Chapter 15 #3
was only dense forest, broken by a narrow dirt road.
The three in the back were so busy talking to each other that Bree felt free to speak. “Do you have neighbors?”
“No. This is all mine and I’ve hidden charged wiring to keep people out. I don’t like uninvited visitors.”
“I live in a volcanic crater with houses smashed together. This is divine.”
“Tell me about you and Zeon and Tam.”
She smiled. “Don’t forget Piks, Tam’s little son.”
“Do I detect envy?”
“Of course. A home and family. What more could a person want?”
“And what does Princess Aradella want?”
Bree’s jaw clenched. “To rule the world? I have no idea what would please her.”
Frowning, Qip looked ahead and they were silent for the rest of the journey.
He drove through a stone-pillared gate and they saw his house. It was beautiful! It had a columned porch across the front
and a steep roof with a long row of dormer windows. He halted the wagon in front of it.
Mekos spoke up. “It’s another of Kaley’s fairy-tale cottages.”
No one said any more because from the side of the building came a . . . They weren’t sure what it was. It looked like a tall
man but it was made entirely of metal.
In awed silence, the four of them watched it come forward and go around the wagon. It put articulated hands on Qip’s waist
and swung him down.
“This is Darr.” Qip’s voice was full of affection. “He is my friend and my helpmate.” He puffed out his chest a bit in pride.
“I created him.”
Darr turned to the three of them, still sitting on the wagon. His head was shaped like a human’s, with metal ears and big
green eyes. However, the green was where a human’s eyes were white. The irises were black. He had no mouth.
Qip said, “Darr can hear, think, listen, and understand, but he doesn’t speak. He is a perfect person. Come inside and get
settled. You have a lot to tell me.” He entered the house.
Tam was the first to get out of the wagon. He went to the side and put his hands up to Bree to lift her down.
She gave a sigh of disappointment. “I was hoping for Darr.”
Tam grinned. “If you stage a fight with him, let me know. I want to make a wager.”
As they walked toward the house, she said, “And who would you bet on?”
“You!” he said.
“Smart man.”
Laughing, they entered the house.
Behind them, Aradella and Mekos were staring at the couple that were so close together. They seemed very familiar with each
other. “What the fark?” she muttered.
Only Mekos could hear what they’d said. “She would fight the metal man? What do you think they did when they weren’t with
us?”
Aradella wasn’t smiling. “If anything happens between those two it will cause problems. Zeon needs to stay our friend. He
won’t be if his married son . . .” She tried to shake off the idea. “If we tell Qip our story do you think he’ll help us?
Or will he say that what we did was so awful that we’re doomed?”
“I don’t know, but I hope he has food.”
“If he does, do you think it’ll be made of metal?”
Mekos smiled. “With creepy green eyes on all of it?”
Clasping arms, they entered the house.
The interior was as lovely as the outside. It was furnished with soft chairs and couches covered in well-worn upholstery.
Tables and a wall of shelving held interesting artifacts. They ranged from woven items to an intricately carved stone to a
bird’s nest. There were several metal objects with wind-up keys at the back. It appeared to be the lifetime work of an inventor-collector.
The whole back of the house was glass doors that looked out onto acres of garden.
“My father would be envious,” Tam said.
At one end, in front of the doors, was a table laden with food.
“Help yourselves,” Qip said. “Then come to my library.”
When their plates were full, they weren’t sure if they were to eat first or go to the library with food in hand.
Qip stuck his head out of a doorway. “Come on!” he said impatiently.
The four young people settled themselves in a room that was floor-to-ceiling books. There was a wide glass door that showed a small walled garden with pink-flowered trees.
“This is divine,” Aradella said in awe, with her eyes on the books.
“They’re Earth books,” Qip said. “Forbidden and unreadable.”
“Aradella can read them,” Bree said. When they looked at her, she had no idea how to explain how she knew that fact, so she
said nothing.
When Darr walked into the room, their attention went to him. He stood to the side, motionless.
Qip withdrew a book and handed it to Aradella.
“It’s a novel,” she said. “I haven’t seen many of them. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. I’d love to read this.”
