Merrick was struck silent by the grandeur of what he saw. The dining hall was enormous with four-story high transparent ceilings and three walls made of huge vertical windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling high above.
Everything was made of the same twinkling cloud vapor but with what appeared to be an even denser concentration of divinium flecks, causing the room to bristle and shimmer with energy. The combined effect was that the dining hall felt as if it were outside, suspended high in the dark blue evening sky, with the bright moon so large above them that it threatened to collide with the room itself.
As Merrick took in the spectacle, swirls of air encircled him and then flew away.
He was sure that some kind of ward had just been placed on him, probably to prevent him from using any type of magic around the Emperor. The Fuugoshujin were just as serious about their security in the palace as Cara and he were about Rune Corp—perhaps even more so.
The table where they were going to eat was also made of the same cloud divinium mixture as well, and it glowed, its white light gently playing off the faces of the Emperor’s other dinner guests who were already seated.
A gentle hand touched the small of Merrick’s back as he was led to the dining table and placed to the right of the seat at the head of the table and directly across the table from Prince Takehiko. The Prince nodded with a smile.
Mona was seated directly to Merrick’s right, and Mr. Kawagishi sat next to her. Jonathan and Master Banzo were placed next to each other, farther down on the opposite side of the table. Five of the other six seats were filled with various male Drayoom, none of whom Merrick recognized. At the far end of the table, directly opposite to the Emperor’s empty seat, sat a strong but plain looking woman who appeared to be in her sixties. She nodded almost imperceptibly to Merrick, and she may have shown just the hint of a grin. Her face was angular, and even though she was dressed in the same plain, dark blue robes that Tamami had worn, her posture and demeanor gave her a presence far above what Merrick would have expected from a monk.
Seeing the woman sitting at the foot of the table, Merrick thought back to Tamami and wondered where she was. He scanned the room and eventually saw her, standing in the back of the dining hall against the wall. He tried to make eye contact with her, but whether on purpose on not, she did not look in his direction.
After everyone was in place, those milling around the room stood at attention along its shimmering walls.
Mr. Kawagishi leaned over to Merrick, behind Mona’s chair, and tapped him on the shoulder.
“I remind you that, as the Ard Righ, you should still stand when the Emperor enters the room,” Mr. Kawagishi said, “however, you are not required to bow. Remember that our Emperor sees you as his peer, an honor not given to many.”
Merrick nodded and turned his attention to the front of the room where a door was just opening. A small group of warriors and dignitaries entered with the Emperor, who was seated cross-legged on a floating bed of air.
Everyone at the table stood, including Merrick, but he did not bow when everyone else, including Mona, did. The Emperor’s entourage spread out as they neared the table, and the Emperor slowly floated to his chair.
Once he was seated, the people at the table settled back into their own chairs in unison. All eyes looked to the young ruler who turned to Merrick and smiled.
“It is so good to see you here in our wondrous city, Ard Righ,” the Emperor said. “We welcome the Earth Clan and the house of Rune Corp to our humble table and ask that you join us in the nourishing of our bodies this evening.”
“The pleasure is mine,” Merrick said, with a subtle bow of his head to the Emperor. “Your city and your palace rival all that I have seen in the world of the Drayoom, Emperor. We are thankful and are overwhelmed by your hospitality.”
The Emperor smiled and turned to face his dinner guests.
“By the grace of the mighty Araki, may we all sustain ourselves for another day,” the Emperor said. “Please, everyone, eat and enjoy the company of our royal guests. After dinner, we shall all be entertained as never before.”
The Emperor snapped his fingers once, and an army of servers, one for each guest, approached the table. The servers brought out plates and bowls and platters of food so quickly that the table was soon overflowing with food—large, grilled game hens, bowls of fresh fruits, bright and colorful vegetables, and even a pig on a sterling silver serving spittle.
Merrick noted to himself that the abundance of food before them was most likely done specifically to impress him and his party. He had no doubt that the meals of the Wind Family were usually significantly more modest, and that the Emperor was showing off for Merrick’s sake, generalizing both Americans and members of Rune Corp as lovers of excess.
The reality was that Merrick was not a big drinker, but he accepted a glass of red wine from his server anyway. Despite the fact that Merrick knew they were there on a mission to retrieve the missing cube, he also had to admit that he was looking forward to the feast and to relaxing just a little bit before embarking on his mission later that night.
As he listened to his own thoughts, he reminded himself that there was a good chance he was being affected by Mr. Kawagishi’s power again. Despite this, Merrick found himself wondering how much it would really matter if he allowed himself to relax just a little bit anyway.
He raised his glass of wine to Mona and to Mr. Kawagishi. Mr. Kawagishi raised his glass of sake, and Mona raised her glass of sparkling water. All three of their glasses touched with a rich clink, and Merrick watched as a genuine smile spread out across Mona’s face.
The middle of the table where all the food was set began to rotate as if on a conveyor belt, so that each dish passed slowly in front of each dinner guest. Merrick began filling up his plate, making sure to restrain himself as far as the quantity of food he took, so that he would not reinforce the assumptions the Emperor already possessed about his gluttonous habits.
