Harvest of Dreams (The Gods' Dream Trilogy)

by Debra Holland

  THE GODS’ DREAM TRILOGY

  BOOK THREE:

  HARVEST OF DREAMS

  by

  Debra Holland

  THE GODS’ DREAM TRILOGY

  BOOK THREE:

  HARVEST OF DREAMS

  Copyright © 2011 by Debra Holland

  ISBN: 978-1-939813-07-7

  ePub Edition

  All other reserved by author. The reproduction or other use of any part of this publication without the prior written consent of the rights holder is an infringement of the copyright law.

  GLOSSARY

  THE DEITIES OF KIMTAIR

  Withea, Goddess of the desert

  Yadarius, SeaGod, God of Seagem and the creatures of the ocean

  Besolet, Goddess of Ocean’s Glory

  Guinheld, Goddess of Zacatlan

  Arvintor, TwinGod, God of Exonlah

  Ontarem, Evil TwinGod, God of Penutar

  HEROES AND HEROINES

  Book One: Khan Laenser and Daria, Princess of Seagem

  Book Two: Indaran, Prince (and later King) of Seagem and Jasmine Karzai

  Book Three: Thaddis, (deposed) King of Ocean’s Glory and Sadie Isaacson

  SECONDARY CHARACTERS

  Earth

  Amir Laenser, Khan’s half-brother (who tries to kill him)

  Moussad, Amir’s henchman

  Seagem

  The Royal Family

  Iceros, King of Seagem

  Prince Cihkel,

  Prince Joshel

  Prince Setteff

  Others

  Issa, Daria’s nurse

  Micfal, the weaponsmaster

  Caifed, Archpriest

  Anza, Archpriestess

  Philan, Micfal’s grandson

  Ocean’s Glory

  Stevenes, King of Ocean’s Glory (deceased)

  Ogan, Councilor

  Boerk, soldier

  Zacatlan

  Devore, Archpriest

  Rodna, Archpriestess

  Meleda, Warrior-Priestess

  Penutar

  Pasinae, Trine Priestess

  Kokam, Trine Priest

  Nabric, Trine Priest

  Vol, Priest

  Landers, soldier

  Freeish, Landers’ wife

  Tashta, Landers’s daughter

  Slave Camp

  Mastin, Indaran’s friend

  Tempor, councilor’s son, twin of Elanath

  Elanath, betrothed of Cihkel

  Attle, a page

  Timba, a page

  Chercheca, mother of Merrel

  Merrel, baby saved by Jasmine

  Che-da-wah (nomads)

  Stridza (Stridzat and Stridzae) clan leaders

  Roe-al, the son of the Stridzae

  Jora, Roe-al’s betrothed

  Dihel, clan warrior

  Porval-nic, Roe-al’s rival

  Sha-na, healer

  ANIMALS

  Horses

  Nika (belongs to Khan)

  Daisy (belongs to Khan)

  Teifa (belongs to Daria)

  Darklady (belongs to Roe-al)

  Monkey-bats

  Shad

  Shir

  Mongas

  Shareef (belongs to Jasmine)

  Jatay (belongs to Roe-al)

  Dog

  Cheta (belongs to Sadie)

  PROLOGUE

  KIMTAIR, PENUTAR

  YEAR 23 IN THE REIGN OF ICEROS

  Prince Thaddis paced the deck, urging the royal flagship to sail ever faster, heading toward the gray land mass in the distance. Yesterday, they’d crossed from sunshine and lavender skies into the dankness of a gray sea and sky. His men murmured and grumbled, wanting to return home.

  But Thaddis sensed Indaran was somewhere on that dark land. When word had come from Seagem that Indaran’s heartline had been severed from his family, Thaddis refused to believe the news. He and Indaran didn’t have heartline connections, but they had a bond of brotherhood. Thaddis trusted his instincts; he’d would certainly feel the emptiness if his beloved foster brother had passed to the Hall of Yadarius.

