Kingdom of the Sun
Chapter 1
Shiala froze, consumed by fear; then, forcing herself to relax, she pressed her naked body against her master’s.
For the longest minute of her life, Imandori hovered on the brink of waking; but as she expertly caressed him, he sighed, and sank back into slumber. She lay next to him for some time, once again weighing the risk she was taking against the prize she hoped to gain. But there was no denying the desire that had driven her this far, so in the end, she silently slipped out of bed and placed the Star’s golden chain around her neck.
As the pendant nestled between her breasts, its warmth seemed to penetrate her soul, and she let out an incautious sigh. Though soft, the sound seemed to fill the silence of the cabin, and she nervously glanced at her master; but he showed no signs of stirring, so she cradled the stone in her hands, and gazed into its depths.
There. It was faint, but the six-pointed star still softly glowed in the ruby’s center. She hadn’t been sure she could use the Star without his help, and she was relieved to see that she might accomplish her goal, after all.
Closing her eyes, she held the stone against her breast and reached out, searching the space around her. There were a few people in the other cabins who were not yet sleeping, but she ignored them, as she had already sampled their thoughts earlier, at her master’s command.
As on the previous night, they had eaten dinner in their cabin, then she pleasured him with dancing and other diversions, until he was sated. After he rested, they used the Star, her hands cradled in his, to read the minds of those in the other cabins. She had done this several times since he discovered her ability, and served him well in his diplomatic duties. But there were no secrets worth knowing on this journey, so she had provided him with an appraisal of the females’ love-making techniques, while he explored the feelings of their partners. And all too soon, he became so aroused that he took her in his arms, and put an abrupt end to their evening.
She shouldn’t have minded that, as it was not only her duty, but her pleasure to serve Imandori. He was a kind master, and sometimes seemed almost as happy to please her as to be pleased by her; and on many nights, she would snuggle against him while he slept, happy to be with him, and to have served him so well.
But tonight had been different. That afternoon, while enjoying the fresh air on deck, Imandori had said that perhaps she would like to sample the thoughts of those on the foreign shore they were even now approaching; and long after he fell asleep she had lain awake, unable to overcome her disappointment at the way their evening ended. And now that the pendant lay against her breast, instead of his, she was determined to make the prize worth the pain she would suffer when he discovered her betrayal. So she pushed past the swirling thoughts of passengers and crew and reached out, toward the land.
Unfortunately, it was as late there as on the ship, and the few minds she touched hardly satisfied her curiosity. Two night watchmen stood on a cold and windy pier, the numbing boredom of their task too disheartening to bear. Two lovers lay entwined in a secluded room, their minds filled with the thoughts and feelings she’d passed over, on the ship. A merchant sat in his counting-room, his mind filled only with avarice.
A shiver passed through her, as the night air was making her nudity uncomfortable, and she broke off her search, and turned her attention to her surroundings.
The silken garment which she let slip to the floor at the end of her dance still lay on the floor, and she moved to retrieve it; but as she did, one of the floor-boards creaked, and she froze again, her guilt making her certain her master would wake, and denounce her treachery But once the pounding of her heart quieted enough for her to hear the reassuring sound of his even breathing, she breathed a sigh of relief, and donned the slight costume.
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she silently said the words that bound her to the stone — words so ancient that none now living knew them save she and her master — and reached as far as she could, seeking some mind, any mind, different from those she had felt before; but the land beyond the shore slumbered as deeply as her master, and she had nearly resigned herself to failure when...
A shock passed through her, as she was overwhelmed by a vision that sickened her. Half a dozen creatures, horrid in form and face, were using their teeth and claws to tear apart the body of a man, while the ghoul whose mind she touched urged them on.
Her mind reeled, not only at the violence of the scene, but also at the perverted pleasure that her host took from it, a pleasure more disturbing than the scene itself. And as she struggled to recover her wits, something happened which stunned and terrified her, something which Imandori had assured her could never happen. The mind of her host turned and looked into hers, and she felt the rage of his discovery as if it were her own.
She tried to break the bond between them, but struggle as she might, she was helpless in the coils his mind wrapped around hers. For a long moment the two fought a silent battle, as he squeezed and twisted and prodded her mind, his purpose as frighteningly clear in her mind as in his — to rend her, mind and body and soul, leaving what little remained an empty shell, devoid of thought or feeling save for endless, unbearable pain.
He found the opening he needed, and the world exploded around her, and inside her. Burning hate and flame seared her, mind and body, and she screamed and screamed in pain and terror, until she fell into blessed darkness.
ť Q’rel surveyed the slim pickings in his catch box. Out on the Sea for half the day and night, and all he’d caught were a few sprats, hardly bigger than his bait. For not the first time he roundly cursed the bad luck that had been pursuing him for nearly twenty years.
Finally, he ran out of invective, and sighed. “Might as well call it a night.” There was no one to hear his statement, or its colorful introduction, but long years of solitary fishing had made him so accustomed to talking to himself that he often had arguments with himself more interesting than those he had with others. Turning the boat toward the island, he pulled on the oars and continued his conversation in his mind, the effort of rowing making it easier to grunt than speak. At least, as late as it was, things couldn’t get any worse till tomorrow. Best now to just get home before moonset.
