by Carol Buhler
"How will you do that, My Soer?"
"With my help, and yours, Garard," I said softly into the man's ear.
With a cry, Garard tried to wheel around to see who was talking. He was unable to move. "Who is that? What have you done to me?" he shouted. His body still, his face contorted with effort. Then, his eyes widened as I stepped between him and Soer Jaym.
"Who are you?" Garard's voice squeaked; I sensed quickly suppressed dismay.
Soer Jaym stretched a hand toward the stiff majordomo, then stopped. "What have you done to him?"
"Nothing much. He's lost control over the larger muscles of his body. He can breathe, blink, talk if I let him, wiggle his fingers and toes, swallow; that's about it. The rest of his muscles will be controlled by me for a time."
She questioned me with her eyes. Ignoring her, I turned to Garard saying, "We have to get out of the palace. You will help us."
"If you get out, where will you go?" The man had regained his commanding tone.
"I have a place."
"You'll have to move fast. The guards are assembling all over the palace. How will you get out the front door?"
"You will help us. You’ll be our shield."
"Don’t be stupid. They'll shoot through me to get to you. They won’t let you take Soer Jaym out of here."
"They will. I'm leaving and she's coming with me." I glanced at the girl. "Are you ready?"
She nodded defiantly at Garard. "Sooner the better."
"Take his arm, then. Walk to the door." Turning my attention back to the man, I ordered, "Garard, walk to the door." I lifted the bolt, then motioned to Soer Jaym. She cautiously opened the door and peered into the hall.
"Everyone's gone."
"Garard," I ordered again, "take us the quickest, but safest, way to the front door. You may not call for help."
After shooting me a look of anger mixed with fear, Garard went left down the ornately furnished hall, Soer Jaym at his side. I closed the door behind them and followed. At the end of the hall, the man turned right and proceeded down a similar hall. At the end, we found a wide stone staircase covered with a blue patterned runner that appeared to go down through the floors, possibly to the very bottom.
"I've never seen this stairway before," Soer Jaym said, puzzled.
"Of course not, My Soer. You've always stayed in the women’s quarters. This is where the men go about their business. You, man!" Garard spoke to me even though his head couldn't move. "Do you even have a weapon?"
"Just myself."
"Down this hall to the right, past the stairway, is a room of weapons on display. I suggest you get something to protect Soer Jaym."
"Good idea. Wait here." I dashed down the hall, swept a gaze over the weapons, and grabbed what I needed. I returned minutes later with a huge shield and a heavy sword, both plain but serviceable.
Garard's mind was throwing daggers. If he could move, I'd be dead. "What do you think you can accomplish with those, you fool?" His voice broke with anxiety and I knew he hated himself for that break.
Placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, I backed it with soothing mind-thought. "You will see, old man." As Garard’s turmoil subsided, I asked, "Now, will this stairway take us straight to the bottom floor?"
"Right to the front door." His words seemed dragged out of him but he added quickly, "How do you plan to open it?"
"I have no idea. What do you suggest?" I said pleasantly, comrade-like. I couldn’t help but feel a fondness for this crusty majordomo and caught the notion that the man hoped Jaym could escape her difficulties.
"The front door has a bolt similar to the one on the door to the Grand Salon, the room we just left. Flip up the bolt and push open the door..." The tone became belligerent. "...if you're strong enough. And if the guards let you get that far."
I whirled as screaming came from the room we'd just left. "Chut! The maid woke up."
"Oh, I'm glad she's alive." Soer Jaym let out the breath she'd been holding. "But I wish she'd stayed quiet longer." Seconds later, we heard an alarm and the girl's emotions flared into turmoil. "She's pushed the panic button!"
"Right. Here we go." I slung her over my shoulder. The skirts of her costume billowed around us so I slashed at them with the sword in my right hand, managing to tame the material somewhat.
"Pick up the shield and use it to cover us from behind," I shouted as doors all down the stairway slammed open and men poured out. I squatted to allow her to grab the shield, and glanced once more at Garard. "The stasis will wear off in about an hour. Then, you'll be fine."
The man stood frozen, glaring as I swung the sword with my right hand and started down the five flights of stairs at a run. Guards charged out of doorways to stop us. At the fourth floor landing, I swung the sword at two, who jumped violently back and tripped each other. Dodging a third, I flipped the sword lightly and cracked the guard on the back of the head with the hilt, sending him tumbling down the stairs.
