“Ah, reckless and headstrong, is he?” Kane grinned at her.
The black stallion pushed his velvet nose against Issa’s cheek. “He’s from ancient Earth, a Friesian. A horse built for war. Sturdy, intelligent, brave. Heavy boned. He will breed true. By the Gods,” she exclaimed, pushing past the two men and striding towards Bes, Kane’s stallion. “This one must be out of Lyta. He’s refined, beautiful, just like her. How is my girl?” She ran her hands along the horse’s flank.
“Still breeding,” said Kane. “The best mare I’ve ever had.”
“I knew she would be,” Issa said, her voice clear as a bell in the cold night. “Did you breed me a filly?”
“Many. You may have your pick.”
Upo put an arm around his sister and drew her close. “You’ll come with us, then? You’ll stay with us? We want to know where you’ve been and what you’ve done these past eight years.”
Issa kissed his cheek. “I’ve been learning humility, brother, for eight long years. I’ve become expert at shoveling manure and grooming horses. You’re going to see mother and da and Cyra, yes?”
“Kane and I were just packing up when we heard your horse. They’ll want to see you with their own eyes, Issa. They won’t believe me otherwise.”
Issa ducked under Upo’s arm and checked the girth on her saddle. “I can’t come home, not yet,” she said, her voice quiet.
“Why the hells not, Issa? Mother fears you are dead and da refuses to speak on the subject at all.”
“Upo, I cannot return to them yet, not just yet. There are things I must do first.”
“What?” Upo tossed his long braids from his face. “What is more important than your family?”
Issa turned and looked at both men. “Calen,” she said. “Calen is more important.” Then she turned back to her horse and stuck a booted foot into the stirrup. She slid into the saddle. “I would not want to lead the Black Frocks to mother. They would spill her blood in a heartbeat and well you know it.”
“Issa…”
“No, Upo. I cannot accompany you. And if you’re wise you won’t tell them I’m back. Da will try to find me and I don’t want him risking his life.”
“But where will you stay?”
“There’s no need to worry, brother, I can take care of myself.”
“Upo, she’ll stay with me,” said Kane. “You’ll stay with me, Issa.”
The woman smiled at him and her eyes traveled his length. He couldn’t help it. Under her look he felt himself stir.
“Kane Tirol, you remembered my words. I’m pleased. You had better be certain because once we begin there will be no going back.”
Kane didn’t flinch. “I’ve never forgotten your words. I keep your scarf and your book in a chest in my cabin.”
“Ah, my book of the Empress Ya. I left it on the rock that day. I had forgotten all about it.”
Kane saw Upo’s eyes dart from him to Issa and back again. He shook his head. Explanations would have to wait. “Your leg,” Kane said, “we need to dress it first.” He reached for her stirrup.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” replied Issa, with a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s already healed.”
The men stared at her left thigh. Kane reached over and touched the wetness on her trousers. “But you’re bleeding.”
“I was bleeding. The wound has closed.”
“But I sliced you, Issa. There must be a wound there,” insisted Upo, reaching for her leg.
“Upo, don’t fret. I’m the Thousand Year Empress.” Issa rolled her eyes. “I heal quickly.”
Upo dropped to his knees and pulled a startled Kane down beside him.
“What in the seven hells do you think you’re doing?”
“Bowing before our Empress,” said Upo.
“Get back on your feet before I climb down and kick you both. I’ve just spent eight years bowing and scraping to the Empress Aja and the Lady Ennat and I won’t have you two do the same. I’m your sister, you blockhead. We share the same Royal Blood and Kane is to be consort. If you bow to me again I’ll beat you to a bloody pulp.”
Kane glanced at Upo as the two rose to their feet.
“What did you say?” Upo asked.
“I said if you bow to me again I’ll beat you bloody.”
“No, before that.”
Issa laughed. “That you’re a blockhead?”
“No, after that.”
