Alien Chronicles 1 - The Golden One (19 page)

“He can’t make it,” Ampris said.

Israi opened her eyes and flicked out her tongue. “Then send him back. He’ll only slow us down.”

“Will the Imperial Daughter please return!” came another shout from the group farther down the trail.

Israi muttered something beneath her breath and started climbing again.

Ampris leaned down toward Moscar. “Go back,” she said in the abiru patois he understood best. “Go back. Follow us no more.”

Puzzlement filled his dull eyes. He stood there, swaying back and forth, then finally turned and started back down the steep trail.

“Ampris, come on!” Israi called.

Ampris rose to her feet and turned around just as Israi screamed. Suddenly Israi came tumbling down the rocks, skidding and flailing. She rolled past Ampris and went tumbling toward the ledge.

Horrified, Ampris threw herself bodily after the screaming Israi and just managed to clutch her leg. Israi hung there, half on the ledge and half off. For a dazed moment there was only silence.

Ampris lay there, feeling bruised and stunned, astonished that she had managed to catch Israi at all.

“Israi?” she whispered. “Are you hurt?”

Israi did not answer at first, then moved slightly in Ampris’s grasp. “Help me,” she said, her voice muffled and afraid.

Gripping Israi’s leg with both hands, Ampris pulled with all her might and finally managed to drag Israi back to safety. The sri-Kaa lay there, streaked with mud. Her clothing was torn. Blood smeared her head and hands. She lay unmoving, her breathing shallow, her eyes half-shut, little pulses jumping beneath her ear dimples.

Terrified, Ampris stroked her rill. “Israi,” she said in rising alarm. “Are you badly hurt? Israi!”

The sri-Kaa’s eyes fluttered open and her gaze fastened on Ampris. “You saved me,” she whispered. “You didn’t let me fall.”

Ampris gripped her hand tightly and licked it. “Of course not,” she said, hardly paying attention to what Israi was saying. “You could have gone down the whole mountain. You could have died.”

“Saved me,” Israi whispered, and fainted.

Fear formed a lump in Ampris’s throat and would not let her swallow. Certain that Israi was badly injured, Ampris tried to rouse her friend, but could not. Dropping Israi’s slack hand, Ampris scrambled to the ledge and looked down at Moscar, who had stopped and was staring at them transfixed.

The guards and Fazhmind were waving and coming as fast as they could, but they were still too far away to help.

Ampris beckoned to Moscar. “Come,” she said urgently. “Hurry.”

The old Aaroun shuffled forward, and at Ampris’s bidding he put down the food basket and climbed up to the ledge where Israi lay unconscious.

“Hand me one of the blankets,” Ampris commanded. “We must wrap her in it so that she doesn’t grow cold. Careful. She may have broken bones.”

Moscar nodded his shaggy head. His hands were gentle as he lifted Israi and pulled the blanket around her.

“Can you carry her down the mountain?” Ampris asked.

Moscar gathered Israi into his powerful arms. He moved slowly, with infinite care, while Ampris scrambled down off the rocks so fast she nearly lost her balance.

In agony she watched him climb down, never putting a foot wrong, never slipping. He was steady and sure as he carried his precious burden.

Once he was safely off the rocks, Ampris could contain her impatience no longer. “Come,” she urged him. “Hurry as fast as you can. I’ll get the others.”

Leaving him, she headed down the steep trail, skidding and dropping to her haunches more than once. Going down was much harder than going up. She paid no attention to her recklessness, however. Her heart was slamming hard in her chest, and in her mind ran a continual prayer.

Please don’t let her die. Please don’t let her die.

When she reached Fazhmind, she stumbled and nearly fell into his arms. He fended her off roughly with a hiss.

“Get out of the way,” he said, and gestured for the guards to precede him.

“She’s hurt. She’s fainted,” Ampris said breathlessly, gulping for air. “There is blood—”

“Great gods,” Fazhmind said in horror, and rushed past her, leaving her behind.

The guards took Israi’s limp form away from Moscar, one carrying her down the trail with rapid strides while the other grimly shepherded Moscar along as though the accident had been his fault.

Ampris went with them, feeling very small and young now, more frightened than ever at the grim adult faces around her. Seeking reassurance, she looked up at Lord Fazhmind. “Will the sri-Kaa be all right?” she asked.

