The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure - By Storm Constantine Page 0,158

it, because he won’t look at her in the way she wants him to.’

‘Oh. I wonder what happened.’

‘Why don’t you ask him? When he came to the boat, he looked worried, if you ask me, not hostile. He was scared of something.’

‘Well, it is the night for it.’

Flick grimaced. The wall of the barracks loomed before them. ‘Here we are. You do the talking.’

The guards on duty had clearly been told to expect them. They had to wait only a couple of minutes before Chelone and another har, both resplendent in black Parsic uniform of leather and steel, came to the gate. Ulaume understood why Mima might be upset. These were hara of dignity and presence. Nohar would want to be cast aside by such creatures.

‘Where is Mima?’ Chelone asked at once.

‘Sh… Shy,’ Ulaume spluttered.

‘He changed his mind,’ Flick said quickly. ‘Is that OK? Can I come with you instead?’

Chelone shrugged. ‘Well… I suppose so.’ He indicated his companion. ‘This is Captain Leef Sariel, a close friend of Lord Swift.’

‘He’s Flick,’ said Ulaume. ‘Just that. I am Ulaume har Colurastes.’

Chelone and Leef exchanged a glance.

‘Interesting,’ said Leef.

Stable-hara brought out a gleaming open carriage drawn by two horses, into which Chelone indicated they should climb. Another har in uniform leapt up into the driving seat. ‘A little cold tonight for this kind of transport,’ Chelone said, ‘but we thought you’d appreciate the view.’

They drove through scenes of celebration, past vast bonfires. The scent of cooking meat filled the air and the sweet-sour tang of apple beer. In one place, apple trees lined the road and Chelone stood up in the jolting carriage to pluck a soft fruit right off the branch. He handed the apple to Ulaume. ‘Tonight, the spirit of the fruit can be eaten with the flesh,’ he said.

Ulaume bit into it, and found it so cold it made his teeth ache, but the taste was like perfume. Opposite him, Flick sat hunched up beside Leef, not saying anything, and Leef looked bored.

Chelone was happy to talk about Galhea, and everything the incomparable Lord Swift had achieved since his father’s death. By the time they reached the gates to Forever, Ulaume was already thinking that Swift would be unbearable: full of himself and righteous. Still, he could put up with that if this meeting produced any results.

The house was a blaze of light and a large fire was already burning on the grass outside the front door. A big crowd of hara had gathered in the dark, drinking apple beer and sheh, the local liqueur distilled from apples and spice. Two whole lambs were roasting on spits over fire pits, where the fat dribbled down onto baking potatoes.

Their driver took the carriage round into the stable yard where many others were parked. Stable-hara ran around attending to the stamping horses.

Chelone got out of the carriage first and told the driver they’d meet him later. He offered his arm to Ulaume, ‘Shall we join the party.’

Leef and Swift followed behind, awkward companions.

Before they reached the crowd, Chelone said in a low voice, ‘I’ve upset Mima, haven’t I?’

‘Yes,’ Ulaume said. ‘Did he upset you first?’

Ulaume could barely see Chelone’s face in the darkness, but the silence was eloquent. ‘I just don’t think I can help him,’ he said at last. ‘I wanted to come and see him, but…’ He was quiet for a moment. ‘I hoped he’d be here tonight. I needed to explain.’

‘Mima is a proud creature,’ Ulaume said.

‘It says a lot that you and your friends haven’t helped him either,’ Chelone said. ‘I guess you know the problem.’

‘He is not a great one for sharing,’ Ulaume said.

‘But to have that happen, the inception thing…’ Chelone shook his head. ‘It must have been vile.’

‘Mmm,’ Ulaume murmured. ‘What exactly did Mima tell you?’

That Mima had used Terez’s story as her own delighted Ulaume: what a good idea. Chelone didn’t go into grisly details about aruna, but it was clear something had happened that had unsettled him greatly. Perhaps later Ulaume could pry for more information.

As they wandered through the crowd, Chelone pointed out hara of high rank. ‘That is General Ithiel Penhariel, who commands the entire Galhean militia. Oh, I see we have a couple of Gelaming with us…’

Ulaume froze. ‘Who?’

‘Don’t know them. They appear to be of pretty low rank, probably officials attached to the Hegemony in Immanion.’

‘Where is Lord Swift?’

‘Can’t see him yet. We’ll go inside. He may be there. You should see the house, anyway.’

Ulaume glanced round, but