Flana continued to stare out over the water, hardly thinking of Meliadus's scheme, but dreaming instead of the handsome D'Averc and of days in the future when they might meet again and D'Averc would take her away from Londra and all its intriguestake her perhaps to his own rural estates in France which she, if she were Queen, would be able to give back to him.
Perhaps there would be an advantage to her becoming Queen Empress, then? That way she could choose her husband and that husband would be, of course, D'Averc. She could pardon him for his crimes against Granbretan, perhaps even pardon his companionsHawkmoon and the rest.
But no, Meliadus might agree to D'Avrec's reprievehe would not agree to sparing all the rest.
Perhaps her scheme was foolish. She sighed. She did not altogether care. There was even doubt that D'Averc was still alive. In the meantime she saw no reason for not taking at least a passive part in Meliadus's treason, although even she had some inkling of the awful consequences of failure, of the magnitude of Meliadus's scheme. He must be desperate indeed to consider overthrowing his hereditary ruler. In all the two thousand years of his rule, no Granbretanian had previously dared think of deposing Huon. Flana did not even know if it were possible.
She shuddered. If she were made Queen, she would not choose immortalityparticularly if it meant becoming a wizened thing like Huon.
Chapter Two
Conversation Beside The Mentality Machine
KALAN OF VITALL fingered his serpent mask with pale, old hands on which the veins stood out, resembling, themselves, so many curling blue snakes. Ahead was the main laboratorya great, low-ceilinged hall in which many experiments were being performed by men dressed in the uniforms and masks of the Order of the Serpent, of which Baron Kalan was Grand Constable. Strange machines gave off stranger sounds and stenches and miniature coloured lightnings flashed and cracked around them so that the entire area resembled some hellish workshop presided over by devils. Here and there human beings of both sexes and varying ages had been strapped out or fitted into machines as the scientists tested their experiments on the human mind and body. Most had been silenced in some way, but a few screamed or moaned or cried out in peculiar insane voices, often to the annoyance of the distracted scientists who would stuff rags into the mouths or sever vocal chords or find some other swift method of achieving a measure of quiet while they worked.
Kalan put one hand on Meliadus's shoulder and pointed to a machine standing unattended nearby.
"You'll remember the mentality machine? The one we used to test Hawkmoon's mind?"
"Aye," Meliadus grumbled. "That's the one led you to believe we could trust Hawkmoon."
"We reckoned without factors we could not anticipate," Kalan said by way of defence. "Well, that is not why I mentioned my little invention. I was asked to use it this morning."
"By whom?"
"By the King Emperor himself. He summoned me to the Throne Room and told me he wished to test a member of the Court."
"Who?"
"Who d'you think, my lord?"
"Myself!" Meliadus spoke with outrage.
"Exactly. I think he suspects your loyalty in some way, Lord Baron…"
"How much, do you think?"
"Not much. All that appears to be in Huon's mind is that you may be concentrating too much on your personal schemes and not enough on the interests of his own plans. I think he would merely like to know how strong your loyalty is and if you have given up your personal plans…"
"Do you intend to obey his orders, Kalan?"
Kalan shrugged. "Do you suggest I ignore them?"
"Nobut what shall we do?"
"I will have to put you in the mentality machine, of course, but I think I can obtain the results that would be most in our interest." Kalan chuckled, a hollow whisper of sound from within his mask. "Shall we begin, Meliadus?"
Meliadus moved reluctantly forward, looking nervously at the gleaming machine of red and blue metal, with its mysterious projections, its heavy, jointed arms and attachments of unknown application. Its main feature, however, was the huge bell hanging above the rest of the machine, depending from an intricate scaffold.
Kalan threw a switch and gestured apologetically. "We once kept this machine in a hall of its own, but space has become so limited of late. That is one of my chief complaints. We are asked for so much and given so little room in which to achieve it." From the machine came a sound like the breathing of some gigantic beast. Meliadus took a step backward. Kalan chuckled again and signalled for serpent-masked servitors to come to help him operate the device.
"If you will kindly stand beneath the bell, Meliadus, we will lower it at once," Kalan suggested.
Slowly, suspiciously, Meliadus took his place. The bell began to descend until it had covered him, its fleshy sides writhing until they had moulded themselves completely to his body. Then Meliadus felt as if hot wires had been inserted into his skull and that they were probing into his brain. He tried to yell, but was muffled. Hallucinations beganvisions and memories of his past lifemainly of battles and bloodshed, though the hated face of Dorian Hawkmoon, twisted into a million fearful shapes, swam often before his eyes, as did the sweetly beautiful face of the woman he desired above everything, Yisselda of Brass. Gradually, through an eternity, his whole life began to be built up until he had recalled all that had ever happened to him, everything he had ever thought or dreamed of, not sequentially, but in order of importance. Riding over everything was his desire for Yisselda, his hatred of Hawkmoon and his schemes for ousting Huon from power.
Then the bell was rising and Meliadus looked once again upon the mask of Kalan. Meliadus felt mentally purged and in high spirits.
"Well, Kalan, what did you discover?"
"Nothing, at this stage, that I did not already know. The full results will take an hour or two to process." He giggled. "The emperor would be much amused to see them."
"Aye. He will not see them, I hope."
"He will see something, Meliadus, that will show that your hatred for Hawkmoon is diminishing and that your love for the emperor is abiding and deep. Do not they tell us that love and hate are close together. Therefore your hatred of Huon will become love, with a little doctoring on my part."
"Good. Now let us discuss the rest of our project. First we must find a way of bringing Castle Brass back to this dimensionor else of finding a way through ourselves secondly we must discover a means of re-activating the Black Jewel in Hawkmoon's skull and thus getting him into our power again. Lastly we must devise weapons and so forth to enable us to overcome Huon's forces."
Kalan nodded. "Of course. There are already the new engines I invented for the ships…"
"The ships that Trott left with?"
"Aye. The engines drive vessels faster and farther than anything ever before invented. Trott's ships are the only ones so far equipped with them. Trott should be reporting to us soon."
"Where did he go?"
"I am not sure. Only he and King Huon knewbut it must have been a good distance awayseveral thousand miles at the least. Perhaps to Asiacommunista."
"That seems likely," Meliadus agreed. "Still, let us forget Trott and discuss the details of our plan. Taragorm, also, is working on a device which might help us reach Castle Brass."
"Perhaps it would be best for Taragorm to concentrate on that line of research, since it is his speciality, while I try to find a means of activating the Black Jewel," Kalan suggested.
"Perhaps," murmured Meliadus. "First, I think, I will consult my brother-in-law. I'll leave you now and return shortly."