TERRA (The Portal Series, Book 2)

by Bowker, Richard;

  We all went to bed early. The house didn't have a toilet, so I was back to using a chamber pot. My bed was uncomfortable, and I couldn't sleep. Neither could Palta, it turned out.

  "We aren't going to make it back to Via, Larry," she said out of the darkness. "The king will never agree to that."

  I didn't respond. I didn't know what to say.

  "Perhaps we can ask him to let us go to Barbarica in exchange for the gant," she went on. "We can disappear in one of those lands that the priests don't control."

  "But Tirelius wants to take over Barbarica with his gants," I pointed out. "And without Affron there's no one to stop him."

  "We can go far away," she said. "We can change our names. It is a big world."

  I felt tears pressing against my eyelids. It was a big world, and none of it was home. "I suppose so," I said. "We have to go somewhere."

  We fell silent, and after a while her regular breathing told me that she was asleep. Much later, when I finally got to sleep, I dreamed of home, and I woke up in despair when I saw the chamber pot in the corner of the room.

  We aren't going to make it back to Via.

  The old couple gave us different clothes—loose-fitting pants and shirts like the old man wore. I had gotten used to robes by now, but it felt good to wear pants again. Palta, too, felt more comfortable. "This is like what we wore on Gaia," she said to me. "Only ours were not so good."

  I would have loved a bath, but the house didn't seem to have one. Instead we just splashed cold water on our faces from a bucket in the kitchen.

  After breakfast Arminius announced that he was going to give us riding lessons. "Prince Feslund told me that neither of you can ride a horse. We must take care of that."

  And so he did. Of course, Palta was much better at it than I was. The first time Arminius got her up on his chestnut-colored horse, she looked like she belonged there; and the horse seemed to know it. Almost from the beginning she could get the horse to do exactly what she wanted—speed up, slow down, turn, stop. Arminius was delighted.

  He was not delighted with me—and neither was the horse, who seemed to sense that I didn't know what I was doing and so felt no need to do anything himself. I was always afraid of falling off, even when Arminius was simply leading the horse slowly in a circle. It was embarrassing.

  Also, the insides of my thighs felt like they were on fire after a while—I was using muscles I had never used before.

  "It will come to you," Arminius said after a while. But he seemed happy to call a halt to the lesson.

  And that's mainly what we did for the next few days. I improved a little, and the pain in my thighs started to fade; Palta looked like she was born to ride. At meals Arminius would tell us stories of his life. He had recently returned from the east, on the border with what sounded like Russia. He had been the captain of a troop of Gallian soldiers there protecting the empire against a barbarian invasion. Just like Siglind said, it wasn't very exciting. "We had to be ready for battle, but the battle never came," Arminius said. "The barbarians knew better."

  "Did it bother you that you never got to fight?" I asked.

  He shrugged. "There was no glory in it, but perhaps some of us rate glory too highly."

  "What about defending the priests' empire? How did you feel about that?"

  "We don't have much choice, you see," he replied. "Gallia has been part of the Roman empire for centuries now. It is the world we live in. I could imagine a better world, but it doesn't exist."

  Perhaps such a world does exist, I thought. But that wasn't worth bringing up.

  Meanwhile I became more and more nervous, as the days went by and we didn't hear from King Carolus. How long did hunts take? Was he back and just didn't want to see us? What if Feslund had changed his mind and decided not to relay our request to him?

  And there was this: Palta was convinced that we had to trade the gant for freedom in Barbarica. What other choice did we have? But the more I thought about it, the less I liked that idea. We had another choice, didn't we? One that she wouldn't like. What should I do about that? Should I talk to her about it? I found that I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was a coward, really.

  And if I was a coward with Palta, what would it be like when I was standing in front of a king?

  So we practiced riding, and we ate good food, and we talked to Arminius. And then one night after we had gone to sleep I opened my eyes to see Arminius standing over us in our small cubiculum, holding a lamp. "Well, then," he said. "Wake up, you two! It seems that you have been summoned. Let's go for a ride."

