187

187
"I want a third of you to secure these outer areas so no one may gain access to the tunnels."

"Aye, Cambra," one warrior replied, taking immediate action as Casina and her friends followed Jeiel and the other men to one of several dark tunnels.

"I want twelve more of you in each of the tunnels. Secure them. I want two of you to cover the Judgment Hall, in case Menakam is holding court there. The rest of you come with me," Jeiel continued in authoritative Kathian, as though used to giving orders such as these.

Casina recognized the sound of side lasers and pulse guns being readied, as everyone hurried to do his bidding. She shuddered at the dampness of the dimly lit passageway as she made her way through the thick, prevailing spider webs that hung down all about them. She thought briefly of Arian, thankful that she had decided to leave him on the ship with two trusted aides who had been with them on Le"pra Zh"r.

Initially, she had wanted the Tompkinses to remain behind, but she realized she needed them with her as a source of security as well as for their valuable advice and moral support. So she had made the difficult decision to leave her child behind with two officers from the medical unit. She felt Arian"s safety could be jeopardized and wanted him safely away from any opposition and from Ganymede Remera, who remained confined to quarters aboard Le"pra Zh"r, with two H"San posted outside his door. Something about the man gave her the creeps, and she had no desire to have him near her baby at any cost. It bothered her to have left her child again after only just having him returned to her, but it was a choice she had found necessary to make. At least Dammen"s heir was safe, she thought with relief, as they hurried to catch up with Jeiel and his men. She followed them through the twists and turns of the long tunnel, climbing steep stairwells and descending ramps. She bit her lip in the darkness, wondering now if she would survive to ever see Arian again. Her instructions in case that happened had been given in strict detail to the medical staff with him, as well as to the two guards posted outside the medical unit, just in case.



"I think I see them," Casina whispered to her friends, spying movement several yards ahead of them.

"Majesty?" came a male voice. "Is that you?" "Jeiel?" Casina said.

"Aye, my lady. Come forward. And your friends."

"Where are we?" she queried, surprised when the cambra reached for her hand in the darkness. She took hold of it and moved closer to him. She could see they were now standing on the other side of a brightly lit room. The light shone through the thin cracks outlining a door they were standing beside.

"We are at the ballroom. If you look closely, you should be able to see Menakam lounging on the royal couch itself. And he"s wearing Dammen"s crown."

"He made himself right to home, didn"t he?" Casina squinted through the thin cracks outlining the secret door. "So, what can we do from here?" she whispered to Jeiel, who stood beside her. "Wouldn"t it perhaps be better to wait for Menakam to retire for the night, if he retires? He"ll no doubt choose to occupy Dammen"s suite and will probably go there eventually. He"d be less protected there, don"t you think?"

"Aye, Majesty," Jeiel agreed, "only that might be orons from now."

"Then, we"ll just have to wait. Please take us there, Cambra. We need to see what else we"re up against before I decide what we should do. Do you know if the royal suite has a secret panel?"

"Aye, Majesty, it does," Jeiel readily confirmed as he took her wrist, to lead her along the dark passage. They encountered more twists and turns as they cautiously made their way along in the impenetrable blackness. The others followed, staying close at their heels since it was the only way they could all stay together. To light torches of any kind was dangerous. No one wanted to alert Menakam or his people to their presence at TrCasinaar or to knowledge of the secret passageways.

The Tompkinses stayed as close to Casina and Jeiel as possible, but even that was difficult in the choking tenebrosity. Jenny often found her foot being stepped on by a clumsy warrior who was moving too swiftly behind her, too impatiently, considering the conditions. She gasped aloud when that happened, groaning at the pain, and was limping by the time they reached the wall bordering Dammen"s suite.

"Tythis, are you there?" Jeiel called out in a loud whisper, drawing Casina closer beside him. A scuffling of footsteps answered as Tythis and two other warriors made their way through to where Jeiel and Casina were waiting.

"Aye, Cambra, we"re here. Menakam is still in the ballroom."

"It is likely that he will select Kaanig Altair"s chambers as his own before long, so all we need do is wait here until he retires. Or we could go through the panel now and station ourselves in readiness for him."

"No!" Casina protested. "I don"t think anyone should go in there yet. You have no idea whether anyone is waiting in the adjoining sitting room. There could be men there just waiting for us to make such a move as this. Even the ballroom could be swarming with Menakam"s men by now. We could all be captured, and then where would we be? I don"t want to see anyone here getting hurt. As

Kaaniga, I say we stay here until I decide otherwise. Is that clear?"

"Quite, Majesty," Jeiel replied. He turned to his men in the Stygian darkness. "We wait!" he told them before moving to squat down against the opposite wall, close to the damp floor, directing everyone to do likewise. Except for Tythis who was sent back to keep an eye on Menakam, Jeiel"s men immediately followed suit and sat down along the wall and around him. Jeiel said nothing more.

He merely lowered his head, his arms resting on his upraised knees as he waited for Casina"s next order.



Jim and Jenny agreed it would have been suicide to venture into a room full of men who would just as well see them all dead and felt Casina justified in wanting to protect everyone.

"Let"s sit over here, Dad," Jenny said, hobbling slowly on her aching foot to sit a discreet distance away from the warriors, who were now lined up along both sides of the tunnel like a set of dominoes at the ready. She was thankful for the small amount of light shining through the cracks of the door panels. Otherwise, they wouldn"t have been able to see much in the darkness. Feeling her way across the slimy wall, she sat down carefully, gasping at the coldness of the floor and the wall. She was unaware that Jeiel had lifted his head to listen to their movements and soft-spoken words. Casina, sensitive to her friend"s needs, was aware of Jenny"s discomfort and carefully made her way to stand over the Tompkinses. Her tone full of concern at Jenny"s complaints, she knelt to examine Jenny"s throbbing foot.

"What happened?" she asked as Jenny carefully slipped off her walking shoe to rub the offended area.

"Somebody stepped on me," she said, wincing in pain when Casina began gently massaging her foot. "It really couldn"t be avoided in the dark, I guess. But I wish these guys would be a bit more careful when they"re tromping about. They"re so darned big. I don"t think they realize how heavy they are."

"I"m sorry, Jen, about everything. Maybe I should have left both of you with the baby. It would have been safer and definitely more comfortable for you."

"No, Cas," Jim interjected. "You did what you had to. Besides, we would have come anyways, just to keep an eye on you."

"Thank you, Jim," Casina said, warmed by his words. "I…I appreciate that." Then, rising, she patted Jenny"s leg and moved to an area farther away from everyone, needing a more private place to collect her thoughts and pray about what they should do.

No one prevented her from moving off alone, away from the cluster. Pulling her heavy cloak closer about her to ward off the damp chill pervading the tunnel, she sat down, tucking her long legs cozily into its thick folds and drawing her hood up, thankful for the wardrobe Uri had provided her on Le"pra Zh"r.

She leaned her head back wearily against the slimy, lichen-covered wall and closed her eyes, sighing softly. She had no idea what her next order would be. For now, she had to relax and sort things out. Her nerves were so jumbled by all that had happened the past few days that she felt incapable of making rational decisions. She felt helpless and stifled a sob. Oh, Uri! Why did you have

to die? I don"t think I"m ready for all of this yet. Haven"t I been through enough already?

She wept silently in the darkness, until her grief lulled her into a peaceful slumber.