“Oh, the part about Kane.” She grinned. “Leave it for now, brother. I need to retrieve the ring and then I need food and sleep. Will you come with us or will you go home?”
The three rode through the night to the old, abandoned homestead. Kane waited with the horses while Upo and Issa checked to see that their cottage was, indeed, abandoned.
“It’s not fitting,” Upo said in a quiet voice as they walked along the overgrown path.
“That I should take Kane as consort?”
“No, that he should take you. He’s never approached da to ask his permission and his blessing.”
“An Empress doesn’t need anyone’s permission to take a man, brother. My body and my future belong to me. Besides, I knew Kane was the one the moment I laid eyes on him eight years ago and I told him so.”
“It still doesn’t sit well with me.”
“For the Gods sake!” Issa punched him in the arm. “I’m twenty-two years old and I have never been with a man. I don’t intend to waste time, and this is not something I want to discuss with my brother. Do you take issue with Kane? Has he done something to earn your distrust?”
“No, he’s the most trustworthy man I know. He and his men have spent months hunting down the scum the Black Frocks send to Calen. The men from the slums of Ottorum, the murderers, rapists and thieves they send to terrorize the population and search for you.”
“There must be others doing the same,” said Issa.
“Yes, I imagine, but the Black Frocks seem to concentrate their efforts here, in Tista Province.”
“Because of the prophecy and the stories,” said Issa.
“Yes. They believe them.”
“And well they should, the stories are true. I am living proof of that.”
They approached the cottage and Issa closed her eyes, listening for any sound that didn’t belong. She heard nothing but the usual night noises. “The tree, Upo, it’s grown, just like you.” She ran a reverent hand along the rough bark.
“Yes, but the knot hole is still open. I’ve kept an eye on it all these years. There will be creepy-crawlies. Would you like me to retrieve it for you?”
“Thank you, brother, but I can get it.” Issa knelt near the base of the tree. She stretched her hand towards the knothole and waved her fingers. “Come out,” she whispered. She smiled as quite a number of insects and several reptiles crawled out and scattered. Behind her, she heard Upo suck in his breath.
Well, he would have to grow accustomed to her odd abilities all over again.
Issa reached her hand inside and pulled out the wrapped bundle. The wool scarf had rotted over the years, but the leather pouch hidden within it had held together. She untied the laces and turned the pouch over, shaking the ring into her open palm. It felt warm and alive against her skin just as she remembered.
“Once I put this on, Upo, there’s no return for me. I am committed.” She rose to her feet and looked into her brother’s eyes. “Are you ready to stand beside me?”
Upo met her gaze. “Yes. I will always stand beside you.”
Issa put the ring on the third finger of her left hand. “It begins. Soon I will call them and the Black Frocks will come. I must bring them here, every single one of them, and Upo…” Issa caught his eye. “Every single one of them must die. We cannot show mercy as my sister Aja showed mercy a thousand years ago. If we are merciful, we lose. Do you hear what I’m saying?”
Her brother nodded.
“Then we go. You must return to mother and da and make absolutely certain the Black Frocks cannot find mother. S
he is precious. Her blood is pure and they would drain her dry. Tell da, he’ll understand, but be cautious what you tell him about me. He must keep her out of sight. Please, hear me, Upo. They cannot have her blood, only mine.”
Her brother stared at her, his mouth agape. “Tell me you do not mean to sacrifice yourself to them.”
“Only a part, only what is necessary to lead them to their end.” Issa laid a hand on Upo’s arm. “It will be all right, brother. I promise. Now make yourself ready and collect as many trustworthy men as you can. Tell them to spread the word among other Calen men. The Black Frocks will arrive in force, in the tens of thousands, here in Tista Province. Tell every man to keep his weapons sharp and his horses close, and tell them to kill the off-worlders wherever they find them.”
“Kane has many men under his command. Will you…?”
“Don’t worry, brother,” Issa interrupted, “Kane and his men will stand with us.”
