Welcome Home (Alternate Worlds Book 3)
Page 5
Raja stared at him, face turning almost purple in rage. ‘That—you…that’s all a pack of bloody lies! Who told you my name?’ He spluttered a moment longer, looking more pathetic by the second.
His girlfriend whirled on him. ‘You’ve been shagging Nahl?’ She slapped him sharply before spinning on her heel and marching off through the crowd.
The other boy looked at Raja with a gleaming, predatory shine in his eyes. A cruel smile pulled at his lips and he bowed to Andrew in appreciation. As he left, he shoved Raja’s shoulder roughly in the process.
Those around them, not directly involved, were clearly enjoying themselves over the little display.
Raja stared at Andrew a moment more, fear flickering in his eyes, and then he whirled round and bolted.
Andrew chuckled to himself.
The group of people watching the exchange broke into excited chatter and applause.
‘All hail the Seer!’ Someone nearby toasted him.
An elderly woman was looking at Andrew searchingly. ‘Yes, he does seem to have the gift of Sight. Impressive.’ She bobbed closer. ‘Would you mind, Traveller, if I introduced you to a few friends of mine later tonight? Several of us are gathering in a more intimate setting. We’re innovators; we work to solve the problems in this city. Having you—and Lady Victoria, of course—as guests would be an honour.’
Andrew beamed and bowed, suddenly all charm. ‘We would be delighted.’
‘We will send for you once the banquet is over.’
He flushed with pride as the elderly woman shuffled off. With all of the attention he was receiving he was puffing like a peacock.
Victoria crossed her arms. ‘I wish you wouldn’t have done that. It’s not good to be making enemies this early on.’
Andrew waved a dismissive hand. ‘Raja is harmless. He was obviously on the wrong side of the uprising here; he and his family are out of power and looked down on by this new society.’
Victoria shook her head, baffled. ‘But how could you possibly know that.’
He raised a hand. ‘I’ll explain later. Let’s just get through this for now, yes? I am this close to losing my grip.’
He certainly didn’t look it. She had to appreciate his acting skills, if that was what it came down to. He had everyone fooled—including her. She’d thought he was actually enjoying things.
‘Well, I guess it’s time for the inevitable. Come on.’
Andrew frowned at her but obediently, clearly doing his best to not look like he was cringing away from the people around them. ‘Where are we going?’
Victoria clenched her teeth. ‘We have to meet my mother.’
He swore.
It took them a good twenty minutes to reach the stage. Along the way, all they met stopped them, just wanting to have a look at the alien ambassador. Women, much to Victoria’s irritation, were especially keen about him. The infatuation was smothering. And, although Andrew wasn’t particularly interested by anyone, his thirst for recognition was getting its fill to the point of him becoming drunk on the admiration from those around him. It was dangerous. Andrew didn’t have the same rules and checks that most had. She would have to keep an eye on him, or stars knew what he’d get in to.
At the dais, Lucinda was reclined, talking languidly with Victoria’s uncle. They had all the appearance of complete detachment to the happenings around them, much more concerned in their own conversation than the distracting room.
Even after all that had happened to Victoria over the past year, she still found herself hesitating.
Victoria climbed the steps, stopping before her mother and uncle a bit too shortly. Discreetly she looked her mother over. She was thin and tired; but, to Victoria’s relief, she did seem well looked after.
Her hair had lost its healthy glow, yet it was done up just as elaborate as ever. The fingers that plucked at her necklace were as delicate and spiderlike as Victoria remembered. But the sight made Victoria’s skin jump. Nearly all of her fingers were missing.
She swallowed, disturbed; what could have happened to her mother in the last year that put her in such a state.
It took a moment for her mother to acknowledge she had company and a longer show of reluctance to break off her conversation. Lucinda at last glanced to her with hooded eyes, fingering the golden chains.
‘Mother? It’s me, Victoria…’
Lucinda lifted her eyebrows, eyes glazed.
‘Your daughter?’ Victoria prodded.
‘I know who you are!’ Lucinda snapped. She lowered her voice the dulled tone Victoria loathed. ‘So, you’ve come back, have you?’
