She did. A little shaky at first, but no real problem.
"Now let go with one of your hands."
"Which one?"
"Doesn't matter."
Very slowly, she removed her right hand from his shoulder.
"Now, put that hand on my head."
She placed her hand on his head. His hair was warm and dry and felt nice and thick to the touch.
"Now, remove your other hand from my shoulder and also place it on my head."
"There's not room for two hands."
"Just do it, Ja'Nil."
She did.
"Straighten up a bit more."
She straightened a few inches.
"Jadẵ, now I'm going to stand up. Keep your hands on my head and try not to pull my hair."
"Why can't I keep my hands on your shoulders?"
"Center of gravity is too low."
She clutched his head as she felt him slowly straightening his knees.
"Don't pull my hair."
"Sorry."
He was standing erect now. His hands, with her feet in them, were at waist level. "I'm going to walk around now. Try to relax."
"Jadẵ." She sounded far from confident.
The first step jolted her and made her grab on tighter.
"The hair!" he reminded her.
She relaxed her death grip as he walked around their cell.
"How about holding on with just one hand?" he suggested.
Ja'Nil froze. Then slowly, she removed her left hand. This enabled her to straighten more. They continued walking.
"Aren't I too heavy?"
"No."
More walking. Without being told, Ja'Nil lifted her right hand a few inches off Ee'Rick's head.
They continued walking.
"Aren't you getting tired?"
"No."
Ja'Nil straightened slightly and removed her hand completely from the vicinity of his head.
"I've seen acrobats spread their arms wide to help keep their balance," Ee'Rick suggested.
Ja'Nil very slowly spread her arms. It did help a little.
Ee'Rick kept walking.
"Suppose I raise you a little higher?" he said.
"How high?"
"You'll barely notice."
"Just a little."
"Just a little," he assured her. He raised his hands to his chest.
Ja'Nil gasped and leaned over and grabbed his head.
"The hair."
"Sorry." She carefully let go of his head and straightened. Ee'Rick resumed walking.
His hands were at shoulder level when he called a halt. He lowered his hands to waist height and she jumped gracefully and gratefully to the floor.
As Ee'Rick did a few stretching exercises to get the kinks out of his arms and shoulders. Ja'Nil watched him carefully. How could he be so young and skinny and yet so strong? She doubted any man in her village could do what he had just done, for as long as he had done it.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Again?"
"We're still here aren't we?"
This time they progressed from knee high to shoulder high in a matter of minutes. "Try lifting your hands over your head," Ee'Rick suggested.
She did. This is almost fun, she thought. He continued walking.
"I'm going to lift you higher."
"Jadẵ," she agreed.
She wobbled, and was about to fall, so he lowered her enough so she could rest her hands lightly on his head. When she was steady she said, "Jadẵ. Go higher."
Ee'Rick smiled and raised his hands above his shoulders and kept going until his hands, with her feet in them, were level with his head.
"You know, this really may work," she said, balancing lightly on his outstretched hands.
He moved to the center of the room. "How far above you is the trap door?
"I can just touch it," she answered, excitement in her voice.
"I'm going to raise my arms to their full length." He did so.
"I've got it!"
"Give it a small push, just to see if it's locked or not."
There was silence. He could feel her pushing, and then he could feel her pushing harder, with all her might.
"Well?"
"It's not locked," she said. "At least it moved an inch or two."
"Great."
"Ee'Rick, it's too heavy."
"Too heavy?"
"I'm not strong enough to push it open." He could hear the despair in her voice.
"Try again," he said. He could feel her trying, pushing, pushing… nothing.
"Two inches," she said. "That's all I can move it."
"Are you sure?"
"Let me down."
Reluctantly he lowered her to waist height. She jumped the rest of the way.
"I'm just not strong enough." Her voice was bitter. She blew absently on her hands. By the dim light, he could see red streaks on her hands where she had pushed and struggled with the heavy door. "I'm sorry." She looked ready to cry.
"I don't suppose you're strong enough to hold me?" he asked.
She just looked at him.
"I mean on your shoulders," he said.
"Ee'Rick, I weigh about a hundred units. What do you weigh?"
