Second Contact (Okal Rel Saga #1)

Chapter 18.6 - Corner Them, and They Defend Their Culture

Ranar rejected defeat. He was physically weaker, yes. The Sevolites tormenting him could kill him. They might even break him, he acknowledged — shocked to realize that intellect counted for so little in extremity. But they were still an ugly blemish of destructive spite in a larger universe in which he was worth far, far more than any number of them. The worst they could do to his world view was to make him ashamed to be human because they were, so he would prove that being human could be something better.

While Di Mon fought, Ranar got painfully to his feet, fixated on two women and a little boy. No decent Reetion could let a child be murdered by its grandfather, especially not when he had been responsible for Delm's men finding the child's mother. Besides, rescuing Kath and little Von suited him better than witnessing the one Sevolite he both loved and respected commit murder, and he'd had a feeling from the moment Di Mon showed up that somebody was going to die.

Ranar's goals were thoroughly consistent with his Reetion values, and that held him together. His tactics, however, were amateur.

Fleeing the sounds of Di Mon's attack, he stumbled into some of the errants he had just escaped from and nearly panicked before he realized they would very likely take him to little Von and the women, which was what he wanted. They seized him and shoved him along ahead of them, but it felt all right now that it was his idea. They were less confident since Di Mon's intrusion and wasted no time getting to Blue Pavilion, where they were stopped by a highborn with a young face, who asked questions.

Ranar was able to grasp a little of the young man's greeting, since many Gelack nouns, especially, were English cognates and he was starting to make sense of common verbs even if pronouns were still a bit challenging. The guard called himself Prince Taran of Princess Reach, and mentioned Prince Hendricks D'Astor. He was earnest and anxious enough that Ranar felt a spasm of sympathy for the young Sevolite, who seemed uneasy to be guarding Blue Pavilion, perhaps for the sake of the traffic that Delm's personal retainers were dragging in. But just like D'Astor, any concern invoked by helpless women with a toddler did not extend to a male, brown-faced Reetion.

Ranar was hustled down spiral stairs amid a press of errant bodies wearing sheathed swords, and into a resplendent space lined in rich draperies and paintings. His missing friends were at the bottom, Eva belatedly taking his advice by making an impassioned plea, in Gelack, to Prince D'Astor, although from D'Astor's expression Ranar feared Eva had been right about the likelihood of him believing her. He looked more inclined to pity her for harboring insane delusions. Kath knelt at her feet clutching Von.

Eva spoke Delm's name three times in quick succession, making D'Astor raise his eyebrows and shift his attention to Kath's son. Thoth's face burned with righteous outrage. Before Eva finished, he rushed at her and struck her silent. D'Astor prevented Thoth hitting her again once she was down, but did no more.

Ranar would have given years of his life, at that moment, to speak Gelack. It made him want to scream to be so powerless despite his conviction that D'Astor might help if he could make him see past his prejudices.

A fat, well-dressed man came up the spiral stairs from a level below Blue Hearth itself. He wore no sword, yet he commanded attention.

Like Sarilous, Ranar conjectured. The new arrival bowed to Prince D'Astor and delivered a message, obsequiously. D'Astor took his sword from its sheath, dropped the belt, and let an errant help him shed his jacket, leaving him in a white shirt. Then he took his sword back from the errant and was gone, with a final gesture in the direction of the women accompanied by a curt order.

The fat gorarelpul bobbed and mouthed reassuring words, but the instant D'Astor was out of the room, he snapped his own orders to Delm's errants. Kath bolted. Errants seized her and wrenched Von away. Ranar broke away to help them but did not get far. Bruised muscles reasserted their complaints as he was thrown forward onto his knees again. He crawled over to Eva and found she was still breathing but unconscious. She should be treated for concussion! A part of him could not grasp why first responders were not there to help. Emotionally, he half-expected them to appear.