Earth Gate (Wine of the Gods Book 17)

by Pam Uphoff

  Being a passenger hadn't made it any easier. Jaime fought to stay relaxed. A barely known commander didn't help at all. Captain Mike Furnace was so bloody young he'd reluctantly taken on the role of the young adult son in this little "family vacation."

  The 'New Lands' were a bit eerie. Long strips of lava with nothing but a bit of brush or tough grass growing in a crack here and there. A land not even fit for goats.

  The first ACV was carrying a box converted for the four horses, the second a flatbed with the carriage. Baled hay for the horses stuffed most of the available space in the first ACV, so most of the team was in the second.

  At least three of the other infiltrators were old hands. Devvy Tripp was playing the mother. Paul Hamza was playing the part of her husband.

  Andy Mengle, playing the part of their groom and driver, blinked innocently at Lieutenant Hamza. "So, you and Mrs. Hamza have been married for four days? We'll try and give you some privacy."

  Devvy snorted, and leaned forward to pin him with her beady eye. "Andy, you're good with the horses, but don't look above your station. If I catch you looking at Rose like that, one more time, I shall have to speak to the Master."

  Hamza grinned. "And we'd better keep an eye on that new guard fellah, too. Gels sometimes get silly about muscles."

  Jaime, in his 'private guard' getup—lots of leather and a sword—flexed his biceps and grunted. "Me good guard. Me do anything ladies want!"

  Captain Furnace flexed his own biceps. "If he steps out of his place I'll thrash him, Dad."

  Okay, there was hope for some of the new officers.

  The oldest daughter took after her 'father' with his Arabic complexion and black hair. The 'younger daughter' looked more like 'Mom', her hair was a dark brown, her eyes blue. Captain Furnace fit right in, with his dark brown hair, brown eyes, naturally deep tan complexion. They looked like a family.

  Jaime eyed 'the older daughter' again. Rose Goodwin was stiff, and not at all amused with the byplay. It was a pity she looked so much like Hamza. Almost any other young women would have fit in better, personality-wise.

  The ACV swung to the right and stopped, settled to the ground.

  "All out!" Private Bach called through the narrow door. "We're five miles from Rip Crossing."

  Bach and Coolie were both the drivers and the outer perimeter observers. At need they could cover their retreat with sniper fire, or pop in and rescue them.

  It was getting late, the sun touching the horizon. Jaime climbed out onto the hot rocks, stretching out the kinks, then joined Andy in unloading the poor horses. They walked them around and brushed them. Poor beasts were pretty stiff, bracing against the movement of the ACV for almost four days with only one break. Better than pulling the carriage the whole distance, though. Camo nets over the vehicles, they settled for the night. Tomorrow they'd be Veronians, stopping for a night in a small village.

  Devvy settled down between Hamza and Jaime. "Do you think a day will ever come when we can really be tourists. Study the other cultures of this world, hunt down some of the friends we've made?"

  Captain Furnace raised his eyebrows. "Where have you made friends?"

  "We all spent time—a few years, total—in our Embassy in Karista, meeting a fascinating bunch of people. Flirted with handsome men for information."

  Jaime grinned. "Drooling on some of them. Did you ever catch that Xen Wolfson?"

  "Nope. Not so much as a kiss, and not a bit of useful information, either. And I didn't drool."

  "Of course not."

  They settled down for the night and Jaime drifted off, remembering quite a few drool-worthy young women. With glow. Is that why I'm one of the few men who never settled down with a wife? Or even a steady girl? That seductive glow. I need to get to that Wizard's School, catch up with Kenton . . .

  When he crawled out of bed, Bach and Coolie were already gone. They were going to look over the village and find some good observation points before the Hamza family arrived "from Verona."

  The Veronians wore pretty much the same clothing as the Westerners, which for women meant light weight linen shifts with an overgown like a long vest or coat. Some buttoned, some belted and some just hung open. Sleeves came in all lengths, sometimes tight, sometimes loose, sometimes slashed to show the color of the shift.

  In the heat, all three women were in white linen shifts, short sleeves, midcalf length and pale colored sleeveless overgowns.

  The men wore an assortment of clothing. Boots, trousers, shirts. Hamza wore an embroidered vest his Auralian wife had made him. Andy was in something vaguely like a suit, and Mike Furnace had acquired a silk shirt and a padded velvet vest. Jaime preferred his leather . . . and wondered if the captain had picked up a local girlfriend already.

  The horses were stiff after the trip, and the cold desert night. They got a late start and Andy walked them the whole five miles. They didn't want to get there too early, or it would look odd to stop.

  <> Bach's voice sounded over the radio implanted in the bone behind her ear.

  Hamza snorted and his voice echoed oddly as Jaime heard it both live and through the implant. "We keep telling you new guys there's a layer of high tech in this world that you just can't ignore. The fact that we're here about advanced gate tech should have told you that."

