by D N Meinster
It was unable to resist her magic. The door opened a crack and then steadily increased the further she dragged her fingers through the air.
When it was halfway opened, she pulled back, ending her engagement with the doorway. She wasn't trying to escape since she knew they'd bring her friends to her. But now, she'd be able to hear them coming.
She strolled back to her chair and took a seat. Her impatience grew as the minutes added up. How much longer would they keep her waiting? If they were only putting her friends through what they'd put her through, wouldn't they have arrived already? Horrid thoughts tried to sneak into her mind, but as she avoided them, she committed to taking action if they continued to make her wait. Now that she knew the walls could be manipulated, the Bellish wouldn't be able to hide Doren and Aros from her.
After what felt like an hour, but was probably not even half that, she heard footsteps in the hall. She jumped out of her seat and headed for the doorway, which slid all the way open as someone approached.
Doren almost collided with her as the chrome man swung him inside. She didn't even try to avoid him, instead darting the rest of the way and taking him into a tight embrace. Doren must have been completely taken aback because he didn't even respond.
"I was starting to worry you weren't coming," Rikki said, her arms still wrapped around him.
He finally embraced her but didn't say anything.
After they stood together for a few moments, she backed off and examined him. There were no scars or bruises that she could see, only the same ugly pajamas they had forced her into. She stared into his dark gray eyes before taking him by the hand and guiding him to one of the empty seats. "What did they put you through?" she inquired.
"Decontamination," he said, glancing away momentarily.
"Me too," Rikki replied. She hadn't let go of his hand even though they were both sitting.
"Did they tell you why?" he asked, focusing back on her.
"They didn't tell me anything," she said, gritting her teeth. Her light green eyes lit up with a fury. "I didn't know if you were okay. I still don't know about Aros."
"If we're fine, he must be." Doren gave her a weak grin, and then his eyes dropped as he finally took note of what she was wearing. "How did you convince them to give you a red suit?"
"It wasn't red," Rikki said. "Magic, remember?"
Doren chuckled, and he tightened his hand on hers. "Think you could make this one green or yellow?"
"Of course I can."
But before she could try, the door opened once more and Aros came stumbling inside. There was a look of sheer terror on his face, and his spiky hair seemed to be more on end than usual.
"They have the Keys!" Aros exclaimed as he tottered toward them. "They have everything." He dropped to his knees before he even made it to the chair. "We are outmatched. I can't even describe what I've seen. Can you shift us out of here? Can you – " Both Rikki and Doren could not hide their amused expressions. "Am I missing something?"
The door slid back open, and a man dressed in a white coat with vertical red stripes stepped into the room. His hair was a swirling mix of black and silver, and his kind eyes stood out for he had nearly white irises. His cheeks were pronounced, as was his rather pointy nose, and the rest of his frame was rather boney. While he sauntered into the room like he was its owner, he beamed warmly at the three who occupied it.
"Greetings, my three young tourists," he said, placing a hand to his heart. "It is an honor to meet you, as it is not every day we receive visitors. My name is Keisler Fantom, and I am the Assistant Project Head and Director of Health here in Belliore. I am sorry if what we put you through was a bit uncomfortable, but these days we are extraordinarily careful. Now," he clapped his hands together, "do tell me your names."
Not one of the trio volunteered to speak first. They stared at this Keisler like he was going to whip out a sword and impale them without a second thought. Rikki opened her mouth but only a growl came out.
Keisler placed a finger to his chin. "I suppose you're rather suspicious? Maybe you'd be more cooperative if I returned your belongings to you." A piece of a nearby wall slid out, revealing a slot where Aros' clawblades, Rikki's staff, Doren's shield, and two Keys were waiting for them. "Go on then."
