Chapter Thirteen
Two Moon-risings Outside Khan-Gori Airspace
Zyrus Galaxy, Seventh Dimension
6049 Y.Y. (Yessat Years)
Kari Gy’at Li studied Princess Dari Q’ana Tal’s wide-eyed expression. She’d finished telling her story and the princess looked ready to faint. Out of all the horrors Dari had endured, surely Kari’s life story wasn’t that freaky. She hesitated. Her deductive reasoning skills were usually spot-on, but this situation eluded her.
“Dari,” Kari said, “Why are you so upset? Is it—oh damn.” She sucked in a gulp of air through her teeth. “I’ve already considered the possibility that the evil Isar was hunting is the same one we hunt now. My training in the warring arts was completed long ago so I’m more formidable an adversary than I once was.”
“I feared as much. About the evil one I mean. Leastways, ‘tis not the cause of my upset.”
Kari’s face scrunched up. “Then what is?” Her eyes rounded as the answer struck her. “I forgot you are still a virgin. I shouldn’t have been so graphic in the details.” She grimaced. “Forgive me?”
The princess’s mouth worked up and down, but no words came out. Kari stared at her quizzically, not understanding Dari’s reaction.
Kara—the very high princess whose birth had required Kari to change her name—had been taken in by the Gy’at Lis as one of their own. Before Kara’s Sacred Mate had tracked her down in Galis, she’d lived many years in Klykka’s stronghold. Kara’s stories of Tryston had been terrifying, but enlightening. As such, Kari knew that Trystonni females were accustomed to seeing decadent displays of sexuality so hearing about them shouldn’t be this anxiety-provoking.
“’Tis true I am a virgin,” Dari stuttered out, “yet I find naught offensive in your tale.”
Kari frowned. One wine-red eyebrow inched up. “Then what is wrong, sweetheart? I’m confused.”
Dari’s glowing blue eyes were round as saucers. Her hands were shaking. By the time the young princess made eye contact with her, Kari felt as nervous as Dari looked. She swallowed heavily.
“What is it?” Kari whispered. “Tell me.”
“There is something you needs must know. Leastways, there are several things.” The princess took a deep breath. “For a certainty I know not where to begin.”
Kari’s eyes were as wide as Dari’s. A chill worked up and down her spine. “Begin anywhere, but please do start.”
Dari inclined her head. She was quiet for a long moment before she finally spoke. “The sister you mourn, the one you say has been dead for mayhap hundreds of Earth years?”
“Kyra.” Kari’s gaze fell to her lap. Hundreds of thousands of Earth years could go by and the pain would still be as fresh as it was the day she arrived on Galis. She sighed before raising her head to meet Dari’s gaze. “My sister’s name is Kyra.”
“Your name was taken from you.”
Kari’s forehead crinkled. “What does that have to do with—”
“Please,” Dari said, holding up a palm, “let me say all what needs be said.”
“Okay,” she replied, her voice lowering in timbre. “I’m listening.”
“Your name was taken from you upon the birth of the High Princess Kara Q’ana Tal. ‘Tis an odd name in Trek Mi Q’an, Kara is.” At Kari’s nod, Dari continued. “Kara, my cousin, was named by her mani—mother.”
“I realize we’re conversing in Galian, but I speak Trystonni fluently. I know that mani means mother.”
“Kara’s mani, the empress, named her in deference to the memory of her dead, beloved sister.”
Kari rubbed her temples. “Dari, that’s a sweet story, but we have a lot of important matters to discuss. Every moment brings us closer to Khan-Gor if indeed this planet even exists! I need to know what awaits us there.” Her expression softened. “You’re a sweet girl telling me heartwarming stories, but right now I’m more concerned with keeping you and Bazi alive than with—”
“The empress’ name is Kyra,” Dari interrupted. “Kyra Q’ana Tal.” She grasped Kari’s hand. “She was born in first dimension Earth by the birth name of Summers.”
Kari’s eyes widened. Her heart raced and her breathing grew labored. “Why would you say this?” she gasped, pulling her hand from Dari’s grasp. “Is this some cruel joke? What the—”
“My mani was also born in the first dimension,” Dari continued, undeterred. “Her name then was Geris Jackson, daughter of Hera Jackson. Hera was a famed singer on a planet called Broadway.”