  <>

  Jaime shoved his jaw out just a bit to activate the transmitter. "Less than a thousand, otherwise the Rip would have destroyed it. Possibly less than a hundred. They only started exploring this direction recently." It echoed oddly through the link.

  <> Captain Furnace was inside the carriage with the family.

  <>

  <> Hamza again. <>

  <> Andy came through clearly, subvocalizing. <>

  Coolie snickered. <>

  Jaime could see a long low jagged ridge ahead. As they got closer, he could see the notch the road ran through.

  Andy whistled out loud as they drove up into the cut through the ridge. There was a ramp up, that looked for all the world like someone had melted a heap of gravel, then they were rolling along a smooth, seamless rock surface.

  <> Furnace sounded irritated.

  They rolled down another ramp and back onto lava. Ahead the world seemed to drop away to some vast misty depth. The road sank into an artificial canyon with smooth angled sides, the road dropping down into the mist. Andy followed the road. The carriage angled downward. Rock walls rose on both sides, nothing ahead but empty space . . .

  Up on top, Jaime grabbed a hold as the tall vehicle swayed. "Holy crap!"

  “Jaime, that lever beside you is the drag brake, if you would pull back . . . a bit harder . . . yeah, that'll do. No need to run down the horses . . . Holy Toledo!”

  They dropped below the mist as the road curved to the right. The left wall dropped down to a mere meter high barrier between them and what must be a couple of miles of open air to the far side of the broad canyon.

  "Whoa!"

  Jaime hauled on the brake, set it as the carriage jerked to a halt. Air on one side, a vertical wall of rock on the other. Ahead, a steep slope that curved out of sight.

  "Hold up a minute, I want to get a good look at this." Hamza opened the door and jumped out. The 'family' followed.

  Jaime climbed down and leaned over the solid rock railing and stared out over the wide valley. Steam rose from numerous spots, and a good sized river flowed nearer the far side than th
is. South of them a bridge soared in a graceful arc over the river, then split, one part spiraling back to ground level, the other curving to meet the vertical wall of the valley and climbed the side. It disappeared over the top about opposite them.

  "It looks like a high speed expressway." Zuni Mackay, the youngest daughter of their pretend family, sounded stunned.

  "Or a work of art." Paul turned and looked down the ramp.

  Just ahead it bent outward a bit and leaped a side gully with a flat road surface balanced on a beautiful arch. Then it bent back in a wide hairpin, and crossed the gully with another bridge before disappearing. Jaime looked over the edge, then leaned further. The road down there literally was directly beneath them. The cliff was under cut . . .

  Devvy turned away and looked at the captain. "Maybe we should get going. Before I lose my nerve and decide to walk."

  Jaime rode the brake all the way down the winding ramp. They reached the floor of the rift valley physically intact, no matter the state of their nerves.

  The floor was anything but level. Slabs of rock had eroded, whittled away into badlands topography. The inn and village—clearly the village was subsidiary to the huge structure—were on a broad shelf that jutted out from the east wall. The front of the inn looked north over the road and between arched rock formations to some geysers and beyond them the river. The bridge started its rise just beyond.

  <>

  <>

  <>

  <> Andy pulled the horses to a stop outside the front door.

  The door of the inn flew open and a young man stuck his head out and blinked at them. "Old Gods! Do you mean to say I've got actual guests?"

  Jaime vaulted down, as Hamza and the captain climbed out of the carriage.

  The man walked out, tall, blonde, handsome, muscular. Loose white shirt, unbuttoned halfway to his navel, tight black pants.

  Three feminine inhalations from inside the carriage. "Holy . . . "

  "Err, sorry, we don't get many guests this time of year. Took me by surprise. Umm." He glanced up to where Andy was unstrapping luggage. "Would you like rooms? Lunch? Umm, the cook isn't in yet, and the linen is all in the cedar closets, umm, sorry, do come in, we'll scramble up some help for the stable and the kitchen, and the rooms, umm, really quickly. How many rooms would you like? Seven? Let me help with your luggage . . . "

  "Why don't you let us deal with the luggage?" Devvy smiled. "Then you could find your cook. We started very early this morning and would love some lunch."

  He smiled, showing gleaming perfect teeth. "An excellent suggestion." He held the door for them, and they walked into a cavernous dim space. "The dining room is just to the left there, we'll get the lights lit . . . You'll find your rooms down the hall to the left, the seven on the right, just before the hot springs pool." He swooped behind a desk and emerged to hand Hamza a fistful of keys. "I'll be right back."

  He dodged Andy coming through the door loaded with the bags, and was gone.

  They all stared around the huge empty room. Zuni Mackay giggled. "It's a good thing I've never heard anything about vampires on this world. This is really strange."

  <> Coolie said. <>

  "You broke in?" Furnace sounded a bit dubious.

  <>

  "Huh. Well, let's hope any staff the pretty boy can round up is chatty."

