by Reid, Stacy
The emperor must be enticed to imprison him with the rest of his treasures. Lachlan faltered at the thought of even allowing his beast any freedom. It had been a little over four hundred years since he had used any of its vile chakra. His people fed their beasts from the dark negative energy others gave off, and he had suppressed the savagery of his beast by erecting a shield inside, separating their chakras, and never allowing it any freedom.
The notion of parting the veil once more to peek at the beast that lived within him, when a demon beast had slaughtered his family, had rage burning through his veins. It hardly mattered that the slaughter happened at the hands of a Darkan driven mad with power of his beast. Because that Darkan had been his father, and Lachlan had inherited that same beast and the shame of his father turning into a Senjis, becoming a ravaging monster who had killed indiscriminately. That same malevolence lived within him, and he had drawn upon its powers until he had seen the corruption caused from using its chakra. He’d seen it first-hand in the broken bodies of his mother and her lover.
Brushing aside the haunting memory, Lachlan moved in the shadows, plotting. He would lower his barrier enough so the Serangite could read the intentions he wanted to communicate to the emperor and afterward, he would kill her.
No. The denial snapped through him, and he stopped in the shadow space. Why? There was something about her he couldn’t quite grasp, something important, elusive, something that brushed against the sharp edges of his mind but refused to be caught. He shadow-stepped into her palatial chambers. She methodically packed a bag with clothes, daggers, and rolls of papers.
Why do I hesitate at the thought of ending your life?
Unexpectedly she whirled around, a hand pressing over her heart. She lifted her chin, displaying the soft skin of her neck, the pulse beating heavily at her throat. Lustrous silver-white hair rippled to her mid-back, and the beauty of her delicate face arrested his attention. Her eyes stared where he stood, and he smiled, wondering at her power. Somehow, she sensed a ripple in the shadows. Her eyes which had the brilliant diamond cast of a fractured star seemed to glow, and he felt the brush of her powers. He glided closer, drawn to the rare beauty of her eyes. He stared into them, and Lachlan felt like he was falling forward into an endless abyss somewhere beautiful and unfathomable.
Her hand went to her throat. She looked so young and defenselesss, he wanted to drag her into the protection of his arms. And Lachlan doubted then that he would be able to snap her neck. He stared at her, disbelief twisting through his soul. What madness was this? She was a weapon able to draw the demon from inside his kind and turn it against the people of Amagarie, a weapon the emperor could use to enslave his people, triggering the third great war of Amagarie, for their dark king would retaliate, and his heart was merciless. Their kind was almost impossible to defeat in battle, and she had armed the emperor with their powers. There should be no hesitation in his heart to remove her.
He didn’t like feeling uncertain; it was foreign to his nature. Her tongue darted to lick her bottom lip, a nervous gesture, yet fierce arousal burned through him, rocking Lachlan back on his heels. His reaction confounded him, for it was not the monster in him urging him to lay claim. That need was all him. The princess was a sudden inexplicable force of chaos in his well-ordered and emotionless existence. He burned, he hungered, and he wanted to lift her in his arms, split her wide, sinking his cock deep, and ride her until they were limp with completion and her voice hoarse from screaming his name. In the dark cage of his mind, his shield rippled and contracted, and a soft yet taunting laugh echoed.
Lachlan’s entire soul froze, and with infinite care, he slowly moved away from her, melting into the gray shadow space of the wall. He searched inside, unable to detect any chakra that was not purely his. He tunneled his mind deep inside of himself, to his center where he only saw light in his mind and the blue glow of chakra, his life force, running through his veins. And beyond that light, deep shadows wavered into an impenetrable wall of absolute darkness. He assessed the wall, and there were no cracks. Had it been in his imagination that he had heard his demon?
