by Dale Furse
‘Who is the Eldorap?’ Kale said.
Cay-Reace looked so hard at Kale, he backpedalled, bumping Sam as he did so. ‘What do you know of the Eldorap?’
‘We ducked into its room to hide from Dar-Seldra,’ Sam said, as if he were in charge of the group. ‘If you didn’t want anybody to know about it, you should have locked the door.’
Cay-Reace sat back and let out a laugh. ‘You are right, young man. We should have locked the door. Forget about it and let us concentrate on Shahs.’
‘Will you all stop calling him an it?’ Nell blurted without thinking. ‘His name is Deesc or Haast or something.’
‘How do you know that?’ Cay-Reace asked.
‘We sort of introduced ourselves,’ Nell said with a wry smile, remembering the force of the Eldorap’s mind.
Cay-Reace’s expression filled with concern.
‘No one touched him,’ Sam said.
‘Then how did you introduce yourself, Nell?’ Cay-Reace said, standing.
‘I can’t use telepathy that way, but he can.’
‘I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised what an Eldorap is capable of. I will be busy for an hour or two.’ He pushed a notebook and pen across the desk. ‘Mekie, send me Nell’s twai code. After I have thought about your proposal, I’ll contact you with my decision.’
‘You don’t believe me,’ Nell said as Mekie hit some keys on her twai.
‘I never said I didn’t believe you but it is my duty as a physician to warn you ...’ he held out his hand, ‘... don’t interrupt, Dar-Nellen. As I was saying, if I do examine Shahs, my diagnosis may well be the same as her physicians.’ Nell opened her mouth to speak but his impatient glower kept Nell quiet. ‘And if I was to come to the same conclusion, you must give me your word to keep control of your emotions. Do you agree to my terms?’
Nell thought about the time of her imprisonment on Nadar’s ship. She had reduced one of his thugs to a babbling idiot by her touch. Cay-Reace was there and he was terrified of her. No wonder he was as wary of her as she was him.
‘I promise,’ she said.
‘What?’
Nell frowned, unsure of what he meant.
‘What do you promise?’ said Cay-Reace.
‘I promise to stay calm no matter what you find.’
‘That will do.’ He tore the top page of the notepad out and pushed it into his trouser pocket. ‘Now be gone, all of you.’
They had only gone a few steps before Cay-Reace called out, ‘Wait.’
Nell turned to him. ‘Are you going to see her?’
‘I admit I am curious. Yes, I will.’
Nell smiled widely.
‘You can’t all go,’ he said. ‘Nell and Mekie will accompany me.’
Sam and Kale looked at one another but Mekie grinned.
‘Mekie has told me of Dar-Seldra’s feelings on this subject,’ Cay-Reace said to Nell. ‘I suggest you wait for me outside the entrance to the Paler restoration and don’t tell Mer-petrale of my plans.’
Nell nodded and hurried the others down the hall. She still didn’t want Dar-Seldra to find them there. Once outside, Sam said, ‘You didn’t need to give him Mer-petrale’s name, Cay-Meka. Now he doesn’t trust her.’
‘Yes I did,’ Mekie said. ‘You don’t know Cay-Reace; once he asks a question, he expects an answer. If I didn’t say her name, he wouldn’t help us. He would have called Mother in to talk to us. Would you have preferred that, Samuel Frederick?’
‘Let it go,’ Nell said. ‘We should be celebrating. Mer-petrale’s safe and Cay-Reace is going to help us.’
Sam snorted and Kale looked downright sullen.
Nell snorted at Sam and Kale’s sulking. ‘Come on, Sam,’ she said. ‘We’ll tell you all about it when we get back.’ She thumped Kale’s arm. ‘I didn’t know Corls sulked.’
He rubbed his arm. ‘We don’t sulk. I am frustrated that I won’t know the verdict at the same time as you will.’
Nell frowned. There was more to that statement.
‘Yeah, me too,’ Sam said, dropping his bottom lip and pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. A grin sprang to his face the instant he withdrew some coins. ‘Let’s get something to eat. I’m starved.’ He sauntered down the corridor.
‘Of course you are,’ Mekie said, and giggled. She ran to catch up to him.