Victoria swallowed again. ‘Yeah. I know it’s hard to believe, but I’ve been to the Other World, Scottorr.’ She tugged Andrew towards her. ‘This is Andrew O’Neill, he’s an ambassador. We can learn from him; he’s an inventor and… here to help.’
‘Mmm.’ Lucinda glanced to Andrew. ‘Ah yes, you’re the one we’re supposed to believe isn’t a spy, come to seek out our weaknesses and destroy us from the inside?’
Andrew’s growing smile was unnerving. ‘Oh,’ his voice turned a growl. ‘I am definitely doing that.’ He tapped the side of his head with one long finger with a wink.
Victoria winced and grabbed Andrew by the shoulders, none too gently pushing him away. ‘He’s joking.’ At least, she certainly hoped he was. Andrew was a hard one to figure.
It was then her uncle roused himself and fixed Victoria with a hard, silent look that sent a chill through her. The cold indifference from the two of them was unsettling. She’d expected some sort of welcome; conversation, perhaps even a row, but not this!
Victoria couldn’t bear it. She backed away, tearing her eyes from Rovin’s blank stare to her mother’s indifferent gaze. They might as well still be drugged.
‘I won’t detain you any longer. I’ll see you soon, yeah? We have much to discuss.’
Lucinda dipped her head slowly, sleepily. ‘I’m sure.’
Victoria managed a curtsey before turning swiftly away, fighting down her hurt. She dabbed her wrist to the corners of her eyes to stop any tears. It would smear her kohl.
Andrew stepped nearer. ‘Are you all right?’ The question was unexpected.
Victoria smiled weakly, shoving down her disappointment to somewhere she didn’t have to acknowledge it. ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ She clutched her elbows. ‘I just wish this would all end. I’m exhausted. I want to go to bed.’
Andrew’s nod was almost imperceptible. ‘I won’t argue with that. However…’ He paused thoughtfully, sending his shrewd gaze round the room. ‘I’ll admit: I’m curious to see what comes of our invitation for tonight. If there is a group of intellectual thinkers on this planet, I am anxious to meet them. It may be through them we can work.’
Victoria sighed, composing herself. She’d forgotten; resentment bubbling towards anything that would keep her from bed any longer. ‘No, you’re right. I’m interested to see what they’re about, too.’ She offered him a shaky smile. ‘Who’d imagine you holding up better than me in this type of situation? Everything really is on its head.’
He gave a derisive snort and then cocked his head to the side. ‘Ah, looks like that strong fellow is headed our way, and has some disagreement towards us. What did you do, Victoria? He appears rather cross.’
Alarmed, she turned the direction Andrew was more or less looking and watched as Marus—a head taller and more attractive than the rest of the crowd—shouldered his way towards them.
Victoria cast about for a feasible exit, but none presented themselves to her. When she turned back, the gladiator was already upon them.
‘So,’ Marus growled as he sidled up. To Victoria’s rather selfish relief, his attention was fixed completely on Andrew. ‘I’ve heard nothing but talk of you since I led your sorry arse up here. You’re quite a celebrity. The Traveller? I have to admit, I’m a little surprised.’
Andrew raised his eyebrows slowly, his expression a mask of boredom. ‘Oh? And wh
y is that so surprising?’
Marus leant close, face coming inches from Andrew’s. The invasion of his personal space automatically caused Andrew to shrink back.
‘Because,’ Marus said, lips twisting maliciously, ‘he’s my brother.’
It didn’t take Andrew long to recover. He narrowed his eyes. ‘Take it up with the king,’ he growled. ‘He’s the one who said it, not me.’
It took Victoria a second for the statement to sink in. ‘What? He’s your brother?’
He turned his agonisingly stunning gaze to her. She flushed under the intensity of it.
‘There’s only one Traveller. And his name is Tollin, and yeah, he’s my little whelp of a brother.’ Marus worked his jaw. ‘Well, at least was. Where is he, anyway? Surely he didn’t give you permission to steal his identity. Dare I even ask; is he still alive?’
