Golden Torc - 2 by Julian May Read Free Book Online Page B

asked. He had tucked his helmet under one arm. He and Sukey fell in behind Raimo and Aiken.
    "Make your own fun, my man," said Aiken Drum. He strutted through the ranks of trumpeters into the hall. Wordlessly, Bryan offered his arm to Elizabeth; but all thought of the farspeaker and her fate had gone from his mind. As they stepped forward to the Tannhauser cadences he felt only the stabbing thrust of his fixe: that Mercy would be there! There and safe within her silver. Not trapped, not struggling, but secure in the faerie family that enraptured the lucky ones among its captives.
    Only let her be happy.
    They walked into a great beamed and paneled room that was lit by brazen sconces full of honest fire. The sparkling little meta lamps were in use, too, but for decoration only, studding strange tapestries and metal sculptures along the walls. The feasting board made a great inverted U-shape, with the several hundred guests ranged along both sides of the lateral sections, standing at their places. At the far end of the chamber was the local version of the high table, actually somewhat lower than the two side boards so that the dignitaries enthroned there would be more visible to the guests. The wall behind the Exalted Personages had a huge reproduction of the male-head motif, crafted of gold and deeply set into a complex mosaic of the crystalline meta lights. Draperies of thin metallic fabric framed the whole emblem and merged into a canopy above the line of twenty thrones. Liveried waiters were poised behind all of the guests. The Personages were attended by a double line of servitors, much more sumptuously dressed than those who waited upon the lower orders.
    Bryan and Elizabeth walked toward the table, past the ranks of smiling nobility. The anthropologist tried to be discreet as he scanned the throng; but there were such numbers on both sides of the room, and far too many of the human women had auburn hair...
    "The Worthy Doctor of Anthropology Bryan Grenfell."...And then the arbiter bibendi was presenting him, and he stepped forward and made his brief obeisance in the usual Milieu style, conscious that the people at the High Table were craning forward to study him and his female companion with an eagerness they had not vouchsafed to the four other honorees. Court etiquette evidently did not include the introduction of the Personages to him, but he had little curiosity about the glittering figures at the moment. Mercy was not among them. Bryan stepped back and Elizabeth, pale and strained looking, had her turn last of all.
    "The Most Illustrious Lady Elizabeth Orme, Grand Master Farspeaker and Grand Master Redactor of the Galactic Milieu." Bloody hell, marveled Bryan.
    The standing guests raised their arms. Astonishingly enough, the Exalted Personages got up from their thrones and also joined in the salute. The entire assembly gave voice to a threefold hail:
    "Slonshal! Slonshal! Slonshal!"
    Hairs bristled at the back of Bryan's neck. Now that had to be a linguistic coincidence.
    The most central of the male Personages gave a small twisting gesture. From somewhere came a jangling sound, as though a chain were being shaken. Silence fell.
    "Let refreshment and fellowship prevail," intoned the male Personage. A magnificent physical specimen, he wore a white robe, completely unadorned. His long blond hair and flowing beard were dressed with exquisite care in braids and tiny thin curls. There was a distinct resemblance to the masklike heraldic emblem and Bryan knew that this must be Thagdal, High King of the Tanu.
    The tableau broke into a confetti swirl as the guests flung themselves into their seats or went dashing about to exchange fresh greetings with one another. Human waiters and rama servers began loading the tables with food and drink. The six honorees were seated on low couches opposite the Exalted Personages and all formality went by the board as the Tanu aristocrats satisfied their curiosity by asking the