On the return trip, Lady Diantha served them dinner, with only a sly smile. "You were wonderful," King Ajax said. "Still, what we have done has been for one night and a day. In the eyes of my people and the Folk of the Realms, it changes nothing. I will acknowledge you as my Lady, but you cannot be my Queen until we are married by the ways of the Folk of the Realms."
"Whatever," Mel said. "Just don't give me the selfless act. What you did to me wasn't out of the kindness of your heart."
When they arrived, the Palace was already busy. Persephone, whom they had left in charge, was preparing a celebratory dinner for the following evening. Nopalina had leave, by general report for a honeymoon with Kiv. When Mel asked after the senior Maiden, Ajax said, "I have told her she is free to leave, now that she has a man. She says she intends to finish her year. I believe she enjoys your company."
"Yes, we do get along," Mel said. "I've told her, I want her to be at the wedding."
Many passing staff smiled as Ajax led her to his Royal Chamber. He showed her the Eightfold Orb. Then he whispered of the message from Empress Pruna. As he set the Orb on the table before her, he saw Meliboia's skeptical gaze. Only then did he add, "I know what the Orb looks like. I had one myself on Earth. My brother broke it to see how it worked, and then he cried when he saw that it was only a toy. But this is a powerful and ancient Relic of great renown in this world. There are many things like it in this. Perhaps this world is a reflection of Earth. Perhaps Earth is a reflection of it."
He centered the Orb and spoke. "I, King Ajax, summon the wisdom of the Eightfold Orb," he said. He looked up at Mel. "I am sorry, I must ask a calibrating question… Eightfold Orb, is Lady Meliboia part of a plot against me?" The answer was immediate: Proposition negative.
He smiled to Mel and settled in. "Orb, was Bombadger part of the plot Empress Pruna warned me of?" Again, the answer came without delay: Proposition affirmative. "Is the conspiracy still active?" The answer took only a moment longer: Proposition highly likely. "Will the assassins they may send kill Lady Meliboia if they can?" It clouded a moment before repeating, Proposition highly likely.
"All right," Mel said. "There's something to it. What do you want to do about it?"
"We must prepare," Ajax said, "My Queen, I would like to introduce you to my Royal Storehouse."
"I don't know if that's code for something," Mel said, "but I'm in either way."
Manny brought the Key and escorted them to the entrance to the Storehouse. "This is Golem, an automaton the artisans of the Aquamarine Isles built," Ajax said when they came to his duplicate. "It can fight formidably if called upon." He held up his ring. "Golem, this is Lady Meliboia. Obey her and treat her as you would me."
He gave the same introduction to the other Guardians among the trophies, Relics and Artifacts. The Guardian Orb still deployed when they approached the alcove under its watch. "These are the most powerful of the Relics," he said. He took out a throwing sickle, a multi-pointed weapon with its largest blade styled into the crested head of a bird. "These are the weapons and armor of a Lindorm Royal Guardsman. They are called Drinking Birds. They are forged with great craft and powerful magic. The Guards are the greatest threat we might face from this world, both in skill and armament. They are the proudest and most elite of the warrior caste. When Naam declared the Peace, some went into exile rather than stand down. Others fell into poverty and disrepute, and became mercenaries and assassins. If we should meet them, do not under any circumstances underestimate them."
He pointed to the cabinet, starting with the bottom shelf. "These are items of dark magic, dangerous and somewhat unpredictable," he said. "The Box of Boom stuns every creature except the one who throws it within a radius of 40 Royal Cubits. The Death Cap renders anyone it touches powerless and nearly immobile for up to an hour. It can also neutralize the power of any magical items the afflicted carries."
He pointed to the middle shelf, with the Star Gem and the luminous Phial. "These are Relics of more stable defensive magic," he said. "The Star generates a field of invincibility for 30 seconds. The Phial contains the energized ingredients of a Door Spell: Smash it against a wall, and it will create a doorway to the other side."
Mel was already eying the ovoid Relic on the top shelf. "I suppose that's the Wishing Mirror that made Xaja," she said. "What really happened to it?"
"Its full name is the Wishing Mirror of Irem," Ajax said. "It never worked the same, after Lady Cerasa made her wish. There was more than she told, of course. Her real wish was to see me in love with her, even more than she loved me. After we retook the Palace, we secured the Mirror and tried to restore it or neutralize its magic. Its power was far too great to risk destroying it outright. We also had to consider the effects on the World or Worlds within the Mirror. In any case, every time the Mages tried to use it, it only showed the world Xaja came from. Once, someone or something else tried to come through. I decreed that it was too dangerous. The Head Mage placed a Blocking Spell over the Mirror, then the Guards covered it, wrapped it up and locked it up in here. It is best to leave it alone."
He directed her attention in another direction. She took a sharp breath. "You can consider this a new addition," he said. "I had it moved from your ship. If you will recall, you had asked for it to be stored here. You will need to inspect it to see if the power station is correctly installed and connected."
It was a Lorica, ivory white with brilliant gold trim. At face value, it was considerably lighter than the one she wore the inner layers of, with scales and mesh in place of many of the solid plates, but it bore many subtle additions. The compact helmet seemed polished to mirror brightness. The left arm bore an equally bright buckler shield with retractable blades on three sides. On the right forearm was a grenade launcher with separate feeds for two kinds of ammunition. Over each shoulder was an integral weapons pod, equivalent to a carbine and a rifle. "By Janus," she said, "you put everything together wrong." She kissed him. "I love it."
