“That’s right, Tiika,” Razakh said. “Your tricks don’t work here. On your own world, you may be able to slip away easily, but even if you could, you wouldn’t want to, for you are here to witness something monumental: the revival of the greatest strategist of her time.” Razakh once again peered into the Kiss of Life, his eyes burning with excitement. He held it with his left hand and placed his right hand on Durazha’s head.
He closed his eyes, and waited.
But nothing happened. He tried again, this time placing the Kiss of Life directly onto her body, but there was no effect.
His gaze burned into the Kiss of Life.
“Accursed Orb! You are no better than the other!” His voice boomed, echoing down to the far hall.
“Sky God,” Zura said, “perhaps you still need something for it to work.”
“She’s right,” Tiika said, still held down by several of the minions. “I know how to use it, but I’m not telling you anything until you give me safe passage to a dominion of my own, just as we agreed.”
The autarch grinned sharply and knelt down in front of Tiika, his gaze burrowing into her dark eyes. He placed his hand just above her cheek and slowly brought his fingers together, twisting his hand in the process. As his fingers grew closer together, a pool of blood formed under her cheek. It grew and grew, and Tiika’s breathing went faster and faster.
Razakh’s gaze deepened, and Tiika couldn’t look away.
“Lalantika,” Razakh growled, “you must remember one thing about your Sky God.”
“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t.”
The blood had formed a round lump, stretching her skin into a strange, indescribable shape, and Tiika screamed out.
Razakh snapped his fingers together into a fist, and like a thunderclap, a patch of Tiika’s cheek exploded into a spray of crimson blood, running down her face and oozing onto the floor.
“Your Sky God does not need to negotiate. Your Sky God’s will is divine.”
Razakh stood up, and Tiika burst into sobs of pain. One of the minions pulled out something like a small rag and pressed it to where the blood was oozing out.
“Monster,” Tiika whispered.
“Sometimes,” Razakh said, standing up and towering above her, “it takes a monster to truly appreciate another monster. But I am not a monster, Lalantika. I am only trying to twist this galaxy into place, as it should be.” He walked over to the displays, still featuring Vaari’s violet sun. “Look at it! That’s your sun! Do you realize how disgustingly ugly it is? The Confederation seeks such wild diversity and variation. But I will bring this galaxy together. It is my destiny to consume all of these suns, remaking them into the Dark Stars they were meant to be.”
Razakh whipped around to face his latest victim. “But unlike the other autarchs, stupid and short-sighted as they may be, I see the value of joining forces with those of equal power, and Durazha is one of these. Together, we will unite the factions, and once the factions act as one, we will at last consume every star in this galaxy. That begins when we awake Durazha, and then we will jump my fleet out of this system and establish dominion over the factions one by one, until we unify them all.” He walked over to her. “So you see. You are part of a great tale, Lalantika. And if you assist me now, I will be sure to save you a place in the next chapter.” He knelt down, directly in front of her once more. “So tell me. How do I use the Kiss of Life?”
“You can’t,” Tiika whispered, still pressing the rag to her wound. “Only someone with a heart can wield it. I watched Asha do it when she healed Mira. Her hand was over Mira’s—”
“Hah!” Razakh burst out. “What kind of artifact would require such absurdity?” He huffed the sickly air again and stared her down. “All right, Lalantika. Proceed.”
“Me?” Tiika said.
“Yes. Revive her, and I will provide what you asked for.”
“All right…”
“Remember, if you try to escape, I will kill you without hesitation.” Razakh made a gesture, and the minions let her go.
She walked over to him and felt his dark gaze penetrate deep into her soul, still holding the small rag the minions had given her to stop the bleeding.
“Wait.” Razakh pulled the rag off and shot some slime out of his hand onto where she was bleeding.
She felt her cheek and was surprised to find that the slime had stopped the bleeding completely. Razakh handed her the Kiss of Life, and she nodded, holding it in one hand, and placing her right hand onto Durazha’s chest.
What followed was a sharp, vivid sensation, like touching a freezing pool of water. She felt a warmth flow out of the Kiss of Life, up through her arm, through her heart where it transformed from warmth into a powerful bolt of energy. The feeling was overwhelming to Tiika, and she saw everything wash out into sparkling brilliance.
To Razakh’s surprise, Tiika vanished completely, causing the Kiss of Life to smack onto the metal floor. But that was of secondary importance.
Durazha gasped, inhaling the warm, sickly air as if she were drowning. She heaved in and out for few moments, and then opened her bloodshot eyes.
