Read Online King of the Scepter'd Isle (Song of Earth) by Michael G. Coney - Free Book Online Page A

appeal to Fang. “Do you really need me?”
    “No,” said the Miggot. “But it’s your duty as leader of the Mara Zion gnomes.”
    “Am I still the leader?”
    “Of course. Why not?”
    “Well. …” saidFang diffidently, “I thought perhaps now things are settling down, Bison could take over again. I never felt comfortable about deposing him, actually, Miggot. I felt I’d been guilty of some sort of coup.”
    “Coup? I’d say Bison abdicated. He couldn’t take the heat. As a leader, he’s finished. A dead issue.”
    “Oh, all right, if you say so. I’ll continue on a temporary basis, until Bison recovers his, uh, vitality.”
    “Come on,” said the Miggot impatiently.
    The gnomes wriggled carefully backward from under the bush; then scuttled away through the undergrowth. The paths were strange and they lost their way many times. By the time they reached the blasted oak where the rest of the Mara Zion gnomes had hidden themselves, it was mid-afternoon.
    “I wish we’d chosen somewhere else for the camp,” observed Fang as the blackened branches came into view through the surrounding, intact foliage.
    “It’s an excellent spot, Fang,” said the Miggot, who had chosen it.
    “Don’t you think there’s something … pessimistic about it? I mean, a
blasted oak?”
    “You’ve been listening to Spector too much,” snapped the Miggot. “It’s a tree, not a symbol. And the roots provide good cover.”
    “It’s Fang and the Miggot!” came a joyful cry. “They’re back!”
    The gnomes rushed from concealment and greeted the pair, pumping their hands, slapping them on the back.
    “Well done, Fang!” cried the Princess of the Willow Tree, hugging him tightly.
    “The spirit of gnomedom is not dead,” announced Spector the Thinking Gnome.
    “So did you see Nyneve and Arthur? What did they say?” asked King Bison. “Did you arrange a suitable area of the forest for founding the new gnomedom? Has Arthur instructed the rest of the giants to let us live our lives in peace?” There was an unaccustomed acidity in Bison’s voice. As the gnomes’recently deposed leader, he was beginning to feel the loss of authority.
    “Well, not exactly,” admitted Fang.
    “Not exactly what?”
    “Not exactly any of those things. We saw Nyneve and Arthur, yes. But a crowd of giants were there and things weren’t going too well. It didn’t seem wise to show ourselves.”
    “Not wise?” echoed the Gooligog, Fang’s father and the Mara Zion Memorizer. “But up at the lake, Arthur assured us he would protect us! ‘So long as I’m alive, no harm will come to you gnomes.’ Those were his exact words. Are you saying Arthur lied?”
    “No, Father. He meant what he said. The only trouble is, the other giants don’t accept him.”
    “But he’s Arthur! He’s destined to be King of England, according to Nyneve. How can they not accept him?”
    The Miggot helped Fang out. “Obviously there must be certain formalities before Arthur can sit on the throne.”
    “Formalities? Like what?”
    “Like conquering the rest of England, you fool,” snapped the Miggot, losing patience. “You know how giantish society works. It’s not like gnomedom. Giants have to fight for what they get. You’ve seen them doing it often enough in the umbra.’
    “So what are we going to do?”
    “What we intended to do. Rebuild gnomedom. We’ll just have to exercise a little caution, that’s all. We’ll maintain a low profile until Arthur’s influence spreads. Then we’ll emerge triumphantly from hiding and take our rightful place as important members of the forest community.”
    “I’m damned if
I’ll
go into hiding,” said the Gooligog. “Gnomes have never hidden in my memory.” The Gooligog’s memory went back many thousands of years. “It’s demeaning, expecting us to—”
    A crashing in the bushes cut him short. He bolted for cover, ignoring the demeaning aspect for the sake of expediency. The rest of the gnomes