Quest for the King (32 page)

The next morning the sun still shone warmly-too warmly. Nor was
there even the slightest sign of rain. Whatever the reason, next year's
harvest was threatened if matters did not soon change.

After they ate and cut up the buck and packed it in fresh leaves,
Captain Integredad began to talk. He seemed quiet, but cheerful, and
was smiling broadly.

He addressed himself first to the three Koach. "Welcome to our
company! I am afraid I failed to welcome you yesterday. You serve the
Changer as we do. Like ourselves, you are sometimes rewarded with
pain and at other times with pleasure. Thank you for guiding and
directing us. It is a great help."

The members of the party looked at one another, uncertain how
they should treat the captain's change of manner. Was he pretending
the past had not occurred? Should they ignore his weeping as well?

The white Koach leader, who had been lying on the grass, rose to
his four feet.

As on the previous occasion there was the curious feeling that he
had begun a howl, but their subsequent awareness was that he was
speaking a language they all understood. "He speaks Glason!" Gerachti muttered in surprise. But the children, who had always thought
Anthroponians spoke English, heard him in English. The Anthroponians, on the other hand, who were surprised that the children
from other worlds spoke Anthroponian, heard the wolves speak in
their own language.

"We are honored to play any part in the escape of the boy king,"
the Koach leader said. "I am Kai, son of Otok, son of Kan. My companions are Bukov and Katia."

There was a murmur of approval. The boys waved to them in greeting, and the men nodded and called, "Welcome!"

"What you must know," Kai continued, "is that while only three of
us will travel with your party, a much larger number has been assigned
to shadow your movements. They will remain concealed in the surrounding forest until we have need of them."

"You foresee trouble, Kai?" the captain asked.

"Yes. There could be trouble-serious trouble-from some of your
own kind. Certain proud and foolish lords wrongly resent the presence of common people in parts of the forest they want to use. They
are dangerous men-foolish, but very dangerous. Fortunately, they
have a great and unreasoning fear of us, attributing to us mythical
powers. Our very presence should send them fleeing." He lay on the
ground, and again the captain expressed thanks on behalf of the
company.

After a moment Captain Integredad continued his story, but now
he addressed the company as a whole. "You may have guessed my
weeping had to do with my daughter. If so, you were correct"

Men, boys and Koach listened carefully.

"My weeping was not sorrow. If it had to do with pain, it was pain
caused by thorns of bitterness being removed, but mostly it was the weeping of indescribable relief. Ever since my daughter's murder
three years past, hatred has gnawed at my bowels like a cancer. It was
devouring me. What I really want to tell you is that pain and hatred
are gone, and gone forever. I thought bitterness would consume me
till the end of my days, but"-he shook his head-"I am filled with
wonder and awe at what the Changer has done to me. Perhaps I will
be tempted to welcome it again, as the prophet said. But for the
present, I know where the answer lies."

Gerachti grinned at him. "You are not the only one. I found myself
wrestling with him-I suppose it must have been this Emperor of
whom you speak. I thought my last moment had come. Yet all he
wanted to do was impart his love to me."

The sun seemed to be brighter than before, and yesterday's burdensome cloud of embarrassment began to lift from the company. They
grew cheerful, but stayed wary, knowing that the most dangerous part
of their mission lay ahead. It was not just that dangerous men could
assail them, but that powerful spiritual forces from the Shadows would
seek their destruction. They had not forgotten the ruthless authority
possessing the king, or why it so feared the little king.

By and by they began to discuss the little king. "Do you know
anything about him?" Wesley asked Captain Integredad.

The captain shook his head. "I know very little. I know that his evil
majesty has been worried about the birth ever since he found out
about it The queen, on the other hand, had been expecting news of
his birth with joy. It figures in the prophetic writings to which she
devotes herself. He is to come as a great deliverer of the poor and
the oppressed. But how or from whence we are to rescue him I do
not know."

"So what are we supposed to do when we find him?" Kurt asked.

"What more can we do than bow and worship?" Alleophaz countered.

"He is in danger," Captain Integredad murmured. "You must be
aware of that from the way the king reacted. I know that the queen
is very concerned for his safety."

"When the king spoke to us at the meeting in the palace yesterday,
it made me shudder," Gerachti said, frowning. "We Glasonites felt
absolutely no trust in his words."

Alleophaz added, "You are right, captain. The child is in great
danger, danger we now share with him. King Tobah hinted strongly
that we should return and inform them of the young king's whereabouts. We have not the least intention of doing so."

"We were sent to rescue him," Wesley said. "That was why we were
obliged to say nothing when we first met you."

"So just how will you do so?" Captain Integredad asked.

"I wish we knew. Gaal met with us in the place where there is no
time and told us we would be informed when the right moment
came," Wesley said.

"If only we knew now." Kurt frowned. "I don't like not knowing."

"I see no reason why we should wait for instructions from anyone," Captain Integredad said. "Can we not make plans ourselves? Is guidance from above meant to rule out our common sense and the talents
we already have?"

"Of course not!" Wesley said earnestly. "But if Gaal told us he
would give us more instructions, he will."

Smiling, Captain Integredad said, "Then, like Kurt, I wish he would
hurry!"

They continued to'ride through the forest following the Koach, not
stopping till well after noon when they found a pleasant glade
through which a wide, quiet stream ran. The stream ran close to the
forest where they entered the glade. Its banks were six or seven yards
wide, a narrow strip of land between the stream and the forest. But
only that portion closest to the stream sprouted grass that was green.
Moreover, the stream had dwindled to a trickle between deep and
clear pools where trout swam. The grass beyond the stream was mostly
brown, a further sign of the shortage of rain.