A blank stare filled Razakh’s face. He hadn’t felt anything like this in a long time. “Durazha? Durazha, can you hear me?”
A low rumbling sound flowed out of her throat, and her eyes grew brighter, radiating a deep, blood red light all their own.
“Durazha, I have brought you back from the Abyss. Can you hear me? We are going to unite the factions, Durazha. We shall be unstoppable.”
“Yesss.” Durazha’s voice was weak. “I am… starving.”
The minions that surrounded them gasped. They were so short that they couldn’t see Durazha’s face, but they could hear her speak and went mad with joy, singing softly about the Dark One returning.
“Oh, yes, my dear. I almost forgot; I have an especially delicious creature for you. I will be right back.” Razakh said and ran down one of the halls.
Although no one could see it, a frail smile spread across Durazha’s face, and she wrote a little poem in her mind as she waited for him to return.
She spoke, faintly at first.
“O, foolish one who brings me back,
He does not know where I have been.
Eternally on the attack.
Committing fearsome acts of sin.”
Her poem took on a menacing, yet lilting, tone now.
“Found a Chintamani, I see.
Ancient Stone of Healing Water.
But now the strong will rule the weak,
And you are the weak, dear Father.”
EPILOGUE
Of course. The Vakragha have such long lifespans that we should have anticipated progeny. But what happened to Tiika? Why did she disappear?
Tiika had bound her spirit to the Žha creatures, repurposing their cell structures to reconstitute her body. Upon using the Kiss, the intense Chintamani energy broke this binding, leaving her without a physical body, and successfully awaking Durazha.
And now she’s going to ravage the galaxy. How can you stop there? Will Durazha kill him? Is it your intention to leave us in suspense, Chronicler?
Stories take time to tell, and there are limits, even in this place. Come prepared. And review the first day’s story if you haven’t enjoyed it yet. Tomorrow, you will hear the story of Tavisi, where endless worlds of pure mind are continually reimagined. Worlds within worlds.
What about Oonak? Didn’t you say you would tell us what happened to him?
Indeed, I expected we would get farther today, but it is difficult to predict duration. Oonak will return. I promise you that.
Good. And what about the Breath of Life? Will they find it? More importantly, what will happen if they can get all three?
As always, there is much to learn and much to share. Tell the other seekers about the stories you’ve heard and remind them to join us tomorrow, when we will delve into the question of reality itself.
AFTERWORD
C
ongratulations for completing The Island on the Edge of Forever, the second book in the Epic of Aravinda series.
Did you enjoy this story? Let your voice be heard! These days, readers, not publishers, are the gatekeepers. By leaving a review, you harness your power to decide which authors thrive, and I would be forever grateful if you would take a minute to write an honest review on:
• Amazon
• Goodreads
• Your blog (I link back to most reviews)
• Or wherever you bought this book!
As an independent author, I depend on the support of readers like you. The story you’ve just enjoyed is truly the tip of the iceberg in the growing Epic of Aravinda series. (And if you haven’t yet read the first book in this series, that’s a good place to go next.)
The third installment in this series is coming soon! Until then, I recommend that you check out “The Loveliest Abyss in the Universe”, a stand-alone novelette that takes place on Avani. In fact, I’ve gone ahead and included the first chapter of that book after this note.
Remember, only with your help will these kinds of stories continue to reach the people they are meant to reach, and perhaps change the world in some small way in the process. So share & enjoy!
Read the Free Chapter on the next page →
with a galaxy of gratitude,
Andrew M. Crusoe
p.s. Check out the Aravinda Loop website to find more stories like this one and learn about upcoming books and giveaways. (More about that after the free sample.)
FREE PREVIEW
THE LOVELIEST ABYSS IN THE UNIVERSE
PRELUDE
A low hum oozed through the unlit passages, flowing throughout a dizzying labyrinth of underground tunnels that the world above could never have imagined.
The source of the hum was located far below any level that the Nirangi Order had permitted for mere members. Only the most holy, the most clever, and the most cunning had attained the clearance to reach the lowest levels of the complex. Only these select few knew of the machine’s existence.
The product of decades of unrelenting work, the machine rested at the lowest level of the complex, in a hexagonal room with unlit corners that seemed to creep of their own accord and a ceiling so high that not even the lead scientists had bothered to bring in enough illumination to light it. It was deemed unnecessary.
Instead, the resources had been focused on defense, with holy guards placed liberally along the path to the machine room, which could only be accessed by a hidden door.
The Order of Nirangi had gone to great lengths to keep the machine secret. And as it sat in the center of its hexagonal home, the machine rumbled, stewing with a dark energy and an even darker purpose.
