Chapter 4
There must be some part of him uncovered. His boots perhaps. Rigid with fear he waited for the sunflyer to land – for the guards to drag him from his hiding place. How Vexson would gloat over him, caught like a feral in a trap. Anger mingled with his fear at the thought. He would not go willingly. He would fight – to the death if he had to.
His fingers closed over a twisted chunk of charred metal, but - after an eternity - the heavy thud of the rotors eased. The roar became a buzz, then faded as the sunflyer gained height and swung away.
When the only sound was the creaking of the dome’s shell in the wind, Jed crawled out from his ashen grave. Trembling with relief, he brushed crumbling charcoal from his clothes. Fine ash drifted away on the breeze.
Vexson had obviously anticipated his return here. He would have to take more care. Why was he brushing himself down? Grey ash would be an excellent camouflage. Kneeling, he scooped up handfuls of the stuff and smeared it over his clothes. If he were caught out in the open again, he could crouch down and look like a rock. His lips twisted at the futility of such a thought.
After a while he moved to a small promontory overlooking the valley where the city sprawled. Once it had represented safety – friendship. It seemed like only yesterday that he had run all the way down there filled with exultation at having finished his Fourth Knowledge Bloc. Now his life had been turned upside down. He was wanted as a dangerous criminal. He didn’t dare show his face there.
Ahead of him was the most direct way to the palace, but he dare not risk it. Vexson might be waiting somewhere along that route. Off to the right a dome-top gleamed through distant trees. That meant food - people. Would they be friendly? He would have to risk it to obtain the help he needed. Fiery spears of pain shot through his wounded arm every time he moved. He needed salve to heal it – and food if he was to continue. The suns were close to setting. If he hurried, he should be able to reach the dome before it was fully dark. His gaze rested on Xanor’s grave.
“Goodbye, old friend,” he whispered. “I hope your death was quick – and not too painful.”
It took him longer than he had thought to reach the dome. Stars twinkled above him as he reached out to press the identipad at the door. With his fingers almost on the cold metal, he froze. It was a terrible risk. If they were not friends he’d be captured. What should he do? How could he find out if the people here would help him?
He crept to the cover of an adjoining building and leaned wearily against the smooth wall. Animal grunts came from inside the building; a child sang a lullaby. It reminded him of Jyari. Surely a child would be friendly.
After a moment he walked around to the doorway. Huge, horned beasts, bedded down for the night in stalls, snorted and rumbled softly at the little girl who petted them. They licked at her fingers as she fed them on wildfruit bits. Yellow glow-spheres cast a friendly light over the whole scene.
Jed smiled. “Hello.”
The child swung around and stared at him, then she began to scream. Jed turned to run, but was seized by the brawniest pair of arms he had ever encountered. One was enough hold him helpless. The other was around his neck, almost choking him.
“Arni!” roared a voice from somewhere above his head. "Shut up!”
The screaming stopped abruptly.
“What did he do to you, Arni?”
“N-nothing.”
“Then why are you screaming?”
“He - frightened me. He looks funny, Father.”
The man let him go so suddenly that he fell to his hands and knees, wheezing and gasping for breath.
“Who are you, boy? What are you doing here?”
“He can't talk,” Arni observed with interest.
Jed clambered to his feet, one hand to his aching throat. Should he reveal his true identity? This was hardly a friendly welcome.
“Water, Arni,” commanded the child’s father.
Arni ran to a barrel, dipped water and brought it to her father. Silently he pointed to Jed. She approached him timidly and held up the dipper of water. Jed gulped the cold liquid, uncaring that the water ran down his chin and over his jacket.
“Thank – you.” He handed the dipper back to the child and glanced at her father. “I am a wanderer, on my way to the city. I wished only to beg a drink and –.”
He stopped. The man was standing there with his massive arms folded and a look of cynical disbelief on his face. On Jeddon, true wanderers were rare.
With sudden decision, Jed straightened his shoulders
“I am Jed.”
The man’s mouth dropped open in astonishment, then his eyes narrowed.
“The prince is dead,” he said flatly. “Hunted into the mountains like a feral and shot.”
Jed pushed back his tattered sleeves. His armbands gleamed dully.
