CHANGELING: Book Two in the Weaver Series Page 29

  Cass thought, “Lil’s got that whole space cadet act on lock.”

  Several ambassadors from member planets of the Galactic Alliance were in attendance, some forms of life we’d never seen in person before. Our curiosity took over for a moment as we drank in the odd three-armed triurnal from somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy. Oh, oh and the tank of probably poisonous gas that held a turtle-skinned, eyeless weis from Canth. More than a few off-planet guests wore masks to breathe and the hiss of the intakes made us think of Darth Vader.

  After we got in deep enough, we couldn’t see anything beyond the immediate due to the crush and our vision was straining to mind every person who came close enough to do us any harm. Baelc could have an assassin lurking, just waiting—we wouldn’t even see them coming but they probably couldn’t see us either. Muscles contracted in preparation for any sudden movement out of the corner of our eye and we trailed Ela’s sure footed steps as she worked the room. Occasionally she stopped to offer a small greetings and closed mouth smiles; she did this with poise and a hint of self-importance.

  A gush of free-moving air let us know we were about to break free and the tension in our neck began to ease, at least until we saw where Ela was taking us. Normally Nyt’s table was floor level just like all of the others but the rock was molded into a miniature rectangular cap rock with a steep un-scalable front now. Someone had hauled in massive tables and set them facing the crowd with blindingly white cloth draped over them.

  Fid Tal’s face drew our attention first, perhaps because it was the most familiar of those already seated. Two white-clad Aniy flanked Tal and we recognized them from Kal’s descriptions as Fid Orn on her left and Fid Ayl on her right. Orn’s hair was shot with iron-toned gray at the temples and it was shorn almost to her scalp leaving faint impressions of tight curls. Ayl had hair so sleek and straight it resembled an oil slick and she wore it loose. Heads drooping slightly and lids closed, they were off conferring in the Web, most likely with one another. No one had bodyguards that we could see but then again if they were good you probably wouldn’t until right before you died and then only if your blood spattered their light field.

  Closer to the middle of the table were three chairs staggered in size with the center one being the largest. Ela walked around to the rear of the rough raised plateau where a set of wide steps was cut and two yellow-clad males waited in sentry positions. Ela ignored them completely as she began the ascent. Cass winked when our eyes made contact—this was the same pair of Aniy that had been guarding the doors to House Gebregdan earlier. We were rewarded for my sister’s trouble with a vague hint of amusement and a quick three fingered touch to a lined dark brown forehead.

  As we passed the sentries on the steep stairs I said, “Quit flirting, Cass.”

  Indignant Cass replied, “I was not! A little nice can go a long way, Silver. It’s called networking, also known as covering your ass. We need all the friendlies we can get or did you forget?”

  Our inner argument puttered out to be replaced by a joint feeling of awe as we reached the top and stood staring at the packed cavern. If we unfocused our eyes a little bit, all of those gathered looked like a collection of tiny pictures grouped together on a canvas with just enough color variation to suggest a random shape. Fun optical illusions aside, when we took our seat next to Ela we felt exposed. Did Nyt just mean for us to be up here on display the way the rich and powerful sometimes bought exotic menageries to show off? Look, see what I have, I’ve got a Singularity and you don’t.

  The setup was lopsided; our seat and Ela’s were the only ones to the right of the Elders. It was hard to see Fid Tal and the rest around the three massive chairs between us. Our companion placed a cold-fingered hand over ours where it rested on our thigh.

  Lights that weren’t natural reflections danced across the glossy surface of Ela’s eyes before she said, “I have an inkling of what is to come, Bogan. Do your level best to remain a youthful innocent bystander.” As she turned away to gaze over the assembly she mumbled under her breath, “Annis save us all.”

  The cavern dimmed then brightened and the decibel level decreased as the scattered mingling guests found their places around their assigned tables. With more sitting and less standing it was easier to spot the Imini. Someone had placed them at the very back. If not for our enhanced vision we wouldn’t have been able to recognize Vel’s face from so far away.

