Rising Tension
...cherva-do, cherva-tay, cherva-tet...
The numbers flash past us, and I try to concentrate on them, hold them in my head like it's a counting game, like I'm still learning this language, or teaching it to my son....
...cherva-kan, cherva-rys, cherva-kohp....
It was almost unsettlingly easy, getting in here, but I still can't shake the feeling that there's a reason for that, because the real trouble is yet to come.
...cherva-ayen, cherva-mohs, Dova...
My mind flits back to just a few minutes ago, me confidently striding up to the servant's entrance of the council building.
"What do you want?" The guard was huge, and he'd snarled at me. I'm glad I kept my cool.
"I am la'sallyr, I have an appointment." If there's anything adolescent shenanegans with certain Kiwis in Sydney Hotels in the 80's had taught me, it's that if you keep calm, keep in character, and stick to your story, people will let you get away with an awful lot, simply because you act with utmost unshakeable confidence that you are supposed to be there.
"Your name?" the second one asked, sounding bored. The first guard looked dubious, but he let this one ask, perhaps because he's the superiour here.
I nearly responded with "Hugo", keeping the identity I gave Saldja, but a vivid memory strikes me right between the eyes, stopping me. Her stricken face, the last thing I see before I hit the floor, stunned, and her voice, screaming my name... "HUGO!!!". Pharras will remember that name, I've got no doubt.
I bowed, showing respect and covering my hesitation. "My apologies, perhaps I was mistaken in how expected I would be. I am Luum." I decided to take a rediculous gamble. "Please convey my arrival to her highness at once, and be sure to mention my name and position." Stupid, stupid chance, but if the message gets through....
The first guard peered at me suspiciously. "You're here from the Firm? You're the replacement for..." he gestured, flicking his fingers agitatedly. I've seen Kory do it, it's the equivalent of humans snapping our fingers to prompt memory. He didn't fool me, though. He wasn't prompting his memory, he was prompting me to supply the wrong name and get thrown the hell out of there, probably detained for being a spy.
Which, of course, I am. With no way of knowing how close my fellow spies were at that moment. Or are now, for that matter.
...dova-cher, dova-do, dova-tay...
It was a shot in the dark, a hopeless gamble. But in for a pound, in for a penny....
"Xyannis," I supplied smoothly, and thier faces told me I was right long before they intended them to. "Yes, her loss was a great tragedy..." I danced the fidjit of someone important who feels unecessarily detained, and it worked like a charm.
"Of course, la'sallyr" They bowed politely, and led me inside.
...dova-tet, dova-kan, dova-rys....
We reached the elevator, and I gave myself a moment to admire the design. I brought my hald, palm up, to massage it with my thumb, an old nervous habit. I had good reason for nerves, though, because just then, a small red dot appeared in the middle of it.
My mind raced, seeming to go through the possibilities in a fraction of a seccond: A laser pointer? No, that makes no sense... A laser sight? Tamaranian weapons don't have.... Vic and Kon are nowhere near... and Dick would never... Slater.
I lowered my hand, and made sure not to glance up at the figure in black I knew was sitting on top of the elevator and draw attention to him. Damnnit, I thought, Of all the people to have following me the closest... But then, how could I be sure Dick wasn't just as close? I'd never know he was there....
...dova-kohp, dova-ayan, dova-mohs...
I'm brought back rudely to the present by the sudden realisation of what's been nagging at the back of my mind since we got on this elevator.
Up. The numbers are going up. But I can hear his damned voice, as clear as day in my memory... "Her quarters are in the lower levels of the Council Building; no other place could be more secure."
I turn to the guard next to me, my voice light and slightly bored; "Luum" is apparently all business. "Will it be much longer untill we reach her Majesty's quarters?"
I do not like the smile I get from him in return. "Oh, honoured la'sallyr, I assumed you had been told. All appointments with her highness must of course be confirmed with Lord Councilman Pharras. We're on our way to his office now. It's on floor tetva, the south corridor."
...teyva, teyva-cher, teyva-do...
I wave my hand in the air dismissively, and quickly, so they can't tell it's shaking. "I assumed all this had already been taken care of." I keep my tone even and non-challant, hiding all trace of the rising panic I feel.
...teyva-tey, teyva-tet, teyva-kan...
The numbers continue to climb.
...teyva-rys, teyva-kohp, teyva-ayen...
Oh Zatanna, your magic and my acting skills are about to get the acid test...
...teyva-mohs, tetva. Ping.
The doors open with a soft chime, and we leave the elevator and start down the hallway.
My only hope is that the little man who wasn't there caught one word out of all that Tamaranian chatter, and that that one word was Pharras.
