Читать книгу The Speaking Stone of Caradoc - Evadeen Brickwood - Страница 10

Their room was in a shambles. A citadel guard searched under the table, bumped into Chryséis and she moved out of the way.

“How much longer is this going to take?” she groaned and rolled her eyes. “What on earth do they want from us?”

The man apologised politely and began to rummage around on top of the carved cupboard. After the warm welcome yesterday, this was the last thing they had expected. Their morning outing had been rather pleasant, but when they returned a short while ago, guards were already searching their quarters.

Kheton was still in a conference with other dignitaries and could not be reached.

“A Speaking Stone went missing in Alesia and was taken to Kamûk.” Lelani reported back after speaking to the captain of the guards. “The guards are searching for it. It is a grave offense to have such an object in one’s possession.” She was wringing her hands in despair. Lelani obviously knew what a speaking stone was. The time travellers did not.

“What has that got to do with us?” Katherine demanded to know from Trevor.

“Maybe they’re searching everybody, who came from Alesia.”

“Let’s find out.”

“Why do you search in our room, guardsman?” Trevor asked one of the men in halting Alesian, while the man rifled through the contents of a wooden chest. “Do you believe that a…speaking…stone is in our room?”

He watched annoyed as his drawing pad went flying onto the floor.

“So sorry, but the Lady gave orders.” It was all the guard was willing to say.

“Careful with t h a t!” Chryséis took the palmtop computer from another guard and opened it so that he could see that there were no stones inside. “I knew something like this would happen. I knew it!” she said crossly.

“Relax, we haven’t done anything wrong.”

Katherine stood by the open balcony doors, wishing she could just make all this go away.

“Why don’t they just talk to the stone? If it can really talk, it will answer, right?”

“You mean like phoning your cell phone when you’re looking for it?”

“As if. Who’s ever heard of stones that can talk?”

Another guard crawled around them on all fours. “Kindly move to the other side.” He lifted the rose-coloured curtain hem, probing along the wall.

“Dear friends,… guards. A ‘Speaking Stone’! They are mere children…” Lelani finally gave up and sat numbly down on Katherine’s bed.

At daybreak, she had looked forward to their tour around Kamûk, starting with the harbour district. Kheton had stayed behind to conduct official business.

Warehouse after warehouse lined the roofed-in docks and roads. After stopping at a cooking house, their guide had taken them to the observatory in the Iapetus Hills east of Kamûk. They flew past tropical plantations and farm stalls.

The observatory had been a jaw-dropper. Not just because of the huge shark statue outside the entrance, but because of the sheer size of the five egg-shaped buildings. They had joined a group of tourists and listened rapt to what the astronomer had to say. He looked quite nerdy and introduced himself as Parnú of Lycia.

“Lycia is a small town close to the southern coast of D’ântilla, for those, who are foreign to our shores,” Parnú clarified upfront. “The site of this observatory has a long history. Gabari natives erected stone circles before the great deluge, when D’ântilla was still part of Atland. These stone circles served as observatories to the ancients.”

Parnú explained that the scientists of the modern observatory were trained to detect and destroy heavenly bodies posing a threat to the mother planet.

“You may have heard we possess an effective forewarning system. We now also have a powerful new raygun.” He paused. “Asteroids that can be dangerous to us. Ever since the planet Astra exploded eons ago, leaving behind rocks that now circle the heavenly realm. We will view the cosmic deflector raygun a bit later.”

The time travellers nudged each other.

“Friend Parnú, please tell us about this planet ‘Astra’,” Chryséis asked shyly.

Parnú told them matter-of-factly that the planet had existed beyond the red planet, Xipe Xolotle for many cycles of arc. They already knew that a cycle of arc was thousands of years.

“A planet between Mars and Jupiter? No way!” Trevor had cried out in surprise.

The astronomer and other tourists seemed a little miffed at the impolite outburst in a language they didn’t understand. An uncomfortable Lelani looked the other way and Trevor fell silent.

Parnú quickly changed the subject as he led the way through long passages with shining floors into another part of the observatory. The children from the future hung back and whispered to each other and Katherine had a sudden idea.

“Listen, D’ântilla must be roughly to the southwest of the Bermuda triangle…” She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence.

“We will now watch a mirage,” the astronomer announced solemnly and led the visitors through metal doors that slid noiselessly open.

