The Daughters of Persephone, A Space Opera Special Edition

by Julia Barrett

  The visions nipped at her heels like an old Earther wolf. She called upon every ounce of strength remaining to her, and she pushed herself to run faster through the snow.

  “Grab all the blankets you can,” shouted Upo. “She’s returned to us, but she’s out there in the snow and she’s fading fast.”

  Open mouthed, the men stared at him, their feet rooted to the floor.

  “Run you fools and get the horses. Your Empress is dying. I know where she is and I’m going after her. Any man who lags behind will eat my sword. I will not tolerate cowards.”

  P’kit was the first to move. He swept three blankets into his arms, grabbed his sword and followed Upo out the door. The men seemed to shake off their fear and surged after him, pulling their weaves tight about them and snatching up any warm clothing within reach.

  Upo had already mounted his horse bareback and he waited, nearly exploding with impatience, for the men to follow. He needed to reach his sister before she died of exposure. From the note of urgency he’d heard in her voice, death nipped at her heels.

  Not bothering to wait for every man to mount, Upo urged his horse forward. Horse and rider careened down the slippery path leading to the vast grasslands at the foot of the mountains. The harsh winds blew snow crystals into his face and they stung like tiny daggers. Upo’s eyes watered and the tears froze to his lashes, but he refused to slow his horse and he couldn’t cover his eyes. He needed to be able to see his sister.

  By the time he’d gone two kigs in the direction Issa’s voice had indicated, he was beginning to panic. He’d seen no sign of her. He called out, but his voice was caught by the wind and returned to him. There was no other answer.

  Upo and his men pressed on in the night, the snow growing thicker and the wind increasing as they drew closer to the open grasslands. At last, terrified he’d lost track of Issa, Upo closed his eyes and prayed to the Gods for guidance. His stallion surged forward beneath him. Upo gave him his head. After another quarter kig, the horse skidded to an abrupt stop.

  Upo heard a shout from P’kit and he opened his eyes. Twenty paces in front of him stood a shadowy figure, Issa. As he threw himself from this horse, he watched her topple, face forward, into the snow.

  Upo reached his sister’s cold form in four long strides. He heard his men right on his heels. P’kit thrust a blanket into his hands and Upo lifted Issa’s wet body, wrapping her tight, while P’kit tucked another woolen over her hands and feet. Despite the dark night, Upo could see that Issa was white as the snow. She was cold as death to the touch.

  “Sister.” A rising sense of dread gripped Upo. “Sister, Issa, I’ve got you. I’ve got you and I won’t let you go. All will be well.”

  “I knew you would find me,” she whispered.

  He lifted the lightweight bundle and yelled at P’kit to mount up. Once his friend was seated on his horse, he handed up his sister.

  “P’kit, you are the biggest of us. Tuck her under your weave and warm her with your own skin. I’ll lead your horse.”

  He helped P’kit open his weave and made him press Issa tight against his broad, hairy chest. The men then wrapped several layers of woolens about both of them. The men covered P’kit so thick with woolens Upo worried the man would fall with his burden, but his friend was a good horseman, one of the best. He balanced Issa across his lap and still kept a good grip on his huge stallion with his thick thighs.

  When both appeared to be secured, Upo grabbed the reins of P’kit’s mount and vaulted onto the back of his own stallion. He turned his horse and led the men the way they had come, back to the cabin at a safe, steady pace. He couldn’t risk a fall. He feared another blow to Issa in her weakened condition might do her in.

  Issa returned to life in increments, one slow painful step at a time. Awake at last, she found her cheek pressed against a chest thatched with coarse hair, a chest that gave off heat like a blazing stove.

  She inhaled, hoping to learn who held her.

  Ah, it was her brother’s old friend, P’kit. Issa smiled, relief flooding through her entire body. Loyal, trusting, reliable P’kit. Issa chuckled and she felt P’kit tighten his grip, forcing her mouth against his crisp chest hair. He probably thought she was shivering.

  “What of the basha, P’kit?” Issa’s voice was muffled by layers of winat wool and the man’s chest. “Do you still have it?”

