by Duncan, Dave
“Hadar will never allow it!” Rigel shuddered at the thought of naive elves going against the well-seasoned halfling storm troopers.
“That may be the underlying strategy,” the mage said. “If Kurhah Naos and his confederates can exterminate the mongrel assassins, Vildiar will be rendered impotent.”
“No, they’re the ones who will be slaughtered! According to Tyl and Thabit, Vildiar has two hundred trained killers in his service.”
Mizar said, “That many?” and Achird, “Including females?”
“Two hundred and three as of a couple of months ago. I need a ride back to Canopus, please.” Kitalphar would not have waited around for him. Hippogriffs were too proud to be servants.
Rigel could see a clear way at last. Pieces were starting to fall into place.
Fomalhaut just continued to scowl at him. “What are you planning to do? Expediate to Alathfar and apprehend the entire multitude?”
“Rush to Alathfar, yes, but I’m going to offer to help them. We earthlings have a saying: ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ But I must see the queen first. Please?”
Still the mage balked, while Mizar and Achird watched in the background, Mizar with a faint sneer, Achird chewing his lip. However eager the sandy-haired elf might be to help Rigel, he could not oppose his teacher.
“Do you comprehend the predicament into which your importunities have placed me?” Fomalhaut insisted. “I could be confined in the Dark Cells for spying on starborn.”
“You uncovered treason,” Rigel said, as patiently as he could. “So Queen Talitha will never convict you. King Kurhah might, though.”
Achird hastily scratched his nose to hide a grin.
As if he could see out the back of his head, Fomalhaut swung around to glare at him. “Take this ’breed back to Canopus. And come right back here! I won’t have you involved in any of this.”
“Yes, my lord! This way, halfling!” The apprentice took off across the great courtyard like an Olympic sprinter.
Rigel raced after him. Achird was youthful, just past his first century. Ignoring the doors, he crossed under the Time of Life, which was currently high overhead, and came to a sudden stop at what looked like a collection of brightly colored planks leaning against a low wall. He threw the closest pair flat and Rigel saw that each bore two straps, positioned like the stirrups on a snowboard. Achird was already slipping his feet into the loops on one of them.
“Skyboards,” he said with a bloodcurdling grin. The one he was standing on rose a few centimeters into the air. “If you lie underneath this one and wrap your arms and legs around, I’ll fly you to Canopus faster than a speeding arrow.”
Elf humor was rare and often malicious, but Achird had a genuine sense of fun. Disregarding the invitation, Rigel put his feet into the stirrups on the other board. “You can control two?”
Achird shrugged. “Dunno. Never tried.”
Both boards shot up vertically, banked in unison, and soared past the endless rod of the great pendulum, off into the midnight sky above the crater outside. Rigel windmilled his arms frantically until he caught his balance.
“This is the fastest way to go,” Achird yelled.
Although Rigel had inherited the imps’ love of low temperatures, he thought the gale force rush of air was likely to freeze him solid very shortly. But he knew when he was being hazed.
“The faster the better.”
“Right.” The skyboards rocketed forward, turning the wind into a screaming hurricane.
“These must be new?” Rigel yelled, clutching his helmet firmly to his head. Fortunately moon-cloth wraps were held in place by magic.
Achird bellowed, “What?” and moved his skyboard closer, although Rigel could not see how he was controlling it.
“These must be new?” Obviously skyboards were copied from earthly snowboards, and snowboarding as a sport wasn’t much older than he was.
“Yup. Mizar and I dreamed them up a couple of days ago. They still worked the next morning, when we were sober.”
Rigel hoped that he was still being hazed, but before he could inquire further, both boards and riders went into a steep dive. Ahead of them now, and lower, a huge horizontal wheel of cloud was slowly turning and glowing brightly in the night, more like the mouth of a tornado than the eye of a hurricane. He knew it for a highway, presumably the link between Fornacis and the royal domain.
“Can Kurhah really tell when he’s being seanced?”
“If there was no way of knowing, it wouldn’t be illegal, would it?”
