GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3) (28 page)

Without making eye contact with either Cherry or Gallant, they lined up in front of the table. Another ear-splitting screech of the horns caused them all to raise their chins a notch and stand at stiff attention.

Cherry couldn't help but gape at the next person who entered the hall and strode purposefully toward them. Though the almost nude, scarred body was as muscular as any man's, the ample breasts proved that it was a female.

She stood over six feet tall in her bare feet, but on top of her head was a gold-plated helmet with a set of antlers that increased her height by at least two more feet. Several furry animal tails were tied to the center of a gold chain around her hips, covering the other proof of her gender, and a large gold medallion hung from a leather thong around her neck.

"Holy stars!" Cherry muttered without thinking. The next moment she felt the back of the woman's hand striking her cheek. Before she could defend herself, Gallant stepped between them.

"The female belongs to me," Gallant declared. "If she requires punishment, I'll dole it out."

The amazon met his unblinking gaze. "I was informed that she wore a slave collar when she arrived. We do not find the device necessary, since there is nowhere that a slave can go from here. The first rule she must learn is that slaves are not permitted to use verbal language. If I decide to let her live, she will learn the signs like the others. But we shall discuss her disposition later. I wish to hear your name."

Cherry's cheek smarted, but she was relieved that her translator was interpreting whatever language the woman was speaking into Americanized English.

Gallant prevented her from stepping forward again as he answered, "My name is Gallant Voyager... from the planet Norona."

"I think not. Kneel, Gallant Voyager, and bow your head." He did as she requested. Using the long curved fingernail of her right index finger, she parted his hair along the white streaks on each side of his head and examined the roots. "How is it that your hair is striped in this fashion?"

"I was born this way," he answered cautiously.

"Did you inherit the trait from your parents?"

"I wouldn't know. I was adopted," he answered, clearly unsure where this interrogation was leading.

"And on what date were you adopted?" He told her and she stepped back from him. "Rise then, Gallant Voyager and meet your destiny." As soon as he rose to his feet, she removed the helmet from her head and shook her long black hair free.

From the center of her widow's peak to the ends of the hair down her back was a thick white stripe. "I am Princess Honorbound, daughter of the late sovereign and ruler of the planet Illusia." She motioned for one of the boys to come and take the helmet from her.

"According to the edict passed on to me by my father, you have been tested. You found your way to us in spite of the obstacles thrown in your path. You have been trained without being told of the purpose and the time has finally come for you to assume the position you were born to."

She removed the medallion from her neck and held it in front of her. "I have kept this medallion in trust for the heir apparent to my father's throne. You, Gallant Voyager, the son of the brother of the late sovereign, are my cousin. But it was
you
, not I, who was born with the royal mark of the double stripes. I have sworn to abide by the nine-hundred-year tradition in our noble family. Therefore, I pass the medallion to you, the new sovereign of Illusia." She placed the leather thong around his neck and knelt before him.

The men and women behind her shouted, "Hail to the new sovereign, Gallant of Illusia." Then they knelt as she did.

Cherry tugged on Gallant's vest from behind, but he ignored her, so she inched her way around to his side. She was desperate to see his face and confirm that the ridiculous pronouncement was as much of a shock to him as it was to her but his next words stunned her even more.

"I have known what I am for some time," he stated in a perfectly level voice. "But I'll require further proof of what you're saying before I'm willing to take on the responsibility of a dying planet."

From the tight expression on the Princess's face, Cherry was positive that subservience did not come naturally to the woman.

"With your permission," the Princess said, and waited for him to wave his hand before she rose.

The others remained on their knees until he gave them his permission as well. "You will have your proof and the answers to all your questions in a moment.

"First I must give you a warning. As I know you are aware, the mist above is deadly and blinding but the air within these lower caverns is perfectly safe. Taking the precautions you witnessed is the only way to keep the two atmospheres separated. We have been told that mixing them for any length of time could result in a destructive explosion and we have no interest in testing that theory. Therefore, the exit tunnel is always well guarded... to make certain no one
accidentally
opens the series of doors improperly.

"Also, your protective covering has been stored and will be returned to you when it is necessary. Be assured, you would not survive on the surface without it."

Cherry easily read between the lines and deduced that Gallant may be an honored guest but not yet a trusted one. Sovereign or not, he was only going to be allowed to leave alive if and when the Princess approved it.

"Now let me introduce you to your council. They are impatient to meet you after so much time." She stepped to his side and faced the others. "Jaro, your second in command."

A giant of a man, with very short blond hair and a beard, he seemed to have a few less scars on his face and arms than the others. He came forward, looked directly into Gallant's eyes, bowed his head and returned to his place. Each person was introduced in a like manner.

"There are two more members to your council. Bessima, your first in command, is on a mission elsewhere. We will explain the details later. And you have already met your chief advisor." She clapped her hands and a stoop-shouldered man with snow white hair shuffled into the room.

"Josep?"
Gallant asked, failing to hide his surprise.
"You're
the Con rep spy?"

The Princess laughed. "It is good to see that growing up among the Noronian fiends did not entirely strip you of your emotions. Let us sit down and fill in the years for you." She crooked a finger at the boy holding the helmet. "You. Take this girl to the slave quarters and have the officer there assign her to a duty... though she does not look strong enough to be of much use."

