“Yes,” Koran answered, breathing heavily and looking back, almost not believing that the city had vanished completely.
Four people arrived, carrying a wooden stretcher. Tyson was lifted onto its brown cloth and carried away.
“Don’t worry,” the elderly man said to Katie, who noticed her look of concern as Tyson vanished out of sight. “He’s being taken to our highly trusted and experienced medics within the castle. Your friend will be well in a short time.”
Katie stared at him but nodded. She swallowed her unease before speaking. “Who are you?”
The man smiled pleasantly and closed his eyes briefly, though, with his age, it seemed like a while had passed. “My name is Onix of the Council of Oasi,” he answered. “While I have many duties, my most important one is ensuring that no one has stolen the jewel from Galbatrar.” He pointed behind Katie. “That city you came out of holds the key to a weapon. Our ancestors died protecting it.”
“We don’t have the jewel,” Koran butted in. “We weren’t looking for it. But someone already took it.” He sounded almost rude; anxious, at the very least.
Onix stared at him. “I deduced as much. The city appeared some weeks ago, but no one came through it. The city will only appear if someone is making it out. But no one came through the gate.”
Katie and Koran didn’t know what to say.
“Please,” said Onix. “Let me take you to our city. Oasi isn’t far from here, and there you will find rest and nourishment.”
Katie was suspicious of the timing Onix had, almost as if he had been waiting for them. But she didn’t have time to wait. She had to get Tyson.
Katie and Koran followed Onix down a wide dirt path. Trees and brush lined the edges along with the forest of trees beyond. Patches of grass sprouted along the ground. Katie could hear a river, but it wasn’t until they rounded a curve in the path that she saw anything.
A large river flowed through the trees, at least seventy feet wide, and ended in a large basin before continuing as a flowing body of water. On the other side of the basin was the largest city Katie had seen since she arrived in Narque. The houses and buildings were made of a white stone that contained minerals that sparkled in the sunlight. At the far end of the city stood a large mountain that went as far as she could see. Built into the mountain was a wide building with columns supporting its entrance, larger than what Katie knew to be the White House.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Onix commented when he looked back and saw the stunned looks on Koran’s and Katie’s faces.
Overwhelmed with the sheer beauty of the city, Koran and Katie managed only in making small sounds similar to grunts.
“Well, hop on then,” Onix said, his voice sounding younger than it had been.
A large raft appeared. It looked made of pinewood, sanded and waxed to shine. Another old man was on the raft, though he appeared to be at least twenty years younger than Onix.
Katie gently stepped onto the raft, expecting it to move erratically beneath her feet. But it barely moved at all. Koran got on next and Onix, almost gracefully, swept his legs over and onto the raft.
The old man that had already been on the raft used a large staff to push them away from the riverbank and towards the city.
While the basin was large and its current ran fast, the raft seemed to need no further steerage to guide itself across other than its initial push, ignoring the direction of the water.
When they reached the other side, the old man bowed his head, beckoning them to get off. Onix led the way. Katie and Koran followed him up white marble stairs.
Two guards stood at the top, one on each side. “They’re with me,” Onix said. “Chancellor Levi wants to see them both and asked to do so as soon as they arrived.”
The guards nodded without straying from their line of vision. Katie could tell that Onix had authority in the city.
Katie looked in awe while they walked through the city. There were many roads, light gray and all polished. Many people walked about. Katie noticed that everyone here looked happy. Not scared, not worried, just happy.
From the opposite side of the river, the city looked large and majestic, but you couldn’t fully appreciate its magnificent elegance. The sunlight reflected off the buildings, but it wasn’t blinding. The roads were larger where they wove around buildings, narrowing as they went into residential areas.
Every now and then, Katie would catch a glimpse of a small rainbow caused by the reflecting sunlight on the mineral-filled rocks that were the foundation of the city.
“How long have you been expecting us?” Koran asked. Katie wondered the same but didn’t bother to inquire because it seemed like many people already knew who she was.
“Both your fathers told us you two would soon arrive,” Onix answered. “You’re not the only ones we’re expecting.”
He said it in such a way that Katie felt that she shouldn’t ask any questions regarding what he had just said. Onix continued to guide them through the city, waving to some of the passersby who waved back.
