They went through the closest door on the left. To neither’s surprise, it was another kitchen, but more of a café’s than a restaurant’s. For one, it was much narrower than the other one, and secondly, the cooking bots were smaller models.
The building shook. Enemy gunfire pressed unrelenting. But they couldn’t hope for better; what Jinto feared most was them storming in. If the troops swarmed them, they’d have no leeway to fight back.
“Sit.” There were no chairs, so he sat her down alongside the wall.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m gonna play at burglar.”
“We have no time.”
“I know, but it’s a necessary evil.” Jinto searched the place for a bottle of spring water, and handed one to Lafier. “We need to hydrate.”
Still leaning against the wall, Lafier took the bottle in her hands and started drinking. Some of the pure spring water trickled out of her lips and wet her clothes.
Jinto also drank about half a bottle’s worth of the stuff. It was as though the water got sucked up before it even reached his stomach.
Lafier savored a moment. Then she said: “If the üass béïcaiberér (grand chamberlain) were here to see this... It would cause a seizure.”
Jinto took two sineucec (drinking glasses) from the tableware washer as he asked: “Really particular about etiquette, I take it?”
“Yep. I got scolded constantly. However, seeing as I’m able to conduct myself with the utmost grace in a space-time that demands it, I think the chamberlains wouldn’t fret too much.”
“I’ll take your word for it, though sadly, I still haven’t come across the patch of space-time you speak of. In which reality do you conduct yourself with the utmost grace?” As they spoke, Jinto inspected the niche-like depressions along the wall.
“Shut up, I’m always the picture of grace.”
“Yeah?”
“Say one more word and I’ll rip you to pieces.”
“Well, I can’t have that.” Jinto dared not defy her.
He placed a glass on the niche that read “GRAPE-FLAVORED CONCENTRATED SUGAR WATER” in Baronh. The liquid in question trickled into the glass.
He gave it a taste. It was grape-flavored concentrated sugar water all right. It smelled of grapes. Its texture felt viscous in the mouth. And it was so sweet it’d make an ant balk.
It was undiluted concentrate mixed with either booze or carbonated water. Normally, he’d have hated it, but right now, it tasted strangely good.
He filled the other glass and handed it to Lafier. “Drink.”
Lafier took a sip. “In another time and place, I would’ve felt slighted by this.”
“What our systems need right now is sugar.”
“I know.” Lafier gulped down the thick concoction in one go. Then she washed out the aftertaste with more spring water.
“Let’s go,” he said, offering a hand up.
“You needn’t lend me your shoulder now. The sugar has had its effect.” Yet she staggered on her feet, and she had to keep herself up by leaning against the hall with a hand.
“You can be the Abhest Abh ever, there’s no way your metabolism’s that fast. Don’t push yourself so hard.” Once again, he lent her a shoulder.
“Uh-huh...” She was still thirsty, so she started walking while drinking.
An explosion flared far too close for comfort, and the door into the hallway buckled.
There was no one in the café on the other side — neither animatronics, nor, of course, people. He was glad; nobody would be accosting them over something or other.
They exited the establishment, out onto a wide path of soft stone. Jinto took Lafier’s gun, and gave her spring water to hold instead.
Lafier took another sip, shook the remaining bottle, and pulled an inquisitive expression.
Jinto shook his head.
Lafier threw it aside. The synthetic resin bottle dropped to a useless little thud and rolled away.
“If that chamberlain saw you do that just now...”
“The consequences would be far graver than a mere seizure.” Lafier squinted gleefully.
A horse approached them from in front: “It’s naughty to litter.”
“Sorry,” Jinto apologized in spite of himself.
“Are you tired?” The horse about-faced and began walking with them.
“Yes. Very,” he confided.
“Would you like a ride?”
“You’d do that for us?” said Jinto, startled. He looked the horse in its forehead, which sported a star.
“I would. It’s my job, after all.”
“Thank you so much. But we’re more than just tired. We’re also in a hurry.”
“I can help with that, too.”