The numbers flash past us, and I try to concentrate on them, hold them in my head like it's a counting game, like I'm still learning this language, or teaching it to my son....
...cherva-kan, cherva-rys, cherva-kohp....
It was almost unsettlingly easy, getting in here, but I still can't shake the feeling that there's a reason for that, because the real trouble is yet to come.
...cherva-ayen, cherva-mohs, Dova...
My mind flits back to just a few minutes ago, me confidently striding up to the servant's entrance of the council building.
"What do you want?" The guard was huge, and he'd snarled at me. I'm glad I kept my cool.
"I am la'sallyr, I have an appointment." If there's anything adolescent shenanegans with certain Kiwis in Sydney Hotels in the 80's had taught me, it's that if you keep calm, keep in character, and stick to your story, people will let you get away with an awful lot, simply because you act with utmost unshakeable confidence that you are supposed to be there.
"Your name?" the second one asked, sounding bored. The first guard looked dubious, but he let this one ask, perhaps because he's the superiour here.
I nearly responded with "Hugo", keeping the identity I gave Saldja, but a vivid memory strikes me right between the eyes, stopping me. Her stricken face, the last thing I see before I hit the floor, stunned, and her voice, screaming my name... "HUGO!!!". Pharras will remember that name, I've got no doubt.
I bowed, showing respect and covering my hesitation. "My apologies, perhaps I was mistaken in how expected I would be. I am Luum." I decided to take a rediculous gamble. "Please convey my arrival to her highness at once, and be sure to mention my name and position." Stupid, stupid chance, but if the message gets through....
The first guard peered at me suspiciously. "You're here from the Firm? You're the replacement for..." he gestured, flicking his fingers agitatedly. I've seen Kory do it, it's the equivalent of humans snapping our fingers to prompt memory. He didn't fool me, though. He wasn't prompting his memory, he was prompting me to supply the wrong name and get thrown the hell out of there, probably detained for being a spy.
Which, of course, I am. With no way of knowing how close my fellow spies were at that moment. Or are now, for that matter.
...dova-cher, dova-do, dova-tay...
It was a shot in the dark, a hopeless gamble. But in for a pound, in for a penny....
"Xyannis," I supplied smoothly, and thier faces told me I was right long before they intended them to. "Yes, her loss was a great tragedy..." I danced the fidjit of someone important who feels unecessarily detained, and it worked like a charm.
"Of course, la'sallyr" They bowed politely, and led me inside.
...dova-tet, dova-kan, dova-rys....
We reached the elevator, and I gave myself a moment to admire the design. I brought my hald, palm up, to massage it with my thumb, an old nervous habit. I had good reason for nerves, though, because just then, a small red dot appeared in the middle of it.
My mind raced, seeming to go through the possibilities in a fraction of a seccond: A laser pointer? No, that makes no sense... A laser sight? Tamaranian weapons don't have.... Vic and Kon are nowhere near... and Dick would never... Slater.
I lowered my hand, and made sure not to glance up at the figure in black I knew was sitting on top of the elevator and draw attention to him. Damnnit, I thought, Of all the people to have following me the closest... But then, how could I be sure Dick wasn't just as close? I'd never know he was there....
...dova-kohp, dova-ayan, dova-mohs...
I'm brought back rudely to the present by the sudden realisation of what's been nagging at the back of my mind since we got on this elevator.
Up. The numbers are going up. But I can hear his damned voice, as clear as day in my memory... "Her quarters are in the lower levels of the Council Building; no other place could be more secure."
I turn to the guard next to me, my voice light and slightly bored; "Luum" is apparently all business. "Will it be much longer untill we reach her Majesty's quarters?"
I do not like the smile I get from him in return. "Oh, honoured la'sallyr, I assumed you had been told. All appointments with her highness must of course be confirmed with Lord Councilman Pharras. We're on our way to his office now. It's on floor tetva, the south corridor."
...teyva, teyva-cher, teyva-do...
I wave my hand in the air dismissively, and quickly, so they can't tell it's shaking. "I assumed all this had already been taken care of." I keep my tone even and non-challant, hiding all trace of the rising panic I feel.
...teyva-tey, teyva-tet, teyva-kan...
The numbers continue to climb.
...teyva-rys, teyva-kohp, teyva-ayen...
Oh Zatanna, your magic and my acting skills are about to get the acid test...
...teyva-mohs, tetva. Ping.
The doors open with a soft chime, and we leave the elevator and start down the hallway.
My only hope is that the little man who wasn't there caught one word out of all that Tamaranian chatter, and that that one word was Pharras.