“Lan’Glaver,” he murmured respectfully. “I am most deeply honored to be on guard on the day when you will receive your chewchie.”
“Uh, thank you,” Ty said. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kikbax scowling as though the use of the strange name upset him. He really had to find out more about this old legend and the title the Chorkay people had apparently pinned on him.
But for now, he had other business. The guard pulled open the heavy stone door and stood to one side, ushering them in. Taking a deep breath, Ty stepped inside.
It was time to meet his chewchie.
Chapter Thirty
The inside of the royal chewchie hatching grounds looked very like the area above the Chorkay kingdom. Their entire civilization was located underground, mainly because of the harsh, unforgiving desert made up of barren wasteland and shifting dunes of deep green sand that prevailed on the surface of Helios Beta.
And that was the exact environment Ty found himself in now. The dark green sands were hot underfoot, probably because heat lamps overhead were beaming down on the many, different colored eggs which were laying all over the place.
The hatching grounds were about as big as a large living area, he thought, and on the outer perimeter of it he saw a floor to ceiling glass wall. There were people crowded behind it, watching avidly like spectators waiting for a show to begin.
Ty disliked being the center of attention, so he tried not to notice them. But he couldn’t help seeing that two of the watchers were Tutti and her grandmother.
The little girl waved excitedly when she saw Ellina, who smiled and waved back at her. The glass wall must have had some sound-muffling qualities, but he could still faintly hear her when she called, “Oh look—the Potentate! And there’s the Lan’Glaver, too!”
Ty shifted uncomfortably as more and more of the common people who had come to watch this momentous occasion began to point at him and take up the name. “Lan’Glaver…Lan’Glaver…” What did it even mean to them, other than the fact that he’d saved Ellina yesterday?
He shifted again. When were they ever going to get started? The sooner this began, the sooner it could end. And then hopefully he could get back to work—though he wasn’t sure how much time and attention a newly hatched chewchie was going to require…
“Careful where you set your big feet, Kindred,” Kikbax snapped waspishly, glaring at him. “It’s a crime punishable by death to hurt a royal chewchie.”
“I’ll stay right here. Unless I’m supposed to go somewhere else?” Ty asked, raising an eyebrow at Ellina.
She shook her head.
“No, just stay where you are. The attendants will bring the egg to you.” She looked around at all the speckled eggs and sighed nostalgically. “You know, I still remember the day Lor and I were matched. It was the happiest day of my life.” She stroked the little chewchie, who had come to perch on her shoulder and stare intently at the eggs. “The minute I looked into his eyes, I knew he would be a part of my heart forever.”
The look in her eyes was so sincere and loving, Ty couldn’t help feeling a bit jealous of the little Sacred Blue chewchie. He wanted Ellina to feel that way about him.
Which he knew was foolish, since he would eventually be leaving. But at least getting a chewchie of his own would enable him to continue to communicate with her. The little creature would be like a living walkie-talkie, he thought. For that alone, it was worth having, even if it did mean having to take it along on missions.
“Ah, Your Majesty and Your Holiness.” A white-robed attendant was gliding towards them over the green sands. She had a beatific look on her face and in her hands was a speckled chewchie egg. She came to a stop before Ty and bowed her head. “And Lan’Glaver—I am most honored to present your egg to you.”
It was a rather small egg, Ty thought, frowning at it. Most of the other eggs he saw lying on the sands were about the size of an ostrich egg and most of them had vividly colored shells with bright, contrasting speckles or splotches on them. He saw scarlet with blue speckles, pink with purple splotches, and all colors of the rainbow in between.
But the egg the attendant was holding out to him was barely half as big as the others and it had a plain white shell with just a few dirt-brown freckles on it.
“Um…how do we know this is my egg specifically?” he asked, frowning. “Is there some way to tell if a certain chewchie egg is meant for a certain person?”
“Indeed there is—those close to Thufar know, when he imparts his wisdom to them, which egg is meant for which person,” the attendant answered. “In your case, the High Priest himself chose your egg for you. Such an honor!” And she bowed deeply.
Casting a side-long glance at Kikbax, Ty thought he saw a smile curling the priest’s thick lips. Obviously the old bastard had picked the smallest, plainest egg available and labeled it as Ty’s.
Probably wanted to be sure an off-worlder didn’t get a premium chewchie meant for royalty, he thought sourly. I suppose if I got a rare one it would give me too much status so instead he gave me the runt of the litter.
“I never would have thought it myself,” the attendant continued, interrupting his thoughts as she looked fondly down at the undersized egg. “This little one has lain dormant for many solar months and to tell the truth, I did not think it would ever hatch. But the very moment the High
