Grooms were waiting to take the horses, and red-robed functionaries led them through pillared halls until they reached a small door in a loggia and went through it into an antechamber. Refreshments had been set out on the long table, bowls of fruit, cakes and jugs of red wine, but first they went into the adjoining rooms to freshen themselves after their journey. Everything had been arranged with consideration for their comfort.
When they had eaten a light meal, the council usher came to lead them into the audience chamber. It was warmed by charcoal braziers and padded mats lay on the stone floor. He asked them to seat themselves and pointed out the positions they should occupy. He placed Taita at the head of the group, with Meren and Hilto behind him. He sent Fenn to the rear rank with the others, and Taita was relieved that he had shown no special interest in her. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she sat demurely beside Imbali and saw that she was restraining her aura to match that of the tall woman.
Taita returned his attention to the layout and furnishings of the chamber. It was a large room of agreeable proportions. In front of where he sat, there was a raised stone platform on which stood three stools.
They were of a design he had seen in the palaces of Babylon, but they were not inlaid with ivory and semi-precious stones. The wall behind them was covered with a painted leather screen, which hung from the high ceiling to the stone paving and was adorned with patterns in earthy
colours. When Taita studied them he saw that they were not esoteric or arcane symbols but merely decorative.
There was the sound of hobnailed sandals on the stone floor. A file of armed guards entered from a side door and arranged themselves at the base of the platform, grounding the butts of their spears. The robed usher returned and addressed the company in sonorous tones: 'Pray show respect for the noble lords of the Supreme Council.' All followed Taita's example and leant forward to touch the ground with their foreheads.
Three men came from behind the leather screen. There could be no doubt that they were the oligarchs. They wore tunics of yellow, scarlet and pale blue, and plain silver crowns on their heads. Their manner was stately and dignified. Taita scried their auras and found them diverse and complex. They were men of force and character, but the most impressive was the man in the blue robe who took the central stool. There were depths and nuances to his character, some of which Taita found puzzling and disturbing.
The man made a gesture for them to relax, and Taita straightened.
'Greetings, Magus Taita of Gallala. We welcome you to Jarri, the land of the Mountains of the Moon,' said the blue-robed leader.
'Greetings, Oligarch Lord Aquer of the Supreme Council,' Taita replied.
Aquer blinked and inclined his head. 'You know me?'
'I knew your grandfather well,' Taita explained. 'He was younger than you are now when last I saw him, but your features are cast in his exact mould.'
'Then much that I hear about you is true. You are a Long Liver and a sage,' Aquer acknowledged. 'You will make a shining contribution to our community. Would you be kind enough to introduce to us your companions, whom we know less well?'
Taita called them forward by name. Meren was the first and went to stand before the platform. 'This is Colonel Meren Cambyses, bearer of the Gold of Valour and Companion of the Red Road.' The council studied him in silence. Suddenly Taita became aware that something unusual was afoot. He diverted his attention from the three oligarchs to the leather screen behind them. He scried for some hidden presence but there was none. It was as though the area behind the screen was a void.
This alone was enough to alert him. Some psychic force was cloaking that part of the chamber.
Eos is here! he thought. She throws no aura, and has concealed herself behind a screen more impenetrable than leather. She is watching us. The
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shock was so intense that he had to fight to keep himself under controclass="underline" she was the ultimate predator, and would smell blood or weakness.
At last Aquer spoke again: 'How did you lose your eye, Colonel Cambyses?'
'Such things happen to a soldier. There are many hazards in our lives.'
'We will deal with that in due course,' Aquer said.
Taita could make little of such an enigmatic statement. 'Please return to your place, Colonel.' The interview had been cursory, but Taita knew they had extracted all the information they required from Meren.
Next Taita called Hilto. The oligarchs took an even shorter time to consider him. Taita saw Hilto's aura burning honest and unremarkable, except for the fluttering ribbons of blue light at its edges, which betrayed his agitation. The oligarchs sent him back to his seat. They treated Imbali and Nakonto in much the same manner.
At last Taita called Fenn. 'My lords, this is an orphan of war on whom I took pity. I have made her my ward and named her Fenn. I know little about her. Never having had a child of my own, I have grown fond of her.'
Standing before the Supreme Council, Fenn looked like an abandoned waif. She hung her head and shifted her weight shyly from one foot to the other. It was as though she could not bring herself to look directly at her inquisitors. Anxiously, Taita watched her with the Inner Eye. Her aura remained subdued, and she was playing perfectly the role he had set for her. After another pause Aquer asked, 'Who was your father, girl?'
'Sir, I knew him not.' There was no flicker of falsehood in her aura.
'Your mother?'
'Neither do I remember her, sir.'
'Where were you born?'
'Sir, forgive me, but I do not know.'
Taita noted how well she was holding herself in check.
'Come here,' Aquer ordered. Timidly she hopped up on to the platform and went to him. He took her arm and drew her closer to his stool. 'How old are you, Fenn?'
'You will think me stupid, but I know not.' Aquer turned her, slipped his hand into the top of her tunic and felt her chest under the linen.
'There is already something.' He chuckled. 'There will soon be much more.' Fenn's aura glowed softly pink and Taita feared she was about to lose her self-control. Then he realized she was displaying only the shame that any young girl would experience on being handled in a manner she did not understand. He had more difficulty with keeping his own anger
in check. However, he sensed that this little scene was a test: Aqueii was attempting to goad a reaction from either Fenn or Taita. Taita remained stony-faced but he thought: In the time of reckoning you shall pay in full for that, Lord Aquer.
The oligarch continued to fondle Fenn. 'I am sure you will grow to be a young woman of rare beauty. If you are fortunate you may be chosen for great honour and distinction here in Jarri,' he said. He pinched one of her small round buttocks and laughed again. 'Run along now, little one. We shall consider it again in a year or two.'
He dismissed them, but asked Taita to remain. When the others had left the room, Aquer said politely, 'It is necessary that we of the council confer privily, Magus. Please pardon us while we withdraw. We shall not leave you long alone.'
When they returned the three oligarchs were more relaxed and friendly, and remained respectful.
'Tell me what you know of my grandfather,' Lord Aquer invited. 'He died before I was born.'
'He was a loyal and respected member of the court of Regent Queen Lostris during the period of the exodus and the Hyksos invasion of the Two Kingdoms. Her Majesty entrusted him with many important tasks.
He discovered the road that cuts across the great bight of the Nile. It is still used, and saves several hundred leagues of the journey between Assoun and Qebui. The queen bestowed honours upon him for this and his other accomplishments.'