A great light flared upon the waters to his left, and the crash of thunder filled the air. Lightning struck at something far too close for comfort, and he turned the boat sharply to the right, and rowed for his life. He’d had bad luck with lightning before, and bore the scars to prove it; and he had no desire to have another such experience. His skin crawled as bolt after bolt lit the air, and the roar of their explosions deafened his ears.
The lightning stopped as suddenly as it began, and once he realized that he might be safe, he stopped rowing, and looked behind him. The sky was clear, and the stars shone as brightly as they could, given the light of the Moon. If not for the evidence of his ears and his eyes, he’d have sworn there was no possibility of lightning. So what in Ikaza’s name was going on?
He spent a minute wrestling with himself, sure that he should investigate the matter, and just as sure he should go home, and forget it. Then, giving himself a good talking to for being such a fool, he turned the boat and slowly rowed back, the way he had come.
After a while, he found himself passing through the remains of a ship, and realized that others had not been as fortunate as he. Based on the burnt and broken woodwork, and what little clothing was on the bodies scattered midst the wreckage, it was a foreign vessel, most likely Ishiaran, and a big one at that. Picking his way through the debris, he examined the bodies nearest him, but they were all dead, so he didn’t have to waste his time and effort rescuing anyone, though he did rescue a pair of gold rings which would more than make up for his bad luck with the fish.
As a result, he was in a good mood, for such somber surroundings, when he spotted something softly gleaming in the moonlight, a dozen boat-lengths away. Given what little he’d found, he rowed over to it more out of curiosity, than any hope that it might have some value. But as he neared it, his curiosity grew, for its transparent surface seemed to be lit not only by moonlight, but also by some phosphorescence of its own. And when he looked into the globe — for such it proved to be — he sucked in his breath, for lying on the bottom, her dark hair streaming well past her waist, was a mermaid.
Well, perhaps not a mermaid, for she did have legs, and very lovely ones, at that; but what else could she be, so pale and beautiful, and dressed, or perhaps better say undressed, as she was. A gauzy rainbow-colored garment was twisted round her middle, as if she were some kind of exotic butterfly, just emerging from her cocoon, and the way the fabric shimmered in the light gave the vision of beauty within it the feeling of a fairy tale come to life. And quite a vision she was, for though her wrapping partially concealed her hips and waist, it did less than her hair to conceal what lay above and below. He had never seen a more alluring sight, and he was instantly filled with desire — and not just the desire of a man for a woman, for the thick golden chain round her neck, and the huge ruby pendant which hung from the chain, were an even more breathtaking sight than the girl.
Mentally consigning the rest of the wreckage to Ikaza, he gave some thought as to how he could lay claim to the contents of the globe. The first thing, of course, was to find out how to open it. He spent some time examining it, but to his dismay, there didn’t seem to be any kind of opening. It looked and felt absolutely smooth and unbroken, no matter where he searched.
He sat and tugged his ear, completely puzzled, then looked at the dark mass rising out of the Sea a few miles away. There were sea caves on the north side of the island, places where a man could hide if he needed to, and make plans without being disturbed. That would be the best thing for now. Just drag it over there, and figure out how to open it later. Throwing a net over the globe, he turned the boat and rowed, while his softly glowing prize bobbed gently behind him.
ť The Dark Lord smiled as he closed the book. So Orcassin had feared for the people of this world. Well might the old fool have done so, now that he and his son had made Gra’aven such an uncomfortable place for him and his followers. If he’d arrived before his old enemy died, and been able to administer the exquisite torture he’d planned, he would have had to interrupt it just long enough to thank Orcassin for leading him to such a lovely refuge, filled with recruits for his new army.
Tossing the diary aside, he turned and surveyed the world before him. It was a strange world, Alula, not at all like Gra’aven. As far as Orcassin’s viewing wall revealed, this world was lush and green, filled with teeming life. In some ways, it made him feel a bit uncomfortable, as he preferred to be surrounded by the dead and dying, but he could easily remedy that, once he brought what was left of his army through Orcassin’s gate.
With what should have required only a casual flick of his mind, he blasted the pile of books his servants had collected, and their fragments scattered across the room, just as what used to be Orcassin’s body was scattered across the other room. He frowned at the effort it took to accomplish the task. Alula’s gravity was much stronger than Gra’aven’s, and the time he’d spent in the room where the gravity wasn’t shielded had tired him. And he’d been very foolish in his attack on the girl. He’d been so furious at being too late to destroy Orcassin himself, that he used far more power than needed to punish her; and though she deserved everything he’d done to her, he was nearly exhausted now, and it would be hours before he could risk the rigors of the gate again.
He leaned against the wall. It would take a while for his servants to explore the rest of the cavern, and return to tell him what, if anything, might be of interest, so he should rest while he could. He gazed at the peaceful land which would soon be his, smiled at the thought of the carnage his army would wreak upon it, then closed his eyes, and happily dreamt of the dark days to come.
(end of Chapter 1)
Fantasy and Romantic Fiction
