THE SEA HAG(68)

"Well, Gannon," the king said—briskly, royally. "This time it'll have the tables turned on it, won't it? You'll have its heads off in a trice."

Gannon looked like a man who'd just heard the twang of the crossbow aimed at his chest. "Indeed, sire," he said. "I was just going off to prepare myself to meet Rakastava in the morning."

Dennis put his hand on Aria's wrist. "Please," he said, looking up at the standing woman. "I don't understand. This is Rakastava. What's going on."

Aria smiled at him sadly. "This is Rakastava's city," she said. "That—" her index finger pointed toward the vault, empty air again "—was Rakastava; and every so often, we pay him for the use of his city."

Her smile grew coldly bitter. "At a price of his choosing, as is fair."

"But that's a ghost!" Dennis said. "A shadow! There's nothing really there, it's just a—"

He didn't have the words to finish, but his companion—

"Chester!" Dennis said, "tell them that Rakastava isn't a real thing."

The little robot slipped from beneath Dennis' seat at the bench. "What you have seen, Dennis and Princess," he said, "is not real but a projection—light interrupting light in the air."

"You see?" Dennis crowed. He jumped to his feet, straddling the bench, and took each of Aria's hands in one of his own.

"But beneath the city, Rakastava is very real," Chester continued inexorably, as if he were unaware of his master's false joy. "And it is to Rakastava, not his projection, that the princess is to go in the morning."

Part-eaten dishes had disappeared into the tables. Goblets of strong, sweet wine rose from the surface in place of the food—many goblets, and the citizens attacked the wine with enthusiasm and relief.

From the corner of his eye, Dennis saw the King's Champion drain one cup, then—after a moment's hesitation—replace it with the full one sitting unnoticed before Conall's bent head.

"Wait a minute!" Dennis cried. "If it's real, this Rakastava, then I'll fight him!"

The youth's loud voice carried to the immediate circle of the king's table and those standing near it. Gannon looked at him, and for a flashing instant Dennis was sure that he saw hope and agreement in the champion's eyes.

Aria took her hands from Dennis and turned away.

"You're a very brave young man, Prince Dennis," Conall said with kind formality. "But this is a task for one with more experience."

"Go back to your cows, boy," Gannon cried harshly. "Leave man's work to a man."

"A ruler is punished for giving honor to a fool!" Chester rasped in the same hectoring tone. Gannon jumped in surprise.

But pride had more of a grip on the King's Champion than fear. He straightened and struck a heroic pose, knuckles against the points of his hips, beneath his polished armor, and his elbows splayed out to the sides.

"Gannon, there's no need to be—" the king said mildly.

"Wait!" Dennis repeated. He put a hand on Aria's shoulder with enough pressure to beg, though not force, her to turn. "Aria. Tell them you want me to fight Rakastava with you."

Aria met Dennis' pleading gaze. There was no warmth in her eyes, but she put a hand over the youth's where it rested on her shoulder. "Many champions have gone down to fight Rakastava, Dennis," she said quietly.

She turned to her father, squeezing Dennis' hand as she lifted it away. "I desire that Gannon be my champion and companion in the morning," she said in a clear, ringing voice. "When I go to meet Rakastava."

Gannon winced. Dennis didn't notice, because he was stumbling toward the door in blind humiliation.

There were cheers behind him in the assembly hall, but he doubted many of the citizens could have given a reason for their enthusiasm—

Beyond the fact that someone else would feed the monster this time.





CHAPTER 44




The cows' breath sweetened the morning air with the scent of the fodder they'd grazed the day before. One of the calves rubbed its black-and-white head against Dennis in a friendly gesture before frisking off after its mother.

The sun hadn't risen over the fringing jungle, but the sky above the pasture was already bright.

Dennis rubbed his face with his palms.

"Dennis?" said the little robot.

"Yes, Chester?"

"It is now that you have need of the armor in Malduanan's hut."

"To do what?" Dennis asked in amazement.

"To wear, Dennis," Chester replied. "To watch, and to wait."

The jungle was reclaiming Malduanan's hut. The woven leaves of the roof were tattered, creating pools of light. Plants were beginning to sprout among the bones.