  P’kit called to Upo, yelling at him to ho, and he lifted the blankets from her face. “You’re alive?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Issa smiled up at him.

  The men circled their horses, bringing them in close to P’kit, acting as a windbreak for their Empress.

  “She’s awake, Upo, and asking me questions.”

  “Issa?” Upo’s drawn face peered over her cocoon of wraps. “Are you whole? I feared the worst.”

  “Yes, brother of mine, I’m awake and warm as a packra in its mother’s pouch thanks to P’kit’s bush of hair. I merely wondered what had become of his basha. I thought perhaps he wore it.”

  P’kit guffawed and the men laughed. Even her too serious brother smiled at her.

  “He died two years ago,” P’kit said, his voice vibrating against Issa’s cheek. “He was a worthy companion.”

  “I’m sorry, P’kit.” Issa giggled. “Upo told me you’d trained him well.”

  P’Kit grunted and Upo let out a snort.

  “We must get the Empress to shelter and we all need food and drink.” Issa heard Upo mount his horse. “Let’s get moving.” She felt P’kit’s horse step forward and she rocked against the man.

  P’kit repositioned her. He began to wrap the woolen about her face. “P’kit,” she whispered. “Don’t be embarrassed. You can’t help it. It’s the smell of my blood. In close quarters it has that effect on men. It’s a physiologic response, nothing more.”

  The man cleared his throat and leaned his head down. “I shouldn’t have these shameful thoughts; it’s wrong to think such things about a…an Empress. I apologize, my Lady.”

  Issa could feel P’kit’s chest growing warmer beneath her cheek. The man must be blushing, she thought. “No, P’kit, it’s not your fault. There’s no reason to feel ashamed.”

  “But Upo and Kane, either or both would have my head, or my… if they knew.”

  Issa laughed. “They won’t find out from me. Tell your mate, Talita, she is a very lucky woman to have such a generously endowed man in her bed.”

  Issa felt P’kit’s snort. “Aye, I’ll tell her and she’ll smack me upside the head quick as I utter those words.”

  “Not if you tell her the Empress says so.”

  “She’ll smack you upside the head then, my Lady.”

  Issa grinned and she snuggled deeper into the woolens. For the first time in months, she felt the stirrings of hope in her heart. She fell asleep to the sway of the horse and the regular, steady thud of P’kit’s big heart.

  Kane swung onto Tristan’s broad back and raced the stallion to the sheltered meadow where Aja and Kyr had gone to check on their new foals. He dropped to the ground outside the fence, throwing himself over the wooden slats. Aja’s head shot up as he approached.

  “She ripped her out of my arms, right out of my arms.” Kane was near to exploding with impotent fury. “I can’t find her. I don’t know where she sent her. Gods, for all I know she sent her over the edge of a cliff. I don’t know what Tem did with her. Aja, please, my Lady, please. Can you find her for me?”

  Aja laid her hand on his arm. “Calm yourself, Kane. I doubt even Tem would sink so low as to kill a Thousand Year Empress. I can’t get a read when your thoughts are chaotic. I need a clear picture of where you were. Slow your breathing and close your eyes just as we practiced. Show me where you took her and I’ll try to track her from there.”

  Kane shook with both fear and rage at what he conjured Tem might have done with her, but he forced himself to close his eyes and concentrate on his breathing. He held a picture in his mind of Issa as she’d looked
curled up in his arms the moment before she’d disappeared. He felt Aja’s feather-light touch in his mind and her soothing presence helped him rein in his wayward emotions.

  When Kane opened his eyes again, he found that Aja had closed hers. He stared, his terror for Issa increasing, as the grip of her hand on his arm grew tighter and her face lost all color in the summer sun.

  When Aja began to sway on her feet, he grabbed for her and yelled to Kyr at the far end of the pasture.

  “No.” Aja opened her eyes and she waved Kyr off. “I’m all right. Issa is all right. She’s with her brother. He’s reached her in time.”

  “Reached her in time? What do you mean, reached her in time?”

  “He’s… Yes, she’ll be fine. Tem sent her back to the same night you called her from.”

  “She sent her back naked, in the middle of a snow storm, didn’t she?”

