The Nonborn King (34 page)

"Everybody ready'?" whispered Sharn. "Ready," said Ayfa and the ten ogres. They meshed minds and flung the bolt.

Olone's eyes were like stars "Oh, Alken I never knew it would be like that "

The trickster looked slightly puzzled "I think I surpassed myself Maybe there's something to this maypole magic after air."

Unlike the Firvulag weddings, those of the Tanu took place in broad daylight, beneath the noon sun of May Day The nuptial pairs, led by Alken-Lugonn and Mercy-Rosmar, circled around the great golden maypole to a stately processional chorus, climaxed by the Song The brides and grooms wore gowns or robes of their own heraldic colors, and over them mantles of white. The brides had chaplets of white lilies and the grooms wreaths of male fern Mercy's soie innovation in the ancient ceremony had been the inclusion of spngs of rosemary in the nuptial crowns "It's a plant used to bless weddings from time immemorial on Elder Earth," she had explained, "and it's also my own plant rosemary of Rosmar Rosemary for remembrance.

She remembered another wedding.

It had taken place in the middle of last June, not a mass celebration as this was, but a more intimate one, with only the courtiers and the people of Goriah in attendance She had not worn the blue-green of the Creator's Guild (she had not yet been initiated) but the rose and gold of her daemon lover If he had lived, they would have reaffirmed their vow today, leading not the parade of newlyweds but the later procession in the ceremony of renewal

Nodonn' she cned on his intimate mode No one heard Not the solemn little man beside her in his gotd-and-black robes. not Eadnar and Alberonn, who walked directly behind them in the place of honor, not any one of the other one hundred and sixty-seven Tanu and gold-torc human couples who followed in measured figures traced around the golden shaft. They danced holding the strings of flowers that depended from the maypole's tip, weaving the ribbons ever tighter until the betrothed came all together m a tight circle facing the pole, dropped the streamers, and kissed in the final pledge.

Raising her tear-glinting face from Alken's, Mercy-Rosmar Lady Creator held out both hands and exerted her metapsychic powers In a soft miracle, the air filled with a fragrant tempest of tiny white blossoms that swirled about the kissing couples, settled in their hair, spilled from the nuptial cloaks to form perfumed windrows on the emerald dancing ground

"Sionshal!" cned all the witnesses "Slonshal' Slonshal'"

Then, with ntual finally over, the Grove of May swarmed with thousands of rama servitors and human waiters, all wearing Alken's gold-and-btack livery. The couples and the throng of guests reclined on shaded grass and partook of a picnic feast, this time with dishes and potations selected for their alleged aphrodisiac effect. There were strolling entertainers, and as evening descended, a great deal of ribald minstrelsy. A gorgeous and sensual ballet served for a final prelude to the lovemaking.

(By then the Firvulag had gone back to their own encampment, where Sharn and Ayfa and the Gnomish Council gathered around the fire, chaste and furious, and got blind drunk Cultuket kept a farseeing eye on the Foe all that night, but the mossy grottos that Mercy had so carefully prepared went completely unused )

When the May moon rode high, the Tanu and human couples once again paired off, but more decorously than on the previous night They came to their bowers and their couches hidden among the shrubs and found them heaped with fresh flower petals The newlyweds spread their white cloaks, and the old married folk managed in their old familiar way, and e^en the casual and the desperate found sweet solace in the nightingalehaunted forest

After everyone else had gone, Alken and Mercy went to the maypole They joined hands around the tapering column of gold and began to circle

"Now you are mine," he told her

"But whose are you?" she retorted, breaking into wild laughter as the triumphant grin faded from his face

His only answer was to crush her hands and dance faster The maypole was now free of its flowery cords and jutted like some monstrous pylon toward the starry zenith Its sleek hardness separated them as they left the ground and spiraled upward They had lost their bndal crowns, but the white cloaks billowed, seeming to become larger and more enveloping, and then form a rotating fluidity like a ring of rising cloud Mercy tilted her head from side to side as they went faster and faster. The night was a spinning blur except for his golliwog face and her laughing one and always the golden shaft between.

They spun above the apex, wrapped in the moonglow bubble that the capes had become She felt she would die with the fear of him and the desire, and his eyes were two black bores and he was no longer a little man but enormous And there was a great golden maypole that brought a great golden light and warmth beyond measure, beyond the Sun. even beyond Death.