“Indeed, you are Prince of Jeddon.” The man’s voice was hoarse with wonder as he dropped onto one knee.
“Do not kneel to me,” Jed said uncomfortably. “I am but a boy - a fugitive at that.”
“You would have been invested with the badge by now, only for -”
“Ranc!” A woman’s voice called irritably. “What is delaying you so? I thought – oh! Who’s this?”
The woman was tall and thin, her greying hair tied in a tight bun on top of her head. A tattered grey cloak swirled around her as she stepped into the light.
“He’s the prince!” Arni ran forward eagerly. “He has golden armbands, Mother.”
“Indeed, Herni, she is right. The prince is alive after all.”
Jed was embarrassed. He did not feel like a prince. All he wanted was a hot bath and something to eat.
Herni looked at him rather critically. “Prince or not, there is a meal waiting inside. Must it be left to go cold?”
Their simple hospitality enfolded him like a warm cloak as he sat by the fire, eyelids drooping with weariness. His stomach was full; his body tingled from the scrubbing he had given it. Herni’s salve and bandages had soothed his arm so that it hardly throbbed at all. Even his clothes were now clean and mended. It was good to be with friends once more.
“Jed.” Arni tugged shyly at his sleeve. “May I see your armbands again?”
“Don’t bother the prince, Arni,” Herni said sternly. “He is too tired for your nonsense. Go to bed.”
Arni's lower lip trembled ominously.
“I’m not tired.” Jed pushed up his sleeves. “Of course you may see.”
“Oh, they are pretty,” she exclaimed. “May I try one on?”
Jed laughed. “They won’t come off. See how they’ve become part of my skin? And as my arms grow they always expand to fit.”
“Can girls wear them?”
“Indeed. Princess Jyari wears one on her right arm.”
“Is she as big as me?”
“A little taller. I’ll bring her to meet you one day…”
Jed rested his head on the back of the seat and closed his eyes. In just a moment he would discuss his future plans with Ranc and Herni.
“We can talk about your future tomorrow,” said Herni, as if she had guessed his thoughts. “Come. This is one night you can sleep in comfort.”
She showed him to a room upstairs. Jed stretched out with relief under the soft coverlet, smiling as Herni bade him goodnight. Sleep was stealing his senses. He just couldn't seem to stop it.
“You are kind, Jed,” Herni said softly. “You would have made good ruler.”
The door closed softly. Jed, on the point of falling asleep, suddenly jerked awake and stared uneasily into the soft darkness.
What had Herni said? Would have made a good ruler? Why would she use past tense? Did she think it would be impossible for him to rule now that Vexson had taken over? Her tone had seemed – regretful. As if it was a foregone conclusion that he would be caught. Deep in his mind, a warning sounded.
With an effort he pushed off the coverlet and tiptoed across to the window. Outside, tiny glints of phosphorous flashed in the dense blackness. Was that from the wings of night bugs, or something more sinister? Could it be the covered glow spheres of soldiers closing in? He hesitated, wanting nothing more than to return to the soft bed and sleep. He stared into the darkness, but there was nothing more to see. If those flashes of lights had been insects, wouldn’t they or others, still be there?
Hastily, Jed pushed his feet into cold boots and grabbed his jacket. The door creaked as he pushed it open. He froze, but no other sound broke the stillness of the night. At the bottom of the stairs a rectangle of light stood like a sentinel. He crept along the hall to the back door. It would not budge. He didn’t like that. Most locked doors opened easily from the inside. He turned back and cautiously approached the rectangle of light from whence came the murmur of voices. Ranc and Herni were still up. He strained to hear what they were saying.
“… dare not risk the punishment…”
That was Herni’s voice. Ranc coughed, drowning out the rest of her sentence.
“It’s too late now. They’ll soon be here.”
He had heard enough. Every fibre of his being screamed, Run! But every exit would be locked. He backed away and flew up the carpeted stairs to Arni’s room. A small night-light glowed from the bedside chest. She was still awake. He put a finger to his lips.
“Quick, Arni, I need to leave and the doors are locked,” he whispered urgently. “Is there another way out?”
“Why do you want to leave, Jed? It’s dark outside.”
“The soldiers are coming. I’ll be caught. It’s got to be a secret way.”
