cancordia cannot have a spoiled brat sitting on the throne.  

     “The game may start without my presence, Lil'Li. You are excused,” the Queen’s tone was impatient, probably because she would have much preferred watching the game than being walled up here with Lord Raptor.

     With a down-turned, sullen mouth, Princess Lil’Li curtsied with perfect correctness, ignored Lord Raptor completely, and sailed out of the room, leaving the door open.

     The Queen sighed. Damn, now she was going to have to be extra attentive to Lord Raptor to make up for her daughter’s rudeness.

     After closing the door the Princess had left open, Lord Raptor turned back to the Queen. “My nephew admires her,” he said.

     “If so, he’s the only one,” said the not-so-fond mother.

     “It’s true he is not a royal, but his rank is one of the highest in Cancordia,” said Lord Raptor. “It would be a good match.”

    
Match?
That was all she needed, Lord Raptor as a member of her family.  

     “Cancordia cannot afford to have its’ Princess marry a fellow countryman,” said the Queen dismissively and with relief.

     Lord Raptor nodded as if in reluctant agreement. He crossed to the serving table where the servant stood poised to pour the wine. Their eyes met. The servant, a man from Lord Raptor’s own estate, smiled, and carefully poured the wine. “For the Queen,” he murmured as he handed one of the goblets to Lord Raptor. Raptor made a sharp gesture with his head; the man bowed and let himself out of the room, carefully closing the door behind him.

      “At any rate,” continued the Queen, barely noticing the servant’s departure, “Lil'Li is too young to think of marriage. It will be years yet. When she does marry it will be a state affair, as mine was.”

     “I believe you and your late consort had a very amiable marriage,” he said as he handed a nearly full goblet to her. “Careful, I fear it is filled too high.”

     The Queen, who did not really want the wine, took a quick sip to avoid having it spill onto her tunic.

     “Our marriage was a good one. I hope the same for Lil’Li.” Her eyes took on a dreamy look. “I still miss him. Lib’Ty was shrewd and intelligent. He had a wide grasp of the problems of Cancordia but most of all he was very supportive.”

     “Supportive?”

     “Of me.” She took another sip of wine.

     “Ah, yes. Naturally a woman looks to her husband for support and comfort.”

     The Queen took another sip. “As I’m sure Lady Raptor does with you,” she said politely.

     Lord Raptor smiled. “My Lady wife,” he said proudly, “would do anything for me.”

     “Then she is also your comfort and support.”

     To the Queens amusement, Lord Raptor looked almost insulted. “I am a man,” he said stiffly.

     What an idiot. Would this audience never end?

     “Is there any other business you wish to bring to my attention?” she asked.

     Instead of answering, he asked a question of his own. “Do you like the wine? It comes from my far western vineyard. There is a new wine master.”

     Obligingly. she took another sip. It was nothing special. In fact, there was a distinctly sharp after taste that was not to her liking. “Unfortunately I am not a wine aficionado,” she said. “I prefer zeen.”

     “Yes, I know.” He was staring at her intently. “Unfortunately zeen particulates out too quickly.”

     “Particulates?” she asked. Only it came out “partic-partic-partic.” Her tongue felt thick and unwieldy. She tried to raise her hand to her forehead but it was so heavy. Motor control out of control, she thought inanely. When she finally did managed to raise her hand she hit herself in the face. Her head snapped back but she barely felt anything. She stared at Lord Raptor, who seemed to go in and out of focus. “There is something wrong,” she tried to say but all that came out was babbling.  She listened to the nonsense she was mouthing in growing horror. Something was terribly wrong. Was she having a stroke? Lib’Ty had died from a stroke.

     “Is something wrong, Your Majesty?” Lord Raptor asked.

     Now she couldn’t speak at all. It was becoming harder and harder to breath. Distantly she heard her goblet fall to the floor and shatter. From far away she could hear Lord Raptor speaking. Couldn’t the idiot see something was wrong?

     Focus. Focus, she ordered herself.

     “I do believe you are dying, Your Majesty.”

     She heard that distinctly. Why wasn’t he sending for a healer? With great effort she turned her head to find Lord Raptor watching her carefully, a small upward curl of his lips were the only indication of his feelings.

     “Die-die-die?” she heard herself babble.

     “What a pity,” he said, still smiling. “So young and still rather good looking. Much better if you had been the consort and Lib’Ty the king,” he said. “When Lib’Ty died you could have married me. I would have been regent to the Princess. When… of course I mean, if she died, then I would have been king.”  He scowled. “So many opportunities lost, now it will have to be your piefaced daughter.”

     Lil'Li! Thought the Queen. Nooooo…Darkness.

     Lord Raptor checked the pulse of the late Queen, and then adjusted her clothes, proper attire was so important to the impression a corpse made. An odd giggle escaped him.

      “Guards!” he bellowed. No response. Where the hell were the lazy bastards? Never a guard around when you needed one. He strolled to the door and threw it open. Across the hall stood two well-armed sentries. Lot of good they were doing on the other side of the door. Queen Ten’Aj had been a trusting soul.

     “Someone has tried to kill the Queen. Arrest any suspicious person you see,” he ordered.

     They stood there, open-mouthed.

