Chapter 16
Qip stood back as Darr opened the heavy door at the end of the house. The door had been designed to discourage entry so it
was well concealed. Darr went up the circular staircase first as he needed to raise the trap door in the roof. When it was
safe, he motioned to Qip to come up. At the top was a camouflaged lookout. It was so well hidden that people below could look
at it but not see it. From the high vantage point, Qip could see his entire garden. More importantly, he could see his visitors.
“Look at them,” he said as he scanned the garden. “They’re separate, as far apart as they can be. What Cappie told me was
awful. How can they do anything? They barely speak to each other.” Mekos had found the archery court and was shooting arrows into the target,
landing them on top of each other. For the most part, he had his arms around Aradella and was giving her lessons on the use
of a bow. From the way they acted, there was no doubt that they’d soon go into the forest to be alone.
On the opposite side of the big garden were Tam and Bree.
It was easy to see that his desire for her was so strong it’s a wonder the trees didn’t burst into flame.
Bree seemed to be unused to male attention so she stepped away, but her eyes never left Tam.
The two of them were taking turns lifting heavy stone statues of cherubs.
Their laughter was so inordinately loud that it could be heard in the tower.
“What do I do with them?” Qip looked at Darr. “And where is your friend?”
The metal man pointed toward a flower bed.
“Ah yes, I heard that Nevers love flowers. Did he tell you about his life?”
Darr nodded, then shook his head. The light behind his eyes dulled to the point that it was almost dark.
“That bad, huh? I guess that means Olina? Or was it Valona? Urah?”
Darr held up three fingers.
Qip groaned. “All three. That poor man.” He looked back at the couples. “Why was this dumped on me? Am I to tell them how to get into Empyrea? What would they do if they did get in? Snip at each other?”
He looked to the left. Aradella and Mekos were holding hands and running into the trees. “Aradella’s hatred and resentment
is like a crap-colored fog surrounding them. If she directed that hate in the right direction, she could conquer the planet,
but she seems trapped inside it.”
Darr made a motion of shooting an arrow from a bow.
“Yes, Mekos is good with that weapon. I heard he used it against Olina’s money-stealing officers. But Mekos is under the rule
of his father, his grandfather, and especially Haver, his great-grandfather. It’s a wonder the boy can breathe.”
Darr pointed toward Tam and Bree.
“That girl has no confidence. She’s intimidated by everyone, but Cappie told me of her abilities. She knows so much and that
strength of hers would be useful.” Bree was laughing and Tam was acting hurt that she’d yet again defeated him in lifting.
“Tam. Zeon’s son has a wife and child. But he’s falling in love with Bree.
” Qip gave a sigh so strong that it swayed the tree leaves.
“Vian wanted Aradella and Mekos to marry then be enthroned on Pithan. But are those two ready to take over ruling an island? There’s so much anger in that girl that if she were queen and had power, what would she do with it?
I could believe that her anger would make her become like Olina. ”
He took a breath. “And Bree needs a backbone. She certainly needs to stop being afraid of Aradella!” He waved his hand, unable
to voice all that he was feeling. “Why were these four put together? It doesn’t take magical foresight to see that as they
are now, they can accomplish absolutely nothing. Aradella will give Bree some hate-filled look and she’ll run away. Yet this
‘team’ is supposed to help destroy Empyrea.” He gave a snort of laughter. “They don’t even know what the place is like. They
seem to believe it’s full of warriors. If they only knew the truth!”
He looked to Darr to answer. Wisdom was something he hadn’t specifically added when he’d created him, so when it appeared
it had been a wondrous surprise. Cappie, annoyed at how long it took to get an answer from Darr, had asked, “Don’t you regret
not giving him a mouth?” Qip had replied honestly, “Never. Not even for one second.”
Darr reached up and broke a leaf off an overhanging branch, then held it to the place where his nose should have been. This
was odd since Qip had put the olfactory nerves in his ears. Obviously, Darr was mimicking human senses.
“They smell the flowers? Probably.”
The light in Darr’s eyes got brighter. He repeated his action of smelling the leaf, then he clasped his hands together, fingers
entwined tightly. Qip knew he was trying to send a message, but he didn’t know what it was. Darr pointed to the sides of the
garden, to the far-apart couples, then he again clasped his hands.
“To get them together? Great idea. How do I do that? Act as their mother and tell them they should get along with each other?
