The Equen Queen (4 page)

‘Florian was so busy trying to impress everyone with his bad jokes that all I got was two bits of fungus.’ Philmon pouted. ‘He's managed to talk his way into a trip to the sky-traders city tomorrow. I wish I was going too.’

Tab guessed organising the games wasn't as exciting as Philmon had imagined.

‘Aren't the dresses beautiful? I wish I had a gown for special nights like this,’ Amelia said, plucking at her plain, borrowed dress.

Florian called the second course and the three friends made their way to their new tables. Philmon and Tab were at the same table this time.

When First Lieutenant Crankshaft tipped his bowl of spices into the pot the broth sizzled, crackled and swirled, changing colour. The broth tasted better with the spices added. Tab and her friend ate slowly and listened to the conversation of the older people.

During the fourth course Tab sat at the same table as Verris and Captain Kel. Fontagu slipped into the seat next to her. ‘Don't forget to eat all your purples.’ He grinned at her.

‘You have fungus in your teeth,’ she observed.

Fontagu blanched and spent the rest of the course trying to lever out the offending fragment with a fingernail.

Every time Tab tried to take a mouthful, Verris peppered her with questions about what she had planned for the next day. Eventually Verris turned his attention to Captain Kel.

‘Those small sky-vessels you have look excellent for shipping goods or people. Tell me, how do you power them?’

Kel grinned. ‘That would be telling, wouldn't it?’

‘Yes, it would,’ Verris replied bluntly.

The little captain shook his head. ‘You haven't earned enough credit for information like that.’

Verris tried a new tack. ‘You mentioned something about an animal that heals the sick. I'm curious about it and wonder, have we earned enough credit to purchase one, or perhaps a breeding pair?’

‘You speak of the equens,’ Captain Kel replied. ‘Wondrous creatures. We'd be happy to send you two, but sadly they don't breed in pairs. They have a hive structure, like bees or ants. We'll send over two in the morning, and you can have a closer look.’ Captain Kel wiped his mouth with the hem of the tablecloth.

Fontagu arched an eyebrow at Tab.

‘What?’ she whispered.

‘Nothing!’ he replied. ‘Nothing at all.’

By the end of the fifth course Tab was surprised to find she was full – a sensation she hadn't had an opportunity to enjoy all that often.

‘My sides may burst,’ she confessed to Amelia as they sat down at the sixth and final table. Luckily the final serving was a single ball of cheese that was soft and slightly melted on the outside. It was soaked with the flavours from the previous courses. Tab was delighted to find that it was both delicious and small.

Florian stood once more on the dais to make a speech. ‘It is my great honour, and my duty, as one who has the blood of our sovereigns running through his veins, to thank each and every one of you, on behalf of my uncle, a great and glorious leader, and on behalf of all Quentaris. Tonight heralds the beginning of a new era, an era in which our two peoples …’

‘Will be great friends,’ interrupted Chief Navigator Stelka. ‘Good night!’

A cheer echoed in the chamber. Any other of Florian's words were drowned out by the sound of chairs shifting across the flagstone floor, and the din of talk and laughter. The guests stood mingling in loose queues while the servants emptied the urns into the ceramic ‘offering bowls’. One by one the guests peeled away and walked along the candlelit corridor to the front steps where the poor were waiting.

Tab was concentrating on not tripping on the hem of her dress, and not spilling the contents of her bowl, and so she didn't see her allocated ‘poor person’ until they were literally toe-to-toe.

‘Mrs Figgin!’ She was amazed to see the wizened face of her old dosshouse mistress. Tab thrust the dish forward and the broth slopped dangerously toward the bowl's lip. Mrs Figgin took it from her and curtsied. Tab turned and fled.

Later, lying in bed Tab wondered if Mrs Figgin was simply too shocked to say anything, or whether she didn't recognise Tab clean and in a dress.

She lay on her back too full to sleep and groaned. ‘I'll never eat again!’

‘Hush, will you?’ Amelia whispered from the bed on the other side of the room. ‘We need to get to sleep. It's nearly time for breakfast.’ The two girls giggled.

Later in the night Tab awoke with a brief fragment of a dream in her mind. A boy with sandy-coloured skin and chocolate-coloured hair climbed a long, wide rope. His arms shook with strain and the skin on his hands was raw. His face was pressed into a grimace. The boy rested for a moment, straddling the rope, gripping with his fingers. He looked down at the clouds beneath him.

That's impossible, Tab thought, as sleep washed over her again.