  It was harder to find Kal and Mez until Cass realized we should just search for bald Agent heads. The Guild of Discovery, Gield Metung in Axsian, was led by a female Master who hailed from House Gebregdan. They took up three tables by themselves and they were smack dab in the middle. We spotted Mez’s shining blue-black crown of hair. He stared at us, expression solemn, then dipped his chin in a silent hello.

  One side of our mouth crept up in a half smile as I pondered, “I wonder what Mez is going to look like as a cue ball?”

  Cass threw out, “An alien Mr. Clean on steroids.”

  I widened our smile at my sister’s comment to be rewarded by a flash in the pan of joy from Mez until his face sobered and our nostrils were simultaneously assaulted with a wash of ozone. The Elders had ‘ported themselves straight onto their ‘thrones’ and what lingering conversation had meandered in echoes around the cavern dried up as if it had never been. We could see Elder Lek of House Hring in profile. She looked like a Pharaoh with her dark brown nearly black hair looped and plastered into a strange rounded formation on her head. Cass strained our neck trying to get a look at Elder Sol of House Metgung but Nyt’s higher chair blocked her from sight.

  Nyt stood and from our perspective we could see up one wide arm hole of her rainbow hued robes as she raised her hands above her head. Her long tresses were knitted into tiny corn rows then gathered in a bun at her nape that was woven like an overturned wicker basket. We caught a glimpse of hardened leather armor along her side and Ela stiffened next to us, clamping her cold claws tight for just a second before releasing them. It was a relief when she deserted her attempt at comfort.

  Elder Nyt addressed the crowd in a voice that had to be artificially enhanced. “I thank you all for coming this evening. Surely you had better things to do than attend a formal dinner. Let us enjoy a pleasant repast before I bore you with Axsian affairs.” She snapped once and an army of red appeared along the walls carrying dish after dish only to blink back out when it had been properly delivered.

  Cass started when a red sleeve darted past our cheek to leave a plate then disappeared again. I turned in our chair in time to see a servant dashing down the stairs then blink out once she was past the sentries. Apparently they weren’t allowed to teleport directly onto the plateau. Pain bloomed on our bicep from a hard pinch.

  Ela clicked her teeth. “Sit properly, Bogan. Do not embarrass me.”

  I could feel our eyes narrow as Cass fleetingly contemplated retaliation. To our surprise Ela picked up her shallow spoon and immediately took a bite without waiting for any of the Elder’s or Fid’s to go first. She saw our widened, confused eyes.

  Out of the corner of her mouth through primly masticated bits she explained, “This is a public event with too many guests to follow rank and privilege. Nyt’s words for us all to enjoy our repast was Aniy code for eat in no special order.”

  Cass looked at our plate. We weren’t particularly hungry. The stringy tan mystery meat was overcooked and the nuts were over-seasoned with some flavored oil. I ate it all mechanically, one awful bite after another. It reminded us so much of our prison food that it left a morose feeling in an emotional aftertaste. As soon as it was empty our plate was taken away and a cool cup was put in its place. My twin raised the glass for a sniff.

  I lifted our left eyebrow, “Do you really think she’d poison us in front of everyone? If that’s the case, it’s probably too late because we ate the crap-tastic food.” We felt fine; I was just feeling off from our shared ennui.

  Cass took a sip only to be rewarded with a bitter cloying taste t
hat was worse than fermented wog afterbirth. She covered our lips as our eyes began to water.

  With a mental wheeze she said, “Not going to puke, not going to puke.”

  I analyzed the chemistry as it was absorbed into the lining of our stomach. “Dude, it’s some kind of alcoholic beverage. Put it down. We’re a cheap date.”

  She huffed, “As if you could get me to drink any more of that shit. Gah!”

  Ela swiped our cup and chugged it in one swift swallow. She rolled her shoulders and exhaled then slid the empty back in our direction.

  Her mouth slanted and her eyes sly, Ela leaned close. “You cannot yet appreciate such a fine vintage. It would make you a woman and you are not ready.”

