False Horizon - Alex Archer [42]
“I’ve been here before?”
Prava pointed. “Your answers are in the royal court. They are not for me to reveal to you. I do not have that right.”
The parade drew to a halt in front of the grand staircase and parted into two columns. Prava nodded at Tuk and Annja to proceed. “You must ascend the stairs and take your place in the royal court now.”
Tuk glanced at Annja. “I guess we go on without them.”
Annja nodded. “Seems that way. You nervous?”
“I don’t know what I am, honestly. I seem to be caught in the sway of a number of emotions right now. I suppose the best way to resolve this is to proceed and see where the answers lie.”
“I agree,” Annja said. “And maybe Mike is up there waiting for us, too.”
Tuk started up the steps and found them perfectly suited for his small size. He chuckled.
“What is it?” Annja asked.
Tuk pointed at the stairs. “My entire life I have been forced to deal with stairs that are made for larger people than myself. I’ve had to adjust my stride accordingly. And yet here…”
“They are made for people of your size,” Annja said. She seemed to be having trouble walking up them. “I can see that.”
“It is another indication, I suppose, that this may be my home.”
Annja took the steps two at a time. “I’m understanding the trouble you might have had back in the world I’m used to.”
Tuk shook his head. “It wasn’t trouble. Just one of those things. When you don’t feel normal, it seems the rest of the world doesn’t quite fit you all that well.”
“And here, everything seems to fit.”
“Perfectly,” Tuk said. He paused and looked back at the parade of people who remained motionless as they watched him.
He couldn’t see a single face that did not bear a wide smile. “They seem so happy,” he said.
Annja nodded. “I think they are happy because you have come back.”
Tuk frowned. “Really?”
Annja nodded and continued up the steps. “We’ve got a few more steps to climb. Let’s get moving.”
At the top of the staircase, Tuk again paused and looked back. Prava nodded his head slowly, still smiling.
Tuk turned back and saw the brilliant red tapestries swaying in the breeze. And beyond them, he could see an open pavilion. In the middle of the pavilion sat three stone thrones.
Two people sat on either side of an empty one.
And Tuk stepped forward to receive his answers.
16
Annja crested the steps and took a breath. She hadn’t realized quite how troubling they would be, and even after resorting to taking them two at a time, she still found herself struggling to keep up with Tuk. The smaller man seemed to simply float up the stairs with no problem. Not for the first time, Annja had a pretty good indication of how it felt to be different from the world around you.
As they came off the steps at the top, she marveled at the brilliance of the red tapestries fluttering in the tropical winds. Their finery could not be underestimated, she decided. They looked nothing like any of the fabrics she had seen during her many travels. But she did have the feeling that they were all handmade. There didn’t seem to be any type of machinery present in this place so far.
Stone thrones in an open pavilion in front of her beckoned them. Tuk walked ahead and Annja rushed to stay beside him. As they got closer, Annja could see that two of the thrones were occupied. An old man sat on the one to her right and the throne on the far left had an old woman seated there.
The throne in the middle was empty.
The smiles the old man and woman wore were indescribable in that they seemed to contain more joy than Annja thought possible. Tears rolled down their faces as they watched Tuk approach them.
They exchanged a glance and their smiles grew even broader. The old man lifted his hand and urged Tuk forward to a spot on the pavilion ten feet from the thrones.
The old woman gestured for Annja to stand back a little bit. Annja stopped on the spot the old woman indicated and contented herself with observing everything that seemed to be unfolding in front of her.
Tuk stopped at the prescribed spot and the old man and woman took an entire minute