Marune: Alastor 933 by Jack Vance

and Lorcas passed through a vaulted tunnel iota a courtyard. In a tall-backed chair sat the Kraike Singhalissa; beside her stood the Kang Destian, dark eyebrows lowering.
    The Kraike rose to her feet, to stand almost as tall as Destian; she was a woman of obvious force, with lustrous eyes and angular features. A gray turban contained her dark hair; her gray gauze gown seemed dull and characterless until the eye took note of the subtle play of light, the shadow of the half-concealed figure.
    Singhalissa spoke in a high sweet voice: “We give you a ritual welcome, although you have returned at an inconvenient time; why should we deny it? In less than a week the legitimacy of your tenure would have dissolved; as certainly you have instructed yourself. It seems far from civil that you. have neglected to notify us of your plans, inasmuch as we have providently taken steps to transfer the succession.”
    “Your points are well-taken,” said Efraim. “I could not dispute them if they were not founded upon incorrect premises. I assure you that my difficulties have far exceeded yours. Nevertheless, I am sorry that you have been inconvenienced and I sympathize with Destian’s disappointment.”
    “No doubt,” said Destian. “May we inquire the circumstances of your long absence?”
    “Certainly; you are entitled to an explanation. At Port Mar I was drugged, placed aboard a spaceship, and sent far off across the Cluster. I encountered many difficulties and succeeded in returning to Port Mar only yesterday. As soon as possible I hired an aircar and was conveyed to Scharrode.”
    Destian’s mouth compressed even deeper at the corners. He shrugged and turned away.
    “Most curious;” said Singhalissa, in her high clear voice. “Who worked this malignant deed?”
    “I will discuss the matter with you in detail, at some future time.”
    “As you please.” She inclined her head toward Lorcas. “And who is this gentleman?”
    “I wish to present my friend, the Noble Matho Lorcas. He has given me invaluable assistance and will be our guest. I believe that he and the Kang Destian became casually acquainted at Port Mar.”
    Destian scrutinized Lorcas a brief three seconds. Then, muttering something under his breath, he turned away. Lorcas said gravely, “I recall the occasion perfectly; it is a pleasure to renew the acquaintance.”
    At the back of the colonnade, in the shadow of one of the tall portals, the form of a young woman seemed gradually to materialize. Efraim saw her to be the Lissolet Sthelany, slight and supple in her nimbus of translucent gray gauze.
    Her eyes, like those of the Kraike, were somber and lustrous, but her features were pensive rather than minatory, delicate rather than crisp, and only remotely similar to those of either Singhalissa or Destian. She was further differentiated by her expression of detachment and indifference. Efraim and Lorcas both might have been strangers for all the animation of her greeting.
    Lorcas had found Sthelany fascinating at Port Mar, and his interest, so Efraim noticed, had not diminished - almost too obviously, although no one troubled to take note.
    Singhalissa, sensing Sthelany’s presence, spoke over her shoulder. “As you see, the Kaiark Efraim is again with us. He has suffered outrageous indignities; some unknown person has played him a series of malicious tricks.”
    “Indeed!” remarked Sthelany in a soft voice. “I am dismayed to hear this. Still, one cannot expect to roam the back alleys of Port Mar and evade the consequences. As I recall, he was in the most questionable company.”
    “We are all disturbed by the situation,” said Singhalissa. “The Kaiark of course has our sympathy. He has brought as his guest the Noble Matho Lorcas, or so I believe his name to be: his friend from Port Mar.”
    The Lissolet’s acknowledgment of the introduction, if any less emphatic, would have been undetectable. She spoke to Efraim in a voice as clear and sweet as that of