  Nyt let the idle chatter of the room grow to a roar once again. Just when everyone was good and relaxed with bellies full of food and adult beverages that took the edge off their wariness, the Elder stood. The light fluctuated in the grand hall and the mass murmur ceased. Tension built as Nyt looked down her nose then smiled. Maybe it was because we’d seen her darker side, but I could swear and evil gleam twinkled in her smooth black orbs.

  Cass warned, “Here we go!”

  Chapter Twenty Eight: Tyranny for Dessert?

  Political mask in place, her lips molded firmly around the words issuing from her mouth, “I called you all here today as a witness to an evolutionary, revolutionary metamorphosis. Axsian’s have divided themselves by their differences for too long. Aniy over Imini and female over male are just two examples, but they are the divisions that are hurting us the most. The Elders have conferred and are of one mind on the need for change. Axsa’s people are too set in their ways and if we continue on as we are we will destroy ourselves—all in the name of senseless, inane tradition.” Her projected voice filled the air and cajoled the ear. Gasps erupted.

  Cass commented, “Where is Nyt going with this, Silver?”

  We heard movement behind us and when we started to turn Ela shot us a warning glare, so with reluctance we faced forward again. Our eyes sought out Mez and Kal. Mez was riveted with Nyt’s performance but Kal was staring behind us and his mouth was grim. Now we really wanted to know who was at our back. If Kal was the only one reacting, did that mean they were disguised by a light field?

  The Elder continued. “In recent years a resistance group by the name of Baelc Eftborenne, comprised mostly of males from the population, has arisen to cause much damage and death in their fight for Aniy male equality.” Nyt paused for effect and looked at her audience with an expression of grave regret. “We could wage civil war upon our own people to keep the societal rules the same, or we could take the enlightened path. Our males have been forced into lesser roles as a response to the distant warring past of our culture—judged prematurely, harshly, and in some cases unjustly they have been pushed to violence in a quest for a voice.”

  Ela’s body was rigid next to us and she gripped the edge of her chair so tightly her knuckles were the color of weak tea. The agents at Kal’s table were restless and a ripple passed down the lines as they leaned toward one another to whisper in reaction to the Elder’s rhetoric.

  Nyt’s voice gained an octave to quell the rising tide of verbal objections. “Perhaps the Aniy should learn from the Imini and treat the sexes with fairness. Imini males have the same rights as their female counterparts and their Drohtod is one of peace and harmony with nature. I myself am guilty of thinking the Imini are simpletons that care nothing for the bigger picture. During the exchange of our people I have learned more than I thought possible.”

  I inserted, “My, my, Ealdemodor is singing a different tune. She goes from insulting Lil in the morning to singing praises in the evening. She’s enlightened indeed.”

  Cass replied, “Whatever she’s doing she’s going too fast. It’s too much at once and I don’t think that’s an accident. Look at the crowd. Every female Aniy is angry, either at her sympathetic portrayal of Baelc or because she’s putting the Imini on a pedestal.”

  Some Aniy were standing or leaning forward with expressions of denial and anger—about to break out in protest. Non-Axsian’s were beginning to look sorry they’d accepted their invitations and heads were angling not so discreetly at the exits. Nobody in their right mind wants a ringside seat at a lynching.

  Nyt held up her hands, palm outward. “Hear me! I am not advising we throw all our traditions aside. I do not paint myself or any female Aniy as the villain. Many of you in this room have lost cynn to the violence of Baelc rebels. My heart does understand your outrage at some of the statements I have made—it truly does. How can we continue on the current path though, if it only promises more violence and more deaths? Will there ever be a solution that does not anger a single soul?” Her tone was impassioned and carried with it all the sadness she professed with a lingering hook of anger underneath.

  Cass chuffed into our lap. “If I had a vote I’d give Nyt an Oscar. She says the opposite but she’s pot stirring like a mofo.”

