The Inner Realm

by Dale Furse

  Micah laughed. “You are safe, Mike. I will always watch over you, as will Azu and Oln.”

  “You read my mind?”

  “I didn’t have to, son. Your face told me.”

  After they had finished eating, talking and enjoying each other’s company, Micah took Mike back to the doors of Oln’s sanctum. He nodded to the huge doors. “Go through there, Oln will let you in.”

  “You’re not coming with me?”

  “I have to return to Azu.”

  “Oh.”

  Micah hugged Mike. “I love you, and I wish you a long and happy life.” He stepped back and smiled. “However, when it is over, I will be so happy to see you again.”

  Mike grinned. “I’d like to say I hope it’s soon, but—”

  Micah’s laugh cut off Mike’s words. “You would be lying.” He peered into Mike’s eyes. “Tell Eva I love and miss her.”

  “I will.” Mike’s smile faded. Micah had gone. “Dad?” His throat closed over the word. How could he have left so easily? Didn’t he want to spend more time with his only son? Tears pricked and burned at the back of his eyes. He sniffed them back. “When will I see you again?” he whispered into the sky.

  “I will always be with you, my son.” The words drifted through Mike’s conscious. His heart, heavy a moment before, lightened at the sound of his father’s voice.

  He shook his head. He had a lot to think about, but right at that moment he had Terni and the whole of Zandell to occupy his thoughts. And, he added, Vala.

  Inside the sanctum, another set of magnificent doors opened. “Come in, Mike,” Oln’s deep, clear voice floated through the opening.

  Mike marched past Hankley and Rone’s smiling faces straight to Oln, his color a powder blue thoughtful. “Are you going to help the people of Zandell? Everything that’s happening is Gart’s fault.” Hankley had told Mike the orange-rust his shade deepened into meant the god was sad. “You aren’t going to help, are you?”

  “Gart did interfere, yes, but Prince Ludo’s heart was always full of jealousy of his brothers. He wanted what was not his—the young woman and the crown.”

  “Just because he was going to try to take the crown anyway, doesn’t make it right. Gart interfered in your realm. You are his brother, but you are also the god of Cillian. It’s up to you to set things right in your own domain.”

  A tinge of yellow blushed across his face, but Mike didn’t care. If he had colors tinting his skin at his emotions, his would be the deepest yellow possible. Instead, heat filled his cheeks and he knew his face was red. “You must help the people of Zandell. If you don’t, how many will be killed? Don’t you even care?”

  The yellow maize color deepened as he nodded once. “You must go. The wall will be waiting for you and the child of Salteren when you are ready.” He faced Hankley. “Take the young man back.”

  Hankley bowed. “Yes, sir.” He placed his hand on Mike’s shoulder and squeezed.

  “Wait.” Mike squirmed out from under Hankley’s hand. “Please, Oln. Help them?”

  Orange sadness once again replaced any tinge of yellow that remained.

  Mike sighed. It was pointless pleading with the god. He just didn’t see things the same way as mortal humans did—as Mike did.

  Mike asked, “Are the Shanks really okay?”

  “Yes,” Oln said. “Azu’s kingdom is somewhere all servants want to be.”

  “That’s true,” Hankley said, again resting his hand on Mike’s shoulder. “I have been there, and one day, I hope to return.”

  Once outside the palace of King Horace, Hankley bid Mike goodbye.

  “Derek and everyone are here?”

  “Yes.”

  “What am I going to say when they ask me where I’ve been?”

  “You can tell them the truth”

  Mike frowned. “You think?”

  “Maybe not.” Hankley scratched his bald spot. “I don’t know.”

  Of course, he would not know. Hankley could not come up with a believable lie if his life depended on it. “Never mind, I’ll figure it out.”

  “One moment, I’m not sure they will believe you, but the people of Zandell, especially the royal family, do believe a Zandellian once walked the streets of heaven. They are different from Earth people who have no idea.” He beamed. “I think they may indeed believe you.”

  “If I can’t think of anything else, I might try the truth.”

  Hankley hugged Mike. Half a second later, he was gone.