After a short while, Onix told them that they would have to meet the Chancellor and the rest of the Council before he could let them rest.
“So the Chancellor is expecting us?” Katie asked.
“He is, though he doesn’t know that you are here, so it will be a bit of a surprise for him.”
“Does the Chancellor like surprises?” Koran asked.
“Some, yes,” replied Onix. “But not all.”
It took them over half an hour to reach the city hall, and even then, it took another five minutes to climb the stairs that led to the entrance. From here the mountain looked threatening, even if it was one of the smaller mountains Katie had seen.
“They will want to do a security check with the both of you,” said Onix. “Under usual circumstances, the two of you would have clearance. But times are proving to be unkind.”
A marble-stone pathway led them to the front doors where six guards stood, each carrying a thin staff that had a small orb floating above. The orb was made of a milky-white gas that swirled. For a brief moment, Katie thought she could see the reflection of lightning inside. When she looked again, all she could see were the otherwise quite ordinary misty clouds.
“I will be escorting Katie Dimes and Koran Padrigian to the Chancellor.”
The guards responded by not stopping them from entering but didn’t give so much as a nod.
Two more guards walked up, each carrying a staff.
“The man will come with me,” said one of the guards. Onix nodded to Koran, and Koran walked away into a room with the guard.
“I’ll see the lady over here,” said the other guard. Katie noticed that he had sounded more polite than the other.
Katie followed the guard into a room across from where Koran was. The room was small but could fit four people comfortably. There was a small table with a vase against the wall between two sets of chairs.
“I will start my scan,” the guard said.
Katie didn’t know what that meant, but she didn’t have time to ask. She gasped when he pointed the staff towards her. The cloudy orb grew larger and its swirls swam more violently than before. This time Katie could see the bolts of lightning within.
This went on for half a minute before the orb stopped swirling and glowed white. The guard withdrew the staff and set its base on the ground with a soft tap.
“You are clear,” he said. “Let me escort you back to the entrance chamber.”
The guard opened the door and walked Katie back to Onix. Koran was already there. The guard gave a polite nod to Onix before walking away.
“Let us move on,” said Onix. He walked across the large entrance room which Katie hadn’t noticed before. Its designs gloriously complemented the white stone walls, with sculptures carved into them and the colorful line of gems that ran across the ceiling. Candles hung from the ceiling, upside-down along the central walkway. Katie noticed that there were no drops of wax on the ground.
The ground was a white, glazed stone that had a mural made of varying degrees of gray. It depicted a large mountain with several people at the base. A small winged creature hovered above the people.
Too stunned to ask questions, Katie followed Koran and Onix up the grand staircase to the second floor and went down a hall.
The halls were made of darker stone, yet it still glowed with the same eminence as the rest of the city.
Onix took them up another curved staircase, though this wasn’t as large as the one in the grand chamber.
Katie could tell this floor was housing. It had a “hotel” feel to it, with several doors on either side lined up as far as she could see. They passed another hallway, and at the end, Katie saw a swing door that she imagined led into a kitchen.
“The Chancellor isn’t ready to see you two yet,” Onix informed them. “So I will let you rest and you can see him later this afternoon. If you have any questions until then, any of our laborers will be happy to assist you.”
“Okay,” said Katie. She was still in awe at the palace.
“You will be in this room, Koran,” said Onix, gently pushing open a door. “And Katie will be just two doors down.”
Katie walked to her room and pushed the door open.
“I will call for you two when it is time to meet the Chancellor. Until then, you should rest.” Onix said kindly and walked away.
“What about Tyson?” Katie called out, almost forgetting that was why she came along.
“I will be checking on him now,” said Onix. “I was informed that he had had the poison fully removed and should be waking up any minute now. He will be just fine, I assure you.”
Katie smiled. “Thank you.”
Onix nodded with a smile and walked away.
Katie stepped into her room and closed the door quietly behind her. The room was cozy, though quite large. There was a big window at the end of it which overlooked the sparkling lake that went quite out into the distance. The velvet curtains were open to let in plenty of sunlight, which warm the room’s atmosphere. A full king-sized bed sat in the middle of the room flanked by two nightstands. The ornate headboard was made of polished rosewood. Two large dressers lined the walls.
