26. Phoebe

26

PHOEBE

"H ere you are, my lady. Only the finest breakfast, just as your lord and master ordered." The servant boy offered Phoebe a steaming tray with a little bow.

"Thank you."

Phoebe took it from him, looking down uncertainly at the contents of the tray. The large dish in the center contained a thick, curly purple tentacle about as long as her forearm. Its pale underside was studded with bright yellow and pink suction cups.

Three smaller dishes sat beside the tentacle. One was filled with greenish-brown paste that looked like guacamole that had gone bad and the other two held heaps of powder that appeared to be exotic seasonings. The first powder was bright blue and the other was silver. They reminded Phoebe of the colored sugar you can buy to sprinkle on Christmas cookies.

"What is this?" she asked, nodding at the tentacle.

"Oh, it's a hoi'po'loi," the servant boy said. "They live in the Sea of Tears not far from the palace. Some have been known to grow as large as the palace itself, in fact," he added. "This one must have been a baby though—it's so small. Which also means it will be tender," he added, smiling helpfully.

"And these? Are they seasonings?" Phoebe asked, nodding at the three small bowls filled with paste and powder.

"They are! Shall I name them for you?" the servant asked.

"Sure—why not?" Phoebe nodded.

"All right. There's agtro paste—it's salty," he said, pointing at the paste that looked like rotten guacamole. "And there's foopa powder—that's sweet." He pointed at the blue powder. "And here's some ting-tum seasoning—that one acts as a sweetener and an antidote to the poison," he finished, pointing at the silver powder.

"Wait a minute— poison? What poison?" Phoebe demanded.

"Er, well the hoi'po'loi has a neurotoxin in it—mainly gathered around the suckers." He indicated the bright pink and yellow suction cups on the underside of the thick tentacle. "As long as you avoid those, you should be fine. But if your lips and tongue start to feel numb and tingly or you get short of breath, just take a big bite of the ting-tum seasoning and you'll be just fine." He grinned broadly.

Phoebe was hungry—but not hungry enough to eat something that had poison in it. "What else did you bring me?" she asked. "I mean, besides the tentacle?"

"Oh, well I did also bring some tunna fruit." He indicated two small, plump oblong fruits on the side of the tray. They were green with purple spots and had thick brown stems at their tops.

"Are those poisonous too?" Phoebe asked suspiciously.

"Goodness, no! They're completely harmless," the servant promised.

"Thank you." Phoebe nodded. Well, she knew what she was going to be eating—and what she would be avoiding.

"Will there be anything else?" the servant asked.

Phoebe shook her head.

"No thanks—this is fine. But I never did get your name," she added.

"Oh, I'm Humpty." The servant bowed.

"Okay, thank you, Humpty. I'll ask for you if I need anything else," Phoebe told him. She rather liked the obsequious little servant—he was the only male she'd met in the whole palace who treated her with respect, rather than just assuming she was a Sex Slave.

"Yes, my lady! Please do." Humpty smiled and bowed again.

Phoebe nodded at him.

"Well, goodbye for now."

It occurred to her that she should probably ask for more non-poisonous food since she had no intention of eating the thick purple tentacle, but now that she thought of it, she really didn't have much of an appetite. She didn't like being separated from Sirex. Until the big warrior came back to the palace, she was going to be on pins and needles and her stomach would be in knots.

Humpty bowed a final time and she watched as he walked down the hallway to the hidden doorway. He pushed against it and slipped inside, neatly disappearing.

Phoebe frowned as she carried the tray into the room and set it on a small table beside the large round bed. She was just picking up one of the purple spotted fruits when it occurred to her that she might be able to get into the servant's door as well.

"And maybe from there I could find my way to the Emperor's rooms!" she exclaimed. Of course, Sirex had ordered her to stay in the room, but this was too good a chance to pass up!

Dropping the fruit back on the tray, she went to the door and looked out again. There was no one outside—the broad corridor was deserted. Taking a chance, Phoebe left the room, carefully shutting the door behind her, and went down the hallway.

She came to the place where the servant boy had disappeared and studied it carefully. At first glance it looked like just another section of the golden wall. But then she saw three very faint seams which formed the outline of a door. Putting her hand to it, she pushed and was delighted when it gave way easily.

A sudden rush of air came out and it smelled sweet—the same sweet scent that she had first noticed when they entered the palace, Phoebe thought. The scent that she suspected had made her reckless enough to speak her mind and had earned her a spanking from Sirex.

She had gotten used to the scent and ceased to notice it not long after they first stepped inside. But it was stronger here—much stronger. What could it be?

Frowning, Phoebe poked her head in the secret door. Inside was a long, dim hallway that curved to the left. She stepped inside it and let the door close soundlessly behind her. The space was empty and lit with flickering glows that hovered near the ceiling every five feet or so.

If anyone catches me back here, I'll just tell them I was looking for Humpty because I wanted more fruit, she decided as she began making her way down the hidden hallway. They can't get upset at me for that. Right?

She made her way down the hallway, moving soundlessly because her bare feet made no noise on the smooth tile floor. The walls of the tunnel were dirty white with plenty of scuff marks—they looked like they hadn't been painted for years. After a little while, she came to a cross section where she could go either left or right.

Remembering that the Emperor's suite was down the hall to the left of her own room, she took the left hand way. A waft of air from the new corridor blew another gust of the sweet scent at her. It smelled a little like flowers and a little like candy, Phoebe thought. And come to think of it, hadn't she smelled that same scent in the mimosa-like Sparkler she'd drunk the night before? It was definitely significant, though she wasn't sure why.

