Crown of Horns

by Alex Sapegin

  “I am a dragon,” he said. Milla and Riur exchanged glances. Just wait, more surprises in store for you. “In addition, I am the keeper of the key to the interplanetary portals.” All the Miurs’ ears stood upright—surprise! “The prince fell for the emperor’s trick, played out with the help of the governor. Look there,” Andy pointed towards the mountains. The warriors synchronously followed his index finger. “What do you see there?”

  “The mountains,” said Irran.

  “I had no doubts—the mountains. If the Imperial legions had begun an invasion, what would have happened over the mountains?” The cats thought for a moment and, as if on command, turned to Andy. “I see you got it. There would have been a magical light show over the mountains. Besides the shield, the borders are covered by defensive complexes. Why are they silent?”

  “Why?” one of the “ghosts” couldn’t contain herself.

  “The legions have not crossed the border,” Irran said. “What about the army camps the orc told us about?”

  Andy sighed heavily and leaned against the cat’s gunner.

  “Both the camps and the portal arcs are real. I am inclined to believe the orc. According to him, the army team arrived at the points of temporary permission in one night, so it was probably a transfer of troops with the help of a large number of magicians. The story about the magical portals is true. The emperor’s army was like a loaded gunner; I have no doubt that he fired. The prince missed the last chance to travel on an interplanetary portal. It is only my personal opinion, but I am ready to bet my head and tail on it: the imperial thugs have already crushed the last defender and entrenched themselves around the former princely property. The interplanetary portal is not so far from the border. I think that in order to capture it, the mages have built dozens of stationary gates.”

  “Sir, when did you guess that?” asked Irran.

  “When I interrogated the governor. I remembered the map of the area and laid down the facts.”

  “Why do we need an interplanetary portal?” again the “ghost” spoke up. The warrior was hushed from all present.

  “For resettlement to Ilanta,” Andy answered shortly.

  Irran released and retracted her claws several times. She had understood the situation:

  “Her Highness Illusht knew about your mission, sir?”

  “Yes.”

  “Now your reaction is understandable. She was supposed to keep the prince in the capital and persuade them to send the army to cover the interplanetary portal, or at the very least, to convince them to install a space shield around the portal. Why did she not do it?”

  “I do not know. I can only assume that Illusht arrived in the capital of the principality right when they were sending the prince to the border, and she had no choice but to follow the ruler. Probably, she came to the same conclusions that we did, and therefore, let the disrespectful attitude to the prince go unpunished. Something like that. Ruigar did a great job. I do not know what the emperor promised him, and I do not want to know more. Let Ilirra kick the truth out of him. Besides, it was getting dangerous to keep agitating the jerk. The governor could have thrown out a pair of dirty little facts defaming the ruler. I do not need such knowledge. Oh, how those in power despise those who bear their secrets. I would not put it past Ruigar to do away with me and you in that very conniving, sophisticated way. So I learned the big picture but did not climb into the dark jungle.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I already told you—sleep!” Irran’s eyes widened. “Sleep. I can afford to fall out of reality for an hour or two. Two hours of banging my head against the wall now will not solve anything. Later, I will think about how to get out of this mess. Think and think again. I have some ideas; I will run them in my head from all sides, then go to the prince. Running around in circles without an action plan does not make sense. Andy, stumbling from the gunner, straightened his sling with swords and sniffed sullenly at his own, now his very own warriors. “What are you just standing there for? March to the hotel!”

  * * *

  His internal alarm clock measured an hour and a half from the moment his right cheek touched the pillow. He slept soundly for about forty minutes. Actually, he fell asleep instantly, but the cries and curses that were heard outside the door drove away his dreams. An important princely official came to the hotel and demanded they free up the room. The Miur guard in the hallway pointed out to the gentleman which way was up, and advised him to leave the premises; otherwise, he will be helped to overcome the space separating the second floor and the front door of the establishment, by kicks. The official left himself but promised to return. Andy tossed and turned for about twenty minutes on the soft featherbed. His interrupted sleep waved goodbye. He did not want to get up, but, saying goodbye to Morpheus, Andy overpowered himself, rolled off the bed, and rinsed himself in a barrel of ice water installed in the small bathroom. The room was not deluxe. The downy featherbed was the only thing that distinguished this number from a room in a roadside inn. He felt better already. His brains started working faster. He ran his hand over the sun scars on his chest. Something clicked in his head. “What if?” Jumping out of the barrel like a bullet, he rubbed himself with a towel and quickly dressed in clean clothes and armor. Securing his swords, Andy jumped out into the corridor.