Before finding the bathroom, Katie inspected the walk-in closet, which had hangers, dressers and two armoires. Pleased, Katie walked into the bathroom where she took a long, hot shower, washing off all the grease and grime, the dirt and sweat off her. She washed once more for good measure.
There was a mountain of towels ready for her and she grabbed one to dry herself with. There were clothes in the dressers, and she put on a fresh pair. Katie then collapsed on the bed and fell asleep before she could realize that it was the most comfortable bed she had ever been in.
“Good morning.”
Katie’s eyes quickly opened. She sat up in her bed and saw Tyson smiling, leaning against the doorframe.
“What time is it?” Katie asked, looking around and feeling disoriented.
“Around nine,” Tyson answered. “May I come in?” he asked politely.
“Yeah, of course,” Katie answered. Tyson nodded and walked towards the bed. That was when Katie realized who she was talking to.
“You’re okay!” Katie yelled happily and jumped out of bed to hug Tyson.
Tyson hugged her back and laughed. “I am. I am.”
“When did they let you go?” Katie asked him when they released each other.
“It was late last night. They had to make sure that they got rid of all the poison before releasing me,” Tyson explained. “They told me that whatever Koran had done saved me. If he hadn’t, I would’ve been dead by the time I got within the city.”
Katie sat on the bed and thought for a moment. They did owe Koran a lot.
“He and I talked last night,” said Tyson. “I thanked him and apologized for my attitude towards him.” Tyson let out a long breath. “I was going crazy over everything that was happening, but it was still unfair of me to treat him that way.”
“Yeah, I know,” said Katie. “I felt like I was going crazy too. Most of this just seemed unreal for the longest time.”
Tyson nodded. “When did that change for you?”
Katie looked down. “When Cyrus was killed on that ship. That’s when I realized how very much real everything was.”
“When that happened, I wanted to pretend like nothing was real,” said Tyson.
Katie let out a short, gloomy laugh. “Me too.”
Tyson sat down next to her and put his arms around her and let out a sigh through his nose. They only sat there for a minute, but that minute felt long overdue.
“I’m sort of hungry,” said Katie.
“I can help you with that,” said Tyson. He got up and waited for Katie to follow him. They walked out of her room and down the hallway.
“Still can’t believe I slept for an entire day,” said Katie.
“We were all pretty tired.”
Meals were served in a dining chamber that was situated on the third floor of the building. Katie took her time eating her breakfast.
Koran and Onix soon joined them.
“Sleep enough?” Onix asked. Katie nodded because she had food in her mouth. Onix was considerate enough to not say anything else until Katie had finished eating.
When she did, he told her that the Chancellor was ready to meet them but to not rush as he knew that they had been through a lot.
“Thank you. But I should be ready now,” said Katie. “Let’s go meet the Chancellor.”
Tyson cleaned up their plates and put them away in the bussing station so that they could be cleaned.
Onix led them through a complicated series of passageways, and down some darker hallways. Katie knew that the building was built into the mountain and was surprised that they were able to give most rooms more than enough light.
Chancellor Levi’s office was behind two tall, marble doors. Three guards stood in front of it, each carrying the same staff as the one out front did.
Onix led them through the doors, passed the guards who didn’t even so much turn their eyes to look at them.
The room felt like a planetarium with its dome-shaped ceiling and sheer size. There was a long, black table in the center of it with several chairs lined up on either side. At the head of the table sat Chancellor Levi in a tall chair made of wood.
The Chancellor stood up to welcome his guests and gave a slight bow before taking his seat again. While he was quite old, the Chancellor seemed strong and very much healthy as if he had the energy of someone in their twenties.
“Welcome,” he said. His voice was quite strong as well. “Please take a seat.” He beckoned to the seats closest to him. “There are several things we ought to discuss in the upcoming minutes, but we will need everyone in the Council to be present.”
Katie, Tyson, and Koran took their seats close to the Chancellor like they were told. Onix sat on a chair in the middle of the table.
The door opened, and another man walked in.
“Welcome, Artemus,” said the Chancellor.
The man named Artemus waved a hand and took a seat at the far end of the table. Katie’s eyes met his, and she quickly looked away.
Palatinii Cycle Page 24
