JULIEN

II

Chapter 9

… para bellum

It took Julien two months of intense training before Aïn was satisfied that his technique for entering the Outside was sufficiently competent to allow him to make a first jump unaccompanied by anyone except the indispensable Xarax. And that first trip took him no further than the nearest klirk, which was about two hundred metres away. Aïn said that there could be no question of heading off to somewhere previously unseen any time soon.

They were currently on Nüngen, making use of the unoccupied summer residence of a Noble Lord who was distantly related to the Bakhtars. He had been perfectly willing to let them use the place for a while: it was currently winter and the summer residence was close to the Arctic Circle. At this time of year the place was completely inaccessible by normal means, looked distinctly sinister and was lit by a weak sun that only appeared above the horizon for a couple of hours a day, and even then was visible only when the weather was not hurling near-horizontal blizzards of vicious powdered ice at everything. The house was heated, dry, tastefully furnished and well stocked with good food, but it was uninhabited, since there was no permanent staff. Tannder, of course, had no objection whatever to this state of affairs, since he was by now obsessed with security.

In other circumstances one might have thought that Ambar and Dillik would get bored in that frozen and isolated place, but Tannder had managed to take time off from trying to find ways of unravelling the plots of a hitherto unseen enemy in order to arrange some education for the boys and, no matter where in the Nine Worlds they stayed, a number of teachers were found for them. Julien himself transported these teachers as part of his Guide training, making huge round trips every day in order to do so.

Master Sandeark, the distinguished mathematics tutor who had taught Ambar while he was living in the First Trankenn of the Ksantiris, had asked Lord Niil, on one of his brief visits, how his former star pupil was getting on, and when he learned that Ambar was now living an itinerant life he had begged to be allowed to travel with him in order to help develop a potential which he feared would otherwise go to waste. He was serious about it, too, because when Niil hesitated Sandeark said that he'd be happy to work without pay, and that in any case he'd have no regrets about leaving his current job, which apparently consisted of trying to explain the beauty of mathematics to a set of dullards who weren't remotely interested in it.

Sandeark was no great speaker, and if his speech had been written down in the form of a petition it certainly wouldn't have persuaded the First Lord, but something in his manner prevented Niil from sending him back to his teaching with a few kind words. Clearly this man saw something in Ambar that Niil himself had been unable to spot, and so instead he said he would think about it and then informed Julien and consulted with Tannder, and in due course Master Sandeark was permitted once again to share his knowledge with Ambar.

Of course, it would be an exaggeration to suggest that Ambar himself, an innate ability for the mysteries of numbers and figures notwithstanding, was happy about this. After all, it seems unlikely that a gemstone that is being polished particularly likes being held against a grindstone. But he put up with the extra lessons without too much complaining, and before long he found himself quite liking them.

Master Sandeark was still quite young, but he was still unwed to anything except the science of mathematics, and since he had no family ties he was able to persuade his hosts to let him become a permanent member of the company, who permitted his presence all the more readily when they found out he had a talent for cooking which would have provided him with a solid and prosperous career had he decided to follow that path.

oo0oo

The Council of Mirrors had authorised the use of the forbidden weapons and now the military preparations were moving ahead steadily. Of course at this stage there was no talk of any general mobilisation: only the various Orders of Warriors were concerned. They were now united under the leadership of Lord Shigyal, the Emperor's Mirror on Der Mang. As a result, Julien saw, with mixed feelings, his security team equipped with strange hand weapons that looked futuristic even by twentieth century Earth standards. Tannder had offered to give him one, together with the training necessary to use it, but Julien had turned him down, pointing out reasonably enough that if his perfectly trained guards weren't up to stopping an enemy it was fairly unlikely that he'd be able to do it himself. He thought that the only thing he'd manage to accomplish with anything more powerful than his nagtri would be to kill his own men accidentally. Niil, on the other hand, had no such scruples, and had happily trained in the use of a weapon which he thought would make it easier for him to defend his friend.

Julien had been deeply disturbed by the opening of one of the imperial arsenals. He had to take part in the operation because although Xarax knew the location of each depot, only the Emperor could talk to the Neh-kyong who guarded it and persuade him to open it up. There were apparently a number of these depots on each world, but to start with they had decided to confine themselves to a single one on Der Mang, just to give them an idea of what was available should the need arise.

The depot held enough equipment to delight any general, but the sight of these rows of heavy weapons, some of which were clearly designed to fly, filled Julien with foreboding. The idea of unleashing these monstrous killing-machines on the world brought him back inescapably to the myth of poor, stupid Pandora. Despite assurances from Tannder and the other warriors that the depot contained no nuclear or chemical weapons, and that the very thought of spreading infectious diseases through germ warfare was anathema, Julien felt as if he was on the edge of an irreversible catastrophe.

