Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
“Yes, let’s,” Sir said shortly.
Then we all walked to the bottom of the last hundred steps and began to climb.
FORTY-SIX
ELLI
I tried my best to climb all the steps myself, but they were built for a Korrigon, not a human—which meant they were twice as tall as any steps I’d ever climbed back on Earth. So with every step up, I felt like I was trying to climb into the cab of one of those ridiculously jacked-up pick-up trucks you see driving around in the country sometimes.
It only took a few steps for Sir to notice my trouble and offer to carry me. But I didn’t want him to. Looking around Sir Gra’multh’s swishing black robes, I could see that Clarissa was navigating the golden steps with ease—probably because she was so tall and graceful, she seemed to be half giraffe.
“Little one, let me carry you,” Sir murmured, leaning down to me.
“No,” I panted stubbornly, climbing yet another too-tall step. “I…can manage.”
“No, you can’t,” Sir said frowning. “But if you don’t wish to be carried, use your gravity belt to make yourself lighter and give me your hand.”
I did as he said and sure enough, it worked! Before I knew it, I was bounding up the steps, feeling like I was in one of those bouncy castles or maybe a trampoline. Only Sir’s hand in mine kept me from shooting up much higher than a single step, but he kept a firm grip on me and before I knew it, we had finally reached the top.
The golden throne was a huge piece of furniture that was big enough for three Korrigons to sit on side by side. It was very grand with lots of carvings and gems, but it didn’t look very comfortable. There was no padding and no cushions as far as I could see—just hard, cold, gold, which the Korrigons seemed to have an endless supply of.
The Sovereign who was sitting on the throne was clearly a woman, though to be honest, she didn’t look very different from a male Korrigon. She was tall and thin with short black hair and short, stubby horns that sprouted from her temples.
She looked younger than Sir, I thought, and much younger than Gra’multh, though it was clear from the serious look on her face she was trying to act much older than her age.
The Sovereign had the same full-black eyes as the others of her species and she was wearing the most elaborate golden robe I had ever seen. It was sewn all over with diamonds and rubies and emeralds and other precious jewels that were crowded so close together her entire outfit seemed to be one gleaming, many-faceted, gem. But again, though it was grand, it didn’t look very comfortable.
“Your Majesty,” Sir said, bowing his head low and I did the same. Beside us, I could see that Clarissa was also bowing low. Gra’multh, however, was barely inclining his head, which seemed disrespectful to me. But since the Sovereign didn’t say anything about it, I kept my mouth shut.
In fact, I intended to keep my mouth shut during this entire interview with the Sovereign and only speak when Sir told me to. He had told me over and over that I must not let my voice be heard until it was time for me to talk—speaking up at a different time might be reason for us to be expelled from the throne room. So I was determined to bite my tongue if necessary.
“You come before me today to decide the fate of the galaxy that some have called The Goddess’s Cloak,” the Sovereign said, when everyone was finished bowing. “And I understand that both of you have prepared presentations to show me.”
“We have indeed, Your Majesty,” Gra’multh said smoothly. “If I might be allowed to go first? At my age, I think it is my right. Also, I had much to do with bending the other planets of our own galaxy to Your Majesty’s will, so I think I can speak with authority on this subject.”
“Do you have any objections to letting Sir Gra’multh present first, Sir Barinthian?” the Sovereign asked Sir.
He shook his head and spread out one hand in an “after you” gesture.
“By all means, Sir Gra’multh, please proceed,” he said dryly.
“Very well then—I shall. If everyone could clear the way?” Gra’multh raised bushy white eyebrows and we all stepped aside. I couldn’t help thinking that with his beard and mustache and those eyebrows, he looked like an evil Gandalf, but then he started speaking and I forgot what I was thinking. Because as he spoke, his words were translated into images in the air in front of us that everyone could see.
Gra’multh spoke at length, but he barely touched on the Twelve Peoples at all. Instead, he talked about the riches to be gained when the Korrigons took over my galaxy. The mountains of gems and gold and platinum and the many precious natural resources that could be strip-mined from the various planets. When he did talk about the people whose planets he would be ruining, he merely said they were all primitive animals who would make excellent Mind-Controlled slaves.