  Chapter 26

  Mike arrived at the palace not long after Derek’s army. Derek, Noor and Terni were just mounting the stairs toward the king.

  Mike ran a couple of steps and stopped. His leg didn’t scream in pain at the movement. He pulled up the bottom of his torn shorts and peered at the place where his injury should have been. There was no cut, no pussy infection, nothing. He grinned up at the clear sky. “Thanks.”

  ***

  Terni had told Noor and Derek of his talk with Mike at the campsite so Derek wouldn’t send out a search party for Mike.

  After Mike told them a much-shortened version of his trip to heaven, Derek, Noor, and the king adjourned to another room.

  While Mike waited, he and Terni bathed and dressed in silly pageboy outfits. His was brown and Terni’s, blue. Both him and the kid refused to wear the ridiculous stockings under their long shorts that buttoned snugly just below the knees. Their shirts were white, and again they refused to wear the waistcoats.

  Mike insisted they take jackets in case it got cold. He was glad they had the moment he stepped into the cold stone hall.

  Pacing the hall outside the king’s meeting room, Mike grimaced. What were they speaking about? They would tell him everything about Ludo anyway so why did him and Terni have to wait in the passageway. It felt like they were waiting to see the school principle for some wrongdoing.

  The royals did act strange after he relayed his story. Had he done something wrong? Would they decide he was mad?

  Images of Vala filled his mind. Noor had said she was out of danger, but still recovering. He wished he could see her. He could have been with her instead of hanging around a cold hallway.

  Terni drew his jacket closer.

  What a good kid. He was frightened, but there he sat in the hall of a palace, waiting to be brought before the king, and knowing there was to be a war. He smiled at Mike’s gaze.

  “You okay?” Mike asked.

  Terni nodded. “Mike?”

  Mike sat on the chair beside him.

  “Will we ever get home?”

  Mike sighed. Poor kid. “Remember the angel? Hankley?” Terni nodded. “Well, I’ve met more like him, and gods too. They’re watching over us and they promised they would help us find our way home.”

  This seemed to brighten Terni somewhat. “Can we see Vala?”

  “I’ll ask them as soon as I can.”

  “I’m hungry.”

  Mike could not help but laugh. “We’ll get you something to eat as soon as we can,” he said, “and it won’t be Mashki meat and berries.”

  “Fried chicken?”

  “I don’t know if they have fried chicken on Zandell, but if they do, I promise I’ll get you some.”

  The double doors in front of them opened and Derek stuck his head out. “Come in boys.”

  As soon as they entered the long dining room, the king rose from his elevated, carved wood throne and rushed toward Mike. “Are you feeling all right?”

  “A little tired, but otherwise okay,” said Mike.

  King Horace nodded his head. “Yes, yes, you would be. Peteor wrote how he slept for days after returning from heaven.”

  Mike turned to Derek. “How long did it take you to get here after I left?”

  “Ten days.”

  No wonder he was tired, he had been awake for ten days straight. “I’m surprised I’m not out on my feet then.”

  “Hungry?” King Horace asked Terni and Mike.

  “Yes,”
Terni said.

  The king chortled. “All right then.” He indicated with a wave where they should sit. Two long tables lined the side walls and they sat at the one on the left, closest to the throne. The king claimed the chair at the narrow end of the table.

  Mike didn’t know how much time had passed since eating with his father. It felt like no time, but could have been a full day, or more. Although hungry, something else occupied his thoughts. “Can I see Vala first?” he asked the king.

  “After you eat,” King Horace smiled at Mike’s frown. “Don’t worry, she’s well, still weak, but well. She’s probably eating her meal at this time.”

  “Okay.” Mike leaned back in his chair. He supposed he could wait a little while longer.

  Derek opened his mouth to speak, but the king hushed him as the doors opened.

  Seven servants entered the room with trays laden with all kinds of food.