He forbade the test-firings loudly demanded by a general staff eager to test their power by devastating a piece of isolated land far from inhabited areas and ordered them instead to get the knowledge they sought by reading the abundantly documented user's manual that came with each type of weapon. The frustrated Warriors were starting to argue more and more insistently when Master Subadar fortunately discovered the equivalent of a simulation room where one could witness any test you could wish for from a position that seemed very close to the action. And the result was so realistic that some of the people who had clamoured most loudly for live tests now found that they weren't quite so keen on using these weapons after all and, indeed, declared that they would prefer not to witness any more of what the room had to offer.

oo0oo

“I don't like this, Niil,” said Julien, once they were back at their Arctic retreat. “It feels to me as if some of this bunch actually want to use these weapons. I think some of them will be disappointed if we don't end up fighting a war.”

“I know what you mean,” said Niil. “But I'd sooner see them like this than cowering in a cellar, scared out of their tiny minds.”

“Even so, they really ought to be at least scared enough to hope it doesn't happen. It's like they're drunk or something, and want to use their toys. On Earth there are always wars going on. People die in their thousands, and the dead are sometimes the lucky ones, because these weapons maim and cause terrible injuries. Believe me, that kind of war is nothing like the clan vendettas you're used to.”

“The Warriors know that. They might not have lived through a war like that, but we've all studied history.”

“Well, maybe, but even the ones who don't want to use the simulation room any more are still drooling over the weapons like kids in a sweetshop. I don't want to think about what will happen if we ever have to use those things, and I'm terribly afraid that once they've used them they won't want them sealed away again.”

“If we do end up using them it'll only be because things are desperate, and if that's the case then sealing them away again afterwards will be the least of our worries.”

“I suppose you're right...”

They fell into a gloomy silence, which was broken only by the sound of the blizzard that was once again futilely hurling itself against the house.

“I've got to take Dillik back to his mother's in a minute,” said Julien. “Do you want to come?”

“Well... I've got quite a lot to do...”

“So have I, but I'd like to spend a little while with you away from all that. What about it?”

“All right, then. Is Ambar coming?”

“No, he's working with Sandeark this morning. The amount of time Ambar's spending with him, I suppose I should be jealous, but actually I'm glad he's found something he's really good at. So, you're coming, then?”

“Should I perhaps get dressed first, or should I come like this?”

“You look nice in your undies. I'm sure Mistress Nardik will think so, too. Dillik!”

Dillik wandered into the room, with Xarax curled around his neck as usual. He was stark naked and had apparently just woken up.

“Hurry up, you idiot!” said Julien. “Have you forgotten we're going to visit your mother?”

“It's not my fault!”

“Xarax! Have you been keeping him awake all night sharing your experiences again?”

A haptir doesn't have a large range of facial expressions, but his bodily attitude and his suddenly-chosen neutral colour-scheme looked almost exactly like a cat who has eaten the canary. It was obvious that he'd been pursuing his ongoing series of unsuccessful attempts to share dreams with Dillik. He was determined to succeed, and no amount of reasonable argument from Julien could persuade him to abandon his quest for what he saw as the Holy Grail of friendship. Sadly, however, these attempts sometimes disrupted Dillik's sleep – not that Dillik ever complained about it. On the contrary, he had also embraced his friend's enthusiasm and was equally keen for them to attain this semi-mythical union.

“I see,” said Julien, laughing. “Look, as long as you only do that on nights when you don't have to get up the following morning, fine, but you're both completely bonkers. And no, Dillik, it's no good making that face at me, because I'm not going to come and have a shower with you. If you wanted company you should have got up at the same time as Ambar.”

Julien suddenly felt a lot better. The good-natured triviality of their domestic life offered him a chance to forget about his Imperial worries for a while. Although it seemed odd to consider the relationship of a haptir with a young human as 'trivial', particularly when you're about to transport them both to a different world...

oo0oo

Chapter 10

Dentes frendentes video

The main room of the inn was half full. Julien and Niil were sitting at their favourite table talking to Tenntchouk and Gradik. As usual Julien had erased the Imperial Marks so as to avoid the constant expressions of respect that people would otherwise feel compelled to offer him every time he appeared in public. Mainly he had done it to put the inn's patrons at ease. Of course the regulars, although they pretended to notice nothing out of the ordinary, immediately recognised that flaming red hair, the excessive length of which was already setting something of a fashion. But with no Marks visible everyone was happy: the patrons felt free to go on behaving as normal, flattered to be included in the little charade, and Julien could pretend to be travelling incognito. Most people in the inn recognised Niil as the First Lord of the Ksantiris, and he was generally well liked, although nobody would make the mistake of trying to be over-familiar with him. The two sailors, however, had a particular status of their own, almost as if they were part of the family, and so they could speak freely and informally in a way that would be unthinkable for anyone else.

