Shields Lady (26 page)

            "This is where the Shields arrive," Keri said excitedly. "Watch."

            Sariana watched in astonishment as the legend took a bizarre twist. In a suspenseful sequence a strange ship materialized alongside The Serendipity. It was obviously caught in the grip of the Lightstonn, too, but it seemed able to control the descent of both itself and The Serendipity to some extent. It acted as a shield for the starship, leading the way through the storm of light. When it was through the storm, some of The Serendipity^ power was restored. She limped down through the atmosphere and made a, landing similar to the one The Rendezvous had made. Fire had broken out immediately.

            "The ship burned for days," Keri explained with relish. "The Shields helped fight it. But that wasn't the main problem."

"What was the main problem?" Sariana asked in fascina lion.

            "The crew rebelled and tried to take control of all the other colonists. They had the only weapons on board and they threatened to kill everyone who didn't obey orders, See? There's one now. He's going to kill the captain who's trying to stop him."

            Sariana was shocked as the poor starship captain died gallantly onstage in a very bloody fight. "How terrible." At least the people of The Rendezvous had been spared that particular trauma. The rigid lines of society had held finn throughout the chaos of the landing and its aftermath in (he east. But they had apparently started crumbling right from the beginning here in the west.

            "Oh, everything turned out okay. The Shields took care of the rebels. The Shields had weapons, too, and they used them against the outlaws. The bad members of the crew who weren't killed ran away and hid in the mountains. After that, the colonists found out about the prisma crystal ships. The one that had caused the Lightstonn was just one of many. There were lots more of them hidden in the mountains. Only the Shields knew how to neutralize the weapons on board."

"The Shields protected the colonists?"

            "Sure. That's why we have the Pact. Don't you remember?" "I'm not too familiar with the story," Sariana admitted cautiously.

            "They brought The Serendipity safely through the Light-storm and they protected the First Generation colonists from the rebels and the crystal ships. If they hadn't done that, none of us would be here now."

            "I see. But, Keri, who are the Shields? Where did they come from?"

            Keri shrugged. "They were here when we got here." He accepted that astounding piece of information with a youngster's unquestioning faith in legends. "I think my father once said they had come to hunt the crystal ships and got trapped here along with the First Generation colonists. They couldn't get back off the planet any more than we could."

            Sariana was reeling with the ramifications of the tale. It couldn't be true, she told herself staunchly. Just another manifestation of the westerners' love of storytelling and drama.

            But it was getting increasingly difficult to dismiss the tale of the Shields. Her own life was being turned upside down by a walking legend.

Sariana rose at intermission. She felt a sudden need to escape.

            "Where are you going?" Keri asked. "Don't you want to see what happens when the Shields find out they can marry a few of the colonial women?"

"Not particularly. I need some fresh air."

            Keri got up. "I don't blame you. The first half is the best part. The next act is kind of mushy." He trailed after Sariana, chatting happily.

"Where are your parents, Keri?" Sariana asked as they emerged into the mist.

            "I don't have to meet them until lunchtime. How long are you going to be at the fair?" "I can't stay long." Sariana checked the elaborate little timepiece the Avylyns had given her on her

birthday. Gryph had said he would be returning to the windrigger in the early afternoon. It would probably be best if she were on board when he arrived, she decided wryly. The fewer explanations she was called upon to make to Gryph, the easier life would be. "I'm supposed to meet someone in an hour or so."

            "You can't leave without seeing the House of Reflections," Keri said anxiously. "Come on, I'll show you. It's the best thing at the fair. Even better than the play about the First Generation colonists."

            "How far away is it?" Sariana glanced around dubiously.

            "It's at the far end of the fairgrounds, but I know a shortcut." He caught hold of Sariana's hand. "Let's go. It's a lot of fun."

            Sariana smiled down at him, unable to resist his enthusiasm. Keri reminded her a bit of Luri, and she was surprised to realize she missed the youngest Avylyn. "All right. Let's go see this House of Reflections. Then I really must be going."

"It's great," Keri assured her as he pulled her into the crowds.

            Sariana was totally disoriented by the time the boy stopped in front of a garishly decorated structure. Unlike the other booths, this was not a tent. The outer walls appeared quite solid and they were covered with intricately beveled reflective surfaces. It was gaudy enough beneath an overcast sky. In the full glare of a noonday sun, Sariana decided, it would be impossible to look directly at the thing because of the intense reflections.

            "It's very large," she observed as she stood with her young escort and watched crowds of laughing people walk toward the entrance.

            "Once you're inside, it looks like it goes on forever because of the way the mirrors and the prisms work. Wait'll you see it. I've been in there four times already and I'm going in again. I know my way around inside now. Come on, Sariana. I want to show it to you."

            Sariana reluctantly bought two tickets and followed Keri through the mirrored doors. "I really should be getting back to the ship, Keri."

"We won't stay long," he promised.

            An instant later they stepped into total darkness. Delighted screams of mock fright echoed in the blackness. Keri let go of Sariana's hand. She groped for him, glancing around uneasily and seeing absolutely nothing. The room was perfectly sealed. No outside light penetrated anywhere.

            "Keri?"

"Over here, Sariana."

            She tried to edge toward the sound of his voice, but the total darkness was confusing. She called out again.

This time there was no response.

            "Keri? Where are you?"

            Not only was there no answer from Keri, there was no longer a sense of anyone else being present either. The laughter and screams of delight had faded. She didn't brush up against anyone when she turned around in the inky dark. Sariana edged backward, seeking the door through which she had entered.

            In that moment the room was suddenly, flooded with light. Far too much of it. Bright, blazing, multi-colored light bounced off a thousand beveled surfaces and ricocheted from an endless corridor of mirrors. Countless pieces of prismatic glass dangled from a ceiling that appeared to have no permanent structure.

