Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 130991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
“The ruler has an issue,” I said. “The prospective spouses-to-be keep killing each other.”
Caldenia leaned back and cackled. “This is absolutely delightful.”
“Apparently, it wouldn’t be problem under normal circumstances,” Sean said. “However, their religious leader is at the end of his life. He must find a suitable candidate to whom he can transfer his holy gift before he expires. Random murder interferes with that on a psychic level, and by law, he is required to be present for the entirety of the spouse selection.”
“I love it.” Caldenia grinned.
She would be a lot less happy in a minute.
Sean kept going. “They’ve tried everything to secure their premises, but each candidate has twenty retinue members, and they keep nuking each other in elaborate ways. They need a safe ground.”
Orro raised his hand and counted on his claws.
“We’re it,” I said. “If we can help him get to the altar, he will give us access to the special portal and their abandoned mining outpost on Karron, so we can go look for Wilmos.”
“What were they mining?” Caldenia asked.
“Fuel for a weapon,” Sean told her. We had done some research. “They mined a bunch of it and then decided the weapon was too inhumane to be used.”
Caldenia raised her eyebrows. “It broke.”
“Probably,” I said. “The point is, we have no other way of entering that planet.”
“How many?” Orro asked. “How many beings total?”
I tried to sound upbeat. “Three hundred. The ruler’s retinue, the candidates and their escorts, and the observers. A lot of powers in that region of space are sending diplomats to see what will happen, since the marriage will affect the balance of power.”
Orro blinked. “How many species?”
“At least fourteen. Probably more.”
He blinked again.
“Screen please,” I told the inn.
Gertrude Hunt sprouted a small screen on a tendril and held it up to Orro. He scrolled through the guest list.
“They are due to arrive in two days if we say yes,” I said.
“Of course, you must say yes.” Caldenia clapped her hands. “This will be marvelous.”
I had to do it now. “Your Grace, there is one tiny issue. The ruler is…”
“Don’t tell me!” She jumped up. “I want to be surprised.”
“Letere Olivione…” Sean started.
“Not another word! You will not ruin this for me.”
She swept out of the kitchen, the sleeves of her long green gown flaring from the wind of her passage.
“Well, shit,” Sean said.
I slumped onto the back of my chair.
“I take it there is a problem,” Marais said.
“Not yet,” Sean said. “But there will be one.”
I groaned. This was exactly what I was afraid of.
“I can get her. We can have the inn hold her and tell her,” Sean offered.
“She would be mortally offended.” I sighed. “Do you want to deal with her carrying a grudge for the next six months? Because I don’t.”
Orro had stopped scrolling and was staring at the screen, his eyes distant.
“Orro?” I asked gently. “Are three hundred guests too many?”
He raised his head. His eyes focused. “What are you implying? Are you implying my skills are not sufficient?”
Oh no, no, no, we’re not taking that scary road into Orro’s Offended Woods.
“She is asking if you need some assistance,” Sean said.
The chef frowned, pondered it for a second, and his eyes brightened. “Two!”
“What?” I asked.
“I will need two assistants! Maybe three. I need the species list. I need to go shopping. I need to go to Baha-char! I need things and money!”
He jumped up and ran at the pantry door. The inn helpfully slid it out of the way before Orro could collide with it head-on, and the chef vanished into the storage room.
Sean turned to Marais. “We would like to hire you for security to watch the place from the street. Just in case.”
“You don’t need to do that. I’ll help you anyway.”
“We absolutely have to pay you,” I told him. “It would be time away from your family.”
Marais thought about it. “I have to check regulations. There might be something in there that prevents me from taking a part-time job. Let me figure this out.”
“Thank you,” I told him.
He got up and left. It was just me and Sean now.
“Do you have any contacts who deal in bioweapons?” I asked.
“Wilmos has some nasty stuff in his shop. I can take it, I’m sure he won’t mind. Why?”
“One of the candidates is backed by the Dushegubs.”
Sean frowned. “I’ve read about those. They are sentient trees. Are they problematic?”
“They are not sentient. They are sapient, but unable to feel emotions. Dushegubs are calculating, homicidal, moving trees that feed on animal life. They know that other creatures have emotions and what those emotions are, and they don’t care. Their first option is murder, their second option is murder, and if that fails, they go straight to murder.”
“Well, at least they have their priorities straight.”
“They are banned as a species from the inns. I will have to apply for special permission to host them, and if we get it, we might have to kill one as an example.”