“So it's true, then, whaat they say?” asked Gradik. “We moight be going to be at waar with folk as aaren't fraam the Noine Worlds?”

“How do you know that?” asked Julien.

“Waal... the crier 'as made announcements, an' there be papers as paass around...”

Julien had of course authorised the distribution of these flyers.

“An' there be people as do say thaat you was attaacked at Laard Aldegard's,” added Tenntchouk.

“Well, that's true but, as you can see, it didn't succeed.”

“An' you're naat afeared to go about loike naaw, without protection?”

“Who says I'm unprotected? Niil's sitting right here, and so are you, and you know Xarax won't be far away. I'm among friends here.”

“True,” agreed Tenntchouk. “Baat you were amaang friends at Laard Aldegard's.”

“Well, in any case I've decided that I'm not going to spend my entire life hiding aw...”

A loud noise, like a piece of cloth being violently torn in two a few metres behind him, interrupted him. Before he could turn around he saw Tenntchouk kick away his chair and jump over the table with a knife in his hand, and at the same time Gradik grabbed hold of Niil to stop him from following the other sailor. At the same time the characteristic stench of a ghorr flooded Julien's nostrils. He jumped up and turned around, conscious of the sudden weight of Xarax landing on his shoulders in the way that they had practised many times in training.

Immediately everything seemed to slow down. He still couldn't move any faster than his muscles were able to move him, nor could he stay for any length of time in that state of heightened awareness into which Xarax had put him, but he could use this short delay to assess the situation. Tenntchouk had just been hit by the ghorr: he had thrown himself between it and Julien in order to buy the boy the fraction of a second he needed to react. Julien knew that he had no hope of fighting a ghorr with a nagtri – or, indeed, with anything else. On the other hand, he would be able to escape, just jumping into the Outside and then transporting himself to a klirk. Any klirk would do. But if he did that he would leave behind him a terribly frustrated ghorr that would simply slaughter everyone in the house and would go on killing until it could finally be destroyed. He was fairly sure that Niil wouldn't be able to kill it, even armed as he was with his new science fiction weapon. And that meant that everyone in the inn was going to die a painful death. So clearly it was now time to try to do something which Aïn had expressly told him not to do on his own until Aïn was sure he was able to do it successfully.

He cleared his mind and concentrated on visualising an area of space that included nothing except himself, Xarax and the ghorr. He checked that nothing else was inside the transportation envelope he had just envisaged and then he jumped – in other words, he assembled in his mind the elements of the graph which would automatically trigger his transition to the Outside. He'd only done this once before, the previous day, but it worked nonetheless. He was so relieved that it had worked that for a moment he almost lost his concentration, but Xarax steadied him with a quick mental nudge, and then he was able to start thinking about what to do next. At the moment he was surrounded by the chaos of the pseudo-limit he'd been slowly getting accustomed to through his training, and he had with him a ghorr that was helpless where they were but which would doubtless be eager to slaughter him the moment they materialised in the normal universe. Obviously the next step would be to land on a klirk and then immediately jump once more, leaving the ghorr stranded before it had time to attack him. In theory it was simple – well, about as simple as pulling three hairs from a tiger's tail... and obviously he couldn't leave the ghorr to roam free and wreak havoc with the local population.

I know the place you need, Xarax told him. You just have to remain steady and hold your breath while we're there. I'll show you the image of the klirk you want. Just keep still and don't move once we arrive – in fact don't do anything except jump back into the Outside – that klirk doesn't lead to the Table.

Right, replied Julien. Let's do it.

The image of the klirk appeared, razor-sharp, in Julien's mind. At once he felt solid ground under his feet, and in the dirty light filtering in through heavy purple clouds he caught a quick glimpse of the ghorr falling, its hideous limbs flapping uselessly, towards the surface of a greenish lake from which obviously toxic vapours were rising. He was there just long enough to see that the klirk on which they had materialised occupied the entire surface of the summit of a dizzying peak which rose in an impossible island in the centre of what seemed to be a lake of acid in a volcanic crater. Then they were again in the Outside and Xarax, without waiting to be asked, showed Julien the familiar symbol of the klirk which had been established in a back room of Mistress Nardik's inn.

oo0oo

Julien rushed back into the main room of the inn less than a minute after the attack and found some of those who had witnessed it still paralysed with a mixture of terror and incomprehension. Gradik had let go of Niil, who was scrambling to where Tenntchouk lay curled up on the ground. Julien elbowed his way through the people who were converging on the fallen sailor and crouched down next to Niil.

