Emperor Mage (23 page)

Her
mate shifted on his perch, sidling to and fro, never taking his eyes from Daine
and Kaddar. The female was Barzha Razorwing, Daine remembered, and he was named
Hebakh,

"I'm
not that different from these slaves," Kaddar said politely. "Perhaps
all I know is fear. It seems that way, often enough,"

"A
pretty reply." The queen spat on the floor of her cage. "That is what
I think of it,"

"Stormwings,"
Daine muttered. "Anything they do, they have to be disgusting first,"

"How
else may we act, mortal?" demanded Hebakh, burning eyes fixed on Daine.
"Our nature is what it is, don't you see? Our very immortality makes us
immune to change."

"Mortal?
No, no!" The protest came fromTano, the Banjiku who had done most of the
talking when Daine first met him and his people. "She is a god, or the
daughter of a god whose name she does not know. She is no mortal."

"Nonsense,"
scoffed Barzha.

"Forgive,
forgive," said Tano, "but how can Banjiku be wrong about god things?
Our tribe was birthed by Lushagui, sister to Kidunka, the world snake, the
all-wise. To us it is given to bind men to beast-People, to know gods, and to
be slaves."

They
must thank their gods every day for that last, Daine thought to Zek, who
nodded.

"Nonsense,"
Barzha repeated. "Look at her. She is a scrawny, underfed, unattractive
spawn of mortal get, a killer of Stormwings."

Hebakh
bated, then settled down. "There's evidence of the Banjiku gifts, my dear.
I recall hearing about it from Lushagui. GirL You know Rikash Moonsword?"
He sidled across the cage to a perch near the bars, where he had a better view
of her. "You told him we are here." "Yes, sir," Daine
replied. "Why? Why tell Rikash anything?" demanded Hebakh. "You
hate Stormwings."

Suddenly
the griffin gave a shuddering, screaming roar, unfurling her wings as far as
the confines of her cage would permit. She took a breath, then roared again,
and again.

"We
must go," said a slave urgently. "The guards will come any moment to
silence her."

"Follow
us,"Tano instructed Daine and Kaddar, pointing to an open trapdoor.
"There are tunnels for slaves to work here. We will guide you away, and no
one will be the wiser."

"So
the tunnels do come out this far," Kaddar muttered.

Daine
hesitated, wanting to help the griffin. Reaching with her magic to ask the
great creature to be quiet, she felt what was in her mind. The griffin was half
crazy from imprisonment. Soothing her would take precious time. She could
already hear raised voices behind the door at the rear of the courtyard, the
guards' entrance that Kaddar had mentioned.

"Daine,
come on!" hissed Kaddar.

Daine,
Kitten, and the prince raced to the opening and down the ladder that led from
it Last came Tano, who drew the door shut and threw the bolt A gnarled finger
to his lips, he grabbed a lantern on the floor. Already the others were gone.

They
followed their guide down a long, winding corridor for nearly sixty feet, where
it branched in three different directions. Each one was marked with pictures in
softly glowing paint: a bucket on one, a trio of brooms on another, and a
horse's head on the third. That was the one chosen by their guide.

"What
were you doing?" Kaddar demanded softly. "You know you aren't
supposed to be in that area unless you work there, and even then only during
the day."

The old
Banjiku replied, "We worship captive gods."

"Worship—"
sputtered the prince.

Tano
stopped and looked up at the tall young man. "Worship," he said
firmly. "Someday they will no longer be caged, young master. When they are

free,
will not their anger be terrible? Better to make offerings now, so the great
ones will remember not all men are jailers"

Daine
shivered. His words had sounded much like a prophecy.

"They
aren't gods," argued Kaddar. Now they passed other stairs out of the
tunnel, each marked with a picture. "They can be killed. That means

they're
not gods."

"No
more is your master a god, Nobility" Tano said cheerfully, "but he
wants offerings from aU. When Black God claims us, who will be punished for
giving worship and power to a false god? The prince? Or Banjiku? Now." He
stopped by a ladder marked by an image of a flower and a fountain. "Go up
here and you will be in garden of guests, where lady stays." He bowed to
Daine.

"I'm
not a lady," she said, offering her hand. "Just Daine.Thank
you,Tano"

He took
her hand in his callused ones. "We are friends of the People
together"

Kaddar
had gone ahead and was holding the trapdoor open. "There's no one about.
Come on."

Impulsively,
she leaned down and kissed the little man on the cheek, then followed the
prince.

They
emerged between two hedges. The guest quarters shimmered whitely nearby. Once
Kaddar shut the trapdoor behind them, it looked like part of the gravel walk.
There was a small birdbath next to it; Daine suspected it was there so the
gardeners might find the door again. "Are there tunnels just under the
gardens?" she asked. "There are tunnels everywhere under the
palace," he replied. "Mostly used by slaves, but others find them
handy, too." They fell silent, enjoying the cool evening. Kaddar moved
first, stretching his arms. "Were in trouble, Daine. All Carthak is. See
that?" He pointed at the sky.

Daine
looked up. Stars spilled everywhere overhead. The moon was a sliver; another
night, or two, and it would be full dark. The dark moon, for the working of
dark magics, she thought, and shivered. "See what? Stars?"