“I have to get royal permission first, but I do want to go to Alathfar and speak with Kurhah. Assuming your boss keeps on seancing, would you ask him to break off for a few minutes when I appear on stage? That way we might find out if the Phegda gang is spying as well. It could matter a lot.”
“I can ask,” Achird said. The two riders were lying almost flat, their boards practically vertical as they plunged toward the whirlpool. “If we get separated in that vortex—”
“Yes?”
“You’re dead.” Grinning, Achird held out an arm.
Rigel grabbed his wrist, felt his own grabbed in return, and then they were in…
And out, and it was blinding daylight, with Canopus spread out along the shore beneath them.
“Wow! This is some ride! How much magic do you need to control these things?”
“At least orange,” Achird said sympathetically. He grinned again. “And about twenty years’ practice.”
“Please don’t let Izar find out about them!”
As the skyboards swooped down toward the palace, he saw Saidak floating in the Sirius pool and guessed that Talitha must be in Miaplacidus, the royal treasury. He directed his pilot to the doorway, thanked him, and watched enviously as he soared away, the spare board now tucked under his arm.
Rigel ran inside, heading for the secret door.
“Six!” said the guardian Anubis beyond it.
That meant that Izar and the twins were also present. Sure enough, he saw them rollicking in the pool, which meant that even the imp was out of earshot. Talitha was sitting on the sand with Wasat, and the old man could be trusted not to gossip.
Chapter 21
For weeks Saidak had been promising Izar that she would show him an active volcano, the highest waterfall in the Starlands, and various other wonders, so he insisted that Talitha use the royal barge for the long-promised visit to Starborn Azelfafage. She agreed readily, because she never seemed to have enough time with her son now that her days were filled with ruling and her nights with loving.
The sightseeing was a success, the family reunion was not. The relationship was quite distant, involving a great-great-great-great-great-grandmother on Azelfafage’s side and four more greats on Talitha’s. Azelfafage herself was truly ancient, even by starfolk standards, and would normally regard Talitha as too young to be of interest. At the same time the old relic was a terrible snob who felt that everyone must grovel before royalty. The fact that none of her innumerable descendants had ever developed Naos magic was another sore spot. There were no imps present to keep Izar amused; the escort of armed halflings who accompanied him was an outrageous insult to a noble hostess, although it could not be mentioned…and so on.
It was a great relief to plead urgent state business, escape back to the barge, and head home.
“Mom,” Izar muttered as they went up the gangplank. “I got something I gotta show you.”
Any mother would recognize a fire alarm in that reluctant confession, especially since Izar normally preferred to ride out in front with Saidak. At the hatch Talitha flashed Thabit a Gioconda smile that told him that he and his twin were not welcome below deck, and then followed Izar down the companionway. Tyl closed the hatch behind them.
She made herself comfortable on the bench and waited. Izar walked over to stare out a window at the far end. Worse!
Once they were truly airborne, she said, “Well, what is it you have to show me?”
Looking alarmingly guilty, he came over and held out an ear stud with a pink jewel. The moment he dropped it onto her palm she felt the power of it. Whatever it was, it was no child’s plaything.
She said, “Screeps!” which was his latest exclamation. “What is it?”
“I’m scared I’ll lose it…and I don’t think I oughta wear it.”
“Oh?” That was worrisome. “But what does it do?”
“It eavesdrops,” he mumbled, staring at her toes. “Lets you listen to what people are saying.”
“Sit down, for stars’ sake. It does? How far away?”
“Far.”
A few more delicate questions established that it had been a present from Dschubba, and that Rigel had noticed Izar using it, and had disapproved. In Izar’s universe, the stars revolved around Rigel. Anything he disliked was anathema.
“I agree with Rigel. This is probably an illegal use of magic. It’s sneaky to eavesdrop on people.”
“Friends,” he agreed, staring longingly at the gem she was holding. “How about enemies?”
At that point most mothers would ask what enemies, but the hard fact was that Izar did have enemies. To confiscate it outright would be a negative reward for his honesty.