  “Irran!” he shouted. A couple of seconds later, the door of the next room burst open, revealing a wet, disheveled cat woman dressed like Eve, but with a gunner in her hands. Apparently, the Miur had decided to take a bath, but was interrupted by her boss’ cry. For a moment, Andy froze like his father’s computer when he got closer than six feet away. The cat had an excellent, proportional figure, and there was absolutely no hair on the body. The furry covering, not counting the tail, was only on her arms and face. Much later, Andy learned that the warriors removed the fur on their bodies with a special ointment since while wearing the magical armor, the thermo-regulation regime was not always observed (something the designers did not work out), especially in stressful and combat situations. The fur got soaked in sweat; in about two or three hours, the cat would begin to smell. A radical way to get rid of the problem was complete depilation.

  “Yes, sir!’ The Miur’s voice functioned like a “reset” button for the frozen operating system.

  “I need a detailed map of the southern lands of the empire. Send someone to search, and you can finish bathing.”

  “Yes, sir!” The cat disappeared into a large room set aside for the warriors with ten beds. Andy remembered how the magistrate’s representative screamed when they came to settle a second time. The miserable-looking man squealed and spat so much that Milla suggested the poor man had a red-hot awl up his backside. It was no skin off her nose. She stood there calmly and quietly while the ambassador listened to another stream of “delights” about himself and pondered particularly brutal ways of killing an official. The magistrate could not give two craps about different ambassadors. The people of the free city did not bow to anyone. And who, Mr. Ambassador, will repair the building? The flow of words went uninterrupted. The conflict was resolved by a tight and rather heavy bag with coins of a dull yellow metal. The little man, with a predatory glint in his eyes, quickly counted the coins and personally led the detachment to the allocated rooms.

  “There are no other apartments. Everything is occupied. If you destroy a wall here too, you will have to go sleep in the street,” he grumbled upon leaving. Andy watched the greedy man leave. “War is hell… to some. Others line their pockets from it.”

  His train of thought was derailed by the sound of the “spider web” signaling and the trampling of numerous feet on a staircase. The pair of miur standing guard lazily stood up from the walls. The warriors drew their swords. Only an idiot would shoot from a gunner in a small crowded room. The corridor was not an outside wall. The damage would collapse the floors under them as well. A burly man in an expensive coat appeared in the hall. The visitor was followed
by three mages and over two dozen princely guardsmen. Behind the military, he saw a whole delegation of human pencil pushers from the offices of those in power. The troops’ faces reflected the determination to deal with the insolent people who did not blossom with due respect for the princely pencil pushers. But, upon seeing the Miur, they immediately lost all fervor and began to glare angrily at the main pencil pusher. The mages mentally shared the troops’ opinion.

  “In the name of Prince Ora, evacuate the premises,” the lover of expensive clothes bellowed, waving a scroll with a wax seal. “I have orders from His Lordship.”

  “Is he insane, or what?” thought Andy. The looks on the Miur guards’ faces had the same question.

  “Give it to me!”

  The paper rat held out the scroll.

  “Clear out!”

  Andy read the text, fondled the wax seal with his finger, almost tasted the document. Then he calmly pronounced:

  “Sir, I do not wish to offend you, but please be so kind as to seek habitation somewhere else.” He tucked the scroll into his belt. The bureaucrat almost choked. His face flushed purple, making him resemble a boar.

  “Do you know who I am?!” he exploded. A certain organ came to mind. “If you do not get away this instant, I have the right to give orders to the guards and mages. They will free the numbers by force.”

