Quest for the King (6 page)

"That was most kind of him," said Lord Nasa. "I take it that the
Emperor and the Changer are one and the same?"

"It is as you say. He thought it might be an ideal place for you to
celebrate."

When she heard the word Emperor, Mary pondered, "I wonder what
emperor they are talking about, and where he got the sword from if it is the sword." Her heart began to beat. The Changer. Uncle John
had talked about the Changer. And Gaal had also mentioned the
Emperor when she had been here last time. At any rate she knew she
must have arrived in Anthropos. But she would have to be careful if
these people were Gaal's sort of people. Still, she would have to start
by getting to know someone. How else could she link up with the
beings she wanted to link up with, the sources of real power? And was
that sword the Sword of Geburah?

She was still wondering how to approach them when the tall man
rose to his feet-proving far taller than she had realized. He towered
above the seated pair, standing his full ten feet. He smiled at them,
and like him, they both rose to their feet, two dwarfs before a giant.

"It is time for me to leave you," Risano said. "But I have a last
reminder: you will be guided through the forest as far as the river by
a column of smoke and blue fire. Once at the river, it will disappear
for a while."

He nodded his head at each of them, saying, "Lord Nasa! Lady
Roelane-farewell! It has been good to speak with you!" Then, as the
words left his mouth, he disappeared as completely as if he had been
transformed into air. No trace of him remained.

"Wow! That's power!" a startled Mary breathed to herself. "I'd love
to be able to do that. Where's he gone, I wonder?"

She continued to stare at Lord Nasa and his lady, uncertain when
she should make a move. They were still standing and talking, intent
on their conversation. She could see the lady's face, and it was frowning in response to what Lord Nasa was saying.

"She's pretty," Mary said grudgingly, "and man, what a dress!"

Lady Roelane's long kirtle was made of green velvet and had long
tight sleeves. It fell over white silk slippers and was everywhere crisscrossed with strings of tiny pearls and embroidered with flowers. From
her tall, pointed hat a white silk net fell down her back. Her face was
flushed, but it cleared as she listened to her husband's words.

After a moment the lady drew in a deep breath and spoke. "Well,
my lord, I suppose there is nothing for it but to go and look for her. But where do we start?" It was a lovely voice, reminding Mary of
someone. "Of whom?" she wondered. "Must be someone I like."

Obviously the couple were expecting someone. It made sense, for
there were still three horses though the tall man had gone. Whoever
they were expecting must have gone for a walk or something. Perhaps
she should let them know she was here without delay. Did they live
in the tower?

Mary was not one to hesitate. "They look harmless enough." She
rose to her feet and began to walk toward them. For a moment or two
they did not see her. They were once again talking to each other. But
the lady must have caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of her
eye, for she suddenly turned toward her.

She gasped, pointed at Mary, and cried, "Why, there she is!"

His lordship turned sharply. "Sooner than we expected!"

Mary advanced steadily. "They're mistaking me for someone else,"
she thought. "Hi!" she said as she drew near. "I'm sort of lost. Could
you help me, please? I came here by magic from another world."

For a moment they stared at her, their faces inscrutable. Then Lord
Nasa of Chereb said, "You must be the Lady Mary McNab."

Mary stopped in her tracks. Her heart began to pound, and for a
moment her mouth hung open. Clearly, they must be some of Gaal's
folk. But there was nothing to be gained by running away, so she
might as well brazen it out. She said, "You mean-you were expecting
me?"

The lady said, "Yes, Risano told us you were already here, and
would come to us. He is one of the spirits-the spirits of light. Pray
come and sit with us and join us in our repast."

"Spirits?" Mary gasped. "He didn't look like a spirit."

Lady Nasa smiled. "No, I suppose not. But that was just the form
he adopted so we could see him and talk to him."

Even though she was hungry, Mary ignored the suggestion about
eating. She was more concerned about her reason in coming. "My
Uncle John is here-I think. I want to find him. That's why I came
here. He's-he's very important to me."

The lady and the gentleman exchanged glances. Then his lordship
said, "Did you say you came by magic?"