They had arrived at the planetarium. The tourists took their seats and a young thin man with a stubby nose, made ready to put the mirage roll into its wall slot. He had been in charge of ‘Mirage Education’ for only a few days and was proud of his new position.

It was a very good mirage and the visitors were usual quite impressed. The lights in the hall dimmed and the seats moved down into a horizontal position. The mirage showed scientists working frantically on control panels as a monotonous voice spoke.

“…the trajectory of an approaching asteroid, hurtling at high velocity towards the mother planet, was predicted through precise mathematical calculations. The asteroid moves in direct collision course with the mother planet. Engineers train a raygun on the approaching asteroid, emitting super-concentrated light rays.”

Bang! The asteroid was destroyed just in time, with smaller pieces whizzing through space in a cloud of dust. They vaporised on impact with the earth’s atmosphere in a spectacle of sparkling showers.

The mirage apparently depicted an actual incident not too far in the past.

“Our civilisation has nothing to fear when it comes to celestial hazards. We can now take on even larger planetoids.”

The audience murmured approval. Next up was a tour of the new cosmic deflector raygun. The real thing! A large vimaan transported the visitors to the top of the hill where they were dwarfed by a huge apparatus inside an oval building. The domed roof was busy opening when they walked into the hall.

“Please keep sufficient distance, athenai, not beyond this line,” Parnú instructed.

His voice echoed off the high round wall and roof. The awed group retreated behind a yellow line that was painted on the very shiny floor and stared up at the surprisingly plain looking raygun. There were no screws or wheels or levers. Just a telescope mounted on a dimly illuminated board.

As Parnú led them around the apparatus, a control panel with different-coloured squares on the other side of the board came into view. Two scientists seemed to evaluate lines and curves on the screen and spoke in muted tones.

“Why is it so flat and wide in front?” Katherine whispered.

“I don’t know. Maybe because it’s easier to program the angle they need. Did he just say they can use a pulse action from different angles?”

“I think so.”

The flat, oval outlet looked like a giant mouth. The friends barely listened when Parnú told them about the other features. Trevor stayed behind and secretly took a picture of the raygun and the scientists. Then he took a photograph of the stone circles below through the great windows. In the background, the sky over the harbour looked hazy.

“We are coming to the end of your visit. Shukri athenai, thank you for your visit to our humble scientific establishment in the Iapetus Hills.”

Parnú concluded the tour and the visitors were transported down to the shark-guarded entrance of the observatory. Soon a flurry of vimaans rose into the air and descended on Kamûk. From here the palm-fringed beaches looked rather inviting.

“We will return to the citadel to freshen up. Then we will visit the famous aquarium on the other side of town,” Lelani said. “Tomorrow we will spend time picnicking on the beach.”

“That sounds really nice, Lelani,” Chryséis said. “Tell us more about this aquarium…”

That had been only half an hour ago.

Suddenly, one of the guardsmen held up a shimmering white object, that he had found in Chryséis ’ backpack.

“It is here, it is here,” he shouted triumphantly. Lelani moved ever so slightly away from the children.

“Oh boy.”

“What is this egg doing in your backpack?” Katherine asked Chryséis .

“I have absolutely no idea.”

“Do they seriously think we would steal a silly stone egg? How ridiculous!” Chryséis was all flustered.

“This doesn’t belong to us,” Trevor tried to explain.

“No, it doesn’t belong to you. You stole it.”

The guard was still holding up the egg and Trevor started to lose his temper.

“Now wait a minute, what do you mean? We have never seen this thing before. Why are you accusing us guard?”

“Trevor, stay calm,” Katherine warned him. “Don’t make them angry – please. I’m sure they’ll use telepathy to find out the truth. A lie detector test or something like that. Remember, they are civilised people and the Lady of Cydonia knows that we didn’t do it.”

Trevor unclenched his fists. “Yeah, and if not, we’ll find out what a prehistoric dungeon is like.”

Katherine had an unpleasant flashback of the caves at Shuruk with big tarantula guards and bundles of human bones wrapped in white fluffy stuff. She thought fiercely of running from the citadel and activating a time portal.

“Should we go invisible and run for it?” Chryséis whispered, having the same idea. “I don’t want to go to prison.”

Trevor felt braver, but then he hadn’t been in Shuruk. “No, we can’t do that now. Katie’s right: they are too much like the Alesians to harm us. I have one of the time-portal-finders in my pocket and we are still wearing our VICs. If we need to run, we can do it anytime.”

