The Guided Journey (Book 6) (27 page)

“And these are our human companions, Raines and Orren,” Kestrel introduced the two humans, who had stood for the arrival of the guest.

“Welcome to our city,” Lucretia said in an excellent use of the human language.  “You’ve arrived at an auspicious time.”

“Why is it auspicious?” Kestrel asked.

“Because in two days the Princess Aurelia – your princess friend – is going to be married!” Lucretia answered.  “I’m on my way to her night-before party as a matter of fact, and I’m going to be late, now that you’ve distracted me.

“But when I tell her you’re here – I may not mention the yeti at first – she is going to be delighted!” Lucretia crowed.  “You’re going to stay for the wedding, aren’t you?”

Just then Kestrel heard another shout behind him, and he spun to find the source of the shout that was laced with notes of fear.

It was Tewks, arriving in the company of the lobby guard.  Tewks had spotted the yeti first.

“Wait!  Is that Kestrel with the monster?” the boy asked.  He ceased shouting, stepped forward, and looked closely.

“It is!  Lord Ripken will be so excited!  Kestrel is here with a monster, and a yeti too!” he laughed at his own humor.

“Give me your knife so I can toss it at him,” Lucretia growled.

Tewks came charging over, and momentarily hugged Kestrel, before he decided it was inappropriate for a boy of his advanced age to hug anyone.

“We’ve heard the most incredible stories about you, you and Countess Moorin,” Tewks said.  “We heard that you were changing bodies and fighting,” he glanced at Putty nervously, “monsters, and then you disappeared.

“And then you reappeared and sent messages and never came back,” Tewks spewed words out, too fast for Hampus to follow readily.

“What is he saying?” the eastern elf asked.

“Tewks, it’s good to see you again,” Kestrel spoke at last.  “You’ve grown, I think,” he made the boy blush.

“Will you lead us to Lord Ripken’s home?  I was going to ask him for the hospitality of letting our group stay for a few nights,” Kestrel stated.

“He’ll absolutely say yes,” Tewks said.

“I must be off.  You can spend the night at my place if nothing else works out,” Lucretia said, then kissed Kestrel’s cheek.  “I will see you tomorrow,” she added affirmatively, and hastily departed.

“He’ll say yes, but Targus will need to do some juggling,” Tewks expanded his comment.  “With all the wedding guests in town, the manor is pretty full.  Let’s head over there and see what they can do,” he suggested.  Without waiting for further introductions to the others in the group, he whirled on his heel and headed towards the door.

“We’re going to go see if we can find rooms for the night,” Kestrel translated for the humans, then turned to follow Tewks out of the lobby of the extraordinary tower.

It felt comfortable to be back in Kirevee, Kestrel reflected.  He looked up at the skies that were clear, though without the brilliant colored stars he had seen at the healing spring.  In Kirevee, on his first visit to the Northern Elves, he’d felt like a worldly traveler for the first time.  The trip had come after his time in Graylee, where he’d been a spy, and felt like a spy.  After experiencing Estone, then Graylee, his journey to the Northern Forest had been just one more exotic land to visit, to some degree.  He’d gone on to more strange places, and other extraordinary adventures afterwards.  But they had not had the sense of overwhelming strangeness that his first trips had created.  By the time he’d gotten to Kirevee, he’d gotten his feet beneath him. 

Perhaps.  Or perhaps he was simply romanticizing, remembering a city where his adventures had produced such positive results.

Tewks led the way.  “Why are you traveling with a yeti?” he asked Kestrel.  “Is it safe?  Does it eat people?”

“Only small people,” Kestrel replied.

“Truly, I fought her mother in the mountains and killed her.  Then I couldn’t leave the baby as an orphan, so she’s been my companion ever since.   I do need to feed her though,” he added.  “Do you think Lord Ripken’s kitchen has some fresh meat?”

“We’re getting ready for the wedding, and there are banquets three times a day, it feels like – there’s so much food in the kitchen the cook complains about it.  He told me to eat more the other day!” Tewks replied in amazement.  “Yes, you can feed your yeti all you want, as long as it doesn’t like fresh elf meat!” the boy laughed.

