The Catastrophe of the Emerald Queen (9 page)

 
"Don't
step backwards!" Mordalayn warned gruffly. The guard behind
followed them off silently and as they walked forward Jared looked
over his shoulder and realised with shock that the tile had gone
and the corridor had no floor, the blackness below was simply
bottomless.

 
They moved towards the table
and the guards took up position either side of the entrance they
had come through.
Impassive,
their spears held rigidly by their sides, they stared straight
ahead.

 
"It's
ok, we are expected here" Mordalayn said.

 
"Who’s
expecting us?"

 
"The council know we are
coming
.”

 
Just
then there was a crackling sound and Jared glanced across the large
table to his right. As he watched, the air above and slightly
behind it rippled. The ripples played in the air, making Jared's
eyes feel funny. They slowly merged to a central point and, just
before they closed in on each other completely, a bearded figure
like the ones they had seen out in the main hall, appeared sitting
in a large, leather backed chair. His body was see through at first
but as the ripples finally closed in on themselves he gained
solidity and stared around him quickly before letting his gaze rest
on Jared and Mordalayn.

 
"Ah,
there you are" he said irritably, adjusting his white and gold robe
and reaching into a pocket, bringing out a pair of spectacles and
then putting them on.

 
Mordalayn nodded at the seated
figure and said respectfully
,
"as you wish Prime Guardian.”

 
Jared
looked around nervously, unsure as to whether they would be invited
to sit or not.

 
"Rancidrain has been received
Takoba. He is persistently stubborn and uncooperative, as you would
expect. We will assume you didn’t have him arrive five metres above
the floor on purpose
,” the
old man added staring at Mordalayn over his
spectacles
.

 
Mordalayn said nothing.

 “
Hmmph!” the old man said loudly, and just then the air
resounded with the same crackling sound Jared had heard before and
then a third time. The rippling effect occurred to the right of the
old man and around the table. As he watched various figures began
to appear from out of the the air. Some dressed as the old man was,
others in robes of red and then two women, middle aged in green
dresses. One after the other they appeared in the seats.

 
When the
appe
arances had stopped, the
table was now full of people facing them with the old man at one
end and a vacant space with a much more ornate chair at the other.
In front of Jared along the vast length were roughly ten people of
various types. One had the head of a rat, the eyes piercing black.
It was wearing a black tunic with bright gold-coloured buttons on
it and what appeared to be medals on the left chest pocket. Another
was a woman but she had only one eye in the middle of her forehead.
They all greeted one another with curt nods.

 “
Now
then, let’s not waste time” the old man said. “We all know why we
are here. Takoba, your mission appears to have been a partial
success. The would be assassin is in chains. However you have
brought this child here. May I ask why?”

 
The assembled council turned
to look at Mordalayn who replied
. “This child is called Jared. He was in the room when I
caught Rancidrain.” Putting his hand back on Jared’s shoulder he
continued. “His intervention prevented a murder. However Rancidrain
threw a tracker into him. I took him when Glavers attacked. Here
our enemies cannot use Jared to find Our Lady. They are careless in
their methods and risked exposure by such an open
attack.”

 
There
was a murmur amongst the gathered people. The one eyed lady looked
intently at Jared. A man on her right with closely cropped black
hair and the biggest sideburns Jared had ever seen conferred with
the rat creature, both staring intently at Jared who was now more
uncomfortable than scared.

 
The old man gestured to Jared
to step forward. “Come boy, don’t be frightened. Tell us what you
saw
.”

 
Jared
started to reply but his mouth was dry. “Could I have a drink
please?” he stammered after swallowing.

 “
But of course. Excuse our
eagerness
,” the old man waved
his hand and a jug of water and a tankard appeared. Jared gingerly
reached forward and picked up the jug. It was cold against his
fingers as he poured, splashing the liquid onto the floor due to
his shaking hands. He raised the cup to his lips. It tasted of
strawberries and was very cold. He gulped it down then replaced the
mug.

 “
Now
,” the old man said gently. “Please can you tell us
what you saw? Don’t be frightened.”

 “
The
man…thing….Rancidrain, whatever you called him. I heard him in the
room of the hospital, Sophie’s room. I looked in to see what was
happening and he attacked me. When I tried to leave he did
something to block the door. Mordalayn saved me and there was a
bright light and, and…”

 
The
council members looked at each other and then back at Jared. The
rat figure then spoke, his voice deep and gravelly. “Did he say
anything to you?”

 
Jared thought and then added
“he was just horrible to me and he was begging Mordalayn not to
hurt him but...
.” Jared
thought for a moment then added “before he knew I was there he said
something about not wanting to do anything but ‘they’ had made him
and he just wanted to be left in peace.”

 
There
was a murmur around the table. The man at the far end stood up. He
was dressed in armour like the soldiers on the dock but the colours
were purple not red. He glared at Mordalayn and Jared then said to
everyone. “I believe we all know who is responsible for
this!"

 
The old man held up his hand.
"Lighvoor while you are clearly angered over King
James’s attempts to usurp our
authority our entire standing army is only two thousand men. The
majority are trained only in ceremonial duties.”

 “
But
Council this boy has heard…” 

“
Precisely nothing that can aid us in any
way
.” He turned to Jared.
“Did Rancidrain mention any names that you
heard?”