“Oh that’s real comforting,” Chryséis said sarcastically.

“Where is Kheton? He’s our guardian, shouldn’t he protect us?”

“I don’t think Lelani can contact him. I’m scared. What’ll they do to us?” Katherine sounded rattled.

“Come with us now,” the captain of the guards interrupted.

The guards wedged the culprits in the middle, two on each side, front and back and the time travellers were led away like common criminals. Suspicious eyes followed them as they trotted demurely through the citadel passages and up a flight of stairs. The citadel was a pretty building with wall paintings and statues everywhere, but the time travellers had no time for art. The guards stopped on the third floor in front of a massive wooden door.

“You wait here,” the captain of the guards said roughly.

Had the dreaded moment arrived, were they taken to prison?

“Please tell us what you’ll do to us,” Katherine begged. “Citadel guards, athenai. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

No answer. The guards remained stone-faced. Chryséis panicked and lifted her hand to press the button on her aliceband.

“No Chryséis !”

She let her hand fall. The voice had sounded familiar. Trevor and Katherine were studying the ironwork of the door and nobody was speaking or even looking at her. So who had called out? Chryséis listened and understood.

“The Lady of Cydonia tells me not to do it,” Chryséis said in a low voice.

“Do what?” Trevor and Katherine stared at her.

“Not to turn invisible and flee.”

“How does she know you want to do that?”

“She read my thoughts.”

“Seriously?”

The guards gave Katherine reproachful looks and she lowered her voice.

“What else did she say, what are we supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, I lost her. Maybe I’m too scared to keep the contact going.”

“Great!” Trevor hissed. “What are we gonna do now?”

In an answer to his question, the door opened with a loud creak into the Lady of Kamûk’s audience room. An elevated chair was mounted against the red wall opposite the door between two windows.

The Lady of Kamûk sat on the throne, looking sternly at them. It was clear that she sat in judgment of the three young travellers. Kheton had placed himself to her right, dressed in the formal tunic of a judge. His face was unsmiling and his arms folded across his chest over the embroidered red feather.

“Enter.”

The Lady was a stocky woman and much younger than her Cydonian counterpart, but she wore the same robe of authority. Her eyes were large and slanted in a startling hazel brown and her thick blonde hair was pulled back from her face in a high bun. There was no trace of the friendliness she had displayed the day before at dinner time.

Katherine could feel her heart pounding in her throat, doo dum, doo dum. The guard carrying the translucent white egg stepped forward, cradling the precious object in his large Gabari hands as if it was a raw egg. He put the stone egg into a metal holder on a table next to Kheton and retreated. They didn’t move.

“Enter,” the Lady said again. Her tone was impatient now.

“Oh, I wish that the Lady of Cydonia were here,” Katherine whispered before they were pushed through the door by the guards. The door closed behind them. The room was big enough to hold everybody, including some citadel officials in white robes, who joined the proceedings. They waited with bated breath.

“Young visitors from Cydonia,” the Lady of Kamûk addressed them formally without further ado. “You are accused of the crime of stealing and smuggling the ‘Speaking Stone of Caradoc’ to D’ântilla. Explain yourselves.”

The Lady’s words came flying at them like darts. They looked puzzled and Kheton repeated in simpler terms what the Lady of Kamûk had said.

“Oh, we don’t know, honourable Lady, we don’t know a…speaking stone,” Trevor stammered and saw that Lelani’s expression was anxious.

The Lady of Kamûk didn’t mince her words.

“Let me be more specific, then. Are you spying for the Highpriest of Shuruk?”

They had heard much of the evil Edfunian leader, of course. Katherine and Chryséis had even seen him with Túvar in the dungeon of Shuruk, but being accused of spying for the giant sorcerer, who had tried to abduct them at the Moti Market? Please!

“No, no of course not,” Chryséis flared up. “We would never do such a thing.”

“Then why did you smuggle this precious stone out of Alesia in your bag?” the Lady asked with pitiless urgency, pointing to the white egg.

Katherine suppressed a giggle. An egg made of stone, how comical! She concentrated hard on a carved flower in the window frame. Luckily the urge to giggle vanished. This was not the time or place to break out laughing.

“We didn’t, why would we?” she said.

“You tell me.”

Kheton had been observing them closely the entire time, no doubt reading their minds. It was his job, wasn’t it?

“Kheton, tell her that we didn’t do it,” Chryséis blurted out.