“It might have a use there,” she agreed. “Why don’t we ask Halfling Wasat to hold onto it in case you need it to spy on your enemies someday.”
He brightened. “And we could have a swim!” He had been dry for all of half an hour.
“We could indeed.”
Needing no further encouragement, Izar ran to the bow to open the window and tell Saidak to take them to the Sirius pool.
He came back looking much more cheerful. “Maybe the old man will have some other starry amulets for me?” He bounced down on the bench and stretched out his legs to admire his toes. Wasat Halfling had given him his beloved dragon.
“Any more and your ears will fall off. Did you spy on me with this thing?”
Izar said, “Um,” and turned pinkish. “Not much.”
Rephrase the question. “What did you overhear that you weren’t supposed to hear?”
Mutter. “Heard Rigel tell his secret plan to Avior Halfling, ’cept he knew I was listening, so that wasn’t really eavesdropping. He said I wasn’t to tell you it unless you asked me.”
“Then you mustn’t.” Talitha had guessed enough of what Rigel was planning to know that she definitely did not want to know more. “That all?”
Redness flowed up all the way to the tips of Izar’s considerable ears. “Listened to Elegy hectoring Rigel.”
Oh, so that was it! “And?”
“He isn’t really your consort,” Izar whispered, not looking at her. “Not really, er, really.”
“Do you have any idea of the trouble you would cause me if you told anyone that?”
He nodded vigorously. “Haven’t told anyone! Won’t. Promise.” But then he did dare a glance. “I’m glad.”
“I trust you.” She hugged him. “So am I—glad, I mean.”
“You love Rigel?”
“I adore him. He’s a wonderful person, a fitting son of a queen and lover of a queen.”
Toothy grin. “Is he good?”
She had long ago learned that she couldn’t raise Izar by pulling from above. She had to go down to his level and push.
“He’s terrific; very gentle and patient.”
“Oh.” Not what Izar had expected to hear.
“If you ever tell anyone I said this, especially him, I will tear your ears off, I swear, but I would give up the throne rather than give up Rigel. Not because he’s great in bed, but because he’s brave and kind and honest and fun, and so it wouldn’t matter if he couldn’t get it up more than once a year, understand?”
Impressed at sharing such grown-up talk with his mother, Izar nodded emphatically. “I love him too.” He considered for a moment and then said solemnly, “I’ve ’dopted him as my big brother. You’d better not tell him that.”
“Of course I won’t,” she said, never doubting that Rigel had known it for a lot longer than Izar had.
The Sirius pool was one of many pools in the palace large enough for Saidak, but it was the closest to the royal treasury of Miaplacidus. Since Tyl and Thabit had never seen the treasury before, Izar thought it funny to prattle to them about all the wonderful stuff in it as he led the way to the anteroom. When they arrived, he laughed at their puzzled expressions. The room was small, with an unglazed window overlooking the harbor. Its doorway was unenclosed, the walls were covered with images and inscriptions, and the only furnishings were a small rug and a low table.
Then Talitha joined them. She laid her hand on the key symbols, the magic recognized her royal authority, and a section of wall faded away.
“And watch this!” Izar crowed, pushing through first.
“Two!” said the Anubis statue.
Then “One,” as he backed out again. “Two, one…”
“Out of the way,” Talitha said.
“Two, three, four, five, four, five…”
“Close the door, Anubis,” Izar commanded. “Come on, you two!” He took off over the sand, heading directly for the pool.
Miaplacidus was an oasis, complete with swimmable water, palm trees, various whitewashed buildings that housed the royal collection, and sand extending forever in all directions. Wasat Halfling was sitting cross-legged in the sunlight, wrapped up against the elfin chill, sorting through a heap of bracelets laid out on a rug. Steadying himself by leaning one hand against a palm tree, he struggled to his feet, making it just in time to bow to the queen when she reached him.