“I never told you about Hera,” Kari breathed out, her voice guttural. She sounded like a wounded animal. “You couldn’t have known that.” Her eyes were wild, her face drained of color. “Unless…”
Dari removed the anklet she wore, a bangle with a single holo-charm dangling from it. She handed it to Kari. “Look through the holo-images in the charm,” the princess softly instructed. Her glowing blue eyes were filled with emotion. “Please.”
Kari’s hands shook as she accepted the charm. Everything felt surreal, like it was happening to someone else.
She turned the charm on and the holo-images zapped to life. Her heart raced faster as a three-dimensional photograph of two best friends opened before her. “Oh my God,” Kari murmured, her voice hoarse. The strongest chill she’d ever experienced coursed down the length of her spine. “Oh my God.”
* * * * *
Meanwhile, also in Zyrus Galaxy…
“Dari’s holo-charm has been turned on!” King Kil Q’an Tal announced on a roar. He could hear the heavy footfalls of warriors rushing toward the front of the gastrolight cruiser. “Leastways, I’m trying to bring up the signal without alerting her.”
“Is my hatchling alive?” Kil’s brother bellowed. King Dak Q’an Tal ran toward his elder sibling. The anguish he felt from failing to protect his beloved daughter was extreme. “Is my Dari alive?” he growled.
Gio, Dari’s betrothed, ran beside Dak. The desperation he felt just to see her holo-image was apparent to any warrior who looked upon him. “If she has passed through the Rah,” he rasped, “’tis my desire to reunite with her there.”
“Cease this bedamned talk of doom!” the emperor shouted. Zor Q’an Tal, the eldest of the brothers, slashed a hand through the air. “’Tis a command!” His teeth gritted as he addressed his brothers and his niece’s betrothed. “Leastways, the only warrior on this gastrolight cruiser not driving me nigh into panic is High Lord Death.” He absently waved a hand toward the giant in question. “‘Twould be wise did the lot of you follow his lead.”
Death’s golden gaze revealed nothing, but in truth he was mayhap in more agony than all of them combined. All those Yessat Years past, had he held his tongue when the young princess had innocently flirted with him rather than follow the obligatory protocol of debriefing her sire, Dari never would have been removed to Arak and ‘twould be safely in Tryston. And then to find out the evil he hunted had been on Arak terrifying Dari all the while…’twas difficult to forgive himself.
Death maintained his composure on the outside, yet felt anything but on the inside. ‘Twas the young princess all the warriors fretted over, but he knew for a certainty his unclaimed Sacred Mate would die did it mean saving her. It angered him that the others cared naught of the fate of Kari Gy’at Li, yet neither did they know she belonged to him. Leastways, they should still care. “Does her companion live?” he asked Kil, his voice betraying no emotion.
“Even if she does,” Kil answered, “she will still be sent to the gulch pits for aiding and abetting Dari’s escape.”
Death’s jaw tightened. “You would rather Dari be alone than accompanied by a woman skilled in the warring arts?”
“Nay,” Kil answered, “but ‘tis the holy law.”
“Laws can be changed.” His glowing golden gaze narrowed at the emperor. “Leastways, do you desire me to continue to rule o’er your sectors, the law will be changed.”
All the warriors fell silent as they gaped
at him. For a certainty High Lord Death was known for his loyalty. That he would throw down a gauntlet against the ruling family of Trek Mi Q’an for a wench was startling.
“Have you gone daft?” Kil asked, bemused. “What does this wench—” His glowing blue gaze widened in comprehension. His jaw dropped. “She belongs to you?”
“She’s your Sacred Mate?” the emperor asked, shocked. “The Galian?”
All eyes were trained on High Lord Death, including those of the fourth and final Q’an Tal brother, King Rem, who’d just joined them. None of the warriors had seen this development coming.
“Aye,” Death confirmed, “she is.”
Silence.
“Why then did you not claim her?” Dak, Dari’s sire, asked. “How could you withstand the anguish?”
Anguish was too gentle a word for the bleak emptiness that had consumed him o’er the years. Once a warrior found the only female in all the galaxies who could biologically complete him, being removed from her was the most painful of torture.
