“Gratified to hear it,” I said. “That will prevent the most immediate danger. Everything else ought to work exactly as we rehearsed it.”
“Just to remind you, Thomas, don’t let the stream get interrupted. If you do, the controller you’re carrying will lose contact with it.”
“Acknowledged,” I said.
The rest of the reception was uneventful. The Bertus, having had a taste of my charm, did their best to run into us again and again. I was happy to pass the time of day and discuss our visits. Any means I could use to keep them in the hall and under the watchful eyes of the High Protector’s agents was worthwhile. Jil excused herself and fled to the Autocrat’s personal retiring room to regain her composure.
The crowd was elbow-to-elbow by the time the Autocrat made her appearance. The musicians in the corner stopped playing, and a tuneless blat! played upon some misshapen brass instruments sounded out in the corridor. The flattened fanfare continued. Into the room processed the Autocrat’s entourage, beginning with a host of soldiers and spacers from all the military services. These wore ordinary Uctu uniforms and carried serviceable if formal weapons. Behind them came Visoltia’s own servants. Ema and Tcocna caught sight of me and smiled. I gave them a small wave so as not to cause a commotion.
The next contingent to enter was the brass band whose official noisemaking had already been heralded. Eight rows of instrument players in sand-beige robes strode in. They kept accurate tempo, the only accession to music I was willing to grant them.
Once placed where they could perform damage upon the greatest number of eardrums, they struck up a grander marching tune to announce the advent of the ministers.
Visoltia’s cabinet entered the room one at a time to polite applause by the assembled guests. The High Nourisher gave me a friendly look when I caught her eye. The ministers took their places on the dais behind their assigned chairs.
Most of them. Neither Lord Rimbalius nor Lord Toliaus had yet made their appearance. A pause ensued. Over the abominable band, I heard raised voices in the corridor.
Eventually, wearing an expression that would have shattered glass, Lord Toliaus made his stately way into the chamber. Once he had stepped up to the chair at the left hand of the Autocrat’s throne, Lord Rimbalius entered. The High Protector looked annoyed instead of triumphant, which rather endeared him to me. He was wearing my sword on a baldric that stretched tight across his broad chest. The adapted Imperium uniform looked good on him. I would never have dared to say so to his face, of course. It was a shame that they were on opposite sides of an old grudge, because he and my mother could truly have been good friends.
At the very last, looking quite small and even more childlike than ever in a long white dress and a lovely but simple necklace that had been a gift from my mother’s own jewelry box with my finest and most beautiful lucky circuit twinkling on the chain, her tail steady and without a single nervous twitch, came Visoltia.
Two guards jumped forward to help her mount the dais steps. I smiled as she wriggled in between the arms of the chairs to either side. She stood proudly before the throne, but did not sit down. Not yet.
“My dear people, my friends, my protectors, my providers and my teachers, I bid you welcome. Two years ago today, I stood here for the first time, following the untimely death of my father.”
At that, Ema lowered her head and blubbered unhappily into a handkerchief. Tcocna patted her arm.
“You have all been with me and generously given me your help and support over those last two years. I was so proud to reach the first anniversary, and grateful to have lived to see one, the second anniversary of my accession. Thank you all for coming to celebrate this day with me. I have been provided with so many symbols of support. I know how fortunate I am to be among people who love me.”
She sat down. I burst out into loud applause, until I realized the Uctus tapped their round fingertips together in acclaim. I patted my palms together much more gently. Visoltia beamed in my direction, and raised the lucky circuit to show me. I bowed.
The seating had been arranged deliberately to place me where I would annoy the High Wisdom the most. At a table for ten; six of whom were me, Jil and her entourage; I was closest to the head table and facing Lord Toliaus. Over the course of the excellent meal that followed, I performed condimentomancy for my tablemates, with Jil offering her own comments on my divinations. I trotted out my dancing cards, my laugh, and all the other forces I could bring to be as unbearable as possible. Lord Toliaus clearly wanted to ignore me, but I did my very best to make that impossible. Still, his attention was not entirely on me. I watched him as best I could out of the corner of my eye.
