And without so much as a backward glance to ascertain that the "gods" were obedient to her command, the young woman turned on her heel and was about to go swaggering back to where grooms held the immense winged steeds of herself and the girl novice, when she found the child directly in her way and thrust her aside with a sharp ejaculation of impatience.
The girl fell, uttering a little cry of pain—the first vocal sound which Star Pirate and his comrades had as yet heard from the lips of the Persephonians. Until then they had not been fully certain that the pale-skinned, bright-haired denizens of Tuluun in fact possessed the power of uttering sounds.
Star stepped forward quickly and bent to assist the shaken child to her feet. Tears glimmered in her huge dark eyes as she stared at him, lips trembling with incredulous disbelief.
Lord—!
"Are you hurt, girl?" demanded Star roughly. Zarga had frozen in her tracks and was looking back over her shoulder with a face filled with a torrent of conflicting emotions, whereamong rage, amazement, and fury were preeminent.
N-no, lord—please—my mistress—
Prince Narba seized this momentary distraction to speak up, however hesitantly.
But, my lady priestess, these strangers do not in any wise resemble the likenesses of the star gods as recorded in our folios or basreliefs or statuary . . . surely, until we know for certain who and what they are, the palace would be most suitable—
Although the Prince, who seemed on the whole rather ineffectual, tended to defer to the haughty young priestess, it could be seen that he had not entirely surrendered the power of the monarchy to the authority of the temple.
They began the discussion, the Prince humble and tactful, the priestess punctuating her mental argument with sharp, emphatic gestures. At Star Pirate's side, Dr. Zoar chortled happily to himself:
"And to think that every mental transmission is being scanned and dissected by my sensors, and registering on the dials and meters! How delicious!"
"You mean your sensors are picking up these thought-waves?" demanded Star, surprised. Zoar shrugged and gave a leer which was his way of smiling.
"Certainly! You know that thought ts electrical ... that the brain is simply an electrochemical battery ... hitherto, attempts to measure the wave-length of human thought have been faulty and inconclusive, since the waves are exceptionally short and the energy behind such broadcasts relatively feeble ... but my sensors are detecting the whole thing."
The matter is settled, lords, said Prince Narba resignedly, turning from the priestess to address Star Pirate. We are agreed, Lady Zarga and I, that you and your comrades would most fittingly be housed in the temple of the star gods across the plaza—
Something warned the redheaded adventurer that perhaps it were best if the three "star gods" stayed as far as possible from their priestess, since their ignorance of their own theology was as complete and total as it could possibly be. And what was the point of being treated like a god, unless occasionally you decided to act like one?
"We disagree, Prince Narba, and desire to accept the hospitality of the palace," he said imperiously. "There will be time enough to visit the temple, where the Priestess Zarga will no doubt be happy to present the assembled clergy to us. For now, let us be gone to your palace."
Narba’s eyes lit with delight and his pale face broke into a smile of pleasure—exactly matched, Star Pirate noticed, by the venomous glare which lit the dark eyes of the priestess, and the expression of outraged disapproval which marred and twisted her handsome but cold features. It was more than obvious that the Lady Zarga was not used to being opposed in anything; nevertheless, under his keen, watchful eye, she wilted and sketched a humble bow. But he could guess how much it rankled her soul to submit even to the wishes of a god, when it ran contrary to her own wishes.
"Is it wise to leave the ship unguarded, lad?" asked Zoar worriedly. Star Pirate shrugged.
"Unless they know the combination of the lock, how could any of them open the airlock? Stop worrying, Doc, and c’mon. We’re armed and they’re not—and they think we’re their gods! How can we get in trouble?"
"I don’t know, I’m sure," muttered the diminutive Martian savant. "But I have a suspicion that we’ll manage to, somehow ..."
13. Kidnapped!
The Prince gestured, and room was made for the three adventurers behind the riders of the red-furred bats. The saddles were capacious enough to hold an extra passenger, Star perceived, and while he wasn’t exactly anxious to ride the flapping creature through the skies, gods aren’t supposed to be afraid of such things, so he pretended not to mind. It was a relief to the redhead to see that Dr. Zoar and Phath were taking their cue from his manner.
While the three newcomers mounted their saddles, however gingerly—in the case of Dr. Zoar—and distrustfully—in the case of the Venusian, Phath, who had no confidence at all in modes of transportation that did not involve machinery—Star could not help glancing over his shoulder to see the furious high priestess stalking away to her mount, followed by the little novice.
While the priestess did not deign to cast a glance behind, the child did, and the shy gaze she turned upon the tall, redheaded stranger was brimming with adoration ...
Once in the saddle, the grooms fastened them in place by belting thin leather straps about their thighs for safety. Then the order for flight was given by Prince Narba, and the riders dug their heels into the furry ribs of their gigantic steeds.
Vast wings snapped open like enormous Chinese paper fans, and beat the air, throbbing like pounded drums. Dust and leaves and twigs and gravel arose about them in a blinding cloud. Slowly, but then faster and faster, they ascended into the air on the giant bats. They circled the park once, then soared off towards the palace, landing on gigantic perches fitted into the upper works, which served as nesting-places—Star found it hard not to think of them as "hangars"—for the winged creatures.
He was pondering the problem of the priestess, Zarga, whom he had seriously offended by his whim to frustrate her plan to have him as her guest, choosing Prince Narba. Narba seemed intimidated by the priestess, with her imperious and domineering ways—
"As who wouldn't be?" muttered the Pirate humorously to himself.
Your pardon, lord? inquired the noble whose saddle he shared.
"Nothing—talking to myself ... but couldn't you read my thoughts?" Star added, rather curious. The aristocrat smiled and explained that as the "lord' ' was not at the moment wearing his "talisman"—and here he touched with one forefinger the disc of amber crystal all the Tuluunites wore fastened to their brows—his mental transmissions were singularly difficult to perceive.
The redheaded adventurer instantly guessed that these curious crystals in some unknown manner focused or concentrated the thought-messages, as a lens focuses a random beam of scattered light.
It was an interesting datum, and one which Star filed away for later reference.
They might not as yet be proven gods to Prince Narba, but certainly they were considered guests of rare prominence, as was shortly demonstrated.
"Did you ever see such a place, chief?" chortled Phath incredulously. "Those wall-panels over there are carven ivory, and cut all of one piece. Makes you wonder how big the beast was they took the horns from! And these blackwood tabourets are inlaid with turquoises big enough to choke a hen, and plaques of mother-of-pearl."
Dr. Zoar was dreamily inspecting the goblets and plates of food and drink set out for their refreshment on a low table. "Gold," he murmured. Then he picked up a gem-studded goblet: "And platinum. Studded with fire opals, no lees. The 'hospitality' of the palace, indeed!"