by Pedro Urvi
“Do you know anything about the fugitives? Have they been captured?”
“About Kyra?”
“Yes, about Kyra…”
“No, my lord. They have not been captured, and the High Kings are growing impatient. They wish to wipe away the stain the incident left on the honor of the Houses, and they are unhappy. They are demanding results and if they do not get them someone might act.”
“The High King of the House of Aureb. Am I right in my guess?”
“My lord is very rarely wrong. He has already made known his intention to act, if the incompetence of the High King of the House of Edan, the one responsible for that Boundary, continues.”
“He wants to ridicule a rival House and win Power. The stain on his honor is the excuse he needs.”
“Yes, and I very much fear that he will act soon if they are not captured.”
“Keep me informed, Notaplo. I will contact you in another year. If anything important should happen…”
“Do not worry, my Prince, I shall take care of your interests… And about our young friend: Kyra is special, very special… an extraordinary anomaly … we must take care of her, for it is in her and in those like her that the secret of our survival as a civilization lies.”
“Thank you, old friend.”
“There is one more thing, my lord.”
“Go ahead. There is little time left.”
“A disc has arrived… from Lord Asu… I was asked to show it to you when you made contact. Do you wish me to activate it?”
“If it comes from that jackal it cannot be anything good. I have not the slightest interest in hearing about him. But on the other hand if he wants me to see it, it must be for a reason… better to know what he is up to. Activate it.”
“Very well, my lord. I have taken precautions. The chamber is sealed and protected. He will not be able to trace the communication to the Temple.”
Adamis nodded and prepared himself mentally for what was coming.
Notaplo placed a disc on the floor beside the monolith and activated it. From the object charged with Power came Asu’s projected image, so real that Adamis blinked, believing he was facing him in person.
“How is exile treating you, Prince of Ether? Well, I hope.” There was a smile of venomous sarcasm on Asu’s disagreeable face. “I wanted to send you this friendly message. After all, there is no reason why our enmity should last forever.” The words said one thing, but Asu’s face showed marked disdain, and Adamis did not believe a word of what he was hearing. “I am offering you my arm in a sign of friendship,” Asu said with a slight bow, which greatly surprised Adamis. “And I wish the incident that occurred between us to be a thing of the past. For that I apologize humbly.”
Adamis was dumbfounded. What was this treacherous viper planning? Asu would never apologize; he would sooner die than admit his fault. He gazed at the face of his rival and noticed the tight lips, the clenched jaw, the eyes glaring with contained rage, the face a mask of malice.
Asu rounded off his bow with an elaborate gesture and straightened defiantly. “This formal apology, although private, has been imposed on me. I say this because I can imagine the surprise on your face. It was not my idea. It is part of the punishment that my father the High King of the House of Aureb has commanded.”
Then Adamis understood. It could not have been Asu’s will, of that he was certain. “My dear father” (Asu went on) “wants to prevent this situation from escalating between our Houses, and I find myself obliged to apologize. Also publicly, before your father and the nobles of your House.”
The image blinked, and Asu vanished for a moment. Notaplo and Adamis looked on uncertainly. It stabilized, and Asu appeared again, wearing different clothes.
“Now that I have got rid of my lord father’s punishment, I have one last thing to tell you, Adamis. I hope you appreciate it. I want you to know that I am going to get the slave girl you stole from me for myself, the one who is your favorite and whom you helped escape. I want you to know that I intend to use all the means in my power to make her mine, and when I have her I will make her pay for her dishonor and your treason, many times over. She will suffer in such a way that her screams will be heard in all the seas that are known. I will not rest until she is mine, until she pays a thousand times in blood and suffering. She is mine, and she will be mine again. So enjoy your exile knowing this: she will soon be in my power, and do not worry… when I have her you will be the first to hear her scream.” Asu began to laugh, and his laughter was heavy with hate and malice. The image blinked again and vanished, leaving behind only the macabre laughter.
Moments later the disc burst into flames and was consumed.
Notaplo stepped back and tripped, he almost fell.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, my prince, I am fine. Such scares at my age… not good… not good at all. But now I am worried about Kyra. That wicked Golden will not cease in his evil intent…”
“I know, Notaplo. This threatening message has left me very worried. I have to think what I should do… Thank you for everything.”
“Always at your service, my Prince.”
Adamis turned to look at the closed door of the chamber. Kyra is in danger of death, and I am buried in this mausoleum. A feeling of violent unrest came over him. I have to do something. I cannot let Asu capture her.
In the Eternal City, in an underground chamber of the Royal Palace of the House of Aureb, of the Second Ring, Lord Asu felt a tingle creep across the back of his neck. He concentrated, searched for the trace of Power and smiled when he recognized it.
“That bastard Adamis has received my message,” he murmured, and began to laugh with pure satisfaction. “How I wish I could have seen that moron’s face.” His laughter bounced off the polished red walls of the three-sided pyramidal chamber. The silver runes of the walls reflected his laughter with a gleam.