At the third floor, the guards had drawn their guns. I spun away from two, slapping them hard in the body with the edge of the shield Soer Jaym held, knocking them rolling out of the way. One of the rollers took out a third guard, tumbling him head over heels down the stairway. Leaping over the other roller, I caught the head of a fourth with the flat of the sword.
The second floor guards stopped their forward charge and drew weapons, but held their fire as we flashed past. Didn’t think they’d shoot at their Soer.
Seconds later, we reached the ground floor. At the door, I paused and cast an illusion that made us seem to shrink behind the shield. Bullets struck the stonework around the doorway but not our shield. I reached for the bolt with my left hand, flipped it upward, and shoved. The door flew outward as if struck by a battering ram and I was running down another set of stairs. Glancing in all directions for a destination, I saw no guards outside. The street was dim and empty and I recognized the early morning light. I'd been in the passageways all night!
"Go round a corner so we can’t be seen from the door," Soer Jaym shouted from my shoulder. I swung left, never breaking pace from my headlong dash.
"Put me down. I can walk on my own." She sounded breathless, fear or excitement? "I have an idea. If you put your arm through mine, we can stroll quietly away as if we were newlyweds." Ah, exhilaration! Arm in arm, we walked calmly into the rising sunshine.
~ Lillith
"Lillith!" Lillyon sounded strained.
I opened my eyes to discover myself lying on my side beside a bushy hedge, Lillyon nudging me urgently with his nose.
"What happened?" I felt dizzy.
"You passed out!" Lillyon is really upset! I thought.
"Oh!" Memory flooded back: the mad dash down the stairs, bolstering Joedon’s deceptive images without his awareness. "Did they get out of the palace?"
"You said they did just before you collapsed."
"Where are they now?"
"I don’t know. Can’t you find him?"
"Yes, of course." I braced front hooves and heaved upward with bunching hip muscles, only to stumble awkwardly against Lillyon. He supported me with a shoulder under my wing as I struggled to steady myself. Finally solidly on my feet, I sought Joedon’s mind, careful to not alert him to my presence. "Good. They’re on their way to a car rental. We’ll follow."
"Stop!" Lillyon swung himself around to block my path. "Rest first."
I glared but he didn’t move. "Whatever you were doing stressed you too much. If they’re fine, then you’re going to rest here until you feel stronger!" His ears pinned back, he bared his teeth and hunched his shoulders aggressively.
"Okay." I dipped my head. "I’ll just keep a light touch. We can stay right here in the shadows of this hedge until he leaves Pith."
"Sensible—for once." Lillyon’s shoulders and ears lost their rigidity. "We’ll go soon."
I aimed a probe at the girl to follow her thinking.
~ Jaym
Surprised that my rescuer breathed evenly
despite the strenuous activity, I glanced sideways at him and stopped abruptly. The young man I strolled with looked nothing like the one who’d just run down the stairs with me. He was short, plump, dark-haired and well-groomed in a wedding suit: white shirt, black embroidered trousers and vest.
He stopped and smiled, a thick, dark eyebrow flicking upward. "What is it, love?" His voice was the same, but it didn’t match the face I was looking at. And that face was at least two feet below where it should have been. He’s shorter than me!
"You know I love you dearly, sweetheart, but if we don’t hurry, we'll miss our flight. Stop daydreaming and let us hurry along a bit." The man pulled me gently down the street. "There are people watching us over to the right," he whispered. "Pull yourself together. Remember your role."
I glanced around at the buildings, shuddered a bit, then projected my words. "Yes dear. You're right. I got lost in the beauty of the morning." I nodded absently at a trio of girls standing to the right, then focused on a distant cloud. Forcing my face to hold a smile, which I hoped looked somewhat natural, I demanded in a whisper, "Who are you? How did you do that? You sound the same but look totally different."
He pulled me close and nuzzled an ear. I couldn’t help it. I stiffened, then tried to relax into him with limited success. "I’ll explain later,” he said very softly, as if whispering loving words. “Right now we have to get to a car stand before the word gets out about what happened at the palace." Releasing me with a quick kiss, he tucked my hand into the crook of his arm, and walked on, pitching his voice for me alone. "To the rest of the world, we're both as short as I appear to you. I project into people’s minds what I want them to see, rather than letting them see what is real. I can't change what they hear, so be careful what you say." He patted my hand. "We still have to get out of the city." Struggling to put his words together into something I could understand, I kept walking at his side.
EMERGENCE
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