  He sensed Indaran was in trouble and needed help. And nothing—not his fears, nor his men’s fears—was going to turn Thaddis from his search. He’d left Ocean’s Glory determined to rescue his best friend or die trying.

  His father, King Stevenes, would give him hell when he returned after sailing off without seeking his sovereign’s permission. But when Thaddis brought Seagem’s crown prince home, all would be forgiven. Both countries would celebrate Indaran’s return, and Thaddis would be a hero. When the grayness of his surroundings pressed down too heavily, when he wanted to give up and order the ship to come about, Thaddis used his imaginary homecoming celebration and the joyous looks on the faces of Indaran’s family members to take his mind off the fear roiling in his belly and the oppression weighing on his shoulders.

  A harbor and a long stone quay came in sight. A narrow stone road zigzagged up the side of the cliff, and even with the telescope, Thaddis couldn’t see over the top. At sea level, several gray stone buildings lined one end of the dock. A small white coach, with a team of horses was parked in front of one. There was no sign of the driver, nor of any other inhabitants.

  Thaddis impatiently paced the observation deck while the crew below went about the process of docking the ship. The smell of rotting fish and seaweed drifted past. His royal guard and the other soldiers he’d brought gathered around him, swords ready. But no attack, nor any attempt at communication, came.

  Just as Thaddis was about to order a group of soldiers to reconnoiter, a door opened in the quay-side building. A dark-haired woman in a long, gray robe stepped out, carrying a metal vessel with both hands. Several men in similar robes followed her. They lined up in a formation like an arrowhead, with the woman at the point, and moved in unison about fifty paces toward the ship before they stopped and waited.

  Up closer, Thaddis could see the woman possessed an exotic beauty, with her dark skin, hair, and eyes, perfect features, and from what he could tell under the robe, a curvaceous body. Around her head, she wore a huge gray pearl on a circlet. Suddenly, eagerness to meet her swept away all caution.

  Ascending from the wheelhouse deck, Thaddis motioned for two sailors standing near the rail to roll out the gangplank, then he strode forward. He awkwardly climbed down the steep, swaying plank, cursing the fact that there was no way to preserve his princely dignity while doing so. Once on the stone quay, he staggered a bit, forcing himself to walk as if he wasn’t adjusting to solid land after weeks at sea. He met the dark-eyed gaze of the woman, feeling immediate pleasure at her beauty. Then he sauntered over, giving her a courtly bow and a charming smile—the one females of every age always responded to.

  This woman seemed no different. She widened her long-lashed eyes and gave him an admiring curve of her lips that shot attraction through his body. “I bid you welcome to Penutar. I am Pasinae.” Her voice sounded husky and hinted of sexual pleasures. She held up a large two-handled cup.

  Thaddis became aware of his parched throat, and the need for refreshment grew paramount.

  “Drink,” she urged. “Become one with us.”

  Hoping Pasinae meant that statement literally, Thaddis took the heavy vessel. “I am Thaddis from Ocean’s Glory.” He deliberately left out his title, wanting her interested in him, not his rank. He lifted the welcome cup and sipped. The beverage tasted like the finest mead, sweet and tart with a kick underneath. He drank deeply.

  She glanced seductively at him from under lowered lashes. “I would have you visit our city. Will you come with me? We will return you safely to your ship in a few hours.” />
  All suspicion, any thought of finding Indaran emptied from his mind, replaced by an overwhelming desire to go with her, a hope that she offered to quench his lust as she had his thirst.

  He turned and conveyed his orders to his royal guard. He repeated them to the captain of the ship who’d followed him down to the quay.

  Although the man cast a hopeful glance at Lady Pasinae, she did not formally welcome him or offer the cup.

  Both the captain and the leader of his guard dared to protest him leaving without their protection.

  Thaddis made a chopping motion, issuing a command for them to stay behind that they dared not disobey.

  With a graceful wave of her hand, Pasinae indicated he come with her to the carriage. As they walked together, her fragrance floated to him on the breeze, heavy and flowery. The scent made his head swim.