Toliaus offered extravagant compliments to Visoltia. She still seemed to be perturbed at him. For a male who was usually in control of his emotions, he seemed almost reckless. He threw insults at other ministers on the dais, especially Rimbalius, as if he felt he wouldn’t have to answer for his behavior later on.
Enlightenment dawned on me, as it must have on the High Protector. Our eyes met briefly. I gave him a very brief but significant nod to show I understood. The plot was about to unfold. Everyone was in place. I was more than ready to poke holes in that monstrous ego. All the stars were in their appointed places, so to speak.
“It’s almost time,” I said in Imperium Standard, with an apologetic glance at the dignified Uctu guests. They smiled uncomprehendingly.
“I don’t want to do it,” Jil said suddenly, seizing my arm with a death grip. I felt her nails dig into my skin through my robe. “Thomas, I can’t get up there.”
I believe I blinked once. “Are you certain?” I asked. “Banitra has offered to come up with you.”
“We can do it,” her companion said, jumping in like a champion. I became aware that I would be deeply in Banitra’s debt, but there was too much else at stake. “It will be so much fun. You know that! Come on.”
“I can’t,” Jil said. Her eyes were huge with fear. I could see that she felt genuine distress. “I don’t want to . . . be undignified in front of that man. I feel as though he will steal my soul or something. And there are reporters! My image will be all over the Infogrid in moments!”
It was no good to remind her how often we had ended up as trending news back home in the Imperium. It was also too late to train another magician’s assistant. Plet had refused to play-act as one of my “victims,” or to allow me to make use of any of the rest of my crew, as it would end up on their Infogrid pages, and subject to review, not to mention the derision of their peers. Jil’s other companions were too shy to perform in public. I threw a glance at Banitra, but she tossed it straight back to me. It was up to me to be as persuasive as possible. I took Jil’s shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes.
“Jil, this moment is very important to me. I am counting on you to help me with this. In fact, I need your help so badly that if you keep your word and go through with it . . .” I took a deep breath, for it was a heavy sacrifice. “. . . I will give you my Ya! boxed set.”
Jil stared at me as though she couldn’t believe her ears. Then a tiny smile turned up the left corner of her mouth. She laughed, although it sounded strained.
“You must want to perform your magic act in the very worst way, Thomas!” she said. She put out her hand and I took it. “You have a deal. I’ll do it.”
“Very well,” I said, deeply relieved. “Then there’s no point in delaying any longer.”
I rose from my seat and approached the dais.
CHAPTER 46
My movements were more ponderous than usual, all the better to ensure that every eye was upon me. I still could not see Parsons, but I felt his presence close by. When I reached the dais, I bowed low. I almost overtoppled, but managed to catch myself.
“Your Serenity, it is my great honor to greet you on behalf of my government, my emperor and my mother. I hope that relations between our two peoples will be closer than ever from now on.”
She dropped her jaw in
a charming smile.
“Thomasin—I mean, Lord Thomas, we are honored by your presence and your friendship. We thank you also for the gift of wine and sweets to complement our feast. I am sure we will all appreciate them.”
In a gesture of good will, I had had Angie box up almost all of the vintages and treats remaining in the Rodrigo’s secured hold. Alas, the caviar was long gone.
“Since we are exchanging garments for the evening, I thought you would enjoy some of our prized comestibles,” I said. “It is but a small thing to have strengthened the bond between Uctu and Imperium.”
She gave me a regal nod.
“I promise to work closely with my brother, Shojan, to deepen our alliance.”
Lord Toliaus could not restrain himself any longer. He snorted audibly. Rimbalius glared at him. He glared back.
“It does you no honor to treat with humans, Your Excellence,” Toliaus said.
“I have already noted your derision,” I told him. “In fact, I have come to Her Serenity to ask permission to carry out the challenge that I set you yesterday. My wizardry against yours.”
