booked. But with it being a Wednesday, there's probably a room for a night or two. The weekends are the real problem. Let me make a quick call."
From his suit jacket Thorn withdrew a cellular phone and dialed a number. He spoke a moment, then beeped off. "I know the owner of a bed-and-breakfast who was telling me this morning that he was a little slow right now. It's called the Azalea Inn. Let me draw you a map. It's not far."
The Azalea Inn was a lovely Queen Anneestyle building on the outskirts of town. Beech trees dominated the landscaping and a white picket fence encircled the property. The front porch accommodated a row of green rockers. The interior was an old-fashioned decor of quilts, cracked-beam ceilings, and wood-burning fireplaces.
Lord rented a single room, the request meeting with a strange stare from the elderly woman who operated the front desk. He recalled the reaction of the clerk in Starodug when he refused a room to what he thought was a foreigner. But then he realized this lady's attitude was different. A black man and white woman. Hard to believe color still mattered, but he certainly wasn't naeve enough to think that it didn't.
"What was the concern downstairs?" Akilina asked, after they were in the room.
The second-floor space was airy and light, with fresh flowers and a fluffy comforter on a sleigh bed. The bath contained a claw-foot tub and white eyelet window lace.
"Some here still think the races shouldn't mix."
He tossed their travel bags on the bed, the same two that Semyon Pashenko had provided what seemed an eternity ago. He'd stashed the gold bars in a locker at the Sacramento airport. That made three pieces of imperial bullion awaiting his return.
"Laws can make people change," he said, "but more than that is needed to adjust attitudes. Don't take it wrong, though."
She shrugged. "We have prejudice in Russia. Foreigners, anyone dark-skinned, Mongols. They are all treated badly."
"They're also going to have to adjust to a tsar who was born and raised in America. I don't think anyone ever figured on that contingency." He sat on the edge of the bed.
"The lawyer seemed genuine. He did not know what we were talking about."
He agreed. "I looked at him carefully when he was studying the bell and when you said the words."
"He said there were others?"
He stood and walked to the phone and the directory that lay beneath. He opened to the Ts and found six Thorns and two Thornes. "Tomorrow, we'll see about these people. We'll visit each one if we have to. Maybe we can take Thorn up on his offer and enlist his help. Some local talent might make the difference." He looked over at Akilina. "In the meantime, let's get some dinner, then a little rest."
They ate at a quiet restaurant two blocks from the Azalea Inn that came with the unique characteristic of being adjacent to a pumpkin patch. Lord introduced Akilina to fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and iced tea. At first he found her unfamiliarity amazing, but then he'd never eaten leavened buckwheat pancakes, beetroot soup, or Siberian meat dumplings until visiting Russia.
The evening weather was perfect. There was not a cloud in the sky and the Milky Way streaked overhead.
Genesis was definitely a day place--none of the businesses, beyond a few restaurants, lingered open after dark. After a brief walk they made it back to the inn and entered the downstairs foyer.
Michael Thorn was perched on a settee next to the staircase.
The lawyer was dressed casually in a tan sweater and blue slacks. He rose as Lord closed the front door and calmly said, "Do you still have that bell?"
He reached into his pocket and handed it to Thorn. He watched as Thorn fitted a gold clapper inside and, with a slight waggle of his wrist, tried to ring it. Only a dulltap came where a ding would be expected.
"Gold is too soft," Thorn said. "But I imagine you need something else to confirm who I am."
He said nothing.
Thorn faced him. "To where the Princess tree grows and Genesis, a Thorn awaits. Use the words that brought you here. Success comes if your names are spoken and the bell is formed. "He paused. "You are the raven and the eagle. And I'm who you seek."
Thorn's words came in a whisper, but were delivered in flawless Russian.
Chapter Twenty
FORTY-THREE
LORD STARED IN DISBELIEF.
"Could we go to your room?" Thorn said.
They walked upstairs