“Don’t know what a tightrope is, but here goes.” Merrick scooped her up and before she could protest, he was striding along one of the narrow branches as easily as though he was strolling along a road on Earth. She didn’t even have time to protest before he sat her down gently by the broad blue leaf that served as the door of the hut.
“At last.” Mother-Healer frowned. “You have kept the Elders waiting long enough. Remove your wrappings and go in at once.”
Elise clutched at the leaf-towel, which she had somehow kept intact through the long and arduous climb. “Do we have to?”
“No choice,” Merrick growled. He stripped off his own leaf and then tugged at hers. “Come on, Elise.”
Feeling horribly exposed, Elise at last slipped off the broad, fuzzy leaf and let it drift to the wooden porch surrounding the hut. She stood there, naked and shivering in the deepening gloom.
“Good.” Merrick nodded approvingly and took her hand. “Here we go, baby.” Then he pulled her into the hut.
Chapter Thirty
Inside the hut it was nearly dark, with only a single blue flame burning high near the leafy ceiling. Merrick’s Kindred eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light and he saw they were standing in front of a table made from a single rigid yanyan leaf. Behind the table were three Ancient Ones, even older than Mother-Healer. It was impossible to tell their sexes, firstly because all three were wearing simple blue robes and secondly because each of them was partially transformed into his or her second form.
Looking more closely, Merrick saw that the first Elder had eyes with slitted pupils that glowed fiercely like a beast’s and the second had short, pointed ears mounted on the top of his or her head. The third Elder’s partial transformation was the most arresting, however—his (or her) mouth was elongated into a beastly muzzle with long, sharp teeth that winked whitely in the dim blue light.
Merrick frowned. He didn’t know much about the Ancient Ones, but he did know they usually kept to one form or the other. Holding a partial transformation between the forms would require a great deal of energy and strength. They were in the presence of immense power—he would have to tread lightly here, even though it wasn’t his usual style.
“Greetings Kindred male and human girl-child,” spoke the Elder with the glowing eyes. The voice was soft and even—female, Merrick decided. “We are those who will judge you. I see what you are through the eyes of truth.” The great, glowing eyes blinked at Merrick and also Elise, who was standing partly behind him, clearly still embarrassed by her nakedness.
“And I will hear you through the ears of wisdom,” said the second Elder, with the pointed ears mounted on the top of his head—at least he sounded male to Merrick.
“And I will pronounce your sentence through the voice of justice,” growled the beast-mouthed Elder. Also male, Merrick thought, though it was much harder to tell with the distorted animal muzzle for a mouth.
“Elders,” he said, bowing low to the three of them and hoping that Elise would follow along. “We thank you for your hospitality these several days and beg your forgiveness for our misdeeds and the misunderstandings between us.”
“Misunderstandings, you call them?” the beast-mouthed Elder demanded in his low, rough voice. “We call them blasphemy. This female girl-child came into our homeland wearing the sacred color and proceeded to strip a holy skrillix vine of one of its branches. How can you excuse such actions?”
Merrick opened his mouth to reply but Elise beat him to it.
“I have no excuse.” Stepping out from behind Merrick, her chin lifted high, she spoke in a calm, clear voice, meeting the eyes of each Elder in turn. “I am ignorant of your ways,” she continued, “But I know that ignorance is no excuse for wrongdoing. I sought the skrillix plant to cure a…a sickness that we both suffer from.” She nodded at Merrick. “However, I know now that I should have come to you, Elders, and begged humbly for a branch, instead of taking without asking.”
The Elders murmured among themselves approvingly, Merrick thought. He was tempted to be irritated with Elise for not letting him do most of the talking, but she seemed to be doing quite well so far—was it because of her training and the job she did back on Earth? Merrick didn’t know much about it but it seemed to involve arguing the law before some kind of official on behalf of abused children—in which case, she was uniquely suited for this—perhaps he should just keep his mouth shut and let her talk.
“You speak well for yourself, outsider,” the Elder with the glowing eyes remarked. “Yet your mouth may be dripping with lies as a sweetflower drips nectar.”