Dawdling after them, Nell asked Kale, ‘Why is it so important to you to know if Shahs is insane or not?’
‘She was never tried. They pronounced her insane and locked her up at Paler.’
‘So, you want her tried?’
‘Of course, and so will Father. Her guilt will be established by the one who saw her kill my grandmother. She must pay the correct penalty.’
‘I agree, but I don’t think she is guilty. When they prove her innocence, maybe they’ll go out and find the real murderer.’
Kale shook his head but didn’t say any more on the subject.
***
Nell finally found alone time in the kitchen. She folded some napkins to keep her hands busy and her mind occupied. She practised making roses – Dar-Seldra’s favourite shape.
Mekie pushed the kitchen door open and said, ‘Your grandmother wants to speak to you.’ She handed Nell a twai.
Nell took it and stared at the communicator.
‘Lesel?’ Nell said.
‘Yes. How are you?’
‘I’m fine.’ Something in her grandmother’s tone told Nell she wasn’t ringing to find out how she was.
‘Good. I had the good fortune to meet with Jenker when he was here.’
Nell’s mouth fell open. How could Lesel interfere like that?
‘I told him you would like to speak with him and he is prepared to see you but it has to be today, he is travelling to Linque tomorrow.’
‘I don’t know if I can today. Maybe I’ll see him when he gets back.’
‘Nellen, it would be rude to break the appointment he has kindly made for you. You can not do that.’
‘But—’
‘No buts. I expect you to respect my wishes.’
‘I do. All right, I’ll go now.’
‘Good girl,’ Lesel said. The twai clicked and she was gone.
Nell mind-thought the pile of folded and unfolded napkins across the room so hard, they collided with the door, shaking it.
Sam barged through the door. ‘What was that?’ He looked down at the napkins he stood on. ‘What’s happened?’ he said, shaking his head at the mess.
‘Lesel has made an appointment for me to see Jenker, the leading Corl councillor.’
‘When?’
‘Now,’ Nell spat, pushing him out of the way so she could get to the door.
Sam hurried after her, catching her at the front door. ‘Want me to come with you?’
‘No.’ Nell stomped down the hall. Fine. I’ll see him, grandmother, but I’m not going to tell him anything I don’t want to.
***
A plump, orange Corl greeted Nell with a warm smile. ‘Hello Dar-Nellen, I am Jenker.’
‘Hello,’ she almost whispered. The dark, mosaic lines over his skin were etched deep, reminding Nell of the long-gone scales.
‘You’re unsure if you should trust me.’ It wasn’t a question.
Nell stuttered at his directness. ‘I ... I ... yes.’
‘Sit and I will let you see.’ He sat on a two-seater sofa and patted the seat beside him.
Nell glanced around the room. She liked the relaxing atmosphere of the blue and green wall hangings either side of the window behind his desk. A family portrait hung on a wall above a sofa of Jenker, a lavender-skinned female, probably his mate by the look she was giving him, and two babies, one red-skinned and the other blue. Smaller pictures of varying Corl children and adults filled the wall opposite the sofa. One had the lavender-skinned female from the family picture and Lesel standing outside a café. If nothing else, he loved his family. Nell sat down on the hard cushioned sofa.
Jenke
r took her hand. She automatically went to pull away but something in his touch made her keep still.
‘Go ahead,’ he said.
Nell widened her eyes at him.
He nodded. ‘You can proceed.’
‘Are you sure?’ His smile told her he was. Nell took a deep breath and gently probed Jenker’s mind. He had no hidden agenda. Although he was curious about Nell, he would never show bad manners by asking questions she might not want to answer. Instead, he was happy to wait for her to volunteer any information. He loved his family and friends, and his mate was a close friend of Lesel’s. Nell withdrew her hand.
‘Your grandmother said you have two quests – to find the missing pages of the Wexkian book and to help Shahs. I have no reason to interfere with your search of the pages and while I personally oppose your seeing Shahs, your grandmother can be persuasive.’ He smiled. ‘Mind you, she also had my mate convince me that even though I cannot formally endorse you seeing Shahs, I could at least turn my head away from your actions.’
Nell had to admit that was more than she had expected but she still had to try to persuade him. ‘If you listen to what I have to tell you about her, you might change your mind.’
