They gave Kayla a breathtaking view of the mountains and bright, cloud dappled sky and rather than being intimidated by her surroundings, as she initially feared, she found it exhilarating to be on a distant world, away from the daily grind and grim memories of Earth. In some strange way that she couldn’t exactly explain, it felt that here on Zodia she had finally come home.
Dragging her attention away from the view, she now focused her attention on the imposing double doors that they were now heading to. The doors were made of silver and decorated by dozens of flying ravens made of gem stones. On the other side, she heard numerous voices cheering and laughing, and it sounded as if some great celebration was going on.
“Sounds like they are pleased you’re back,” she said to Leos.
“I wouldn’t wager on it,” Leos replied, his face growing hard. “It sounds like my brother is indulging in his own particular form of entertainment.”
Kayla frowned, not liking the sound of that, but said nothing. She would soon find out what Leos meant when she met the Raven King. In front of them, Virgon grabbed the huge handles of the doors and pushed them open as if they were made of paper.
The noise from within spilled out in a great wave, along with it came a surge of intense heat and deafening, booming music. Kayla was overwhelmed at first, but Leos put his hand on her arm and guided her gently forward, his strength and innate power giving her confidence.
Stepping through the doors with him, she found herself in a colossal circular chamber made of glittering crystal, interlaced with metallic struts and girded by galleries.
The floor was polished marble and in its centre there was a sinuous dais made of metal and mounted with a huge black throne shaped to resemble a huge bird with outstretched wings. It was similar in appearance to the huge sculpture that graced the outside of the city. Kayla saw someone on the throne, but there were so many people crammed into the chamber and up in the galleries that she could not see him clearly.
The crowd were all finely dressed Zodians, sharp faced and screaming and shouting in ecstatic fervour. They were all focused on a space in front of the dais and there seemed to be some kind of performance going on though she could only catch glimpses through the shifting throng of people.
Without preamble, Virgon pushed through the crowd, shoving them out of the way without a second thought. He was twice as tall as everyone else and when they realised he was there they got quickly out of the way to avoid his juggernaut progress. Leos calmly walked along the corridor he created with Kayla nervously at his side.
They came at last to the dais, and she could now see the source of all the excitement. Her eyes widened in horror as she took in the grotesque scene and she clutched Leos’ hand instinctively. He put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder in a calming gesture.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear.
She didn’t answer him. All of her attention was fixed on the pitiful man crawling about on the floor. He was naked and covered by vicious cuts and marks, with an ugly iron bridle fixed over his head.
Sitting on the man’s back and riding him like a horse, was a deformed, ugly little Zodian man dressed in a motley costume of multi-coloured colours and a Jester’s hat with bells on. He was yanking the reins attached to the bridle, forcing the man to rear up onto his knees and cackling insanely, much to the delight of the onlookers.
As she took in every vile detail of what was going on, she realised the naked man’s eyes were nothing more than bloodied holes and that he lacked the Zodian natural blue glow, meaning he was most likely an Earthling. Staring at him in pity, another revelation suddenly hit her with all the force of a sledgehammer.
“That man,” she gasped. “I know who he is!”
Leos frowned. “What?”
“It’s High Commandant Telbort,” Kayla said, not believing her eyes. “He was the second-in-command in the Neo-Fascist Ruling Party and is one of the most powerful men on Earth.”
“He was,” Virgon said flatly. “Now he’s just a plaything of the King.”
At mention of the Raven King, Kayla’s eyes shot up to the throne at the top of the dais. Clad in voluptuous sable robes fringed with black feathers, he looked resplendent as he watched the former High Commandant’s torment. A shudder of revulsion went through her as she saw the cruel delight in his polar storm eyes.
Nevertheless, she found she couldn’t stop scrutinising him as she compared him to Leos. He definitely shared his younger brother’s elegant features and long black hair, and though he was undeniably handsome, there was a fatigue in his face and deep, dark circles beneath his eyes. He lacked Leos’ boyishness and the light that pulsed from his pallid skin was a sickly green, making him even more sinister.