  “Really?” Andy’s will shields dropped for ten seconds, allowing the mages to see his aura in full detail. Their pale faces and the glances that ran from side to side suggested that the trio wanted to be as far away from the hotel as possible. Then the guards began to grow pale. When a fully equipped combat pride comes out of the room, one involuntarily turns pale. “Go away!”

  “What?!” the fat man began to boil with indignation. “I…”

  “Accompany your master out of here,” Andy said to the mages, turning the raging official into a living statue with an immobilizing spell. “With that, we will assume that the conflict is over. I will not complain to Prince Ora about your behavior, but you will explain to master…,” he took out the scroll and read the name, “… Porvo Durrie, that next time I will tear his ‘durrie’ limb from limb, and I will put his head on a stake, and the prince will be stomping on his remains for having to hush up the scandal.”

  The mages nodded feverishly and picked up the frozen body. The “evictors” departed much faster than they came.

  “Sir, the map of the empire.” Irran came out of the room.

  “Good. Let us have a look.”

  Andy waved his hand to Milla and Ramita, who, according to Irran, often went beyond their borders on raids while on duty. The commander of the “ghosts” did not need an invitation. Having changed into her guard’s outfit, she went to the master’s room.

  “Sir, why do you need a map of the imperial lands?” Milla was burning with curiosity.

  Andy wanted to get annoyed that they kept calling him “sir,” but, glancing at the mage, he realized that his indignation would be enjoyed with pleasure. The cats would not depart from their traditions by one iota and would continue addressing him according to etiquette.

  “Why do I need a map, you ask?” Andy lightly touched the right lower corner of the map three times. It activated a magical illusion. The map became 3D. The cats watched as Andy noted a couple of points in the imperial lands, tying them to the illusion. “Ramita, what can you tell me about the area closest to the borderlands, located around this spot?”

  The scout gathered her thoughts for about ten seconds, then gave out detailed information about the small settlements located near the indicated place, which were not marked on the map.

  “I see. Milla, what can you tell me about the possibility of building a portal for these coordinates? Will there be any difficulties?”

  “No,” answered the Miur. “In the valley where you propose to move, there are many characteristic visual landmarks, and portals can be built ‘by sight,’ that is, attached to the image. The only difficulty may be the spatial shield, but in this case, you can open the portals somewhat in the distance. There is no large border shield there, and a small circular shield can be pierced if there is a sufficient source of mana.”

  The questioning lasted about twenty minutes. Andy went “hmm,” revised and refined his plans and wrote something down on the back of the map.

  “Why a map, you ask?” He folded the paper up neatly into his pocket. “The nearest point to us is the cargo interplanetary portal. It seems to me that it is not the army that is guarding it, but something smaller, perhaps a regiment. In reality, there are a hundred guards and a couple dozen magicians.”

  “Sir, do you want…,”

  “Oh, yes, Milla, I do! I really want to.” Andy’s gaze became sharp and malicious. His lips formed an unkind grin. “The Emperor will be very surprised if someone takes a portal on his land. I bet your head he does not expect such impudence!”

  “And why mine?”

  “I rather like my own; I am accustomed to it.” Irran laughed; Ramita looked at her and giggled. “Enough laughing. In fifteen minutes, all ‘ghosts’ will be ready, and we set out towards the prince. Irran, there will be a special task for you: convince Illusht to create a direct channel of communication with the Great Mother. I saw her ‘ghosts’ leading a platform with accumulators on it towards a large communicator artifact the size of which, compared to a jammer, would be like you compared to a mosquito. Milla, prepare a ceremonial outfit for me, so I can change right before we get to the fortress. Walking around the city in official rags is not too comfortable. Alright, it is time.”

  * * *

  Exactly fifteen minutes later, the envoy, reserving the rooms behind it, left the magistrate’s hotel. The cat warriors lined up in the usual order, covering Andy from all sides. Halfway to the prince’s fortress, which turned into his headquarters, had passed without incident. The detachment began to climb the hill. The warriors, clad in armor, relaxed a little and missed a large cat that jumped down on to the pavement in front of the master from one of the rooftops. And thanks be to the Twins that they did miss her!