            When she glanced up Sariana could see a million Sariana Daynes receding into the distance. When she looked down she had a wrenching attack of vertigo. She appeared to be suspended over a bottomless sea of reflective surfaces. Beneath her feet her own image was disrupted and reorganized in a kaleidoscopic array of color and light. She couldn't tell where the reflected images left off and her feet began. It was the most dizzying, disorienting sensation she had ever experienced. The really unnerving part was that there was no sign of Ken or anyone else. She was alone in a hall full of endless reflections.

Sariana didn't begin to get nervous until she realized she couldn t find the exit.

            Fear set in when she became aware that someone was stalking her through the maze of mirrore.

Chapter 12

            SARIANA heard the laughter first. Stifled, malicious giggles and wildly excited bursts that were nervously cut off. Then the flapping edge of a cape filled the room, only to vanish an instant later as if the owner had retreated to some safe spot.

            A low hiss from Sariana's cloak pocket announced the scarlet-toe's questioning concern. "Hush," Sariana said soothingly. "I just need to find the door, that's all."

            But she couldn't find the door. Every time she moved in a new direction the whole geography of the room shifted around her. It was like being in the center of a kaleidoscope. She tried closing her eyes and walking in a straight line, one hand extended in front of her, but that only led her into another dazzling room. This one was even worse than the last.

            She thought she found a flight of mirrored steps, each tread a shifting maze of refracted light, but when she tried to climb them, they flattened beneath her and turned into a mirrored slide.

            Sariana screamed as her feet went out from under her. She sat down hard on the slick surface and found herself sliding down an endless corridor. When she skidded to a halt she was in still another room.

            "Are you all right, Lucky?" Anxiously she checked the cloak pocket. Her fingers touched the little lizard and she was reassured by the feel of her small companion. The scarlet-toe was not happy, however. Sariana felt a distinct nip on the tip of her finger. Not hard enough to draw blood, but sufficient to register the protest.

"I'm sorry," Sariana whispered. "I'll try yelling for help."

            She sat in the middle of a room that was constantly shifting around her and screamed for assistance. The only response was another malicious giggle.

            Panic began to set in. On her hands and knees, figuring that was the best way to keep in touch with the only firm surface she could identify, Sariana began crawling in a straight line.

            She might as well have been crawling through another dimension. After a while she began to wonder if she was really moving or if that, too, was an illusion. The countless copies of Sariana Dayne reflected around her seemed to move when she did, but they obviously weren't getting anywhere.

            Sariana stopped, perplexed and thoroughly frightened. She took several deep breaths to control her fear and then tried to reason her way out of the dilemma. She badly needed to find some solid surface, if only for her peace of mind.

            Kneeling on the bottomless floor, Sariana took off one shoe and rapped the heel smartly against the reflective surface. She was rewarded by a tiny fissure. But the crack only seemed to cause another set of disorienting reflections. Sariana struck the flooring again. The faceted mirror surface was tough. It had to be to stand up to thousands of pairs of fairgoers' feet.

            Before she could try a third blow, the harsh giggles floated down the endless corridors again. Sariana froze and then scooted backward as a million booted feet suddenly appeared ahead of her. The boots were quickly withdrawn but Sariana knew they would return.

            Frantically she glanced around, seeking some means of defense. She reached for what she thought was a dangling mirror, hoping to break it and secure a sharp piece of glass. But the mirror was just another illusion, the reflection of some other mirror. She groped wildly, but it was impossible to find the original.

            The booted feet appeared again and so did the laughter. This dme there was a voice. It sounded to Sariana like the voice of a teenaged male, but she couldn't be certain.

            "She's in the next room, I tell you. She'll be terrified right out of her mind by now. Come on, let's close in."

            "Not so fast." The second voice also sounded young and masculine. "The guy said we were to make sure she was good and scared first, remember? She isn't even screaming yet. Not really. I want to hear

her scream."

            "All right," the first boy said. "But let's at least get closer. We can't even see her yet. I want to see her face."

            "Yeah," giggled a third voice, "let's get closer. Let's see how scared she gets." The lizard hissed softly as Sariana inched backward. "I know, Lucky," Sariana muttered softly, "I'm

not having an especially good time either. I hate to admit it, but I wish Gryph were here. He'd probably chew me up one side and down the other, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about those boys."

            The realization that she was starting to chatter nervously made Sariana abruptly close her mouth. She kept retreating down a mirrored hall that seemed to vanish into the distance behind her. The worst part was that she wasn't even certain she was moving away from the voices and the booted feet. Given the crazy layout of the House of Reflections she might very well be heading straight into the clutches of the young males who were stalking her.

            She scrambled on all fours around another turn in the neverending hallway and barely stifled a shriek as she confronted a giant image of herself.

            Sariana blinked, struggling to adjust to this new distortion. Sariana Dayne as a monster was an interesting sight. It was all a trick of mirrors and light, but the effect was uncanny. The huge Sariana seemed to be floating freely in the center of a small circular room. Sariana stared thoughtfully at the huge reflection of herself and wished very badly she really was that big and powerful. At the moment it would be quite useful.

            "Come on," said a voice, "let's try this hall. I think I got a glimpse of her cape." "Good thing we've been through this place a lot and know what to expect," one of the other teenagers

observed with a nervous chuckle. "It's kind of spooky, even now."

            "You shouldn't have offered to take this job if you were going to scare so easily," chided one of the others.

            "I'm not scared, I just said it would be kind of weird trying to trail someone through here if you hadn't been through it a lot of times before."

"I think Holt really is getting scared," observed the first voice.