Not one of them moved, and Keisler's attitude turned sour. "It will not be easy to converse with you if you remain unwilling." He tapped his foot and proceeded speaking. "Fine. Here is what I know. You three are all from Kytheras." He pointed at Doren. "You are a prince." And he moved his finger to Rikki. "You are a mage." And then Aros. "And you must be a guardian." He reached into a pocket in his coat and pulled out two scrolls. "According to these, you've come here for our Key, having already acquired that which belonged to Kytheras and Faunli. After three hundred years, Neanthal has made his move, and a plot for his release is in motion. You three have been sent to stop him. Is this all accurate?"
It was a deduction that would have made Lady Yveen proud, though none of them were about to tell him that.
Rikki was the first to decide to speak up. "Where's Ji-Ji?"
"Ji-Ji?" Keisler raised an eyebrow.
"My denhare," Rikki stated.
"Oh," Keisler replied. "Still going through decontamination."
"Why?" Doren asked. "Why did you put us through that?"
"For our safety, and your own," Keisler said, and he crunched the scrolls in his fist. "There is a sickness going around our city. And you three are foreigners. We needed to make sure you weren't exposed to it, and that you didn't bring some other illness with you."
"Like the Palmarose Plague?" Aros asked.
"I've not heard of such a plague," Keisler replied. "But one plague's similar enough to another. We call ours the MR." His eyes cautiously searched the trio. "Were you all exposed to this Palmarose Plague?"
"It spread through Kytheras ten years ago," Doren informed him.
"So nothing to worry about now, then?" he asked. "We don't need to deal with more than one virus at a time."
"You're the ones who decontaminated us," Doren replied.
"Right you are," and a more pleasant demeanor returned. "You are all in fine health. No MR, Palmarose, or any other sort of plague. You see, we've isolated ourselves from your kingdoms, which has its benefits and its detriments. We don't get your illnesses, but we also don't get the latest information. It's a cost we were all willing to pay, but it makes visits like yours quite a surprise." He turned away from them and started toward their weapons. "Of course, I have to ask. Seeing as how the river is blocked, how exactly did you get here?"
Rikki's staff rose into the air and shot past him, landing in Rikki's open palm. "Magic."
Keisler watched the staff return to its owner and eyed her with great concern. "I should have known as much. It's almost a waste of a question."
"The chrome men seem resistant to it," Rikki remarked.
"Chrome men?" Keisler puzzled over the question until he realized what she was referring to. "Oh, you mean our peacekeepers. Yes, they are made of a special metal alloy that has shown a practical resilience toward magic. It's not perfect, though."
"What are they?" Aros asked. "And how do the doors open on their own? And what are the odd blinky sticks and boxes I've seen?"
"Our peacekeepers are automatons," Keisler said, as if they would know what he meant. "The doors are automated. The sticks and boxes are our latest gadgets."
Rikki glanced at Doren and Aros, who were as clueless as her. "Scientific advancements," she guessed.
"Naturally," Keisler replied. "Has Kytheras not implemented any form of automation?"
"The power of lightning," Doren said as if he was hit by inspiration. "I read something about that once."
"We call it electricity," Keisler corrected.
"Is that how all this works?"
"Yes," Keisler affirmed. "But the implication is that you still do not have it where you're from."
Aros scratched the back of his neck. "Power of lightning?"
<
br /> Keisler was in a state of near disbelief. "Are you telling me that there have been no scientific or technological advancements in your kingdom since the Parting?"
Given the tone of his question, none of the trio was willing to volunteer the embarrassing answer.
"Astounding," Keisler said, inferring the response from their silence. "You three would be of particular interest to our historians."
"We're not here for that," Rikki said, having no desire for an extended visit. Besides her feeling completely out of place in an overly advanced city, this Bellish struck her with an arrogance that was known to be all-too-common amongst their kind. If they were all like that, as she suspected, it was better they leave as soon as they could. "We only need the Key."
"Right," he said, raising the two scrolls back up to his eye line. "To whom do these belong?"
Doren reached out for the two pieces of parchment.
