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‘Even Macha – hard-bitten, afraid of nothing Macha – was disturbed to the point of apoplexy by what she’d just learned. She couldn’t quite believe it, but nevertheless knew that it was true. Her eyes didn’t lie. They’d looked down on the scene and the whole sorry situation was clear and – no matter how badly she wanted to dispute what her eyes told her – it was clear and indisputable.
She found her voice and said, ‘I don’t think you fully understand what you’ve done.’ She stared at Laylamunger with the kind of anger that bode no good for the person on the receiving end of it. ‘You’ve destroyed her with your meddling and your foolishness.’
‘I didn’t do anything,’ Laylamunger protested tensely. ‘How many times must I say it? I didn’t make Astra a witch and I didn’t cast a spell and endow her with powers... that would be impossible, and wrong, and highly immoral.’
Everyone held their breaths, their eyes riveted on the gynoid and the witch squaring up. If there was going to be a fight, none could honestly choose a winner between the two protagonists. Zax was the only one who looked bored – which was quite an achievement for a robot – and he was just about to intervene and call a halt to the burgeoning argument, when Macha spoke once more.
‘They won’t accept a witch as their queen,’ she said. ‘There’s never been a witch on the Icarrion throne... not ever. None of the Lords would trust her, and who could blame them?’
‘We’re quite trustworthy,’ Laylamunger returned, affronted. Her heavy features darkened, and her long nose reared up and elicited a loud snort. ‘You insult my bloodline with your words, gynoid.’
Macha’s mouth tightened. ‘I meant no insult,’ she said, but hardly apologetically. ‘I’m thinking only of the questions it will raise in everyone’s mind. No one will believe that a witch could possibly be of the dragon bloodline. They would believe it impossible. If she speaks to the dragons and they obey her commands, they will think that she simply cast a spell on them, so she could control them.’
‘Witches have no control over dragons,’ Laylamunger protested. ‘Spells bounce right off them.’
‘They don’t know that,’ Macha bit back. ‘The Lords and the people of Icarrion don’t know that!’
The three royal guards nodded their agreement. They knew their people and fully understood Macha’s concern. If Astra presented herself to them as a witch, she’d be shunned – or worse.
‘Who cares what they think... those Lords and ladies of Icarrion?’ Bill put in. ‘Not one of them is worth my spit.’ He hawked in the back of his throat and spat on the floor to emphasise his point.
‘That’s disgusting,’ Hannass said, gesturing for one of the firebreathers to incinerate the offending mess on the floor.
‘I apologise,’ Bill said. ‘But, all this talk of what people will think of my Astra is getting on my tits.’
‘What does that mean... getting on my tits?’ Hannass asked, innocently.
‘Never mind,’ Bill mumbled in reply. Astra threw him a look of revulsion and he mouthed, ‘Sorry’.
‘Can’t we keep her powers hidden?’ Darius asked. ‘Surely, there’s no need for anyone to know.’
‘That would be tantamount to treason,’ Laylamunger interjected. ‘No witch can deny who they are without betraying every one of their kind. Witches have been hunted, tortured and killed across every planet for centuries. Not a single witch was safe on her planet ... on Earth...for hundreds of years and she owes it to every one of those martyrs to stand proud and proclaim what she is.’
‘Bullshit,’ Bill scoffed. ‘Have you gone completely mad? Astra doesn’t have to do anything of the sort.’
That wasn’t the first time Bill had voiced an uncouth and rude opinion, and he was beginning to grate on everyone’s nerves with his constant sniping. Even Hannass, who wasn’t easily annoyed, wished the human would shut his mouth. So, when Zax yanked him up by his collar, lifted him high off the ground, and swung him round so that they were eyeball to eyeball, no one made any attempt to stop him – not even Astra.
Bill struggled to free himself, but Zax had more strength in one finger than he had in his whole body. He held him so that his feet dangled off the floor and so that he was utterly helpless.
‘Put me down, you rusty piece of shit.’ He tried to prise the robot’s fingers from his collar. ‘Loose me, I say!’
‘Be quiet,’ Zax said softly.
