The helmsman glanced in question to the king, who nodded in assent. “Follow them. Now!”
Zayden looked up and did a double take when he realized a painted Plantan cruiser was bearing down on him at a dangerous speed. Flipping his switches to fire up his turbos, he called back to Denita, “Hang on, this may get bumpy.” Pressing the throttle to the max, he felt his spine press back into the curve of his seat as the ship jumped into its hyper speed. The stars elongated into white strips as he zipped into a vortex of speed hoping to escape the murderous intent of the enemy ship.
Glancing backward, he realized the Plantans had not only followed him, but were fast eating up the distance to his ship. With more powerful engines, they overcame him, and his craft lurched as a mighty tractor beam attached itself, then started to pull them into its gaping maw.
Zayden wondered why the Planta had targeted him. While they were lifelong enemies, they seldom bothered with small recreational craft, waiting to attack the fatter pickings of the large cargo ships. Well, he thought with chagrin, V’sair would just have to pay the ransom. Then he would be free once more to resume his search for Staf.
The ship was sucked into a landing bay, and once he saw Plantans surround his ship, he knew the atmosphere had been normalized. He pressed the mechanism to open the glass hood, unstrapped himself, and climbed onto the wing of his ship.
“What do you want from me?” Zayden demanded.
“That depends,” came the gravelly baritone he knew so well. “That depends on how much you are willing to take.”
A shot rang out, and Zayden heard a scream, but as he tumbled from his ship, he didn’t remember if it was Hilde’s or Denita’s.
Chapter 15
“I have missed you so, child.” Reminda held Tulani’s face in her hands and kissed both her cheeks.
“Oh, Your Majesty, me too!” Tulani replied, her eyes glistening with tears. “I think I am ready to join you. Maybe I can accomplish more from Syos than I can from here.” She paused, her face horror-struck as if a thought just occurred to her. “I mean, that is, if you still want me?”
“Want you?” Reminda smiled. “Silly girl. If V’sair doesn’t marry you, I will!” Reminda laughed at the absurdity.
“I cannot break the barriers here; they will not accept me as one of their own.”
“I understand more than you realize, Tulani,” Reminda said sympathetically. The rain battered against the walls of the volcano, and she shivered. Turning her head toward a sound, she asked, “What is that?”
Tulani stood, looking at the mouth of the tunnel. “I don’t know. It sounds like a mudslide.” She pressed her ear to the wall, but did not feel the heat of Ozre, or recognize the new sound.
“Oh heavenly Sradda!” Reminda’s eyes widened in her pale face. “Look!”
A wall of water was rushing through the corridors of the volcano, bright green with ocean foam. Uprooted red trees floated in eddies of the whirlpools. There was no other escape; they were trapped, Tulani thought wildly. The safety of Aqin had turned into a prison. Tulani raced to a forest of stalagmites to climb to safety. She reached out to Reminda. “Hurry, get as high as you can go!” she called out over the deafening sound of rushing water. Reminda’s personal guard swirled in, reaching out to cling to anything that would hold them. She heard their helpless shouts, and watched them tumble out of view. Tulani grabbed Reminda’s wrist, and using her Quyroo strength, she hauled her up, almost losing her as the water gushed through the cavern in a violent wave.
“Hold on,” she cried out as she climbed up the stalagmite, her fingernails tearing as she scraped them against the hard surface. Reminda’s face was white as fallen snow, her hand just as cold. She shook her, urging, “Stay with me, Your Highness…Reminda!” She pulled her up so they were face to face, clinging to the structure. The queen’s eyes had narrowed to slits, a cut high on her cheek, blood flowing freely. As their feet dangled, the water surged higher, until they were covered to their chins. Water invaded their mouths; they both retched and choked, pushing up their chins to escape the rising tide. Reminda slipped under the foamy seawater. Tulani scrambled to get her back, but the queen disappeared under the swirling mass of violent waves. “Oh no,” she wailed, holding tight to her stalagmite, her skin rubbed raw by the abrasive surface. Sobs wracked her body, and she pressed her face into the damp rock, angry. She cursed the Elements, she cursed Ozre, and she cried for her lost friend. The air was sucked out of the room as she inched higher to the ceiling, the water dangerously close to her mouth. Lightheaded and weak with grief, she held on to the structure, her body wrapped tightly to fight against the numbing cold. A webbed hand grabbed her arm, and Tulani screamed as if a thousand wysbies had stung her. The manicured fingers squeezed her encouragingly, and she turned around, reaching down to press her shoulder into the Queen’s armpit.