  Terni elbowed Mike in his side. The kid’s bright eyes gaped at a tray full of fried chicken. Other trays held chunky pieces of potato, pumpkin, and purple carrot-like roots. Immediately, Mike thought of home. His mother always cooked a roast on Sundays with lots of gravy, which he spied in two large jugs. Bottles of lemon-water, tiny bits of lemon flesh and seeds floating on the top, and red wine were also on the table.

  “Eat,” the king ordered, “and then we will talk.”

  Neither Mike nor Terni had to be told twice. Mike did not stop eating or drinking until his stomach couldn’t take anymore. Terni had slowed, but still picked at pieces of crunchy chicken skin.

  “More?” Noor held a plate of chicken to Mike and Terni.

  Mike shook his head, sat back, and patted his stomach. “No thanks, I’ve had enough.”

  Terni shook his head while still sipping his sweet lemon-water.

  The king waved his hands over the table and the servants quickly and quietly removed everything from the tabletop. No one spoke until the doors once again closed and they were alone.

  “You have seen weapons like the ones Derek tells me Ludo has, Mike?”

  “Yes your, um, Your Majesty. There are lots on Earth. Pretty well every country has them, and there are lots of countries.”

  “Your world mustn’t be a very safe place to live,” the king said, shaking his head.

  “Oh, no, not every person has guns, in fact, in Australia where I come from, it’s illegal to own a gun without a proper license.” Mike thought for several seconds. “You are right though, Your Majesty, when guns and other weapons are used, it is awful. And I don’t understand wars. Never have and never will.”

  “Wars are the way of humans,” the king said.

  Derek and Noor nodded in agreement.

  “But,” the king continued, “If we can come to agreements without the need for such a horrible solution, it is the way I would prefer to go. I will talk to Ludo, but while I’m doing so I want you, Derek, to amass what army you can. We will blend your men with mine, and any kingdom citizens who deem it right to fight for their king.”

  “You aren’t going to order your people to fight?” Mike asked, thinking if it was Earth, most armies in wars were full of conscripted men. If there were another great war, women would probably be conscripted as well.

  “No,” the king said. “I’ll not make any of my people fight for me. They will fight of their own free will, or not at all.”

  “I like the sound of that,” Mike said. “Hardly any royal families left in the world govern their lands. Elected governments do that sort of thing. From what I know of history, most royals became dictators, and cruel ones at that.”

  “I would like to hear about your world’s politics sometime, but for now, we must concentrate on Ludo and his weapons.”

  “I don’t want you to talk to Ludo, Father,” Derek said.

  “He’s my son, I must try. My border troops sent word he is marching for the city as we speak and will be here in a day or two. I cannot see we have much to discuss until then. I will ask him to abandon the,” he questioned Mike with a look, “rifles?”

  Mike nodded. “Yes, Sire, and they have to be destroyed.”

  “I agree,” said Noor.

  “I think we all agree,” the king said. “Now, you must all be in need of rest.” He stood up. “We’ll talk again on the ‘morrow.” He gave a quick nod to the table in general before he retired.

  Noor rubbed her face. “I think I’ll take Mike to Vala then retire myself.” Her warm smile aimed at Derek who also rose from the table.

  “I’ll walk with you.”

  Terni jumped up. “Me too. I want to see pretty Vala.”

  Mike rubbed his hair. “You too, kid.”

  Once in Vala’s room on the eastern side of the palace, Derek instructed the nurse to show Mike and Terni their rooms after their visit, and he and Noor left.

  “You can’t stay for too long,” the nurse said in a stern voice. “The young miss needs her sleep.”

  “I’ve slept enough.” Vala’s voice was weak, but still as clear as ever. “Wait outside please, Cerona.”

  “Five minutes,” she said before shutting the door.

  Mike moved to the side of the bed. Vala did not look well. Her face was the color of the inside of an apple—a granny smith with a tinge of green. Black circles surrounded her obsidian eyes, but she still managed a small smile.

  Terni climbed onto the other side of the bed, kissing Vala on the cheek. “When are you getting up?”

  Her face grimaced as she turned her head. “Soon. You promised me a race around the palace, remember?”

