Free Black Knight 02 - Back in Black by John G Hartness

 

Chapter 14
     
    We got to the foot of the dais, and Otto poked me in the back again. "Kneel," he said, doing so himself. I went to one knee and out of the corner of my eye saw Sabrina and Greg doing the same. Sabrina obviously had not noticed the family resemblance, and Greg was keeping it to himself if he had seen anything out of the ordinary, as far as ordinary goes for a vampire in FairyLand.
     
    "Rise, Octavian. And please, introduce us to your guests. Two of the Sanguine and a human? You have selected strange companions for your travel, Knight-Mage." Her voiced poured over us like honey, but I could tell that there was a bee sting in there somewhere from the way Otto stiffened.  
     
    He bowed his head again and answered, "Your Majesty, may I introduce Detective Sabrina Law, a Peacekeeper of her realm, and her lieutenants, James and Gregory, of The Sanguine."  
     
    "It is our pleasure to meet you, Lady Law, and your servants." I stopped thinking how adorable she was when she got to the bit about servants. I didn't say anything, because Otto shot me another warning look, but I was getting a little tired of keeping my mouth shut in the name of interspecies relations.  
     
    "Thank you for receiving us, Your Majesty." Sabrina said with a curtsy. Now I knew we were in a different dimension, because no way in hell was Sabrina ever going to curtsy to anyone.  
     
    "You are welcome here, Lady. Please treat the Great Hall of Armelion as your home for as long as you require our hospitality." I saw Otto relax when she said that, and I hoped that meant she'd just pledged that no one in her court would try to stake me as long as we were here.  
     
    "Many thanks, Your Majesty." Sabrina curtsied again, and I heard Gloria Steinem's ghost screaming in feminist agony somewhere in the ether.  
     
    "Octavian, do you pledge the good behavior of our guests and that they mean no harm to our royal person?" The queen asked Otto.  
     
    He stood up straighter, if that's possible for someone who was already making a marine at parade rest look like a slinky, and said "I do, Your Majesty. Upon my honor as Knight-Mage of House Armelion, they shall bring no harm to your person or House."  
     
    "Fair enough, Otto, fair enough." With that, Queen Milandra waved a hand and the honor guard all disappeared, along with most of the great hall, leaving behind only two guards and a much smaller sitting room. The guards took up positions beside the door, while Greg and I gaped at the new room we suddenly found ourselves in. I heard a tinkling of laughter, and spun around to see Milandra seated, not on a throne, but on what looked like a very comfy armchair, laughing at us and our consternation.  
     
    "Oh I do love visitors!" She exclaimed with glee. "Especially visitors from the mundane world. Your faces are absolutely priceless!" She kicked her little feet in amusement, and waved us over to a pair of sofas that had appeared when the room changed. "I prefer to hold audience for friends in my chambers. The great hall is just so drafty this time of year, and no matter how I make the weather outside, it always seems to be chilly in there. I suppose it's all the marble, but I can't remake the great hall, you know."  
     
    I sat on the sofa furthest from the queen and closest to the door, not just to keep my escape clear, but also to be ready to deal with anything that came in with bad intentions. Not that I had any illusions of being able to handle anything that could get all the way into the heart of the Fairy Queen's castle, but it made me feel better. "Your Majesty," I began, "We need your help..."
     
    She cut me off with a wave of her hand and turned to Sabrina. "Who let him speak? And why did you let him keep his tongue in the first place? Have you not heard of their powers of persuasion? Or do you just find it exciting to tempt fate?" Her eyes sparkled with the last question, as though tempting fate was one of her favorite pastimes.