 “
No sir, just that ‘they’ had
made him do it. He said that more than once
.”

 
The old man turned back to the
assembled council. “I believe the best thing we can do is keep the
boy with us. We can find out whether he’s in danger and exactly
what our enemies are planning to do. This attempt was deliberate
and audacious. The fact that they sent someone as useless as
Rancidrain makes it clear that they are unable to move en
masse
.”

 
Mordalayn then interjected.
“With respect Council, the creature had this on
him
.”

 
He approached the table and
placed a block of bro
wn stone
from his pocket on it.

The one eyed woman gasped and there were angry murmurs from
the table. She leaned forward and picked up the rock. It morphed
and changed in her fingers to the rainbow blade again, the lights
bright and this time there were what looked like fireflies flashing
above it, the colours lighting up her face and
the wall behind her. 

“
So you think
you have no proof” she hissed. “Who but an Anghofian assassin would
wield a rainbow blade?”

 
There were murmurs of
agreement from the table. The man in the purple robes banged his
fist on the table. “Since Our Lady was taken from us this…usurper
of power, this, this hateful, ungrateful wretch...! We MUST act
now, we have all the proof we need. We shall have more when
Rancidrain has been questioned
.” 

The old man spoke again. “Lighvoor your passion for your
given role is commendable but we need to know exactly what is
happening. Any move or accusation against King James will only
further convince his cautious allies that he is in the right.
Further, Rancidrain is stubborn as he always was and may tell us
nothing or a mixture of lies and half truths
.”

 “
He won’t if you give him to
me
.” 

“
Lighvoor, remember your place!” the Prime
Guardian shouted, his calm finally cracking. “Our Lady granted this
assembly temporary power in her absence, she did not give us the
right to torture her subjects…regardless of the
reason
.” 

Lighvoor sat down, still fuming
and the old man addressed the whole table. 

“
We have, unfortunately let our guard down. Our
rulers are immensely powerful and for that we never envisaged a
time when they would be anything else. Our predecessors never, ever
believed a moment would come when the power so carefully guarded
would be trapped and impote
nt. He turned to Lighvoor. “When were your men last in
battle?” 

Lighvoor said nothing
. The old man continured. “Have they ever seen battle? The
answer is no. They are loyal men but they are no match for
Anghofio’s soldiers. Again I tell you, their elite battalion alone
numbers half our entire army. We have become complacent. None of
us, in a thousand years ever believed we would lose the power of
our rulers. Anghofio will not move upon us if there is the
slightest possibility that the Emerald Queen could return. However
they will try anything they can to find our secrets and to end her
life.”

 
Lighvoor
look
ed away, his anger
deflated and his cheeks flushed red.

 “
There is a traitor in Alegria,
someone who knows our innermost, most precious secrets and we need
to be vigilant until such a time as Our Lady returns or...” and he
paused at this time and loo
ked around before saying slowly, “..or she dies and we need
to re-elect.”

 
There
were murmurs around the table. Everyone seemed to be in
agreement.

 
Lighvoor sat back in his seat, tight lipped and looked at
Jared. “So what about him? Where is he supposed to go?”

 
The Council turned to them.
“Takoba you are to take the boy and present him to the Brotherhood
Orphanage in Arkale village. He will be safe
there
.”

 
Jared spoke up. “I need to get
home. My parents will be worried. That mess at the airport will
have everyone looking for me
.”

 
The Prime Guardian shook his
head sadly and added
. “The
magic to bring you here is ancient, precious and very, very rare.
All the portals are closed now, bar Our Lady’s pathway. You cannot
go home.”

 
Jared’s
mouth opened in shock and he looked around, almost in
tears.

 
The old man said kindly “You
will not be missed as much as you think. Takoba Mordalayn will
explain all this to you. Now, I believe we have covered everything.
This meeting is over
.”

 
Without
any further discussion the old man closed his eyes and from around
his chest it appeared as if someone had dropped a stone in water.
It was similar to when he’d arrived but in reverse. The air rippled
in circular rings around him and as the ripples expanded he started
to fade. Within a few seconds he was gone. One by one the other
members of the meeting followed until only the rat faced figure was
left at the table. He stood and addressed Mordalayn directly,
ignoring Jared.

 “
Takoba, be cautious. While this council appreciates what you
have done and what you will do, you will be forever in danger
now.”

 “
Thank
you Degrezen” Mordalayn said stiffly.

 
Degrezen looked at Jared. “Boy, what city are you
from?”

 “
Warwick…sir” Jared stammered slightly, realising he was
speaking to a rat faced man, who was speaking to a cat faced
man.

 
Degrezen widened its eyes in
surprise. “Hmmm…that gives some explanation to….well, never mind
for now
.”

 
He
nodded to them both and then vanished, the air rippling around
him.

 
Jared
turned to Mordalayn. “Where are you taking me now then?”

 “
I promised you a full
explanation and one you shall have
.”

 “
What
did he mean I won’t be missed as much as I think?” Jared said
impatiently, tired of all this waiting.

 “
Time here is slower than in
your world” Mordalayn replied
. “Three days for us is a day on your
side.”

 “
But I’ll still be
missed
,” Jared said in
exasperation. “Just for a day, not for a
week.”