Part 21 (1/2)

”I could,” Grail nodded. ”Of course, there would probably be a b.l.o.o.d.y power struggle, possibly even a civil war. Rosette was on the brink of one when I arrived nineteen years ago, as a matter of fact, though you're too young to remember it.

But a.s.sume for the moment I can find a way to block that. Who's going to defend Rosette from another Easterling attack?”

”Uh...” Royd hesitated; it sounded like a trick question. ”I gather the army's not strong enough?”

”Not now. It could be, by drafting every single man from age seventeen on up. But then the economy would go straight to h.e.l.l.” Grail shook his head. ”No, Easterland is held back mainly by fear-fear of the dragons. Rosette needs a Dragonmaster, at least for a few more years, and it's up to me to make sure the wrong man doesn't get that kind of power.”

There were a lot of implications in Grail's statement, not the least of which the suggestion that the dragons could be transferred to a new owner. But for Royd one question overrode all the others. ”Why me?”

Grail shrugged. ”You care about the people of Rosette.”

”How do you figure that? Just because I tried to kill you?”

”Because you were willing to spend many years of study and even give your life to gain freedom for them. And, maybe more important, because you didn't fire on the common soldiers who came to arrest you.” Grail ran a gnarled hand through his graying hair.

”And besides, I haven't got enough time to go out searching for more likely candidates. The doctors tell me I've only got six to eight months left. All my instincts tell me you can handle the job of putting this country-and eventually the whole planet-back on its feet. If you're willing, the job's yours. I can start your Dragonmaster training tomorrow. What'll it be?”

Royd's head was spinning. This couldn't possibly be what it seemed; it had to be some sort of trick. And yet, what did he have to lose? He'd been prepared to die-had expected to die-and there was nothing worse Grail could do to him. As long as he was careful not to betray his comrades, it would probably be best for him to play along. Whatever Grail's plan was, perhaps he could turn it to his advantage. ”All right,” he said slowly. ”I can't make any promises yet about succeeding you, but I'm willing to give it a try.”

”Good.” Grail got to his feet, rapped twice on the door. ”I'll come for you in the morning. Sleep well.”

The door opened, giving Royd a glimpse of gray uniforms in the hallway.

Without another word the Dragonmaster strode out, and the door was slammed firmly behind him.

The emotional drain of the day's events made for a deep sleep, and Royd would probably have kept at it through much of the morning had Grail not awakened him at the stroke of seven. No guards were in sight; in fact, Royd saw no one else at all as the Dragonmaster led the way down two dimly lit corridors and up a narrow staircase.

”Where is everyone?” he asked, fighting the urge to whisper.

”These hallways are seldom used,” Grail answered. ”I'm sure you understand the need for secrecy. In here.”

The room they entered was large and high-ceilinged, its furnis.h.i.+ngs those of a conference room. The view through the diamond-patterned windows told Royd he was on the east side of the palace and about four or five floors up-somewhere in Grail's private section, he guessed. On the carved rock-ebony table were four suitcase-sized boxes and a covered tray. The odors from the latter made Royd's stomach growl.

”Sit down,” Grail said, indicating the chair closest to the tray. ”We'll want to get started as soon as possible, but I can fill in some of the background for you while you eat.”

Royd removed the lid and did a quick survey. Chopped phorlax meat mixed with nuts; two twelve-centimeter surf-skimmers, finned and roasted whole; a four- fruit salad cup; and a steaming cup of ch'a. His opinion of Grail went up a notch- anyone who would serve a meal like this to a prisoner couldn't be all bad. Another thought crowded in on the tail of the first: that that might be precisely what Grail wanted him to think. In a somewhat more subdued state of mind, he sat down and began to eat. ”You and your dragons have already had breakfast?” he asked.

”I have; the dragons haven't,” Grail said. ”That's the first popular misconception you'll have to unlearn. The dragons aren't alive; they're just machines.”

Royd blinked. Like everyone else, he'd always a.s.sumed that the dragons were living pets of their Dragonmaster. The idea that they were mechanical was actually harder to believe. ”Machines?”

”Yes.” With a pop, the small dragon appeared a few meters off to the side.

”Take a look yourself. Go on, it won't hurt you.”

Swallowing hard, Royd got up and approached warily. The creature sat motionless on its haunches, its talons glinting in the thick purple carpet, its red eyes following Royd's every movement. ”Look at the outer skin, the eyes, and the talons,” Grail instructed. ”And inside the mouth; you'll see there is no saliva.”

The monster opened its mouth. Gingerly, Royd looked in, then glanced briefly at the other points Grail had mentioned. ”Doesn't look like any machine I've ever seen, but I'll take your word for it,” he said, backing away. ”You build them yourself?”