“It’s yours,” he said. “What do you usually read?”
“Mostly about plants.”
“She knew Valona’s garden was all poisonous plants,” Mekos said. “If it hadn’t been for Aradella, we wouldn’t have . . .”
He trailed off. “Sorry. That’s what got us into trouble.”
Darr, who was half a head taller than the young men, stepped forward to stand close in front of Mekos. If he were human, it
would have been an aggressive move.
On instinct, Mekos leaned back and his hand went to the knife at his belt.
“It’s all right,” Qip said. “You have something that’s bothering Darr. He sees and hears things that we don’t.”
“So does Mekos!” Aradella’s voice held much love and pride. “Maybe he senses Ian.”
Mekos opened his jacket and looked inside. “You want to come out?”
Ian flew out, then up, so he was hovering inches in front of Darr’s face.
They watched Darr’s green eyes get brighter.
Qip laughed. “He hasn’t seen a Never.”
“His eyes are kind,” Ian said.
Both Qip and Darr stared at the little man.
“I’ve heard of them,” Qip whispered, “but I didn’t know they could talk.”
“Ian loves beer,” Aradella said. “And I bet he’s hungry.”
“Starved,” Ian said.
“Why don’t you—” Qip began but stopped when he saw Darr lift a shoulder. Ian flew to it, held onto the metal ear, then said,
“Go.” They left the room.
They all stared at the empty doorway. “I think Darr has found a friend.” Qip sounded shocked.
“Misfits,” Bree said. “That’s what we were told was on this island. Is Darr what they meant?”
“Oh no!” Qip said. “Far from it. But Darr is unique. Very few people have seen him. I made a few like him when I lived on
Empyrea, but they didn’t come close to the perfection of Darr. Vian told me—”
“You know her?” Mekos asked quickly.
“Quite well. She fought against my being tossed off the island—but she failed.” When they started to ask questions, he held
up his hand. “That’s for later.”
Aradella said, “If you’re here now, when we need you, maybe she knew this would happen. Maybe your being here now is part
of her long-term plan.”
There was such hope in the four sets of young eyes, that Qip didn’t want to take it away. “Perhaps,” he said then looked at
Mekos. “Tell me why your grandmother isn’t pleased with you.”
“She’s angry at both of us,” Aradella said. “And it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have—” Her throat closed so she couldn’t speak,
and Mekos put his arm around her.
Qip looked at Bree and Tam, who were sitting close together on a small sofa. Tam shrugged, indicating that he knew nothing.
Bree spoke quietly. “She was supposed to marry Prince Nessa but she didn’t.”
“You don’t know the truth!” Aradella snapped at her cousin. “I was supposed to marry Mekos, but Olina found out and—” She stopped talking, too angry to continue.
It was Mekos who told the story.
For the most part, Qip listened in silence, but at the mention of Valona’s name, he interrupted. “The country she was born
in threw her out. They feared her power too much to kill her.”
“Country?” Aradella asked. “Like on Earth?”
“Yes,” Qip said. “Exactly like that.”
Mekos told what Vian said would happen—if he and Aradella hadn’t interfered, that is.
“Humph!” Qip said. “Maybe those three evil women would have killed each other. Or maybe they would have formed an alliance
and destroyed us all. Urah, Olina, and Valona united.” He shivered at the image.
At the mere idea that Vian might be wrong, Mekos and Aradella smiled broadly.
Tam was looking at Aradella. “You rode a wolf? You stabbed that woman?”
“I did what I had to.” Aradella kept her chin up.
Bree mumbled, “I have no doubt she made a wolf obey her. Poor creature was probably terrified.”
Her voice was so low that only Mekos heard her and he choked down a laugh.
Qip said, “Vian knows what could happen. But we’ve seen that her visions are not set in eternity.”
“How do we change the future?” Mekos asked. “We’re to the point where we’ll do anything.”
“I don’t know,” Qip said honestly. “I need to think and to consult with some people.” Their eyes were wide as they looked
to him for answers. “Go to the garden. Occupy yourselves while I figure this out. I will see you at dinner.”
His expression showed that he was done talking. They picked up their empty plates and glasses and left the room.