The Slave Planet
Page 49
She’d lifted a hand to the soft, bright red beard, thick on this cheek. “No more fighting. Let me handle this my way. Let us be at peace.”
“Martians don’t know peace.”
“Then I will show it to them.”
“That machine can counteract the dust. Do you understand what that means? Without the dust you have no power over this planet. That machine can destroy you and your people.”
“Not if they never use it.”
“You place such trust in the sons of Earthlings?”
“I don’t want a war!”
“But they do. They’re Martians. They train for war!”
“So do you,” She’d remarked, intending the comment to stun him.
She was rewarded with a low, lethal growl.
“King Haggarty has pledged his loyalty to me,” she said. “I trust him. Let them keep their machine. But I will keep them close, and I will keep the peace, my way.”
He’d turned away from her then, the muscles in his back bunched with frustration.
“I only want to keep you safe,” he whispered. “This alliance will not keep you safe.”
“I understand your apprehension, but you must trust me Heedon. You must trust me the way that I trust you.”
Yes, Heedon had every right to be upset. After all, wasn’t it she that had signed the treaty with the Martians, knowing full well that they had a machine that could nullify Zenith’s power.
I thought if I kept them close, they would be an ally, a protector. Instead, they turned out to be our greatest threat.
She stood up and paced the throne room.
“You’re nervous,” Heedon said, his voice a gentle rumble of thunder in the room.
“Don’t I have reason to be?”
“Mars may have turned against us, but don’t forget Glorium is still the protector of Zenith. As we speak, Glorium ships are on their way with every available force to protect you.”
“Yes, you’ve said that.”
“Do you doubt my warriors?”
“No. How could I?”
“Then what could be troubling the great Ra-Sul-rah?”
Embrya felt a smile die on her lips. His special name for her, Ra-Sul-Rah, the supreme goddess of Glorium, should have lifted her mood, reassured her of his support and his love. Today, it only allowed her to stop pacing and look at Heedon’s powerful, pale figure. His fire red hair and beard, hallmarks of a Glorium warrior, shone in the sunlight.
Guilt churned in her gut.
“I should have listened to you,” she said. “You told me not to make a treaty with them, and I didn’t listen.”
“We all make mistakes.”
“Yes, but mine’s are starting to cost lives.”
Heedon’s sharp blue eyes softened, and he covered the distance between them in a few, long legged strides. He wrapped her in his arms, a confident smile playing on his lips.
“It will be all right. My warriors will protect you.” He tipped her head up to him, his gaze penetrating into the deepest part of her, the warmth of his breath heating her lips.
Although she was one of the most powerful beings in the universe, the hot, impenetrable bulk of her warrior’s arms still made her feel safe, as if nothing could touch her as long as he was near.
That’s not true, a voice in the back of her mind whispered.
She ignored it, and pulled him closer.
He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, then laid his forehead on hers, “I will keep you safe.”
Those words. That promise that she’d heard for a lifetime.
Can he keep that promise?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the throne room doors. A purple haired Zenithian fluttered into the room, her boxy grey dress wrinkled atop her thin frame. Behind her, several more Zenithians carried a large mirror between them.
“Magistrate Embrya,” Dell Una’s purple hair flopped over her eyes as she bowed in Embrya’s direction, then in Heedon’s. “High Keeper Heedon. The Specumium as requested.”
“Thank you Dell Una.”
The Zenithians gently placed the highly polished Specumium in the center of the room, then fluttered away. Dell Una went to follow them.
Embrya raised a hand to stay her.
“Dell Una, please stay. We may have need of you.”
Dell Una’s three eyes dropped, her mouth tilting down into a frown. She inclined her head, and headed toward the steps in front of the throne. “Yes, Magistrate.”
Embrya stood in front of the mirror, Heedon behind her.
The surface of the Specumium shimmered as Embrya mentally connected with it. It slowly morphed into swirling, red fog.
The Martian surface.
“What’s wrong with it?” Heedon asked.
“Our connection is being blocked,” Embrya said, her voice beginning to shake. “I can’t get in touch with King Haggarty, or Prince Praxis.”
“And the rest of Mars?”
Embrya focused on the Specumium, her cheeks shaking with the effort. She battled with the Specumium until her pale cheeks turned red and she was forced to take a deep breath.
The Specumium remained filled with the red clouds.
“They’ve shut me out,” she whispered, her voice low, barely a whisper.
She’d fleetingly hoped that this was just the actions of a few rogue Martians, but now she knew otherwise.
This is the machines doing. What else could be so powerful and vast that it could shut me out? Haggarty must be behind this.
She felt the sting of betrayal move through her gut, and she bit off a rather undignified Glorium swear she’d heard from Heedon many times before.
“Has this ever happened before?” Heedon asked.
“No one has ever had the machine before,” Embrya replied. The rage that pumped through her moved her feet in determined strides to the throne room doors. With a flick of her eyebrow, the doors flung open before her.
“But why would Mars turn against us now?” Heedon asked. “What’s changed?”
“Bring me the High Specumium!” She cried into the hallway, the boom of her voice sending Zenithians scurrying to do her bidding.
“You’re calling the other Forger-Keepers?”
“If Zenith falls, they will need to replace us immediately. They will want to make plans.”
“Do you insult me? Glorium will not see Zenith fall!”
“Let us hope that the Martians don’t see it as well.”
She heard him let out an breath as she cast aside the pearl colored robe she had been wearing, revealing a set of large, clear, embroidered wings. She flapped them harshly, flying back to her throne.
Heedon jogged to follow her.
She settled into her throne, folding her wings tightly behind her.
Her face went slack and her eye darted from side to side beneath closed eyelids.
Heedon remained silent as she listened, searched.
“Dell Una, bring the Martian ambassador to me,” she said.
Dell Una nodded, and quickly fluttered from the room.
“Can you see if Kiln and Nadira are alive?” Heedon asked.
“They are off world, blocked by Martian technology.”
“Should we alert Lex and Arees about what’s happened?”
“Yes. They deserve to know.”
“With the war coming, he’ll have to reclaim what’s his. He’ll turn from your jurisdiction back to mine.”
“Yes, I am aware of it.”
“And Arees?” Heedon asked.
“She’ll want to stay with him, I’m sure.”
“She’s not Glorium. She can train with us, but we cannot protect her in battle. My people are trained to protect you, and Zenith. Not wayward Venians.”
“When the time comes, she won’t need your protection.”
Heedon considered this, then walked to place his hand behind Embrya’s throne again.
Embrya opened her eyes, turning to Heedon.
“Do
you think that Eva had something to do with this?”
Heedon shook his head. “Why would you think that?”
Embrya turned away from him, focusing on the feeling of doom that nagged at her brain.
She’d meet with the other Forger-Keepers.
And then she would look in on Eva.
Also by Seven Steps
Science Fiction Romances
The Slave Planet
The Martian King: The Slave Planet 2
The Escape: Prequel to The Slave Planet
Night of the Broken Moon: Two Companion Short Stories to The Slave Planet
Thrillers
Before I Wake
Awaken
Contemporary Romance
The Last Rock King
Peace in the Storm
Always and Forever (Spring 2016)
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About the Author
“Let me be that I am and seek not to alter me.” William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing.
Seven Steps is a working wife and mother who has been imagining and writing stories since the first grade. She enjoys reading, writing, and travel.
Read more at Seven Steps’s site.