I nodded. “Glad I woke up then.”
“I doubt you’re going to be up for coming along just yet,” Tanda said, putting a little sandwich and another glass of water in front of me.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “Just a little carrot juice and I can fly a long ways.”
The silence in the cabin was intense.
I looked at Aahz, then at Tanda and smiled. “Just kid-ding.”
For some reason, neither of them laughed.
Along the way there were more and more cattle, bigger herds than we had seen at any other place. I was just glad that none of them were lined up along the road watching us.
The countryside was becoming pretty hilly, and the road looked like it was headed right at a fairly large mountain range. I hoped Donner was on this side of the range and not the other. My question was answered almost at once as we topped a slight ridge and could see off ahead.
I somehow managed to bring us to a stop and lower us to the ground. Considering what we were facing, I thought that was pretty good concentration.
From the top of this hill we could see Donner. It had been built going up the side of a gentle hill. From here it looked as if the buildings down low were all like the ones in the towns we had already seen, but the farther up the hill you went, the larger the buildings, the more ornate.
At the top was the palace. Only this wasn’t like anything on this planet. It was made of stone and inlaid with gold that shimmered in the afternoon sun. It was like a second sun, only golden.
“Oh, my,” Tanda said softly.
“No wonder there’s a treasure map to this place,” Aahz said. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”