The Eye of the Llama

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 17:

Despite being exhausted Cindy found it difficult to sleep. In addition to the higher gravity and lower oxygen of Felangie her concern about Jimmy worked to keep her awake. When at last she did fall asleep she immediately had a nightmare that she, Jimmy, and the rest of the Retroville kids were back in King Goobot's dungeon, waiting for their parents to be sacrificed to Poultra. Again they escaped and raced to the stadium to stop the sacrifice, but this time something went terribly wrong. King Goobot swooped down, seized Jimmy, and carried him high aloft above the monstrous chicken.

"Oh, Poultra!" the Yolkian sang out, as Jimmy struggled to break free, "Appetizer for din-din!" As Cindy watched in horror he cast the boy into Poultra's gaping maw, and Cindy heard Jimmy's faint screams suddenly silenced as the bird's massive beak snapped shut on the tiny form. Then, as Cindy backed away in terrified silence, Poultra's hideous head turned to regard her. Quicker than Cindy would have believed possible the head suddenly shot toward her, the mouth gaping wide to engulf her.

She awoke with a start, her heart hammering in her chest and her breath coming in short gasps. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a shaky hand, trying to calm down. It was a dream, she told herself. Just a dream. Or was it? The best she had been able to do was leave a message. Maybe the message had been delayed. Maybe it had been ignored. For all she knew Jimmy was on Yolkus, once again a prisoner in the dungeons and subject to King Goobot's malevolent whims. He might…he might even already be…

Cindy curled up and savagely thrust the thought from her mind. He's all right, she told herself fiercely, closing her eyes tightly against the hot tears that were beginning to form. He's got to be. She repeated this to herself over and over like a mystic mantra, building a wall against the doubts and fears that threatened to overwhelm her. Eventually the chant lulled her back to sleep and she again found herself with Jimmy. Relief washed over her at the sight of him.

"I thought you were gone," she said, and she smiled in her sleep.

Jimmy smiled back. "Not yet."

That answer bothered her. "Are you leaving?"

"Sometimes I'll have to. But no matter how far apart we are, there's something you should know and always remember." He leaned towards her, holding her eyes with his.

"What's that?" Cindy's mouth felt suddenly dry. Her heart was again beating faster, but in a pleasurable way.

"That the shortest distance between two people is through the heart," he answered softly, his lips drawing closer to hers. "And if our hearts are one, we can never really be apart, Cindy."

Cindy closed her eyes and said nothing, waiting.

"Cindy."

Go ahead, she thought, with growing anticipation and impatience.

"Cindy!"

"What?" she snapped back, her eyes opening. To her surprise she found herself in bed in her room. Daylight was streaming through the window and Libby was standing by the door, looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and impatience on her face.

"Are you going to sleep all day, girl?" Libby asked. "It's nearly lunch time. You already missed breakfast."

Cindy sighed and shelved the memory of the dream for another day. "No, I'm not going to sleep all day," she said in a slightly grumpy voice as she rose and reached for the dressing gown by her bed. "But would it have killed you to let me sleep another five minutes?"

After a quick shower Cindy dressed and followed Libby downstairs to the dining room. She had only taken a few steps when she stopped and looked at her feet curiously. Libby stopped and stared at her. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. It seems easier to walk now, but feels kind of funny."

Libby laughed. "Oh, that. While you were sleeping Sheen put some of that elastic stuff Jimmy made on the bottoms of our shoes. Makes walking a lot easier, doesn't it?"

"I guess so," mumbled Cindy, moving forward again. While walking was undeniably easier it took a while to get used to the spring and Cindy needed to concentrate on her walking until she felt more comfortable with the rebounding sensation. The mention of Jimmy also stirred some unhappy thoughts and she didn't speak again until she and Libby arrived at the dining room.

The princess was not there, and neither were Sheen or Carl. The butlers waiting on them explained that Masters Carl and Sheen were engaged in their training, that Her Highness was observing them, and that they would be taking their lunch in the training facility with the Royal Guards. After some discussion they decided to watch Carl's training as well once they had finished eating. Cindy had some training in martial arts and it was possible that she could offer some practical advice for the fight tomorrow. By now they were fairly familiar with the building and found their way down to the training area without difficulty.

When they arrived they found Carl in what appeared to be a hexagonal boxing ring, squaring off against a Felangian they assumed to be one of the Royal Guard. Cindy thought that it might be the captain who had accompanied Princess Leama to the spaceport the day before, but she couldn't be sure as Felangians were still alien enough to look very much alike to her. Surrounding the ring were Sheen, Princess Leama, and a number of other Felangians. The Felangian inside the ring seemed to be instructing Carl.

"The match is a competition match only," he was saying, "so that the serrated ridges on the forearms and shins will be padded as mine are. You needn't worry about blocking the usual slash and cut attacks." He demonstrated the attacks in slow motion with his padded limbs and all the humans felt relieved. The attacks all looked to be very formidable and some positively lethal, at least to humans. "You will, however, need to be able to block, counter, parry, or evade thrusting attacks such as punches, jabs, and similar blows." He again demonstrated several of the attacks in slow motion.

"Are you getting all this, Carl?" Sheen called.

"Yeah, I think so." Carl studied the moves the Felangian was demonstrating very carefully.

"You think you can handle it?"

Carl scoffed. "Are you kidding? These are so slow even my mom could block them."

Sheen hung his head with an audible sigh. "Carl, he's just demonstrating them for you. That Carfax guy -"

"Vermax," corrected Princess Leama.

"Yeah, him. He's going to be swinging a lot harder and faster at you than this guy is."

Carl thought about that. "Oh. Well, maybe we'd better go through some of them again, then," he replied in a subdued tone.