Book III: Reborn
At the pass above the village of Kossaht, Upo left them. In silence, Kane and Issa walked their horses along the narrow ledge. Issa allowed Kane to lead although she could see the way forward as clear as day. It wouldn’t do to frighten him off before they’d shared the Blood.
She needed him. Like a drowning woman she needed his help. The shift through time had changed her. It always did. The other occasions she’d had Tem to help her, but Tem wasn’t here. Issa needed the Blood connection to this man, to this time, or she’d become like her sister, another Red Demon, or worse, much worse.
She’d go mad.
Over the past eight years she’d learned the dangers of too much power, too much possibility. She’d seen the rightness in her sisters’ words, Aja and Ennat, and even Tem. Without control, she’d become an Abomination.
The ecstasy she felt when she manipulated time and space bordered on madness. The temptation to use her abilities and tinker with the threads of the universe threatened to overwhelm her.
To be a goddess?
Tem was a goddess in the Earther past. On that planet, she was known by many names—Hera, Artemis, Athena, Kali, Ishtar, Persephone. But even Tem somehow managed to control the worst of her inclinations.
Aja and Ennat had turned their backs on power and kept their lives simple. Issa had seen how content they were with their mates and their children, avoiding politics as much as possible and keeping their fingers out of the spider’s web of time. She wondered, not for the first time, if such a future existed for her. She’d seen it along one path. But she’d seen other pathways too.
Tem could help Issa rid the entire Empire of the Black Frocks, but she’d refused to do so. She’d told Issa that win or lose, men and women preferred to stand on their own two feet. She said she believed Issa would respect that and keep her interference to a minimum. Tem claimed she herself couldn’t be trusted to do the same.
Issa prayed to the Gods that when put to the test she would not become another Red Demon. One woman like Tem was enough.
As she rode behind Kane, Issa could feel the power pounding through her veins. The sensation made her want to climb out of her own skin. Her scalp itched, her toes burned.
She practiced the methods Aja had taught her, ways to control the energy and allow it to pass through her. She breathed slow and deep, and focused her attention on Kane, watching the hypnotic motion of his braids as they shifted along his strong back and broad shoulders, willing herself to shut out all but the present.
The last thing she wanted to do was scatter her energy to the stallion beneath her. Now would not be a good time for him to get skittish. The cliff to her right dropped seventeen hundred feet to the river and to her left was a sheer rock wall. There was nowhere to go but straight ahead. Of course if he fell over the edge, she could pull herself out of time and transport herself to safety, but she might not have time to bring the stallion. She didn’t want to lose her favorite horse, her gift to Kane.
Issa had traveled deep into the past to search out such a horse for him, wanting the strongest, yet the most nimble and elegant breed she could find. This particular pure black Friesian colt had won her heart and she’d removed him from a king’s stable, the king of a country known as France. The king possessed so many horses Issa couldn’t imagine he’d miss one young colt.
She’d named the horse Tristan, after the hero of a tragic story she’d heard while there. She’d trained him in the manner of Calen horses, the way her father had taught her, with help from Kyr Aram and his brother Karna.
The bloodline would be good for the stock on Calen, she thought, just like the blending of the Royal Blood into the general population had been good for the Empire. But now, in order to preserve the Royal Bloodline and reclaim her rightful heritage, there would be much killing. She would have to destroy the Black Frocks before they managed to bribe their way onto the great Throne of Blood on Matsu.
Matsu held many perils for her kind. To live among those who worshipped power might prove to be too tempting. It would perhaps be better to follow Aja’s example and remain on Calen. This world had a long, proud tradition of independence and self-reliance. The men and women of her home followed their heads and their hearts and Issa believed they were the better for it.
“We’ve passed the worst of it.” Kane’s low voice intruded upon her thoughts. Issa glanced around and allowed herself a small smile. She’d let the motion of his braids distract and soothe her. Somewhere along the way, she’d stopped digging her nails into the palms of her hands. The trail had widened and the mountainside sloped away from them rather than falling straight down.