He prowled over to her, dipped his head close to her neck and inhaled deeply. She smelled like the rain. He could not explain why he was checking to see if her scent drove him to distraction and lust as others of their kind had described the sensations they endured upon finding their mates. Lachlan knew it to be impossible without the beast in him, but still, he had to check. And there was nothing but the sweet woman scent of her, the one that begged him to seduce, and take her. With a soft curse, he moved away. What would he have done, he wondered, if he’d had a visceral reaction to her scent?
There was no explanation for his enthrallment. She wasn’t in his mind, that he was confident of. The witch had cast no enchantment, and that led him to the realization it was simply the woman before him.
The anomaly of it tempted him then to step from the shadows, clasp her slender throat and snap her neck. He should not allow any opportunity for her to become a distraction or worse a weakness. Something dark and dangerous stirred deep inside of him, and unable to understand the needs rousing through his soul, Lachlan watched, and waited.
3
Unable to shake the feeling that something lingered in the dark, Shilah closed the small bag she had carefully packed. Several times she had probed her room with her telepathy, and no thoughts had rushed to her. She could sense no aura, yet her skin prickled with unfathomable awareness. Careful to not appear unduly alarmed, she moved around the palatial room, scanning the large four poster bed, and the gold inlay chaise lounge. Of course, no one was hidden, but she truly couldn’t shake the feeling someone or something more was within the chamber. It was at times like these she wished this world operated like hers where each household had a personal PSI system, for the sentient intelligence would not allow any stranger into her domain as it was the first line of defense.
The memory of the sleek, golden-eyed man taunted her, and she glanced around the chambers once more. Perhaps she was naturally anxious about the path she would traverse. Shilah would need to flee the empire of Mevia, tonight, with her sister. Where they would go, she had no notion, for they were without allies in Mevia. They would have to flee to another kingdom or perhaps the realm of Amagarie itself. The seven kingdoms were on the edge of war, and she could see now that she had chosen the wrong realm to escape to and seek aid from. Perhaps Earth, or Titan—the world of cyborg warriors beyond the Jupiter ring would have been a more prudent choice. It was foolish now to look back with regret, and she must plot a new path for her and Kala. They needed allies, and Shilah had no idea where to get them.
“Shilah!”
Her sister’s scream of fear slammed into her mind with such force her knees buckled. Catching herself, she rushed toward her door, flung it open, and headed toward the opposite end of the corridor. Fury and rage pushed Shilah to run along the mile-long hallway tiled with jade green marble at full speed. “Kala, I’m coming.”
The steady silent screams of her sister battered her mind. The emperor had assigned them to opposite chambers at the end of the hallway, and always, at least two guards manned the halls. Shilah and Kala communicated telepathically as much as possible, careful not to spill their powers in the air. The emperor had several witches in his service, and she had come to respect their cunning and strength, even as she hated them for their loyalty to such a vile man.
A wail of pain tore through her, and Shilah stumbled, her knees slamming into the ground. Pain radiated through her, but she pushed through it, launching to her feet, and hurrying faster to her sister’s chamber. How she wished she had been able to flash as the Amagarians did, but their ability to move at such speeds was born from their enormous chakra strength and control. A gift no Serangite possessed.
“Shilah!”
Blood rushed through her veins, adrenaline surged through her system, and she pumped her legs faster. “Kala, what is it? Control your fear and tell me. Are you
under attack?”
“A decision has been made.” The echo of her sister’s voice throbbed with distorted power, and Shilah ran faster. Kala was a foreseer, and her visions were never wrong. Shilah neared the door, and the two guards drew their swords from behind their backs. Thank kings they hadn’t thought to use sound waves to stop her progress.
Without thinking she blasted past their weak mental barriers and commanded them to sleep. They dropped, the thud of their bodies echoing in the hallway. She blasted the door open with her mind, and rushed in. Her sister was kneeling in the center of her bed, sobbing, her mass of red hair tangled around her face, her green eyes wide with fear and uncertainty. Mentally closing the door behind her, Shilah pressed her hands against it and pushed with the full force of her aura creating a kinetic barrier in the room. Then she rushed over to her sister.
“What is it, Kala?”
“Our future has changed.”