  Chapter 20

  Outside it was chilly and windy. A wagon was waiting for us; its driver sat, half-asleep, on the bench in front next to a lamp hanging from a pole. Arminius pushed him aside and took the reins, and Palta and I got in behind them. We set out, making our way back through the village to the main road by lamp light and a quarter moon.

  I glanced at Palta. She looked a little scared. I was scared too.

  There was no one else on the road. The castle walls loomed in the distance, flags flying from the parapets. White smoke rose from chimneys above them. I thought I heard an owl hooting.

  The gates were open when we arrived. The guards saluted Arminius and let us through without a word. Now we were on a cobblestone path lined with torches. The castle itself was straight ahead, a massive stone building that looked like it could house a thousand people. Arminius drove the wagon around the castle and turned into a large courtyard lined with stables. He brought the wagon to a stop in front of a large door and handed the reins back to the sleepy driver. "Come along," he said to us. "Time to meet royalty."

  He led us inside the castle.

  We walked along a smoky torch-lined passageway, then up a narrow staircase and down a hallway lined with gorgeous tapestries of wild animals being hunted by men with bows and arrows. Arminius stopped in front of a large wooden door. "Call them 'my lord' and 'my lady,'" he advised us. "Bow when you meet them, and don't offer to shake hands. Stand until they offer you a seat. And whatever you do, don't underestimate Queen Gretyx. Clear?"

  We nodded.

  Arminius knocked loudly on the door.

  "Enter!" a muffled voice called from inside.

  He opened the door, and we all went in.

  The room was smaller than I had expected. I noticed thick carpets on the floor and more hunting tapestries on the walls. King Carolus was sitting in a large wooden chair with a book in his lap. Next to him was a table with cups and a black-and-green two-handled jug on it, and behind him was a bookshelf; I had never seen a bookshelf in Roma. The queen was standing by a large fireplace in which a few logs were burning low.

  Like most Gallians, the king had long hair and a beard—black streaked with gray. He was wearing a dark robe. His eyes were gray, and I thought they looked at us with kindness.

  Queen Gretyx, on the other hand, had the gaze of a viator—her striking green eyes seemed to be staring into our souls. She was a tall woman with a mass of curly brown hair that framed a thin face. Her bright green robe was embroidered with gold, and she wore a large gold necklace. She was motionless—except for those eyes.

  Arminius introduced Palta and me, and then went back and stood by the door. We walked forward a couple of steps and bowed.

  "Well then," the king said in Latin. "You are the ones who saved my troublesome daughter. For that you have my eternal gratitude."

  I bowed again. "Thank you, my lord."

  "But what are we to do with you?" he went on. "It seems that the priests of Via want very badly for you to be returned to them."

  This worried me. Did the priests know we were in Gallia? "My lord, I hope you will have mercy on us."

  "Perhaps, perhaps, but—"

  The queen suddenly spoke. "You have the weapon?" she asked me.

  "Yes, my lady," I said.

  She gestured to Arminius. "Take it from him."

  Before I had a chance to react Arminius had grabbed me from behind an
d pulled the gant from my pocket. He handed it to the queen and returned to his post by the door. He patted my shoulder as he walked by me, as if to say he was just doing his job.

  The queen hefted the gant and aimed it at the bookshelf, but didn't try to use it. Instead she handed it to Carolus, who looked like he didn't want to touch it. He put it on the table next to him. "You stole this from the priests," he said to us.

  "My lord, a viator gave it to me," I said.

  "And that viator stole it from the priests."

  "I don't know that this is true," I said. And actually, it wasn't true, if Gratius had in fact gone to Gaia to get it.

  This seemed to annoy the king. "Of course it's true," he snapped. "Who else has such things? Who are you? Who is this girl? You don't speak Latin like a Roman."

  Palta answered before I could. "We are just servants of the viator Affronius. From Barbarica."

  "I have heard of Affron," the queen said. "But what is he to us? You are the problem. You are a danger to the kingdom."

