They stood at the entrance of the hospital. Throngs of Lemurians cheered outside.
Cory’s teeth gnashed together. She looked at Tupilek to tell her what was going on.
“There’s no need to be frightened.” He assured her then summoned two tall Lemurians just outside the door. They were dressed in what looked like uniforms: long blue tunics with gold buttons that ran their length, an ornate crest was on one side of the top. They bowed then one stood next to Cory the other next to Tupilek.
Cory looked up and smiled in greeting. The tall Lemurians stared straight ahead and didn’t respond.
“Now let’s get you home.” Tupilek gently took Cory’s arm and guided her into the parting crowd with the uniformed Lemurians at their sides.
The gathering didn’t disperse. If anything, it was growing larger with each step.
As was Cory’s anxiety. She could feel the sweat beading on the back of her neck, her knees felt weak. I’ve got to find Mum and he knows where she is, I have no choice but to go with him.
“They are thrilled to see you,” Tupilek said, jerking her out of her own thoughts.
“They don’t even know me.” She insisted in an unsteady voice.
“That is where you are wrong. They know a great deal about you.”
“How is that possible?”
“Maheetek, praise be.”
Cory’s lips curled unpleasantly. Nothing was making sense. The people gawking at her began throwing flower petals at her feet.
The air was warm and silky, perfumed with the scent of an abundance of flowers and ripening fruit from the trees that lined the road. It was a far cry from the snow and icy landscape of Ellesmere Island.
How did I get off the island? Cory looked from side to side, lips parted, eyes wide. “I don’t understand any of this.”
“Many had begun to doubt the Prophecy,” Tupilek said with a smile.
“The Prophecy?”
“Let’s not talk about that now. It was an unfortunate time and now it’s over. You have given our citizens hope and they wanted to see you for themselves.”
“I could understand them wanting to see me if I was…ah…me, I would be different, something interesting. Now I look just like them.”
“Their faith has been restored.”
Cory looked at him. “Their faith in what?”
“The Prophecy.”
Cory felt lightheaded. “Maybe my mother can explain this to me.”
“No doubt.”
Cory’s shoulders relaxed. He really is taking me to mum!
They walked through the centre of the city. Lemurians crowded the skyward walkways and bridges, waving and throwing down so many flowers that it was raining multi-coloured petals.
They passed tidy shops selling everything imaginable. The flower shop’s cheerful window was filled with blooms, the greengrocer had bushels of freshly picked produce in front. There was a bookshop, a toy shop, a hat shop, a sweet shop and a bakery with the tantalizing aroma of freshly baked bread wafting out its open door. Shopkeepers hurried out as if something extraordinary was happening.
A smile tugged at Cory’s lips. The happiness surrounding her was contagious. The city was beautiful. And she didn’t mind being considered someone special for once.
“Ah, there now. I’m glad to see you’re enjoying yourself,” Tupilek said. “There is so much to be happy about.”
Cory nodded. “I can’t wait to be with my mother.”
“The Sentinel is eager for your arrival.”
Cory’s smile flattened. Her forehead lined. “Is my mother with him? Or is it a her?”
He chuckled.
She frowned. “Is my mother there,” she asked again, desperation in her tone.
Tupilek waved his hand as if dismissing the question. “Of course,” he said flatly.
Cory’s smile returned but her eyes were questioning, wary.
They walked as if on parade. It was the strangest thing Cory had ever done or even imagined doing. Rounding a corner, she had to shield her eyes from the glare of light reflecting off an enormous glass-like palace ahead. It stood high above a tall black metal fence.
Cory gasped. “What is that?”
“The Crystal Palace.” Tupilek adopted a proud expression.
They stopped outside two ornate black gates with a metal sculpted bird in the centre of each one. Sentries posted on either side began to pull them open.
“Are we going in there?”
“The Sentinel is waiting.”
Cory’s eyes bugged so wide she couldn’t even blink. Now in full view, the palace looked like a gigantic diamond, standing at least three stories high and could easily cover an entire football pitch. She tried to pick up what the priest was thinking but he simply thought “Praise Maheetek” over and over.
Tupilek smiled at Cory’s expression. “I never tire of seeing it either, as if for the first time. The purest crystal in our land for our first family,” he explained.
The palace rose up magnificently from a white stone courtyard making it look like it was resting on a cloud. Ornate columns were evenly spaced along the façade. Huge statues of birds with wings spread lined the roof.
Tupilek guided Cory inside the gates. The cheering crowd remained on the other side.
The two Lemurians who had escorted them marched over to where dozens of others dressed in the same uniform stood in three straight lines facing the gates. One joined the ranks, the other faced them and yelled “Attention!” Instantly they all stood in perfect ‘chin up, chest out, shoulders back, stomach in’ posture.
A single Lemurian wearing a long sparkling purple robe stood in front, facing Tupilek and Cory.
Cory heard the gates clang shut and her trembling returned, she felt certain that everyone could see her shaking. She prayed that her mother was here too, that everything would be fine and they would go home. But her mother was nowhere in sight.
Tupilek took Cory’s elbow and guided her forward. They stopped at the Lemurian dressed in purple.
“The Sentinel?” Cory whispered.
Tupilek shook his head. “This is Jillituk. She will see to your needs.”
Jillituk stepped forward. She was a small Lemurian woman, shorter than Cory, very thin and fragile looking. The hair on the top of her head was long and more lustrous than the hair that covered her body. She met Cory’s gaze with watery eyes of almost the same purple as her robe. She looked down and curtsied elegantly. Tears trickled down her hairy cheek. When she looked up again, her eyes glistened like gemstones. “Please forgive my show of emotion but we have waited such a long time. At last, you are home.”
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