“Is anything wrong, my lord and master?” Moltus asked. He was manipulating the red monolith of knowledge. A ring of golden light ran throughout the surface of the object until it merged with the upper vortex of the pyramid and disappeared sixty feet above.
Asu turned to his ancient, decadent Erudite. The truth was that the man’s mere presence made his stomach turn. He was so decrepit that he was forced to lean on a jeweled staff. The copper-gold of his shriveled skin and the silver hair which fell half-way down his back left a sense of disgust in Asu, which was only surpassed by what he felt at the sight of Moltus’ face, with those icy-blue eyes and the horrible burn on his right temple.
Shaking off his distaste, he said: “Nothing that concerns you. Is everything ready for the experiment you have told me about? Patience is not exactly one of my virtues.”
“My powerful lord, after eight hundred years of devoted search, the voices tell me I am going to achieve it. We shall attain immortality. We shall manage to restore the essence of life which was stolen by the Power from our bodies. The voices confirm it, and they know, my Prince and master.”
“You and your voices! You are nothing but a fool!”
“I assure you I have done it. The voices do not lie. We shall obtain essence of life to restore what was consumed by the Power, and you will be able to use as much Power as you wish, without fear. You will be the most powerful of all, and nobody will be equal to you.”
“By the Fire! You had better grant me what you promise, or you will suffer the most tortuous of deaths!”
“But… my lord… I live to serve you…”
“You have exhausted my patience, you old fool! Give me what I want!”
Iradu’s voice sounded behind him. “Did you call, my lord?”
Asu turned to his Champion, who had arrived with Oskas, his Master-Spy. Beside the gigantic, imposing presence of Iradu, Oskas, even though he was an Enforcer of great physical strength, looked like a mere slave. But the sinister figure, always dressed in black and wearing the Helmet of Oblivion, gave off a lethal aura. Here they come: the strength a
nd power of the best warrior among all the Golden, and the intelligence and somber arts of the best of my Enforcers. One could not ask for better company, and they are faithful to me, by obligation and by fear. Asu smiled in satisfaction.
“Yes, I want you to witness this. According to the result this fool of an Erudite has obtained, I have plans for both of you.”
“Very well, my lord,” Iradu said, and folded his muscled arms over his powerful torso. Oskas made a brief bow and said nothing.
“Very well. Go ahead, Moltus. And you had better not disappoint me.”
Moltus smiled timidly and clapped his hands twice. Three of his disciples came at his call, dragging a terrified slave with them.
“Give her the reactive,” Moltus ordered. Excitement glittered in his eyes as his body bent over his staff. “I have made it stronger.”
The slave was forced to drink the dark potion from a crystalline phial. A moment later she began to convulse, so that they had to hold her firmly. Her eyes turned completely black.
“She is ready,” said Moltus, who was watching her carefully.
He placed a disc with two silver circles on her forehead, and there was a metallic snap. The object divided in two, and the upper part began to rotate while the rune flashed at intervals. Black veins began to appear on the young slave’s face. She stiffened, looking upwards with her arms stretched out behind her and her mouth open. The black veins spread from her face through her neck, then to the rest of her body, until it was completely corrupted.
The disc stopped. The slave fell dead.
Moltus removed the disc and studied the two circles. Letting his staff drop, he raised his arms in the air and gave an abandoned cry. “Golden! The circles have turned golden! I did it! The voices knew it! I did it!”
Asu took the disc from the Erudite’s hand and contemplated it in astonishment.
“Golden…” he muttered in disbelief. Could it be? Had it really absorbed the essence of life of a slave who had not been selected? Had this lunatic really attained what he had pursued for so long?”
“The voices knew! I have made the greatest discovery of all times! We will be immortal!” Moltus was shaking with ecstasy. His assistants ran to grab him to prevent him from falling in his enthusiasm.
“Get him to calm down!” Asu snapped. He was now very nervous and excited. The implications of this success, if such it was, were unthinkable. The whole established order would change. And he would reach the peak from which he would rule the world.
Iradu rushed to the Erudite and seized him by the shoulders. The disciples moved back.
“I did it, my lord…” Moltus repeated. He was exhausted by now.
“Do you mean to say you have found the way to obtain vital essence, and so manage to regenerate all the Power my body consumes?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Will I be able to use all the Power in me without fearing the consequences, without being consumed, without aging prematurely and dying? Will I be able to obtain vital essence from all the slaves? Think well before you answer, and do not lie to me or Iradu will tear your head off.”
“You will, my lord. The voices say that now you will be able to harvest slaves, extract the essence of life and restore your Power. It will be infinite ‒ as long as there are slaves, of course…”
“I cannot believe it!” Asu was euphoric. “Nobody will be able to oppose me, nobody! Today is the day in which the destiny of this civilization, of this world, will change forever! Today is the day I become a God!”
The others remained silent, trying to come to terms with the discovery and its crucial importance.
Asu laughed with his whole being. Unlimited power. There will be no way of stopping me. I shall rule over this and all worlds.
“How is the essence of life to be transferred to my body?”