‘I prefer to remain ignorant for now. However, if you obtain absolute proof of any wrongdoing in any restoration, I will consider it with an open mind.’ He stood up. Their meeting was over.
Nell had no choice but to leave. ‘Okay, um, thank you for seeing me,’ she said.
‘My pleasure,’ he said and showed her out the door.
She didn’t need to enter his mind to get the strong impression that he might appear to ignore her actions but he would never remain ignorant of them.
***
‘It’s about time,’ Mekie said as soon as Nell entered Dar-Seldra’s house.
‘What did Jenker have to say?’ Sam asked.
‘You can find out later,’ Mekie huffed. ‘We’re already late and Cay-Reace might not wait for us.’ She grabbed Nell’s hand and pulled her back out of the door.
‘I’ll go back to being a mushroom will I?’ Sam shouted after them.
Nell and Mekie hurried to the roof. ‘What was Sam going on about?’ Mekie asked.
‘It’s an analogy. He thinks he’s kept in the dark and fed, um – and fed poop like mushrooms.’
‘Huh?’
‘Mushrooms are grown in animal manure and, oh, never mind; I’ll let him explain it later.’
***
Cay-Reace, wearing a mid-length white coat over dark brown trousers and a pale lime shirt, met Nell and Mekie at the entrance of the restoration. ‘I’ll show you where they’re keeping her,’ Nell said.
‘No need,’ he said and strode quickly through the narthex and along the hall. He must have been on a tight schedule because Nell had to trot to keep up. He spoke over his shoulder, ‘Keep up, Cay-Meka.’
The same nurse was on duty and Nell wondered if any other nurses ever looked after Shahs. The nurse stood up and bowed her head to Cay-Reace. Nell was glad that physicians were highly valued on Corl.
‘I am here to see Shahs,’ Cay-Reace said, as if he didn’t expect an argument from the woman.
The nurse removed the window’s cover and pointed.
‘I want to examine her,’ Cay-Reace said.
The woman’s face didn’t flinch. However, Nell noted a glimmer of fear in her eyes and glanced at Cay-Reace. He was forceful but not scary. Maybe physicians on Corl could hire and fire nurses.
Even so, the nurse stood still behind her desk.
‘Now, Nurse Gorver,’ Cay-Reace said, his impatience clear.
She fumbled around on the desk and randomly pulled out drawers as if searching for the keys.
‘They are on your belt,’ Cay-Reace said.
Nell was impressed with his manner: not rude, but intimidating nonetheless.
Her hand went straight to the keys and her stony face looked first at Cay-Reace then at Shahs who was rocking gently to some silent music. She appeared satisfied that her patient was fully medicated. With a thin smile, she led them to Shahs’ room and opened the door, shutting it again after Cay-Reace entered. She glared Nell and Mekie then scurried down the hallway.
Time passed slowly as they waited and watched Cay-Reace examine Shahs. Minutes stretched to an hour. Nell paced between the window and door. She had reached the door again when it opened. Cay-Reace was frowning and shaking his head.
‘Can I see her?’ Nell asked, hurrying past Cay-Reace into the room. But before her foot could touch the ground, a hand roughly grabbed her arm and jerked her back from the doorway.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
NELL YANKED HER ARM FREE OF A BLUE, mosaic-lined hand. She looked up at a steel-blue Corl standing beside the nurse. Varlor – and he didn’t look happy. Instead of the blue cape he wore at Cape Hollow, a white cape fell from his shoulders to the floor. He stared at Cay-Reace with icy blue eyes and his mouth was shut so tightly, Nell couldn’t see his lips. He didn’t look as friendly now as he had at Cape Hollow.
‘Hello, Varlor,’ Cay-Reace said, not flustered by his demeanour in the least.
The Corl unstuck his lips. ‘What are you doing at this restoration and why were you with that patient?’
‘I am thinking of transferring to the psychiatric field and when I heard that Shahs was treated here, I couldn’t think of a better case study.’
‘Shahs is not here to be studied.’ Varlor attempted a smile but it failed. ‘She is here to be treated and this restoration requires every patient to be respected not prodded and discussed by any physician who feels he has something to learn.’
The nurse nodded to Cay-Reace to get out of the doorway. As soon as he did, she pulled the door shut and locked it.
