He led them around the building, and Erik was surprised to discover that it was larger than he had first suspected as they had walked down the path from the ridge above. The building was, essentially, a large square, with entrances in all four walls. Through one they passed, Erik could see that the building was also hollow in the center, a large fountain at the heart of a garden glimpsed briefly as they walked past.
Behind the building, a pair of very odd-looking men, black as soot and with eyes of red, hurried by, and as the four guards turned to gawk, Gathis said, “Come along, please.” He led them to the door of a large outbuilding and motioned for them to follow him inside. “You’ll see many beings here you might count strange or fearsome, but none will offer you harm.”
That was again reassuring to hear, because within the building they found what could only be called, in Erik’s judgment, a demon. Jadow had his sword half out of his scabbard when the creature turned and struck him across the knuckles with a long wooden spoon. “Put that away,” it said with a deep rumbling growl.
Jadow let out a yelp and released the sword hilt, letting the sword slide back into its scabbard. “That hurt!” he exclaimed while sucking on his bruised knuckles.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” admonished the creature, motioning for the four guards to sit at a table.
Erik paused and realized he was in a kitchen. The “demon” was a red creature, about as big as Jerome, looking as if its skin was two or three sizes too large. It seemed to droop around the creature’s body in folds and creases, and to be thick, like hide. A large head without hair was dominated by two horns, which rose in front of fanlike ears, to arch back to points just behind the head.
It appeared to be nude, save for the large white apron it wore. Pulling a big bowl of fruit from a shelf, it placed it upon the table and said, “I’ll have soup in a minute.”
Gathis said, “Alika will care for your needs and send someone with you to show you where you’ll sleep.” As the cook crossed to the other side of the room, Gathis lowered his voice. “She’s very sensitive, so say something nice about her cooking.” Then he hurried off.
Biggo said, “She?” in low tones. Jadow grinned and shrugged, taking a large pear from the platter and biting deep into it. He closed his eyes as juice dripped down his chin, and made a satisfied sound.
Now Erik noticed the smells. Suddenly he was ravenous as hot spices filled the air, and he remembered what food not cooked aboard ship tasted like. He took an apple and bit into it, finding it crisp and sweet, and savoring the taste.
Then Alika was back with a large platter of bread and cheese. Placing them on the table, she turned away. Erik hesitated briefly before he said, “Thank you.”
The creature paused and rumbled, “You’re welcome.”
Soon the four men were eating as well as they had back in camp, with far more leisure, as the cook produced a thick soup of creamed vegetables with spices, a full roast chicken for each man, and steaming greens piled high, buttered, and spiced. Ale, cold and foaming in pewter mugs, was placed at each man’s elbow, and Erik hadn’t recalled drinking anything quite so thirst-quenching.
Between mouthfuls, Biggo said, “I don’t think I would have believed any man who told me of this place and these creatures.”
Jadow said, “Man, it’s far easier to imagine evil spirits and black sorcery than this.
“ ‘And you say the creature could cook?’ ” he mimicked someone questioning him.
“ ‘Ya, man, she cooked better than me own mother!’ ”
The others laughed. Jerome said, “I wonder why we came here?”
“Wondering’s not good for the health,” said Jadow.
Jerome said, “One thing we learned in camp. You follow orders, you stay alive. Don’t volunteer, don’t cause trouble. Each day after the gallows is a gift.”
Erik nodded. He still had trouble not wincing when he remembered that fall with the rope around his neck. The sour taste of fear in his stomach was one he wished never to repeat.
The cook came back with more bread and Biggo said, “Alika?”
The cook paused. “Yes?”
“Ah, what are you?”
The creature fixed Biggo with a narrow gaze, as if weighing the nature of the question, then she replied, “A student. I work for my instruction.”
“No, I mean, where are you from?”
“Targary.”
“I’ve never heard of Targary,” said Jadow.
“It is far away,” she said, turning back to her work.
They ate in silence after that.
When they finished, a young girl, no more than ten or eleven by her appearance, but with grey hair and maroon eyes, escorted them to a room. In a voice tinged with alien nuances, she said, “Sleep here. Water there.” She pointed at a basin and pitcher. “Relieve yourself outside,” she said, making a general down-the-hall and out-the-door gesture. “You need. You call. I come.”
She bowed and departed. Biggo said, “I swear that child’s feet weren’t touching the ground.”