The Last Continent by Edmund Cooper

The Last Continent by Edmund Cooper

Author:Edmund Cooper [COOPER, EDMUND]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780575116498
Publisher: Orion
Published: 2011-09-15T00:00:00+00:00


CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Urlanrey, king of Noi Lantis, sat formally on the dragon throne in the great Sun Chamber of the palace. Behind him stood seven officers of the Pryterguard. On a stool to the left of the throne sat Numon, the First Consul; on a stool to the right of the throne sat Kymriso, the Second Consul, who was also Kymri’s mother; and on the steps leading up to the throne sat Stasius, priest and Lord of the Generators.

The Sun Chamber was, in fact, a great glass dome set on top of the highest stone tower in the Palace. The light passing through innumerable tinted glass panes was transformed into a rich amber, bathing everyone and everything in the circular chamber in a darkly golden glow.

Kymri stood before the steps to the throne with the four Martian negroes, upon whom all eyes in the chamber were fixed, it seemed, unwaveringly. He had told his story and had been graciously interrupted by Urlanrey only twice. On the first occasion the king remarked that it was fortunate that the original sky beasts were extinct since it was certain that, despite Kymri’s undoubted valour, they could not be slain by mere mortals; and on the second occasion, he observed mildly that it was indeed fortunate that Kymri had brought witnesses, who could confirm that he had left the surface of the Earth for a time, since man had not yet developed the means to fly.

During the course of his story—particularly when he was recounting the destruction of the probe—Kymri glanced at Kymriso once or twice, as if to seek approval for his actions. But Kymriso, still a strikingly beautiful woman although she was nearly forty years old, wore not the aspect of a mother but of the king’s Second Consul. She gazed gravely and with curiosity at Kymri, but with no sign of recognition, almost as if he were as much a stranger as the Martian negroes.

Kord Vengel was distinctly uneasy, and his agitation was apparent to everyone in the Sun Chamber. When confronted only by Kymri he had learned to contain his phobia to some extent. But in the presence of so many white people, he was bitterly unhappy. He wanted either to run or to destroy, and kept having to tell himself that it was practical to do neither.

While Kymri was talking, Kord continually fingered his needle pistol nervously. The officers of the Pryterguard, sensing the needle pistol to be a weapon, held their own short javelins more tightly. The king gave no sign of being aware of this tension.

After Kymri had finished speaking, there was a brief silence, Stasius the priest coughed, attracting the king’s attention, and seemed to incline his head slightly, as if answering an unspoken question.

The king rose from the dragon throne and spoke to his guests.

“Strangers, the young man Kymri—a person yet lacking in wisdom, perhaps, if not in courage—has brought you from the forest to Noi Lantis. He says that you have come in peace and that presently you will depart in peace.



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