Shilah’s mouth dried. “I know. The emperor has no intention of letting me...us go. He wants me to stay for another year, but I fear he lies. Our powers are too much of a prize.”
Kala’s eyes snapped open, and the fear and pain in her gaze drove the air from Shilah’s lungs. She gripped her sister’s hand as a dark blue aura flickered around her. The vision had taken hold of her, and her body trembled.
“No, Shilah...everything has changed. I can no longer see you ruling or married to the crown prince.”
Shilah stepped back, her heart pounding in fear. “Has our realm found out that I have a second genesis?” She had been anticipating that discovery for forty-four years.
“No, it is not that. Despite your fears, I’ve seen us...you in Dxyriah, sitting on the throne, the Crown Prince of Novar by your side.” Tears pooled in her sister’s eyes and spilled over.
Shilah had never believed in that future and had known there would come a time it would evolve. She was an impure, a Serangite with two geneses, and such a joining in her world was forbidden. Since she discovered the Alpha telekinetic gene had manifested in her years ago, she had burned all the hopes she’d had in her heart for a family of her own. Impures were not allowed to breed, to taint the purity of the race, a law she believed in with her entire heart.
“I’ve always known it was impossible for me to marry Prince Novar, Kala. Our Senate may not know I am impure, but we know it, and I could not deceive them so and consent to be his wife!”
Her sister sobbed. “Yes, but what I’ve seen Shilah…I cannot comprehend it.”
“Tell me,” she urged hoarsely.
“Heavy is the burden for the one who wears the crown of darkness,” Kala said, her voice dark and gravelly with power. “It will come for you—a creature of blood and rage. I see upon your head a crown of snakes and thorns, I see an army of beasts, and at your feet our kingdoms in ruins, the street flowing blood.”
For one terrible, timeless moment, her resolve wavered. She snatched her hands from her sister and the connection severed. Kala pressed a hand over her mouth.
“Our future has changed.”
“Someone made a decision, and it was not us.” That could be the only thing to account for the change in her sister’s vision for the first time in thirty-five years. The first time Kala told Shilah she saw her on the throne, they had wept their rage and pain. For their older brother had a wife and children, and for Shilah to sit on the throne so young, it meant they would perish before them. They had warned her brother, and he had taken precautions, but their enemies had slipped under their guard, and their kingdom had fallen. Shilah had promised vengeance, but the vision had remained the same—she would rule as the Crown Princess. She had silently pledged not to marry the Crown Prince of Novar, and the vision had stayed unchanged. Even after she had entrusted her plans with the emperor of Mevia to take back her kingdom, and the vision had not wavered.
Shilah stood and started to pace back and forth. “What if I stay with Emperor Khan for another year?”
Kala took a deep breath, and Shilah held out her hands. The scream that tore from her sister was wild and frightened. Kala released her hand as if she had been burned and dashed behind the silken screen to empty her stomach. Kala came out, and Shilah stared at her.
“What is happening?” Shilah whispered, hating how afraid she felt.
“If we stay....” Kala shook her head as if unable to voice her vision. “I would rather die here and now than have you stay. I see nothing but agony and broken bones and spirit. Staying as the emperor commands is not an option. You will pray for death, and I do not see the mercy of it.”
Shilah’s knees went weak, and she lowered herself onto the sofa by the fire. “But what did your first vision mean?”
“I cannot see it in full. Shilah, I am afraid.”
So am I. “Someone made a decision that has altered my future. That someone has to be important to me for the ripple to be so far-reaching.” I see upon your head a crown of snakes and thorns. What could that mean?
“Perhaps,” her sister said, drinking deeply from a chalice of wine, no doubt to remove the taste after emptying her stomach.
Shilah stood and paced. “What if there is no delay and we leave tonight, right this moment? We do not try and plan, simply act with impulse and courage. What then?”
Kala paled, and Shilah understood. “It’s all right. You do not have to touch me again.”