  Aja met his eyes. There was no need for her to answer. Kane had no trouble imagining what had happened. The Red Demon had flung Issa back to the future with nothing, no clothing, no shelter. “How far?”

  “Do you really need to know this detail, Kane?”

  “Yes. How far was she from shelter?”

  “Five kigs.”

  “Godsdamn her. Godsdamn your sister!” Kane turned and stomped toward the edge of the pasture. Aja trailed after him.

  “I advise you to take your horse and ride,” she said. “Take your horse and ride to the ridge. Kyr will go with you.”

  “Why should I? Why? I’m tired of being a pawn. Your pawn, your sister’s pawn, Issa’s pawn. I should be there. I should be with my men, fighting beside them, protecting her, not stuck here with the horses. I’m useless here.” He turned to face Aja. “I can take myself back. I have the power.”

  “And I can stop you.” Kane heard compassion in Aja’s voice, despite her words.

  “Would you stop me?”

  “Yes. For Issa’s sake I would stop you. She asked us to protect you and we honor her request.”

  “She carries my child, you know. My son. If she has her way she and my child will die on that Gods’ cursed altar.”

  Aja looked surprised. “I didn’t know. Issa must be shielding the child from me.”

  Kane pounded his fist on the rail. “She shields the child from your sister.”

  Aja moved closer. “She doesn’t want to die, Kane. She seeks to keep you out of their hands and away from Tem. If the Black Frocks were to gain your power there would be no stopping them. You know this.”

  “I don’t know which is worse.” Kane looked at the woman who sheltered him, who reminded him so much of Issa. “To be used by the Black Frocks or taken by Tem for all eternity. Given those choices I would rather die with Issa. Hiding here is no answer, my Lady. I must go back.”

  Aja squeezed his shoulder. “Take Tristan, take your gift from Issa and ride. The fresh air will bring order to your thoughts. Allow Kyr to accompany you.” Aja lowered her head and leaned close. “I must speak with Ennat. The plan we discussed, you and I, I think it will be possible. It will not be easy, but it is possible. But you must trust me and you must be patient. We go when I say and not before. I will have to fly to Eir Edan and Kyr will not be happy about that.”

  Kane nodded his agreement. He stalked off, too angry, too anxious about Issa’s safety to say any more.

  Aja was right, as usual. He did need to clear his head. Eir Edan? He’d heard tales of the Red Women. The truth of the planet was shrouded in secrecy. If it was indeed populated by an entire race of women like Issa the Black Frocks didn’t stand a chance. And perhaps Tem would leave him be.

  Issa was hungry. Upo and his men had brought fruit, bread and the strong cheese made from the raw milk of her mother’s herd. She had an appetite for the first time in weeks. It seemed the sickness of early pregnancy was beginning to recede.

  “Mother and da are very anxious to see you,” Upo was saying. “And Cyra does not even remember…” his voice trailed off and Issa glanced up. “By a gack’s shit,” he said, surprise in his eyes. “I know that blush on your cheek. I’ve seen it on P’kit’s mate, Talita, twice now, both times when she was with child. And the way you are devouring that food like a starving veercat? Issa, am I right?”

  Issa waved a hand at him and cut herself another slice of bread. “It makes no difference.”

  “The hells it doesn’t! Kane will have my head if I let you lead the men.”

  “Kane has no say in the matter,” said Issa. She grinned up at Upo and popped a dried snowberry into her mouth. “The Empress must lead her troops. You know that as well as I. The Black Frocks will be upon us in three days. It will take them three more days to ready their knives. That gives us three days to consolidate our forces and two more to get them into position. We kill them on the sixth day.”

  “Why wait? Why not take them out as they land?”

  “We don’t have enough men to finish them all.” Issa chewed the crusty bread. “Or I would.”

  “Issa, I can’t let you do this.”

  “Upo, big brother, shut up. If you say another word about this I’ll have to wipe your mind clean of all thoughts and you wouldn’t like that.” Issa laughed when Upo’s mouth fell open.

  “You wouldn’t really do that, would you?”

