Mingor cast his attention skyward. The clouds were thick today and dark, indicating they were heavy with moisture. As he looked at them, he reached out to feel the water they carried. If he could, Mingor would coax the ocean to help, but it was too far down the mountain to be of use. But there was enough water in the sky to put out any flame no matter how high or hot. Still, that wasn’t the only danger. Noah would still suffer burns over most of his body. It would take him time to recover. Given how upset he was that Hindur had destroyed his ability to grow body hair, it was unlikely he would take pride in scars riddling his flesh.
“He is very brave.”
Mingor turned and found Voc had moved closer to his side. Of all the advisors, Voc was the quietest but also one of the more rational. She loved her life on the mountaintop, but she found no need to enslave the people below to maintain what she had. Unlike the others, Voc lived a life without fear for what changes would bring. The only reason Voc followed the pack was because Voc wasn’t strong enough to voice her dissenting opinion.
“Noah is the bravest soul I know.” Mingor looked to him with something much deeper in his heart, but he could not name the feeling. “He willingly gave himself to me in order to free over a hundred souls he did not know.”
“He did?” Voc looked up at Noah again. She lifted her hand to block out the light so she could get a better view. “Why would you choose one so young?”
“His kind is not the same color as our kind. He will not darken as he ages.”
“I see. Still, he is quite handsome in an alien way.”
“He is.” Mingor almost asked if Voc could stop things, but he knew she couldn’t. If only Mingor had chosen his starship crew more carefully, this would not have happened. They would have returned unannounced, and then the very idea of the trial by fire would have been quashed before it could ever take a firm hold. “He is also exceedingly kind.”
Voc nodded and then looked about without turning her head. When she realized the other advisors were a ways away, Voc whispered, “There are added accelerants pressed into the wood of the structure.”
“Thank you for telling me.” Mingor realized that they had put treated wood around the bottom of the permanent metal structure. The wood had to have been imported since the land grew no trees. He wondered what it had been purchased for but realized it didn’t matter. They had found a new and terrifying use for it now.
“I am sorry to be a part of what cannot be stopped.”
“I will save him.” Mingor spoke the words despite his concern that he may not be able to live up to them.
“I believe in you.” Voc looked up at Noah again. “And it is clear to all that he has complete faith in you.”
Noah stood proudly on the platform. He wasn’t looking wildly about or making any kind of gesture that would show anything but utter certainty. If he was afraid, he hid that truth well. In fact, Noah managed to look almost bored. Mingor smiled.
“Live or die, you have wisely chosen your sephir.”
That Voc would address Noah by the grand title pleased Mingor deeply. If only the rest of his advisors could open their minds and hearts to a new way of conducting themselves, the whole world might be bettered. As Mingor looked down at the worshipers below, he saw their battered clothing, their gaunt faces, and the crystals that covered their hands and feet.
Thand did not welcome visitors to their small patch of land, but they were well known throughout the galaxy for their salt. When the water bearer purified the ocean water, the salt was stripped from the water and then sold. That was the money that supported the lifestyle of the advisors and Mingor himself until he’d had a glorious epiphany. Just because this was the way their world had been for millennia did not mean it had to continue to be this way forever. Sadly, his advisors were so afraid of change they were willing to do just about anything, even kill their own supposed god.
As Mingor stood, thinking of how he could pull the moisture from the air and direct it into the wood, he remembered Noah crying. He wasn’t certain why the image came to him other than to remind him that though Noah was physically very strong he was also emotionally deep. He had asked Mingor if he found it shameful for a man to cry. Mingor had to confess his kind did not cry, but he did not find Noah’s tears unmanly. In many ways, Noah’s tears were rather beautiful. His tears were like the ocean water that Mingor stripped of salt.
Was that the key? Mingor looked down at the ocean again. It was so easy for him to perform his miracle because he had a great affinity for salt water. The water in the clouds was pure, which was why he had tremendous difficulty pushing the molecules. When he’d been bathing, he found it easy to excite the molecules of pure water to warm it up. Couldn’t he take that same ability and push the water in the clouds?
“But what good would warm water be?”
“I do not understand what you are asking me.”
Mingor had forgotten that Voc was still by his side. He shook his head. “Forgive me. I must be alone to concentrate.”
“Of course.” Voc offered up a curt nod and moved away.
Mingor considered the clouds, the platform, and Noah. There had to be a way to work with what he had and what he knew. As he looked at the structure, he noticed that they had wrapped paper around the timbers. Concentrating, Mingor felt the chemical used to soak the wood. It was the same distilled liquid used in the freestanding lamps, but also the liquid was pressurized to become a gas and then piped to provide lighting, heat, and cooking. The chemical structure was different, but he found he was able to push it. Working from the top down he pushed as much as he could down and out of the wood. The paper that wrapped around the timbers soaked it up. Mingor realized it would burn fast and hot, but that would give him time to work on pulling the water from the clouds. But then he pushed the water in Noah’s body. All along his skin were tiny pores that allowed him to cool down by sweating. This covered his body with a fine sheen of water that would protect him from the initial burst of flames. Or so Mingor hoped.
“It is time.” Aido lifted her hand and those around the base of the platform backed away.
Mingor kept his outward face calm, but inside he was terrified he wouldn’t be able to work fast enough to prevent Noah from being burned. He knew he could save his life, but he didn’t want him to be hopelessly damaged in the fray.
As one of the advisors’ family members stepped over and turned the switch, a small blaze started at the base of the tower. Quickly it traveled along the gas-soaked paper, and then there was a shocking whoosh-bang as all the tower was engulfed in flames. The force of the sudden fire actually pulled on everyone as it rapidly sucked air up and then pushed them back with heat.