“Silence!” he snapped without even glancing at her. “This is all your fault.”

“But—”

He turned on her and struck her across the muzzle. “Silence!”

Ampris pressed the back of her hand against her quivering mouth and stared at him, her ears flat to her skull. Holding back a hot rush of tears, she followed him down the mountain and through the towering gates of the walls.

Inside, impatient hands shoved her aside when she would have followed them into Israi’s quarters. The doors were shut firmly against her, and Ampris was left to hunker on the floor, heedless that her muddy fur was streaking the priceless carpet. She waited for word, and prayed that all would be well.

It was nearly dark, and long purple shadows filled the corners of the corridor when at last Subi came to find her. Growling to herself, Subi pulled Ampris to her feet without a word and marched her off for a bath, then a hot supper that Ampris would be too miserable to eat.

“Is the Imperial Daughter all right?” Ampris asked.

Subi’s gruff expression never softened. Her eyes were hostile and worried, and she looked ready to bite. “Better you keep quiet and ask no questions,” she said as she took a clean Ampris down into the oppressive warmth of the kitchens. There, the air was redolent with the scents of the feast being prepared for the Kaa’s evening meal. Baking ovens stood open, and fresh breads and pastries were being pulled out by perspiring cooks.

Subi seated Ampris on a stool in a quiet corner out of everyone’s way and ordered a plain dinner for her. In minutes it was brought, and a tray was set up on legs to form a small table.

Ampris barely looked at it. Her eyes beseeched Subi. “But she’s hurt. She—”

“Big trouble for you. Keep quiet,” Subi said, her upright ears twitching nervously. “You eat now.”

Wretchedly, Ampris picked up her spoon and toyed with her food. Every bite she swallowed felt as though it might come up again. After a moment she put down her spoon and shoved her bowl away. The cold lump of worry inside her kept growing, sharp-edged and painful. Why wouldn’t anyone tell her what was happening? The evasions and grim looks frightened her.

The constant babble of noise in the kitchen hushed momentarily. Looking up, Ampris saw Lady Lenith standing on the stairs, looking over the room.

Ampris’s heart stopped. She couldn’t breathe.

Lady Lenith was attired in a glittering court gown, too formal for the lodge, and all the more imposing because of it. Jewels winked in her rill collar, as well as in her necklace and many rings. A long scarf of sheer silk gauze trailed from her shoulders. Her rill stood at full extension and was stained a dark indigo. Her eyes were cold with disapproval.

Her gaze traveled across the room and its many workers. Subi pinched Ampris, who rose to her feet.

Lady Lenith gave Ampris a long hard stare. There was something so implacable in her gaze that Ampris was certain Israi had died. The room started to spin around Ampris, and her head grew so cold it no longer seemed to be hers. She blinked, feeling strange and hollow. Her ears roared as Lady Lenith beckoned to her. Somehow she pushed herself forward, walking in jerky motions as though detached from her feet.

The workers stepped out of her path, but Ampris did not notice them. Nor did she hear the silence. There was only the fateful
ka-boom
of her own heartbeat and the tense rasp of her breathing in her ears.

She reached Lady Lenith and stared up at her, so tall, so angry. The world seemed to be ending.

Dry-mouthed, Ampris had to swallow twice before she could manage the words. “Is Israi dead?”

Her voice came out a tiny squeak, sounding nothing like her own.

Lady Lenith’s fierce expression did not change. She flicked out her tongue once, twice, then said, “The Kaa has summoned you to his august presence. Come.”

Ampris followed her out of the kitchen, up to the main floor, up the grand central staircase. When they turned onto the second floor, Ampris expected to be taken to the state receiving room, but instead Lady Lenith walked to the door of Israi’s quarters.

A Viis page running ahead of her knocked softly at the door, which was opened before Lady Lenith reached it. She walked inside, the hem of her long gown brushing the carpets. Ampris followed, gripping her jaws together tightly to keep herself from growling nervously. She could feel the hair standing up along her spine. The door shut behind her with a firm snap that made her jump.

Inside Israi’s sitting room, the lamps were dimmed to a low level that filled the chamber with shadows. Myneith, the First Wife, and two others sat there with their ladies in waiting. They talked in hushed voices that fell silent as Ampris entered. They stared at her with cold Viis eyes, accusing her with silence.

