ROAD TO CORDIA (21 page)

     “What rude people,” said Ja'Nil, feeling vaguely afraid.

     “They’ve probably never seen one of my Clan before,” said Ee'Rick. He was standing very tall, his expression cold and impassive. It was so different from his usual friendly grin that Ja'Nil was almost afraid of him. Everywhere they went conversations stopped only to be heatedly picked up when they were past.

     So many different kinds of people were there, in different kinds of dress with different kinds of accents, that she was surprised Ee'Rick was even noticed. Of course, he was beautiful, but frankly, the stares he was collecting did not seem to be admiring.

     Ja’Nil had never imagined there were so many people in the whole world let alone in one place. The colors, the smells, some lovely, some gross,  the constant hustle and bustle, the sheer noise of so many people and animals crowded together, gossiping, working, yelling, buying and selling, standing around stalls slurping down noodles, all made her dizzy.

     Ja'Nil’s stomach growled, reminding her that breakfast had been hours ago. The streets were dusty, her mouth dry. She remembered telling the children not to worry, that she would have no difficulty finding their father. Hah! How could she possibly find one mummer in this swarming madhouse? She didn’t even know how to find the Queen.

     “There’s the Palace,” said Ee'Rick gesturing with his chin.

     Ja'Nil eyes followed where he indicated. The Palace was surrounded by its own walls. They were made of the same glowing material as the city walls but these were brilliant throbbing blue-green shading from light to dark as the clouds floated in front of the suns. They seemed almost alive. Hypnotized by the wall’s beauty Ja'Nil reached out her hand and touched it. It was warm and smooth, seeming to welcome her caress.

     “Hey, ya,” yelled a rough voice. “What youse doing there?”

Two guards, dressed in red and gold uniforms rushed over to her, long curved knives raised to attack. Their eyes were glassy with anger.

     Ee'Rick reached out a long arm and pulled her away from the wall placing her behind him. “She just wanted to touch the wall,” he said, his voice cold and imperious. “She’s never seen the like before.”

     The two guards slid to a stop. They were still waving their long knives but seemed unsure of their next move. There was something wrong with the left eye of one of the guards. He tried to look Ee'Rick up and down but his eye kept wandering off in a different direction.

     The other guard sniggered. “Well, whatta ya know,” he said, looking insolently at Ee'Rick, “It talks.”

     “It does a lot more than talk,” said Ee'Rick, cold as ice.

     Ja’Nil cut in hastily before they could come to blows and/or stabbings. “Is there a Queen’s audience today?” she asked.

     The guards reluctantly took their eyes off Ee'Rick. “Wha?”

     “I’ve been told the Queen holds audience twice a week. “

     “Are ya simple?” asked the guard with the wandering eye.

     “Just answer her question,” Ee'Rick growled.

     The other guard looked as if he was enjoying himself. “Yas goes ‘round to the Audience Gate, ya does. It’s a big un‘. Blood red, it is.” He looked up at the two suns, judging their positions. “Queen’s Audiences always start when Little’un catches up wit First Sun.”

     “Any minute now,” added wandering eye. He also seemed amused. “Cause I don’t know whats doin’, considern.”

     “Considering what?” asked Ee'Rick.

     The other guard sniggered but they didn’t answer.

     “I don’t recognize your uniforms,” said Ee'Rick. “Whose colors are those?”

     The question seemed to anger old wandering eye. He shoved his face close to Ee'Rick’s, although since he was quite a bit shorter than Ee'Rick, his aggression was not as effective as it might have been. “We be of Raptor Keep.”

     “Lord Raptor.” said Ee'Rick, Ja’Nil was surprised that Ee’Rick seemed to know about the workings of Cordia.

     “Aye, these be his colors.”

     “Where are the Queen’s soldiers?” asked Ee'Rick.

     “I told ya where be the Audience Gate, That’s all I’m tellen’ ya. Now be off,” said the other guard. “Ya, too,” he added looking at Ja’Nil. Giving Ee'Rick another ferocious glare, the two guards continued their patrolling of the palace.

* * *

     The guard hadn’t lied; the Audience Gate was both big and a throbbing blood red color. In fact, it was quite intimidating. Surprisingly there were no guards at this important looking gate.

     “Security seems pretty spotty,” said Ee'Rick. “Almost as if they know there’s no danger but want to make a show.”

