Chapter 8
Aria: “and crawled head downward”
This was a stupid idea. She knew it. Yet news of his return had fired her interest, and she'd risk it one last time. The risk of discovery and her mother's displeasure had always been more than balanced in the past by the thrill of watching unobserved, and now there was an extra reason for her trespass. Her pale beauty was not without its uses. The watcher on the roof that saw the mirror signals was young; he told her the message before passing it downstairs.
Still, this was stupid, and she knew it. The ventilation duct that had afforded such opportunities in the past was not so roomy now that she had grown. Part of her wanted to shriek at the closeness of the passage, as she wormed her way toward the vent that looked down on the audience chamber. There was no room to turn around! She'd have to back out the way that she had come, all the way to where the big fan had been before part of the ducting had been made into a swizzle. Even now, the air whispered past her toward the vent. A thorough bath had washed away the flowery essences she normally used for perfume.
Still, this was stupid. All it would take was a particle of dust, and one incautious sneeze to betray her presence to those she wished to spy upon. Against this possibility, she'd plugged her nostrils with bits of cloth. But nothing was ever certain.
At last she reached the vent and breathed a mental sigh of relief. The part of her that hated the closeness of the duct about her grown body could finally be distracted by the sights and sounds from the other side of the slotted panel.
As always, the view was excellent; the vent was behind and above the Governor's desk. Although the room was not small, she always brought with her a pocket telescope her mother had given her when she was just a girl. Naturally, she'd never disclosed the uses to which this instrument was put in the ventilation ducts of the old 'scraper.
There was, she remembered, another duct opposite this one on the far side of the chamber, from which she could, if she wished, observe her mother's face during meetings. But that was far less interesting. Who would want to watch the backs of the heads of the visitors, when one could see their fear, greed, consternation, anger, relief, and all the other fleeting expressions engendered by an audience with the Governor of Rado? Good times.
There had been times when she had been afraid herself, had feared that her mother's wolfhounds would be present and alert the others to her unseen presence. But they were rarely present at audiences. Though well trained, they were, at even the best of times, prone to growl at an unfamiliar servitor approaching Her Excellency to refill a goblet or bring some document for scrutiny. Though such interruptions were often useful for intimidating certain visitors, they were more often annoying. The dogs usually spent these intervals chained in the staircases on guard duty.
Cautiously, avoiding the faintest clink of lens against metal, she swiveled the old scope to survey the chamber as best she could. There was no sign of the canines. Unfortunately, there was no sign either of those she sought. With difficulty, she suppressed a sigh of impatience.
Finally, there was the sound of the door opening. Eagerly, she pressed her eye to the telescope and turned it toward the far end of the chamber.
Xander strode into the room. She had to smile at the way his nonchalance transformed the guards escorting him from captors into an honor guard, an impromptu entourage. Close behind him was a stranger, a rather nondescript young man with fair hair and blue eyes in peasant clothing. He bore a look of watchful alertness, clearly ill at ease but trying to hide it. He looked to be near her own age, and his frame had only begun to fill out with the muscles of adulthood.
Her mother looked up from the documents she was studying. “Back so soon, Xander? Sometimes I wonder why you take the trouble to leave us at all.”
Xander grinned and shrugged. “It takes as long as it takes, Excellency, and not one moment longer. I must apologize for the lateness of the hour. I had thought to ride back before midnight, but my new associate is not accustomed to the saddle.”
“I trust you'll rectify that deficiency. So this is the new one, eh?”
“I'm afraid so. Your Excellency, I have the honor to present Lester, of Inverness. Lester, meet Kristana D'Arcy, the Governor of Colorado.”
The boy stepped forward. His bow was not graceful, but at least he was trying to be respectful. “Your Excellency, this is an unexpected honor. I am not entirely sure why I am here, at all.”
There was a slight echo from all the hard surfaces in the room, but his words carried clearly to Aria's ears, as did her mother's answering chuckle.
“Oh dear,” said the Governor. “Surely my wizard has explained the situation?”
“I have begun to, Your Excellency,” said Xander. “However, since he is … not familiar with matters of State, additional explanation will doubtless be required to fully acquaint him with his new responsibilities.”
You mean, he has no clue what has happened to him. Hidden behind the grille, Aria closed her eyes for a moment. Truly, she didn't know whether to pity or envy the boy. If she were permitted to wager, she would have bet that Xander had neglected to mention what had become of his previous apprentices.
“We will leave it to you then. Welcome to Denver, Lester of Inverness.”
Oops! The audience was at an end. She should have realized her mother wouldn't be interested in questioning a commoner who knew little of events outside his village. Quickly, she began backing down the duct.
It was long minutes before she reached the fan room. Emerging in rather undignified fashion, bottom first, she dropped to her feet and turned to dive into the return duct that drew air from her own quarters. If her mother dropped in on her before retiring for the evening, it could make for an awkward scene. Worming her way as fast as she could against the returning air, she soon reached another vent and kicked it open and fell onto her chest of drawers, nearly knocking it over. Nervously, she turned and closed the vent with a click before clambering down off the dresser and jumping into bed. She nearly pulled the sheets off her mattress, so frantically did she yank them up to cover her dusty bedclothes. She closed her eyes and let her face go slack. And not a moment too soon! Scarcely a minute passed before she heard someone open her door, trying to be quiet. The door closed with a muffled click a few moments later.
In the darkness, Aria smiled triumphantly.
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