  "Single." Andy muttered. "Loose." Hamza ignored him and grabbed his bag and led off down the left hallway.

  The rooms were roomy, with big beds, and closets. No bathrooms, of course. Those would be outside. There was an outside door, Jaime unlocked it and wandered out to check the locations of the privies, close and clean, with a bubbling basin of hot water. The Kingdom always was a step up from Auralia, even now after twenty years of sewers and clean water in Fascia.

  <> Voice only from Bach. <>

  Devvy stepped out and looked to her left. The glass around the pool was quite clear. "I really doubt it. Although if I thought I could get that gorgeous blond hunk manning the front desk in with me, I might do it myself."

  "Ooo! Cradle robbing?" Hamza was behind her. "And, you a happily married woman. Bach, get, Wife, stay in character."

  "Yes, husband." She tried for meek, and failed miserably.

  Being the guard, Jaime, of course, had a duty to check out the area. The hotsprings looked like a natural pool, with water flowing on from the left, with another stream flowing out the far side. Ferns, flowering plants, big stark slabs of rock. "Damn. All it needs is pretty girls."

  << And guys! >> that was Zuni. The superior sniff was probably Rose.

  A clatter from the front proved to be the pretty boy opening curtains. Jaime walked back and they all admired the room. Bright clear northern light poured over the stone floor, patterned in a large mosaic compass rose. It changed the mood considerably, for all it left the room just as large and empty.

  The pretty boy flashed a grin at them, and dived into the dining room, which started brightening immediately. Curtains back behind stays, candles lit on two tables, and the room was starting to show promise.

  Two young women bustled through the doors. One had a caldron held with a towel, leaking spicy odors. "You're rescued, Orion!" The other carried two sacks of who knew what. A third woman was right behind, a pie in each hand.

  Devvy glanced back at Hamza. "At least we won't starve."

  "And you can go exchange recipes. Gossip."

  "I hope. They may hustle off into oblivion as fast as they appeared."

  <>

  Jaime closed his eyes. The young man glowed like a bonfire. Three other glows, that way, brighter than his fellow soldiers. Looks like we've found at least one wizard. And maybe a larger magic community connected through corridors. He subvocalized. <>

  The young man, Orion, finished polishing the two tables.

  "Sit if you'd like. I'll have one of the girls bring in some bread and butter. What would you like to drink? We have tea, ale, red or white wine."

  "Tea please, a large pot if you would, and five cups. I suspect Andy and Jaime would prefer ale."

  "Oh, no ma'am, I don't drink on the job!" Jaime thought wistfully about some of the excellent beers and wines he'd had in Karista. "Tea for me as well."

  Andy scowled and nodded. "Too early to start drinking."

  They took the further table, and the 'family' settled around the bigger one.

  The first woman, a redhead, hustled in with bread on two cutting boards, and crocks of butter. "I'll have your tea right out." She bustled away.

  Another young woman, now sans bags, but her strawberry blonde hair still showing, brought plates, silverware and napkins. Real silver, polished and gleaming.

  <>

  The redhead brought teapots and cups. Jaime looked around at the sound of footsteps in the entry, and masculine voices.

  One had that slight Karista upper class drawl, the second voice with a hint of country. For a moment the voice tones reminded him of people he knew from their embassy days . . .

  Then the cheerful tones of the pretty boy. "Hey! Blackie and Nick. I dunno what this world is coming to, more people here. In summer."

  "You mean, you have some actual guests
?"

  "Family up from Verona, they're eating lunch. Must be insane, they'd heard all about Rip Crossing and wanted to see it."

  Devvy bit her knuckle and suppressed a grin.

  "Oh, brave souls. Can we have a couple of rooms in east wing? I've been breaking horses and my back is killing me. I'm going to spend all day soaking."

  "Excellent. I was afraid I was going to have to strip down to provide the expected 'gorgeous nude bathing in the hot springs' for the tourists." His grin was clear in his voice.

  Furnace choked faintly, and Zuni giggled.

  "Oh, you're funny, Orion. Talk to you when my back isn't screaming."

  "Shall I have Nile bring you two a snack?"

  "Good idea, even if I do realize that you're just trying to earn enough money to pay yourself over the slack season."

  Out of the corner of her eye she could see the two men as they headed down the east corridor, tossing curious glances into the dining room as they passed.

  Black hair, slicked back from an arrogant nose, golden brown eyes . . . tall and well muscled. The other one was a tawny blond and well tanned. And tall and muscular, if a bit smaller than the first fellow.

  "God, aren't there any plain men around this place?" Devvy Tripp jumped like someone had kicked her under the table. Her "son" was glaring.

  The redhead was back and distributed empty bowls and placed a large bowl of salad in the middle of the table. The blonde brought cutting boards full of cheese, crackers.

  Then huge bowls of the chili he'd smelled.

  Bach reported in. <