As she watched him, his gaze met hers and a smug smile played at his lips. He seemed to be studying her as much as she was examining him. All of a sudden he raised his left hand and Kayla realised with a shock that instead of having an organic limb, he possessed a golden talon.
The moment he raised the frightening appendage silence fell like a curtain over the chamber. Only the jester carried on cackling and muttering to himself, and Telbort was sobbing lowly. The eyes of everyone in the throne room were now fixed on Raven King now and he rose slowly from his seat.
He moved with languid grace down the staircase, exuding power and menace. Kayla felt the tension all around her and saw ill disguised fear on the faces of many of the courtiers. Only Leos seemed immune to the overwhelming sense of dread. He kept the sardonic smile on his face as his brother descended.
“Leos,” the Raven King purred in a voice of liquid gold. He raised his right hand, which was normal, and clapped his brother on the shoulder with it. “You are returned to us safe and sound, thank the Astral Bird.”
“Geminus,” Leos replied coolly. “You’re looking worse than ever.”
A gasp went up from somewhere in the room, and the Raven King openly glared at his brother. Kayla looked at them both in fear, not knowing what was going to happen next. All of a sudden, Geminus burst out laughing and the two brothers hugged each other fiercely.
When they parted, Geminus brushed a rogue strand of hair out of Leos’ face. “You’ve lost weight,” he observed. “Have they not been looking after you on Earth?”
“They’ve been looking after me just fine,” Leos replied. “I’ve never felt better.”
“Ah yes, you have been receiving the tender ministrations of your beautiful healer,” the King said brightly, suddenly rounded on Kayla. “And here she is. My spies were not exaggerating. You are truly a delight for the eyes, Kayla.”
Kayla blinked at him in shock, unsure how to respond. “Thank you . . . your Highness,” was all she could manage.
“Call me Geminus,” he replied with a dismissive wave of his fearsome talon. “You’re practically family now.”
“Family,” echoed the strange little jester. He hopped off Telbort’s naked back and capered around Kayla. “Pretty lady, pretty family. A pretty princess for a pretty prince. Pretty, pretty, pretty!” He jumped up and down and began thrusting his stunted body back and forth in an obscene motion.
Geminus let out a high pitched laugh. “Forgive the antics of my Fool, Kayla. He excels in being offensive.”
“I think Kayla is more offended by how you treat your toys, Geminus,” Leos said. He went over to Telbort and made to remove the bridle. The pitiful man let out a terrified cry and cowered from him.
“Oh that,” said Geminus airily. “It was a gift from the Earth government. I’m quite bored of it now, actually.”
“It is a living person,” Kayla said, unable to help herself. “Don’t you think you’re being unnecessarily harsh?”
This elicited several more gasps from the courtiers, and even Leos showed a flicker of alarm. Geminus gave her a searching look. “You think so, Kayla?” he said in a deceptively sweet voice. “Do you know who this man is?”
Kayla nodded warily. “He was an important leader in the
Neo-Fascist regime.”
“Indeed,” replied the King. “He committed many terrible atrocities during the war as head of your Secret Police, and was directly responsible for the wholesale slaughter of over fifty thousand Zodian civilians and nearly a million Earthlings. Don’t you think he deserves to be punished for that?”
“Yes, he does deserve to be punished,” Kayla agreed, “but on Earth, before people like him seized power, we tried wrongdoers in a court of law and sent them to prison. We wanted to focus on rehabilitation rather than retribution. If I’d learnt one thing in this war it’s that sometimes forgiveness is better than revenge. By behaving like this I think you are sinking down to his level.”
A tense silence followed in the wake of her words, and Kayla wished she’d kept her big mouth shut. She had only been here for a few minutes and it looked like she’d sparked an intergalactic incident.
At last, Geminus nodded thoughtfully. “An interesting notion, Kayla, but you will find Zodia ideas of justice very different.”
