Quest for the King (12 page)

Mary sighed. She had a feeling that the people she was really beginning to like would never approve of her dark ambitions to control
people by magic. "But if I'm to get anywhere, I gotta act. I mustn't start
getting soft," she told herself. "No one increases in supernatural power that way. I've got to hang on, I've got to hang on!"

"Gotta hang on, gotta hang on!" She began to say the words rhythmically as a sort of inner chant, repeating them endlessly till they
drove other thoughts and feelings away. Yet she could never over come the growing tension inside her. For the longer she was with
them, the more she wanted to be close to them, to have them like her.
Somehow, and in spite of her plans for Uncle John, she knew it would
be wrong to use magic to make these people like her. (It is curious,
of course, how the plans you have for people always seem different
when you are in their actual presence. You never quite say the things
you felt sure you could. Nor do you put into practice the things you
were sure you would, once you are facing them.) Therefore she had
to work on her feelings extra hard, and would chant her "gotta hang
on" chant furiously to herself.

They emerged from the forest on the fourth morning to see a wide
river valley at a point where a stone bridge crossed the river. At this
point the column silently disappeared.

Without crossing the bridge, they followed a dirt road south for
three more days to Bamah. Even Mary missed the blue column once
it was gone, for it seemed as though they had lost a member of their
small party. Lord Nasa frowned. "It was not just an it. It is like losing
a guide."

But the river was to be their guide from this point on. Most days
were fine, but there were rainy days, too. On those days they were
especially grateful if they were able to sleep in a Gaal tree, though
Mary's discomfort at being inside a Gaal tree never lessened. And
finally, what she had dreaded happened-inside a Gaal tree.

Whether she was awake or dreaming she was not quite sure. But
one night she was aware of him standing again beside her bed. This
time his eyes were gentle as he looked deep inside her, and his voice
was filled with tenderness. "You still belong to me, Mary. I have not
let you go, nor will I ever release you to the horrors of darkness. This
time I will break the deeper spell by which your mother tried to bind
you to her fate. But first you must discover your revulsion of what you
are vainly, and in ignorance, trying to choose."

Mary screamed in blind terror, and her own scream woke her from
her dream. It was daylight, and morning sunlight streamed through
her window. She was perspiring and trembling, and could not shake her memories all that day.

Then came the moment when they were less than a day's journey
from the ancient and evil city of Bamah. That morning Lord Nasa
opened a door in the pigeon's box and coaxed the bird out. It hopped
out of its box and took flight, circling over their heads once and
vanishing over the treetops off in the direction of Bamah.

Mary sighed as she saw it go, and sadness stole over her. Her
feelings were confused. She had particularly enjoyed the company of
her new friends during the previous two days. She found it hard to
say which of them she liked better. She felt something akin to adoration for the Lady Roelane, and had told herself, "If only my real
mother had been like that!" At the same time Lord Nasa filled her
with admiration. "I can't think why I was so down on him at first,"
she mused. "He reminds me of someone-mebbe Uncle Alan." Uncle
Alan had been one of her stepmother's boy-friends. He always
smelled of cigars and whiskey, and he scratched her face with his
whiskers when he kissed her. Yet she had always been fond of Uncle
Alan-the one man who had brought her comfort in the strange life
of that Toronto apartment. He had never tried to do the awful things
one or two of the others had.

She turned her thoughts ahead to the palace. Her heart beat faster
as she thought of the possibility of making contact with powerful
sorcerers. What secrets might she learn from them? But-and this was
the painful part-what would Lord Nasa and Lady Roelane think?

"It'll never work," she thought. "They'd be sure to find out. Well,
I don't care! Let them find out!"

The trouble was that she did care and care very much. In spite of
all her efforts to stay aloof, she knew she had grown too fond of both
of them. So all that day, as sunshine danced on the dappled waters
of the Rure and the late summer breezes of Anthropos helped to cool
them, she repeated her lines until she was almost hypnotized: "Gotta
hang on, gotta hang on, gotta hang on ... !"

They ate lunch beside the river while the horses grazed on the lush
grass. The Rure flowed gently south, murmuring softly and musically. The wind was still, so that there was none of the rushing sound that
came when it played its various games, some wild, some more gentle,
with the trees. A fly buzzed annoyingly round them, though Mary
hardly noticed it. Her anxiety slowly mounted the nearer they got to
Bamah.

She frowned, swallowed what she was eating (her manners had
improved during the journey) and asked, "Are you sure it will be O.K.
at the palace? I mean, it sounds grim if the queen is having rows with
the king."

"Let us hope the pigeon does what it is supposed to do," Lord Nasa
said thoughtfully. "Anyway, we will find out when we get there."

"What's it all about, anyway?"

"Queen Suneid is Anthroponian-descended from the Regents
and is pure-blooded Regenskind. King Tobah Khukah is from Playsion, and Playsion is in rebellion against the High Emperor," Lord
Nasa explained. "The king wants to introduce the religious beliefs of
Playsion, which the Emperor has warned against. Many people in
Anthropos also are following this false religion. But the queen is
ardently loyal to the Emperor."

The Lady Roelane cleared her throat. "We do not altogether understand what is going on. Risano explained a little, but there are
many gaps in our understanding. One of the problems concerns the
queen's prophetic powers."

Mary caught her breath. She did not know why the words prophetic
powers should affect her so shockingly, but she found it hard to
breathe. Her heart began to thump in her chest, yet she managed to
say almost calmly, "What do you mean?"

