“This isn’t a physical duel we’re talking about—it’s aMentalduel,” Sir told me. “And unfortunately, the older a Korrigon gets, the stronger his Mental Abilities grow.”
“Oh, no!” I felt like my heart had sunk right down to my toes. “Oh, Sir, I’m so sorry! So…he’s stronger than you?” I asked, uncertainly.
“Probably,” Sir said grimly. “But as I said, I will do my best, little one.”
“But…can you be hurt when it’s a Mental duel? I mean, you can’t be…can’t bekilledif you’re just fighting with your minds, can you?” I whispered.
“You’ve seen me use my Mental Abilities before—what do you think?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
I thought of how he’d crumpled the metal gate back at the spaceport and raised Shadrack, the sleezy Pet Finder, up by the throat like he was Darth Vader.
“Oh,no!”I moaned, putting a hand to my mouth. “Oh please, Sir—tell me it’s not as bad as that?”
“I am afraid I would be lying if I said the situation wasn’t dire—deathcanbe the result of a Mental duel,” Sir told me. “I’m sorry, little one—if I’m killed, you need to go back to the ship and see if you can locate Captain Tau’rex. Tell him that I have ordered that you will be brought back to Earth and left in the place of your choosing.”
“What? No!” This was all happening too fast! I felt like I had suddenly climbed on a roller coaster that was going faster and faster and was guaranteed to end in a crash. “Sir, please!” I stood on my tiptoes, reaching up for him and he bent down to let me put my arms around his neck.
“Little one,” he murmured, cupping my cheek in one big hand and swiping away my tears with his thumb. “Try not to worry—my Mental Abilities are strong, even if I haven’t attained Gra’multh’s age yet.”
“But…this is all my fault,” I whispered. “I never should have opened my big mouth. I’m so sorry, Sir!”
“Don’t be.” He kissed me gently, first on one wet cheek, then on the other, then on my mouth. “I’ll fight for your honor, little one,” he murmured. “And win your galaxy the right to freedom if I can.”
Then one of the guards was tapping him on the shoulder and Sir had to straighten up and turn to see what he wanted.
“The Dueling Bands,” the guard informed him. “As the defender, you may choose first.”
The two thin black wires laying on the puffy white pillow in the guard’s hands looked the same to me. But Sir took his time before choosing one and placing it over his horns, where it shrunk to fit against his temples. Gra’multh took the other wire and did the same.
“What do those do—the bands?” I asked Sir.
“They amplify our Mental Abilities but also give greater control. That way we don’t accidentally hurt anyone else while we are dueling,” Sir told me. “They also make our Mental actions visible to anyone watching, which makes it easier for the Sovereign to judge the true winner of the duel.” Then he turned towards Gra’multh and said, “I am ready.”
“As am I,youngone.” Gra’multh seemed to be gloating, reminding Sir of his younger age and really rubbing it in. I was angry at the big bastard all over again—so angry I wanted to punch him!
But my anger melted into fear as I watched the two Korrigons face off against each other.
“Are the two of you ready?” the Sovereign asked as they faced each other. And when both of them nodded, she said, “Very well—let the duel for the fate of the Goddess’s Cloak galaxy begin!”
FORTY-SEVEN
SIR
Ididn’t blame little one for speaking out—it’s very difficult to be silent when someone is lying about you or your people. But Ididworry about her if something happened to me. I should have left more specific instructions for Captain Tau’rex, I thought to myself. But of course, I hadn’t anticipated that this appearance at Court would end in a duel.
Maybe I should have, though. Perhaps this was Gra’multh’s plan all along. The new Sovereign, who had only come to the throne a solar year before after the death of her older sister, was still so young and inexperienced—she didn’t know how to take the Court in hand yet and Gra’multh had probably counted on that. Probably he had planned to twist my words into an insult and then challenge me to a duel.
In that way, little one had played right into his hands—not that it was her fault. If she hadn’t said a single thing, Gra’multh would still have found a way to claim insult.
I touched the cool circlet of metal around my temples, feeling my Mental muscles flex. My Mental Abilities were a large part of me and I had been training and exercising them almost from the time I was born. My father had been adamant about it and now I was glad he had been.
But would I be strong enough to defeat a male who had much more experience and the added benefit of age to boost his own Mental strength?
I didn’t know, but I had the uneasy feeling I was about to find out.
FORTY-EIGHT
ELLI