There’s going to be a meeting very soon, out there on the plains
between the camp and the city walls.
“And
that is where it happened,” he finished, with a tremor of excitement in his
voice. “A fight broke out, Eurydice was torn away from me—and I’ve never seen
her since.”
“We have to be there, then!” Artemis said.
Orpheus
nodded himself resolutely. “Let’s talk tactics.” They hopped back down and the
kids sat crosslegged on the straw-covered dirt floor.
“First
and foremost, I do not have any special powers to whisk you out of danger—if
you get in a tough spot, you’ll have to take care of yourselves,” he warned.
“Our best option is to grab Eurydice if at all possible. Next best is to find
out what happened to her, where she went and who with. But I can’t keep us here
indefinitely—my energy meter is running. Call it three days, max. We have to be
physically back together by then, to time travel home. Otherwise, you’re stuck
here for the rest of your lives—and in this situation, that probably wouldn’t
be very long.
“In
order to survive, you’ll have to stay under the radar. There’ll be a good-sized
crowd at this meeting, so that will help. But your clothes are impossible—and
Artemis, your hair. This is not exactly the land of the platinum blond—you’ll
stand out like a lightning flash. If the locals get one look at that mane,
you’ll be whisked off to an auction block and sold into some sheik’s harem.”
Her
mouth opened in dismay, and for the first time, she actually looked a little
scared—still determined, but it was clear that she was starting to realize this
was a lot more complicated, and dangerous, than the exciting, romantic
adventure she’d imagined. Adam had been nervous all along, he had no problem
admitting that, and now it took another jump. He’d tried to imagine the dangers
of battle, but being sold into a harem? Nothing like that had even occurred to
him. Talk about strangers in a strange land, he thought. If they’d had any idea
this was going to happen, at least they could have been better prepared.
“I
can use this as a head scarf, at least,” she said, pulling off her black shawl.
Then she added anxiously, “But there’s another problem I never even thought of.
We don’t speak the language—we won’t understand a word anyone says.”
“That,
I’ve got covered,” Orpheus said. “My creator, Vantorix, thought we might run
into the same problem, so he set up a translating mechanism.”
A
small panel in his throat slid open—just like the other niches, but this was
under his chin. A tray came sliding out, divided into compartments like a
toolbox made for somebody six inches tall. One of those popped open and a
slender stem jackknifed up, with what looked like a tiny barb at its tip.
“Artemis,
pull your hair away from one side of your head,” Orpheus commanded. “Adam, hold
me up next to her ear.” The kids glanced nervously at each other again, but obeyed.
“A little closer—there, that’s good.” As Adam steadied him, the tiny barb
suddenly darted forward, tapping the slight hollow of her temple. There was a
tiny pttt sound, and the stem bounced back.
He’d
just given her a shot , Adam realized, like a doctor with one of those
fancy guns. What was that all about?
But
Orpheus was already saying, “ Next —come on, let’s move it.” Adam handed
Orph to Artemis and braced himself, but when the pttt came, he barely
felt the barb—it was like getting bumped by a gnat.
The
stem snapped back into its compartment and the tray disappeared seamlessly into
Orpheus’s throat.
“Okay,
you’re GTG on that count,” he said. “Those are like implanted microchips,
except much more advanced. They create an energy field that alters sonic
frequencies—so the language anyone speaks to you will enter your brain as
English, and whatever you say back will get changed to their language. It’s
instantaneous, so you’ll barely
between the camp and the city walls.
“And
that is where it happened,” he finished, with a tremor of excitement in his
voice. “A fight broke out, Eurydice was torn away from me—and I’ve never seen
her since.”
“We have to be there, then!” Artemis said.
Orpheus
nodded himself resolutely. “Let’s talk tactics.” They hopped back down and the
kids sat crosslegged on the straw-covered dirt floor.
“First
and foremost, I do not have any special powers to whisk you out of danger—if
you get in a tough spot, you’ll have to take care of yourselves,” he warned.
“Our best option is to grab Eurydice if at all possible. Next best is to find
out what happened to her, where she went and who with. But I can’t keep us here
indefinitely—my energy meter is running. Call it three days, max. We have to be
physically back together by then, to time travel home. Otherwise, you’re stuck
here for the rest of your lives—and in this situation, that probably wouldn’t
be very long.
“In
order to survive, you’ll have to stay under the radar. There’ll be a good-sized
crowd at this meeting, so that will help. But your clothes are impossible—and
Artemis, your hair. This is not exactly the land of the platinum blond—you’ll
stand out like a lightning flash. If the locals get one look at that mane,
you’ll be whisked off to an auction block and sold into some sheik’s harem.”
Her
mouth opened in dismay, and for the first time, she actually looked a little
scared—still determined, but it was clear that she was starting to realize this
was a lot more complicated, and dangerous, than the exciting, romantic
adventure she’d imagined. Adam had been nervous all along, he had no problem
admitting that, and now it took another jump. He’d tried to imagine the dangers
of battle, but being sold into a harem? Nothing like that had even occurred to
him. Talk about strangers in a strange land, he thought. If they’d had any idea
this was going to happen, at least they could have been better prepared.
“I
can use this as a head scarf, at least,” she said, pulling off her black shawl.
Then she added anxiously, “But there’s another problem I never even thought of.
We don’t speak the language—we won’t understand a word anyone says.”
“That,
I’ve got covered,” Orpheus said. “My creator, Vantorix, thought we might run
into the same problem, so he set up a translating mechanism.”
A
small panel in his throat slid open—just like the other niches, but this was
under his chin. A tray came sliding out, divided into compartments like a
toolbox made for somebody six inches tall. One of those popped open and a
slender stem jackknifed up, with what looked like a tiny barb at its tip.
“Artemis,
pull your hair away from one side of your head,” Orpheus commanded. “Adam, hold
me up next to her ear.” The kids glanced nervously at each other again, but obeyed.
“A little closer—there, that’s good.” As Adam steadied him, the tiny barb
suddenly darted forward, tapping the slight hollow of her temple. There was a
tiny pttt sound, and the stem bounced back.
He’d
just given her a shot , Adam realized, like a doctor with one of those
fancy guns. What was that all about?
But
Orpheus was already saying, “ Next —come on, let’s move it.” Adam handed
Orph to Artemis and braced himself, but when the pttt came, he barely
felt the barb—it was like getting bumped by a gnat.
The
stem snapped back into its compartment and the tray disappeared seamlessly into
Orpheus’s throat.
“Okay,
you’re GTG on that count,” he said. “Those are like implanted microchips,
except much more advanced. They create an energy field that alters sonic
frequencies—so the language anyone speaks to you will enter your brain as
English, and whatever you say back will get changed to their language. It’s
instantaneous, so you’ll barely
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