his shoulder and saw that the corridor
was pitch black. The tile itself had dimmed.
"Don't
step backwards!" Mordalayn warned gruffly. The guard behind
followed them off silently and as they walked forward Jared looked
over his shoulder and realised with shock that the tile had gone
and the corridor had no floor, the blackness below was simply
bottomless.
They moved towards the table
and the guards took up position either side of the entrance they
had come through. Impassive,
their spears held rigidly by their sides, they stared straight
ahead.
"It's
ok, we are expected here" Mordalayn said.
"Who’s
expecting us?"
"The council know we are
coming .”
Just
then there was a crackling sound and Jared glanced across the large
table to his right. As he watched, the air above and slightly
behind it rippled. The ripples played in the air, making Jared's
eyes feel funny. They slowly merged to a central point and, just
before they closed in on each other completely, a bearded figure
like the ones they had seen out in the main hall, appeared sitting
in a large, leather backed chair. His body was see through at first
but as the ripples finally closed in on themselves he gained
solidity and stared around him quickly before letting his gaze rest
on Jared and Mordalayn.
"Ah,
there you are" he said irritably, adjusting his white and gold robe
and reaching into a pocket, bringing out a pair of spectacles and
then putting them on.
Mordalayn nodded at the seated
figure and said respectfully ,
"as you wish Prime Guardian.”
Jared
looked around nervously, unsure as to whether they would be invited
to sit or not.
"Rancidrain has been received
Takoba. He is persistently stubborn and uncooperative, as you would
expect. We will assume you didn’t have him arrive five metres above
the floor on purpose ,” the
old man added staring at Mordalayn over his
spectacles .
Mordalayn said nothing.
“ Hmmph!” the old man said loudly, and just then the air
resounded with the same crackling sound Jared had heard before and
then a third time. The rippling effect occurred to the right of the
old man and around the table. As he watched various figures began
to appear from out of the the air. Some dressed as the old man was,
others in robes of red and then two women, middle aged in green
dresses. One after the other they appeared in the seats.
When the
appe arances had stopped, the
table was now full of people facing them with the old man at one
end and a vacant space with a much more ornate chair at the other.
In front of Jared along the vast length were roughly ten people of
various types. One had the head of a rat, the eyes piercing black.
It was wearing a black tunic with bright gold-coloured buttons on
it and what appeared to be medals on the left chest pocket. Another
was a woman but she had only one eye in the middle of her forehead.
They all greeted one another with curt nods.
“ Now
then, let’s not waste time” the old man said. “We all know why we
are here. Takoba, your mission appears to have been a partial
success. The would be assassin is in chains. However you have
brought this child here. May I ask why?”
The assembled council turned
to look at Mordalayn who replied . “This child is called Jared. He was in the room when I
caught Rancidrain.” Putting his hand back on Jared’s shoulder he
continued. “His intervention prevented a murder. However Rancidrain
threw a tracker into him. I took him when Glavers attacked. Here
our enemies cannot use Jared to find Our Lady. They are careless in
their methods and risked exposure by such an open
attack.”
There
was a murmur amongst the gathered people. The one eyed lady looked
intently at Jared. A man on her right with closely cropped black
hair and the biggest sideburns Jared had ever seen conferred with
the rat creature, both staring intently at Jared who was now more
uncomfortable than scared.
The old man gestured to Jared
to
was pitch black. The tile itself had dimmed.
"Don't
step backwards!" Mordalayn warned gruffly. The guard behind
followed them off silently and as they walked forward Jared looked
over his shoulder and realised with shock that the tile had gone
and the corridor had no floor, the blackness below was simply
bottomless.
They moved towards the table
and the guards took up position either side of the entrance they
had come through. Impassive,
their spears held rigidly by their sides, they stared straight
ahead.
"It's
ok, we are expected here" Mordalayn said.
"Who’s
expecting us?"
"The council know we are
coming .”
Just
then there was a crackling sound and Jared glanced across the large
table to his right. As he watched, the air above and slightly
behind it rippled. The ripples played in the air, making Jared's
eyes feel funny. They slowly merged to a central point and, just
before they closed in on each other completely, a bearded figure
like the ones they had seen out in the main hall, appeared sitting
in a large, leather backed chair. His body was see through at first
but as the ripples finally closed in on themselves he gained
solidity and stared around him quickly before letting his gaze rest
on Jared and Mordalayn.
"Ah,
there you are" he said irritably, adjusting his white and gold robe
and reaching into a pocket, bringing out a pair of spectacles and
then putting them on.
Mordalayn nodded at the seated
figure and said respectfully ,
"as you wish Prime Guardian.”
Jared
looked around nervously, unsure as to whether they would be invited
to sit or not.
"Rancidrain has been received
Takoba. He is persistently stubborn and uncooperative, as you would
expect. We will assume you didn’t have him arrive five metres above
the floor on purpose ,” the
old man added staring at Mordalayn over his
spectacles .
Mordalayn said nothing.
“ Hmmph!” the old man said loudly, and just then the air
resounded with the same crackling sound Jared had heard before and
then a third time. The rippling effect occurred to the right of the
old man and around the table. As he watched various figures began
to appear from out of the the air. Some dressed as the old man was,
others in robes of red and then two women, middle aged in green
dresses. One after the other they appeared in the seats.
When the
appe arances had stopped, the
table was now full of people facing them with the old man at one
end and a vacant space with a much more ornate chair at the other.
In front of Jared along the vast length were roughly ten people of
various types. One had the head of a rat, the eyes piercing black.
It was wearing a black tunic with bright gold-coloured buttons on
it and what appeared to be medals on the left chest pocket. Another
was a woman but she had only one eye in the middle of her forehead.
They all greeted one another with curt nods.
“ Now
then, let’s not waste time” the old man said. “We all know why we
are here. Takoba, your mission appears to have been a partial
success. The would be assassin is in chains. However you have
brought this child here. May I ask why?”
The assembled council turned
to look at Mordalayn who replied . “This child is called Jared. He was in the room when I
caught Rancidrain.” Putting his hand back on Jared’s shoulder he
continued. “His intervention prevented a murder. However Rancidrain
threw a tracker into him. I took him when Glavers attacked. Here
our enemies cannot use Jared to find Our Lady. They are careless in
their methods and risked exposure by such an open
attack.”
There
was a murmur amongst the gathered people. The one eyed lady looked
intently at Jared. A man on her right with closely cropped black
hair and the biggest sideburns Jared had ever seen conferred with
the rat creature, both staring intently at Jared who was now more
uncomfortable than scared.
The old man gestured to Jared
to
Similar Books