The Royal Guard was well-trained, for the Felangian was nothing if not patient. He repeated the attacks and continued to provide helpful advice and instruction. "You undoubtedly have noted that the Felangian shoulder joint is not constructed as yours is," he went on. "In making a thrusting attack, your opponent will need to rotate his torso thusly." He repeated the same jab several times, showing how his upper body had to rock back and forth. "This will leave his side unguarded. If you can sidestep the attack, a strong blow here," he pointed to a spot in his side between two flexible plates, "can stun him and leave him off balance." The guard straightened. "Do you wish to try?"

"Okay," said Carl. "Let's do it slow the first time."

The Felangian obliged, thrusting slowly at Carl and leaving his side unprotected. Carl swung slowly, trying to hit the indicated area that was about a foot above his head. His first attack went wide and glanced off one of the guard's plates. The guard straightened. "A good first try. Try again."

The repeated the maneuver. This time Carl's punch was closer, and the guard nodded. "Better. Once more."

The third time proved a charm. Carl's blow struck the area and the guard staggered, nearly going down on one knee. "Excellent," he said when he straightened again. "As you can see, power is not necessary to take advantage of that vulnerability."

"I wonder why that is," Libby murmured.

Cindy shrugged. "I guess their exoskeletons are their main defense so there's no real protection if you get past it. Or maybe there's a nerve cluster there and it's like us hitting our funny bone."

"One danger of this counterattack," the Felangian said, "is that if you miss with your blow you are open for a counter-counterattack, either as a jab with the elbow, a reverse sweep with the forearm, or a spin kick with the leg." He demonstrated each of these possibilities. "Consequently, following your counterattack, you must be ready to roll out of the way or duck. Fortunately for you your stature will give you an advantage in that regard. The most dangerous to you will be the spin kick. As your opponent might kick with either leg in either direction be sure to roll backwards away from him rather than to either side. Do you understand?"

"I think so," answered Carl slowly. "Punch the side between those two scaly things, roll –"

"Do you understand?" the Felangian shouted. Princess Leama stiffened.

Carl cringed. "Yes," he managed to squeak out.

The guard relaxed. "Excellent." In a more kindly tone he said, "Forgive me, but I forget that these are matters that are new to you. The correct answer is always 'yes' if you understand or 'no' if you do not. If you understand we will continue on to new topics. If you do not we will go over what you do not understand until you feel comfortable with it and do understand. Do you understand?"

"Well," Carl began, but seeing the hardening expression on the Felangian's face quickly said, "Yes. I understand."

The instructor smiled and there was some soft laughter from some of the observers. "Excellent."

Because of her own self-defense training Cindy had been absorbed in Carl's instruction, but Libby had been only partly paying attention. Consequently she saw something that Cindy missed. She excitedly tugged on Cindy's sleeve. "Cindy!" she whispered hoarsely. "I think I saw him!"

"What?" Cindy tried to shift gears from Carl's training to whatever Libby was talking about.

"I saw him! That robot! The one that Carl and Sheen said talked with Jimmy right before Jimmy disappeared. He just went past the door!"

"Robot?" Cindy's thought about it. "How do you know it was him?"

"It matched the description that Carl and Sheen and some of the palace staff gave me. Maybe it isn't him, but it might be."

Now that they were fairly sure what had happened to Jimmy Cindy wasn't sure if it was important anymore to speak with it. On the other hand, she decided, they might be able to get some useful information regarding Khormak out of it. "Right. Let's do it. Which way did he go?"

Following Libby's lead they headed down the corridor and after hurrying around a corner caught sight of a metallic shape not far ahead. With a burst of speed, aided by their newly coated shoes, they closed the distance. When they were within a dozen yards of the robot it stopped and turned. "Good day."

"We'll be the judge of that," Cindy shot back. "We have some questions to ask you."

"I'll be happy to answer, if I can," the robot answered politely.

"First off," said Libby, "are you the robot who was supposed to help train Carl for the fight tomorrow?"

"Indeed I am, Miss. My designation is Exjay Nine. Are you acquainted with Master Wheezer?"

"Yes, we are," answered Libby. "My name is Libby Folfax and this is Cindy Vortex. We're friends of Carl's." She felt somewhat odd introducing herself and Libby to a machine but with this polite automaton is seemed rude not to.

"Very pleased to meet you," Exjay Nine answered. "Did my sensors correctly record that your name is Cindy Vortex?"

"Well…yes," Cindy replied uncertainly. "Does that matter?"

"Indeed, yes, Miss," the robot replied. It extended an arm, a folded paper in its mechanical hand. "This arrived for you not long ago. I was on my way to your quarters to deliver it."

"For me? What is it?" asked Cindy as she took the paper.

"A stellagram, Miss."

"From whom?"

"I'm sure I don't know, Miss. It is not within my programming to scan other people's communications."

Cindy regarded the robot narrowly. Exjay Nine might have been telling the truth but it was impossible for her to be sure, as the mechanical expression never changed. At last Cindy sighed. "All right, thanks. You can go."

"Thank you, Miss. If you require my services, simply summon me. Any member of the staff will be able to reach me." Exjay Nine turned and moved off with a faint electromechanical hum.

Cindy watched the robot disappear around a corner before turning to Libby. "What do you think, Libs?" she finally asked.

"I think you should read that stellagram."

"What? Oh, yes." She carefully inspected the paper and determined that the seals had not been previously broken or opened and resealed before she tore it open along a pre-stressed strip. The message was short, but spoke volumes to her. She smiled without realizing it but said nothing.

"Well?" asked Libby impatiently. "What is it?"

"Good news," said Cindy but she did not elaborate. She read the paper once more before carefully folding it and placing it in her pocket. The short message said only

PACKAGE OK STOP. APRIL.

End of Part 17