Merrick was happy to see that Master Banzo and Jonathan were engaging members of the Wind Family in conversation. For his own part, he found himself talking with the Emperor and the Prince.
“How did you enjoy your first journey with our illustrious dragon, Araki?” the Emperor said.
“The ride was a little different than what I’m used to, Your Imperial Majesty. But the travel itself was very smooth, despite experiencing, first-hand, some of the extreme weather that has been plaguing us down on the planet’s surface. Do you have any problems with weather this high up?”
The Emperor looked away from Merrick.
“We are fortunate enough to be above many of the weather patterns with which your kind must deal on a regular basis it seems.”
“I just haven’t seen weather that intense before, especially with such frequency,” Merrick said.
“I am sure that Araki and the other dragons have their reasoning for whatever is happening with the weather down below,” the Emperor said. “Now, tell me more about your travel.”
“It was a journey filled with wonder,” Merrick said. “It’s the aftermath that’s been hard getting used to. It’s taken me until even now to feel comfortable walking around the palace. Tell me, do many of your citizens go their entire lives without ever setting foot on solid ground?”
“Many of our people have, at one time or another, touched land,” the Prince said. “Our hunters visit the surface of the planet to bring back food, but many of our citizens also travel the Earth just as your people might visit a beach for pleasure. And much like your people dipping their toes into the waters of great Lagu, so do our people touch and sample the Earth. But most of them feel out of place actually walking on such hard ground, and they opt to spend as much time as possible among our element, up with the clouds.”
“The Prince is correct,” the Emperor said. “Just as you feel most at home with Terrada under your feet, we equally feel most like ourselves when standing on the material on which our world is built.”
“Tell me,” the Prince said. “Have you ever visited the city of the Water People? That is truly a sight to behold. But talk about feeling out of one’s element...I would rather walk on the surface of the Earth for an entire mile than to stay for even five minutes beneath the water and so disconnected from the air. No air upon which to walk and no air to restore my lungs. The one time I visited the Water City was the farthest I have ever felt from Araki, and I do not wish to relive that experience again.”
Both Merrick and the Emperor laughed, and the conversation turned to topics of lineage and what plans the Emperor had for the future of the Wind Family.
“You understand,” the Emperor said with a chuckle, “that I cannot tell you everything, lest I divulge family secrets...”
Merrick nodded.
“I have already been told as much, by the Prince,” Merrick said with a laugh as he downed the last bit of wine from his glass.
“But I will tell you one secret that every Drayoom should know,” the Emperor said. “All of what you see, not here, but in your everyday life—even the four mighty dragons—the most powerful forces on the planet—even they are but a single, tiny spec on the face of the universe as a whole.
“What do I see in the future for my family, mighty Ard Righ? I see that,” the Emperor said, pointing upward to the sky shining through the windows. “I see endless possibilities. And I believe that you also should be thinking along similar lines.”
“I’ve barely planned out what I’m doing when I return to Rune Corp, Emperor,” Merrick said with a chuckle in which both the Emperor and the Prince joined.
“Surely,” the Emperor said, “with the power I saw displayed at your company, you have lofty goals for your people as well—both the members of the Earth Clan and the humans under your control.”
“I am honored more than you will ever know by the fact that you consider me to be the leader of the Earth Clan,” Merrick said, a bit quieter so that only the three of them could hear him without straining.
The Prince looked at Merrick as if he were trying to telepathically warn him to tread lightly on the upcoming topic of conversation.
“Yes?” the Emperor said. “You have more to say, Ard Righ?”
“Apologies, Emperor,” Merrick said. “I am trying to express to you that I am honored you consider me to be the Ard Righ. But I have no such lofty plans to rule either the Earth Clan or the people of Rune Corp at the present time.”
“I see,” the Emperor said as he glanced at the woman in the blue robe at the end of the table and paused for several seconds. “It is a humble leader who is content with his life as it is, I suppose.”
The Emperor picked up his glass and raised it to Merrick.
“I raise my drink to you, wise one,” the Emperor said.
Merrick reached out for his wine, barely registering that is had been refilled so discreetly that he had not even noticed.
He raised his glass to the Emperor.
Merrick knew he should moderate himself better, but the wine was so good, and he felt so at ease around this family, no matter how hard he tried to remind himself to stay vigilant. He wanted to share all that he could with them. Wanted them to like him as much as he liked them.
“Is there perhaps something else then that you would like to talk about, Your Imperial Majesty?” Merrick said.
“There is one thing,” the Emperor said. “I am curious about your company’s divinium...”
CHAPTER 34
TAMAMI WAS NOT ANGRY about her situation in life. She had moved past those emotions long ago. She knew that her little brother, the Emperor, would never allow her to sit at the table with the royal family—her rightful family—even as one of their guests.
This was not because of the scars she permanently wore to remind people of her past, but because of her intelligence and her bluntness, both of which the Emperor feared.
Feasts such as these were for subtleties and statesmanship. They were not for the truth. And if there was one thing of which Tamami was proud, and of which the Emperor was wary, it was her propensity to speak the truth.