They crossed in front of the main entrance to the palace, and a sudden shout erupted.

Kestrel instantly understood what was happening; Putty had been spotted by the light of the palace lanterns.

Bowstrings started twanging, and Putty gave a roar of surprise.

“Everyone, close up together!” Kestrel shouted.  He grabbed Tewks by the collar and pulled the boy close to himself, producing a squawk of surprise as Kestrel stepped back towards the yeti, and focused his own surprise, twisting in into-and-together-with his concern for Putienne, then manipulating the emotions to produce the outpouring of power that raised a domed blue shield, protecting Kestrel and all those close by from any attack, including the attack by the palace bowmen, who were raining shafts down on the small band of unknown travelers.

“Great heavens!” Tewks exclaimed.  “Where did that come from?” he asked, his neck craning to look at the all-encompassing dome.

“Kestrel made it,” Hampus answered.

“You can do things like this?” the boy asked, with a note of awe and respect momentarily creeping into his voice.

“Why are we always under attack?” Raines asked in a desperate voice.

“Maybe it’s because we have a yeti with us!” Orren answered.

“Tewks, can you tell them to stop shooting?” Kestrel asked.  “Will they listen to you?  Do they know you?”

“Kestrel!” the boy answered indignantly, his voice growing shrill.  “Everyone knows me in the palace, especially the guards.  They chase me all the time!”

“He may not be the best spokesman to put forward,” Hampus said dryly.

“Let me go see them.  How do I get out of here?” Tewks ignored the comment.

“Go over there,” Kestrel answered.  He pointed to his right, then focused his attention, and caused the dome to dissolve across an arc of its coverage.

Tewks darted past Putty and the humans, then went out into the open air and yelped in surprise as a wayward arrow deflected off the dome and struck the paving stones at his feet.

“Stop!  It’s me, Tewks, of Lord Ripken’s household!” the boy shouted, dancing to and fro as he approached the main gate, while Kestrel restored the integrity of the protective dome, and rubbed Putty’s shoulder where the first arrow had bounced off her impenetrable hide.

Tewks wove a path up to the actual gate, waving his arms – unnecessarily, for all eyes were on him.  The arrows ceased to fly, as Kestrel and the yeti and the others remained still, not moving from their location, and not suffering any harm from the arrows that failed to touch them thanks to the extraordinary blue dome.

“Don’t shoot at them!” Tewks screamed so loudly that Kestrel easily heard him.

“It’s a monster!” two of the guards shouted back simultaneously.

“It’s a friend.  It’s a friendly yeti.  Do you see it attacking any of the people standing with it?  Do you know who that is?  That’s the mighty Kestrel, the one who won the tournament last year, the one who healed Princess Aurelia, the one who chased Exmoor from the palace.  Do you have any idea what you’re doing?  Do you see the magic powers he has?

“Now stop shooting and let us go on to Lord Ripken’s manor,” Tewks spoke in a pre-emptory tone.  “Or do you want me to report you to him so that your discipline can be the first topic he addresses when he returns from his honeymoon?” Tewks threatened.  “You know he listens to me – all I have to do is tell him and,” the boy snapped his fingers.

Tewks stood in his spot, his posture confident, and waited until the lead guard at the gate waved, then lowered his arm.  “Thank you,” Tewks said.  “We’ll be on our way, and I won’t mention this to his lordship at all.”

The boy turned and trotted back to the edge of Kestrel’s shield.  “You can put this down and quit showing off,” he said airily, “We can be on our way.”

Kestrel looked over at the guards, whose bows were pointed down at the ground.  No one had an arrow strung, ready to shoot, and some were even placing the bows back over their shoulders.  He focused inward, and released the energy that maintained the shield, giving a sigh of relief at the removal of the strain.

“Have you always been able to do that?” Tewks looked up at Kestrel as they resumed walking.  “Is that how you made all those arrow shots last year?  Is that how you control the imps?”