"Yes, I'm getting pretty good at it. I-"

"And how did you learn magic? We understand you are from another world. Do they teach it in your world?"

Mary decided to level with them, though pride rose up in her. "Well
not exactly-not in our school, anyway. But there is a witches' club
at school, an' l joined it. We learn a lot about how to get what we want
in life. I'm a witch. I've managed to apply what I know to computer
technology. In fact that's how I got here-via computer." She wanted
them both to know that she could stand on her own feet where power
was concerned. The girl who had been so frightened at finding herself alone in Hong Kong was for the moment transformed. Mary felt
thoroughly in charge of her life again.

The couple stared at her, their faces blank and uncomprehending.
Did they not understand her? She had been about to launch on an
explanation about what computers were, but something checked her.
If these people were Gaal's people, then the less they knew the better.
Instead she said, "I really would like to find my Uncle John. His name
is John McNab. He's the Sword Bearer and-"

"And this is the sword that must belong to him." Lord Nasa placed
the Sword of Geburah into a scabbard attached to his belt.

"My love, the lady is standing," Lady Roelane said. "Come and sit,
my dear. There is no need to weary yourself. Let me offer you food.
I have fruit juice if you would prefer it to wine."

They sat, and Mary began to eat. "You don't have milk, do you?"
she said. The oat cakes made dry eating.

"Indeed we do, my lady!" Lady Roelane laughed. "Fresh and cool
and creamy." She excused herself and returned a moment later from
the tower bearing a large pewter jug filled with milk.

Mary poured milk into a wine cup and drank deeply. "Boy, that's
good!"

"I am the Lady Roelane. And my husband is the Lord Nasa of
Chereb. Risano wants us to take you to Bamah. Perhaps you will find your uncle there. I do hope so."

"Bamah?" Mary said in a startled voice. "But Bamah was destroyed,
years and years ago. The ruins of the city and the temple all sank
under the lake! My cousins told me about it. They were there."

There was a pause, and then Lord Nasa said, "There are prophecies
that one day it will be destroyed. But today the city stands."

The thought of a city called Bamah puzzled her. How could it be?
Perhaps there was another Bamah now. She frowned, wondering
what it all meant. Unless-unless she had arrived here before the time
when she was here last. And if it was before, how many years before
was it? Was it only years? Could it even be centuries? She began to
feel dizzy with bewilderment and fear. Perhaps her Uncle John had
arrived in a different century-even in what was now the future. If
she had come to the wrong century, there would be no Uncle John.
And without Uncle John how would she get back? She had no bewitched computer here anyway. Whatever had she been thinking of?
How could she have been so stupid? Icy fingers of fear continued to
close around her heart.

The Lady Roelane was leaning toward her and staring. "Are you
all right?" she asked. "You appear to be unwell, my lady. Can I do
anything to help?" Mary was grateful for the respite. She had begun
to like Lady Roelane, and wondered whether she had been wise to
tell them about the witches' club at her school. But it was too late to
change that now.

"It's just my Uncle John-I don't know where he is. Perhaps I've
come to the wrong century ." Her confidence was draining away
in rivulets of misgiving. It looked as though she had done something
really stupid. But no, that thought was much too scary. She was far
from ready to admit to herself that she had made a serious mistake.
Where was Uncle John? He just had to be here. If only she could find
him, all would be well. He need not know how she got to Anthropos,
so long as she could find him and get back again. And in any case,
the dark powers might be around again. If she could contact them ...

Lord Nasa of the Chereb spoke. "My lady, to play with magic can be dangerous. In our country we have a legend of a magician's nephew. Its moral is this: a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and
a little knowledge of magic can be deadly."

Mary felt herself getting angry. "I don't know a little about magic,
and I don't play with it. I know a lot! Enough to travel through time
and space, anyway! You need more than a little knowledge to do that."
She always felt more confidence, more in control, when she was
angry. "I already know computers inside out," she thought. "I even
harnessed one for magic! Who is this pompous ass of a lord to lecture
me?"

