and, in my eye, as attractive as any human girl you'll find around here.”
What is this royal rascal up to? What does he think he's going to do?
“… now, as a treat to all my subjects, a treat which few of you deserve, for you never do anything for me, I would show you something you have never seen before. And, I daresay, will never see anything like it again. Thus, with a touch of my royal hand… “
The King pulled a cord, the drape slipped away and the thing was revealed.
The crowd was wary of whatever was to be. They muttered, mumbled, chattered in a voice of indecision, whispered in clear uncertain terms, waited on the edge, waited with no idea what the King would have them do.
Finn's heart nearly stopped. The clock. That damnable, tasteless lizard with a clock in its belly, was mounted on the golden cart, for all the court to see…
THIRTY-FIVE
The truth of this scam, this trickery of the King, struck Finn like a blow, near took his breath away. Here was the clever monarch's cunning, his sly and hateful deceit. Here was the reason Llowenkeef-Grymm had stopped him, moments before he was free of the place for good.
The King had not tossed his present aside, as Finn had prayed he'd do. This mad collector of clocks had torn into the bundle and found the ugly item inside. And, in a fit of fury, in a moment of rage, he had planned this moment of dread disclosure for the man who had dared bring this artless, base, vulgar piece of rubbish into his land…
“We're in for it now,” Julia said. “I would like to say, our acquaintance has been a partial delight.”
“He's not going to kill us. He just wants to flog us a bit. Just keep your snout shut, I'll handle this.”
“Master Finn…”The King looked at him with a grave, thoughtful look in his noble eyes.
“You have said this gift comes to me from Aghen Aghenfleck the Fourth?”
“Sire… “
“And, though you've not said it, I'd guess you made this artifact yourself?”
“I did, Your Grace. And if I might say a word here…”
“No, you may not! It is bad manners, Finn, and blasphemy second class, to interrupt me.”
“Yes, sire.”
“Come here. Do it now.”
“Oh, Finn,” Letitia said beneath her breath.
Finn stood straight, though he feared his legs might collapse.
“In all fairness, Finn, you should know I have taken into consideration the fact that your, ah-Prince, ordered you to craft this piece.”
“I appreciate that, sir.”
“It is magnificent, Finn.”
“I regret, sire, that-what?”
“A masterpiece, a thing of wonder, glorious in its artifice and design. I have seen clocks without number, clocks from the immortal crafters of the East, clocks from the tiny folk who are said to live beneath the sea, and have fins instead of knees. Frankly, I have my doubts about that.
“At any rate, none of these, Finn, are worthy of an artist such as you.”
“He likes this piece of crap?”
“Hush, Julia,” Letitia whispered. “The man's a connoisseur.”
“I would deem it a favor to a grateful king, if you would show me how it works.”
“Now, sire?”
“What did I say, boy? Now, indeed.”
The King clapped his hands in pleasure, a signal to the watchful crowd that they should openly admire, with speech and gesture, this man who pleased the King.
“It's really quite simple, sire.”
Finn moved to the golden cart, a bold new note of confidence in his voice.
“The timepiece itself is embedded in the belly of the lizard. Rampant, as it were, upon its hind legs, its forelegs raised in what I like to call a, ah-whimsical salute.”
“Whimsical, yes. The very word, I feel.”
“The tail, which is gilded with golden scales, serves as the pendulum of the clock. I release this small locking device and-so, the tail begins to swing.”
“I am beside myself, Finn. I never expected as much. Who would have dreamed of having the tail itself swing?”
“He did,” Julia muttered to herself, “not me.”
“Now, sire, there is another function here. I release another switch… “
The King gave such a shrill cry of delight, Finn feared he might have shed his mortal form.
“The eyes-the eyes move back and forth as well!”
“It's a small thing, sire.”
“Small? Genius, I should say, for it has never been done before in the history of clocks.”
He turned to Finn, and Finn was near certain there were tears in the fellow's eyes.
“The honor of creation is yours. The honor of owning this wonder is mine. You have made yourself immortal in clockdom, Finn.”
“Well, hardly, sire.”
“Did I say immortal, boy?”
“Sire, I believe you did.”
“To say otherwise is to contradict the King.”
“I know he didn't mean that,” Letitia said. “He's good with his hands, but he's not real proficient with the spoken word, sire.”
“He's not,” Julia said. “I can vouch for that.”
“Indeed?” The King raised a curious brow. “Never taken a lizard's vouch before. I suppose it's all right. At any rate-You”-he waved at anyone at all-”you will proceed with this now.”
Two servants, plainly clad in the drab uniform of the Gracious Dead, came quickly and offered the King a velvet box. The box was clearly quite heavy, for it took the pair to set it down.
“Now, both of you, get the thing out here, what do you think I hire you for?”
The two servants lifted. And, it was indeed weighty, for they breathed hard, and the veins stood out upon their brows.
“Your Grace!” Finn was astonished, truly speechless for a time. Letitia muttered something in the Mycer tongue, which she rarely did at all.
The thing that arose from the box was a chain, a golden chain, with links Finn was sure would anchor a ship of good size. Each of these monstrous links was encrusted with gems of every sort-rubies, sapphires, diamonds and such-many gems that Finn couldn't name.
At the end of this chain was a resplendent circle of gold. A large green stone lay at its center, and small diamonds cluttered about the edge.
“Seems a bit heavy,” said the King. “I expect these fellows would be grateful if you bent for just a moment, to allow them to get it on.”
Finn did as he was told. With a great deal of heavy breathing, and fussing about, the men wrested the loop over Finn's broad shoulders. Julia leaped into Letitia's lap not a moment too soon.
Finn gasped, and caught himself before he fell to his knees. The King began to clap again, and the crowd began to cheer. Finn tried not to stagger, made a great effort not to sag. The thing surely weighed a good eighty pounds, and came down to his knees.
“Looks good on you, Finn.” The King stepped back and grinned.
“I am overwhelmed, sire.”