“Oh, my lady, are you all right?”
“Did you forget,” Reminda choked out between spasms of coughing, “did you forget I yet have my gills?”
“Gills?” Tulani asked stupidly, her long lashes crusted with the salt from the ocean water.
“I am Plantan. We have gills, however, life in the clouds has weakened them. What’s happening?” Reminda gasped.
“I don’t know. Great, sweet Sradda, preserve us. Ozre, Ozre save us!” Tulani’s voice echoed off the wet wall of the cavern.
“Courage, child” reverberated inside her head. The water tickled the lower lip of her mouth; she gagged on the saltiness of it. Their heads were pressed to the ceiling of the chamber, the sound of their ragged breaths reverberating above the waterline. The entire room was phosphorus from the minerals in the water.
“Oh Ozre, why have you forsaken me?” she asked.
The water began to recede with a great sucking sound. It pulled, dragging both Reminda and Tulani. Their arms ached from holding on, yet they stayed glued to the safety of their perches. Debris banged into them, injuring and ripping skin. Reminda heard her ribs crack, yet Tulani’s soft prayers kept her holding on, despite the pain.
Soon, only the damp sound of dripping water filled the small space. They heard the tide being pulled out of the cave, and Ozre’s bright light lit up their space. Tulani and the queen dropped exhausted to the soaking floor, their breathing harsh in the cold air.
“Do you hear me now?” Ozre demanded and disappeared, leaving them in pitch darkness.
They heard V’sair’s cries before they saw him. He was running into the cave, Bobbien right behind him, and a passel of Quyroo guards following. He paused at the mouth of the room, his clothes sopping wet, to double over, his hands on his knees while he caught his breath, relief evident on his young face. Standing, he held out his arms, and both women wordlessly ran to his embrace.
“You are unharmed?” he asked quietly, after kissing each of their heads.
Tulani nodded, but kept her face buried in his shoulder. Tears filled her eyes at his familiar smell, the warmth of his arms, the concern in his voice. I am home, she thought, and didn’t realize she had spoken aloud until V’sair answered her, his voice a rumble in his chest. “Finally.”
Bobbien went to aid a groaning soldier, motioning for the other Quyroos to help.
V’sair looked at his mother. “Are you all right?”
“I will need Bobbien to tape my ribs—no, stop, Vsos, it is nothing I can’t handle. Let her see to my men first.
“Have you any idea what this was about?” V’sair asked.
Reminda looked around. “Yes…no, I am not sure, I have to think about it a bit. But let’s go home—we have much to discuss.”
Tulani looked at V’sair with wonder. He kissed her gently on her lips.
“I have missed you.” His voice bounced off the walls of the cavern.
Tulani opened her mouth to answer him, but another gaze caught her attention. Seren stared at her, his star-shaped eyes menacing with hatred. Tulani shuddered, burying her face in V’sair’s shoulder.
“You a
re safe, my love.”
Tulani whispered, “I hope so.”
Chapter 16
A devil was jumping from one end of Zayden’s skull to the other. He heard a moan, wincing at its depths of agony, then catching his breath when it realized it came from him.
A familiar, cool hand pressed on his clammy forehead, and he heard Denita whisper, “Don’t show you are awake, yet. I hear them coming.”
Zayden explored their surroundings through a slit lid. He didn’t need his eye to know that they were in the bowels of a ship, the great hum of randam crystals loud in their ears. Still, he glanced around, puzzled.
“It’s Plantan,” Denita informed him, reading his thoughts. “Shhhhh…”
He heard the door slide open, followed by the sound of booted feet.
Denita felt him tense; she reached around to press down on his shoulders, reminding him to stay quiet.