"Listen," she said. "In our world you need power in order to get
what you want. You can't trust people-especially grown-ups. You
never know who's going to let you down next. I want power-so I can't
be hurt. Even Uncle John ..."

"How do you get power, Lady Mary? In our world people torture
animals to obtain it. Is this so in your world? Do you keep them alive
as long as you can so they will experience more pain?"

Mary blushed. "How did you know? Anyway, it was only a mangy
old cat. Listen, if you want real power you have to overcome your fears
and weaknesses. You have to make yourself do things that make other
people vomit."

"My darling, she has hardly touched her food. Let her eat. We can
talk later. Mary, dear-may I call you Mary?-have some more milk.
Eat your oatmeal cakes-and there is an abundance of fruit. We have
no servants with us, but we plan to eat well this evening."

Mary drew in a deep breath, again pushing down thoughts about
the horrible mistake she might have made Uncle John didn't have to
be in another century. In any case, she would have to make use of
these people. Better to lay her cards firmly on the table. "Look, I know
you're Gaal's people-an' I'm not. Not at the moment, anyway. I-I
hope we can still be friends. I don't know anyone here "

Lady Roelane laid a hand on Mary's arm. "Of course we can. After
all, we are going to be traveling to Bamah together, that is, if you are
willing to come."

Mary smiled at her. "Sure, I'll come. D'you think Uncle John will
be there?"

"You never know! It is a long time since last we visited Bamah. Anything is possible. Perhaps you will find him there. I do hope so."

In spite of the conversation and of her own part in it, Mary had not stopped eating. The oatmeal cakes were disappearing, as was the
milk. She had now begun on the fruit, some of which she could
remember from her previous visit. With her mouth full she said, "Do
you live here?"

"No, my dear. We have been staying just for a few days."

"So where do you live?" Mary asked.

"We are returning to Anthropos from some of my husband's properties overseas. We traveled several weeks to get here, and now we
proceed to Bamah. Risano came only today, and told us about your
arrival. He said we were to take you, if you were willing, to Bamah,
where we are to be attached to the royal court. We are friends of
Queen Suneid."

Mary felt uneasy. It was the second time they had mentioned Risano's knowledge of her coming. "One of the spirits of light" they had
called him. Were the others spirits of the darkness? Lisa had described
to her the strange practices in the old temple of Bamah, and Uncle
John had once said something about them. But if Risano knew, then
the Emperor also knew of her coming, and that meant that Gaal
knew . .

She spoke her thought aloud. "The Emperor must have known I
was coming."

"There is very little the Emperor does not know, Lady Mary. They
say he kndws all things."

"And Gaal knows too? You know who Gaal is, do you?"

Lady Roelane's eyes softened. "I know him very well, and love him
dearly."

Mary began to feel embarrassed, and a little ashamed. She remembered very well her own feelings about him. She thought of the dance
of the celestial giants (were they the same as the spirits of light?) in the deep heaven on the night of the northern lights, and of the walk
with Gaal at sunrise. Her heart began to soften, but she hardened it
resolutely. She was on the other side now, and the other side had
given her the ability to control people.

Lord Nasa said, "Mary, from what Risano told us, the Emperor has
great interest in you. He knows things about you that you do not even
know about yourself. And he wishes to rescue you."

Mary stiffened. "What does he know? And what do I need rescuing
from?"

"I know not. I only repeat what Risano said. Something about your
parents."

"My parents? I-I don't remember either of them. I had a stepmother, but-well, she was O.K., I guess. I wonder what he knows.
Anyway, I don't think I need rescuing. I'm not in prison or anything.
I do what I like, an' I like using what power I have. It feels great. I
wish I'd used it before it was almost too late."

The blue eyes of Lord Nasa twinkled with suppressed merriment.
"That is-before you got yourself into difficulties!"

Mary bit her tongue and said nothing, feeling resentful of this lord
from the far islands. She turned to Lady Roelane and asked, "When
are you going to Bamah?"

"Tomorrow morning, now that you are with us. It will take several
days to get there. We begin by following the trail to the Rure River.
Even that will take a few days. Have you ridden horseback before?
And can you ride side-saddle?"