  They climbed into the conveyance, which turned out to be made from the largest derli shell he’d ever seen. He turned to Pasinae in amazement, meaning to ask where they’d discovered such a large specimen, and how they’d overcome the stingers of the rightful inhabitant. But when he looked into her beautiful face, all rational thought fled.

  A small dark man in a tattered gray robe climbed into the driver’s seat, took the reins, and flicked them. The horses started the climb up the steep road, and the sharp angle pressed the two of them back against the cushioned bench.

  Thaddis started to make conversation, although he had difficulty forming words. His brain seemed fuzzy, and his tongue thick. In the back of his mind, an alarm buzzed, and he struggled for clarity.

  Pasinae brushed her hand over his thigh.

  His breathing hitched, and his concerns clouded.

  They reached the lip of the cliff, and he leaned forward as much as possible, wanting to see what awaited him. He’d just caught a glimpse of gray stone buildings, when dizziness overcame him. Slumping back in the seat, black sparkles dancing across his vision, he passed out.

  ~ ~ ~

  Thaddis came to with his arms around the shoulders of gray-kilted men on either side of him who propped him upright between their bodies. He stared blurry-eyed at the inside of an enormous square block building.

  Noxious incense from a brazier in the front drifted his way, drugging Thaddis’s already-fuzzy brain. He blinked several times, trying to focus his vision. People lay motionless on slabs around the cavernous room. A statue of a God he’d never seen dominated the front, looking handsome and powerful. The God wore a red kilt that made Thaddis think of blood.

  He took a closer look at the lifeless people. With a shock that penetrated his fogged mind, he recognized some of Indaran’s crewmembers, lying on the slabs. Their chests rose in shallow breaths.

  Then he saw a familiar figure clad in Seagem’s green in front on a larger slab like a bier, his long blond hair spilling over the side. Indaran! Thaddis tried to lurch over to his friend, but his legs had no strength, and the two priests easily restrained him. If he squinted, he could see a faint gray line running from the statue to each man, the one to Indaran the thickest.

  The line pulsed and throbbed like a vein, and Thaddis searched the room. What is this place? Why—? When he’d realized empty slabs waited for him and his men, fear almost brought him to his knees

  Pasinae moved into his line of vision, gliding close.

  Her scent intoxicated him. He tried to fight his response.

  She cupped his face. “Come and meet our God, Ontarem.”

  Her touch sent sexual energy racing down his spine to pool in his groin. In spite of his resistance, his body reacted to her.

  Her smile grew but didn’t reach her dark eyes, which remained cold. “Such a handsome man,” she purred. “I’m going to take pleasure in controlling you.”

  The thought of coupling with her no longer seemed as enticing. Thaddis tried to break free from the men holding him, only to discover his limbs responded as if they were bags of sand instead of powerful muscle and bone.

  With a wave of her hand, Pasinae motioned for the priests to bring him and follow her.

  The two half-walked, half-dragged him to the foot of the statue.

  The statue glanced down at him; the carved eyes took on a blue cast.

  Thaddis felt the probe as the God penetrated his brain.

  The God nodded. You will do nicely.

  He didn’t like the sound of that.

  With a slow move, the God lifted His hand and splayed His fingers.

  The men holding Thaddis shoved him until he stood directly underneath the statue.

  The God dropped a hand to Thaddis’s shoulder. His fingers squeezed.

  Thaddis stiffened, expecting a hard grip. But instead the hand touching him warmed and the gesture of camaraderie felt familiar, as if…he couldn’t concentrate enough to figure out the sensation.

  My beloved son, the God said. I am Ontarem. For many years, you have longed to know me, and I have heard your prayers.

  The warmth went deeper into Thaddis’ body, penetrating his heart. “Father?” The little boy inside him remembered the feeling of love, of attention, of protection. Then his mother had died of fever. Lost in his own grief, the king had turned away from his son. Thaddis had needed love and comfort, and his father could not give it.