Moltus straightened and tilted his head to one side. “The process has not been validated, my lord… never before have we been successful.”
“We shall validate it now!”
“Very well, my lord, but not on you yourself. The voices say it is dangerous… possibly fatal…”
Asu felt impatience devouring his chest. “You,” he said, pointing at one of Moltus’ disciples. “You will validate it.”
The disciple nodded, his face twisted by fear. He lowered his head.
“Put the Claw on him,” Moltus said.
From a silver container the other two disciples took out a golden bracelet five fingers across, with a clasp in the shape of a claw. They put it over the disciple’s right wrist. On the upper part of the bracelet a circle had been engraved.
“The disc, my lord,” Moltus said.
Asu handed it to one of the disciples.
“The voices say the moment has come.”
The disciple placed the disc over the circle of the bracelet, where it fitted perfectly. The claw closed on the wrist. From its nails emerged five pins which buried themselves in the flesh. The disciple groaned, but said nothing. The disc flashed and divided into two. The upper part began to rotate, gleaming as it did so. Black veins began to appear in the arm. Very soon the whole arm had turned black as far as the shoulder, reaching the neck and then the face.
“Do you feel the essence?” Moltus asked his disciple.
“Yes, my lord, I feel it… my source of power is restored… but…argh… something… is not right…” The disciple fell to the ground and began to tremble uncontrollably. They held him firmly, but he went on shaking and finally he lost consciousness.
“Is he alive?” Asu asked.
The disciples examined him, “Yes, my lord, he is alive, for now.”
“It is a reaction of the organism, similar to a poisoning,” Moltus explained.
“If it is similar to a poisoning,” Asu said, “you can create an antidote, something that will allow me to counter the noxious effect.”
“Yes, my lord, the voices say there is no doubt.”
“How long will it take?”
“Not long, I think. I shall experiment with the disciples.”
“Iradu, stay with him, get him everything he needs. This is vitally important. There is nothing more so. Is that clear?”
Iradu glanced at Moltus out of the corner of his eye. “Yes, my lord.”
“Oskas, I have a new task for you.”
“Always at your service, my Prince.”
“It is a mission that requires your special skills. You must get me something I crave fervently.”
“I will get it for you, have no doubt about that.”
Asu grinned. What a wonderful day this was.
I shall dominate the Golden, and then I shall dominate the world.
Chapter 22
Ikai bent down to drink from the stream. They had been traveling at a forced march all day, and he was desperately thirsty. The Witch of the Lake’s potion swung from his neck. He reached for the phial, then for the pendant his sister had given him, the sea horse she had carved for him. He always wore it, as she wore hers.
How I wish I could tell you we’re coming, that I’ve got the medicine to save Mother. Don’t worry, I’m already on my way back.
“Back to thinking about a certain Captain I know?” Albana asked as she filled the water-skin.
“You know perfectly well I’m not,” he protested. “What happened between Liriana and me is already forgotten. It’s just a memory of a moment in a long-gone place and time.”
Her smile was wide and malicious. “Are you sure of that, Hunter of Hearts?”
“Of course I am!”
Her previous comment had stung, but this one was much worse. Reminding him of his old job in the service of the Gods, something which shamed him no end, was a low blow. Albana’s biting wit always hit its target, with a scalding lash. That tongue of hers, full of irony, always ready to bite when it was least expected, was another of her exceptional skills. The brunette’s witty, ever critical comments had chastised him since they had first met in the Dungeons
of Oblivion. “And anyway, remember she’s with her fiancé,” he retorted.
“Yeah… it would be interesting to see good old Maruk’s face if he found out…”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Sure I would, and you know it,” she replied, laughing, and deliberately splashed him.
“You’re impossible!” said Ikai, and splashed her in return.
They both laughed, splashing each other like children who had been given permission to play after a very long punishment.
They ended up lying in the sun on the grass, panting, happy for the first time in a very long while.
“We’ll make it,” she assured him.
“We have to.”
“Will you keep the deal with the Witch?”
He looked down at the tree tattooed on his arm. “Yes… I gave her my word. If the potion saves my mother, I’ll honor my word.”
“Don’t. I wouldn’t. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt in this life it’s that you can’t trust anybody. They’ve all got some hidden motive for lying, betraying and killing. That Witch is no different. She wants something from you, and I have a feeling that it’s bad news. Believe me.”
“I believe you. I don’t trust her, but I gave her my word and I’ll keep it. And not all of us have a hidden motive. I’d never betray you. And I’m not after anything from you.”
She laughed. “That’s because you’re an idiot who doesn’t learn from his mistakes!”
“However much you tease me ‒ and you do that the first chance you get ‒ you won’t make me angry at you. I’m not going to let you have it all your own way.”
Albana laughed even more. “Let me remind you, Hunter, that not so long ago you couldn’t even stand being with me and wanted to get rid of me at all costs.”
“That was before, before I knew what you’re really like, before I could decide whether to trust you or not… And let me tell you, you’ve more than earned it. Or do I have to remind you that you’ve already betrayed me, not once but twice?”
