“Not just yet,” Loor said. “Tonight is the Festival of Azhra, remember? You have been personally invited to attend by Pelle a Zinj. I believe we should go.”
“What?” I shouted. “We finally have a hint that might lead us to Saint Dane and you want to go to a party? Bokka died to give us this information. We have to go!”
“I agree,” Loor said. “But I believe the one person who will determine whether or not the Batu go to war with the Rokador is Pelle a Zinj. The royal family always makes a ceremonial presentation and a speech to the city at the festival. I believe it would be wise for us to hear what he has to say.”
I couldn’t argue with that. If Pelle a Zinj was going to make a big speech to the whole city, he wasn’t going to be talking about sports. Loor was right. This speech might tell us if war was near.
“Okay,” I said, reluctantly. “I guess whatever is down there can wait a day.”
Loor said, “Saangi, I know you are disappointed, but Alder is a Traveler, and a friend. We need him, and he needs you. You must stay with him until he is well enough to move.”
“I understand,” Saangi said. “Forgive me for arguing.”
Loor smiled and said, “I would have been surprised if you did not.”
I was happy that Loor had ordered Saangi to stay, and not just because Alder needed her help. I wouldn’t say anything, but after being fooled so many times on the other territories, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure that Saangi wasn’t actually Saint Dane in disguise. I didn’t think she was, but there were a lot of other people I never suspected either. I wasn’t to the point where I was paranoid about everybody. That would have made me nuts. But I’m to the point where if somebody gets too close, I get suspicious. For those reasons, it was better that Loor and I traveled to Kidik alone.
She and I left the hospital, doing our best to keep clear of people. At least I didn’t have to hide under the heavy, dark robe anymore. Between my darkened skin and my Ghee warrior clothes, I fit right in. Sort of. I still wore a small hood over my head. Tan or no, I didn’t have the features of a Batu.
The sun was beginning to rise over Xhaxhu. Loor and I went back to her home in the Ghee warrior complex and made the really smart decision to get some sleep. The festival wouldn’t begin until sunset and there was no telling when we’d get another chance to rest. Now that our path was set, and Alder was healing, I was actually able to conk out and get some much-needed sleep. I lay down on a grass mat in front of Loor’s fireplace and drifted off instantly. No thinking. No dreaming. No foosball. I don’t thinkImoved for hours. The rest of the day I was comatose, enjoying a deep, healing sleep that was long in coming.
The next thing I knew, Loor was kneeling by me, gently nudging me awake.
“It is time to prepare,” she said.
“Prepare what?” I asked. “Are we supposed to bring dip or something to this party?”
“First we must eat,” she said. On the floor next to me was a tray of fruit and bread and a cup of precious water. “After we eat, you will wear this.” She held up a white Rokador jacket and pants. It was pretty much like the other Rokador clothes I had worn, but the collar and sleeves had some kind of gold-braid design around them.
“Rokador dress-up clothes?” I asked.
“They wear this on special occasions,” Loor confirmed.
“What about my Ghee armor?” I asked.
“Nobody wears armor to this festival,” Loor said. “And you must act as a Rokador. Remember, Pelle a Zinj believes you are one, and you are his guest.”
“Right,” I said, sitting up. “I hope he doesn’t ask where I got the tan.”
“He may not even know you are there,” Loor said. “This is just a precaution. Now I must prepare.”
Loor left me and went into the other room of her home. I figured she had already eaten, so I ate my fill of the delicious fruit and bread, washing it all down with the water. Once I was full, I got up and reluctantly took off my Ghee armor clothes. I hoped I could figure out how to put it all back on again. Ithen slipped on the soft white pants and jacket of the Rokador. This material felt finer than what I had been wearing before. These were definitely “dress-up” clothes. I also put on another pair of the open sandals. I hated those. Have I mentioned that?
I stood up straight, stretched out the kinks, and called out, “Are you ready?”
“I am,” Loor said.
