Queen of Stars (13 page)

“That is Halfling Rigel,” Elgomaisa said. “He is permitted.”

The glassy dead eye surveyed Rigel for a moment, then the monster whipped around and soared upward. Rigel swallowed his heart back down to where it belonged and bowed, elfin style, to the starborn, who was sitting in a chair fashioned from a huge clamshell. He did not appear to be armed with a gelding knife, which was a relief.

“May the stars shine on you forever, Starborn Elgomaisa.”

“Halfling.” The formal response to an inferior’s greeting was, “May your progeny outnumber the stars,” but that would be absurd when said to a mule. “The queen will be taking up residence today, and these are the royal quarters. You may inspect the areas that concern you.”

Rigel thanked him politely and did so. Other than the exit, four doors were inset in the walls, all circular and made of heavy timbers. He picked out the names on each, symbol by symbol: Izar, Elgomaisa, Talitha, Guard.

Izar’s door stood open, and inside Porrima and a young mermaid were coaxing starfish off the walls and putting them into a net bag. The room itself was spacious and well furnished. Light, and possibly air, entered by a dozen or so very narrow shafts. Even Izar wouldn’t be able to escape through those.

“Are those stars a problem?” Rigel asked.

The merman shrugged. “They have been known to crawl on people’s faces while they sleep. Starborn Elgomaisa told me to remove them in case they frighten Starling Izar.”

Rigel said, “Ha! The starfish would get the worst of it.”

He went out and crossed over to his own space, the guard’s room. It was tiny, with one very small bed taking up most of the space. The decoration on the walls comprised four very large octopuses working their way through a symphony of colors and patterns. Wondering who had chosen these quarters, he followed the sound of the zither back to the courtyard and was left to stand and wait until Elgomaisa completed the piece. Porrima and his companion finished cleansing Izar’s room of starfish and came out to do the same in the central garden.

When, at last, the music ended, Rigel said, “Are there any other exits, starborn?”

“The other two rooms have access to the sea, but the precincts are well patrolled.”

“I should prefer my room to be closer to the starling’s.”

The un-elfin black eyes studied him for a moment. “Life is full of disappointments, tweenling.”

The upstart was being put in his place. The two merfolk were listening.

“As you say, starborn.” Rigel bowed and went off to explore the rest of the palace.

Chapter 16

A
fter an hour or two, Rigel had amply confirmed that he did not care for Segin. It was too confusing, and was simultaneously enormous and claustrophobic. It contained many beautiful halls and gardens, but the windows looked out on water and nothing else. In Canopus he had friends among the centaurs and sphinxes, but here there were only merfolk, who had the conversational skills of goldfish, and the few starborn he met ignored him. Every now and again a gigantic shark would come hurtling along a corridor at him, swooping up and over his head before he could even duck, with just a puff of pseudo-air to mark its passage.

He had been the queen’s confidant and platonic sweetheart. Until last night they had shared that secret and been friends. Then he had dared to look at another woman, and the romance had ended. Clearly Consort Elgomaisa was going to be making the decisions from now on, and his views of the pursuit of happiness nowhere included Rigel Halfling.

That became even more evident at the dinner the queen gave for Naos Kurhah. Or perhaps it was a welcome for her new consort, who certainly sat very close to her throughout the evening. Kurhah was not the only guest, although he obviously considered himself the guest of honor. Apparently his rudeness in the court had been forgiven, or he had apologized for it, although that seemed out of character. Eight of the starborn officers of the government were there in their glittering collars, including Court Mage Fomalhaut and the new Chancellor Celaeno. Prince Vildiar was not.

Five halfling officials were also present, people who actually worked and were roughly the equivalent of earthly bureaucrats. They, like Rigel, had to stand along one wall and watch while the elves ate and drank and twittered as elves did in company. Imps should be seen and not heard, so Izar was seated at a separate table for starlings. Normally on such occasions he would have a few friends keeping him company, but that evening he was alone, and glumly spent most of the time levitating cutlery.

Mermaids served the food and wine. Merfolk and merkids entertained the diners with music and three-dimensional ballet. The evening was a social success.