“Niil, send these people away,” he said gently. “I need to get Tenntchouk to Bakhtar Tower – they'll know what to do and I won't have to waste time explaining to the Health Masters there what needs to be done because they've dealt with ghorr wounds before, unlike the ones on your Trankenn. Gradik, carry him into the blue kang. I'll be right with you.”

The 'blue kang' was actually the room that held the klirk, but there was no need to announce to all and sundry that the inn contained such a thing.

“I'll stay here to calm everyone down,” said Niil. “You can come and pick me up later.”

When he reached the blue kang Julien saw that Tenntchouk's blood had already soaked Gradik's clothes: Gradik was still holding his friend in his arms. Julien wasted no time examining him: instead he just took them to the top of Bakhtar Tower, where the Health Masters, despite the fact that it was the middle of the night in Aleth, were there and ready to work inside three minutes. Julien didn't stay: he just explained quickly what had happened and then jumped to Djang Kang, the Arctic estate he had left only half an hour previously.

oo0oo

He was really worried and half expected to find the place a pile of smoking ruins, but in fact everything seemed to be the way he had left it. He found Ambar and Master Sandeark in the room they normally used for studying and sent a security guard to find Aïn, who would no doubt be able to tell them where Tannder was. Xarax could probably have found them faster than the guard, but he was unwilling to leave Julien until he was sure it was safe. Ambar, who had kept quiet until now, opened his mouth to ask a question, but Julien forestalled him.

“A ghorr jumped us at the inn,” he said. “Don't worry, it's over and there's no more danger. Tenntchouk was injured and I've taken him to the Health Masters.”

“What about Niil? Why isn't he with you?”

“Niil's fine. He stayed at the inn to reassure the crowd. We'll go and join him as soon as we can get hold of Aïn.”

The Guide arrived a few seconds later, dripping all over the carpet: obviously he'd been swimming in one of the small pools inside the house, something he loved to do 'in order to exercise the muscles that get insufficient use because of the unhealthy life you make me lead.' Actually, as everyone knew perfectly well, he just enjoyed splashing about in nice warm water. Ambar started drying his fur while Julien put a hand on his neck in order to bring him up to speed.

Tannder and Karik have gone to Zenn R'aal to sort out what forces are available to us there, the Guide told him. I'll go and tell them what has happened and bring them back here.

No, tell him to stay there and finish what he's doing and then come back when he can. We're leaving for Kardenang right away. I'm going to stay with Niil until things there are back to normal and then we'll come back here. I'd like you to let Lord Tahlil and Master Dendjor know what has happened, and reassure Dendjor that his family are all well.

Can I ask how you got rid of the ghorr?

It's a long story. I'll tell you later.

All right. I'll go to Zenn R'aal, then. I'll meet you either at the inn or back here as soon as I'm done there.

Aïn disappeared with his usual elegance. Julien went with Ambar, Xarax and Sandeark to the house klirk and jumped back to the inn on Dvârinn.

oo0oo

The inside of the inn now looked more or less as it usually did, but outside things were far from normal. There were wild rumours afoot that the Emperor had personally destroyed a whole horde of ghorrs that had come to attack Lord Niil. Others claimed that it was in fact Lord Niil who had valiantly fought off the ghorrs, protecting his Emperor from a vicious and unprovoked attack. Some even swore that it was a lowly local sailor who had defeated the monster armed only with his courage and a small sailor's knife. The few Guards of the local militia, who normally only had to deal with the odd tavern brawl, were hard-pressed to keep the crowd away from the doors of the inn.

“Niil, I think you ought to go and talk to them,” said Julien, looking out of one of the inn's windows.

“What do you want me to tell them?”

“The truth.”

“Really?!”

“It would be better than whatever rubbish they invent for themselves if we don't tell them anything. And you can tell them we'll keep them informed, too.”

Niil went out and stood in the entrance, and at once a murmur ran through the crowd, followed by complete silence. Niil climbed onto a stool that he had taken from the bar – he wanted everyone to be able to see him – and composed himself.