Anyone standing beside it might have remarked at how bizarrely sharp the edge of the machine looked, haloed in a series of thin, metallic rings that grew thicker toward the center, forming a horrendous bowl that stood just over a meter high. Upon closer examination, it was easy to see how nearly every element in its design had been focused toward the center, toward a large hollow space that was filled with a bubbling, oozing darkness that had not been there just a moment before. The darkness grew until it touched a tiny probe on the edge of the bowl.
At long last, the machine had found Maraka.
Everyone on the council had concluded that Maraka’s bones would be perfect to pinpoint the coordinates of the Abyss. Building upon previous experiments that showed how one’s energetic body imprinted on the physical body before death, the machine had taken the concept a step further. Once it had compiled the complete energetic signature of Maraka’s bones, they set it to work on finding Maraka’s soul. After all, who better to locate the Abyss than the most notorious murderer to have ever lived? His soul would surely have had no other fate than the Abyss itself.
The only difficulty was time. While the machine’s mechanism was well understood, its speed was not, and no one could say with certainty how long the machine would take to work. Dozens of theories had been put forth, but they were all thrown out as unsubstantiated. And many of the scientists had resigned themselves to visiting the machine whenever they had the chance, vainly hoping that perhaps, just perhaps, they might be there when the machine at last opened the viewing portal.
Holy guards had been placed outside the room to keep watch, until one scientist, the youngest, got the bright idea to design a probe to set off a silent alarm when the viewing portal finally opened. Many of the other scientists smacked their forehead when they heard this, wondering why they hadn’t thought of that. Many of them grew increasingly wary of the project, and once the machine had been completed, most of them had enjoyed a well-deserved holiday to the nearby archipelago.
All the while, the youngest scientist stayed within Zaamani’s borders. In fact, he scarcely left the basilica complex. Although the machine would surely show them something quite horrendous, he was nonetheless electrified with excitement at the thought of it finally working. Indeed, unbeknownst to everyone else, he’d programmed the probe to message his comm first.
And so the probe, a tiny silver orb connected by a thin wire to a charge-sensitive alarm, waited to trigger. With each passing morning, Sujan’s anticipation grew, because he knew, deep down, that when the probe fired, it wouldn’t merely make him and his team famous, it would make their names immortal.
This concludes the free chapter.
You can get the story on its Amazon page.
Continue the adventure →
with a galaxy of gratitude,
AMC
HOW TO GET FREE BOOKS
One of my favorite parts about being an author is that I get to connect with you, my faithful readers.
To do that, I created the Aravinda Loop Newsletter, the most reliable way I’ve found to keep the lines of communication open. Every week or two, I send out a brief update on what’s new, including new releases, cover reveals, and book giveaways!
Once you sign up to the Aravinda Loop newsletter, you’ll have exclusive access to beta-reader opportunities, giveaways, and occasional offers for free books. And if you ever change your mind, it’s really easy to unsubscribe.
So what are you waiting for?
Join the Aravinda Loop!
see you starside,
Andrew M. Crusoe
p.s. Also, feel free to hail me on Twitter or FB. Friendly incoming transmissions are welcome: @hellocrusoe and the Andrew M. Crusoe page.
CONTENTS
0. Prologue
1. A Halo in the Sky
2. Another Victory Breakfast
3. A Living Wall of Gold
4. A Madman Full of Energy
5. The Vast Expanse of Ocean
6. A Sheer Cacophonous Noise
7. Stealth Protocol
8. True Elemental Power
9. The Meaning of Relativity
10. Between Two Worlds
11. Bizarre and Fantastic Shapes
12. A Colossal Wall of Water
13. A Cradle of Life
14. A Night of Celebration
15. Razakh’s Nightmare
16. The Goddess of Foreverness
17. Ahead into the Darkness
18. What Really Is
19. A Thousand Glowing Visions
20. The Rose Light of the Temple
21. A Womblike Environment
22. The Steaming Tea
23. Toward the Mountain
24. Beware of the Ghosts
25. A Gradient of Sapphire Blue
26. Razakh the Sky God
27. A Blood-Curdling Cry
28. Coming to Life
29. Aberrant Readings
30. The Epicenter
31. A Torrent of Death
32. Into Mira’s Heart
33. An Indescribable Radiance
34. The Spirit of the Dance
35. Through the Heart
36. An Epiphany
37. The Kiss of Life
38. Blood Red Eyes
&
nbsp; Epilogue
Afterword
Free Preview
How to get Free Books
The Island on the Edge of Forever (The Epic of Aravinda Book 2) Page 25