  "There are rumors about you, I'm told," Carolus added. "A boy and a girl wanted by the priests, brought here to Gallia by my foolish daughter. Before long my chief minister will hear them. He may already have heard about you, for all I know. That is not good. He himself is a viator, and his first allegiance is to the priests. He will not be pleased to discover that we are harboring you. Siglind should not have brought you here, and Venerix should not have allowed her to do so."

  "My lord, we have no wish to cause you trouble," Palta said. "Simply allow us to return to our home in Barbarica. You will be able to return the weapon to the priests, if that's what you want to do."

  "And tell them I found the weapon but let you two escape? How does that help me? No, you must be return to Urbis and face whatever punishment the priests think you deserve."

  So much for Palta's plan. "My lord," I said, "will you grant me a few more minutes of your time? I have an idea."

  "An idea?" he replied. "Why should I listen to your ideas? Do not propose to sell this thing to us, or some such nonsense. I am not interested in it. I do not even want to look at it. Weapons like this have caused too much pain to my family and my kingdom."

  "Not to mention, we are already in possession of it," Gretyx pointed out.

  "Of course," I said. "I want to suggest something you can do with the weapon."

  He gestured for me to continue.

  "In private, my lord," I said.

  The king shrugged, and then gestured to Arminius to leave. "Stay outside the door," he said.

  "Yes, my lord," Arminius replied, and he went out, closing the door behind him.

  Palta was staring at me. What was I up to? Well, she couldn't blame me. Her idea hadn't worked.

  "Well?" Carolus demanded. His eyes may have been kindly, but he now looked annoyed. He was tired of us and the problem we had created for him.

  "My lord, we know how you can defeat the priests and take power in Terra."

  "What? Nonsense. You are children."

  "Perhaps. But we escaped from Urbis along with Affron and another viator. We used a secret passage that the priests are unaware of. We can get back into the city using the same passage. Once inside Urbis... You see this weapon—it is called a gant. There are many more gants like this in Urbis, in an armamentarium. They are the weapons that were used to destroy the army of King Harald. The priests are holding onto them in case there is another revolt—and, if Tirelius has his way, they will use them to conquer Barbarica and extend their power over all of Terra. We know the location of this armamentarium. We know that the soldiers who guard it are not trusted to have these gants. We believe that, with our help, soldiers from Gallia can sneak into Urbis and take control of the armamentarium, using this gant. And once your soldiers have the weapons stored there, nothing can stop them from defeating the priests."

  I paused. Everyone was silent. I could hear the crackling of the fire. I could hear my heart pounding.

  "This is absurd," King Carolus said finally. "You expect me to risk my kingdom for this... this childish fantasy?"

  "It is not a fantasy, my lord. You know we escaped from Urbis. You know what this weapon can do. You know how unpopular the priests are—perhaps you heard about the protests and riots before the Roman Games. I am offering you a chance to avenge your grandfather's death. A chance to become a legendary ruler, instead of someone who has to follow orders from your chief minister. Yes, you will risk losing your kingdom and your life. But if you don't do this, you will spend the rest of your life doing whatever the priests tell you, and wondering why you never took the one chance you had of defeating them."

  The king seemed nonplussed at what I said. When he responded, he talked about something different. "These weapons—these gants—were given to the priests by the gods," he pointed out. "It would be sacrilege to use them against the gods."

  I wanted to tell him that this wasn't true. Gods had nothing to do with the gants. But I knew he wouldn't believe me. In Carmody's world—a world like mine had been back in the eighteenth century—Kevin and I had his calculator watch to show people, and they had no way to explain it; they had nothing like it, and they had no religion to point to: their God didn't send them watches or weapons. Here, the priests had turned the truth about the portal into myth and mystery over the centuries. People believed what they were told to believe. Even kings and queens.

  So I said: "This is what the priests want you to think. But the priests are just men and women. And the gants are just weapons, like swords and spears. I used this one to save your daughter's life. Why can't you use them to save Terra and avenge King Harald?"