She continued down the hallway, passing several more corridors along the way. But she stayed in the one she had chosen because none of the others had the scent.

Finally the corridor curved to the left again and she found herself outside a small wooden door with faded gold writing painted on it.

Phoebe squinted but she couldn't make out what the writing said—it was too faint. However she decided to take a chance. Grasping the knob, she turned it slowly and was pleased when the door opened without any problems.

The moment the door cracked open, the sweet scent got even stronger and Phoebe knew she must be coming to the source of the mysterious smell. She stepped inside and found herself in a dimly lit bedroom.

It was an extremely grand room with thick, plush carpeting and golden furniture, including the golden bed in the middle of the room. A faint light was coming through the windows, but there were curtains drawn over them so only a thin beam of pinkish sunlight was able to get through.

At first Phoebe thought the room was completely deserted…then she saw the bed had one occupant right in the center. It was an old, old man with platinum gray skin and a long white beard that was spread out in elegant curls over his sunken chest. His hair was pure white too and his eyes were closed as he snored—a slow, steady wheeze that seemed to indicate he was deeply asleep.

Once she was sure the occupant of the bed was sleeping, Phoebe came more fully into the room. Her eyes slid from the sleeping man—who must be the Emperor—to the huge, ornate headboard at the back of the large, magnificent bed.

To Phoebe, it looked kind of like one of those storage shelves you can buy at Ikea with rows of square openings that could be used to display objects or to store boxes. Only she was pretty sure Ikea didn't sell a model that was covered in carvings and gold leaf and had diamonds embedded along its edges.

It was clear the headboard was being used as a display case rather than a storage area. Every square opening held a unique and beautiful object—many of which were so strange Phoebe couldn't even tell what they were or what their purpose was.

In one square display space she saw a shiny gold box covered in ruby, sapphire, and emerald squares, rather like a fancy Rubix Cube. In another there was a statue of some kind of animal that seemed to be carved out of an enormous diamond. In yet another she saw what looked like a golden sword hilt with jeweled buttons at the bottom but there was no blade attached to it.

But there was one item in particular that caught her eye.

Sitting in the square opening directly above the Emperor's head was a smooth, white, opalescent crystal a little longer than her middle finger. Phoebe recognized it at once from the holo image that Commander Sylvan had showed them in their briefing.

"The Finger of the Goddess!" she breathed, staring at the crystal. It gleamed in the dim bedroom, seeming to emit a light of its own and she was almost certain it was the source of the sweet smell pervading the palace. Come to think of it, hadn't Commander Sylvan said it smelled like some kind of blossoms that only grew on First World? Phoebe was sure he had.

Now she just had to figure out a way to get the crystal without waking the old Emperor. She would steal it and the minute Sirex came back to the palace they would head out to the spaceport. They would be home to the Mother Ship in time for dinner!

Quietly Phoebe approached the bed. The Emperor continued his steady, wheezy snore, his long mustache blowing out with every breath. When she got around the side of the bed, Phoebe saw that he was hooked up to a kind of IV line. A clear cylinder filled with dark blue liquid was suspended from a silver hook above his head and a line of the stuff was running down a tube into his wrinkled arm. She also noticed that his wrists had soft cuffs on them that were tied together, effectively making him a prisoner.

Hmm, I wonder if that liquid is some kind of sedative, Phoebe thought, eyeing the IV. Maybe Thruck was keeping the Emperor drugged and out of the way so he could rule the palace the way he wanted to. She wouldn't put it past him—she didn't trust the two-headed bastard any further than she could throw him, as her Granny would say.

She got right up to the edge of the plush mattress and leaned over it, reaching for the crystal. Unfortunately, it was just out of reach. Phoebe grimaced with effort as she stretched her arm as far as she could—if only Sirex was with her, his arms were so much longer, he would have reached it easily!

The thought of waiting until her mentor came back flashed through her mind…but she didn't want to do that. Who knew when they would get this chance again? Right now the palace was empty of men and the women were all keeping to their own rooms—this was a golden opportunity she was sure she wouldn't get again.

Well, there was no helping it—she was going to have to climb up on the bed. Holding her breath, Phoebe moved the long strands of the skirt she was wearing aside and put one knee on the thick mattress. It was covered in an extremely puffy gold brocade comforter that looked thick enough to be suffocatingly warm. Well, maybe the Emperor needed it—older people often got cold when their blood thinned, she thought. Her Granny wore a shawl or a cardigan everywhere—even in the Florida heat.

She reached again for The Goddess's Finger…but still couldn't get it. Damn it, she was going to have to get all the way onto the bed!

Biting her lip, she brought her second knee up and then, moving as slowly and gently as she could, she at last was able to reach the crystal.

Just before she touched it though, she remembered Commander Sylvan saying it was dangerous for a woman to touch the crystal with bare skin. She looked around for something to wrap around her hand, but there was nothing. Well, other than the silver sheets the Emperor was laying on, but she couldn't steal those.

What about a pillow case? The old man was propped up on a large puffy pillow with a golden embroidered case but there were several smaller pillows on the bed as well. Phoebe examined a few of them but the pillowcases, which were embroidered with gold and silver thread, were sewn on. So there was no choice—she was just going to have to grab it.

Reaching over the old Emperor's head, she snatched the crystal and held it tight in her fist. She half expected it to burn her but other than a light tingling sensation in her fingers and palm, there were no ill effects.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Phoebe was about to climb back off the bed when a cracked voice said,

"So, have you come to steal from me…or kill me?"