Toliaus stood up, causing his heavy chair to keel over backward. It landed on the dais with a boom. Everyone who had not already been looking our way before focused upon us now.
“I will show you my power,” he snarled. “Here! Before the Autocrat’s very eyes! I will show her that you are a fraud.”
I looked down to examine my fingernails. They seemed unusually shiny. I admired them for a moment.
“If you think you can beat me, try,” I said. I buffed my fingertips against my robe front. “You claim to be the greatest prognosticator and sorcerer in the Autocracy. I doubt it.”
Toliaus stormed toward the steps of the dais. A couple of the gray-clad servants ran to right his chair. He waved them out of his way. I waited. He thundered toward me, but stopped a dozen paces away. He pointed a hand at me, the sucker-shaped tips of his fingers waving in a threatening fashion.
“I curse you with death, human!” he growled. “A plague eat your bones and leave your scales scattered upon the ground!” He carried on in that way for some time, his voice rising in intensity and volume until it was virtually ringing off the inlaid ceiling. When the sound died away, I clapped my hands slowly, to indicate extreme derision.
“Very weak,” I said, mustering pity on my face. “Because, honestly, my brother and I used to throw worse imprecations at one another when we were six and eight years old. Is that all that you have?”
I think Toliaus must have evoked some psychosomatic heart attacks with his string of curses, and was somewhat put out that it hadn’t worked on me. Visoltia eyed me worriedly, searching my face for any signs of impending doom.
“You will begin to feel it soon,” Toliaus assured me. “You are to be pitied for what will soon befall you.”
“Sticks and stones,” I said, spreading my arms wide. “Your words have no effect.”
“No?” he asked. “Then, feel this!” He thrust his hands out toward me.
I should have been ready for a genuine trick, but until that moment I had not been sure that he could do any. Lightning shot up from the floor through my shoes. Pain lanced through my body. I staggered from one foot to another, but every step brought fresh agony. Toliaus cackled. Electricity crackled all over my body and struck light from the silver filaments in my underrobe. Tiny bolts shot from my fingertips. I dropped to my knees, holding on to the nearest bench seat. The Uctu on it stared at me in open horror.
“Thomasin!” the Autocrat cried. “High Wisdom, stop this!”
“Not unless he surrenders, Your Excellence,” Toliaus boomed. “It is his challenge to withdraw. If he does not, he will die.”
I concentrated on a tiny spot of color just in front of my nose. It took everything I had to force out three words.
“Anstruther, help me,” I gritted.
“Hold on, sir,” came the dulcet tones in my ear. Suddenly, I felt as though I was growing taller. The lightning withdrew. I could breathe again. “I think he’s got the whole floor electrified, but he can operate it in segments. I’ll insulate you. Is that better?”
“Yes!” I took a deep breath and stood up straight. I felt heavy as a neutron star. I could still sense sharp pings striking the soles of my feet, but they were easily ignored. Summoning calmness to my visage, I turned to confront the High Wisdom.
“That was a good one,” I said, with a friendly smile. “I didn’t think you had it in you. Now, it’s my turn.”
I seized a pitcher of water from the nearest table and held it aloft. From my chest issued an almost invisible silver stream. It flowed up my arm, into the pitcher, down my body and across the floor, where it spread out around the High Wisdom. I waited for the faint gray arch to form over him, then I flicked my fingers toward Toliaus. He cringed backward, then down as the nanites began to precipitate droplets all over him.
“After lightning comes rain,” I said. The assembled guests stared for a moment, then burst out laughing. “And following rain, a rainbow. We of the Imperium consider the arch a lucky sign.” The nanites turned their silicon sides outward to catch the light. A cascade of color surrounded the High Wisdom. The guests applauded.
Furious, Toliaus shook his jowls, spraying water all around and dispelling my rainbow. He brought his hands together in a mighty thunderclap. I gasped in pain. It felt as though the walls had closed suddenly, squeezing me between them. I thought my chest would turn inside out as I struggled to breathe. I gasped. I was battered over and over by an invisible force.