“She ran from me,” Death admitted.
“A hunter of your skill could have located her.” Kil stated what every warrior was thinking. “And you’ve a lock on her scent does she belong to you.”
“Why?” the emperor quietly asked. Zor shook his head as if to clear it. “Leastways, I would that I could understand.”
Death hadn’t wanted to burden them with what he knew until they caught up with the gastrolight cruiser they were trailing. ‘Twould bring naught but more worry to every warrior aboard ship. In the end, he realized he had to tell them for he’d already said too much.
“The one that Dari trails…”
“Who?” Gio growled. “The male in her company?”
“How could Dari follow a male in her company, dunce?” Kil rolled his eyes. “Leastways, I know in my hearts Dari would never betray you. Whoever that male aboard the cruiser is none can say, but she protects him like a mother, not a lover.”
Gio’s nostrils flared, but he said nothing.
“Dari spoke of an evil,” Death continued. “Leastways, I believe she shields the male from it.”
Gio’s eyebrows drew together. “You believe this evil to be real? ‘Tis naught but the imaginings of my runaway bride.”
“Nay,” Death said softly, “’tis far from imaginary. For a certainty I have been tracking the evil one for more Yessat Years than I care to dwell upon.”
“’Tis why you didn’t claim your Sacred Mate,” the emperor announced, his voice monotone. It was all starting to make sense. “You desired to vanquish this evil afore putting your necklace upon her.”
“Aye,” Death confirmed. “’Tis true, your words.”
The warriors fell silent again as they contemplated the implications. If High Lord Death said the evil one was real then so it was.
“You thought to protect her from the very thing she now chases,” Gio said. He stared unblinking, lost in thought. His jaw clenched. “As my betrothed pursues it to protect that bedamned male.”
“Mayhap to protect you,” Death said pointedly.
Gio blinked. His gaze flew to the High Lord. “Me? She thinks me so weak that—”
“Enough!” Death bellowed, commanding everyone’s undivided attention. “For a certainty am I angered listening to your bedamned self-pity.” His nostrils flared. “The girl-child obviously loves you for she has sacrificed herself that you might live!”
Gio’s eyes rounded.
“You know naught of the evil one,” Death ground out. He slashed his hand through the air. “You know naught of its trickery, of its deceptions, or its power! Yet all that consumes you is thoughts of this male in Dari’s company—a male who could himself be a child for as much as we know! ‘Tis a vow amongst warriors I will kill you myself do you not cease your self-pitying ways and think only of the princess who has shown herself ready to die for you!”
The warriors once again fell into silence. Rem, who’d said nothing up to this point, grunted his approval of Death’s verdict.
Gio ran a shaking hand across his jaw. He understood now what Dari had done for him. He fell to his knees in anguish. “I do not deserve her,” he rasped out.
Silence.
“Aye you do,” Death said quietly. “Leastways, you are a good man and a warrior second to none. But ‘tis time to put aside the jealousy of a male removed from his mate and prepare to fight for her.”
Gio inclined his head. “Aye. I would die for her.”
“We know,” Dak said in low tones. His expression betrayed him for who he was—a warrior racked with grief and desperation to find and save his daughter. “Have you been able to harness the holo-charm’s signal?” he asked Kil, changing the subject. Dak cleared his throat, obviously trying to steady himself. “Have you seen Dari?”
“I’ve almost got it,” Kil answered. “Just a few more Nuba-minutes.”
“How do you know this evil one?” the emperor asked Death. “When did your paths cross?”
All eyes looked to Death. His stoic face didn’t betray a hint of the pain wreaking havoc on his insides.
“Our paths crossed,” Death murmured, “the day it bought me and named me.”
Epilogue
The warriors watched the holographic image Dari’s charm provided them with. Gio and Dak breathed in relief when they saw the princess smiling with her female companion as they looked through holo-images together.
Death inhaled deeply, the sight of his beautiful Kari—Kara to him—hitting him with the impact of a trelli sandstorm. He had thought he’d made the honorable choice by not claiming his Sacred Mate, yet she was facing more danger now than she would have at his side.
