“Yes.” At the far right, one of those in the sash of a staff member was writing into a small leather booklet. A transcript of the proceedings?
“You claim to have made a discovery while on this voyage?”
“Yes. Several discoveries.”
“And what were those discoveries?”
“That the world is round.” There was a sharp hiss from several members of the assembly. “That the object we call the Face of God is really just a planet.” Tails swished back and forth like snakes. Individuals exchanged worried glances.
“You really believe this?” said Yenalb.
“The world is round,” said Afsan. “We did indeed sail continuously to the east, leaving from Capital City here on the east coast of Land and arriving back, simply by continuing in a straight line, at the Bay of Three Forests on the west coast.”
“You are mistaken,” Yenalb said flatly.
Afsan felt a tingling at the tips of his fingers. “I am not mistaken. Dybo was there. He knows.”
Yenalb slapped his tail against the floor. The sharp cracking echoed throughout the chamber. “You will refer to the Emperor as His Luminance.”
“Fine. His Luminance knows.” Afsan moved his head so that there could be no doubt in anyone’s mind: he was looking directly at Dybo. “Don’t you?”
Dybo said nothing. Yenalb pointed at Afsan. “I say again, you are mistaken.”
“No, Your Grace. I am not.”
“Eggling, you risk—”
“A moment, please,” said a wheezy voice. It was the senior advisor, seated on Dybo’s right. He rose with a hiss. Every movement seemed to be an effort for him. His caved-in chest heaved constantly. He was not all that old, but his breathing was ragged—some respiratory ailment, Afsan guessed. The advisor nodded at the clerk who had been taking notes, and that one put down his book and held his inked claw at his side. The advisor’s gait was slow, accompanied at every step by a hissing breath. At last he was close to Afsan. He looked Afsan in the face for several heartbeats, then spoke quietly in a protracted wheeze that only Afsan could hear. “Tell them you are mistaken, boy. It’s your only hope.”
“But I’m not—”
“Shush!”
Afsan tried again in a faint volume. “But I’m not mistaken!”
The advisor stared at him again, his breath noisy, ragged. At last he said quietly, “If you value your hide, you will be.” He turned and headed back to his katadu bench, his steps slow and pained. One of those wearing an orange and blue sash helped him sit down.
Yenalb, looking irritated at this interruption, turned to face Afsan again. “As I said, you are mistaken.”
Afsan was quiet for a moment, but then said softly, “I am not.” He saw the wheezing advisor close his eyes.
“You are. We have heard how the Dasheter engaged a serpent, how the ship was tossed and turned. You, and the others, were simply confused by what had occurred. You are not a mariner, after all. You’re not used to the tricks the open water can play on one’s mind.”
“I am not mistaken,” Afsan said again, more firmly.
“You must be!”
“I am not.”
One of the other priests spoke. “His muzzle shows no blue.”
Afsan clicked his teeth in satisfaction. It was as plain as the muzzle on his face: he was telling the truth. If he were lying, the inflammation of the muzzle’s skin would give him away. Everyone in the room had to see that, had to know that despite Yenalb’s ranting Afsan was telling the truth!
“He is aug-ta-rot, then,” said Yenalb. “A demon. Only a demon could lie in the light of day.”
Afsan spluttered. “A demon—?”
“Just as shown in the Tapestries of the Prophet,” declared Yenalb. “Just as described in the scriptures. A demon!”
Fingers sprouted claws on half the assembled group. “A demon…”
“For God’s sake,” said Afsan, “I am not a demon.”
“And what,” said Yenalb, his voice dangerously edged, “do you know of God?”
“I mean—”
“You said God was a fraud, a natural phenomenon, simply a planet.”
“Yes, but—”
“And now you invoke the Almighty to disprove your demonhood?”
Afsan looked left and right. Some of the assembled group had started bobbing up and down. The word “demon” passed from individual to individual.
“I am an astrologer!” cried Afsan. “A scholar!”
“Demon,” said the crowd, harsh and low. “Demon.”
“I’m telling the truth!”
“Demon.” A chant. “Demon.”
“A demon among us!” said Yenalb, spinning, his robes flowing about him. “A demon in our midst!”
“Demon,” repeated the crowd. “Demon.”
“A demon who denounces our religion!” Yenalb’s tail slapped the floor.
“Demon. Demon.”
Afsan’s claws were out, his nostrils flared. Wild pheromones were free in the room.
“A demon who profanes our God!” Yenalb’s wide mouth hung open, a rictus of ragged teeth.
“Demon. Demon. Demon.”
“A demon who has no right to live!”
Afsan felt the crowd surge forward, felt his own instincts coming to the fore, felt the room spinning about him—
“No!”
Dybo’s voice shook the foundations of the room. Through clouded vision, Afsan saw that the Emperor was now on his feet.
Yenalb, crouched for a leap, turned his head to look at Dybo. “But Your Luminance—he is poison.”
“No. Everyone is to hold their positions. The first to move will answer to me.”
Afsan felt his body relaxing. “Dybo…”
But the Emperor did not deign to look at him. He turned his back, tail falling off the edge of the pedestal. “Shut him away.”
*30*
Afsan thought he knew the basement of the palace office building well. After all, Saleed had worked there, as had many other court officials. But this was a part of it he had never seen. Two guards led him down a steep ramp into a dimly lit warren of rooms. Some of them had no doors at all, and seemed to be used for equipment storage. Others did have doors, of rough-hewn and pale galamaja wood, bearing the cartouches of service departments including janitorial and food preparation.
At the end of one corridor was a door whose cartouche depicted a triangle, three different-sized squares and two circles, all surrounded by a large square border. Afsan tried to fathom religious or royal symbolism in this, but finally realized it simply meant “miscellaneous storage.” The door swung open, its hinges creaking as it did so, and Afsan was ushered in. It was a dank room measuring about ten paces by six. In it were some wooden crates, a broken wooden gear almost as tall as Afsan—it looked to be a damaged part from a water wheel—a single lamp hanging from the wall, and a shed snake’s skin lying in one corner.
The guards turned to go.
“Wait,” said Afsan. “What I’ve been saying is the truth.”
No response.
“Please. You’ve got to listen to me.”
One guard had exited. The other turned as if to speak to Afsan, thought better of it, and walked out as well, closing the splintery door behind him.
Afsan knew the door would be unlocked—the only reason to put a lock on a door would be to keep dangerous things away from children, and he couldn’t imagine youngsters being allowed to play in this grungy part of the palace basement. But no doubt the taciturn and burly guards stood just outside, in case Afsan tried to leave.