"You
shouldn't see them. This time of year, the skies should be thick with cloud.
Maybe an opening or two, but not clear skies, night after night. We've had very
little rain. In the south, people starve while my uncle readies for another
war, so he can waste taxes, food, slaves, men..." He looked at her and
smiled bitterly. "You are too gods-blest easy to talk to, Veralidaine. You
watch me with those big eyes, just listening, and the words drop off my wagging
tongue." He shook his head and offered an arm. "I'd better escort you
to your room. It's getting late."

She
rested a palm on his arm and looked away as he led her inside. She wished he
hadn't found her easy to talk to. There was nothing she could do to help a
Carthaki human friend. He wasn't a mongoose or giraffe. She couldn't give the
emperor's heir any waking dreams.

In
 
her dreams,
 
she stood with Kitten
 
and the
Graveyard Hag at a crossroads in the middle of a barren land, and argued. An
audience of rats and hyenas looked on. The Graveyard Hag wanted her to go left,
into a fenced-in graveyard, where the tombstones leaned at strange angles and
human bones poked through the earth. Daine wanted to go right, where she could
see dinosaur skeletons embedded in the
 
ground.
 
Kitten,
 
chattering
 
furiously,
 
wanted Daine to go
back the way she had come. She slashed at the old woman's legs with a forepaw.

"Enough,
dragon," the Graveyard Hag said. "I can't stop your coming here, but
I don't need to put up with your impertinence, either. You aren't near old
enough to do battle with me." She smacked Kitten on the muzzle with her
gnarled stick, and the dragon's jaws snapped shut. She pawed at her mouth, but
it remained closed.

"You
stop doing that to her, and stop pushing me around," Daine told the
goddess flatly. "I'm not one of yours, and I'm getting tired of your
playing with me and my friends."

The
Graveyard Hag grinned, showing all five teeth. "You're a sassy one,
dearie," she said with approval. "Well, I always did like a girl who
could stand up for herself. But you're being naughty all the same. Come into my
little garden here and play."

Hands
on hips, Daine shook her head. "By the time you bury two-leggers, they're
glad to rest," she retorted. "I don't want to play with them. They've
earned the right to be let alone. Look at the way you've left them, all
higgledy-piggledy like that I should think you'd have the decency to straighten
up around here." Part of her mind knew all this was a dream, but what on
earth were they talking about, anyway? It made no sense.

A
gnarled hand that had been empty suddenly boasted a silver dice cup. The Hag
rattled it, her one good eye twinkling cheerfully at Daine. "Toss you for
it."

"No.
You cheat. C'mon, Kit." They marched toward the dinosaur bones. At first
the going was hard. It took all Daine s might to lift her legs, and she could
tell that Kitten was having equal trouble. The girl clutched the heavy silver
claw around her throat. It dug into her palm, drawing blood, and suddenly she
was moving forward along the barren dirt road.

Then
she slowed, frowning. Things were changing, as they did in dreams. The dirt
under her bare toes felt like cold marble, polished smooth. The blackened hills
and barren trees of the orange-lit world around her were fading, becoming
shadows that hinted at great shapes within.

Daine
opened her eyes.

She was
not in her guest bedroom, with its luxuriant bedclothes and sweet-smelling
wood. Though she still wore her nightgown, cold stone under her bare feet was
much too real to be a dream, and the draft that flowed against her back made
her shiver. Kitten was dragging on the hem of her nightgown, chattering softly
with anger and fear.

"Kit?"
Daine asked, kneeling to cuddle the dragon. "I'm sorry—did I
sleepwalk?" She'd never done so before, but things had been too strange
during this journey for her to be much surprised. She changed her eyes to those
of a cat, thinking she'd wandered out into the common room, or even the hall.

They
were in the Hall of Bones.

"What
in the name of the Great Goddess—" she breathed. "How did we get in,
without the spell to open the lock? Kit—did you open it?" The dragon shook
her head.

Crazy
as it seemed, Daine had a very good idea of how they'd gotten here. "When
I get hold of her, I will snatch what hair she's got left," she growled.
"That's it for toying with me!"

Turning
to leave the hall, she stumbled and went down. Throwing her hands to eaten
herse/£ she struck the thing that had tripped her, the stand for the
mountain-runner nest. One hand plunged in among the eggs.

There
was a blinding flash, one that etched in lightning both the baby dinosaur
standing by the nest and the eggs. She heard a distressed shriek from Kitten,
but lacked the strength to tell her dragon that she was fine, just a little
tired. She fainted before her body crumpled.

She and
Kitten walked a trail that led up a densely forested hilL Suddenly the girl felt
better than she had for days. Surrounding her was a northern woods, the air
scented with pine, leaves turning color. The day was fading, but even so,
everything she looked at seemed extra clear. An owl called; in die distance a
wolf sang die first song of the night, All around she heard small woodland
creatures prepare to go to bed, or to start their nights foraging.

The
peace around diem seemed to cow the dragon. Staring at everything, she walked
so close that Daine nearly tripped over her several times.

Ahead
was a thatched cottage, its white plaster walls gleaming as the night drew
down. Light poured from the open door and windows. On the threshold, a man with
anders rooted in his curly hair argued with a badger. She heard them clearly,
though she was only halfway up the hill.

"—ask
you to keep an eye on her, keep her safe, and you allow my child to be used in
tfcari"

"Flatten
your fur, Weiryn," replied the badger. "What makes you think I had
any choice?"