     “Should I go in?” Ja’Nil wondered aloud. Just looking at the throbbing blood-red gate was making her nauseous.

     Ee'Rick understood her unease. “Don’t worry about the gate’s appearance, it’s meant to scare away all those who have no serious concerns to put before the Queen. A sort of triage,” he explained.

     “Are you going in, too?”

     “Of course, I have business of my own with the Queen,” he said.

     She looked at him in surprise, “I didn’t know that.”

     Ee'Rick walked through the gate, which gave off a mellow “BONG” as he passed through. Ja’Nil froze. Once on the other side, he turned back and looked at her. “Come,” he said.

     Ja’Nil swallowed, readjusted her pack, closed her eyes, and stepped through to join Ee'Rick. “BONG,” said the gate. She jumped nervously and glanced behind her; everything on the other side of the gate looked very small and far away, as if they had traveled a mile instead of just a few feet.

     “Look,” she said to Ee'Rick.

     He nodded. “It’s a travel gate. I’ve seen them before. Can save you miles, days sometimes. Pretty powerful gift.”

     “The Queen’s gift?”

     Ee'Rick shrugged, “Don’t know. But it’s benign.”

     Ja’Nil thought about that. Maybe this time it was benign but what if the owner of the gate decided to deliver travelers where they didn’t want to go? It could be a very powerful weapon.          Ee'Rick was already moving down the hallway. Ja’Nil hurried to catch up with him.

* * *

     The audience room, its official name was The Hall of Rulers, was huge and brightly lit. The walls were a smooth creamy off-white and the light came right out of the walls themselves. It was at least three stories high, with a curved ceiling painted so that clouds seemed to drift across its blueness. Around the room were twelve pillars each painted a bright scarlet. On the pillars, painted in gold, were the twelve vows every Cancordian ruler took before ascending to the throne.

     An elaborate chair was situated on a raised platform at the far wall. There were seats along the other walls but the center of the room was bare of furniture. It would have been a cheerful room, except for one thing; it was completely empty.

     “Maybe there’s another audience room,” said Ja’Nil.

     “No,” said Ee'Rick. “This is it.”

     The room was so large and empty it seemed to echo back the sound of their breathing. Ja’Nil found herself looking nervously over her shoulder.

     Suddenly, “What are you doing here?” asked a sharp male voice.

     Ja’Nil whirled guiltily but Ee'Rick turned slowly and looked the man over carefully. 

     He was a fussy looking middle-aged man, his bald pate was completely encircled by a stringy fringe of gray hair. He was dressed in bright colored, expensive looking clothes with an emblem in the shape of a shield sewn onto the middle of his tunic. The initials QT were embroided onto the shield.

     “QT?” asked Ja’Nil

     “Queen Ten’Aj,” snapped the man. “I am Grand Usher of the Queen’s Audience. Who are you?”

     “We were told there was a Queen’s Audience today,” said Ee'Rick.

     “Who told you that?”

     “Is there an audience today?” asked Ee'Rick.

     “Of course not,” said QT.

     “But I have a message for the Queen,” said Ja’Nil.

     “You and every citizen of Cancordia.” He seemed very put out.

     “The message is important, it’s from…” she hesitated. She had not even told Ee'Rick that she was doing a service for Lady Fayre. “Uhm--I’m supposed to say, ‘I have walked through the Rushita Path with my Queen.’

     “What did you say?”

     “I have walked--,” Ja’Nil started to repeat the phrase.

     “Who told you to say that?” asked the usher. He seemed very agitated.

     Ja’Nil drew herself up as tall as possible. “That is something for the Queen alone to know,” she said in her best imitation of Lady Fayer’s grand elegance.

     The usher stared at her for a long moment, and then looked at Ee'Rick. “Are you with her?” he asked.

     Ee'Rick nodded.

     “Wait here,” ordered the usher. “Both of you.”  He turned and scuttled from the room.

     Ee'Rick looked thoughtfully at Ja’Nil. “You carry a message from Lady Fayre?”

     “How did you know it’s from her?”

     He grinned. “That was a very good imitation you did.”

     “You know the Lady Fayre?”

     “We’ve met.” His tone was neutral.

     They waited in that great empty room for the usher to return.

     “There is something weird about all this,” said Ee'Rick. He stepped to the doorway and looked up and down the long hall. Suddenly he called out, “You there.”  Ja’Nil peered around him. A long way down the hall a woman carrying a tray stopped at his call, but made no move to approach them so Ee'Rick, with Ja’Nil trailing him, went to the woman.