“Sonic bursts, sir,” Anstruther said. “I’ll try and counter.”
Blackness crept in from the edges of my vision.
“No,” I croaked. I gazed haughtily at Toliaus. “These are all tricks.” Though the battering bruised my ribs, I turned to face the Autocrat. “If you wish, I’ll tell you how he does it.”
“I touch the power of the infinite!” Toliaus shrieked.
I smiled at him sweetly.
“Then show us the future,” I said. “Surely that would be easy for you.”
He clapped his hands again, and the pounding stopped. I almost staggered at the relief of it. He put his fingertips up to his temples. He closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and began to intone in an impressive voice.
“You will have a long life, Your Serenity,” he said. “Prosperity comes from every corner of the Autocracy! Wait—I see betrayal. These humans threaten your people’s safety.” Visoltia looked alarmed and frightened. He opened his eyes and glared at me. “You should not be here to sully the celebration of Her Serenity’s accession.”
“You’re the one spoiling the party,” I said. “But how unimaginative! I could have come up with more impressive predictions after an all-night bender. Let me show you the future, Your Serenity.” I bowed to Visoltia. I spread out my hands.
Nanites flowed from the inside of my hand into my palm. I threw those into the air. I could not see them, but they climbed over one another’s backs, holding on with microscopically small filaments to form a whisper-thin tri-dee screen. It turned to be out easy for Anstruther to reprogram the captured devices to the Imperium’s program. Redius and I had put together a stream of digitavid clips from the Infogrid, all heartwarming images like Uctu and human shaking hands, playing together, children of all species dancing in the sunlight. Toliaus fumed. Visoltia watched them raptly, her jaw lowered with pleasure. I clapped my hand, and the nanites forming the screen dropped to the floor.
“My power is at your service,” I said. “Would you like to see more?”
“Oh, yes!”
I beckoned to my cousin and her friend. Jil kept glancing toward the back of the chamber where the Bertus sat, but she rose and came forward.
I hoped that I would be able to accomplish this trick without making a fool of myself—that is, not more of a fool than normal. Anstruther was ready. She would carry out her instructions without regard for whether the process hurt me or not
. When she was not feeling nervous, Jil had adored the idea of our act. The problem was to keep her from doing anything before I “enchanted” her.
“These are my subjects,” I said, taking each lady by the hand. “I have made them my servants. They will obey my every command, even if it seems impossible.” I touched their foreheads. They closed their eyes and swayed slightly.
“What is your will, my master?” Banitra asked in a breathy voice.
Jil looked put out, as though she wished she had prepared dialogue for herself in advance. But my cousin has always been ready for any jape, and threw herself into the part.
“I command you . . . to dance upon air!” I said.
“Mercy, master!” Jil pleaded.
I tore open the neck of my robe. Nanites poured forth from my chest in a silver cloud. They filled the air around the two women. Slowly, Jil and Banitra dropped backward and floated upward. The audience gasped.
Jil, I knew, had as a girl had tightrope lessons with the same teacher of acrobatics that I had employed. She had been an excellent pupil, as had been proved the night when at the age of fifteen she sneaked into the empress’s wine cellar one evening by tottering along the top of a wall that had neither sensors nor cameras incorporated into it, and brought us back two bottles of regal brandy over four centuries old. But I digress. As the ladies achieved a height of three meters, she rose to her feet and began to gyrate in the air. Banitra was less graceful. She fell over several times, but was borne upright again by a silver cluster that supported her in the middle of her back. She lay limp in a balletic arch on the top of it, pretending to be still under my spell. I turned to the Autocrat.
“Don’t you agree that my spells are superior to your minion?” I inquired, with insulting emphasis on the last word.
“Oh, yes!” she said. “Lord Toliaus, can you do anything as spectacular?”
The spots on the High Wisdom’s head flared angry red.
“It is a trick! I know he is using machines!”
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