From a distance the two figures looked like strange birds, but as they got closer Tab guessed they were the equens Verris had asked for being transported from the sky-trader city. They looked like ponies. They were hanging by a sling beneath vast gliding wing craft. A tiny sky-trader steered the craft above while the ponies writhed and thrashed in fear.

Tab tried to reach them with her mind, to calm them, to let them know it would soon be over, but her head thumped with pain, and instead she held her hands to her cheeks, waited and watched. Her chest started to sting and she realised she had forgotten to breathe.

The first wing craft coasted lower and lower over the stretch of Barrenlands close to the City Gate, until the equen's hooves nearly touched the ground, pedalling in anticipation. The vision was comical and several of the spectators laughed. Then the equen tripped. It somersaulted once, twice, and then slid along the dirt on its side.

‘Ooh!!’ the crowd gasped as one.

It lay still for a second. Tab's hands balled into fists in dread, and then the equen stood up and shook itself. Dust fell from its hide.

‘Ah!’ the crowd sighed in unison and some of the onlookers clapped.

The second equen landed more delicately. Tab could see the glance between the two equens. She didn't need to meld with them to know what they were thinking. The first laid its ears to the side, almost frowning and the second wrinkled its nose as though it was laughing.

Still Tab couldn't resist the temptation to try, so she probed gently. The fuzz in her head spiked for a moment and the two equens both turned their heads in Tab's direction. Were they looking at her? Looking
for
her? Or were they just reacting to the noise of the crowd around her?

Each equen was wearing some sort of harness around its head and the first sky-trader uncoiled a long leather lead from around his waist, fastening it to the halters. Unhitching them, he led them towards the City Gate. The other sky-trader stayed behind, dismantling the gliders and stacking them in pieces against the wall just outside the gate.

As the equens got closer Tab had a better view. They were a creamy, sandy colour, like a buckskin Quentaran pony. But they were different from Quentaran horses; they had long, horn-like spurs protruding from their fetlocks. There was a bald patch running along the back of their legs which Tab first thought was wear from a carriage harness, but then she saw markings like scribbled script running down the muscle – not a brand, but pigments in the skin, like a birthmark, even and matching on both sides. A tattoo, she thought.

This time the two equens turned their heads sharply in her direction.

>>>Tattoo

They tossed their heads and fretted, straining against their leads.

‘Get on with you!’ their handler barked. At the City Gate the handler met the palace ostler. He took one of the leads and escorted the sky-trader through the streets to the palace livery.

Tab followed them for a while catching snippets of conversation. The handler said the equens’ names were Talisman and Trinket. They were male drones. The ostler had just asked what they ate when Tab felt a tug on her sleeve.

‘’Scuse me,’ said a little girl. ‘Chief Navigator Stelka sent me to fetch you.’

Oh no! Tab thought. She had been to the Square of Dreams where the morning's games had started, but then she saw people flocking towards the wall overlooking the Barrenlands and wandered along to see what all the fuss was about. She should have been back ages ago.

‘You're to meet her at the harbour,’ the little girl added.

Tab broke into a jog. Further along the lane she pushed through a crowd that had gathered around Tibbid, who was demonstrating a ball and cup game. The sky-traders looked on, unimpressed. Tab guessed they had probably seen it all before, but she admired Tibbid for trying.

As she passed the vast building that housed the Navigators’ Guild she happened to look up. There in the window she saw a pale face, like a little ghost of a boy. Torby! She stopped in her tracks, waving both arms over her head, grinning.

Her friend placed his palm against the glass. All of a sudden Tab felt a warm breeze circle around her, lifting her hair off her face. She threw her arms around her own torso, as though she was trying to hug the wind. She thought she saw a smile on Torby's face, and then the curtain dropped and he was gone. Tab waited for a moment, but the curtain stayed firmly closed.

Soon she was at the harbour where Stelka stood with a group from the Navigators’ Guild. Not far away Florian, Fontagu and Vindon were aboard another sky-trader's vessel, heading out of the harbour.

Fontagu gave her a majestic wave. Tab narrowed her eyes. He was up to something.

Stelka pulled Tab aside. She looked around, waiting for a moment when their sky-trader attendant was distracted. ‘I'd like you to join us for this trip, Tab.’

‘Lord Verris said I'm supposed to …’

‘You are a member of
my
guild, are you not?’ the Chief Navigator asked.

Tab hung her head. ‘Yes, ma'am.’

Stelka looked around again. ‘There is something odd about this whole business,’ she whispered. ‘I want you to slip into the city and report back to me on what you see. I would like you to use
all
your senses.’