The use of their powers was often mentally and physically draining. More so for her sister who had not yet come into the full range of her abilities. With each touch and decision made, Kala was able to peek into someone’s future. Her current ring of power was that of an Alpha—the beginning grade of her skills out of the three levels for her geneses of foreseer. If she had been an Imperial, Kala would have been able to see the pathway and who made the decision to affect their futures, and the different probabilities surrounding the future based on all possible actions. As it were, only a few Serangites ever attained imperial powers from the existing geneses of telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, and foresight. Most of the imperial bloodlines were contained within the royal families of the three kingdoms of Serange. “We must leave at once,” she said. “It is simply too dangerous to remain any longer in the Empire.”
“How will we escape?”
A thought struck Shilah. “Were you safe and alive in the new visions?”
Kala’s head shook frantically. “I could not see.”
“But before when I married the Prince Novar you were there, yes?” She had heard the vision several times, but she wanted to ensure that part had not changed since the rebellion in Dxyriah.
Her lips trembled on a smile. “I walked you down the aisle of the grand cathedral.”
Shilah’s stomach knotted, hating not getting a sense of her sister’s fate. “It is foolhardy for us to try and decipher your vision. We can no longer trust the honor of the emperor, and we must act. The emperor will not dream that we would try and escape. We must do so, tonight.”
“And the guards?”
“We must kill them.”
Her sister flinched. Kala had never been able to take another’s life, and while Shilah had been forced to defend them since the rule of their kingdom had been brutally taken, the aura that clung to her after taking a life was vicious and would see her weakened for days. Three times she had been forced to use her powers to kill, and the very memory made her heart tremble. “I will command as many of them as possible to look the other way.” But not everyone had the same mental barriers and readily accepted the planted memories or suggestions that would distort their realities and thoughts.
“There are thousands of warriors in the palace. Perhaps we should not return to Serange,” her sister said fretfully.
“Do you doubt my powers?” Shilah asked.
She had ascended to an Imperial in her telepathic powers in the battle to escape with her and Kala’s life. When utilizing the full force of her power, she could ultimately control someone’s perception and push thoughts, feeling
s, or hallucinatory visions into the mind of another person, causing pain, paralysis, or unconsciousness, altering or erasing memories, or completely taking over another person's mind and body. She had never battled with the full use of her abilities, but even while asleep, she could feel the deep well of her power at the calm center of her heart.
“We have no allies, Shilah. It will be us against the empire if we are discovered fleeing. Perhaps Dxyriah will flourish under Crown Prince Quan’s rule and maybe—”
“It is our home,” Shilah whispered fiercely. “Serange was divided into three kingdoms and treaties formed to prevent so much power being concentrated into one family. Prince Quan wants to change that. He will lay siege to the other kingdom until he unites them under his rule. It will not be peaceful. The slaughter must be stopped.”
Kala closed her eyes briefly and then nodded. “It must.”
“And we must avenge our family and friends. Torren,” Shilah started softly with her brother’s name. “Parisa, Michaela, Thorin—”
“Savannah, Raven, Matthias, and Nia,” Kala ended softly. “I’ve not forgotten them. Not a day goes by I do not remember their lifeless bodies taken in the name of greed.”
They stared at each other, the memories flowing from Shilah’s thoughts to her sister’s. The good ones of when they had been happy and life had been simpler.
“We will leave Mevia,” Kala said bravely. “And I pity the fools who would try and stop us.”
“Tonight.”
Shilah hugged her sister. “Get dressed and pack a small bag only with essentials.”
Kala nodded, and Shilah walked away and slipped from her sister’s chamber with stealth. The guards were still lying on the floor. She stooped and gently touched each of their foreheads, piercing their natural shields which were even more relaxed. Nothing happened. You did not see my sister or me earlier or tonight should anyone ask. She brushed against their memories of seeing her rushing forward and psychically snapped the thread, which appeared like a web of spider silk, removing it. You will stand in a minute, then open your eyes, and rouse to full consciousness.