"It would seem that the Emperor communicates with her-"

"Oh, I see. I thought you meant she had some kind of supernatural
power. You mean he writes her letters and stuff."

"No, my dear. I suppose you would have to call it-how do you say
it?-`supernatural stuff.' No one has ever seen the Emperor. It is as
though he talks to her spirit."

Mary felt dizzy. "You mean she has ways of knowing things-things ordinary people don't know?"

Lady Roelane nodded.

Lord Nasa said, "She knows, for instance, that the Emperor is going
to bring terrible disasters on Playsion, and on Anthropos too, unless
his majesty the king awakens to reality and ceases to worship the dark
lords."

Mary was still having difficulty breathing, yet she managed to speak.
"The Emperor sounds like a monster!"

"It may sound like that, but I do not think so. He knows the plans
the evil powers have for the two countries, and unless they return
their loyalty to him their fate at the hands of the dark lords will be
far worse," Lord Nasa said.

"How do you know that the evil powers are evil? Why do you two
take sides?"

Lady Roelane spoke quietly, and as Mary turned she found herself
looking directly into her steady gaze. The older woman was smiling
quizzically. "Mary, you have already taken sides. You know yourself
the difference between good and evil."

For several minutes nobody spoke. Mary stared blankly at the surface of the flowing water, hardly noticing what she was looking at. Her
heart was still pounding, and she was having difficulty with her
breathing. She felt sure her face was getting blotchy, as it did when
her heart and breathing went "out of whack." Eventually she said,
"How much power does the queen have? Is she hot stuff?"

"We do not know her very well. We have yet to spend time with her,
you know," Lady Roelane replied.

"But suppose you're walking into a trap. Some of the king's sorcerers might have real power."

Lord Nasa smiled. "Let us say we do not mind an adventure. Andwell, we like truth."

Mary would never forget the afternoon ride that followed. Her fear
grew greater with every mile. What would happen when they got
there? Would the queen see through her? Did she already know about
her? If so, what would she do? What could she do if the queen knew her secrets? Would she be able to make contact with the sorcerers?

Or, supposing the king got to them first. Would he put them in jail?
She could, of course, explain that she was really on his side. But would
he believe her? And how could she do it without her new friends
finding out? She squirmed inside as she thought of it. "I'm supposed
to be able to kick my best friends in the teeth if they stand in the way
of my having power," she mused. "That's the way you get power.
What's wrong with me?" Frantically she began on her mantra again,
"Gotta hang on, gotta hang on, gotta hang on. "But in her heart of hearts
she knew she was continuing to lose ground in her struggle.

Late in the afternoon they emerged from the forest to see the walls
of Bamah on the hill above them. The road led up the hill to the city
gates, where two other roads converged-one from the south, and
another from a bridge over the Rure. They noticed that uniformed
officials guarded the far side of the bridge and were conversing with
people before allowing them to cross it and approach the city. There
was a similar holdup at the point where the road from the south
emerged from the forest.

"What is the explanation of this state of affairs, I wonder?" Lord
Nasa mused, frowning.

Slowly they followed the road upward, staring at the open city gate.
"We enter by those gates, and follow the street facing us to the palace," he added, pointing ahead.

Hardly had the words left his mouth than they heard distant shouting from their right. Seven or eight uniformed horsemen emerged
from the forest they had just left. The leading horseman was waving
at them, and galloping hard toward them. Lord Nasa drew rein. "Soldiers-probably a patrol. I wonder what they want."

The three remained stationary but turned toward the approaching
horsemen. Mary felt the choking sensation in her throat increase. She
grew dizzy, and fought for breath. "I hope it's not trouble," she whispered hoarsely.

"We might be required to explain your presence," Lord Nasa replied. "If we tell them you have come from another world and another time, it may complicate things. Forgive me-but you must henceforth
be a niece of mine from overseas-"

Mary kept behind them both, bowing her head so that they would
not see the look of alarm she could not keep from her face. The
leading horseman soon reached them, and his followers were hard
on his heels. The young lieutenant bowed. "My lord, ladies, please
pardon our unseemly haste, and our shouting to you. His majesty the
king today issued instructions to identify all visitors to Bamah and to
inquire about their business here. It would appear that enemies of
Anthropos and of his majesty may be on their way to the city. Who
are your lordships, and where are you from?"

Lord Nasa laughed merrily. "Enemies indeed! No, lieutenant We
are no enemies of Anthropos. I am the Lord Nasa of Chereb, and this
is my new wife, the lady Roelane."

Though he was still on horseback, the lieutenant took off his hat
with a flourish and gave a half bow. "I am honored to meet your
lordship. Even here in Anthropos we have heard of your fame and
goodness." He bowed also to the Lady Roelane.

"We are just returning from my territories overseas," Lord Nasa
continued, "having spent our honeymoon on an island off the north
coast. From there we proceeded to an ancient tower in the forest for
a few days, where we were joined by my niece from other lands. We
are here at the queen's invitation. She requested that we arrive today."

"From the forest tower? Are the legends of the magic there trueand you come at her majesty's invitation?"

"Just so."

"Your lordship will pardon me, but I am afraid it will be necessary
for me to accompany you to the city gate, where we will await confirmation of your visit from the palace. I regret this, and assure you
that all will be well, but I am under orders to accompany all significant
visitors."

Mary's heart sank, but the Lord Nasa smiled easily, saying, "You
must certainly do your duty. As for ourselves, we will think of you as
our guard of honor."