Keisler handed them over and turned away from them immediately after. "There may be difficulties with your request."
"There always are," Doren sighed.
"What's the power of lightning?" Aros whispered to his friends, still confounded by the notion.
Rikki ignored the question, though she worried Aros wasn't going to pay any attention until he found out.
"Shut up, Aros," Doren whispered back.
Aros crossed his arms and noiselessly pouted.
"What are the difficulties?" Rikki asked.
"Our Project Head requested he be the one to tell you," Keisler said, and he stepped off to the side. "If you would please look to the forward wall."
Where the white wall was seconds before, there was now only an enlarged painting of a man. His hair was a bizarre mix of green and blue, with the blue strands flowing down his neck and the green strands cut much closer to his head. His eyes were a brilliant shade of red, which made his gaze that much more penetrating and intimidating. The dimensions of the portrait did no kindness to his nose or ears, which were each a few sizes too large, nor his chin or neck, which were both unusually elongated. Yet in spite of the lifelike close-up, there were no signs of wrinkles, nor eyebrows or eyelashes. His shoulders and neckline were in view so that the sleek red outfit he was wearing was noticeable, though the majority of it was out of frame.
Rikki was immediately reminded of the portrait of King Aergo that hung in Castle Tornis, which had been created with Bellish technology. But that one had been made in shades of gray, while this one was in color.
And it moved.
The man in the picture seemed to bob side-to-side before he began speaking. And not only did she hear his voice, but his lips moved right along with the words he was saying.
"My name is Versil Talap. I am Project Head and Director of Research here in Belliore. It is a pleasure to be able to meet you. As I understand it, our decontamination procedures may not have only been foreign to you, but threatening. I apologize, but as the situation stands, we must take every precaution, for our well-being, and your own. I was told that your clothes were destroyed. We will, of course, provide you with suitable replacements."
Rikki stood up. "We're here for your Key."
Versil's enormous eyes narrowed on her. "So I've been informed. Unfortunately, we are currently unable to provide you with the Key."
"You haven't lost it, have you?" Doren asked.
Versil's giggle was unnerving. "Not at all. However, you are not the first ones to come looking for it."
"Hatswick," Aros growled.
"I must say, we were taken aback when he turned up in our kingdom. It had been so many years since anyone visited, we believed we had even isolated ourselves from mages. This was not the case." His face fell as he spoke those last words.
"Did he take it from you?" Rikki asked. Her old mentor was both powerful and beguiling, a dangerous mix that could have let him outwit the intelligent scientists.
"He tried," Versil disclosed. "And he continues to try, which is why we cannot turn it over. We have been unable to conceive of a solution to this predicament, so we are determined to maintain the status quo."
"What is the status quo?" Doren asked.
Versil's face turned to Keisler. "Would they understand?"
"Implausible," he answered.
"Perhaps if they saw it. We owe our guests an explanation for why their trip may have been made in vain. Get them ready, Director Keisler, and send them off to the Key Chamber." Versil's attention returned to the three Kytherans. "You will see why we cannot acquiesce, though do let us know if there is anything we can do to be more accommodating." Versil gave them a smile that was more alarming than reassuring, and then he disappeared, leaving only the original white wall behind.
"That was a moving picture," Aros said, dumbfounded.
"Does this one always state the obvious?" Keisler asked. When he didn't get a timely response, he left the room.
"What do you think Hatswick is up to?" Doren asked Rikki.
"I think they're going to show us," Rikki replied. She looked to the door as Keisler came back inside, followed by a line of chrome men.
"We have selected your attire for you, based on your weaponry. We do hope you approve." Keisler nodded his head and the peacekeepers walked toward the trio, displaying full suits of armor hanging in their grasp.
The chrome man standing in front of Rikki extended the silver armor toward her. It glimmered like it had just been polished, and she saw her reflection as she leaned in to examine it.