“Good people of Kardenang,” he began, “and you who are just passing through: go and tell everyone the truth of what happened here. A ghorr appeared, unleashed against Yulmir, Guardian and Protector of the Nine Worlds, by an enemy who is currently unknown to us. It is thanks to a sailor from Kardenang, Tenntchouk son of Tanndjar, that we were able to destroy the beast before it could accomplish its purpose. That man, my friend, is currently in the hands of the finest Health Masters in the Empire, and I urge you to join with me in wishing him a speedy recovery from a grievous wound.

“There is no more immediate danger and the Emperor's servants are busy seeking out and destroying those who would threaten the peace of our world. You will be kept informed of their progress by official announcements bearing the Seal of the Imperial House. Of course some will claim that what I am telling you, and what you hear from us later, is propaganda designed to conceal the real truth. But I swear to you, on the honour of the Ksantiris, that we have no intention of lying to those who trust us, and that the Emperor will not put the Imperial Seal to any information that he knows to be false or biased. On the contrary, I urge you to consider with caution any information that does not come from official sources. Sometimes rumours are based on truth, but more often those who spread them find that they are unwittingly aiding the perpetrators of evil deeds. Go now, and tell everyone what you have heard!”

“Noble Lord!” cried a woman in the crowd. “Is there going to be a war?”

“Good lady, I don't know, but it is possible. We are preparing for it and you will be informed as soon as we know what we are facing. All that we know so far is in the pamphlet which has been read in the public squares and handed out to passers-by. I'm sure there are still some copies if you ask at the Community Centre. Now I have to go and perform my duty, as must you all. May the Powers of the R'hinz protect you and bring you good health.”

He stepped down from the stool, deliberately ignoring further questions aimed in his direction, and went back inside, closing the door behind him.

“Nice speech!” commented Julien. “Well done, Niil.”

“It's something I've been trained to do, and I had some good teachers.”

“I was worried that they'd want to see me.”

“They wouldn't dare ask. It's one thing to expect the local Lord to talk to them, especially if he's seen as fair, and another thing altogether to speak to the Emperor before he speaks to you.”

“But what about Mistress Nardik?”

“Don't be fooled. She talks to you the way she does because she knows that's what you want. But believe me when I tell you she had to work hard to make herself do that.”

“Do I really have that effect on people?”

“There's nothing you can do about it, so you just have to accept it.”

“And what about Tenntchouk and Gradik – do they look at me like that too?”

“I don't know. After all, you spent quite a long time sailing with them before they found out who you are, so maybe it's a bit easier for them.”

“Tenntchouk really saved our bacon, didn't he?”

“Well, actually I think that was mainly down to you. I don't know exactly what you did, but if you hadn't taken it away it would have chewed up the lot of us.”

“Yes, but Tenntchouk bought me and Xarax the time we needed to do that. I really hope he pulls through – he was in a real mess when I left him at the Tower. And I saw that you were about to jump in, too, and you would have done if Gradik hadn't grabbed you. Thanks, Niil.”

“Oh, right. Some effort I made – he stopped me with one hand!”

“He did it because he knew that otherwise you'd have been gutted without being able to stop the ghorr for a second.”

“Well, maybe. It's just because I hadn't thought it through.”

“You're a hopeless liar, you know.”

“All right, all right... so, anyway, what happened after you disappeared with the ghorr?”

“What?!?” interrupted Ambar, who until this point had been convinced that Niil had destroyed the ghorr with his new wonder-weapon. Now it seemed that instead of the warrior protecting his friend, as would have seemed logical, the complete opposite had happened.

“Calm down,” said Julien. “It wasn't that hard.”

“Howw? Dizappeawed wizz ze ghoww?!”

Tannder had just entered the room accompanied by Karik and, of course, Aïn, whose scandalised yelping said much about his astonished state of mind. Julien blushed like a schoolboy caught in the act.

“Well, we had to get rid of it,”' he pointed out, “and I could hardly ask it nicely to come to the klirk with me. You'd explained how it works, and it wasn't so very difficult. And I'd already jumped without a klirk.”

“Wonce! Yestewwday!”

“Well, anyway, it worked. Then Xarax showed me a place... come to think of it, I think it was on Zenn R'aal. It was on top of a high peak in the middle of a lake of what looked like boiling acid.”

“I've heard of that place,” said Tannder. “I often wondered what was the point of having a platform somewhere like that. Now I know.”

“Yes, it was really easy. There was only room on the klirk for one person, and so of course the ghorr fell and I went back. And talking of going back, I think perhaps we should go back to Djang Kang. If Mistress Nardik wants to come with us to recuperate for a while, she would be more than welcome.”

But Mistress Nardik decided instead to stay and look after her customers.

oo0oo