Rigel grew steadily more disgusted, and his thoughts kept returning to Fomalhaut’s standing offer to return him to Earth. The mage would be only too happy to oblige him. He would provide a bag of gold and perhaps even ensorcel him with a fake navel and nipples, so he could take his shirt off without being revealed as a freak. Even he wouldn’t be able to supply Rigel with a birth certificate, though, so he would still be a nobody, a nonperson, unable to obtain a passport or a driver’s license.

The only problem was that he would go mad.

The worst moment came near the end, after the servants had left. Talitha raised her glass to indicate a toast and everyone fell silent.

“Naos Kurhah,” she said, “we are overjoyed to know that you have not left us after all. It is no secret that Prince Vildiar has more ambition than honor, and we had begun to fear that his killers were starting to slaughter officers of our government. Your return to the Starlands is a great relief to all of us.”

Was she going to offer the Naos the throne after all?

Evidently not. “We shall sleep better knowing that you stand between him and the succession…”

Kurhah’s expression of modest pride soured to wary surprise.

“But one thing bothers us,” the queen continued sweetly. “What was the real reason you invaded Starborn Fomalhaut’s laboratory yesterday to tamper with Rigel Halfling’s reversion staff?”

Rigel noted that he was no longer Marshal Rigel. Fomalhaut was listening intently.

Kurhah leaned back in his chair. “My memories go back a long time, my dear.”

“Who?
”

“Your Majesty. And I know lore that goes back even further. Any halfling wearing a Lesath amulet is an abomination. When that Lesath is the notorious Saiph, then the consequences are always dire. Always! Saiph is the most ancestral of all, a potential disaster even when it’s worn by a starborn. I could tell you scores of tales about the deaths it has caused. I saw a chance to remove it from play, and took it. That was all.”

His friend Shaula had been surprised to find a halfling with an amulet potent enough to read her intentions, so Kurhah was undoubtedly lying.

The queen considered his answer for longer than one would have expected. Now was the moment when she could mention that her son had twice been kidnapped and rescued by Rigel and Saiph. She might also recall that they had saved her own life from an attempted murder.

“I see,” she said eventually. “But the sphinxes and centaurs do approve of him…Well, your real motive is slightly less treasonous than the excuse you gave in court, even if your methods remain censurable. Do we have your word that you will refrain from further aggression against our son’s bodyguard?”

Kurhah hesitated, and Rigel expected a wrangle about the difference between a bodyguard and a cabinet post, but it did not come. “If that is Your Majesty’s command, then of course I shall obey.”

Talitha turned to Fomalhaut. “Court Mage, are you prepared to forgive Naos Kurhah’s excess of zeal?”

The elf’s golden eyes flicked briefly in Rigel’s direction. “Absolutely, Your Majesty. Were I not sworn to obey your orders, I should have disposed of the half-breed myself long ago.”

“Then, friends, let us welcome Naos Kurhah back and drink to his continued long life among us.”

Imp Izar said,
“Oh, schmoor!”
loudly enough to be heard by everyone.

Rigel conducted the chastened starling to his chamber. Izar was frothing mad at the way his hero had been treated, and Rigel himself had trouble justifying it. It was, he assured the imp, no business of his whom his mother chose to be her consort, and Starborn Elgomaisa was a much more appropriate choice—fortunately Izar did not ask him to explain why. And since the nasty rumors about Rigel being her secret lover were unfounded, she must not seem to take his side in any discussion of him.

“Well, it’s not fair,” Izar protested.

“Life isn’t fair, lad.” Fortunately the starborn worshipped no omnipotent gods, so Rigel did not have to explain
why
life wasn’t fair.

Izar was still far too angry to want to sleep, despite his elfin ability to turn himself off at will. Rigel suggested chess and asked the mermaid on guard duty in the garden area to fetch a board. Izar had recently taken to chess like a merkid to water and was becoming very successful at it, helped by a tendency for pieces to move themselves when his opponent wasn’t paying enough attention.

After he had won three games, one of them almost honestly, he let Rigel persuade him to call it a day. Throwing himself flat on the bed, he went as limp as seaweed on a beach. Rigel headed across to his own tiny kennel. The octopuses were still exploring the spectrum in plaids and the starfish had returned, probably through the window. Wearily, he took off his helmet and tossed it onto the blanket.

There was a door in the corner that he had not seen before. From what he understood of the geometry of his suite, it ought to open to the sea, or just possibly Elgomaisa’s bedroom, but he doubted that it would.