‘Or, what?’ There was bravado in Bill’s voice and defiance in his eyes. ‘Or, what?’ he repeated. ‘What will you do to me, if I don’t shut up, tin man?’
‘I’ll rip your tongue out,’ was the robot’s matter-of-fact reply.
‘I’d like to see you try.’
Zax made to reach for Bill’s mouth and was only stopped by Astra reaching up and staying his hand. ‘Let him go,’ she said. ‘He’ll keep quiet now.’
Bill dropped to his feet and buckled to the floor. ‘I won’t keep quiet,’ he said. Then, to Astra, ‘You would take their side against mine... your own father?’
‘We’re all on the same side,’ she said. ‘And, it’s about time you realised that.’
‘They don’t care about you. They...’
‘And, you care?’ Astra’s eyes blazed with disbelief. She wasn’t sure what her father thought of her, but she certainly didn’t believe that he cared about her – not in the way she needed him to care.
Bill peered at her uncertainly. ‘I’m your father,’ he said. ‘Of course, I care.’
‘Enough!’ Macha looked from Bill to Astra. ‘There’s no time for this.’ She turned back to the High Witch. ‘How powerful is she?’
Laylamunger was still smarting from the gynoid’s earlier comments and wasn’t quite ready to move on. She shrugged and shook her head.
‘You don’t know?’ Macha asked incredulously. ‘You’re the High Witch. You always know.’
Laylamunger gave a thin smile. ‘The signs are that she will develop to the highest rank. She’s raw, untutored, but the signs are clear.’
‘What does that mean?’ Astra asked.
For long moments there was silence broken only by the sound of Bill pulling himself back onto his feet. Everyone looked to Laylamunger for an explanation. They were all keen to know what the highest rank meant.
Laylamunger had no intention of enlightening them. ‘That
is witch’s business,’ she said. ‘It’s not information for any of your ears. Suffice to say that Astra will know in good time what it means.’
When it was apparent that the High Witch had nothing more to say, Macha said, ‘Witch, or not, we still have plans to make. We need allies and we need to make use of Malass spies. We have no eyes at court, and I know of at least three witches already ensconced in Lord Cantor’s household.’
‘How...?’ Laylamunger was shocked. ‘How do you know that?’
Macha cocked an eyebrow. ‘Did you seriously just ask me that?’
‘I take the question back. I realise that nothing ever escaped your notice.’ She spoke without the merest hint of respect.
‘Cantor’s secret meetings with a dragon princess certainly passed over all your heads,’ Bill said snidely. ‘Even yours, gynoid. How come none of your spies realised what the wily old bastard was up to?’
Everyone ignored him.
‘Our spies will provide you with whatever information you require,’ Hannass said, eyeing Laylamunger and defying her to disagree. ‘As for allies... we can offer you refuge and information, but no more.’
‘That’s hardly enough, my Lord Hannass. We need an army.’
‘We can’t provide you with that, Macha. It’s not our fight.’
‘Will the Coalition help?’ Darius asked. ‘Surely, it’s in their best interests not to see war break out on Icarrion again?’
‘If they were inclined to help... which I very much doubt,’ Macha said, ‘they certainly wouldn’t support an unknown girl from Earth. Serillia would be the Coalitions choice.’
‘Not Damanacree or Sytor?’
Macha sighed at Darius’ naivety. ‘Do you have a brain in that huge head of yours? Why would the Coalition support a Plutonian war-monger, or a Xanetteian slug?’
‘Why would the Coalition support Serillia?’ he countered.
‘Because, you idiot, Cantor supports her, and the Coalition supports Cantor.’
Laylamunger grimaced and shook her head. ‘Cantor has turned out to be a serpent. If you wish, I could see that his cup was poisoned.’
‘That would be murder,’ Astra said, aghast.
‘There will be murder aplenty before someone sits on the Icarrion throne,’ Bill said. ‘Best not be too squeamish, my girl.’
Astra looked torn. Her blue eyes misted, and she chewed anxiously on her bottom lip. She wasn’t naïve enough to imagine that no one would die, but she hadn’t bargained on talk of poison.