She went back to the alcove. "Give me the Key," she said. Ajax complied, if only because it did not cross his mind to refuse. The Guardian Orb showed its teeth. He heard the Mask rattle and the Stone Lindorm stir, but they quieted when Mel raised a hand to the Orb. The King moved to help her as she unlocked the cabinet. He withdrew as the Orb struck at him with a snap.
"If you wish to use it, let me summon the mages," Ajax said.
"No," Mel said. "They couldn't fix it before because they were too close to the problem." She unwrapped the Mirror, revealing a dull gray surface. She reoriented it and hung it from a fixture on the wall. She tapped it, and the gray became a shifting, silvery surface.
The Mirror came into focus. A figure appeared, scowling and clad in black. "It is Lady Cerasa," the King said. "We are seeing her as she is in Xaja's World. He told me once, he made her Empress of the lands he had conquered before he left. She must still be looking for him…"
Mel had already placed her hand on the Mirror. First, she pressed her palm to the glass. Then she spread her fingers. Finally, she steepled her fingers so only the tips touched the surface. "Go away," she said firmly. She twisted and swiped. The image streaked like an undried painting, then flowed away. For a moment, it seemed that there was a lingering silhouette of another figure, bright instead of dark, as if etched in the surface. Mel frowned and peered at it intently. But whatever was there had faded, leaving only clear, bright glass.
"You have worked with magic before," Ajax said.
"Now and then," she said with a shrug. "I've been on worlds with paranatural forces in effect. What you figure out if you've seen enough of them is that most of it is either window dressing or ways for the people using it to stay organized. What matters is personality. If you stand up to magic, it will usually do what you want."
She considered the plaque. It was written in Greek. "Now, this is where the trouble must have started," she said. "You told me it said, `Speak your wish, beloved…' But somebody got the Greek all wrong. What it says is, `Say the wish of your beloved.' This was used for weddings, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Ajax said. "The records show that it was a gift of the Sultan of the Red Desert at the wedding of Narcissus the First. Some say it was a custom for members of the Royal Family to wish before the Mirror, either during a marriage ceremony or immediately before it."
Mel turned back to Ajax, who still looked merely puzzled. "Don't you see?" she said. "It was never about the wishes. It was a test, for two people. The couple had to trust that they knew each other well enough to speak each other's wishes. And whoever wished first, my guess is that was the guy, had to prove that he could put someone else first, whether or not he got his own wish in return. Cerasa didn't just go it alone, she wished for you to be in love her, when she knew it wasn't what you wanted. That corrupted the magic from the start."
"But I was the one who suffered because of her wish," Ajax said with sudden and rising anger. "She has always been happy with Xaja, even when he was doing evil. She got what she really wanted, which was a man that only she could control." He shuddered as his anger met remembered fear. "I am the only one who knows how much power she has over him. He will do anything she says if she gets him wound up enough. There were things she had him do to me, things she made him do to her in front of me…"
"Yeah," Mel said. "The Myrmidons have a saying: `It's only horrible if you think about it.'" She put an arm around him. "What do you say, Your Majesty? Want me to guess your wish?"
"No," he said. "I am not ready. But I will try to give you yours." He centered himself before the Mirror. "Wishing Mirror, I wish to see, what would have been if Lady Meliboia's colony had not been destroyed."
The Mirror shimmered even as he spoke. The glass showed a woman older than Meliboia, but the features were unmistakably her own. It was just as unmistakable that the girl who entered was her daughter, even apart from the shared pearl and platinum hair. Ajax belatedly turned to Mel. She stood with her fist clenched to her chest. He looked back to the Mirror, prepared to stop the vision, until she raised a hand. "Be sure to pack well for the trip," the mother said in Mel's own voice. There was no sound from the Mirror, but they both heard it.
Mel scratched her head as if it itched, which was indeed how it felt, if one thought of the itch as inside one's skull. "The Mirror is like that," the King said. "Sometimes there is sound, even smells, sometimes only the images. The nature of the visions also changes. You might see the passage of time, like flipping through a photo album, or you might see only one moment."
The vision was already advancing, as if sped up. The mother and daughter climbed into a car, carrying bags that seemed larger than they would need. They made a drive to a space port, where they joined a crowd on a boarding platform. The people seemed impatient as they pressed against a barricade. Then someone pointed behind them, and the cry rose up, "They come!"
The crowd surged, slamming against a barricade, but the mother and daughter managed to hold their place as the mob flowed around them, holding each other tightly. The view shifted to their backs. Before them, the sky was darkened by winged shapes, and beyond, an orb studded in spires or spines that partly eclipsed the sun. As one of the creatures swooped low, a fan of mouthparts opened in its jawless face.
"The Ostrakoi," Mel said. Her face relaxed. "Thank you. It might not have been my first choice, but I needed to see it. Let me return your favor."
"No," Ajax said. "It is enough. I will give you your chance, when it is time. I know what you would choose. As I said, I am not ready." He murmured an incantation to restore the Blocking Spell, then he returned it to its place, covered only by a thin dust cloth. "Now, what would you wish of me?"
"You said you would treat me as your wife, for a night and a day," Mel said. "Can you not make the day one more night?"
"Yes," Ajax said. "For one night, I can accept."
As they closed the trap behind them, the Stone Lindorm's eyes lit up, then dimmed again.
And behind the cabinet glass, the form of a woman, frowning and troubled, shown through the cloth over the mirror.