But before Kheton could say anything, the Lady of Kamûk lifted her hand. She listened for a few moments.

Katherine thought she would surely faint if this went on for much longer. Chryséis slipped her hand into Katherine’s and squeezed hard. Katherine started breathing again.

“I understand that you, young friend,” she addressed Trevor, “…fell into the harbour basin in Aztlan before your departure. Just as the harbour guards had located the suspected Gabari thieves.”

“Yes, Lady, I…fell into the…water,” he answered the question in broken Alesian. “I don’t know about…thieves.”

“Explain.”

Trevor was very pink in the face, feeling strangely guilty. What did his accident have to do with all this?

So Trevor explained how he had felt a push and toppled into the water as they waited with Lelani on the pier. That he had seen something big and black fluttering past just before. That everybody had been very helpful and he was lifted out of the harbour basin by their Gabari guard.

Trevor felt embarrassed all over again. Chryséis opened her mouth to try and help Trevor out, but Kheton lifted his hand and she closed her mouth without saying anything.

“So you tell us that someone in a black cape was nearby as this happened?”

Trevor thought about the question. “Yes, honourable Lady, I think so.” What was she getting at?

“Did you see a black spider tattoo?”

Chryséis and Katherine looked at each other. A spider tattoo like the one they had seen on the sorcerer’s forehead before? Did that mean that the Highpriest of Shuruk had been in Aztlan on the pier?

“No, I didn’t see anything else, really.”

“The stone hasn’t spoken yet,” the Lady said randomly. Perhaps she was discussing the situation with someone telepathically. She closed her eyes. Had she gone to sleep?

Katherine felt like giggling again. The stone hadn’t spoken yet? It was a STONE, hello!

Eventually the Lady opened her eyes again, but it was Kheton who spoke.

“We have concluded that you did not steal the Speaking Stone. You were merely used as couriers. We have our suspicions as to who the culprits are.”

Katherine looked triumphantly at Trevor and mouthed, “See!” pointing to her eye.

Lelani looked at her husband and closed her eyes with relief.

“We believe that you athenai were used by the thieves to hide the ‘Speaking Stone of Caradoc’ from the harbour guards. And you, young friend Trevór, were pushed into the water as a distraction. We believe that the Highpriest of Shuruk is behind the plot.”

The tension in the room lifted with a collective murmur. There was a perfectly good explanation for all this: it was the fault of the Edfunians. The children were innocent!

The Lady of Kamûk spoke with the captain of the guards and he left briskly with some of his men to carry out her order. Slowly the truth sank in.

“We won’t go to prison. We’re safe.”

“They must have spoken to the Lady of Cydonia. She came through for us!”

“That’s amazing!”

Oh thank you! Trevor thought intensely. He was not a klutz…and a thief. Did he hear the words ‘It’s a pleasure.’ in his mind?

“But what is a speaking stone and why did the Edfunians steal it?” Trevor couldn’t hold back any longer, “Why is it so important? Stones cannot speak!”

The Lady’s stern look softened. The foreign children were obviously ignorant. She gave orders to clear the room until only the children stood before her and Kheton. Then she nodded and Kheton enlightened them at last.

“Young friends, this is no ordinary stone. The ‘Speaking Stone of Caradoc’ is one of three of its kind still remaining in the Known World. It is made from polished moonstone. The others are made from emerald and ruby. They are the last of twelve such stones the gods left behind in the care of the ‘Great Ones’ before they departed and the Dark Age began. They are very old and very precious. Every Speaking Stone contains the secrets of wisdom to help maintain civilised ways on our mother planet. The Edfunians and their evil Gabari brethren are greedy to possess these powers for their own benefit. To learn secrets.“

“The ‘Speaking Stone of Caradoc’ was a loan by the Lady of Caradoc in Lyonesse to assist the Alesians with its counsel in our time of need. The stone’s wisdom helped avoid an all-out war with the Edfunians. Then it was stolen.”

“That’s incredible. Can the stone really speak?”

“Yes, it can, but it does so of its own will.”

“Huh?”

“If one of the speaking stones ended up in the wrong hands, it would have disastrous consequences. That’s why they must be safeguarded at all cost and cannot be forced to share their counsel.”

“So we were caught in the middle. We would have been punished if found guilty?” Chryséis trembled at the thought.

“Yes, severely.”

“But you could read our minds. You knew that we were innocent.”