Watching Kane sit his horse, Issa found herself uncharacteristically nervous. By the sexual mores of her people, she was an aberration. She was too old to be a virgin, yet she was. The women of Calen had usually been with a man, whether their future mate or a friend, by the time they were twenty. It was rare for a woman to come to her marriage bed without any experience.
Aja had explained why this was not an option for a Princess of the Blood. Issa must bond with one man, form a Blood bond that would link them forever, and she already knew that the man would be Kane. She would come to him without having known any intimacy between a man and a woman.
Despite the chill night air, Issa felt her cheeks flame. She’d seen sex many times in her travels with Tem, as Tem insisted she act as witness for her in Earth’s deep past.
The Red Demon chose to leave her own offspring, her own Daughters of the Blood, on Earth as seed stock. Issa knew Tem wanted her to understand why she did what she did. It was only because of Tem’s actions in the past that Issa and every other Empress, every woman of the Blood, existed.
Watching Tem, Issa had known she could never make such a sacrifice. True, the men were chosen with care. They were handsome, virile, intelligent, and attentive. They possessed both inner and outer strength and stamina. But they were strangers and Tem had no connection with them aside from their seed.
Once Tem had finished with a man he was forgotten in the mists of time. Issa found the act demeaning for both parties. Worse than the act, Tem left her children behind. Her own daughters were raised by the women of whatever temple worshipped her. If Issa lived to bear children she could never abandon them to the vagaries of fate.
She hoped it would be as Aja claimed; children would keep her grounded in one time and one place. She’d helped Aja birth two of her four children, welcoming them into the world as though they were her own little sisters.
She drew her horse even with Kane’s stallion. “Will they fight for dominance?” he asked.
“No,” Issa replied. “I’ve trained Tristan well. If there is no mare around he is gentle as a brill calf.”
“Tristan?”
“An old Earther name for an old Earther horse. It is the name of a hero in a story I heard the bards sing about.”
“What story?”
“The story of Tristan and Isolde. It is a tragic tale of two lovers who cannot be.”
“You’
ve read this story?” asked Kane.
“Yes, a number of times.”
“And you think it tells the story of you and me; that we cannot be together?”
“I didn’t say that,” replied Issa. She reached out with her mind. Using the most delicate touch Issa attempted to listen to Kane’s thoughts; curious to know what he saw when he looked at her, wondering if he wanted her at all. She drew back in surprise.
Kane tugged on Bes’s reins. The horse came to an abrupt halt. “What did you see?” he asked, and a corner of his mouth lifted in what could pass for either a half-smile or a snarl.
Issa stopped her horse as well. “I apologize.” She stared straight ahead.
How had he felt her? “Your thoughts are your own. I had no right…”
“What did you see, Issa?” Kane’s voice sounded rough. She didn’t blame him for being angry.
“Nothing. I saw nothing.”
“Liar. You saw how much I want you. You saw what I imagine when I look at you. How I’ve waited for you. You saw that, didn’t you?”
Issa felt the blood drain from her face and she turned toward him. “Yes,” she whispered. Kane grabbed her hand and drew it beneath his weave. She could feel his erection pressing against the front of his trousers and her breath quickened.
“Do you think I am hard because I plan to do my duty for the Empress?” Kane laughed. “It’s the smell of you, Issa,” he said, rubbing her palm up and down his length. “You are like the flower of the kekki tree mixed with sipa spice and horse sweat and blood. It makes me harder than I’ve ever been.” Kane dropped her hand and reached over, pulling her from her saddle and seating her in front of him. Issa didn’t protest.
The stallion, Bes, danced sideways and Kane gentled him. He took Tristan’s reins from her hands. “My cabin is just ahead. Are you still hungry?”
Mouth dry, Issa could only nod.
“I am hungry as well,” Kane said. “But not for food.”
The Daughters of Persephone, A Space Opera Special Edition Page 18