     “Kill the Queen?” said one and pushed past Lord Raptor to see for himself.

     Lord Raptor addressed the other guard. “Arrest any suspicious person you see,” he repeated.

     “Suspicious?” stammered the guard.

     “Go!” roared Lord Raptor.

     “Yes, my Lord,” said the guard, and started to rush away, then stopped and came back. “Should I call for a Healer?” he asked.

     “By all means,” replied Lord Raptor. “Call the Healers. And the priests,” he added.

CHAPTER 19

     Ja'Nil’s journey to Cordia started off slowly. She clutched the map Lady Fayre had drawn for her and at first consulted it every few minutes. But gradually the beauty of her surroundings seduced her. The air, wine sweet, blew softly against her anxious brow. The path meandered through a forest of such colorful trees that Ja'Nil felt she was walking through an arboreal jewel box. She was used to trees with pink and white striped leaves, but here there were also trees with varied hues of blue, everything from soft sky blue to dark mysterious midnight blue and, most amazing of all, there were actually green trees! They were tall with dark brown trunks sprouting spiky green leaves that gave off the most lovely scent; spicy and flowery at the same time. Magical.

     The trail was wide and well defined, easy to follow. Up small hills and down shallow dales she went, stopping every once in a while to sniff the wonderful forest odors. A swift moving stream of clear water appeared, disappeared, and appeared again as the trail twisted and turned. Birds sang in the trees. There were even butterflies: large ones, small ones, orange and yellow ones. A small orange one with pretty pink stripes hovered around her face. Ja'Nil stood quietly, not wanting to frighten it away. Only after it had fully examined her and decided she was not a flower, did it flutter its wings and drift away. Ja'Nil felt blessed.

     “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” said a voice behind her.

     She jumped. She not only jumped, she also whirled. She came down facing the owner of the voice. She landed in a crouch, ready to fight or flee. If given a vote, fleeing would win, until she saw who was speaking.

     He was a golden young man. His skin tone was warm with traces of the sun. His hair was thick and dark blond with lighter, sun dyed streaks throughout. Even his eyes seemed to shine like dark gold. He wore his hair in two thick braids that came down to just below his shoulders. There were colored beads woven into the braids. His eyebrows, two straight lines above those fascinating eyes, were slightly darker than his hair. He had high cheekbones, a blade thin nose, and a strong jaw. His ears were pointed like hers, but his were much higher up on the side of his head so that the tips were actually above his head. The outside of his ears were covered with a smooth coat of soft looking hair. Ja'Nil wanted to stroke them. He wore buckskin leggings that were trimmed along the side with blue-green gems interspersed with small bits of gold. A sheaved knife was attached to his belt. His feet were encased in low moccasins, and his chest was completely bare. He was the most beautiful male creature Ja'Nil had ever seen.

     “Uhh,” she said.

     He smiled at her! Oh Lord of the Circle, he even had dimples. And his mouth was so--- Ja'Nil couldn’t think of the words.

     “Don’t you think so?” he said.

     “Ahh.” Her mind as well as her tongue seemed frozen.

     “The butterflies,” he reminded her, gesturing with a long fingered hand at the swirling mass of color that had so enraptured her before he appeared.

     She nodded dumbly. Say something, she silently ordered herself.

     “I’ve never seen so many different colored ones,” he said. “Have you?”

     “Nnnn,” she croaked. “Ah, that is, no.”

     “I startled you,” he apologized.

     “I thought I was alone,” she muttered. Congratulations, she told herself. You managed to speak a whole sentence.

     “My name’s Ee'Rick,” he said. “What’s yours?”

     “Ja'Nil.”

     “Ja'Nil.” He seemed to savor her name, almost as if he was tasting it.

     For her part, Ja'Nil continued to stare at him. What a strange name, and what a strange looking person. He fit no category Ja'Nil had ever heard of; he was neither an Earth person like Ja'Nil, nor a Cloud person like Lady Fayre, nor a Sky person like O’Keeven and the children. He was a whole new race. “What are you?” she blurted, and then felt the heat rush to her face. How could she have been so rude?

     But Ee'Rick didn’t seem to mind. “Never met a Clansman of the Golden Wolf before?” he asked.

     “That was rude of me,” Ja'Nil rushed to apologize. “I’m not usually so, so…”

     “Usually a model of correctness, huh?”

     Ja'Nil had to grin. “Nooo,” she admitted, “but still, it was rude of me. I apologize.”

     “Not a problem,” Ee'Rick assured her. As he leaned down to pick up his backpack, Ja'Nil saw he wore a gold ring on the middle finger of his right hand. “Where are you heading?” he asked, as he adjusted the straps.

     “Cordia,” she answered.

     “So am I.”

     “Really?”

     “Really,” he grinned at her. His teeth were very white and strong looking. She stared at him, still lost in the sheer beauty of him. “Ja'Nil?”

     “Huh?”

     “I said do you want to travel together?”

     “Oh. Mmm.” She hesitated. Lately, every time she met up with a new person, problems presented themselves, some of them very big problems. The charming O’Keeven came to mind. Surely Ee'Rick, this strangely beautiful and exotic young man, was nothing like O’Keeven. “Yes,” she heard herself say, nodding her head.