“Sweet.” Jinto gave the royal princess a hitch up the horse’s back, and handed back her gun. Then he straddled it behind her.
“You’re quite heavy, little ones. You’re actually grown-ups, aren’t you?” it groused.
“We’re just kids with weight problems.”
“I sometimes give rides to pairs of smaller children, but two kids that’re this big at the same time is a first.”
“Can’t hack it?”
“Oh, don’t worry, I absolutely can.”
“Great. Take us to the exit, if you don’t mind.”
“Without telling your mommy or daddy?”
“Daddy’s at home. For us both.” He had no idea how many hundreds of light-years away the imperial capital Lacmhacarh and the Countdom of Hyde were, but he spoke naught but the truth.
“Then we’re off.” It broke into a trot. Lafier held onto its neck, while Jinto grabbed the reins. The horse’s speed was on par with a dead sprinting human’s, so they could probably gain quite some distance.
The building they’d hid inside was extensive, but soon its edge came into view. Lafier straightened her gun arm. They arrived in close proximity to the building. Ten or so soldiers were lying in wait, but it appeared the sight of the two cavaliers took them by surprise. They were a second slow to react. Invisible beams of light promptly burst from her muzzle. In the blink of an eye, they passed through a narrow gap, and a similar building obstructed them on the right hand side.
“Can you pick up the pace a bit!?” Jinto asked their steed.
“It’d be no trouble for me, but it’d be dicey for you.”
“We’ll be fine, trust us.”
“If you say so. Tell me if you ever think it’s unsafe.” With that, the horse sped up to about 500 üésdagh per hour.
Unsafe was right. Unlike a hovercar or a connecting vessel , a horseback ride came with a great share of shaking. Jinto stuck his feet into the stirrups and struggled to stay mounted.
“Jinto, you’d best lean back,” said Lafier.
He gripped the reins for dear life and bent backward. He could swear he felt the laser graze past his chin.
Upside-down soldiers started firing at them from an upside-down world, shooting blindly from their cover behind buildings.
“Ahh!” His chest felt constricted. He could do nothing but hold on, and that powerlessness redoubled his terror.
Lafier’s phaser gouged at the corners of the buildings and took out enemy troops.
They passed by yet more buildings, and since the enemy fire died down, Jinto exerted himself and sat back up.
A hemispherical facility greeted their eyes. The horse ran past it and turned right.
“Not there!” Jinto panicked.
There were soldiers to the right. And while they were considerably far away, he had to suppose they were well within shooting range.
“How come? I’m taking a shortcut,” the horse objected.
“Just not there!!”
While he bickered with a horse, one appeared from behind the hemisphere.
The space was akin to a plaza, with a fountain at its center, and surrounded by facilities of various shapes and configurations. To their right was a three-story town of pink coral, with an avenue as straight as an arrow. Meanwhile, soldiers lined up far down their current avenue, sending bullets their way all at once.
Lafier herself had already started shooting. Jinto extended his own right arm (the fact that he hadn’t dropped his gun deserved some credit, if he did say so himself) and pulled the trigger.
For a moment, the fruit of their deadly exchange was unclear, but the enemy had numbers on their side, and the horse was in any case exposed to a dense hail of fire. Luckily, they didn’t score any direct hits, yet the vicinity bloomed with discharges and detonations. The stench of gun smoke curled across showers of soft stone shards.
“It’s gotten harder to run. What’s going on over there?” said the horse, not knowing just how valid its concern was.
“Faster!” Jinto screamed, during a pause in the crossfire.
“Even faster? All right, here goes.” The horse accelerated into a headlong gallop. In so doing, it cleared two thirds of the plaza space without sustaining any fire.
“Jinto!” Lafier yelled in warning. “To your right, on that roof!” Thinking fast, Jinto grabbed onto the saddle’s cantle and leaned hard left. Lafier resumed fire just as a shot darted toward them. It grazed his sleeve, ripping it and leaving a welt.
“Crrhh!” Jinto gritted his teeth.
“More from behind!”