Earlier in the day, while exploring the palace, he had activated Meissa so that he could investigate some magical trickeries. He put the helmet back on and again spoke its name. The door disappeared. It was magic, but the magic worked backwards—the door was only visible when it sensed that he was there. The intention must be that only he could see it.

He removed the helmet, set it down, and opened the door. The other side was almost dark. There was just enough light for him to make out another bedroom—a grandiose state bedroom, with a monarch-sized bed, coral pillars, and much marble statuary. The slender woman sitting in the exact center of the bed was recognizable as Talitha by the glow of Naos. She was leaning back on her arms, legs stretched out so that the soles of her feet were angled toward him. She was watching him with an expression that could best be described as quizzical. There was no sign of Elgomaisa.

“Took you long enough,” she said.

“Sorry. Didn’t realize…”

She beckoned him with a toss of her head. The Naos light over her neck and shoulders had begun to surge in a kaleidoscope of shades and shapes.

He went closer, and his heartbeat seemed to rise with every step. The Time of Life had predicted he could not die before he had sired a child. If he mentioned that…He knew he wasn’t going to tell her that. Not ever. Tonight might even be the night.

He stopped when his thighs met the mattress. “I understood that you had chosen a consort.”

Her smile was gleeful. “So does everybody. Don’t worry! I’ve known Elgo since we were imps. He’s my oldest friend. Longest, I mean, not oldest. He’s not even sixty yet.”

“Yes, but a consort…”

She frowned impatiently. “Don’t pretend to be stupid, Rigel Halfling. I told Elgo about our problem and he’ll pretend for me. By day he’s my consort. In return, I promised him that we’ll have a proper pairing in a century or two and try for a child together. Meanwhile, at night…” She raised an eyebrow. “You do still want me? Not that awful Avior halfling? You weren’t serious about her?”

“No, no. I just…just wanted to ask her a question…I mean, like Thabit says she’s a…I mean Tyl…” Every word he said was making it worse. “I didn’t!”

“I knew you hadn’t…wouldn’t. But I nearly went crazy with jealousy at the thought of you with another woman. That’s when I realized how cruel I was being. You do forgive me, don’t you?”

“Nothing to forgive.” His heart was flying around his chest like a bat.

“We won’t be disturbed. You do have all night, but…”

He dropped his wrap and crawled across the bed to her. She spread her legs, and he realized that she was already naked. He fitted himself into that welcome until she was lying flat and he was poised above her on his hands and knees. The Naos sunburst around her neck and shoulders had fanned out over her breasts and face, brightening the room like a display of aurora borealis.

He sank down on his elbows and kissed her. Strangely, this time he needed no lessons. His lips and tongue knew exactly what to do. His chest on hers, her breasts in his hands, then his mouth on her nipples. She squirmed with joy beneath him, caressing his back, his groin. How long they played he could not tell, but eventually he could wait no longer and slid smoothly inside her.

He had not known there could be an experience as glorious as that. After taking a moment to relish it, he started to move and caught hints of even greater pleasures in store. He began thrusting; she joined in, in counterpoint, faster and harder, until they reached a mutual climax, an explosion of pleasure engulfing the world. Rigel made incoherent animal noises. Talitha cried out, “Stars!” her whole body blazing with rapture.

Rapture faded into stillness as they lay together, still joined inside and out, listening to the slow thump of their hearts.

The Starlands moved for me…

Whatever Hadar had in store for him, this moment with Talitha was worth it. But life seemed much more precious now than it had an hour ago.

Eventually he withdrew and rolled off her. He found his voice.

“Why not…” he whispered. “Why not let old Kurhah have the throne for a few centuries? Retire to Spica and build a domain. I’ll help—I have a good eye for wallpaper. Then no one will care about me, and I’ll shrivel up and die anyway before you have to assume the throne again.”

The queen sighed.

“I’d love to. But I wouldn’t last a week. Hadar cannot kill me now, because I must give the Starlands to my successor, as Electra gave them to me. But if Kurhah rules, I die. Izar dies. Then Vildiar’s succession will be safe because he’ll be the only adult Naos left. You would die first, of course.”

He hugged her tighter. “You’re right.” He should have seen that. How long would Kurhah last? “One last thing. My mother…Electra…She told me my father’s name, and—”