”Oh, h.e.l.l, no. They're way beyond human technology. They were built by some extinct race out in the Castor stars millennia ago. My guess is that they were used as bodyguards.” Another pop and the dragon was gone.

”That vanis.h.i.+ng act is a good trick,” Royd said as casually as he could, determined not to be overawed. ”How does that work?”

”Look here.” Reaching into his tunic, Grail pulled out a small gemlike object hung around his neck by a thin gold chain. He handed it to Royd. ”This is the key.

Somehow, the dragons are kept-well, not inside, of course, but sort of next to it.

That's bad wording; what I mean is that there's some sort of dimensional pocket a.s.sociated with the amulet, where the three dragons are kept. A kind of limited subs.p.a.ce, I expect, similar to the one stars.h.i.+ps travel in, except more localized.”

Royd examined the amulet. A deep, brilliant red in color, it was roughly teardrop-shaped and s.h.i.+mmered in a way that made it look like he wasn't actually touching its surface. It was warm to the touch, and when he squeezed it he could feel... not a vibration, exactly, but something that didn't belong in a normal rock, either.

”The sensation you're feeling isn't physical,” Grail said. ”At least, I've never been able to detect it with any kind of sensor. It's strictly a psychic effect.”Royd nodded abstractedly. The key to Grail's power, and he was holding it in his hand. For a moment he was tempted... but Grail wasn't stupid. He wouldn't have deliberately disarmed himself. Reaching across the table, Royd dropped the amulet back into Grail's outstretched hand.

”I can call the dragons out to any distance from the amulet I choose, up to a few kilometers,” the Dragonmaster went on, slipping the chain around his neck again. ”And, of course, I don't have to be touching the amulet at the time.”

”Of course,” Royd repeated, a slight s.h.i.+ver running down his back. The old dictator was definitely not a safe man to underestimate. If Royd had yielded to the temptation to grab the amulet and run...

He resumed eating. Grail busied himself with the boxes of equipment, and by the time Royd had finished breakfast there were three sets of electronic displays arranged in a semicircle on the table in front of him.

Grail glanced at the empty tray. ”Finished? Good. Get up, and put that tray somewhere.”

Royd did so, and Grail slipped into his vacated chair, flipping a handful of switches and putting on a bulky headset. At once the displays came to life, showing a variety of squiggly curves. ”What you're seeing are the shapes of some of the electrical waves in my brain,” Grail explained. ”Watch what happens to the patterns when I call one of the dragons.”

Subtly, but noticeably, the curves changed, and an instant later the dragon stood beside them.

”And they'll change a bit more as I give it commands,” Grail continued.

”Watch.”

The dragon turned and sprang to the window in a single twelve-meter leap, hissed once, and then did a little shadowboxing with its front paws. Then it vanished, and the displayed curves resumed their original shapes.

Grail looked up at Royd. ”You're going to have to learn how to control your own brain waves so as to match the ones you just saw. For starters”-he pointed out a relatively high peak on one of the curves-”you can try to flatten this to about half its size.” He demonstrated, then stood up and handed the headset to Royd. Automatically, Royd took it and put it on. ”But how do I do that?” he asked, bewildered.

”You'll have to figure that out for yourself,” the dictator answered, making a slight adjustment in the helmets position and all but pus.h.i.+ng Royd down into the chair. ”Try flexing some muscles, or thinking different thoughts, or whatever else works for you. Keep your eyes on the trace. When it shrinks even a little go back and try what you were just doing again.”

He pointed across the room. ”That door leads to a bathroom; the dumbwaiter over there will bring you lunch at noon. I'll be by sometime in the afternoon, and I'll want to see some progress here.” He tapped the proper peak on the display and, without another word, strode from the room.

Royd stared after him a moment, then turned back to the displays. Somewhere in all of this window dressing, he knew, Grail was planning some sort of trickery.

But he couldn't for the life of him see the trap; and until he did he had no choice but to play along. Sighing, he set to work.

It was more like early evening when Grail finally returned. ”Let's see how you've done,” was his only greeting.

Gritting his teeth against the throbbing headache which had developed in the past hour, Royd made the high peak flatten a bit. A dismal showing, he thought, but Grail nodded in apparent satisfaction. ”Not bad for the first day. How do you feel?”

”I've got a headache. Otherwise okay.”

”I expected as much.” The Dragonmaster dug a small bottle from his pocket and tossed it to Royd. ”Two of these will take care of your head.”

”Thanks,” Royd said, grudgingly. ”What's happening in the outside world today?”