“Is he up yet?” The hated voice filled the room.
Zayden swallowed the bile that rose to the back of his throat. His body vibrated with anger, but he held himself still.
“Not yet, my lord.” Zayden heard Denita’s humble voice. Humble? What did they do to her—she was afraid of nothing. She squeezed him reassuringly, and he wondered what her game was.
A hand pressed down on his chest, testing his response, but he looked inward, willing himself not to move a muscle. They moved upward to clutch his face, roughly turning it as if to observe his injury. He bit back a groan, keeping silent.
“I don’t like it, Staf. He’s been out too long.” It was a new voice, but Zayden dared not glimpse at the speaker.
“It is a serious wound, Sire,” Denita offered, bowing her head. “I am not a healer. His eyes move, but do not open. Perhaps your bullet struck true, and he will sleep forever?”
“It is a graze only,” Staf dismissed her explanation. “I know of a healer onboard. She understands the ways of these things.”
Zayden heard them leave, and waited a few minutes until Denita’s voice cut through the pain.
“They are gone, warrior. You can get up now.”
“Some warrior I turned out to be. I couldn’t even keep you safe,” Zayden replied as he eased into a seated position. Black dots swam before his eyes, and he wondered if he was about to pass out again.
Denita’s heart did a little flip flop when she realized he meant to protect her, not bully her. Oh why, why, why did she not trust other’s intentions? she thought ruefully.
“Oh, your nose is bleeding again!” He felt tender hands cup the bottom of his head and lean him backward to slow the bleeding. “You are a proper mess, Zayden,” she chuckled. “No, don’t get up yet, you dummy.”
“Yes, sir, General, sir!” He gave her a half-fast salute, which pained his forehead. “Ow…ow…ow…” His eyes were closed, and he was startled when he felt her soft lips caress his.
“Better?”
Despite the pain, Zayden reached out to pull her closer to kiss her fully on the lips, their arms entwined. Denita rested her forehead against his, then kissed him again.
“Oh, this is nice!” A voice interrupted them, pulling them apart, Denita’s face lighting up with joy. “Just what are your intentions with my sister?” The stunning woman demanded from the doorway.
“Naje!” Denita ran to her sister, grabbing her around the waist, tears of happiness springing to her brown eyes.
Naje hugged her fiercely, her gimlet eyes watching Zayden, who observed with a reddening face. Closing the door, she held her sister at arm’s length, asking, “What are you doing here, and with a Darracian?” She glanced at the long, messy braid dangling down his back. “And a royal one at that?”
“Royal? Zayden?”
“Hardly royal.” Zayden stood painfully, gripping the cot as the room spun.
“Sit…Zayden, is it?” she examined the bloody crease above his ear. “Are you Drakko’s get? Oh, don’t tighten up on me, you numbskull. Even out in Venturian we’ve heard about you.”
“Drakko?”
“This is the King of the Darracian’s firstborn, not the prince, Denita. This is his natural son. Hold still, this is going to sting a bit.”
She poured something sharp smelling over the wound near his ear, and Zayden arched with a hiss; his eyes rolled backward, and he fell forward. The women caught him with easy hands and slid him back onto the cot. Naje checked his pulse, gave a satisfied nod, and sat down on the side of the bed.
“He’s out,” Naje said to her little sister. “Now tell me what’s going on.”
Denita explained her past few weeks, and then asked her sister to relay what had happened to her.
“You don’t seem like a prisoner to me,” Denita accused Naje, who then covered her hand affectionately.
“I would have gotten word to you if I could, Denita. Make no mistake”—she got up to wrap a bandage around Zayden’s head—“I am a slave here. I have no rights, but Staf has been good to me.”
“You are still a slave!”
“Was I not a slave to my husband Racin? Do you think I loved him or that horrible graphen den? Do you think I like peddling death?”
“You are still a slave…” Denita repeated. “But no matter. I am here, and we escape together.”
“You will have to. Staf means to kill you both.” Naje stood. “I cannot let that happen. Do you love him?”
Denita shrugged. “What is love?”