Arni’s eyes widened with horror. “The TRS! The ladder!” She jumped out of bed. “I’ll show you the way.”
The Transmod Receiving Station? Of course! He should have thought of it himself. Every dome had a landing place built under the roof for the family transmod - even the palace had one. Most had outside ladders or stairs as a safety exit. If Ranc and Herni expected him to be sound asleep in bed, they may not have thought to warn the soldiers about it. He followed Arni as she raced along a narrow passageway and up a steep flight of stairs. The door was not locked. Soon they emerged into the gloom of the TRS. Jed looked with longing at the sleek, capsule shaped transmod gleaming in the half dark. If he could get away in that he could fly straight to the palace.
“The keys?”
Arni shook her head. “Father wears them around his neck so he doesn’t forget where they are.”
Jed stifled his disappointment. “Where’s the ladder?”
“Just over there, by the exit,” she whispered, pointing.
“You are a true friend, Arni. I thank you. Go back to bed now.”
“Be careful.”
She flung her arms around him briefly, then faded into the darkness.
He peered over the edge of the dome. Were there soldiers below? No telltale gleams of light broke through the darkness. Had he imagined danger where none existed? Then he remembered the conversation he had overheard and swung out over the drop onto the first rung of the ladder. His groping hands fumbled onto the cold metal rungs, but his foot slipped and he hung there for a moment, the sharp edges cutting into his hands. His wounded arm ached intolerably from the sudden weight. Perspiration formed on his forehead. It was a long way to fall.
Boots touched metal again and he climbed silently downwards. From somewhere deep inside the dome, there was a muffled bang and the sound of boots thudding. His suspicions had been correct. Ranc and Herni had betrayed him. How could he trust anyone else?
By the time he dropped the last few feet to the ground and crept away into the darkness, lights shone from all the windows. Occasionally, shadows flickered across them as soldiers ran through all the rooms searching for him. But no voice called to question his presence in the darkness. They must have been so certain of capturing him in the dome that they hadn’t set a guard outside.
Suddenly, the TRS lights blazed out. A searchlight explored the darkness around him. Veering away from the slender arrow of light, Jed ran on through the night. He had to get back to the palace. Once he possessed the Badge of Ruling, surely some would listen to him. He was tired of being hunted like a feral.
Light flashed up ahead; a string of lights. More soldiers! His route to the palace was blocked. The only way left to him was the long way - through the desert. They wouldn’t expect him to try that. Stopping for a moment to catch his breath, Jed turned his face resolutely towards the Desert of Rocks.
He stumbled through what was left of the night, occasionally hearing the drone of hoverers in the distance. Now Sirac was gilding the far peaks with a pale pink wash. The thick tree cover was at an end. This was where he should turn right towards the city, but sunflyers, catching power from the early morning rays, were closing in from that direction already. He turned left and ran towards the desert. Then through ragged gaps in the early morning mist, he saw something that made his heart do a sudden flip. Foot soldiers were close behind!
A triumphant yell told him he’d been spotted. With thudding heart, Jed threw caution to the winds. Like a feral, he ducked and dodged through the rocks while nucleon rays fizzed around his head.
Always fleet-footed and agile, Jed had slipped out of the palace many times to run through deserted streets and tree-covered avenues. He was hardened to running. Even so, he was almost caught. Only that the desert had reached out greedy fingers into the plains at just this point he would have been lost. He jumped from a rock, clearing the deceptively soft sand at its base. But a soldier ran around the very same rock and fell to his knees in the sand to get a better aim.
Nucleon rays sizzled passed his shoulders. Jed dived for cover behind a low rock. Pinned behind his meagre rock shelter, he glanced desperately around. There was hardly any cover left between him and the desert. He would surely be captured.
There was a panic-stricken yell from beyond him. A quick look affirmed what Jed had suspected. The sand at the base of the rock was dry quicksand. The soldier was up to his waist in the stuff already.
“Throw down your weapon and I’ll pull you out!” Jed called, horrified.
The only reply he received was two more blasts. When he looked again two out-flung arms were slowly sinking out of sight.
With a sob, he turned and ran on. If the sunflyers got directly above him, he’d be finished.