“Don’t let the imps hear you say that anyone controls them!” Kestrel laughed.

“No, they voluntarily assist me,” Kestrel answered.  “They have been my best allies since my adventures began.

“As for those arrow shots, you’re the one who handed me the enchanted bow from Kere’s temple, aren’t you?  You know that the bow made those shots easy,” Kestrel said.

“When I was here last time, I didn’t know how to use my powers.  I’m still learning,” he added.  He looked back at Putienne to make sure that the mighty creature was still following, and he noticed the sky above, over the yeti’s head.  The red and blue stars were visible once again – faint, but visible, though he had been sure he hadn’t seen them when he’d first arrived in Kirevee.

“That’s odd,” he said quietly, then focused again on the walk to Ripken’s manor.

Minutes later they arrived, after sending Tewks darting in to warn the staff that a yeti was about to enter the hall.

Targus, the able and trusted assistant to Ripken, stood in the door with Tewks as Kestrel’s band approached.

“My lord,” he said formally, bowing to Kestrel, “It’s so good to see you, and so timely that you have arrived on the eve of our festive event.  I know that Lord Ripken will be most pleased to know that you’ve finally arrived.  He’s been expecting you for several days now.”

“That’s surprising,” Kestrel said, perplexed by the comment.  “How did he know to expect me?”

“The princess mentioned it, I believe.  We’ll have to ask her after all the wedding activities are over,” Targus answered.

“In the meantime, why don’t you and your companions wait in the parlor while I arrange lodgings.  Will your yeti require any special accommodations?”

“We will share a room,” Kestrel answered.  “Nothing too fancy, please.  We’re
just glad to have a place to stay.  The journey has been a long one.”

Targus and Tewks showed them to the parlor, then left them alone.

“This is a magnificent palace!” Orren exclaimed as he looked at the furnishings.  “I thought elves just lived in trees!”

“
Not many live in trees all the time, though we all probably sleep in them from time to time,” Kestrel answered.

The members of the group wandered about the room, looking at the furniture and objects on display.

“We’ve got a suite for all of you to stay together,” Tewks said excitedly, moments later.  “A dowager aunt was complaining about being so close to the ground; the suite’s only on the second floor,” he apologized.  “Targus is moving her into a small gable room on the fourth floor, and she’s happy with that.”

They followed Tewks to the staircase, then up to the suite of rooms, a small hallway with its own door to separate it from the main hall, with three rooms clustered together.

“I’m supposed to have some food sent up for all of you,” he said.  “And if you want to take the yeti down to the kitchen, I’ve warned them you’ll come down soon,” he said to Kestrel.

“Thank you Tewks,” Kestrel said.  “You’ve been very helpful tonight.”

“I’ve got to go now,” the boy responded.  “There’s a chambermaid who said she’d meet me soon.”  He left them at the entrance to their suite.

“Let’s check on the rooms,” Hampus said.

“These rooms are for us,” Kestrel explained to the humans, as he opened the closest door and saw a small room with a single, small bed in it.  He left the door open to walk to the next room, where he opened the door and saw that was also a single small bed in a small room.  The last door opened onto a large room that contained a large single bed.

“How are we going to arrange this?” Raines asked in a flat tone of voice.

Kestrel stood in the doorway and scratched his head.

“You can have one of the small rooms to yourself,’ he said.  He looked at Orren, then looked at Hampus.

“Orren, you take the other small room.  Hampus and Putty and I will share the big room, somehow,” he decided.

“I’ll take the room on the left,” Orren said.

“Then I’ll take the one on the right,” Raines agreed.

As Kestrel finished the assignments, a servant arrived carrying a large tray.  The elf’s eyes grew large as he looked at the yeti standing in the hallway, and he stopped his progress.

“Everyone head into the large room, and we’ll all eat there,” Kestrel proposed, ushering the group into the largest room, and taking Putty by the hand to lead the yeti into a far corner.

The servant hesitantly entered the room and placed the tray on a table near the door, then hastily retreated without comment.