  Actual yelling broke out at the back as a group of Aniy females screamed at Vel’s table. The only reason it didn’t escalate was because the Imini failed to respond. They sat motionless—eyes averted—the gray skins of their tunics and pants making them appear to be living statues. Yellow-robed males materialized to act as a buffer and usher the irate Aniy back to their seats.

  Subtle noises behind us reminded me that someone or several someone’s were waiting in the ‘eaves’ for the Elder to reveal them. Just about that time a lull hit the crowd and Nyt struck.

  Face hard, she waved her right hand and a gasp travelled through those gathered.

  I thought at Cass as we did a one eighty to grip the seat back, “It’s worth the pinch, screw manners and screw Ela.”

  Not two steps away, with female guards tricked out in full leather armor to each side like bookends, stood the ‘poet and didn’t know it’ assassin from our last attack. They’d cleaned him up for company but we could see the wear underneath as close as we were to his water color presence. The fire of fanaticism still burned brightly when we made eye contact but it lacked physical power so he just came off crazy. The gray, rough spun belted kaftan he wore hung loosely on his tall frame exacerbating his thinness. He looked younger—not too far from our own age. Our heart beat fast but we weren’t afraid; he was a person to be pitied now.

  Cass whispered in our head, “He looks like an ember turned to ash. What have they been doing to him all this time? I hope they aren’t doing the same to Zik. He isn’t cut out for the hard life, Silver.”

  We were powerless to intervene so all we could do was hope and pray that Sil could figure out some way to help his friend.

  Nyt carried on. “This male made two attempts on the life of a Singularity from a developing planet called Earth by its people. What if he had succeeded? The violence of Axsa must not bleed over on to other worlds. Do we answer his crimes with crimes of our own cloaked as righteous justice? Should I have him executed right here right now?”

  The Elder palmed a weapon from under her bright robes of office that looked similar to the one Pez had aimed at us after Mez’s rescue. It didn’t look scary—it looked like a miniature metal flashlight. No one in the assembly saw but our side vantage was perfect.

  Ela was facing the guards and the prisoner behind us so she didn’t see her mother arming herself but her expression flashed alarm as she shouted, “What are you doing!”

  Our chair tipped backward and a powerful sucking feeling swirled in our center. Someone was calling us. Cass relaxed our body into it. My money was on Mez and hers was on Kal. With a disorienting jolt our surroundings unfocused and when we could see again it was from the perspective of the crowd. Cass leaned on our elbows in a half reclined position on the Agent’s table in front of Kal. He grabbed us by the bicep to drag us off the flat surface, knocking over several empty cups in the process and we ended up kneeling by his left side.

  Cass chirped, “Told ya!” earning a bewildered look or two.


  Screams erupted from the plateau and we caught a glimpse of the Baelc assassin as he scrambled over our fallen chair for Ela, only to disintegrate inches from reaching her. The instrument of his death, the tiny handheld device aimed by Nyt just inches over her own daughter’s head. Before we could react to just what could have happened to us if Pez had fired off a shot before Jaz sucked him into stone, a tuning fork went off in our sinuses as the cavern flexed and sang. Formerly secure banners rippled and billowed through the air like giant celebratory streamers as they broke loose from their moorings.

  Vel’s voice boomed as if a million tiny speakers were positioned in the rock. The sound was so large it felt like a concussive blast to the ear drum. “The Imini will not be pulled into your political games, Elder Nyt! You have until nightfall to leave this city. If you are not gone we will remove you.”

  Random voices shouted out from those in House Gebregdan, “Treason!” or “You dare!”

  Kal ‘ported to stand in the middle of the table. “My Imini brother does not speak treason! It is Nyt who has tried to trick you all! Those are not the Elders from House Hring and House Metgung—they are imposters cloaked in lies of light!”

  It struck us as funny that he’d chosen to wear green—a child’s color—to such a formal event. Several gasps followed his statement and an unidentified Aniy woman screamed, “You half-breed liar! An abomination like you should have been scraped from your modor’s womb!”

  We were shoved inside a ring of agents as they surrounded Kal and a new voice broke the wave of aggression roiling around us.