  “Probably not,” Issa teased. “If I did you would be useless to me.” Upo’s look of horror amused her. “Don’t fret, big brother, I would never do such a thing, at least not to you. The child will not hinder my ability to lead nor will it affect my skill with a sword and a knife. I’m feeling quite well today. What word from our scouts?”

  “The unholy ones have finished erecting their filthy altars.” Upo spat on the floor. “And they’ve got a stable filled with women and children of the Blood, off-worlders for the most part. I hear they’ve scoured the Empire for them. They intend to kill them on the day.”

  “While the impotent Imperial Council turns a blind eye. I swear if I survive this battle the first thing I’ll do is disband that farce of a council and call for new elections.”

  Upo reached a hand towards Issa and lifted her chin. “If?”

  “Yes, if. The future is never guaranteed, Upo. I take nothing for granted, especially where I’m concerned. Every present moment changes the future. Every step I take sends the future rushing in a different direction. Do you understand?”

  “I try, Issa, but it’s near to impossible.” Upo slid his hand over his sister’s cheek. “I would hate to be you,” he said.

  Issa looked into her brother’s eyes, willing him not to worry. “Sometimes I hate to be me too. Other times I love it far too much. There is nothing quite like the feel of this power running through my veins, except perhaps the feel of Kane.” She watched her brother’s face grow red and she pinched him. “It’s why an Empress needs a consort of the Blood, to remind her she is just a human woman after all. I need reminding. I am too much like the Red Demon. I always have been.”

  Issa pushed the bread across the table. “Here. Eat. We ride out today. You must collect men from the neighboring province.”

  Upo shoved his braids back from his face and used his knife to cut a hunk of the hard cheese. “And you?”

  “Someone has to rescue the women and children.”

  Book III: Reborn

  “Wake, Estian Fermu.”

  The high priest heard the words as if from a great distance. He turned over in his bunk and pulled the blanket around his shoulders. The coldness of space travel made sleep difficult.

  But then he heard a woman laugh and he bolted upright. “What?” he cried out. “Who’s there?”

  “I think I’m insulted.” It was the woman’s voice again. “You’ve tasted my Royal Blood and yet you have to ask who’s there? Surely the high priest of the Black Brotherhood can do better than that.”

  Estian scooted back until his head hit the wall of the cabin. He clutched the blankets tight. “You are a dream, a vision, nothing more. You are not here. A vision can
’t be insulted.”

  He heard the baiting laugh and he shivered. Seeking reassurance, he touched the pouch he kept always beneath his cowl. Yes, it was still there, along with the one remaining seed cake impregnated with the Royal Blood.

  “Ah, I see you have one left. I thought you might be greedy and eat them all at once, but no, you’ve been conservative. You surprise me, priest.”

  “You can’t be here. It’s not possible.” He fumbled for a glow lamp, but it seemed to have been moved out of his reach.

  “Many things are not possible, but then I do them anyway and they become possible.”

  Estian Fermu began to shake with fear. He tried to reorient himself in the dark, tried to remember how many paces it was to the door of the cabin.

  “Running away from me won’t help, you know. I’ll just stop you so you may as well listen to what I have to say. I’ve come a long way to speak with you. Perhaps you’ll feel more inclined to talk if you can see my face.”

  A light came on in the small room and the priest found himself staring into the cool gray eyes of a young woman. She leaned against the wall beyond the foot of the bed. Her form was slender and full of grace, her features delicate and very pleasing to the eye. Her mahogany hair fell in thick waves across her shoulders and chest. It reached to her waist.

  Estian Fermu’s mouth grew dry. He tried to swallow without success.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve frightened you,” she said, but he heard no remorse in her voice and he knew his life was forfeit.

  “Wha…? What…? What do you want, demon?”

  “Oh, so now I’m a demon, am I? You think to drink the lifeblood of a demon? And here I thought I was your sacrificial lamb.” She laughed again. “Priest, there was a saying on old Earth, don’t dance with the devil if you don’t want to get burned. You wished for me, Estian, and so here I am.” She ripped her knife from its sheath on her belt. “You’ve broken the terms of our agreement.”

  Her voice slammed into him like a fist, knocking the breath out of him.