Victoria crossed her arms. ‘Of course he’s alive! We saw him just this morning. But you can’t blame Reginald for assuming. I don’t even know how he knows about him!’
Marus scratched his head. ‘Hmm, we might be responsible for that. It was sort of assumed he’d drop by.’ He grumbled to himself.
Victoria bit her bottom lip nervously. ‘You’re not angry, are you?’
‘Angry?’ Marus’s face twitched in amusement. ‘I think it’s bloody hilarious!’ He slapped Andrew on the back; hard. ‘Keep it up! The look on Tollin’s face when he shows up I wouldn’t miss for the world.’ He trotted off, laughing.
Andrew stared, brows arched in confused bemusement. ‘I don’t know if I will ever understand this planet.’
Victoria shook her head slowly. ‘I’m not sure I will either.’ She giggled. ‘Poor Tollin.’
Andrew’s lips twisted up into a reluctant smile. ‘This could be rather fun.’
The banquet lasted till midnight, when Reginald at last bid farewell to the guests, leaving those remaining to chase other amusements. Victoria and Andrew found themselves in a packed hall which had grown loud with confusion and conversations.
Taking his hand, she guided Andrew towards a relatively quiet balcony. Around them, painted faces blurred past behind veils of colourful fabric. Instruments whined from spontaneously formed groups. Victoria was no longer used to the festivities.
‘Funny,’ she said. ‘I forgot how mad things get the night after the Passing. People tend to lose their heads. They say the Other World being so low in the sky makes them go mad.’
Andrew scanned the commotion. A couple across the hall were entwined in a tight embrace. People were shouting drunkenly to each other. Three boys raced by, fighting over something.
‘You certainly have interesting traditions here,’ he mused.
He turned his attention to the view; the red desert was set aglow with white light from Scottorr, turning the Bone Vault to a giant spill of milk that washed up against the foot of the mountains. The rocks rose in jagged ridges, spiking up to circle the city like a broken forest.
He raised his eyes to Scottorr, expression as close to longing as she supposed he was capable of.
She caught his arm. ‘I miss it, too.’
He swallowed, turning a little sheepish. ‘I hadn’t thought myself so attached. Yet, I feel empty; gone now. I left behind all I was. I’ve become a shell …’
Victoria shook her head, giving his arm a squeeze. ‘But that’s not true! Everything that you are you brought with you. Surely you know that?’
He pressed a hand to his eyes. ‘I’m already someone else. I’m the Traveller now.’ He smirked darkly before his expression dropped. ‘Victoria, I’m…’ He frowned, and she watched apprehensively as his gaze shifted to something distant. He was lost in his head, by some thought or feeling that must have surprised him. ‘Never mind.’
Andrew wasn’t one to disclose his feelings. It alarmed her that he seemed on the verge now. ‘What? Andrew, what is it?’
‘I’m not sure. But something is wrong.’
Victoria stared at him pleadingly but he didn’t offer any elaboration. He was under more pressure than most could be expected to handle; she couldn’t blame his behaviour. But if he didn’t want to share what was running through his head, he wasn’t going to.
‘Steam power, I think,’ he spoke up.
‘Sorry?’
He pointed to a ghostly plume on the horizon. ‘This world is a boiling cauldron. All those thermal vents. All that subterranean water and volcanic vents…I remember it sent my mind working when you first mentioned it.’ He waved a hand. ‘That will be my first contribution to this planet.’
‘Sounds…volatile.’
‘You already make some small use of it with your royal ships; however, it could be much more than that. Imagine machines that don’t need to be powered by humans or animals, lights that don’t burn out. The ability for normal people to travel from city to city without fear! It will modernise this world immensely. Yes. Steam and gas power is the way to go. We’ll set to work on that immediately.’
He fell into some racing thoughts.
They stood together, leaning on the balustrade for several minutes of relative silence despite the festivities. Below, the city was going mad with celebrations of another safe Passing.
‘So, how’d you know about Raja?’
His eyes sparkled in the dim light, finally stirring. ‘Oh, it was simple enough. I got as much from what he was wearing, not unlike when I first met you.’ With that he launched into his explanation.
