Flinx Transcendent_ A Pip & Flinx Adventure - Alan Dean Foster [71]
Under that unblinking Imperial gaze, Lord Eiipul seemed to shrink in upon himself.
Fearlessly approaching Flinx, the Emperor stepped between his anxious bodyguards. Murmurs of concern rose from the inner circle of advisers and nobles. A second time the Emperor gestured, and for a second time the center of The Eye was still.
“Can none of you ssee that the creature iss more than weaponless?” Navvur W looked back at Flinx. “Truly, ssoftsskin, what iss your purposse in coming to a place where none of your kind have sstood before? Iss it to kill me?” Stressed hisses rose from the assembled. The Emperor ignored them.
“I am no assassin.” Flinx stared down at the unruffled reptilian figure standing curiously before him. “I spoke the truth.” As he raised an arm to gesture, several dozen weapons drew down on his torso.
The Emperor irritably motioned them off. “Crissandd. If it wanted to kill me, the attempt would have been made sseveral time-partss ago. The time for murder hass already passed.” Muzzles and other lethal focal points were lowered. Navvur W turned back to the visitor.
“You will leave thiss chamber alive, but not thiss building. You know that, do you not? Bravery iss no guarantee of ssurvival. But before you die, quesstionss will be assked—and ansswered.” He started to turn away. “Thiss hass been a more interessting diverssion than mosst. Now it iss a matter for the Ssecurity Sservicess. I have a full sschedule today and I have already wassted too much time on thiss fasscinating but otherwisse irrelevant alien intrussion.”
As well as the two bodyguards, other armed AAnn started to surge forward. By simply springing toward Flinx, Lord Eiipul caused the closing crowd to pause. He knew the hiatus would not last and that he had to speak fast.
“Venerable Navvur! I am Lord Eiipul IX. It iss true I have abetted thiss intruding ssoftsskin. Know that he sspeakss the truth when he ssayss that he did not wissh to come here. He doess not wissh to sshare the reality of the danger to which he referss unless he iss given no choice. He sspeakss truly when he ssayss that I inssissted on it.” Turning a slow circle, his tail clearing the space behind him, Eiipul addressed himself to the tense assembly.
“Many of you know me. I am no wild thinker prone to flightss of fancy or mental aberrationss. Wild as it iss, I have come to believe thiss ssoftsskin'ss tale.” Throwing an arm skyward, he made an unmistakably powerful gesture indicative of first-degree peril. “There iss a danger out there, beyond the Empire, beyond the edge of thiss galaxy, that possess a threat to all living thingss. It cannot be sstopped by warsshipss. It cannot be sstopped by any conventional meanss.” He indicated the silent figure of Flinx.
“Thiss ssoftsskin ssayss that he iss a key to the only possibility of countering thiss threat.”
“Not only a ssoftsskin prophet, but a mad one!” someone in the crowd shouted. Hissing laughter followed the remark.
“No prophet,” Flinx responded quietly. “A little different from others of my kind, yes, but no prophet. Believe me, no one in the galaxy wishes it were otherwise more than myself.”
“He doess not look very much like a ssavior,” another onlooker commented. “To me, he lookss like meat.”
Pausing, the Emperor turned back. “Very much sso. Lord Eiipul, by your actionss today you have already forfeited your possition, your sstatuss, and the previoussly highly regarded hisstory of your formerly noble family. I do, however, believe you when you ssay that you are not addled. What could possibly have possessed you to do thiss thing on behalf of a ssingle intruding ssoftsskin?”
Breathing hard, Eiipul confronted the Imperial presence. “Becausse, venerable Navvur, he sshowed it to me.”
The Emperor gestured second-degree bemusement. “He sshowed you a threat to the entire galaxy? Tell me, Lord Eiipul, where iss thiss threat, that he could reveal it to you? Outsside the city, perhapss? Ssomewhere