  But now He can. The connection nourished a part of his heart that was starved. Vulnerable, Thaddis reached up to cover Ontarem’s hand.

  The second his fingers touched the God’s hand, the Deity struck, driving a knife of pain into Thaddis’s brain.

  Thaddis flailed the air between them, trying to disengage, but the God only drove deeper into his mind. The excruciating agony would have dropped Thaddis to his knees if the temple guards hadn’t held him up.

  A priest in a gray robe joined Pasinae. The man was tall, with the pleasing features similar to the woman’s, and moved like a leader with a straight-backed haughty air. He too wore a circlet on his head like hers with a huge gray pearl that seemed to pulse.

  He directed a sharp gaze at Thaddis. “You’re not powerful enough to remain and supply energy to Ontarem.” The man took obvious pleasure in taunting Thaddis. “We’re sending you back to Ocean’s Glory to do His bidding.”

  All Thaddis could do was moan in response, the forming of actual words too difficult to accomplish through the pain that beat at him.

  The priest’s cruel smile grew more satisfied.

  Ontarem bound Thaddis to him, wrapping an invisible chain around his head.

  I have to fight Him. Gathering what little remained of his strength, Thaddis drove his elbow into the stomach of the guard on his right.

  Wincing, the man loosened his grip.

  Thaddis grabbed for the guard’s sword, only to be jerked upright as if the God had him on a short leash.

  The guards tightened their grips.

  Sinister laughter echoed around the room and shivered down Thaddis’s spine. As the pressure on his brain increased, he realized he was well and truly trapped.

  The God gorged on every shard of his agony and shame. Another twist of the shackle brought Thaddis, Prince of Ocean’s Glory, completely under Ontarem’s control.

  As the God’s laughter echoed around the cavernous room, Thaddis felt his own will drain from him, replaced by the dark command of Ontarem.

  Pasinae accompanied Thaddis back to the ship. By sundown of that day, he was bound for Ocean’s Glory to do the God’s evil work.

  CHAPTER ONE

  KIMTAIR, SEAGEM

  YEAR 37 OF THE REIGN OF ICEROS

  Out in the harbor, Thaddis, King of Ocean’s Glory, stood at the bow of the flagship Vengeance, watching the reavers he’d unleashed storm the ramparts of Seagem. The ships of the seascum had berthed at the docks, while the Vengeance and other vessels from Ocean’s Glory under Thaddis’s command anchored in the safety of the harbor. The reavers would be the first wave of attackers.

  Behind and below him on the decks of the ship, his soldiers wearing black uniforms formed disciplined r
ows, waiting for the seadogs to inflict the most damage to the city, killing, burning, and looting. Only after the reavers had taken their toll on the Seagem soldiers would Thaddis allow his army to disembark and attack.

  The sounds of battle carried over the water—the yells of fighters, the clash of weapons, and the screams of the wounded—a cacophony of music that swelled the power of the God, Ontarem, within him. He felt no pity for the victims—only a cold duty. The God must be obeyed.

  Fires burned in some of the wooden structures between the greenstone buildings. The smell of smoke drifted to him on the briny breeze. Black clouds spiraled into the lavender sky, a pyre of incense to the nostrils of the God.

  Thaddis lifted a spyglass to his eye, focusing on individual battles. For each Seagem soldier who fell, a surge of satisfaction cascaded within him, funneling across the ocean to Ontarem.

  Thaddis caught sight of a familiar figure on the stone quay and frowned.

  Cihkel, brother to the missing Indaran and Prince of Seagem, felled raider after fur-and-armor clad raider. If he didn’t know better, Thaddis would think the prince fought with the power of Yadarius, the God of Seagem. But the SeaGod was bound in chains and submerged in the midst of the far-away Triangle Islands, helpless to prevent the destruction of His people.

  Cihkel wasn’t alone. Soldiers in green uniforms, citizens in their everyday garb, and barefoot local sailors engaged the seadogs around him, trying to protect their prince and defend the city. One by one, they died as the ruthless invaders pressed forward.