Kurt and Gerachti collected wood for a fire, while the rest opted to
fish for the trout. Before long, the splash of trout rising to Captain
Integredad's flies evoked shouts of excitement, and before long they had threaded a whole string of the hungry trout.

"Did you ever see anything like it?" Wesley asked in amazement. "You cast like a real expert!"

"Skill is not a requirement here," the captain replied. "They do not
hesitate to bite anything that lands in the water."

Alleophaz laughed, but Wesley (a fairly competent fly fisher himself) suddenly found himself devoting his attention to a large and
unexpectedly strong trout.

Kurt returned with his third load of firewood. As he began to make
preparations for the fire with dried leaves and bracken, he noticed that
the ears of the Koach were pricked. A moment later he saw them melt
into the trees. He frowned. "Now what's happening?" he muttered.

Wesley landed his trout and had just unhooked it when they heard
the sound of a horn winding. A moment later three foppishly dressed
horsemen mounted on superb steeds burst from the forest on the far
side of the glade. They raised a cloud of dust as they galloped to the
bank of the stream immediately opposite the two fishermen. There
they reined and stood staring at the three men and the two boys.

All activity ceased. Beneath the contemptuous gaze of the men on
the opposite side of the stream, Wesley grew painfully conscious of
their peasant clothes. His trout flapped vigorously on the bank, but
no one noticed. The leader of the three directed his horse into the
stream but failed to note the water's depth. He nearly unhorsed himself and was forced to make an extremely undignified retreat to the
bank.

Gerachti turned his back to the men and sniggered audibly, but the
only other sound was the flapping of Wesley's trout.

"It seems that you are amused," the leader said at length, his low
voice trembling with quiet rage. His face was pale, and his breathing
was the breathing of someone barely able to control himself. "Let me
inform you that we have reserved this part of the forest for our own
use. We advised the population near here, and you have disobeyed
us."

Gerachti swung round to face them, his eyes blazing. He seemed about to speak, then changed his mind. Alleophaz was frowning a
little, for the first time looking uncertain of himself. Both simultaneously had realized that they might give away the disguise of their
peasant dress by speaking. Only the captain seemed unruffled. Firmly,
but with perfect courtesy, he said. "This is an unwarrantable intrusion,
my lords. This part of the forest is reserved for the subjects of his
majesty."

The leading horseman was enraged. "Silence, peasant!" He spat the
word like an obscenity. "As peasants you will speak only when I ask
for an answer!" He paused for a moment, staring intently at them.
"Where are you from?" he asked them after a moment.

"Your servants are from Piggul," the captain replied in a quiet voice
and with a perfectly straight face.

"From Piggul!" Again, the words came from his lips like spittle. "I
might have known." His contempt was beyond his powers of expression. His nostrils flared in agitation. "I have decided to be merciful.
Leave your game and your fish where they are. You will get out of
the woods immediately by the nearest route. And hurry! We shall
need your donkeys, so leave them behind." All three horsemen fitted
arrows into their bows and pointed them at the two boys and at
Gerachti.

"I will give you ten seconds to disappear from my sight," he continued.

Again there was silence, and in the silence they were conscious that
Wesley's trout still flapped desperately. All five stared back at the
leading horseman, who began to count, "One ... two . . three. ."

Then Wesley cleared his throat, and said, in a voice that was clear
and strong and filled with power, "We have come to the gift of the forest
the Emperor gave to the common people. " Wesley himself was surprised
by the sound of his voice echoing loudly across the glade. He had said
the words of power the prophet had given them, but now he stood
there with his heart beating anxiously.

The leading horseman's face reflected sudden horror. Trembling
with fear, he dropped his bow and arrow. The other two turned in haste to make for the forest, struggling furiously to put their weapons
away. Their confidence had evaporated, and their eyes were wide and
staring.

Then Wesley again called, his words echoing the horsemen's instructions to themselves. He was not being arrogant, for the same
authority that accompanied his first words stayed about him still. "Leave the forest at once and never, not ever, dare to return!"

The horsemen needed no urging-but a worse horror awaited
them, as Kai and the Koach reinforcements streamed from the forest,
loping rapidly to encircle the horsemen. The riders reined their
horses, their momentum checked. Once the circle was complete, the
Koach raised their heads and howled in terrifying chorus. The paralyzing sound drained all color from the men's faces and left their
eyes wide and staring. The horses reared, one of them screaming.
One man fell from his horse, only to scramble madly back in terror.

Wesley shuddered, while the others watched in appalled silence.

The howling stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Slowly the circle
narrowed as the Koach, growling, approached the horsemen. The fur
on their backs was raised high, and more frightening yet, they held
their heads close to the ground and bared their teeth menacingly.

"We must stop them." Wesley was hoarse, the authority missing
from his voice.

Kurt shouted to the three horsemen as loudly as he could. "We can
call them off if you want! They will do what we tell them!"

The horsemen, still struggling to control their horses, seemed not
to hear them. They struck their horses in desperation, attempting to
break through the circle.

Kurt called out again, "Listen! They will do what we bid them! Do
you want us to call them off?" One of the horsemen heard and turned,
his face panic-stricken. He was nodding.

"Kai! Bukov! Katia!" Kurt shouted. "Stop-they've had enough!"

The Koach raised their voices in one last howl and immediately
ceased their menacing approach. Then, as one, they turned and melted into the surrounding woods. The horsemen cautiously made their way into the trees, steering well clear of the point where the Koach
had vanished.