‘His clothing was the giveaway. It was rich, very elaborate, but it also held a well-worn, patched quality. So he bought more than he could afford and fell on hard times since then.’
Victoria nodded. ‘All right, makes sense. And what about his name and the girlfriend?’
Andrew smiled. ‘His and his family’s name was engraved on his ring. Easy. And I could tell he was uncomfortable with himself; very unsure by the way he was standing—if you pay attention to body language you learn much. It was easy to see he was leaning away from his girlfriend and in towards the other girl; but that wasn’t really what gave it away, it just helped confirm the fact. I could tell he’d been with her because of matching bruises on their necks, which they were both desperately trying to conceal. He also had a few strands of her hair on his jacket.’ Andrew shrugged his shoulders. ‘So, in a simplified explanation, that’s how I knew.’
Victoria shook her head. ‘It’s impossible to hide anything from you, isn’t it?’
Andrew’s lips twisted.
It was then, suddenly, out across the desert, something bright burst through the sky and went streaking down towards the earth in massive, roaring ball of flames. The dark rust of the desert flared to life in angry warms; shadows drastically dancing up the mountain face in sudden heat.
Victoria and jumped back against Andrew in fright. She’d never seen such a sight. The cries and screams of others made vocal what she could not.
Andrew’s pale face was thrown into red and shadows, turning him feverish. Even his eyes had begun to shine with a wild, excited light; that same gleam that always sent a wary wave of fear through her.
‘What is that?’ she stammered.
The inferno went streaky by before smashing near the base of the mountain in a massive explosion, throwing up a billowing cloud of dust. Victoria could have sworn that, ever so faintly, she felt the palace tremble.
He didn’t even twitch. ‘It must be a… a meteoroid of some sort. But I’ve never seen one so large. They usually break up and burn in the atmosphere and don’t hit the earth. And I study the stars and I don’t recall ever seeing an asteroid on any path towards our worlds.’
Victoria paled. ‘If that had hit the city…’
Andrew suddenly whirled on her; grasping her shoulders. ‘Come on! We’re wasting time!’
‘What? Go? To that? B—but, now? The desert isn’t safe in the dark! There’s wolves and sandworms and bandits!’ A nasty dread crawled through her bones. Such sights were never good omens.
Andre
w ran his hands through his hair, eyes gleaming as if he’d gone mad. ‘As soon as possible. We’ll need transport and tools. Damn, I wish I had brought my equipment! Do you realise what we’ve just seen? Things like this don’t happen!’
Victoria knew that all too well. If the priests were still around, they’d tell of some evil future. ‘I’ve always heard that seeing lights in the sky is a sign of things going to happen.’ She leant against the railing to stare out at the smoking spot marring the mountainside.
Andrew surprised her by putting his hands on her hips and Victoria had to stop herself from jumping at the unexpected contact. He spun her round, trapping her against the balustrade and leant in close. ‘Don’t believe in any of that nonsense. It’s just a massive rock that fell from the heavens.’
Victoria wrapped her arms around his neck. ‘I’m not sure saying that will do much good. We’re a very superstitious lot, you know.’
The excited, frightened noises of the crowd around them were enough evidence of that.
Andrew smiled crookedly. ‘I’m beginning to figure that out.’
Victoria could feel the stone railing biting into her back. She didn’t let go. He was the only thing that kept her from falling.
Without thinking twice about it, she pushed up on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. For a moment Andrew went completely stiff; then she felt his mouth experimentally move. As someone who hadn’t ever shown much interest in physical or romantic expression, he was becoming fairly good at it. With his constant need for stimulation, it was, perhaps, a new area to potentially explore—for curiosity’s sake, of course.
His kiss deepened, growing more confident and pressing. As he leant into her, Victoria felt a flutter at the thought they might topple over and fall down to the city far below.
The closeness of him automatically inspired her knotting her fingers through his hair. The madness of the city must be rubbing off on her. It set her flooding with a strange warmth, setting her heart and stomach both fluttering. Her brain was having trouble coming to any coherent thoughts.