Rhiannon - Dragonrider

Chapter Thirty Eight - A Simple Lair but Mine Own

As I gripped my mother's bracelet, the wall in front of me simply melted away and I found myself gazing into the silent, empty lair. The simple lintel was marked by a pattern of waves which I had known all my life... it was the same one that decorated my mother's bracelet... the permanent wave insignia of the Family Psion

I stepped up onto the veranda that had sprung into existence with the lair and then, holding my breath, I walked inside. I fumbled in the dark with my candle and matches and then the room sprang into light.

And I knew I would never look at Psion in the same way again.

The room was alive with colour. 'A simple lair but mine own', I laughed as my eye dashed around the place, falling on bright tapestries and delicately coloured glass statues. This wasn't people showing off their wealth and power, like you saw in the Rhian lair. Instead, the place just gave off this feeling of simple elegance.

It was the size of a couple of tennis courts and crystals within the wall sparkled in the candlelight giving a feeling of warmth. The wall to my left was lined with bookcases, reaching from floor to ceiling. They were full of books, neatly arranged according to their size, together with scrolls, maps and parchments.

I could see straight away that something wasn't right with them but it took me a while to work out what it was... some of the books had brightly coloured covers... they would have had to have come from the Outside.

There was a low platform at the back of the lair with a simple stone pedestal in the middle of it and, set on the pedestal, kind of at the focal point of the lair, was a small pot.

I don't know why but it gave me a really funny feeling. I froze for a moment then, stepping onto the dais, I moved towards it to have a closer look.

It was a simple wooden pot with no decoration apart from the Psion Family's permanent wave mark round the edge of the lid. It was small enough to comfortably hold in your hand but, as I reached out to pick it up, it just felt wrong. Its place in the room told me how important it was.

So I left it alone and got my mind back on business.

The tall, glass fronted cabinet was off to the right. It was made from polished, red-coloured wood. Even after all this time, the glass gleamed and the wood seemed to glow with an inner warmth without a hint of dust. The shelves were made of glass too.

In the middle of the top shelf, more striking because it so obviously came from Outside, was a framed photograph. It showed a tiny baby about, I guessed, a week old. There was even a lock of hair in the corner of the frame. I stared at it through the glass and suddenly realised that the baby in the picture was me.

"So," I said with a smile, "when Psion gave me a lump of his skin, he got a bit of my hair in return!"

There was a simple silver necklace, set with a red jewel, on the shelf next to the photo and, on the other side, a set of silver goblets.

On the bottom shelf, there was a cuirass... a set of armour, consisting of simple yet elegant breast and back plates. On the other side of the shelf was a magnificent helmet, all smooth curves and flowing lines. Between them was a fine but simple leather case, on top of which was a pair of spurs, their hooks gleaming in the dancing candlelight.

But my eye was drawn to the shelf in the middle where there was a pair of crossed blades, both bearing the familiar Family motif. There was a long, fine dagger...

And a sword...

And what a sword!

As soon as I saw it, I realised that, if I ever got it in my hand... and in my mind... I'd never want to touch another blade again. Here was a graceful, nimble weapon that would let me use my speed and my agility. It had a finely crafted hand guard, shaped a bit like a basket, and was obviously so light that it didn't need a pommel. Compared to this, even the magnificent broadsword that Rhiannas had lent me was just a clumsy iron club that could only ever be used to bludgeon your adversary into submission.