"One and ninety. It may not work," he admitted.
She looked up at the barred trap door, and then she looked at him. He was huge. She would probably end up with a broken back. She looked around their dank little cell. She was hungry, she was scared, and she was angry. "Jadẵ, let's do it."
He smiled, and guided her into the middle of the cell just under the trap door. "Kneel down on one leg," he said.
She did.
"I'm going to step from your bent leg to your shoulders. Hold your hands above your head so I can grab them and steady myself."
She knelt on her right knee with her left leg bent out in front of her.
"Ready?"
She nodded. He reached out, grabbed her hands, placed his right foot on her left thigh and moved quickly onto her shoulders. To his surprise, she didn't fall over. Her shoulders felt thin and fragile under his bare feet. "Stand up slowly," he instructed.
She tried. She actually managed to raise herself up a few inches before she collapsed. Ee'Rick jumped free, so that at least he didn't land on her. When he turned, she was lying on her side, her knees curled up close to her chest, panting.
"Ja'Nil?"
She continued panting.
"Hey, curly-head." He put a hand on her shoulder. Oh, Golden Goddess, had she ruptured something? What an idiot he was. Had he really expected this little human girl to be able to hold him on her shoulders?
"Ja'Nil?"
"I'm all right," she said, between pants.
"Can you sit up? Straighten your legs? Anything?" She stayed curled in a ball. "Are you in pain?"
"Of course, I'm in pain. Will you shut up for a minute? I'm thinking."
He sat back on his heels. Apparently her hero worship of him had died a quick death. He watched carefully as she slowly unfolded her legs and sat up. To his relief she finally stood up. She stared up at the trap door.
"I have an idea," she said.
Minutes later, Ja'Nil was again standing on Ee'Rick's hands. His belt was wrapped several times around her waist. "You sure about the time?" she asked him again.
"It's the middle of the night," he assured her. "If there are any guards, they're probably fast asleep."
"If," she muttered to herself. "Of course there'll be guards. Jadẵ," she said to him. "I'm ready."
"Keep your head tucked in," he reminded her.
She gave the trap door a quick look to measure the distance. "You," she told the door, "are going to fly open. Understand?" Not surprisingly, the door remained mute - and closed.
"Off we are," said Ee'Rick. Both of them bent their knees slightly, Ee'Rick bent his arms. "One," said Ee'Rick. "Two. Three!"
On "three" he straightened his knees, straightened his arms, and heaved her up toward the door. At the s
ame time she literally jumped from his hands, tucking her head down and hitting the trap door with her shoulder. "Open," she said fiercely. She felt her shoulder crash into the door.
Her head did not stay tucked in enough and it scraped against one of the bars. There was a wobbly sort of feeling throughout her whole body, and then she was falling. She landed on her feet, staggered, and was caught by Ee'Rick who held her steady. They both looked up. The trapdoor remained open. It wobbled precariously back and forth, uncertain whether to fall back or to land open in the stone corridor.
Ja'Nil and Ee'Rick held their breaths. Ja'Nil made a waving motion, subconsciously encouraging the door to fall open. Another one or two seconds of indecision, and then the door slowly leaned away from the dungeon and fell onto the stone corridor.
They didn't wait. She climbed onto Ee'Rick's hands. He lifted her high enough for her to catch the edge of the opening and pull herself through. Once out, she lay very still, listening. Nothing: quiet as a tomb. She shuddered at the thought of tombs, quickly tied one end of Ee'Rick's belt to a hinge on the heavy door, and dropped the other end down to him.
"It's secure," she whispered.
He scrambled up the belt so fast you'd have thought poison-toothed blue rators were after him. Once out of the cell he froze as Ja'Nil had done, and listened. Then he untied his belt and carefully lowered the trap door back into place.
"It took two men to close it before," she said in wonder.
He merely grunted. "Off we are," he said.
CHAPTER 28
Princess Lil'Li checked the time; midnight. Lady Bel'Dor had long since left the chaise and retired to her room. She had no difficulty determining if the lady was asleep. The whole palace could probably hear her snoring and snorting.
