Mekos put his arm around Aradella’s shoulders.
Qip’s face brightened. “I think you two should go. I’ll contact Davro and he’ll send a Spacer to pick you up. You will both need to use Zeon’s mask.” He looked at Aradella. “You must make yourself less beautiful.”
“Oh.” Aradella’s eyebrows were high. “Uh...”
“That will be very difficult for her to do,” Mekos said solemnly.
Qip laughed. “Ah, to be young again! Give me today to arrange it all, then—”
“Who is Davro?” Mekos asked.
“Vian’s brother. Your granduncle. He’s a doctor and he lives on Empyrea, but he sometimes travels to Earth.”
“How will we get past the guards?” Aradella asked.
“I know Cutters from Selkan are there,” Mekos said. “They are violent, dangerous men. Will we be facing them?”
Qip smiled with a look of amusement. “Empyrea is not what you think it is. It is—” He broke off. “No! I’m not going to tell you. I’m going to let you see for yourselves.”
“What do we take?” Aradella asked.
“Which weapons?” Mekos asked.
“Nothing,” Qip said. “You won’t need anything. Not clothes, not toiletries, nothing at all. Davro will have everything for you. Just take personal items that you think you can’t be without.” He was teasing them. “I’ll tell Davro to program the Spacer to give you a tour of the island before you see him. Now you must go so I can arrange all this. You’ll leave early tomorrow morning.”
All Mekos and Aradella could do was nod and say thanks, then they ran up the stairs.
Qip looked at Darr, who’d been standing in the shadows, so silently they hadn’t seen him among the other robot parts. Sitting on his shoulder was Ian. “Do you have questions for me?”
Ian looked serious. “Urah and her daughter were helped by someone on Empyrea?”
“Yes.” Qip was pleased that he’d seen the important part. “A traitor. Not even Vian can see who is backing those evil women.”
Darr’s eyes blinked red.
“Yes,” Qip said. “We believe that whoever or whatever it was sent us away. We were asking too many questions. So will you go or not?”
Ian said, “When I was under the rule of those women, I did things I’m not proud of. Maybe if I go to Empyrea, I can redeem myself by helping in some way. I can make myself unobtrusive.”
Qip smiled. “I’m sure you can. Davro will be intrigued by you—as willallthe Empyreans. Be careful someone doesn’t throw a net over you. You could be sold on the underground for great wealth.”
“I will be careful and I will look out for them.” With that, Ian flew out of the room.
Qip looked skyward. “Haver, your family honors you.”
The next morning, before it was full daylight, Mekos went to the dining room, while Aradella stayed in their bedroom. She’d mumbled some excuse for staying, but the truth was that she was curious. She wasn’t supposed to have seen it, but she knew Zeon had given something to Mekos before they left. It was a small wooden box and she’d seen Mekos slip it into the magic bag. If he was taking whatever it was to Empyrea with them, it must be important.
When she pulled the box out, she had an idea what was in it. She opened it and, yes, inside was the knife that she’d used to stab Valona. To her disgust, there was dried blood on the crystal blade. Her instinct was to clean it. She could understand why they should keep a magic object but at least keep it clean.
But she didn’t remove the knife. Instead, she reached into the bag and withdrew the little leather pouch that contained the leaves of the poisonous plant she’d taken from Valona’s garden. She untied the bag, then, being careful not to touch them, she dumped the leaves over the knife. The leaves melded themselves onto the blade until they almost disappeared. “Creepy!” Aradella muttered then quickly closed the lid and latched it. She shoved it back into the bag, then ran down the hall to the dining room. Breakfast was waiting.
“You’ve got the bag?” Mekos asked, his plate full.
“Yes,” Aradella answered. “And I put more plants in it. And I have the mask and the key in case we find a lock to be opened.”
“Locks are Ian’s job.”
“Did I hear my name?” Ian flew into the room and immediately Darr put tiny plates of food on his miniature dining setup.