"But whose are you?" she heard herself repeat, long after And then. "No one's Poor Shining One "

But by that time he was gone. and it was dawn. and time to get ready for the coronation

Traditionally, the Grand Loving climaxed with the gentle deposition of the erstwhile King and Queen of May, after which the loyal Tanu subjects renewed their oath of fealty to the legitimate sovereign. This year. however, things were going to be different. Everyone knew it; the Many-Colored Land had been alive with the news ever since the successful conclusion of Alken's progress There were those who rejoiced and those who despaired and even a few who trusted that the Goddess would intervene at the last minute to solve what had become a grievously untidy state of affairs.

On the morning of May second, Lady Morna-Ia sent out her farspoken summons, and by noon the Conclave of Tanu had assembled in the grassy bowl of the festival ground More than 6000 of them were in attendance, perhaps two-thirds of the total number left alive after the Flood The Rrvulag guests were there, loo, clustered in a sullen knot, all wearing their obsidian armor and deeply hung-over At the fringes of the exotic gathering was a mighty mob of humans that spread out into the parkland surrounding the amphitheatre, perhaps 15,000 silver-torcs, grays, and barenecks who had come not only from Goriah and its satellite plantations and mining villages, but also from as far away as Rocilan and Sasaran, expressly invited by the usurper to witness his hour of glory.

The dais had been cleared of its Maytide decorations. The flower-decked thrones were gone and in their place stood two unfamiliar chairs of unadorned black marble.

A single note sounded from a glass carnyx The crowd fell silent, watching the dais, and abruptly Elizabeth was there. The minds and voices gave an involuntary cry of astonishment. Elizabeth wore Brede's great black-and-red headdress and costume, and held the glass chain of silence high in her hands. A wave of thought rolled out from her, calming the anxious Tanu minds, reminding them who had given her this role And then Alken was there beside her, wearing his goldlustre armor His head was bare.

"Choose freely," said Elizabeth. "Will you have him as your king?"

The reply was quiet, numb. inevitable. "We will "

"The Tanu kings have no tradition of coronation." said the Shipspouse's successor, "just as they have no tradition of peaceful accession to the throne. For your race, a monarch has always been a battie-champion, his only crown a warrior's helmet But this king has asked for a new symbol, and so I give it to him "

Elizabeth handed Alken a simple circlet of black glass He nodded to her and set it himself upon his springy dark-red hair

Another sound swelled from the crowd, perhaps an indrawn breath, or one let out, or a sigh of relief, or a sob suppressed Elizabeth bent over Alken, speaking to his mind alone. Again he nodded, and Elizabeth disappeared Where she had stood were now sixteen Tanu, and Mercy

"I present to you your new High Table," Alken said His physical voice was quiet, but even the most distant bareneck heard his words.

"First, my Queen and Lady Creator, co-ruler of my city of Goriah: Mercy-Rosmar" She knelt before Alken and received from him a green circlet. He took her hand and led her to the two marble thrones They ascended One by one, the High Table candidates approached, touching their torcs as their minds pledged silent fealty

"The President of the Guild of Farsensors, the Venerable Lady Morna-Ia Kingmaker. The President of the Guild of Redactors, Culluket the Interrogator. The Deputy Lord Psychokmetic, Bleyn the Champion, the Second Lord Psychokinetic, Kuhal Earthshaker. The Second Lord Creator and Lord of Calamosk, Aluteyn Craftsmaster. The Second Lady Farsensor, Sibel Longtress,the Second Lord Coercer and Lord of Amalizan, Artigonn. The Lord and Lady of Rocilan, Alberonn Mmdeater and Eadnar. The Lord of Afaliah, Celadeyr . the Lady of Bardelask, Armida the Formidable. The Lord of Sasaran, Neyal the Younger. The Lord of Tarasiah, Thufan Thunderhead. The Lord of Geroniah, Diarmet. The Lord of Sayzorask, Lomnovel Bramburner. The Lord of Roniah, Condateyr the Fulmmator."