  "You are setting a trap for us," the king said. "You bring our soldiers to Urbis, and then turn them over to the priests. It will give the priests an excuse to destroy us."

  "Why would we do that, my lord?" I asked. "We bear you no ill will. Princess Siglind rescued us from the priests. We will be forever grateful to her. We just want to find a way to stay alive. If you won't let us go to Barbarica, let us help you destroy Tirelius."

  The room was silent. Palta looked at me. Was she angry? I couldn't tell.

  "I want to use this weapon," the queen said suddenly.

  "My dear, no!" Carolus protested. "It is not right!"

  But she ignored him. She went over to the table and picked up the gant. "What do I do?" she asked me.

  "Do you see the notch on top?" I asked. "Put your thumb in it. Squeeze down on it while you squeeze the handle."

  "Show me."

  I went over and helped her position her hand. "You'll need to aim at something you don't mind destroying," I said. "The gant is powerful beyond anything you have experienced."

  She aimed at a large pot filled with flowers that sat on the floor in front of the bookshelves. "I don't understand how this can work," she said.

  "I don't understand it either. Just do what I told you. There will be a slight sound and a flash of light."

  Gretyx held the gant out in front of her for a long moment, and I thought she was going to lose her nerve. But suddenly we saw that flash of white light, and the pot disappeared, along with some of the books behind it.

  A bitter odor filled the room.

  She and Carolus looked at each other. "That is... remarkable," she said finally.

  The king seemed very upset. "It is not right," he repeated.

  Gretyx put the gant down on the table and went back and stood next to the fireplace. "I didn't realize it would destroy those books, too," she said. "That is really too bad."

  And then she started to interrogate me. "How many of these gants are in the armamentarium you spoke of?" she asked.

  "I don't know an exact number. I assume that there are many—there must have been many to destroy King Harold's army. Enough to conquer Urbis; enough to conquer Barbarica. Affron was considering this very plan—to sneak into Urbis and take over the armamentarium."

  "Why did he reject it, then?"

  "Because it will inv
olve many deaths—soldiers, priests, perhaps others as well. He couldn't bring himself to cause that much death."

  "Very noble of him," the queen remarked. "And he was sure the guards aren't armed with these weapons?"

  "That's what he said."

  "And the priests don't have more of these weapons elsewhere?"

  "I don't know for sure. But they are very careful with them. Look at how much they want to capture Palta and me. So I don't think many people have them."

  "How did you get this gant? Did Affron give it to you?"

  "Yes, he did. He gave it to me so that I could save Palta—as you know, she had been kidnapped by the same people who took Princess Siglind. The priests apparently captured Affron while I was doing that, and the princess took us in."

  "Why won't the priests have extra guards at Urbis, just to prevent this sort of attack?" Gretyx asked. "They know you have this thing."

  "Why would they think we want to return to Urbis?" I responded. "I'm sure they expect us to get as far away from there as possible."

  King Carolus suddenly stood up. "Enough!" he ordered. "This is impossible, and I won't allow it."

  Queen Gretyx seemed surprised by the interruption. "My lord," she said, "I think we should at least—"

  "We will not. Arminius!" he called out.

  The door opened immediately and Arminius entered.

  "Take these two back to where you are keeping them. The weapon stays here."

  Arminius bowed. "Yes, my lord." I saw his eyes move to the hole in the bookshelves.

  "There will be no more discussion about any of this," Carolus went on. "Do you understand?"

  Palta and I bowed. Before we left, I took a look at Gretyx. She was staring calmly at me, as if she were weighing how much she could trust me. And then she looked back at the fire.

  Chapter 21

  We were silent on the wagon ride back to the stone house.

  We stayed silent as we walked into our cubiculum.

  And then Palta lay down on her bed and burst into tears.

  "I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about my idea before we went to the castle," I said. "But when the king said he wouldn't let us go to Barbarica, it seemed like this was the only other option."