Be nice? Play pretty?” He grit his teeth. “Right now I’m afraid Aradella will snap at Bree for the thousandth time, then Bree
will pick up a horse and throw it at her. Or maybe she’ll just break the girl in half.”
Darr’s eyelights began blinking. This meant “listen and think.” Again, he broke a branch and sniffed it.
It took all Qip’s concentration before he finally understood. “The Rose of Vaheal,” he said softly. “Oh! but I’ve wanted that
for a long time! I know where it is but the bastards won’t give it to me.”
Darr raised his shoulders.
“Of course I’ve asked them, but they laugh at me. If these four got it, they’d have to . . . I don’t know what they’d have
to do, but—” When Darr put his hands back together, Qip smiled. “Yes. Together. Whatever they do, they’d have to do it together.”
Darr put his hand on his chest as though clutching something.
This time, Qip understood. “The medallion? Are you crazy? They could be killed! Sheean would—”
Darr pointed to the flower bed.
Qip’s eyesight wasn’t good enough to see the tiny Never, but he understood what was meant. “Like your new friend. Not what
he seems. Yes, that’s what Sheean is like. Something other than what he seems.”
Darr nodded in agreement, his eyelights showing he was pleased that Qip understood.
But Qip shook his head no. “That’s too much. They’re too young for something like that. And how am I to know it’ll work?”
Qip closed his eyes for a moment. “Why did Vian dump this on me? Of course she injected me into Zeon’s mind, then he obediently sent them here. For me to solve it all. What did I do to become thought of as a wise old man?”
When Darr shrugged his shoulders to show he didn’t understand either, Qip laughed.
“Let me think about all this. Let’s go back down. I’ll talk to some people and you need to cook dinner. I forgot how much
young people eat.”
The light in Darr’s eyes changed to a soft blue. It meant he was pleased.
“Thank you,” Qip said, then he went down the stairs.
It was nearly sundown when the two couples gathered at the dining table. They hadn’t been together since they were in Qip’s
library, and they’d managed to explore the garden without bypassing each other. They were like explorers among wild beasts,
talking loud enough that they wouldn’t surprise one another.
The big table was covered with many dishes of food, some of it that they’d never seen before. There were two place settings
on each side, and one at the end.
What drew their attention was the other end. A miniature dining area had been set up. It looked like items had been taken
from the many artifacts in the house and put together. There was an elegant inlaid table with platters of fruit that had been
cut into tiny portions. Pretty porcelain bowls were filled with food from the big table, all of it cut very small. A brown
ceramic jug held beer and there was a pewter mug next to an exquisite porcelain service. A carved chair held a tapestry-covered
pillow.
“It’s beautiful,” Bree said.
They looked at Qip. “I have a friend who brings me items from Earth. These are called dollhouse miniatures.” He looked embarrassed.
“I am a bit of a collector.”
“Bit” was an understatement. Unusual artifacts, most of them quite small, were on every available surface.
“Is it Jobi?” Mekos asked.
Qip smiled. “Yes, Jobi is my benefactor.”
“And mine.” Aradella motioned to the miniature furniture. “Ian will love this.”
At his name, the small man flew into the room and went directly to stand on Darr’s shoulder. The metal man nodded toward the
setup.
They watched Ian fly to it. He ran his hand over the table, then the plates. He picked up a fork and admired it. Ian seemed to know who had done it. He looked at Darr. “Thank you.”
Darr bent his head in a bow of acknowledgment.
“Shall we?” Qip said as he sat down. “Please begin.” He watched the young people heap their plates full, and waited to start
talking.
“Did you find out anything?” Mekos asked. He was already on his second plate of food.
“Yes,” Qip said. He was trying to keep his face expressionless. He had no intention of telling them what he’d been through
in the last hours. He was able to reach Zeon, but Vian didn’t answer any calls. Zeon had gone into one of his trances, then
returned, and said, “It might work.” That caused an explosion from Qip. “That’s all you can say? It might work?” Zeon had been so annoyingly unperturbed by the anger that Qip blurted, “Your son is falling in love with Bree.”
“I know,” Zeon said. “They were destined to be together, but Reena made some very unpleasant threats if I allowed it.” He
hesitated. “She said that Bree is desperately needed elsewhere and not with my son.”
Qip made a sound that was anger and exasperation mixed. “You sacrificed those two for . . . for what?”
“I don’t know!” Zeon half shouted. “I do not have free will in this. I want the best for my son but he can’t have Princess