Page 4 of Palaces and other Prisons
“Yeah, how safe is it?”
“It’ll take time for a boat or a helicopter to get out here, so I guess for the moment, try not to fall off.”
That seemed like the smartest thing he’d heard. He scrubbed a hand over his face. There was no point in going back tobed, and he doubted anyone would be able to sleep even those coming off night shift. Everyone would be hoping the Wi-Fi worked and checking the news. He let the others pass, while he stared at the island, wondering where the hell it had come from and who lived there.
CHAPTER 3
What was left of Ul’s arm tentacle throbbed. While the joint was still there, everything below remained crushed beneath the rock. If the guard hadn’t been with him and used his knife to cut through, he’d probably still be waiting for someone to find him. He took a sip of the drink that was supposed to dull the pain, but only a sip because there was work to do.
Though he was very tempted to drink the entire goblet because there was too much work to do and the pain threatened to drag him under. Of course, having a limb crushed under a rock and then cut off was no less painful. He took another sip.
“Sire, you should really be resting,” Ifer said.
“I have rested. I rested while my wound was cleaned and stitched. I rested while it was bandaged. Now I must tend my kingdom.” The kingdom was his family. “Are the hatchlings back in the rock pools?”
“Yes, sire, and the egg cave is being checked on. To see if any others survived.”
Ul closed his eyes. The smallest ones hadn’t survived being dried out, and those that had survived that had been ripped fromthe rocks when water returned. He was covered in scrapes from being slammed against the rock.
“I had best get up and assess the damage to the castle. Send word that we will open the grounds to anyone without a home and who cannot be taken in by family. I want the councilors to send their secretaries or assistants to their areas, and I want a damage report. I need my trade minister to attend to the docks, both north and south. I want to know the status of the docks and the ships that were there, and also the cargo. Some of the cargo we may be able to salvage.”
His secretary was a human man who was gifted with numbers and languages. Like all the humans on Felloi, his family had arrived on a longboat from the other world centuries ago. They had not meant to sail to Felloi, but had been caught in a storm.
Everyone knew there was another place, one with less magic. There was no way to travel there from Felloi, but he had read about those who’d traveled there. Then there were stories that traders brought of strange things arriving in their world.
Now it had happened to them.
Ul leaned against the wall of his bedroom and stared out across the balcony—he did not trust himself to step outside and lean on the railing as the drug in the drink was affecting his coordination and making his legs weak. Nor were the four tentacles on his back obeying. And he was sure that if he stopped concentrating on his legs, they would let him fall to the floor.
He drew in a slow breath but didn’t fight for control of his tentacles; it was enough work to be upright and moving around. Beyond the palace wall, which was still maintained in case of invaders even though there had been none for over one hundred and fifty years as it was more prosperous for everyone to trade instead of making war, were the farms and villages. On the skyline, a new structure had appeared. It was a two-day walk, ora day in an ox-pulled cart. His fastest runners could make the trip in a day.
“Ifer, what do you make of the thing?” Ul lifted his arm to point only to realize that all he had to point with was a stump. How many times was he going to use that arm only to find half of it missing?
He was beyond the age when the limb might grow back. Only children who’d not yet had their first illumination had that chance, and even then, it depended on the extent of the injury.
He flexed the three branches on the end of his other arm that formed his hand, and for a moment, he was sure he felt the missing branches flex as well.
“From the recent stories, I would say it is from the other world. Appearances of other-world items have been accompanied by a trembling of the earth. Many of the artefacts are made of metal, though not one we are familiar with.”
“You have been listening to the talk of the traders?” Ul said without looking at him.
Ifer smiled. “You know I do not have time to hang around the docks, but my siblings send word when they hear something interesting. The traders said a large red box on wheels, and filled with people, arrived as their ship was about to sail.”
“That box is not red, nor is it on wheels.” The structure appeared to be many metal boxes stacked on top of each other standing on spindly legs. Though standing was overstating it, as much like him, the structure appeared to be lurching as if about to fall over. “Do you think the boxes are full of people?”
Ifer joined him at the balcony door and stared out across the village and fields. “If it is full of people, it is not their fault they are here.”
“And yet their arrival has killed many.” It wasn’t just the lost eggs. There were already reports of people missing, of houses missing.
Ifer glanced at him. “There is something else you should be aware of. Some of your krakke guards have reported that the ocean is different.”
Ul frowned and turned. One of his back tentacles slapped against the wall, the suckers clinging tight to the smooth stone. Embarrassingly, it was the only reason he stayed upright.
Ifer offered his hand but kept his mouth shut about how he should be resting in bed.
Ul took a moment to collect his balance. Between the wall and his secretary, he was stable. He wasn’t sure if he should blame the medicine or the pain or perhaps it was simply the loss of blood.
“How is the water different?”