As such, she was forced to stand at the back of the dining hall and to watch, along with the other citizens of lesser rank who were allowed in the room because they served someone at the table. In Tamami’s case, she was there to attend to the needs of the Abbess.
From where she stood, she could see Merrick making conversation with her brothers. She also could see Mona chatting with Mr. Kawagishi.
Tamami looked at Merrick’s woman more closely. She had been almost positive that Mona was carrying the unborn child of the Ard Righ the first time she had met her. But on the surface of the planet, so removed from Araki, her senses had not been as sharp then as they were here in the palace.
Now she could tell for sure that Mona was pregnant.
She observed the way that Merrick moved and how he acted when addressing Mona. It was evident that the two of them had a strong connection, but Tamami wondered how much they could really have in common other than the fact that they both worked at Rune Corp.
After all, Merrick was Drayoom and Mona was only human. They were not even of the same species.
Despite their apparent intimacy, Tamami could also tell by Merrick’s mannerisms at the table that he was not yet aware of his fiancée’s condition.
For whatever reason, Mona had not chosen to tell him yet.
This was just as well, as far as Tamami was concerned. The fewer emotional ties he had to Mona, the easier it would be for Tamami to make Merrick fall in love with her.
Even though Tamami had been made ugly by her kidnappers when she was but a girl, she was still blessed with a slender body that flowed like a wisp of cloud vapor, smooth skin like alabaster, and breasts that were full although also usually hidden by her plain monk’s robe.
Her greatest attribute, however, was that she was also very smart and knew how to get what she wanted.
But if Tamami was honest with herself, as she always was, she did not expect Merrick, the great Ard Righ to simply leave his precious Mona at the first sign of temptation.
Luckily for Tamami, she did not plan on leaving the matter to chance.
They were in the Cloud City, which, although ruled in human form by the Emperor, was first and foremost the territory of Araki, the Wind Dragon.
And where Araki ruled, Tamami’s magic and her powers of persuasion were their strongest—strong enough, she thought, to help even the Ard Righ make the right decision for his future and for the future of all Drayoom.
CHAPTER 35
MERRICK WAS SURPRISED that the Emperor would be so bold as to ask about the Rune Corp divinium. He was even more amazed at how the Emperor’s expression did not once give away the fact that he was in possession of the missing cube.
The Emperor’s smooth face was so stolid that Merrick almost doubted his own assumption that the young ruler was behind the theft of the cube and the attempt on his life.
“During the demonstration that you were so kind to show me,” said the Emperor, “I could not help but notice that your divinium was able to channel the magic from more than one dragon. An impressive achievement or a fortunate find, depending on whether your divinium is made or found...yet it goes against everything I was raised to understand about the magical stone and its allegiance to a single dragon.”
Merrick realized that the Emperor had not asked a question yet and was instead fishing—waiting for Merrick to fill in the gaps, the holes in his statements. He was trying to lead Merrick to divulge whether the Rune Corp divinium was naturally occurring or the product of some proprietary Rune Corp procedure.
Even though Merrick was keenly aware of what the Emperor was trying to accomplish, he felt strangely compelled to tell him all that he knew. Only because of his own disciplined mind and Cara’s training was he able to resist the impulse that tugged at him to tell the Emperor what he really wanted to know.
Thankfully, Cara had prepared him for thi
s kind of diplomatic tactic, and he knew that simplicity, brevity, and obscurity were his friends in a conversation such as this one.
“I agree that the behavior of the stone is a wonder,” Merrick said, pausing to chew a bite of game hen. “I’m often amazed at its power as well.”
If the Emperor wanted to know more details, he would have to ask directly—something that was counter to the polite outward-facing culture of the Wind Family.
The emperor smiled again at Merrick, while eating slowly from a plate one of his servants had prepared and brought to him.
“Yes, that is a wonder,” the Emperor said, his smile diminishing almost imperceptibly. “Speaking of the behavior of the stone, I do not believe you have seen the wonders of our divinium yet. As soon as the two of us finish eating, we will begin the evening’s entertainment, and you will have a chance to observe its powers first hand.”
“That would be lovely,” Mona said, inserting herself into the conversation. “I’m having a very good time, Emperor. Thank you for inviting us.”
Merrick was about to whisper to Mona that she needed to go slower on the wine, but as he turned to her, he saw that her glass was filled with only water.
Mona loved wine, was not drinking it, but was behaving as if she were slightly drunk. Merrick was about to ask her how she was feeling when Mr. Kawagishi turned away, and Mona seemed to snap out of a haze.
Again, the diplomat’s magic seemed to be making those around him feel relaxed and at ease with what they said. Despite the man’s quiet demeanor, Merrick was realizing that Mr. Kawagishi was one of the most dangerous members of the Wind Family he had met so far.
“You are too kind, my dear Mona,” the Emperor said with a wide smile that made his face light up with apparent joy. “I was inspired by the demonstration from your Alphas when I was your guest. I have asked some of my own warriors to do the same for us tonight, after our traditional Wind Dragon Dance, of course, which visitors also find very entertaining.”
The Equilibrium of Magic Page 19