By then Izar was already foaming his way through the water and his guards were stripping off their robes to join him. Talitha felt safe, therefore, in giving the old man a buss on the forehead. He gaped up at her in astonishment, then smiled toothlessly.
“He told you?”
She smiled. “No, Electra did. You must be very proud of your fine son.”
“Indeed, indeed, Your Majesty. Very proud…” For a moment sadness darkened his ancient face, for Rigel’s birth had brought his parents more trouble than joy. Then he began babbling about fetching a chair.
“The sand is fine,” she said, dropping to her knees. “Tell me what you make of this,” she said, holding out the pink amulet.
He settled down awkwardly, and much more slowly, then accepted the earring. As a halfling, he could have very little magic of his own, but after a century or more as royal curator he knew more about amulets than anyone else in the Starlands. After a few moments, he lifted his head cloth to fix the device in his puny human ear and turned toward the pool, where Tyl and Thabit were currently throwing Izar back and forth like a beach ball. His screams of gleeful outrage were perfectly audible to Talitha, and Wasat winced at the amplification. He removed the hearing aid quickly.
“Illegal for any of Your Majesty’s subjects to possess, of course,” he said. “Very probably stolen, but old enough to be unusually powerful. Any provenance?”
“My son got it from a friend, probably by dubious means. The friend probably stole it. Rigel caught Izar with it and talked him out of it, or talked it off of him. Now you’re supposed to keep it safe until he needs it.”
The old man nodded doubtfully. “As Your Majesty commands.”
Wasat’s appearance was deceptive. He had been Electra’s chosen lover for a hundred years, trusted by her to keep watch over the priceless royal collection of amulets.
“What are you thinking?” Talitha said. “Tell me.”
“It can be turned off, you know. Maybe Izar doesn’t know that? If you turn the stone, like this…”
“You think I should let him keep it?”
“An ordinary boy, of course not. But your son is not an ordinary boy, ma’am, if I may say so. It might make a big difference—if he thought he was being followed, for example. Could you trust him to use it only in emergencies?”
Talitha nodded. “Yes, I can trus
t him now. He’s grown up a lot over the past few months, and your son has done wonders for him. Thank you.” She held out a hand and took back the amulet. “Has Rigel told you we are lovers?”
His sudden blush was answer enough. “No, Your Majesty! In fact he strongly denies it. Vicious lies, he said.”
She laughed. “They were lies until a few weeks ago. One night our dreams suddenly came true. I love him very much.”
Tears glistened in the halfling’s eyes. “From his expression whenever your name is mentioned, I am sure Your Majesty has no more devoted servant.”
Before he could comment further, the Anubis statue proclaimed, “Six!”
Talitha turned to see the subject of their conversation stalking across the sand toward them. Watching him in broad daylight—a luxury she rarely dared indulge in now—she realized how intense her infatuation was. He was tall and skinny for a mudling, short and muscular by elfin standards, but he moved like a dream, sinews flexing under his skin. She loved the feel of that skin, his scent, his taste—there were very few parts of Rigel she had not licked, sucked, and nibbled by now. His white eyes and hair made him seem like an overgrown imp, but that he was certainly not. “Madly” in love was not just an expression. She dreamed of him whenever they were apart and could barely keep her hands off him when he was within reach.
She had expected to be safe from interruptions here in Miaplacidus. Only four people in the Starlands could open the way to it, but Rigel was one of them.
His expression was grim.
There were witnesses—Izar was shouting for him—so he bowed formally to her and waited for her command before he sat. He smiled cryptically at his father.
“What’s wrong?” Talitha said. “Bad tidings?”
He shrugged. “Kurhah’s trying to raise a palace revolt against you. But that may not be a bad thing. I need a favor, Your Majesty.”
“What?”
His eyes gleamed. “A royal warrant for the arrest of Vildiar Naos.”
Chapter 22
As Rigel quickly told his news, he caught the old man smirking at the pair of them and guessed that he had been told of their romance. He must be both proud and amused that his son had taken over the family business of being the queen’s lover. May the new love affair last as long as the old one had!