Jaro stopped the boy with his hand and approached Cherry. Only the fact that he was several inches taller and broader than Gallant made her stand still for his inspection. Light gray eyes seemed to strip the jumpsuit from her body as his lips curled back to show gritted yellow teeth. The low growling sound he made gave her chills. "She is built more like a boy than a girl. I might find it interesting to have such a bed-slave."

His hand was within an inch of her breast when Gallant grasped his wrist. "You must not have heard me before. This woman belongs to me, and until I tire of her, my bed is the only one she'll be warming."

Jaro backed away with a nod. "Of course, my lord. Forgive me."

The boy took another step toward Cherry but this time Gallant stopped him. "She stays."

The Princess pursed her lips but said nothing. After shooing the two boys out of the room, she guided Gallant to a floor mat at one end of the oval table. She sat to his right, Josep to his left, and the others took the remaining places.

With a brief movement of his eye, Gallant told Cherry to sit behind his right shoulder. She had made him a lot of promises concerning her behavior and she trusted him to know what he was doing, but when she had made those promises, she certainly hadn't expected him to be named head honcho of a bunch of savages, nor would she have expected him to be so complacent about it.

Josep held up his hand and the others immediately quieted. He began with a deep breath and a sigh. "Gallant, there is a lot you need to know that had to be kept from you until now. Since the late sovereign made me responsible for you when you were born, this tale must logically start with the events leading up to that time.

"After the Consociation created the barrier around Illusia, the people were prevented from warring with their neighbors. Thus, they returned to the pattern of warring amongst themselves. For almost three hundred years, they battled over possession of the smallest property, ultimately destroying much of the planet along with the population. The subsequent pollution of the air, water and soil became as much of a problem as protecting oneself from enemies.

"Illusia was dying slowly but surely. The people needed the challenge of war but they also needed a new world to inhabit. Your ancestors maintained supreme control of the planet by sheer force over many centuries. Then your grandfather came up with a way to unite the Illusian people toward a common goal, which would satisfy both of their primary needs. He formulated a hundred-year plan and had all of the underlords sign their agreement to it. When he was assassinated by a traitor, your uncle became sovereign and he and your father continued with the plan. The traitor was caught and executed by the way." He had to take another deep breath before he could go on.

"A team of the most talented Illusians was selected from among all the noble families to create a continuous image for the benefit of the Consociation monitors. The war-ravaged planet gradually took on the appearance of a peaceful, productive land in order to convince outsiders that the Illusians were no longer a threat to anyone."

"Excuse me for interrupting, Josep," Gallant said. "But I never had the opportunity to do much experimenting with my ability to create illusions. I understand how easy it is to deceive other people but how are they able to fool the computers?"

Josep smiled. "Illusians have never been interested in exploring the deeper mysteries of life. We know only that our creations seem to take on a solid appearance, even to machines."

"And yet, the savages on the surface didn't look solid to me."

"Correct. The power is of no use against another Illusian."

Cherry's mind was formulating questions a lot faster than Josep was talking, but Gallant was apparently on the same wavelength as she.

He rubbed his chin as he drew his first conclusion. "That had to be what the Weebort trader was referring to when he used the word
counterfeit
. The document he had seen must have explained the deception being perpetrated."

Josep nodded. "Actually, the document was a copy of the one-hundred-year plan smuggled off Illusia. But you're getting ahead of the story. Convincing the Consociation they were no longer dangerous was absolutely necessary to get them to lower the barrier. The scheme, as you must now realize, was to first appear passive, then helpless against a drought. They had no doubt that the gentler people of the Consociation would want to offer assistance to the poor, desperate victims and thus raise the barrier.

"But the more important part of the strategy was to be ready to take advantage of their would-be saviors when the time came. They had to replenish the armies and improve the weaponry to a level where they would be able to deliver a lethal offense and defend themselves against those who were not taken in by illusions."

"Like the Noronians," Gallant inserted.

"Right. They were also aware that a direct attack on Norona, even with sufficiently armed troops, would not ensure victory. What they needed was a way to get at them through a vulnerable point. By taking control of something vitally important to the Noronians, they would not need to fight them at all." He paused to catch his breath, but he also seemed to be waiting for Gallant to come up with the solution on his own.

"Innerworld," Gallant murmured.

"Earth?"
Cherry blurted out.

Princess Honorbound glared at her, then at Gallant, as though ordering him to deliver the blow the slave deserved. "Perhaps," she said slowly, "we will have to cut out the girl's tongue if she is too stupid to learn the rules. That method has worked well with others like her."

"Have you dealt with many other Terran slaves?" Gallant sounded as if he had no idea of the magnitude of the information he had just revealed to the Princess... and she reacted exactly as Cherry expected.

Bolting upward, Honorbound stepped toward Cherry. "She is from Terra? The planet that holds Norona's prize jewel?" Grabbing a fistful of Cherry's short hair, Honorbound pulled her to her feet.

Cherry clenched her jaws to keep from crying out but she could do nothing to stop the tears that filled her eyes. The next second, the Princess shoved her back down to the ground. "Ha! As puny and weak as we were told. We will have no trouble taking over their planet." She returned to her mat with a satisfied grin. "I will question her further at a later time."

Gallant leaned over and brought his mouth close to Honorbound's ear. Cherry had to strain to hear his words as he murmured, "I will not remind you politely again. This woman is my property. I will decide whether she is to be questioned." The Princess's answer was a stiff nod.

Josep's brow wrinkled with concern as he said, "You didn't mention this woman in your report."

"No," Gallant responded shortly. "I had no idea she was of any importance to my mission."