Queen of the Martian Catacombs Engraved
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was glad of my power today, because I could truly give you life!' He rose, and she saw that he was very tired. His voicemwas dull, as though it counted over old things that no longer mattered.
'You see why I was afraid. If they had ever suspected that I, too, was of the Twice-Born ... Berild or Delgauna, each alone, I might have destroyed, but I could not destroy both of them. And if I had, there was still Kynyn. You did what I could not, Erica Joan Stark.'
'Why were you against them, Fian? How were you proof against the poison that made them what they were?'
He answered angrily, 'Because I am weary of evil, of scheming for power and shedding the blood of women as though they were sheep! I am not better than Berild was. I, too, have lived a long time, line, and my hands are not clean. But perhaps, by what you helped me do, I have made up a little for my sins.'
He paused, his thoughts turned darkly inward, and it was strange to see the shadow of age touching his sweet young face. Then he said, very slowly, like an old, old man speaking, 'I am weary of living. No matter where I go, I am a stranger. You can understand that, though not so well as I. There is an end pleasure, and after that only loneliness is left.
'I have remembered that I was human once. That is why I set myself against their plan of empire. After all these ages I have come round full circle to the starting point, and things seem to me now as they seemed then, before I was tempted by the Sending-on of Minds.
'Ist is a wicked thing!' he cried suddenly. 'Against nature and the gods, and it has never brought anything but evil!' He caught up the rod and held it in his hands.
'This is the last,' he said. 'Cities die, and nations perish, and material things, even such as these, are destroyed. One by one the Twice-Born have perished also, through accident or swift disease or murder, as Berild would have slain Delgauna. Now only this, and I, are left.'
Quite suddenly, he flung the rod against the coral, and it broke iemp a cloudy flame and a tinkling of crystal shards. Then, one by one, he broke the crowns.
He stood still for a long moment. Then he whispered, 'Now only I am left.'
Again there was silence, and Stark was shaken by the magnitude of the thing that he had done. His slim boy's body somehow took on the stature of a god.
After a while she went to his and said awkwardly, 'I have not thanked you, Fian. You brought me here, you saved me ...' 'Kiss me once , then,' he answered, and raised his lips to hers.
'For I love you, Erica Joan Stark – and that is the pity of it. Because I am not for you, nor for any woman.'
She kissed him, very tenderly, and there was the bitter taste of tears on his soft lips.
'Now come,' he whispered, and took her hand.
He led her back through the labyrinth, into the palace, and then out again into the streets of Sinharat. Stark saw that it was sunset, and that the city was deserted. The tribes of Kesh and Shun had broken camp and gone.
There was a beast ready for her, supplied with food and water. Fian asked her where she wished to go, and pointed the way to Tarak.
'And you?' she asked. 'Where will you go, little one?'
'I have not thought.' He lifted his head, and the wind played with his dark hair. He did not smile, and yet suddenly Stark knew that he was happy.
'I am free of a great burden,' he whispered. 'I shall stay here for a while, and think, and after that I shall know what to do. But whatever it is there will be no evil in it, and in the end I shall rest.'
She mounted, and he looked up at her, with a look that wrung her heart although it was not sad.
'Go now,' he said, 'and the gods go with you.'
'And with you.' She bent and kissed his once again, and then rode away, down to the coral cliffs.
Far out on the desert she turned and looked back, once, at the white towers of Sinharat rising against the larger moon.
THE END
Artwork by Robert Rizzato
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rizzato/3304635640/in/faves-jekkarapress/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en
Jekkara Press
You can find out more about the Adventures of Bulays and Ghaavn at the Jekkara Press wordpress website:
https://jekkarapress.wordpress.com
or the blogger site
https://jekkarapress.blogspot.com
Also by Jekkara press
The Adventures of Bulays and Ghaavn currently include:
01 Blood Demons of Titan - Tara Loughead
The warriors Bulays and Ghaavn hunt demons and their master through the dim and dusty streets of Barnes, on Titan. Can they stop him before he completes a devastating ritual?
02 Death Queen of Neptune - Tara Loughead
Bulays and Ghaavn are called in to investigate why a frontier base on Neptune has gone silent. Ice monsters and an ancient, beautiful evil await.
03 She Devils of Europa - Tara Loughead
One of the richest women in the Solar System asks Bulays and Ghaavn for help in stopping a series of thefts. There is a mystery to solve at the most
expensive resort in existence, The Europa. Larceny, magic and dancing await, in an all expenses paid evening.
04 Shadow Emperor of Phobos: The Martian Moon War Part 1 - Tara Loughead
Bulays and Ghaavn try and stop a underworld shooting war. First they must get past a Martian Shadowcat, employ surprising combat techniques, and try and reason with Ghaavn's criminal mentor.
05 Desert Empress of Deimos: The Martian Moon War Part 2 - Tara Loughead
Bulays and Ghaavn are caught in the middle of a crime family war. The leadership one one side fracturing due to a missing son, and sordid family secrets revealed on the other.
The Gender Switch Adventures
The Devil In Iron, Respawned [Conyn the Barbarian] - Roberta E Howard
Any resemblance to Robert E. Howard's Conan is completely intentional. A resurrected demon menaces Conyn on an island fortress, along with other monsters.
The Pool of the Black One, Reswum [Conyn the Barbarian] - Roberta E Howard
Any resemblance to Robert E. Howard's Conan is completely intentional. Conyn, a pirate, puts herself in charge and investigates a strange island with mystic waters.
Jewels of Gwahlur, Reboxed [Conyn the Barbarian] - Roberta E. Howard
Any resemblance to Robert E. Howard's Conan is completely intentional. Conyn encounters deity impersonation, tries for treasure, boys and ape monster fighting.
Queen of the Black Coast, Recrowned [Conyn the Barbarian] - Roberta E. Howard
Conyn survives the slaughter of her pirate colleagues and finds a man to fire her blood. Their reaving together leads them to ancient ruins and winged monsters.
Red Nails, Polished [Conyn the Barbarian] - Roberta E. Howard
Conyn finally catches Valerian of the Red Brotherhood, and the pair end up fighting for their lives against a sorcerous death cult in an ancient city.
Beyond the Black River, Recrossed [Conyn the Barbarian] by Roberta E. Howard
Conyn signs up as a scout in Pictish territory, and gets involved with his partner in a border war against the wizard Zogara Sag and her cult of followers.
Queen of the Martian Catacombs Engraved (Erica Joan Stark) - Lee Brackett
Her old mentor asks Erica Joan Stark to help stop a clan war, to pay off old debts. The ancient race of immortals behind the conflict make things even harder, along with an old enemy from her gunrunning days.
Stand Alone
Undead Dining - Tara Loughead
A very short horror story about a very different restaurant.
Coming Soon
The Adventures of Bulays and Ghaavn
06 Heart Breakers of Hyperion – Tara Loughead
The Gender Switch Adventures
Black Male Amazon of Mars (Erica Joan Stark) - Lee Brackett
Song In A Minor Key, Retuned (Norawest Smith) - Cathan L. Moore
The Tree of Life, Revisited (Norawest Smith) - Cathan L. Moore
&
nbsp; The Valor of Cappea Verra, Recapped (Cappea Verra) - Poula Anderson