I turned to see Loor standing in the doorway to the next room. I gasped. Yes, I actually gasped, I’m embarrassed to say. I couldn’t help it. The surprise was too much. Loor stood there looking absolutely gorgeous. In the past I had seen her wear the leather clothes of the Milago peasants, the jumpsuit of a Lifelight jumper, the leather armor of a Ghee warrior, and even the jeans and T-shirt of Second Earth. But nothing I had seen before had prepared me for this.
She looked like a princess.
Gone was the black armor. Loor wore a short, deep red tunic that hugged her incredible, athletic body. Unlike the armor, this dress was soft and very feminine. There were ornate tapestrylike designs around the neck and the bottom of the short skirt. She wore lightweight sandals, with leather straps crisscrossing up to her knees. The sleeves were short, and on each bicep she wore a colorful, beaded strap. Around her neck was a necklace of blue crystal stones that reminded me of the glaze from Denduron. As breathtaking as the whole outfit was, what really stood out for me was her hair. Loor always had her hair tied back practically, so it wouldn’t get in the way. Now her long dark hair was totally loose and combed out. Her hair was so black and shiny, it sparkled with light from the fireplace. Around her forehead she wore a simple headpiece that looked as if it were made from pearls. There was an ornate piece in the center, with two drapes of pearls coming down across either side of her forehead.
In a word, she was stunning.
I said, “Uhh.” That’s it. “Uhh.” Smooth, huh?
“How do I look?” Loor asked.
“Beautiful,” I said. Though “beautiful” was a totally inadequate word. Given time I could think of a few thousand others that would work much better.
“I do not often dress like this,” she said, walking into the room. “But there are times when conflict must be put aside. The Festival of Azhra is one of them.”
When she walked, I expected her to move like a guy dressed up like a girl. She didn’t. Loor had a way of moving that was solid, but at the same time, graceful. It’s like she sort of…flowed.
“You are staring at me, Pendragon,” she said. “Is something wrong?”
“Wrong?” I laughed. “Things are about as right as they can get. You look great.”
She gave me a small smile. “As do you,” she said. She was being polite. I looked like me with a tan and a goofy bathrobe. With sandals.
“We should go,” she said. “We do not want to miss anything.”
The Festival of Azhra was pretty much like big celebrations back on Second Earth. Loor explained that a parade would wind its way through the streets of Xhaxhu, ending at the palace of Zinj. Once the parade ended, all the citizens of Xhaxhu would gather in the square in front of the palace for the traditional greeting and speech given by a member of the royal family. It was all followed by families returning to their homes and big feasts that lasted through the rest of the night. It sounded like fun. I wondered what kind of vibe there would be, seeing as the city was gripped by a drought and on the verge of war. I didn’t imagine there would be much feasting, either.
I was thrilled to discover that at least for a night, the people of Xhaxhu forgot about their troubles. Loor and I walked through the streets as people flooded out of their homes, headed for the parade route. Everyone was dressed in their colorful best and ready to party. Even seeing a Rokador, me, didn’t seem to bother them. This was a night of celebration. They’d have plenty of time for hatred tomorrow.
Loor and I arrived at the parade route in the village square where she had fought the zhou beast. Spectators packed the upper levels of the pyramids to get a look down at the show. The parade was made up of groups of dancers wearing rainbow colors doing traditional dances, bands playing flutelike instruments and leather skin drums, and colorful, giant animals made out of paper. I saw a dozen paper zhou beasts, in every color of the rainbow, along with giant snakes that had giant fangs. The marchers in front of them pretended to be battling them with paper spears. Loor explained how this represented the dangerous journey of Azhra through the desert.
It was a long parade too, with many musicians and marchers. The parade entered the square, wound around the statue of the Ghee battling the zhou beast, and continued out the opposite side. From above, happy spectators cheered and rained down colorful confetti. It was like New Year’s Eve, Mardi Gras, Chinese New Year, and a Thanksgiving Day parade all rolled into one.
I looked to Loor. My heart went out to her. Only hours before her best friend had been killed. Here at the