“I did indeed read your minds, but the procedures must be followed. Some try and conceal their real intentions…and thoughts.”

“We don’t know how to do that.”

“The Edfunians know.”

Soon the time travellers found themselves back in the long passageways of the citadel again. They were happy to be off the hook and on their way to their quarters and not to some gruesome dungeon.

“That could have easily gone pear-shaped,” Trevor said when he had recovered from their scary experience.

“Easily.”

“I’m just glad the stone was found before the Edfunians could get to it.”

“It would probably not even speak to them.”

“But they must have followed us to get the egg back. Maybe they’re already here in the citadel.”

“Hmm, I’m sure they’re going to catch them. I mean with all those guards around, where are they supposed to hide?”

“I’m exhausted. A speaking stone with all the secrets of wisdom stored in it. You have a question and the stone tells you what to do. I mean, what’s next?”

“Maybe they’ll turn you into a frog. A speaking frog.”

“Ha, ha, ha — a frog!”

“‘Oh hi, Dr. Naidoo, I’m a speaking frog. I hope you don’t mind.’ Dr. Naidoo would have a heart attack in Natural Science class.”

“Not just Dr. Naidoo.”

“’Be not afraid, it’s just me Trevor. I’m a speaking frog today. You know, like a speaking stone…’”

They laughed and talked complete nonsense for a while, wild with relief. Their pact that if anything truly bad happened, they would immediately go back to the future, had not come into effect. This wasn’t the end of their adventure. Not by far!

*

A group of giants in dark attire bowed in greeting, as their stooped leader joined them in the dank room in a deserted part of the harbour. He dusted himself off and briefly studied two citadel guards, who lay stunned on the warehouse floor. They had walked in on the Edfunians just moments ago.

“I thought I told you to shield this building,” the leader’s voice rasped in rebuke. ”Why is this area suddenly searched by guards?”

He glared at the Edfunian warriors before him. Their leader’s eyes were compelling… compelling them to obey.

“Sire —” One of the men began and stepped forward, but was cut short with a hiss and an abrupt hand movement. The giant slunk back in a row with the others.

“Hush, I know none of you would dare to betray our cause. We don’t have much time.” He lifted his arms and a scintillating dome rose up, rendering the warehouse impassable. The guards moaned and moved a little.

“Today we have to act. It will be done as in Cydonia. Turn invisible and stun the citadel guards. Quick and unseen…no confrontation! We don’t want any attention.”

The Edfunians bowed their heads, asking no questions. There was menace in the Highpriest’s voice and his bright eyes glared at the underlings.

“I will be awaiting you on the ship in the bay outside the harbour wall. The captain will take us back home…do not fail!”

The Gabari skipper and his crew had been ‘persuaded’ by the sorcerer, unable to resist the compelling eyes for long.

“The ‘Speaking Stone’ reached Kamûk on an Alesian cargo ship,” the Highpriest continued. “Unfortunately the citadel guards discovered the moonstone before it could be recovered. Our Gabari spies report that the troublesome foreign children from Cydonia were among the travellers. Only a defenseless young woman keeps them company. Xipe Xolotle might be agreeable to fresh sacrifice… Ah, but they might kick up a fuss.”

He remembered how difficult they had been at the Cydonian market. “That’s the last thing we need right now. The stone is what we want.”

The warriors murmured consent. If all went according to plan, they would be on their way to Shuruk in no time – with the powerful stone.

“I must have this stone!” the Highpriest barked. “This is our chance. Power will be restored to Edfun and Alesia will be ours. And then Atland and then the Known World!”

The warriors couldn’t wait to carry out the deed those bright eyes and the sign of the spider had ordered them to do! It would be easy enough to enter the citadel unseen. No confrontation, the Highpriest had said. They had to be careful when getting close to the ‘Speaking Stone’, lest it cried out and gave them away before it was dropped into the black velvet sack. They weren’t sure what a speaking stone was capable of doing, but one couldn’t take chances.

“Triumph will be Edfun’s at last. Triumph over Alesia and the Known World! We will take back our rightful place among humankind. Go forth and claim your birthright. The Red One be with you! Ari-sūdana!”

“Ari-sūdana!” the warriors joined in the battle cry in a muffled tone.

One never knew if busybodies were still around. But nobody heard the Edfunians chanting. The unconscious citadel guards were left behind as the giant warriors made their way - invisibly - to the citadel hill at dusk.

The Highpriest of Shuruk could not have chosen a better time..