Dragonback 05 Dragon and Judge (9 page)

The Golvin jerked as if he'd been hit by a bolt of lightning.
Reflexively, he started to turn his head.

He brought the movement up short as his cheek came up against a
waiting K'da claw. "Who are you?" he gasped.

"I ask the questions," Draycos said. "You sent an InterWorld
message. What was the message, and to whom did you send it?"

"I sent no—"

He cut off in a strangled gasp as Draycos pressed the claw firmly
into his skin. "What was the message, and to whom did you send it?"

"I have no name," the Golvin said, his voice starting to take on
an edge of panic. "Only a number."

"Give me the number."

The Golvin did so. It was a long number, and Draycos could only
hope he would be able to remember all the digits. "Now the message," he
said.

The Golvin didn't answer. Draycos prodded him again—"I was just to
let them know if another Jupa came to the canyon," he said, the words
practically tumbling over themselves in his effort to get them out.
Apparently, no one had told him there might be danger involved in this
little errand.

"And then what?"

"That's all," the Golvin said. "I was just to tell them. That is
all I know."

It probably was, too, Draycos knew. No one would be foolish enough
to trust a pathetic creature like this with any genuine secrets. "You
will tell no one about this conversation," he said. "And you will make
no further trips outside this canyon."

"I will do as you say," the Golvin said. "You may trust my word
in—"

The rest of the promise was lost as Draycos slapped him firmly
across his neck below his ear.

He slumped down in his seat, unconscious. Draycos waited a moment
to be sure, then opened the rear door and slipped outside.

The Great Hall was quiet and dark, he noticed, the party
apparently over. Still, there might still be stragglers wandering
around the cropland. Lowering himself once again into the river, he
headed upstream.

He reached Jack's pillar without incident. The bridge the Golvins
had constructed was the obvious way up, but it might be interesting to
see if he could climb the ivy plants the way the Golvins did. Setting
his front claws into the mesh, he started up.

It was a mixed success. The ivy was strong enough to support his
weight and was solidly rooted into the stone. But Draycos's claws were
sharper than whatever small barbs or hooks the Golvins had in their
hands that allowed them to climb. He had to be constantly on the alert
lest he slice through the plants and dump himself onto the ground.

If worst came to worst, he decided, it would probably be faster to
ignore the plants and dig his claws directly into the small cracks in
the stone, the way he'd done on his way out of the Great Hall.

The apartment, when he reached it, was dark and quiet. But a quick
tasting of the air confirmed that Jack was there, and that the boy was
alone. Padding silently across the main room, he slipped into the
bedroom.

"About time," Jack said quietly from the bed. "I was starting to
wonder if you'd gotten lost."

"My apologies," Draycos said, coming up to him. "I ended up taking
a small side trip."

"Sounds interesting," Jack said. "By the way, if you're hungry
there's bread, meat, and fruit in the refrigerator."

"Thank you," Draycos said, suddenly realizing just how hungry he
was.

"Don't thank
me
," Jack said with the first touch of humor
Draycos had heard from him all day. "The One caught me slipping some
food into my pocket from the serving platter and told me that wasn't
necessary, that they would supply whatever I wanted for breakfasts and
midnight snacking."

"Very kind of him," Draycos said, changing direction back to the
door. "If you don't mind . . .?"

"No, help yourself," Jack said. "I can't vouch for what kind of
meat it is, though."

"There are many species of animals who live in deserts," Draycos
reminded him.

"Maybe," Jack said doubtfully. "But in a farming area like this,
I'm guessing most of what they get is some sort of rodent."

"Or fish."

"Oh, right," Jack said, his voice brightening. "Yeah, that sounds
a
lot
better. Good. Go have some fish."

The platter in the refrigerator was a welcome sight, piled high
with thin strips of dried and seasoned meat. Draycos ate his fill, not
actually caring what kind of creature it had come from.

And when he was finished, he returned to the bedroom and told Jack
all about his unplanned trip to the city.

Jack listened in silence until the K'da had finished. "What do you
think it means?" he asked.