Alken surveyed the newly accoladed Great Ones. "I myself assume the presidency of the Guild of Coercers and the Guild of Psychokmetics. The post of Second Redactor is left temporarily vacant. Since neither Lady Estella-Sirone of Darask nor Moreyn Glasscrafter, city-lord of Var Mesk, are here at this conclave, I withhold naming them to the High Table until they personally offer oaths of fealty "

He rose from his throne and stood silently for a moment look-ing over the throng of exotics and humans and hybrids His solemn manner softened and the old jesting smile appeared as he tapped the blazon on his glass breastplate It was so stylized and encrusted with yellow gemstones that the digitus impudicus was hardly recognizable

"And what about the rest of you? Do you accept me wholeheartedly as King of this Many-Colored Land^'

"Slonshal1" thundered the minds and voices of his subjects "Slonshal King Alken-Lugonn' SLONSHAL'"

The Firvuiag said nothing By the lime anybody thought lo look for them, they had ndden away on the trail to Nionel

THE END OF PART TWO

-D3£

flGe™} JWmJ.

I

IN HIS SLEEP HE CALLED OUT TO HER. MERCY' ONLY TO AWAKE again to the grotto of living rock surrounding him, impervious to any telepathic impulse

Mercy! his mind screamed, but the sound that emerged from his lips was barely audible. As always, he tried to nse. As always, he could move only the muscles of his face and neck. A warm wind, laden with the scent of the blooming maquis, stole along the cavern wall- He was very thirsty Turning his head, he concentrated his will on the good arm, commanding it to move, to reach out to the nearby flask of water. The arm remained limp. He was helpless.

Goddess, let me die, he pleaded. Let me die before Isak Henning and Huldah come back.

A fly settled on his face, crept maddeningly about his cracked lips. He called down vain anathemas upon the miserable creature. The hot wind skipped about, lifting dust and dropping it onto him. His skin was now exquisitely sensitive. He could feel every irregularity in the cave floor beneath his fur mattress, the damp hairs of the furs themselves. As the sun sank, ils strong beams shone directly upon him for a brief time, making him break out in sweat. The thirst was appalling.

The fly on his mouth flew away. But then came his most dangerous insect enemy, a kind of large black-and-white warble fly that pierced the skin with a needlelike ovipositor and laid its egg in living flesh. Terror and loathing welled up in him at the sight of it. He flung his coercion at the filthy thing, strove to push it away with his PK.

It settled onto his belly

He uttered a strangled shnek A long shadow thrust down the cave's length and the wind brought a familiar smell of musk He grunled with desperate urgency and she came running, dashing the warble fly off him with her bare hand JUSI as il began to pnck

"There'" she cned, stamping it into the dust with her homy feet "There, it's dead. the devilish thing'" She bathed the defiled spot in cool water and gave him to dnnk, then cradled his head against her breasts, crooning Grandpa came in with rabbits from the snare and gave them a densive look Huldah paid no attention

"Are you all right now?" she asked

"Yes "

"No other bites? No pebbles hurting you?"

"No Just give water " She let him dnnk again, then brought the ceramic bedpan While she cleaned him up, Isak skinned the rabbits and spitted them The smetl of roasting meat was mouth-watering

He could chew and swallow with ease now Huldah had been very hurt when he adamantly refused the lip-to-lip feeding, but now he was able to close his jaw tightly against her, and so she no longer importuned him

"There's going to be a lovely moon tonight," she announced "Nice and full Would you like to go outside? You and I could sleep on the grass and Grandpa in the cave "

"No," he said flatly "Stay here "

"All right But tonight is special Grandpa says so " Her eyes were shining and she tossed her stringy flaxen hair "After supper, there'll be a surpnse'"

His heart went cold A full moon in spring warmth? "What month?" he asked

She bent over him, listening, and he repeated, "What month is this?"

The evil old man heard and came back to stand over him "We call it May, Lord God' You call it the time of Grand Loving Loving' And didn't you used to have d fine time, you Tanu and your bloody fertility rites? But no more' Your people are gone. Lord God All washed away in the avenging Flood The Flying Hunt hasn't come from Munah since 'way last fall It'll never come to Kersic again "

"I told you that. Grandpa," said Huldah placidly "But you wouldn't believe me "

"Just because you're nothing but a half-witted slut," Isak Henning muttered "But you were right about that "

"And I was right about my God waking " She stared at her grandfather with peculiar intensity "Someday soon, he'll be all well "

The shabby ancient skipped over to the cooking fire "When he is. he can use his PK to move his wooden hand'" The old man chuckled maliciously "And scratch his own lice, and wipe his own ass Hee hee hee'"