"Light and durable, these ensembles are our latest designs," Keisler expounded. "They will not only resist the elements, but they also contain defensive weapons for additional protection. If you need assistance putting them on, our peacekeepers are programmed to obey."
Rikki took the top half of the armor from the chrome man, but as she rotated it in her hands, she couldn't figure out how exactly to get it on. Without even asking, the chrome man tapped a notch on the side of the piece, and it split in two. "I get it, now." Rikki pushed the front half of the armor against her chest and allowed the chrome men to press the other half against her back. As they seamlessly slipped together, metallic sleeves unfurled from the sides and covered her arms. "Amazing." After the two bottom pieces covered her legs, metal boots spread out from the armor to protect her feet.
Though it may not have looked it, the armor was not only light but also flexible. She could move about freely, as if she was only wearing undergarments, but now there was a layer of silver metal protecting her body.
When she was done inspecting her own armor, she looked at Doren. He was coated in bronze from the neck down, in a color that matched his shield. It was darker than hers, and less reflective, but otherwise matched. Aros, still grappling with his even with the peacekeeper's assistance, was golden, in a hue almost identical to that of Ligold.
"You should grab the rest of your belongings before we depart," Keisler told them. "I would hope you don't have to come back here."
"Why is that?" Rikki asked.
"This is a hospital," he informed her. "We treat the sick and injured here. I surmise you would prefer to avoid illness and injury."
"You got that right," Doren said.
Rikki moved over to the slot in the wall, where the rest of their belongings were waiting. She picked up her necklace and slipped it over her head and on top of the armor. It was camouflaged so well that only the channeling crystal was immediately noticeable.
Doren grabbed his shield, but turned to Keisler as if he didn't know what to do with it. "Where's the sling?"
"You won't need it," Keisler said. "Go ahead, try it out."
Doren slid the shield onto his back, and it stayed in place without any visible assistance. "Magnets?"
"Something like that," Keisler replied.
Aros finally got the rest of his armor on and made his way over to the same spot. He put his golden necklace back on, with the M standing out despite how similar its color was to his armored chest, and then grabbed both his clawblades. They were
in better condition than when they had been taken, and he placed them each diagonally across his back. He lifted the two Keys in one hand, and a tiny golden cylinder he did not recognize in the other. When he shook it, he could hear coins knocking into each other.
"They should lock into your waist," Keisler told him.
Aros held the cylinder to one side of his waist and the Keys to the other. When he let go, they both stayed in place.
"You won't find any use for your coins here, though," Keisler said. "We do not use tangible currency in Belliore."
"What about my straps?" Aros asked.
"With our armor, you have no need for them."
"I need them," Aros asserted. He stared at Keisler like he might explode if he didn't get an affirmative response.
"I will recover them for you, and get them to you before you depart our kingdom," he assured him.
"Thanks," Aros said, though his tone was flat with a note of irritation.
Rikki gazed at Aros, concerned that he might still have residual rage buried within. She knew it'd be understandable if he did, but she hoped not to have a repeat of any of their incidents in Faunli.
She grabbed a silver belt with multiple pockets that had been waiting with the rest of her belongings and looked through it all. Everything she had packed in her bag when she had left Kytheras was inside, including a few gems and an ancient map, and she promptly held it to her waist, where it remained even when she let go.
As she turned to again inquire about Ji-Ji, a chrome man was on her way toward her with the denhare in its arms. Before she went to reach out for him, she had an idea. She slid her staff against her back, like her friends had done with their weapons, and it stayed in place without obvious support. "Look what I can do!"
Doren grinned at her. "Now I only need to find myself a necklace, and we'd all be matching."
Rikki took Ji-Ji into her arms and began stroking his back. "Did they hurt you, Ji-Ji?" He let out a long, angry whistle in response, leading her to shoot Keisler a dirty look.
"Do you need me to apologize to the denhare as well?" he asked with a derisive tone. "Come along now. We have plenty of time to waste, but none to spare."