He made a lazy gesture to Virgon with his talon hand. Without missing a beat, the bodyguard pulled the laser pistol from the holster at his belt and shot Telbort through the forehead. The man collapsed in a heap, dead in an instant.
Shock engulfed Kayla, threatening to knock her off her feet. She was no stranger to death that was true enough. She had seen hundreds of patients die and had witnessed many public executions, forced to watch as so-called traitors and enemies of the state were killed in cold blood. Despite this, the casual way Telbort had been disposed off still hit her hard.
Virgon holstered his gun, his face a blank slate, while the Fool capered around the corpse before performing a little jig. Leos stared down at the body and then looked up at Kayla, an unreadable expression on his face.
“We must mark my brother’s triumphant return and the arrival of our beautiful guest with a great celebration,” Geminus suddenly announced, his voice bright and happy. “This is a great day for Zodia!”
As if on cue, the courtiers began cheering loudly and the Raven King swept past Telbort’s body on the way back to his throne. He patted the Fool affectionately on the head and the little man scampered after him.
Kayla felt sick to the stomach. As the cheers and the music started up again all she could do was stare down at Telbort’s pathetic body. Once this man had the power of life and death over her and everyone else on Earth and now he had been reduced to this pitiful state. Kayla couldn’t miss the bitter irony.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into Leos’ concerned face. “Come, we’ll take you to your quarters and you can get settled in,” he said, giving her a pained smile. “I’m sorry you had to see this.”
Kayla only nodded and looked back at the Raven King. He was seated on his throne again with the Fool bouncing around on his lap. A group of scantily clad Zodian women had entered the chamber and were now gyrating and dancing erotically for his pleasure.
Virgon picked up Telbort’s body and threw it over his shoulder like it was a piece of meat. He shouldered his way through the crowd, swatting them away as they tried to claw and rip pieces out of the corpse. One thing was certain, Kayla thought inanely to herself. She would never forget her first audience with the Raven King.
Chapter 5: Carried Away On The Wings Of Desire
The Zodian night was a velvet cloak of indigo blue, sprinkled with jade green stars and punctuated by five glowing moons of creamy white gold. Walking out onto the wide balcony that jutted out of the upper tiers of the palace, Kayla looked up at the beautiful sky and breathed in the cool, scented air.
The night breeze stroked her bare skin where it was revealed by the shimmery pale evening dress that one of Leos’ handmaidens had selected for her. The Raven Prince had nine of them, petite, beautiful women who attended on him hand and foot, and always there to satisfy his every need.
When Kayla called him out on what exactly that entailed, he had become tongue-tied and started blushing furiously. She had felt a stab of jealously, but had to remind herself that this was a completely different planet and Leos belonged to an alien aristocracy that wrote its own rules. The Raven King’s shocking treatment of Telbort and swift execution was proof of that.
At the thought of Geminus, she wrapped her arms around her and rubbed at her arms in a comforting gesture. She had hoped after what had happened in the throne room she wouldn’t see him again that day, but as evening descended she was required to attend a feast in her honour.
The thought terrified her, and it hadn’t helped that once she’d been shown to her chambers, Leos had left her to it. He had matters to attend to with the members of the Owl Council, the administrative body who managed the day to day running of all three of Zodia’s Great Kingdoms, and would see her later.
Since then, she had not seen him for several hours and had been left in the company of the giggling and immature handmaidens, who whispered amongst themselves and shot her spiteful glances.
When Kayla did finally meet up with Leos again, it was in the high-vaulted feasting hall which was full of noise and activity, and not conductive to talking intimately. Matters were made worse when Leos sat with Geminus and Virgon at the head of the long t-shaped table while she was placed a few seats away next to the mountainous bulk of a Zodian nobleman who blocked easy access to Leos. The nobleman was very friendly to her, but one of the most boring people she’d ever met in her entire life. He spoke enthusiastically and at great length about his collection of antique hyper drives and went into extreme detail on the inner workings of the photon mark XX solar engine which was something of a favourite topic of his. Leos, in the meantime, was engaged in loud and rapid conversation with Geminus and Virgon about his escapades in the war and of former battles the three of them had fought in the past. The wine flowed freely, and heat and noise filled the chamber as the rest of the courtiers enjoyed themselves. It seemed like only she alone felt miserable and left out, denied being with Leos and forced to listen politely as the huge nobleman droned on and on next to her. She longed to escape and spend more time with her Raven Prince, only he seemed to be more than happy without her company and that made her feel even more depressed.
