Lyra did not acknowledge the presence of the new arrivals and StarWind started towards her.
“It is her father,” cautioned LifeTender. “Let her spend his last moments with him.”
StarWind stopped and nodded resignedly. “She must rest though,” she stated to LifeTender.
“She looked well enough to me when she came in,” LifeTender replied. “I think she was just a little faint in the office. Who can blame her after such a confrontation?”
“No, you don’t understand,” Temiker interrupted, but stopped when Malafar thrashed about on the bed.
“What is going on?” Master Malafar growled. “How dare you put the manacles on me.”
Lyra rose from the bed silently and turned to look into Malafar’s eyes. “They were put on you for your protection as well as ours,” she said softly, “and they will stay on until I am satisfied that you are no longer a threat. You have hurt many people with your magic, Father, but most of all you are hurting yourself. I will not allow you do that anymore.”
“Not allow?” stormed Malafar. “Who are you to allow me anything?”
Lyra shook her head sadly. “Probably the only person left in this world, who still loves you,” she said with tears in her eyes. “Rest now. I still want you at that meeting tonight. You will attend, and you will listen,” she emphasized. “You may speak if you wish, but I will not dictate that to you. Rest,” she concluded and turned to leave.
“I thought he was dying?” asked StarWind. “You still want to hold the meeting tonight and have him there?”
Lyra seemed to notice StarWind and Temiker for the first time since they entered the room.
“Of course,” she said to StarWind. “It will be good for him to hear the truth finally, instead of the lies he has been taught since childhood. He may even have valuable input after he realizes that we may all die because of his aggressive countrymen.”
“But what of his health?” argued Temiker. “And your own?”
Lyra shook her head in puzzlement. “I am fine,” she declared, “and Malafar only needs a bit of rest. The meeting is not until tonight and he will be rested by then. StarWind, ask Lord Marak to meet me in my office please. I have kept him waiting long enough.”
Lyra strode out of the room leaving StarWind and Temiker looking at each other with puzzled expressions. LifeTender raced to the bed and started examining Master Malafar over his strenuous objections.
“I have finally gotten the chance to know Lyra,” Temiker sighed, “and the longer I am with her, the less I appear to know her.”
“I thought you said he was dying?” StarWind said to LifeTender, ignoring Temiker’s self indulgence.
“I don’t understand it,” frowned LifeTender. “He was dying. I am sure. Now his chest is hot to the touch, but his heart is beating healthily. She did something to him, but what she did I have no knowledge of. He is as healthy as she said. He just needs some rest.”
“I have to go get Lord Marak,” StarWind reflected. “Temiker, stay with him. Perhaps he has some idea what happened today.”
StarWind hurried downstairs and outside. Lord Marak was not hard to spot with his black and silver cape and she hurried over to the practice yard where he was watching a match between two Sakovans.
“The Star of Sakova would like to see you now,” StarWind said to Marak.
Marak nodded cheerfully and followed StarWind into the palace where she led him through the maze of corridors to Lyra’s office. She opened the door and waited for Marak to enter. “I will wait for you here,” StarWind said.
Marak nodded and walked into the room and smiled at Lyra as he approached the desk. “It appears you are feeling better,” he opened. “I am glad that you found the time to speak with me, but if your time is short today, I do not mind waiting longer. I find your city very interesting and warm.”
“No, I have kept you waiting far too long already,” she smiled back. “I am pleased that you have not taken offense at the long wait. My people speak very highly of you.”
“Then the feeling is mutual,” assured Lord Marak. “I am impressed with the skills of your people as well as the way they pull together to get things done. I am learning much that I may use when I get back home.”
“Please have a seat,” offered Lyra, thankful that someone had cleaned the office after the confrontation with Malafar. “I am not sure where to begin,” she confessed. “StarWind was impressed by your man, Fisher, and set up this meeting but I am not sure what it is we are supposed to accomplish.”
“Perhaps just getting to know each other is enough,” suggested Marak. “I have as much faith in Fisher as you obviously do in StarWind, so I decided to take his advice and make the trip. I am glad that I did.”
“We do have a common enemy,” Lyra pointed out. “Have you thought about how to deal with them?”
“Somewhat,” Marak stated. “My need for strategy is not as immediate as yours of course. I did hear about the strategy meeting tonight and I would like very much to attend if that is possible.”
“I would like that very much,” Lyra agreed. “Perhaps you will have ideas that we lack. Can you think of any way that your armies can be of assistance to us?”
“My armies are far away,” frowned Lord Marak. “I would not hesitate to offer what I could of their number if I could see a way that they could tip the balance for you. That is one of the reasons I wished to attend the meeting this evening. You must understand that my security in my own homeland is tenuous and that I cannot commit my entire armies to the Sakovans.”
“Understandable,” nodded Lyra. “I will not ask for help unless it appears that I must have it, but it is assuring to know that you consider our cause worthy of the commitment.”
“As I said,” smiled Lord Marak, “your people have impressed me. I appreciate a society that values the skills of citizens without regard to their sex or social standing. I fear that the one I live in does not.”
“And I hear that you are trying to change it,” retorted Lyra. “The Sakovan people will help you as you have promised to help us. We appear to share similar goals and have the makings of a perfect union.
Marak smiled inwardly at Lyra’s words as he thought of MistyTrail’s subtle hints that he and Lyra would make a perfect union. He looked at the young woman across the desk from him with her blond hair and blue eyes and dressed in a plain brown tunic. She appeared much too young for the position of leader of a nation, but then the same was said about him. Her actions so far had showed nothing but calm determinedness and her people adored her. Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Despite the suggestions from the little elf-like Sakovan, Marak had no interest in starting a relationship with anyone.
“Fisher has told me of the events in Okata and the burning of the fields in Campanil,” Marak said as he returned his thoughts to the purpose of the meeting. “Have there been any more developments since then?”
“A few,” admitted Lyra. “Wasooki have been killed in Breele, supposedly by Sakovans using stars, and the armies appear to be attempting to surround us, but the worst development is the mood of the Omungan people. We do not think the Omungan government would attack if the people were against it. Clearly the new Katana is trying to gain that support by arousing anti-Sakovan feelings.”
“That would make sense from his point of view,” agreed Marak. “In that regard, the Omungans are not much different than the Khadorans. Can your stronghold withstand an assault from the Omungan armies?”
“I don’t know,” Lyra frowned. “As far as we know, they are not yet aware of where the stronghold is. We can last indefinitely in the face of a siege as we have more food grown in the valley than we can consume.”
“I have seen the storage facilities,” remarked Lord Marak. “It looks like you could store three years worth of grain alone. The founders of StarCity are to be complimented. You could not ask for a better defensive position than the one you have here. You would run out of meat though and you should consider stocking some.”