The Acolytes of Crane (Theodore Crane, #1)(85)

We all nodded our heads. I felt like I was being scolded at school and bowed my head downward, because a part of me was ashamed.

‘Where will we stay?’ Liam asked.

‘See my palace over there?’ he asked. What a sight! His majestic, colossal palace sat upon a hill, casting considerable shade over the city—a long and deep shadow that could be perceived either as fearful presence, or as the natural consequence of an inspiring spectacle. We did not know yet. Although at first glance the castle seemed far away, we knew from our frame of reference that it would be nothing short of massive once we arrived there. ‘My guards will escort you through the town to the castle.’


‘Is this city named Karshiz?’ Lincoln asked.

‘This is one of a thousand towns on the planet Karshiz. They are all represented by symbols. This town's symbol is a sand surfer, because this is where the annual sand surfing competition is held.’

‘So this planet is named Karshiz? You are the king of the entire planet?’ I asked.

‘Last time I checked.’

Liam looked surprised, and asked, ‘Where is your security detail? Our president back home always has a secret service entourage.’

‘An attempt on the king would be futile. I have a rolesk, one that is truly unbridled and dangerous. I could see an assassination plot on me from a mile away. Now, please dismount the ship and follow my guards through the town. Do not stop in the bazaar and be careful. There are many Rangier swindlers and thieves.’ The king walked out of the ship and into the sun. ‘Before you arrive at the main corridor of the castle, my guard detail will bring you to the armory and then, the training simulator. Once there, we will determine your official skill sets. We have a mission that we must finish quickly.’

Above his head, the crown that hovered over it glowed and radiated an indigo blue light. He summoned a whirl of Dietons. They piled upon each other systematically until a portable flying unit was constructed, and it enclosed the king. The Sepheran contraption sucked him up and lifted him out of my sight.

‘I don't trust him,’ Liam whispered.

I placed my hand on his forearm and said, ‘Take it easy, big guy. Give him a chance. Besides, if he has a rolesk, he will be watching us closely.’

‘If you are done whispering amongst each other, we will escort you to the armory,’ the guard suggested.

“The planet Karshiz was inhabited with many different species. The majority of the population consisted of hairy Karshiz natives like King Trazuline, a handful of Rangiers, and Humans. As I am sure you already know, Karshiz harbors a human trafficking ring.” I pause, looking at the warden. I wonder if he has been satisfied, or if he has been looking at me that way because he wants to fantasize about me.

“Yes. The Multiverse Council is aware of this trafficking. It is part of the culture. The traffickers are treated as equals, and they are not punished under any laws,” the warden says.

I hold my head up in disgust, recalling America’s abolition of slavery not too long ago. I wish to challenge the guard. “Is the Sepheran slave ring widely accepted among the ‘culture’ as well?” I ask.

The warden refuses to take my bait, shrugging instead. “The council tends to focus its interest only on what they can control. That doesn't include your radical ideals. Anyway, we are getting off topic. Please continue about the king. And tell me more about the Rangiers.”

“Rangiers are an interesting bunch. They have a few intriguing skills, like conjuring imaginative projections, for one. Rangiers altered the way in which they and their environment were perceived. This was very useful to them in battle. They were able to fool the enemy into seeing things that weren’t there.

“Anyway, while we were still aboard the Uriel, Nezatron told us some Rangiers were not to be trusted, and to stay clear of any bazaars in the town. Trazuline did not seem to worry about it. His detail was leading us right through it.”

The warden is smiling, and he asks, “Did the boys, as you call them, ever know they were going to be an ambush by these lowly scum Rangiers?”

“No. Not at all. They were always trying to either garner a kiss from me, or find some fresh excitement.”

“So what did you think of Karshiz?” the warden asks.

“I would have liked to leave, because of the smell alone.”

The warden laughs and says, “I have been there a few times, and I know exactly what you are referring to. The putrid environment gives me sinus troubles. Please carry on about the Rangiers.”

“It was easy to identify a Rangier. They wore bands around their heads that looked similar to rolesks. They used it for their imagery projections. Rangiers were perceived as thick-necked people. They wore clothing with a hood attached to cover up that characteristic, as well as to hide their projection bands. Lincoln told me they had extremely large occipital lobes inside their brains. That is why their heads were so big.”

“How could you tell that they were deceiving you?” the warden asks.

“A smell that didn’t quite mesh, or an odd glance out of the corners of their eyes. Things like that.” I shrugged. “There were always these little discrepancies.”

The warden gazes straight at me, nodding. “We’re getting off track again. Tell me about your trip through the bazaar.”

“Yes. We were on the way to King Trazuline’s palace under heavy guard in a land hovercraft. As we sped through the desert, there were dust devils rising up from the sand—nasty things, really. They’re what you call mini dirt cyclones. When large birds flew overhead, they had to fly very high, because otherwise they’d get sucked in to a certain death.”