Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
“Be that as it may, I believe it’s time we put away our sigils so that we can meet the Baron,” Sir told me.
He looked slightly uncomfortable and it occurred to me that maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned his “Mental Abilities” as he called them. He seemed to have a slight complex about them and I had never seen him do a single thing with his mind—other than regular things like piloting the ship and using the Matter Synthesizer—since the incident at the spaceport.
“Sorry, Sir,” I murmured.
Sir nodded forgiveness.
“That’s all right, little one, but we don’t want to be late.”
“Okay—I’ll hurry,” I said.
I wasn’t sure what to do with my sparkler—or “sigil” as the servant called it—but Sir went to the hook where his long black coat was hanging and tucked his into the lapel.
I supposed I should do the same, but I didn’t have any good place to put it on my own coat. In the end, I just slipped it—still sparkling and fizzing and hissing—into my coat pocket.
I watched it anxiously for a moment, wanting to make sure it wasn’t going to set anything on fire. But when no smoke came out of my pocket, I decided that the servant must be telling the truth—the red sparks shooting out of it were just for show. So I gave my pocket a final pat and hurried to catch up with Sir, who was already following the servant down the long hallway.
But as I went, my mind kept returning to the face of the human girl I had seen down on the bottom floor. Something told me she needed help and I was determined to do something for her before we left the building.
THIRTY
ELLI
I followed Sir down the red carpeted hall until we turned the corner and found ourselves at an archway trimmed in gold. It led into a vast dining room where a clear chandelier blazing with light hovered over a long, grand dining table made of some dark, heavy wood.
At first I thought the chandelier must be made of ice, like so many other things on O’nagga Nine. But then I saw a huge fireplace located in a wall behind the head of the table and realized that the heat it was putting out would have melted anything icy—so the chandelier must be made of some kind of clear crystals or gems.
The next thing that drew my eye were the people sitting around the table, apparently waiting for us. Two of them looked like regular Naggians—a man and a woman, both dressed in rich, ostentatious clothing. The man wore a kind of robe that looked like an old-fashioned smoking jacket—maroon with golden trim. The woman had on a long blue dress with a very high collar—it went up almost to the lobes of her ears. The sleeves of the gown went down to her wrists as well. Both of them had long black hair and glowing blue eyes.
The man seated at the head of the table must be the Baron himself, I speculated. He didn’t look quite like the other two—although he did have the same glowing blue eyes and long white fangs that all Naggians seemed to possess.
But he also had two curling horns on either side of his forehead and his white skin was marked with curving blue tattoos. They were easy to see, since his shirt sleeves were rolled up, showing muscular forearms. I could also see another tattoo curling up one side of his thick neck.
I wondered at first why he looked so different and then remembered that Sir had said he was only half Naggian and his other half was Braxian. He was certainly bigger than most of the Naggian men I had seen—he was broader across the shoulders and more muscular. He was also dressed more casually than the other two at the table, wearing just a plain blue shirt and black trousers.
As the servant bowed us into the room and introduced us, all three of the people at the table rose.
“Ah, Overlord!” the Baron rumbled, coming forward with both hands outstretched. “It’s good to meet you in person.” He wasn’t nearly as tall as Sir, but he was still a good seven feet tall, I thought—why did all these aliens have to be so big? I felt like a little kid at the adult’s table among them.
“The feeling is mutual,” Sir said, taking the Baron’s offered hands in a firm grip. “Thank you for having me and little one, here,” he added, nodding at me. “No other Naggian Lord on the planet was willing to meet with me.”
“Well, that’s their fucking loss, isn’t it?” the Baron said, shrugging. “I’m afraid many of my people are set in their ways but I’m always interested in meeting and doing business with people from other worlds and galaxies. Come…” He made an expansive gesture towards the dining table. “Have a seat and meet my friends.”