Dragon and Judge

Draycos flicked his tail. There were some serious flaws in that argument, of course. But it was clear Jack didn't want to hear them. "And until we so decide, you wish to investigate your parents' deaths?"

Rolling half over in bed, Jack reached over to the nightstand and picked up the Judge-Paladin hat. "I can't just walk away, Draycos," he said quietly, fingering the hat. "I just can't."

"I understand," Draycos said, conceding defeat. It was still a terrible idea to stay here—every thread of warrior instinct in his heart was screaming at him to get them out of this place.

But he was a poet-warrior of the K'da, and his first responsibility was to his host. Jack wanted to stay, so stay they would.

And he really did understand Jack's need to do so.

"Hey, don't look at me that way," Jack admonished him, some of the darkness in his mood lifting. "It'll be all right." In the dim light from outside, Draycos saw the boy smile tightly. "Trust me."

CHAPTER 8

"Jupa Jack?"

Behind his closed eyelids, Jack frowned. What in the world—?

"Jupa Jack?" the call came again.

With an effort, Jack pried open one eyelid. There was a faint glow coming from the other room, but nothing any reasonable person would consider actual daylight. "I'm here," he called back. "What is it?"

"It is sunrise, Jupa Jack," the Golvin said. "Time to awaken and prepare for your duties."

Jack frowned. "What, already?"

"Most others are already awake and refreshed and going about their own duties," the voice replied reprovingly.

"Terrific," Jack muttered under his breath. "All right, I'll be right there."

"I will wait outside to escort you to the Great Assembly Hall," the other said, and Jack heard the subtle rustling of the fringe as the visitor exited.

"The Great Hall?" Draycos murmured from Jack's shoulder.

"The One said they'd be setting up a judgment chair for me next to his Seat of Decision," Jack told him. "Blast. The way Onfose was talking yesterday, I was hoping they'd take a few days first to translate all those case files into English."

"Or Broadspeak, as I believe they called it," Draycos said.

"Whatever," Jack said. "Maybe give us a chance to check out the mining area up there. But I guess we're kicking off the schedule today. I hope they're not expecting me to read that chicken scratching of theirs."

"I'm sure they've considered that."

"Maybe." Steeling himself, Jack threw off the covers and landed his feet on the floor. The stone was every bit as cold as he'd expected it to be. "Either way, I sure don't remember anything in the Essenay's encyclopedias about Judge-Paladins starting work before the birds are even up."

"Perhaps it's a local custom," Draycos said, peeling himself off Jack's back and leaping onto the floor. He stretched, cat-style, a quick shiver running through his scales. "I hope the clothing they gave you is warmer than it looks."

"I imagine the canyon will warm up once the sun is actually up," Jack said, heading for the bathroom. "I just hope this shower comes equipped with hot water."

"Is that likely?"

"It's possible," Jack said. "A lot of spaceship galleys and bathrooms are designed to be mostly self-contained—"

"Stop," Draycos said suddenly, his ears stiffening.

Jack froze in midstep, holding his breath. He didn't hear anything. "What is it?" he whispered.

Slowly, the K'da's ears went back to their usual angle. "I thought I heard a noise," he said. "Like someone scratching at the stone."

Jack looked toward the door. No one was visible. "Hello?" he called. "Is someone there?"

There was no answer. "I don't think it came from outside," Draycos murmured. "There was a faint echo to it."

Jack's skin tingled as he looked over at one of the white stones in its between-walls alcove. "One of the shafts?" he asked.

"Possibly," Draycos said. "At any rate, it's stopped now."

Jack took a deep breath. "Well, keep an ear out," he warned. He started again for the shower—"By the way, did I tell you I think I've figured out what sides and uprights are?"

"The sides are most likely the political or social groupings which tend to face off on issues concerning the administration of the canyon," Draycos said. "The uprights are possibly those Golvins who have generally proven honest and trustworthy in their testimonies in the past."

Jack made a face. "I don't know sometimes why I even bother to talk to you," he growled. "Go eat your breakfast mouse meat. I'll be out in a minute."

The shower turned out to be gratifyingly hot. The soap the Golvins had provided didn't seem very effective, but the towel was thick and strangely spongy. Jack washed up, threw on his shirt and jeans, and had a quick breakfast.

And now that he was thinking about it, the meat did taste much more like fish than rodent.

After breakfast, he went back into the bedroom, took off his other clothes, and dressed in the robe, sash, duster, and boots of his new office.