Lil'Li closed her bedroom door and reached for the lever to lock it. The lock had been removed. She stared at the empty space in amazement. How dare they? How dare he!
Cursing softly under her breath, she said every dirty, disgusting, insulting word she knew. Quite a few, actually.
Finally, she stopped cursing, and rolled up an extra blanket to make it look as if she was asleep in the bed. She doubted it would fool anyone, but she had wasted enough time.
Opening the huge armoire, she pressed a specific place on the side panel and watched with satisfaction as it slid open. She stepped through and the hidden door closed smoothly shut behind her. She found herself now in complete darkness. With careful fingers, she located a small shelf, fumbled around until she found an object the length and thickness of two cigars, and rubbed the tip against the wall. It immediately lit up with a soft blue-green glow, enough for her to see five lengths in either direction. Another shelf held a box containing two extremely efficient and deadly looking knives. She took one, hesitated, and then took the second one also. While she was at it, she thrust a second glow stick in the pocket of her tunic.
Thus armed, Princess Lil'Li, Queen Presumptive of all Cancordia, moved down the blue and green glow-lit passage. If she wanted, it would lead her outside the gates of Cordia. But she had no intention of leaving a clear field for Lord Raptor. Cancordia was her responsibility; she would not desert her country.
Admittedly, her plans were not yet clear. For now, she intended to find those two prisoners and see if they really came from Lady Fayre. In the back of her mind were half-formed thoughts on how to use Lady Fayre's gift to save Cancordia. She worked on the plan as she moved down the dusty, cobwebby secret passage.
* * *
Outside their cell, Ja'Nil saw the walls were also made of rough stone and dirt, only up here were sturdy looking wooden support posts to prevent cave-ins. Just as well they hadn't tried to climb the walls; they would probably be buried under a ton of rock if they had. Three lanterns sat on a rough wood table near the trap door. Two of them had gone dark, but one still fluttered and flickered.
"You sure you can't see in the dark?" Ee'Rick asked her.
"Of course I'm sure," she whispered. "I'm not a cat."
He grinned. "Cats aren't the only animals with that ability," he whispered back, as he buckled on his belt. "If it gets too dim, grab hold of the back of my belt and hold on so we don't get separated." Then he leaned forward and blew out the one remaining lantern.
"What are you doing? I can't see."
He reached out, grabbed her hand, and guided it to his belt. "Off we are."
How he knew which direction to take was a mystery to Ja'Nil. As far as she was concerned, the passage was pitch black. But Ee'Rick seemed to know, or at least see, where he was going. He moved fast. Clutching his belt, Ja'Nil stumbled after him. At one point, she banged into a series of metal bars. "What's that?" she asked.
"Cells. They're empty."
"We were the only prisoners?"
"So far. Keep quiet. There must be guards somewhere about."
Not if they were planning to just leave us there to die a slow death, thought Ja'Nil. Thank the Lord of the Circle they had escaped.
Suddenly, Ee'Rick stopped. He stood very still.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"There's a locked door in front of us. Can't you see it?"
"No." She was getting tired of counting all the ways she was inferior to him. "Can you open it?"
"Maybe," he said.
Oh great. After everything, they had gone through to escape, to be stopped now by a locked door.
She heard metallic sounds. "What are you doing?"
"Picking the lock."
Ja'Nil grinned. Never say die, that was Ee'Rick. Suddenly, she felt his back stiffen. "What?"
"Someone's inserted a key in the other side." He pulled her in front of him. "Stand here where they can see you," he said, as he moved away.
"Where they can see me! What about you?"
Ja'Nil wanted to move away also, but it was so dark that she wasn't even sure where the door was. She froze. There was a loud screech as the door was pushed open from the other side. A sliver of light outlined the opening. She took a step back. As it opened wider, the light fully illuminated Ja'Nil. She put a hand up to shield her eyes.
"Who are you?" demanded a vaguely seen, greenish-blue glowing figure? It stepped over the threshold, and advanced on Ja'Nil.
Ee'Rick stepped out of the darkness. From somewhere, he had found a short iron bar that he raised to swing at the intruder's head.