Chilled, Ampris felt more wretched than ever. She tried to imagine a world without Israi in it and couldn’t. She tried to think about what she would do and couldn’t. Her heart was breaking. She wanted to howl and weep, but she did neither. Instead, she panted for air, her eyes hot and her tongue dry, and walked past them in Lady Lenith’s wake.

Imperial guards stood before the double doors leading to Israi’s bedchamber. Lady Lenith paused and gestured to her page, who told them, “Lady Lenith’s compliments to the Imperial Father. She has brought the creature, as requested.”

Ampris flinched at that single word,
creature
, as though a whip had been laid across her shoulders. Behind her, she could feel the hatred in the room from the other females, a hatred that pounded into her back from every pair of eyes.

Her bottom lip trembled, and she sank her incisors into it to make it stop. Inside, she had begun to grieve for her friend with a misery that had no boundary.
Israi
, she thought.
Oh, Israi
.

The guards permitted Lady Lenith’s page to step between them and tap very softly on the door. It opened a crack, and no more. The page murmured to someone on the other side, then the door was closed.

Returning to Lady Lenith, the page bowed and said quietly, “Your ladyship is asked to wait until the physician is finished with his examination.”

Lady Lenith nodded and stood in place, motionless, her back ramrod straight, her rill half-extended. Behind her, Ampris closed her eyes and found that she could breathe again.

Not dead
, she thought as joy spiraled into her heart, thawing it.
Not dead. Not dead. Not dead
!

But her joy and relief proved short-lived as the silence wore on. Worry returned to Ampris once more. Everyone was acting too serious for Israi to be all right. She must be badly injured, perhaps near to dying.

Clearly, the blame for this had been assigned to Ampris. She wanted to deny it, to explain what had happened, but she dared not open her mouth. She knew no one would listen, no one would permit her to speak, no one would believe her. Their minds were already made up. Without Israi to speak up for her, what would happen?

The door opened, and a tall green-skinned Viis in a physician’s cloak emerged. He passed Lady Lenith without a word, and Chancellor Gaveid himself beckoned to Lady Lenith from the doorway.

Ampris blinked. She knew that the chancellor was not staying here at the lodge. He must have flown in by shuttle this afternoon from Vir or his own estates. Her fear came back, stronger than ever.

Lady Lenith glanced down at Ampris. Normally she would have fussed over Ampris’s appearance, given her several last-minute instructions and reminders about how to behave. Tonight, however, she said nothing.

Her gaze raked across Ampris with contempt, and her tongue flicked out once; then she walked forward.

Ampris followed, wishing she could run, wishing the floor would simply swallow her up.

The door swung open, and Ampris walked between the guards into Israi’s bedchamber. The lamps here were very dim, casting out a feeble glow that made everything shadowy and unreal. Israi lay nestled on her side among the pillows beneath a silk coverlet, a small, still figure swathed in bandages.

Drawing in a quick breath, Ampris wanted to run to her side, but she dared not.

A crimson ribbon of carpet stretched across the floor, leading past the foot of Israi’s round bed to a tall-backed chair flanked by four imperial guards in green cloaks.

The Kaa himself sat there, bronze-skinned with green shadings along his jaw and throat, glittering in a magnificent coat made of cloth of gold and jewel dust. His slightest motion, even his breathing, set the coat reflecting the light in a thousand winking refractions. His rill collar rose very tall at the back, very formal. Fashioned of gold, the collar was studded with a solid array of yellow tafirs that flashed as though containing fire.

Stern-faced, the Kaa narrowed his cold, space-blue eyes to slits when Ampris entered, and his extended rill turned an ominous crimson.

Lady Lenith made deep obeisance. The Kaa’s gaze flickered to her in brief acknowledgment, but he did not speak.

“I have brought Ampris, as the Imperial Father requested.” Lady Lenith’s voice quavered slightly as she spoke.

Chancellor Gaveid walked forward with stiff, slow movements. Handsome still despite his very advanced age, he gestured to her as protocol demanded.

“Thank you, Lady Lenith. That will be all.”

Lady Lenith hesitated, glancing down at Ampris, then to the chancellor, then to the Kaa. “I wish to say . . . if I may be permitted to speak . . . I had nothing but misgivings from the first as to—”

’ “Thank you, my lady,” Gaveid said smoothly. His yellow eyes held no mercy. “That is all understood. Nothing else is required of you.”