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.
“I thought you would like that, open your eyes.”
I do, and, it can't be! There is indeed a plant much like broccoli on a nearby tray, but the dip… I see the squeezed out corpse of some strange creature. It twitches feebly.
“It was alive!”
“Barely. The only thing a Garbanzo beast can discern is light from darkness – they are as close to plants as mobile life gets. Here.” He hands me another drink and I upend it without hesitation.
After that it works out pretty well, and each time I open my eyes I’m shocked to see what I have just eaten. After each trial he gives me another sip of courage from my goblet, and the game continues to get easier. William tries each dish that I like, and neither of us comes to any harm. Everyone else seems to think we have lost our minds.
Eventually Darius says it is time for dessert. Again he has me close my eyes, but he needn’t have, I know chocolate when I taste it! I open my eyes and wish I hadn’t… he holds the back half of a brown frog. Laughter dances in his eyes and freely escapes his lips.
“No, Shi'ahn, it’s just chocolate! We have very realistic molds.” I hate to think of how they made the molds, but I enjoy the chocolates nonetheless.
Dominar Ultor clears his throat. “I think the best way to end this evening would be to go out on a nice little hunt. I’m informed that there is a small pack of Manticore not too far out into the woods tonight. Appropriate clothing will be sent to your rooms momentarily, and you will be escorted to the armory in… half an hour.” Half an hour? Our hosts excuse themselves, and we are again escorted to our rooms. Half an hour, and then a drunken hunting party? I need a blood cleaning spell, that’s what I need. When I enter my room the first thing I see is a tray with yet another goblet upon it, and a note.
***
I recommend you drink this if you don’t wish to fall off your mount.
Darius.
***
I don’t even pause, I drink it all, and almost immediately the fuzz in my mind begins to clear. I hope he provided some to William and the others. Then again, I don’t think they drank nearly as much as I did. The fog clears; my memory becomes sharp; did I really do all of that? My stomach still feels full, so I must have eaten all those strange things. He kept his promise at least; I remain unharmed. Speaking of promises, I look around for the new clothing that was to be delivered, but don’t see any, just my own riding gear laid out conspicuously where I had not left it. As I finish changing, I hear the first knock, presumably on Gwenllian’s door. Again, I am the last to be collected.
When we reach the armory we are each asked if we truly are interested in hunting. Gwenllian, Nero, Alma and William are all quite enthusiastic about it, and are given spears and short blades. Celeste, Casanova and I are not particularly interested in the hunt, so we are given crossbows to be used in long range self defense. And what crossbows they are! They each have two figures where a bolt would usually be, and these figures trail a nearly invisible filament that entangles and then slices to pieces whatever you shoot them at. It is demonstrated to us on a suit of armor, which falls into several neatly sliced pieces. The only drawback to the weapon is that we get only one shot. We are all then given large reddish black mounts that do not resemble anything I have ever seen before, and we ride out to meet our hosts, who have been joined by several individuals that had not been at the dinner table. Huntsmen.
As we approach a great forest, Dominar Ultor calls forward Lydia. She casts a spell, and we ride forward into the dense wood. With us also are a number of the hounds we traveled with earlier. A falcon-like creature is loosed, and in not long it returns, flying from Ultor straight for a short while, then circling back to him and flying in the same direction as far as it can stay in sight again. Dominar Ultor signals us to follow him. When we reach a good-sized clearing, the hounds go nearly wild at the sight of four incredible beasts. Each has the body of a red lion, a humanoid head with far too many teeth, a spiked tail, and taloned feet and wings that somewhat resemble those of dragons.
Ultor states proudly, “Manticores.”
Two of the beasts startle and head into the woods. Everyone but Celeste, Casanova and I run to attack the remaining two. Some of the huntsmen are injured, but the beasts are eventually killed.
The dying act of the second Manticore to fall is to impale one of our dinner companions with its tail. Dominar Ultor immediately goes to his aid, and almost as if they had been waiting for this moment, the other two manticores return, airborne. One begins to dive for Dominar Ultor and the injured one, and I shoot my crossbow at it. It does partially disable the beast, but it still is heading for the distracted two, although now in more of a plummeting manner. My mind goes into overdrive. I know I have overly protective instincts, but now I have to think. Should I cast a shield spell around them? Would it work properly if I did? Would they appreciate being encased in the spell of a Luminarian? They may well not, and I know that Lydia is a powerful sorceress; she should be able to protect them better than I can. At the last possible moment, just as I’m about to cast my spell anyway, she acts, and the beast crumples against her protective wall.
I turn to look for William; he is being attacked by the remaining Manticore! It kills his mount, yet he manages to wound it several times with his spear. It rears up looking as though it is going to swipe at him with one taloned arm that William moves to block, but it was a feint, it uses the other to tear into his leg. “William!” He and that Manticore become my world, I jump off my mount and run toward them as fast as I can, much faster than my mount has moved as yet, and vault into the air at the proper time to fly over the beast, hitting it with a sonic blast. It stumbles back a little, and I land in front of it with enough clearance to cast a shield spell around William and I. It tries to reach us, swiping at the shield several times, then turns away and takes flight. Casanova shoots it with his crossbow, shredding it. William’s leg is deeply gouged just below Puff’s gift. I cast a modified cleaning spell on it, removing any matter that does not properly belong to my little brother, then bandage it with material torn from his shirt. Finally I cast a hastening upon the wound, to speed the healing.
When I’m done I see Lydia take the wounded one and her father directly back to the castle, leaving Darius to lead us back. I pull William up to share my mount. The spell I had cast on his wound seems to help, his color improves steadily as we make our way back to the castle. I can’t help but notice Gwenllian gazing at me, a calculating look behind her eyes.
When we reach the castle, Darius says, “I believe it is time to call it a night. Rest well, everyone.”
~~~
Back in my room, I put the very nice bath to good use, then try to settle down to sleep, but I fail. Instead, I try an experiment. Stretching my consciousness out through my new ring, I call out, 'Computer?'
It takes a moment, but then I hear it, 'Yes, Shi'ahn?'
'You can hear me!'
'Yes, but you seem quite far away.'
'I am in Chaos.'
'That is… impressive,
I believe is the right word.'
'Computer, you sound, different.'
'I have been learning a lot from your Gaea.'
'Like what?'
'Mostly about the perspective of living entities.'
'We should discuss that when I return.' I hear a knock on someone’s door – probably Gwenllian’s. 'But now I should return my attention to my surroundings. Be careful in your interactions with Gaea, do not do anything to allow her to come to harm!'
'I most certainly would not - I have come to value our interactions.'
Although that last comment intrigues me a great deal, I break the contact and concentrate on the conversation in the hall.
“Are you certain you would not care for my company this evening? You are under the protection of this house – you would come to no harm.”
“No, thank you. I am not interested in such attentions from a stranger.”
Gwenllian’s door closes, and fairly heavy footsteps continue a short while, until there is another knock, and Celeste also declines the visitation. This time while the footsteps continue they change gate, become the ta-tap of very high heels. After another knock I hear Nero’s voice.
“Well hello, beautiful! You wouldn’t happen to be interested in showing me how it’s done on the wild side, would you?” His door closes, and there are no more footsteps. At least the rooms are somewhat soundproofed, what is still audible isn’t too hard to filter out of my thoughts. More footsteps approach from a distance, male, I believe. A knock, and Alma answers.
“Are you serious?”
A deep voice answers, “You have seen the worst we have to offer, I’m here to show you the best. Remember, this household is sworn to keep you safe – this is a very rare opportunity, if you think of it.”
Between Darkness and Light Trilogy Page 20