She caught a glimpse of the crystal pulsing from blue to red where Sam had put it beneath his body once more and she bent to pick it up. Hannass made no objection and she clasped it to her breast. It felt warm and holding it gave her some comfort.
‘What is that?’ Bill asked.
‘It’s a gift from Laylamunger,’ Astra replied.
‘Okay... but, what is it?’
She felt the throb of the crystal intensify. ‘I’ll show you,’ she said, closing her eyes.
‘What’s she doing?’ Bill hissed.
‘Be quiet,’ Laylamunger hissed back.
Minutes ticked by and nothing happened. Feet shuffled impatiently, and the silence grew uncomfortable.
Then, quite suddenly, Astra gasped, and her eyes flew open. Immediately, images began to form in the air.
‘What the...’ Bill made to reach for his daughter and was dragged back roughly by Laylamunger.
Macha instinctively drew her sword and Zax moved to stand guard over Astra.
‘Stand down,’ Laylamunger said, holding onto Bill’s arm. ‘They are images from Astra’s mind.’
Macha and Zax refused to relax and the others simply stood with their mouths hanging open.
A brilliant procession of colourfully attired figures walked the length of the room. There was a dozen or so of them and, in the centre, was a female draped in gold and dazzlingly bejewelled. She walked behind a young male carrying a purple cushion with the crown of Icarrion nestling on its plump softness and it was obvious to everyone who she was.
‘Serillia,’ Macha rasped. ‘It looks like she’s going to her coronation.’
‘How...?’ Bill looked at his daughter through confused eyes. ‘How is she doing all this?’
‘It’s the crystal,’ Laylamunger replied.
Then, great numbers of soldiers formed - as if in the distance – and two huge dragons filled the entirety of the room. They opened their mouths to roar, but no one heard a sound. They belched out fire and it swept across their heads and Bill swore that he could feel actual heat as it passed over.
They saw burning bodies drop, writhing, to the floor and then, out of nowhere, there were huge clouds of black flies swarming in every corner, feeding on the dead.
The cushion fell to the floor and the crown was trampled beneath dozens of stampeding feet. All around was a melee of mayhem.
There was no order to the chaos and then, it was over.
Everyone’s gaze fell on Astra and, in the sudden stillness, a new respect for the Earth girl was formed.
No one had a clue what the images foretold. No one knew if they were simply imaginings, but what everyone had no doubt about was that it was powerful magic.
Astra seemed like a disinterested onlooker. She stood stock-still, with her eyes half-closed and her lips slightly apart and, to all intents and purposes, it was as if she hadn’t witnessed anything of import.
‘It’s over,’ she said. ‘The crystal is cold again.’
Macha approached and reached out to clasp Astra’s arm. ‘Are you all right?’ she asked pensively.
‘Oh, I’m fine,’ she replied. ‘A little tired, perhaps.’
‘A little tired...? Yes, I can imagine that you would be.’ Macha thought a moment. ‘Can you tell us what it meant?’
‘I think it meant exactly what it showed. Serillia will take the crown and the throne and there will be war and death. But, we knew that already, didn’t we?’
Macha nodded. The images had simply reinforced what they already feared would happen. She turned to Hannass. ‘You have thousands of firebreathers on Malass. Can you spare us a few?’
‘Only if any volunteer,’ he said. ‘I won’t order a single one to stand with you.’
She turned to the High Witch. ‘Surely you want to protect her? You said she is untutored... will you give her two good witches to teach her what she needs to know?’
‘I will give her one... Cauldronia will be her companion.’
It wasn’t enough, but Macha contented herself with what was offered. She knew that there would be firebreathers who would volunteer, now that Hannass had given his half-hearted blessing, and with a witch on board and another witch blossoming into something that would be quite spectacular, she was more than pleased.
‘We will go to Earth,’ she said. ‘Astra will demand an
audience with the High Council of the Coalition and plead her case. It’s the only thing we can do.’
Now that they had a plan, everyone relaxed. They would be safe on Earth and, even if the Coalition refused to back Astra as the rightful queen of Icarrion, they would have the time and the opportunity to come up with a strategy to get their much-needed army.