"I think it's fairly obvious," Draycos told him grimly. "Someone
out there doesn't want a Judge-Paladin visiting this canyon."

"Or maybe they don't want him visiting the mining area you spotted
outside the canyon?" Jack suggested.

"Possibly," Draycos said. "However, at this point the specifics
aren't important. There was no one outside as I came in, and the
shuttle's controls seem straightforward enough. We can be back at the
spaceport within an hour and—"

"We're not leaving."

Draycos broke off in midsentence. "What do you mean?" he asked
carefully.

"Uncle Virgil told me my parents were killed by an explosion,"
Jack said, his voice going dark. "That made sense when I thought they
were miners. But I can only think of one situation where a
Judge-Paladin would die that way." In the darkness Draycos sensed the
boy brace himself. "I think they were murdered."

Draycos twitched his tail in a grimace. He'd come to that same
conclusion the moment Jack had learned their true professions. "All the
more reason for us to leave."

"All the more reason for us to stay," Jack countered.
"Judge-Paladins aren't just roaming benchwarmers, you know. They have
the authority to investigate and to even pass summary judgment in some
cases. I'm apparently a Judge-Paladin now. Let's investigate."

Draycos sighed. "Jack, we don't even know what we're looking for,"
he said. "Not to mention the fact that all your detection and sensor
equipment is aboard the
Essenay
."

"That just means we'll have to make do with our eyes and your nose
and tongue," Jack said. "Hey, you're the one who told
me
that
K'da warriors had the right and the duty to pass judgment on murderers."

"That was under K'da and Shontine law," Draycos reminded him. "At
any rate, my prime duty is to protect my host."

"You will be," Jack assured him. "You'll be right here with me the
whole time. Look, Draycos, it'll be a week or two at least before
anyone can get here. Maybe even longer—that number your buddy called
was a Barcarole exchange, and that system's nearly all the way across
the Orion Arm."

"Unless they choose to spend extra fuel to obtain extra speed."

"Which assumes whoever it is even bothers to send anyone," Jack
went on doggedly. "It's been eleven years, after all. I doubt anyone
even cares anymore."

Except you
, the thought flicked through Draycos's mind. "We
should at least go back to the spaceport and try to contact Uncle
Virge," he urged. "Let him know what we're doing, and have him standing
by in case of trouble."

For a long moment Jack was silent. "Actually, I don't think the
Essenay
's
here anymore," he said at last.

Draycos felt his neck arch. "That's impossible," he said. "Uncle
Virgil programmed the ship to stay with you and protect you."

"Then where is it?" Jack demanded hotly. "Uncle Virge knew about
all this, remember? He should have been buzzing around overhead before
we even landed."

"But where would he have gone?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't know," he said, his brief flash of
anger fading away. "Maybe Frost or Neverlin tracked us here and was
able to nail him. Or maybe they didn't actually get him, but he's had
to go to ground like he did on Rho Scorvi."

He inhaled deeply, then let the air out in a long sigh. "Or else
Alison's taken control and flown off on her own."

Draycos hesitated, the automatic denial sticking in his throat.
Ever since Alison and Jack had met, back at the Whinyard's Edge
training camp, he'd somehow felt that the girl was trustworthy. That
trust had only deepened during their time together on Rho Scorvi. It
was hard to believe she would betray them.

But then, Draycos had been wrong before. "I don't think Uncle
Virge would permit himself to be blocked or neutralized for long," he
said instead. "He was programmed by Virgil Morgan, and we both know how
clever and devious he was."

"Yeah, well, I get the feeling Alison's a lot more clever and
devious than she lets on," Jack said. "But never mind that. The point
is that whatever's happened to the
Essenay
, we've still got
access to that shuttle out there. We can leave pretty much anytime we
want to."

Draycos flicked his tail. There were some serious flaws in that
argument, of course. But it was clear Jack didn't want to hear them.
"And until we so decide, you wish to investigate your parents' deaths?"

Rolling half over in bed, Jack reached over to the nightstand and
picked up the Judge-Paladin hat. "I can't just walk away, Draycos," he
said quietly, fingering the hat. "I just can't."

