David Baldacci - The Keeper

He stopped because the ekos had surrounded us. Then Luc, accompanied by the mother, approached and knelt down. Each took one of my hands and kissed it.

Then they did the same to a mightily embarrassed Delph.

The mother ekos dragged her young one over and grunted at him until he did the same. When I looked down into his tiny, unwrinkled face, I noted that his eyes were as red as the far older ekos. I smiled, showing each of my teeth. And then my smile deepened when the little creature put his arms around me and squeezed tightly.

Delph was so tall that the little ekos just gripped his legs when he next went to hug him.

Thorne, who, I observed, had been studying all of this quite closely, said kindly, “All right now, it’s all over. Everything is fine. The little... lad is safe.” He made some quick grunts and then pointed at me, and then at himself.

It seemed to me that a few of the ekos looked at us somewhat doubtfully after this. When I asked Thorne what he had said, he assured me that he had given us full credit for the rescue.

Delph whispered, “And if you believe that, I’ll sell you a bloody jabbit for a pet.”

“Enough flying for this light, Vega,” said Thorne. “I have no doubt I will get the hang of it soon enough. And then I will have no more need of your assistance, just your chain. Or, rather, my chain.” He snatched Destin away from me and then pushed and prodded us along until we descended once more into the darkness beneath the Quag.

We were led back to my chamber, and guards were posted outside. However, a few slivers later, the mother ekos came in carrying a large wooden tray. Luc was behind her. She put the tray down on a stone slab and smiled at us.

On the tray was a pitcher of water and what looked like milk. Some goblets, breads, some meat and a few hard-boiled eggs and a fat tomato, all sliced. And two loaves of bread that oozed warmth. And there was a bowl of nuts and some hunks of different cheeses, which filled the chamber with their deliciously pungent smell.

I smiled and tried to grunt in return, which made her laugh. She reached her grassy arms around me and gave me a hug. I hugged her back. Luc came over and embraced me too. Then the couple, tears in their reddened eyes, departed.

“Blimey,” said Delph as he sat down and started digging into the meal. “I think we made some friends this light.”

I knelt next to him and poured us out goblets of milk. It was cold and tasted fresh. We were so hungry that we didn’t speak — we just chewed, drank and swallowed. I had given Harry Two his share, which he was happily devouring on the stone floor. I finished my meal and sat there idly rubbing my canine’s ears.

Delph finally pushed away from the tray after finishing a long drink of milk, and looked at me. “So what be in your head, Vega Jane?”

I took a deep breath and then just let it out. “What be in my head is that we have to get out of here before old King Thorne runs out of use for us. But first we need to find out more of his plan to attack Wormwood. And I still want to know how he got down that cliff.”

“Why is that so important to you?” he asked.

“Because I don’t like unanswered questions. Thorne is evil. You saw how he was going to let that little ekos die.”

Delph nodded. “I guess royalty don’t care about ordinary blokes.”

“Well, Luc and the female cared.”

“Aye,” Delph said. “ ’Tis a bit comfortin’, though, ain’t it?”

I gave him a perplexed look. “What is?” I asked.

“Well, creatures what got grass growing on ’em and talk in grunts got feelings like us. Care ’bout each other. All I’m saying. Comfortin’.”

There was a lot going on in Delph’s head. And that, for me, was comforting.

I eyed the doorway, where I could now see Luc taking a peek at us. An idea struck me.

“I think this night would be a great opportunity for us to do a little exploring.”

“Exploring!” exclaimed Delph. “And how do you ’spect us to do that?”

“Like you said, we made some friends here.”

The mother ekos and Luc entered our chamber later to retrieve the meal tray.

I said, “I know you can’t understand me, but thank you.”

“It is we who need to thank you, Vega,” said Luc as the female ekos nodded.

“You can speak Wugish?” I asked Luc in astonishment.

“King Thorne taught me as a way to prevent him from losing the speech himself. And I taught my daughter here, Cere.”

Cere added, “We do not speak Wug to the others. King Thorne forbids it.”

“And it was your son that was nearly killed by the freks?” I asked.

She nodded, and tears clustered in her eyes. “But for you and Delph, Vega, little Kori would be no more.” She placed a grassy hand gently against my cheek. “Despite what King Thorne said, we knew that to be true.”

Delph said, “So what load-a rubbish did the mighty ‘king’ say then, eh?”

Luc answered, “That it was his idea to save Kori.”

“He tried to stop me from saving him. He’s an evil Wug.”

“Yet we all fear him too much to ever oust him,” said Luc.

Delph scoffed. “There’re lots of you blokes. And only one-a him.”

“But he is the king,” said Cere in a trembling voice. “And he sleeps behind a door made of iron. And he has recruited spies among us who report to him. Any signs of rebellion are quashed.”

“Surely the ekos would rally around you, Luc,” I said.

He lowered his head. “No, Vega. That would not happen.”

“Why not?”

He would not look at me as he said the words. “Thorne works us hard, no doubt. But he has taught us skills and he keeps us safe.”

“You could do all that without him,” I pointed out.

“Yet many ekos worship him,” added Cere. “I don’t know why, really, because he is a cruel one, but they would follow him anywhere.”

I looked at Delph and then back at Luc. “That seems very odd,” I said. “I mean, he’s not exactly lovable, is he?”

“Well, it is mostly because he has broken our will, our spirit,” Luc explained. “Such a thing is greater than any weapon.”

I thought about this but could think of no ready reply. I decided to change the subject. I said, “We must escape from here. But before we go, I would like to find answers to questions I have. Will you help us?”

Luc looked at Cere, who stared up anxiously at him. Finally, he nodded. “You saved little Kori, so we will come back this night. And then you will have your answers, Vega.”

Late that night, we could hear footsteps approaching. And a sliver later, along the outer stone passageway, we could both see the shadows created by a light coming our way. Then Luc appeared in the opening to our chamber holding a flickering candle in one hand. Cere was behind him, looking pale and frightened.

He said softly, “Tread lightly. There are eyes in the least likely places.”

The guards that had been stationed outside our chamber were no longer there. I figured that was Luc’s doing. The three of us followed him back down the passageway. I had told Harry Two not to bark or otherwise make undue noise. I could have sworn he nodded his head at me as I finished speaking.

We flitted down the cold passage. I did have one comforting thought. I had on my cloak. And in my cloak were my glove and the Elemental.

We reached a spot where three corridors intersected and Luc led us down the one on the far left. We reached a wooden door, which Luc unlocked with a fat bronze key that he unclipped from a blackened iron ring on his wide leather belt. He pushed the door open and ushered us in before closing the portal behind us. The chamber was dark, but it brightened considerably when Luc used his candle to light the torches suspended on the wall.