  “Mimiv?”

  “Mrrow.” The local beauty showed in an unambiguous gesture that she wanted to be picked up.

  “Mimiv, where are your owners?” Andy asked, picking up the cat.

  “Here!” Andy turned at the sound. Under the low peak of the front entrance to the house from which Mimiv had jumped off stood Evael and Lilly.

  “Andy!” the girl rushed to him.

  “Let her through.” In a couple of moments, the little elf was in the arms of her father’s rescuer.

  Mimiv meowed meekly, but it was not in her power to compete with her owner. She had to run to the ground. “Hey, Lilly. Easy trails, Evael.”

  “Straight roads,” said the old elf, who looked around at the Miur with an attentive glance. “‘Ghosts, hm? It is nice to realize that I was not wrong.”

  “What are you doing in the city?”

  “We have been here more than a fiver already, the whole clan. We even brought the saplings of our ancestral Mellornys with us.”

  “You evacuated?”

  “You can put it that way.”

  “Are the warriors and mages with you?”

  “Or course. How can it be otherwise?”

  “Very well,” Andy thought for a moment. “Let us go, we will talk on the way. It will be a serious conversation.”

  “And where are you off to?”

  “To the prince.”

  “Sir, look!” Ramita shouted, pointing at the mountains.

  Andy narrowed his eyes. The real northern lights were blazing over the mountains.

  “A distraction maneuver,” he said, and explained: “Too big a time gap between the disappearance of the shield and the attack. Hazgar simply wants to keep the Great Mother and the prince on their toes, threatening from that direction.”

  “‘Sir,’” the old elf whispered softly. “I sense the
conversation will indeed be quite serious.”

  * * *

  Ania, with half-closed eyes, watched Andy. A large mirror took up an entire wall of the cabinet the prince had chosen for the official reception of the Great Mother’s ambassadors. She observed the reflections of the hosts and guests present in the room. It was a handy thing: it helped hide the interest that the guests might feel from a direct look. This way, they only guessed what the elf was thinking, standing frozen behind the Prince and Princess’ chairs. The sida gently touched her tight corset. Behind the bone plates, near her heart, lay a silver bloom wrapped in a silk kerchief.

  The prince slightly moved his head, listening to the rustle of clothes behind him. The elf exhaled inaudibly. The crown on the ruler’s head gave off a scattering of rainbow sunbeams. The girl did not know what the sovereign was thinking about. She was hoping he would fulfill his promise to release her from the vassal oath after the important reception.

  Andy had come to the fortress three hours ago and immediately asked for an audience. Ora at first wanted to refuse the impudent beggar, but the Miur princess presented the same request. The prince took a small time-out to decide his next course of action and summoned Ilirra. The conversation between father and daughter behind impenetrable sound curtains lasted over an hour. Ania was not summoned. The sida could guess why he decided what he did and could not disagree with certain reasons in favor of granting an audience. But the princess could not be an unbiased advisor, and the ruler wanted to formulate his next few moves, given the situation. The dragons couldn’t understand who was playing first violin in the Illusht-Andy duet. On the one hand, Illusht was the daughter of the Great Mother, endowed with the power to conclude military and civil unions. Ora wanted to take full advantage of that. On the other hand, the ruler had chosen Andy to be her Voice. Why, they wondered? What proposal was the Great Mother going to make, that to voice it, she would choose a dragon not known to anyone? And why exactly this dragon? What was special about him, besides the suspicion that the ambassador might be a true blood? After talking with his daughter, the prince decided to ask Ruigar, who spoke with the mysterious diplomat in a language unknown to a wide range of people. During the interrogation, Andy had mentioned Hazgar, and what he said was very surprising to the former governor. The information was so important and shocking that the captive dragon’s aura shone for several minutes with all colors of the rainbow. What did Andy say to him? The girl was very sorry that she did not understand a word. She caught the general tone, but without words, the mosaic did not want to take shape. Ruigar smiled with bloodied lips and told the prince where he could go. Fear flashed in his eyes….