“I’m coming for you, pani,” Death murmured to himself so none could hear. “This time I will never let you go.”
“The audio is coming up!” Kil announced. “Here we go.”
All eyes were locked on the holo-display as a boy-child walked over to where the females sat. “Bazi,” Dari warmly greeted, “you have awoken.”
“Aye.” He rubbed his eyes. “Leastways, I had a bad dream.”
Gio grimaced, upset with himself for having doubted Dari for even a moment. The male she protected was a child.
“Look at the holo-images with us,” Kari said. She smiled at Bazi, her dimples popping out. “We’re going to turn them off soon.”
“Get a lock on their position!” Zor shouted to Kil. The emperor agitatedly ran a hand through his hair. “For a certainty we need that lock afore the signal ends!”
“Hurry,” Dak growled, wanting to get to his daughter. “’Tis mayhap but moments left!”
“I’m working on it!” Kil said. “I’ve got it!”
The holographic display flashed back to Kari. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at Dari’s images. None of the warriors knew what to make of that, Death included.
“Look,” Kari said softly to Bazi. She held up a holo-image of Zor’s wife, Empress Kyra Q’ana Tal. Every warrior’s brow furrowed as she reverently ran a finger over the image. “Do you see her, Bazi?”
“Aye. She has the look of you. Leastways, you both have the hair of the fire-berry.”
Kari’s smile was radiant. A single tear tracked down her cheek. “Do you know why we look so much alike?” she asked.
“Nay,” Bazi replied. “Why?”
“Because she’s my sister,” Kari whispered. Her breath caught in the back of her throat. “The sister I never thought I’d see again when forces I can’t understand whisked me from Earth to Galis.”
Death stilled. He could hear the emperor’s intake of breath without looking to visually confirm it.
“Then we must kill it when we reach Khan-Gor,” Bazi said, his chest puffing out. “I will slay the evil for you so you can see your sister again. ‘Tis a vow.”
Kari ran a protective hand through his hair. “It’s time to talk about that.”
“Aye,” Dari interjected. She sighed. “I shall shut this off so I can tell y
ou the whole of it. We needs must prepare.”
The signal came to an abrupt end. The warriors stood there, their expressions as frozen as their bodies. Finally, Kil broke the tense silence with a hearty laugh.
“My brother, the emperor,” Kil chortled, “came nigh close to sending his own wife’s sister to the gulch pits.” At Zor’s frown, Kil laughed harder. “’Twould be a lifetime without channel for you, dunce.”
Death found his first smile. The rest of the warriors followed suit.
“Put the gastrolight cruiser into hyper-speed,” Zor growled. “Leastways,” he sniffed, “when I bring my nee’ka’s sister home to her, ‘twill be naught but channel for me.”
All the warriors save one shared a laugh. Death was too preoccupied with the horror that was to come to join in.
Kari—Kara—belonged to him. Did it become necessary to offer his life to spare hers, he would do so without hesitation.
And he would await his beloved at the Rah.
To Be Continued…
Watch for upcoming Dari’s story, Jana’s story, and then Armageddon, the wild conclusion to Trek Mi Q’an!
Escape
Tara Nina
Chapter One
Instinct drove her to the epicenter. There wouldn’t be an escape this night. Not on her watch. A low rumble emanated from the ground beneath her. Human sensors read this as a sign of an earthquake. She didn’t. Shia knew differently. The strength of the tremors grew and the rumble became a roar. She was getting closer. Wild animals surged past in their rush to evict this place. Seismic energy washed over Shia like a fresh breath of air. Heat rode the breeze and warmed her flesh, even through the protective gear she wore.
The thrill of the hunt quickened her pace and invigorated her soul. Heart pumping, senses heightened, she homed in on the source of her excitement—a possible escape and the chance to track and terminate a Hellion. She practically salivated at the thought. She’d suffered a dry spell in her territorial vector as far as escapes were concerned. A wave of sheer power rolled under her feet nearly sending her to her knees, but she refused to buckle. She liked being assigned to the territory called Montana. It had a history of more seismic episodes than most other vectors in what the Adamu called the United States. The increased chance of a seismic episode, the greater the possibility of a Hellion escape.