‘Shouldn’t you check on Shahs?’ Nell asked with an innocent tone. ‘You know? To make sure she’s okay after Cay-Reace examined her.’
Cay-Reace raised an eyebrow at Nell. ‘Shahs is fine,’ he said to the nurse. ‘But you are welcome to check if you wish.’
‘I am aware of your reputation, Cay-Reace,’ she said, returning to her desk.
Nell regarded the doctor. So, he had a reputation. Good.
Guiding Cay-Reace a little way down the corridor, Varlor spoke quietly to him.
Nell strained to hear what they were saying but gave up. They were too far away.
‘Is he the Corl who spoke to you at your house?’ Mekie whispered, her face pale.
Nell nodded.
‘That is hard to believe,’ she said. ‘No one ever sees him. Varlor doesn’t mix with ordinary people.’
‘Is he like a king?’
‘You could say that. He is Corl’s supreme leader. Only privileged guests speak with him. Mother has never even met him and I don’t think Dar-Tern has either.’
Nell frowned. If that was true, why had he asked for Dar-Tern? She realised then, the Elder had wanted to see her. But why? His face had been unreadable but she was certain he had had his own agenda. That conclusion had her wondering if he thought there really was a second Book of Wexkia. If not, Varlor had a different reason for wanting her to go to Corl and the only reason she could think of was that he was the one behind the deadly games.
‘How do you know who he is then?’ she asked.
‘There are paintings of him everywhere, Nell,’ Mekie’s disbelieving eyes gaped at her. She pointed to the wall. ‘And he is the only Corl who wears a white cape when on official business.’
Nell looked to where Mekie was pointing and wondered how she could have missed the painting of Varlor in his white cape looking regal. She searched her thoughts and found a painting of the Corl on the wall of the narthex, the council chambers, hanging on an inside wall of the café they visited regularly. She was surprised she had never taken any notice of them.
Nell willed Cay-Reace to finish his conversation. She wanted more than anything to find out about Shahs. He finally bowed and withdrew from the Corl, who in turn flicked his white cape back over his shoulde
rs, and strode around the corner.
‘Let’s go,’ Cay-Reace said, as he passed Nell and Mekie.
They both hurried after him and no one spoke until they had cleared the front doors of the restoration.
‘Well?’ Nell said, grabbing the back of Cay-Reace’s shirt to pull him up.
‘Have some patience, Nell.’ He gave a shallow laugh and jumped on the nearest Kroll.
His far away eyes held a hint of danger that alarmed Nell. What was with him? He reminded her of the first time she had met his sister, Cay-tatel. His expression was the same as hers, cold, angry and full of hate all mixed together. It also reminded Nell of Mekie when she didn’t like something or someone. Nell guessed similarities were bound to show up in the same family and hoped she never looked like that.
Mekie followed his lead and soon the three of them were flying back to Kafir. Nell fought to control her rising temper, but something in his manner kept her quiet. He wasn’t the same as Cay-tatel. Whatever was bugging him had something to do with Varlor.
Cay-Reace set his Kroll down above the roof of a building Nell hadn’t visited before. Mekie’s Kroll hovered low and Nell joined them.
‘Follow me,’ he said, passing through the door and walking down the steps and into the first floor’s hallway. Nell’s impatience was about to get the better of her when he stopped at the door to a house. The plaque read, House of Cay. Cay-Reace held a door open for them.
‘Is this Cay-tatel’s house?’ Nell asked, treading onto the hard, powder-blue floor of the entrance.
‘It is the Cay family’s house,’ Mekie said. She hurried to the far wall, where a long sideboard stood on clawed feet, and picked up a picture. ‘This is Father,’ she said. ‘Cay-tatel painted it before Father joined the war.’
Nell never dreamt the woman was an artist but even so, she doubted Cay-tatel had furnished the lavish interior. Her feet sank into the sky-blue carpet. No walls separated the entry from the sitting room. Navy-blue sofas faced each other and were trimmed with gold beading. The coffee table that stood between them had an ornately carved wooden top and legs carved into talons. A red and gold tapestry nearly filled the wall behind the sideboard. The room was warm and welcoming. A sanctuary. ‘Who did the decorating?’ she asked.