“If you have to ask, then I have my answer,” Naje told her sister. “I will let Staf kill this one and let you go,” she told her matter-of-factly.
Denita grabbed her arm. “No! I…you can’t. He…I won’t let him die.”
“So the cold, Venturian heart can speak. Yes, sister. I will have to think of something to save both you and your fallen hero.”
She exited quickly, leaving Denita to wonder what else her cold, Venturian heart would have to say.
“I have waited so long for this. Why does not the bastard wake?” Staf demanded as he sucked the smoke from the ever present graphen pipe.
Naje shrugged. “Why have you this need for revenge?” She came close, wrapping her arms around his midsection. He was mean and arbitrary, and Naje did not understand why she was drawn to him. She worried her bottom lip. “Can’t you forget? There are places, my lord… there are places we can go to forget.”
“What are you talking about?”
Naje pressed herself against him, holding both him and her secret close, and whispered against the back of his strong shoulder, “I am a slave to the Plantan.” She rested her chin against him, trying to see his reaction, but his face was elusive. She watched the muscles tighten under his beard.
She heard a soft reply: “You are not a slave to me.”
Emboldened, she went on, “As long as I am near a Plantan, I will be seen as a slave.”
“You are my woman. You will be my consort.” “But not your queen.” She moved away to turn and look him full in the face. “I have no future. I see no future for me. You will contract a royal marriage. Lothen will see you married to one of his pig-faced daughters. I will die alone.”
Staf grabbed her by both arms. “Stop this talk! Stop it instantly!”
“I may be Lothen’s slave,” Naje hissed, “but I will not be yours!” She yanked free and ran from the room, leaving Staf with his graphen and his thoughts.
Chapter 17
“I don’t quite understand what Ozre was telling me,” Reminda told her son from the confines of her room. “I have searched my mind, but cannot find an answer.”
“But he did communicate with you?” V’sair asked, filling a glass with liquid for her to drink.
“Yes.” She paused, biting her lip. “It has something to do with Ereth, but what exactly, I just don’t know.”
V’sair nodded. “That flood was deliberate. Do you think the Elements are angry with us?”
“If they were, neither Tulani or I would have survived. The Elements are never vengeful, you know that.”
“But what could the flood signify?”
“I feel like I know, I just can’t put my finger on it. If they meant to frighten me, they succeeded.” Taking a shaky breath, she added, “I did not realize how long I haven’t really used my gills. I have gotten lazy in the clouds.”
“What use have you or anybody else for gills when you make your home in Syos? It makes no sense. I watched the whole flood from Hother’s back, unable to do anything. If not for Bobbien and that captain, Seren, surely I would have perished trying to get to you.”
“They have my eternal gratitude for keeping you from harm,” Reminda said quietly.
“I have the bruises to show for it.” V’sair smiled.
“Bobbien said only their strongest warrior was able to contain you.” She motioned for him to sit beside her. “So, Tulani is finally here.”
“Just in time for the coronation,” he agreed. “I will make it a wedding ceremony?” he asked her permission.
Reminda nodded regally. “It is time for you to start your dynasty. I just wish Zayden was here.”
V’sair kissed his mother’s forehead. “I must go, Mother. General Swart is waiting for me.”
V’sair took the steps from his mother’s apartments two at a time. She would be moving now, he knew. These would be Tulani’s quarters within a few short weeks.
Both Swart and Vekin were waiting in his own chambers when he got there.
“You have told him?” V’sair asked the old man.
Vekin nodded, but Swart spoke. “I cannot believe it. How could he betray us?” He had seen the message revealing Chanter Brault as a traitor. It detailed a coming invasion, a Planta invasion, engineered by both his uncles. Their unlikely alliance was as disturbing as their plans to replace Staf Nuen on the throne by getting rid of V’sair.
“The problem is, we don’t know how deeply rooted this decay runs.”
“I want to arrest him!” Swart slammed his fist against the wall. “I will flay him alive!”
“Think, General—if we arrest him, we will never know who else is a part of this. We must see this thing through. What have you done, General Vekin?”
Collision: The Battle for Darracia - Book 2 (The Darracia Saga) Page 9
