The caryatids of the Fish Goddess also interested him, and at another time he’d have examined them closely by the light of the torches in the hands of the servants standing by them. The cult of the Goddess indicated that the original Estoryans must have migrated from the oceanside to the center of the vast and level plains. And here they must have built this imposing city, which was to become such a great focus of trade. Its central location made it a great clearing house for goods from every country bordering the Xurdimur.
He wondered whether it was pure accident that they had brought with them the charms in the shapes of spaceships? And if they’d also accidentally discovered that towers modeled after the charms would stop the roaming islands?
Whatever the answer, it lay buried in the prehistoric.
“Hurry up,” said Grizquetr, pulling on Green’s hand. “Mother has a surprise for you, but don’t tell her I told you.”
“That’s nice,” replied Green absently, his mind still upon the news of the Earthman’s death. Hang it all, why must he always be kept in suspense, must always be improvising from moment to moment, always in the dark, never knowing what was coming next nor what he was going to have to do? Oh, for one day of peace and assurance!
“Father!”
“What, what?” said Green, startled out of his reverie and stopping halfway up the steps to the porch. Suddenly something black and small launched itself at him and landed on his shoulder.
“Lady Luck! Why are you shivering so?”
“Better run, Dad!” said Grizquetr. “There’s Miran coming out of the door! And soldiers behind him!”
He ended with a wail, “Motherr-r-r-r!”
The sight of Amra, Inzax, and the children being marched out between musketmen was enough for Green. He turned away and spoke softly but savagely.
“Keep your backs to them! Don’t look back! We’re far enough away in the dark so they might not recognize us. Especially in this crowd!”
A minute later he and the boy and the cat were looking around the corner of a large building. They saw the soldiers commandeer a rickshaw and put the prisoners in it. Then four of them walked behind the vehicle as it was pulled away.
“They-they’ll be put in the Tower of the Grass Cat,” said the boy, shaking with fury. “Oh, that devil Miran! That fat old devil! He’s the one who’s accused Mother of witchcraft! I know! I know!”
“He didn’t accuse her,” said Green, “but me. She’s guilty through association with me. Well at least we’ll know where they are for a while.”
“There go Miran and the soldiers back into the hotel.”
“Waiting for us,” said Green. “They’d have a long wait. Well, let’s go. First things first. We’ll buy a ticket, see the ship. I have to know where it’s located, what type it is, et cetera. Luckily I’ve enough money on me to do that. But we’ll be broke then. You have any?”
“Ten axar.”
“That’s not much, but it’s enough to pay for a rickshaw ride to the windbreak.”
At the box-office, Green bought two tickets, then walked up the steep flight of steps with Grizquetr. At the top he found himself in a large group standing on a platform beneath a wooden roof. This was for the curious who wanted to get a preview of the demons’ vessel. Tomorrow the gates would be opened to admit a vast crowd, who would sit on the hard wooden seats of the amphitheatre that had been built fairly close to the ship.
The ship itself was an Earth naval vessel, a two-man scout. It pointed its needle nose upward, resting upon eight jet-struts, gleaming in the moonlight. Its naval insignia, a green globe crossed with rocket and olive branch, was a smudge in the shadows. Nevertheless he could make it out. He felt his breast swell and he choked with homesickness.
“Ah, so near, yet so far,” he murmured. “Even if I get to you, then what? What if the poor devil of a survivor turns out to be a navigator? Still, he ought to know enough to get her off the ground and into space. And from there on, with interstellar drive, we ought to be able to get home, somehow.”