     By the looks of her, she was some sort of a servant. She was carrying a tray of half-eaten food and she was crying. When Ee'Rick drew close, she gasped at his strangeness but being well trained, gave him a quick curtsy.

     “Is there a Queen’s Audience today?” Ee'Rick asked her.

     He was answered by a loud wail and a great many more tears. “’Course not,” the woman blubbered.

     “Why not?” asked Ja’Nil.

     Apparently, the servant was either too upset or didn’t think Ja’Nil merited a curtsy. Her crying however got even louder.

     Ee'Rick crossed his arms and glared at the woman. “Stop that bawling and answer the question,” he ordered. “Why isn’t there an audience today?”

     “Cause she’s dead,” sobbed the woman.

     “Who’s dead?”

     “Queen Ten’Aj a ‘course. Yesterday it was.” Having delivered the news, the woman blew her nose on her sleeve, slightly lowered the decibel level of her sobs, and continued on her way.

     Ja’Nil and Ee'Rick stared at each other.

     “Do you think it’s true?” said Ja’Nil.

     Ee'Rick nodded. “Something’s wrong,” he said. “Something’s been wrong in Cancordia for over a year now,” he muttered to himself. He looked up and down the hallway. “Let’s get out of here.”

     “But shouldn’t we wait for QT?”

     “Who?”

     “The usher.”

     “No.” He took her arm firmly. “Off we are.”

* * *

     Getting out of the palace was like finding their way through a maze. Only when they reached a public plaza did they finally stop to catch their breath. Immediately Ja’Nil’s stomach growled. 

     Ee'Rick grinned, “Yes, I’m hungry, too.” He looked around. “There’s a tavern over there. Let’s see what sort of food they’re serving.” He started off, but Ja’Nil held back. Realizing she wasn’t with him, Ee’Rick came back. “Problem?”

     Ja’Nil had only the few coins Lady Fayre had given her. Considering the outrageous prices she had run into ever since she started this trip, she doubted it was enough for a meal at the very up-scale looking tavern Ee'Rick was headed for.

     “I’m not really very hungry,” she said.

     “Well I am,” said Ee'Rick. He took out a one hundred Queen piece and showed it to Ja‘Nil. “We have enough,” he assured her.

     So he knew she was poor. Ja’Nil blushed and shook her head. “I can’t let you spend your money on me.”

     “You ate the rabbit I caught,” he reminded her. “And the Gundi bird.”

     “That’s different.”

     “How’s it different?”

     “It just is.”

     “Jadµ, don’t eat, but its only good manners to keep me company while I do.” He took her arm firmly and started off in search of a meal.

* * *

     The tavern was a far cry from Fat Thom’s front room where he served bitter beer and slabs of meat and bread that the patrons had to put together into a sandwich themselves. Not that Ja’Nil had ever been there. It was no place for a young girl and besides, she never had any money.       

     The tavern Ee'Rick steered her to was called The Red Dog Pub. The front room was large and bright with sunlight. Sawdust covered the wooden floor. Scattered around the room were individual tables with benches and stools. Women, wearing long colorful aprons and low cut tunics, moved briskly through the crowd carrying trays of drinks and delicious smelling meals.

     Ee'Rick snagged a table by one of the large windows. Almost immediately, a waitress arrived to take his order. When she got a good look at Ee’Rick, she stared at him in amazement. He ignored her rudeness. “Thin beer,” he ordered, “and small meat pasties, also Rainbo stew.” He looked up; the waitress was still staring at him. “Write the order down,” he told her, “and bring the food.”

     She closed her mouth and wrote down the order. “Yes sir,” she said. “Right away, sir.” She vanished into the kitchen without once glancing at Ja’Nil.

     For her part, Ja’Nil, trying to ignore the delicious odors, looked around with interest. Most of the patrons were men but there were enough women present so she didn’t feel self-conscious. The patrons represented all the races of Cancordia, Cloud People; Sky People and Earth People; unless there were others that Ja’Nil didn’t know about. The people were well-dressed and seemed prosperous. Ee’Rick was the only Clan of the Golden Wolf person present.

     At each of the tables, people were huddled together talking anxiously in low voices. The ones nearest, kept shooting nervous glances over their shoulders at Ee'Rick.