The intruder was no slouch either. Dropping the light stick, the barely seen figure whirled to face Ee'Rick, knife hand outstretched to slash at him. Ee'Rick had already started to swing the iron bar when he realized the intruder was a young woman. He managed to twist his body so the iron bar passed harmlessly over her head. The intruder, however, kept a firm hold on her knife.
"Who in the name of the Blessed Golden Goddess are you?" Ee'Rick snarled. He was sick at the thought that he'd almost decapitated a female.
The female in question straightened from her knife fighter's crouch and looked them both over.
Ja'Nil sidled around to put her back to the door the woman had just come through. Now the woman, not much older than Ja'Nil herself, had Ja'Nil on one side of her and Ee'Rick on the other. Ee'Rick was looking the knife wielding stranger over carefully. To Ja'Nil's annoyance, he seemed to like what he saw.
"Are you the prisoners who are supposed to be in the dungeon?" asked the stranger.
"Yes," said Ee'Rick. "Who are you?"
The young woman looked at him proudly (arrogantly, thought Ja'Nil).
"I am Princess Lil'Li, Queen Presumptive of all Cancordia."
"How can you be Presumptive?" asked Ja'Nil. "Either you're the Queen or you're not."
The intruder cast a quick dismissive glance at Ja'Nil and turned back to Ee'Rick. "I will be proclaimed Queen as soon as the council meets and my coronation is celebrated. For all practical purposes I am your Ruler."
Maybe, thought Ja'Nil.
"And what is the Queen Presumptive of all Cancordia doing sneaking around prison cells in the middle of the night?" as
ked Ee'Rick.
"I was coming to interview you."
"Why not send for us… Your Majesty?" Ee'Rick added ironically.
Lil'Li ignored the question and his tone. "Did Lady Fayre send you?" she asked.
Ee'Rick said nothing.
"Well?"
"She sent me," said Ja'Nil.
"You?"
"She thought no one would notice me."
"Ah, yes, I can see that."
Ja'Nil decided to ignore the implied insult; after all, it was true.
"What message did she send?"
"The message was for the Queen."
"I am -"
"The Queen, your mother."
"My mother is dead."
"Yes. I'm sorry about that." Ja'Nil's good manners came to the fore again.
"Thank you," said Lil'Li. Her voice was suddenly husky with pain. "I will be such a Queen as my mother was," she said, making it a vow.
Ja'Nil recognized the pain in the Princess' voice. She looked at Ee'Rick for some hint of what he was thinking. He was studying the soft, slim figure of the Queen Presumptive, admiring her long white hair, her slender graceful neck, and her big dark eyes.
Ja'Nil thought of the way Ee'Rick had literally run away from their camp to avoid being alone with her. Apparently a little Fisherfolk girl wasn't worth a second look, but a Princess, ah, that was a whole different story. She watched as Lil'Li became aware of Ee'Rick's scrutiny and smiled at him.
A sharp pain twisted in Ja'Nil's chest. So this is what jealousy feels like.
Lil'Li turned back to the Fisherfolk girl, who was actually little more than a child. "Please tell me what message Lady Fayre sent the Queen."
Grudgingly Ja'Nil did. "She thought there was a lot of magic in childhood friendships. She said I was to tell the Queen 'Lady Fayre has wired you the truth and the name of your enemy.'
"I know the name of my enemy," said Lil'Li. Holding her hand out to Ja'Nil, she said, "Give me he Thread of Truth."
"The what?"
"You said Lady Fayre wired my mother the truth."
"All she gave me was a ring and a parchment. Your Lord Raptor took both."
"He is not my Lord Raptor," said Lil'Li sharply.
"He was giving orders. The soldiers obeyed him."
"Not my soldiers."
Fisherfolk girl and Queen Presumptive glared at each other.
"Anyway," said Ee'Rick, wading in to break up the tension, "he destroyed both."
"He destroyed the ring?" Lil'Li was horrified.
"It was in pretty crumbly condition. He just finished smashing it up."
"Smashed it up? But what about… " The Princess straightened angrily. "I think Lord Raptor had something to do with my mother's death.""What!"
Lil'Li took a deep breath. "He killed the Queen," she said.