After the meal was over, she got her chance to slip away unnoticed when the entertainment began. This consisted of a kind of gladiatorial contest between several pairs of Zodian warriors. Stripped down to just their loincloths, the two men battled each other armed only with slender batons that crackled with energy.
When a baton connected with bare flesh it caused extreme pain, judging from the snarls and groans of the combatants and the courtiers watched with great excitement, placing bets on their favourite fighters. Kayla found the whole thing off-putting, and was disappointed to see Leos engrossed with the proceedings and urging the warrior he’d betted on to inflict as much damage as possible.
The huge nobleman, who had so eager to talk to Kayla now forgot all about her as he got caught up in the combat, and she was able to slip away unnoticed. Drifting along dimly lit passages, she finally came to the narrow lancet arch and the quiet respite of the balcony beyond.
Looking out at the night sky had made her feel a little better, but she was still down hearted. Leos had warned her that his world was very different to Earth, and he had been right. He seemed different too, and she was beginning to wonder if she had made a mistake coming here.
As she looked out on the majestic landscape though, she still was keen to explore this world. She felt a bond to this place and a connection to Leos. She wanted to know both of them before she made a decision on what to do next.
“Kayla,” a deep male voice said softly behind her.
Her pulse raced when she recognised Leos’ timbre and turned round quickly. Her heart lurched when she found Geminus’ black robed figure standing in the archway instead. His eyes were clouded over with alcohol and the green light emanating from his pale skin made him look tired and sick.
“You look disappointed,” he observed,
gliding forward. “You were hoping it was Leos?”
“Oh, no, I mean yes, um, I wasn’t hoping for anyone,” Kayla stumbled over her words. “I just wanted a breath of fresh air.”
Geminus nodded and came over to the balcony. “I understand. All of this is very new to you. You must be overwhelmed.”
“I like new,” Kayla countered, “I just need a little time to acclimatise, that’s all.”
“Good,” the Raven King said. “I want you to enjoy your time here, and so does Leos. He likes you very much.”
“I like him,” Kayla said with feeling. “I don’t know why, but there’s something about him that engages me. I just hope he feels the same.”
“I’m sure he does,” Geminus replied. “In Zodian culture we call this kind of attraction Fating. I think on Earth it is called love.”
“I wouldn’t go that far!” Kayla exclaimed. “But at the moment, I like him a lot.”
Geminus chuckled. “I’m jealous. I wish you liked me . . . a lot.”
Kayla looked at him in surprise. “I . . . like you, your Highness.”
The kindly smile on Geminus’ face vanished in an instant. “No you don’t. Nobody does. You hate me for killing Telbort. You think I am a monster.”
Kayla didn’t know what to say for the moment. She found herself staring at his golden talon. He noticed, and raised it to his chest.
“Horrible, isn’t it?” he said. “Did Leos tell you how I lost my hand?”
“No,” Kayla said. “I didn’t know you’d lost it until I saw you today.”
Geminus stared up at the moons. “We were barely older than hatchers when war broke out between the three Great Kingdoms that exist on Zodia. My father was the Raven King then, and he faced the combined might of the Eagle and the Kestrel Kings who sought to conquer our lands.
They thought we could be easily defeated, but the Ravens never give up, never back down. We fought with such a wild ferocity that our exploits live on in the dirges of the songbirds. The other two Kingdoms could not topple us no matter how hard they tried.
Royal Protector: Battle Of Love (Celestial Mates Book 8) Page 4