"I understand," Draycos said, conceding defeat. It was still a
terrible idea to stay here—every thread of warrior instinct in his
heart was screaming at him to get them out of this place.

But he was a poet-warrior of the K'da, and his first
responsibility was to his host. Jack wanted to stay, so stay they would.

And he really
did
understand Jack's need to do so.

"Hey, don't look at me that way," Jack admonished him, some of the
darkness in his mood lifting. "It'll be all right." In the dim light
from outside, Draycos saw the boy smile tightly. "Trust me."

"Jupa Jack?"

Behind his closed eyelids, Jack frowned. What in the
world
—?

"Jupa Jack?" the call came again.

With an effort, Jack pried open one eyelid. There was a faint glow
coming from the other room, but nothing any reasonable person would
consider actual daylight. "I'm here," he called back. "What is it?"

"It is sunrise, Jupa Jack," the Golvin said. "Time to awaken and
prepare for your duties."

Jack frowned. "What, already?"

"Most others are already awake and refreshed and going about their
own duties," the voice replied reprovingly.

"Terrific," Jack muttered under his breath. "All right, I'll be
right there."

"I will wait outside to escort you to the Great Assembly Hall,"
the other said, and Jack heard the subtle rustling of the fringe as the
visitor exited.

"The Great Hall?" Draycos murmured from Jack's shoulder.

"The One said they'd be setting up a judgment chair for me next to
his Seat of Decision," Jack told him. "Blast. The way Onfose was
talking yesterday, I was hoping they'd take a few days first to
translate all those case files into English."

"Or Broadspeak, as I believe they called it," Draycos said.

"Whatever," Jack said. "Maybe give us a chance to check out the
mining area up there. But I guess we're kicking off the schedule today.
I hope they're not expecting me to read that chicken scratching of
theirs."

"I'm sure they've considered that."

"Maybe." Steeling himself, Jack threw off the covers and landed
his feet on the floor. The stone was every bit as cold as he'd expected
it to be. "Either way, I sure don't remember anything in the
Essenay
's
encyclopedias about Judge-Paladins starting work before the birds are
even up."

"Perhaps it's a local custom," Draycos said, peeling himself off
Jack's back and leaping onto the floor. He stretched, cat-style, a
quick shiver running through his scales. "I hope the clothing they gave
you is warmer than it looks."

"I imagine the canyon will warm up once the sun is actually up,"
Jack said, heading for the bathroom. "
I
just hope this shower
comes equipped with hot water."

"Is that likely?"

"It's possible," Jack said. "A lot of spaceship galleys and
bathrooms are designed to be mostly self-contained—"

"Stop," Draycos said suddenly, his ears stiffening.

Jack froze in midstep, holding his breath. He didn't hear
anything. "What is it?" he whispered.

Slowly, the K'da's ears went back to their usual angle. "I thought
I heard a noise," he said. "Like someone scratching at the stone."

Jack looked toward the door. No one was visible. "Hello?" he
called. "Is someone there?"

There was no answer. "I don't think it came from outside," Draycos
murmured. "There was a faint echo to it."

Jack's skin tingled as he looked over at one of the white stones
in its between-walls alcove. "One of the shafts?" he asked.

"Possibly," Draycos said. "At any rate, it's stopped now."

Jack took a deep breath. "Well, keep an ear out," he warned. He
started again for the shower—"By the way, did I tell you I think I've
figured out what sides and uprights are?"

"The sides are most likely the political or social groupings which
tend to face off on issues concerning the administration of the
canyon," Draycos said. "The uprights are possibly those Golvins who
have generally proven honest and trustworthy in their testimonies in
the past."

Jack made a face. "I don't know sometimes why I even bother to
talk to you," he growled. "Go eat your breakfast mouse meat. I'll be
out in a minute."

The shower turned out to be gratifyingly hot. The soap the Golvins
had provided didn't seem very effective, but the towel was thick and
strangely spongy. Jack washed up, threw on his shirt and jeans, and had
a quick breakfast.

And now that he was thinking about it, the meat
did
taste
much more like fish than rodent.