  Mike scooped Terni up and sat him on his side of the bed. “Sit there so Vala doesn’t have to keep turning her head, and stop fidgeting. You’re making the bed bounce.”

  With every movement, a tide of pain washed over Vala’s face.

  The nurse came back with a jug of water, placed it on a high table with a clean glass. “Make sure she drinks some.” She scowled at Terni. “Hop off the bed, child.

  Terni leapt off. “Sorry.”

  Vala winced. “Don’t scare him, Cerona.” A breath. “He’s all right.”

  “Humph.”

  Before she got to the door, Mike said, “Wait. To save Vala from talking too much, can you explain what’s wrong with her and how long before she’s better?”

  “Gorome, the physician, confirmed the sporat, a rock spider, was responsible for the poison.” She shook her head slowly. “She’s lucky the men sought out an old physician on their way here. He knew immediately what ailed her. Without his treatment, she would be dead.” She glanced toward Vala. “She’s weak and her bones still ache, but in a day or two I hope to get her on her feet. We should leave her while she’s asleep.” Looking from Mike to Terni, she added. “It’s time you were also.”

  Mike brushed his lips against Vala’s forehead, scared he might hurt her. “Will you let me know when we can see her tomorrow?” he asked the nurse.

  She nodded and showed the boys to their apartment a few doors from Vala’s room.

  The bath they had used earlier was on the western side. The eastern apartment had two rooms with large beds. The rooms were separated by a gigantic bathroom with a toilet in the corner they called a water closet.

  Mike thought that was funny because it wasn’t in a closet. It had no doors and anyone could see it entering the bathroom. And with no locks on the doors, anyone could enter at anytime.

  On a square table against the side wall sat a white pottery jug with a blue stripe around the middle. It was half filled with water. An empty, squat bowl of the same colors sat beside the jug, and beside them, were two twigs with frayed ends and two bone things that looked like combs.

  Mike picked up one of the twigs. “What’s this?” he asked Cerona.

  “It is a tool for teeth cleaning.” She showed Mike how to use it. Dip the twig in the water, dust some chalky powder on the tips, and chew it. Take a mouthful of water from the jug, rinse, and spit into the bowl.

  After she showed Mike
the bone comb, she helped Terni clean his teeth and comb his hair.

  “I’ll send a message to advise you when you can visit Vala again. Goodnight.”

  Cerona left them to sleep, and Mike tucked Terni into his bed.

  “I think we’re supposed to change into our bedclothes,” Terni said, and pointed to a cream nightie on the end of the bed.

  Mike picked it up, holding it high by the long sleeves. “You can if you like, but I’m not wearing the thing if there’s one on my bed.”

  “Can I sleep with you?” Terni asked.

  “No, you’ll be okay.” Mike pointed through the bathroom doors directly opposite where, from Terni’s room, Mike’s bed was clearly visible. “I won’t shut the doors and I’ll leave the lamps burning, all right?”

  Terni yawned and Mike noticed his eyes were red and swollen. “Go to sleep,” he said. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

  Terni rolled over and mumbled a good night.

  Mike waited until he was sure Terni was fast asleep before jumping into his own soft bed. He thought he would never sleep in a real bed again.

  After what felt like minutes, light penetrated his eyelids. He peeked. Morning. He stretched and groaned a sleepy sound, trying to wake up. When he finally opened his eyes, the bed covers moved.

  “What?” He sprang out of the bed.

  Terni’s head appeared from under the covers. “It’s me,” he said. “I was lonely in there all by myself.”

  Mike smiled. “It’s okay, let’s go explore. We might find some breakfast.”

  Someone was there during the night. A clean set of clothes draped over the back of a chair. He picked up chocolate-brown trousers made of some sort of stretchy material. Finally, something a bit more suitable. Although the fit was snug, it was comfortable. The long sleeved white shirt was light and roomy, which was just as well, because without buttons, he had to pull it over his head.

  While Mike waited for Terni to change, he looked out of the expansive windows. A swarm of black attired riders crested the hills in the distance. Ludo. Ludo was already there. They must have been right behind Derek’s army all the time.