12.5
Paul and Gem retired to her sleeping chambers.
Jewel deeply wished to follow them. But she could not rest until she had the answer that Mathias had asked for. Not at his insistence but her own. She could not sleep until she was satisfied that either the thing he had made was safe. Or had met her flame and been burnt into dust.
However the hour was late, and not only Jewel felt the fatigue there.
But Mathias and Thurzó still went with her.
Led by the thing made out of the corpse of a woman. Less by providence of it actually knowing the way then that it remained in front of Jewel in easy reach of annihilation by wyrm flame.
Although it eerily did seem to always move to the correct place ahead of the High King and Jewel as they traveled through the palace’s halls. Obeying the command to stay in front of them without a hint of resistance or complaint.
As they walked down the halls, exiting into open air gardens with the light of the stars pressing down on their little party the High King spoke. Tone calm and jovial.
The only one who smelled of fear among their trio was now Thurzó.
“I am told that the work was difficult. My court wizard tells me that the original curse was one defined more by its absence and rejection of sorcery than an imparting of it.”
They continued along the silver lit fruit trees and shrubs of the palace gardens.
Jewel smelled the shallowness of the earth here.
The way that the stone waited just beneath, supporting the weight of the palace grounds high enough over the flowing waters below that tall barges full of cargo could pass underneath.
“The labor of it was of course entirely necessary given the result? Wouldn't you agree count Thurzó?”
Jewel’s gaze briefly passed onto the one she still felt to be her friend, but she held all expression from her lips or eyes. Not even letting her wings or neck flex at the spark of anger that he had known this was occurring and not shared it with her.
He stank of anxiety but also surprise.
“My king, All I’ve ever advised you was that the Countess Jewel is paramount to remain a close ally with the realm! I thought you agreed with me that her discomfort in Kaeketeh-”
The High King interrupted the count.
“Yes, yes, which is why the labor to refine the ritual is so vital. And why I am willing to spend so much on a boon for the Lady Jewel to give me her answer. If the results of the ritual cannot satisfy the Lady Jewel there will be no point in using it.”
Which left her unable to hold her tongue.
“If I answer that they are unsafe, uncontrollable, you won’t use them?”
Mathias grinned in the shining light.
“I will if you can swear truly you believe that to be the case.”
She immediately tried, but her flame caught in her throat. The words did not come. There was a rejection. She wanted that to be true, but trying to declare it as such dragged on her flame. It felt like she was about to utter another curse.
And it would not be a small one.
In the stones, grass, water, air and sky the presence of the world stirred ever so slightly. Attention settling upon her before drifting away as she relinquished the desire in her throat.
Jewel did not know that what she wanted to say was true.
But she could make it so.
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And the thought that she would do that to the thing that yet was not a woman but somehow could sometimes speak truly with her voice?
The High King had not stopped walking, and Jewel hardly needed to even strain to catch up, so long her bounding strides could be. But she felt the attention on her regardless, in fact there were eyes watching her.
Yet it was not human eyes.
Jewel turned to look into the garden and boggled at what she saw.
It was almost like a cat.
But somehow one that was larger than any beast, even the Terror Boar itself.
However it was also nothing like a cat.
Its fur was entirely absent except for a long mane which hung in tightly woven braids framing its brow and jaw. Its eyes shining in the night with a silvery gleam behind wide pupils was somewhat like Fizzbunches. But the nose was squashed, stretched, the lips parted to bare flat teeth.
When it spoke Jewel noticed how its tongue was far too thick for a cat, and the way it curled and hit the teeth reminded her of Bethica’s lessons for Gem.
“Little boy is up far too late for frolicking. His mother will be very cross with him, off to bed with him, he should be.”
It was only then that Jewel realized the cat was also wearing a great beaded necklace, hard fired clay large enough to be full vases for wine hanging around the throat and down between the forelimbs.
Skin hanging loose at the sides in great crinkling wrinkles. Tail longer than even Jewel’s father was tall with prominent vertebrae poking past the meat, sinew and wrinkled skin. The voice was much like a woman, although it growled and rumbled much as Jewel’s own throat did. Deep like Bethica’s.
Two short wings with raven black feathers flexed from upon the creature’s back.
The High king sighed heavily in exasperation.
“Sphinx, my mother is many years dead and I am king now. I can be up as late as I need be.”
The so named sphinx laughed and shook herself out then, lips parted over teeth bared for an eager hunt. The giant cat purring deeply.
“Little boy has grown closer to death, but he is still small and young. Though he no longer walks on four in his morning and stands on two within his noon, I smell his evening close, a third to stand he will have or none at all. A serpent and then no more.”
The creature strode in slinking motion alongside them, staying to the earth and stone of the gardens it watched them both intently. Shoulder ever so slightly higher than Jewel’s own when she stood on the ground. Although lower in her bounding steps.
Mathias' face flushed slightly before clearing his throat.
“Be that as it may sphinx, but I have business with the Countess Jewel that must be settled before I can retire for the evening.”
The giant cat with dozens of tightly braided strands of mane huffed, its breath ripe with blood, hearts and liver. Looking up and over Jewel with a wariness before raising its nose to snort derisively.
“A great grandmother shows herself again. But not our great grandmother. Long past the evening of her are you. And in your slimmest peaking dawn as well. Cease keeping the boy up, he is out past his hour, he needs to be kept in his rest, his mother commanded.”
Jewel blinked at Sphinx then turned to look at the thing that was shaped like a woman ahead of them, still walking as they all kept pace with one another.
Mathias huffed and continued.
“Please don’t pay the Sphinx any mind, it only encourages her. We have business to attend too and those who performed the work of this latest iteration of the ritual are this way.”
The giant cat with the strangely round ears that Jewel could now see under the starlight was far too low on the side of her head for any other cat. The Sphinx rolling its eyes afterward and lightly batting a furless paw with black claws which shone in the night’s silver radiance.
“The boy is still a boy until he can hunt properly, if he wanted to be a man he would catch what was brought and prove he can hunt without being coddled.”
Mathias huffed and started walking more briskly.
Only Thurzó had to struggle to match pace. The Sphinx continues to happily bound alongside them in the garden effortlessly with the obvious grace of her muscles under that pale loose skin. Jewel for her own part could simply step further with an adjustment of her wyrmflame.
“The boy has been given many suitable prey, many suitable tries! But the boy whines and yowls like a kitten barely weaned each time!”
Jewel caught Thurzó laughing under his throat and shaking his head.
Mathias’ own shame filled the air as he silently marched them to another door, the guards stationed there opening and closing it without a word. Letting them into another wide, candle lit hallway.
But the voice of the Sphinx still rang out, loud enough to be heard even behind the thick wooden door.
“The boy is out in an hour too late for frolicking, the naughty little boy’s mother will be cross.”
The High king’s furiously blushing face and Thurzó’s humored scent drove the rest of their walk to silence.