In his panic, Mingor pulled so hard on the drops in the clouds he caused sheets of water to crash into the tower. The force of the water ripped the paper-wrapped timbers off along with Noah.
“Noah!” Mingor cried and rushed forward only to find Aido holding him back on one side and Garkifo on the other. “Let me go!”
They held tight against his struggles.
“He’s not on fire!” Once they realized that, they let Mingor go. There was a smooth canal around the tower to channel the water over the side of the mountaintop. Noah was dropped down into the waterway, and if Mingor didn’t reach him, he would be swept over the edge. Given his station, Mingor never had an opportunity to run. Always, he went sedately from place to place, but seeing Noah racing toward the edge forced Mingor to rush to his side.
Everything seemed to slow down until Mingor felt he was trying to run through water that was rapidly turning to ice. Noah was rolling around in the glut of water that was racing toward the edge. The slope was so sheer if he went over there would be no saving him. He would tumble all the way to the bottom. Mingor didn’t even want to think of the odds of his survival. When the water rolled Noah over, Mingor realized his nose was bloody and he was clearly unconscious. If he had killed him, Mingor would never forgive himself. What utterly broke his h
eart was that he had hurt him in his attempt to save him.
As he reached the channel, he stretched out his hand to grab Noah. His grip caught. Mingor’s relief was so profound he almost collapsed, but instead he clung fiercely to Noah. But as he was pulling him from the churning water, his grip slipped. A cry of anguish lifted from his chest and tore from his lips. Determined to save him, Mingor threw himself into the channel. If nothing else, he wouldn’t let Noah plummet to his death alone.
Just as they reached the edge, Mingor pushed against the water, forcing a wave to build in front of them, and then he caused it to freeze. Scrabbling, Mingor was able to pull and push Noah up the embankment then joined him. Gasping, he leaned over Noah. His skin was cold, but that was to be expected. When he gasped and spit up water, Mingor rolled him to his side, slapping his back until he’d cleared the water.
Noah sat up under his own power, pulled Mingor into his arms, and hugged him so hard Mingor gasped.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize—”
Noah cut him off with a kiss.
As relief eased the tension out of Mingor’s shoulders, he heard the populace below burst into a chorus of cheers. Their joy was great, but not nearly as deep as Mingor’s own. His sephir had survived the trial by fire. Mingor realized the curious feeling he wasn’t able to name before was now completely obvious.
Mingor had fallen in love with Noah.
Chapter 11
“This is where you live?” Noah looked around at the structure. He couldn’t really call it a home when it was so vast their voices echoed. Everything from floor to ceiling was in various shades of blue, purple, or the purest white. It was a peaceful color scheme that was almost religious feeling. He chuckled lightly to himself. Of course it felt like a church. It was the home of a god after all.
“This is where you and I shall live.” Mingor squeezed Noah’s hand.
Noah squeezed back. Since the trial by fire, Mingor had barely let go of him. When Noah realized how close he’d come to death, he understood exactly why Mingor didn’t want to be far from his side. Noah felt the same way.
The walls were open, letting in the night air, which was warm and smelled sweet. When he asked, Mingor told him the luscious scent came from the flowers of a vine that grew up the mountain and only bloomed at night. Also, Noah could smell the ocean, which was surprisingly similar to the smell of the ocean at home.
“I am sorry I was so intent on saving you that I almost killed you.” Mingor had started this same sentence several times, but he only recently was able to say it without choking up. Thandlings didn’t cry, but they were capable of emotions so intense they, like humans, were unable to speak.
“I’m not angry.” Noah had trusted Mingor completely, but he feared his advisors had done something to ensure no matter what Mingor was able to do, Noah would die anyway. When Mingor explained about the accelerant, he understood how everything had happened so fast. “You were so quick that I hardly felt the heat before the water hit me.”
“I pushed the water in your skin to drench you.”
“Ah. That explains that weird sweat that happened.” Noah had sweated plenty in his life but never all over his body in a simultaneous wave.
“I pushed the clouds so hard I almost caused you to drown.”
Noah stopped walking and pulled Mingor into his embrace. “Please stop worrying about it. You saved my life twice over. It doesn’t matter to me that I got a little banged up. I’m alive. I’m with you. And now we can be together in peace.”
“Yes.”
“Besides, didn’t you say that the worshipers below got the water that ran over the side?”
“Yes. They believe using that water to bathe and drink elevates them.”
“Does it?”
“It is only water.”
“Oh.” After holding him tight and kissing his forehead, Noah let go. When the water had hit him, it was so cold it had shocked him into taking a gasp of air, which meant he’d sucked in a breath full of water. As he bent to cough it out, another sheet of water hit his back, knocking him off the platform. He was banged unconscious for the rest. Noah remembered coming to with Mingor holding him and the crowd below cheering. The only thing that had bothered Noah was the way the advisors had looked at him and Mingor.
Noah wasn’t an expert at reading Thandlings, but in that moment, their feelings had been crystal clear. Mingor’s back had been to them, so he had not seen the look of utter disappointment on most of their faces. They thought for sure their plan would work. That it failed didn’t mean they were giving up. Mingor assured him the trial by fire was the only test they could demand, but Noah didn’t believe that meant they would cease in their determination to rid themselves of a water bearer who wanted to change things.
“I realized something today.” Mingor stepped back and looked up at Noah. In the subdued lighting, his eyes were so dark they were almost black. His hair was gleaming, tumbling down his shoulders, making him look mysterious and sexy.
“What was that?”
“I found that I had fallen in love with you.”
Noah stood very still. He could not recall anyone outside of his family telling him that they loved him. Lusted after him, sure, he’d heard that plenty, but love? Nope. That was a new one.
“You do not have to feel this way toward me.” Mingor smiled, turned, and continued walking down the long hall of what he called the observation area. “I only tell you because it came as such a surprise to me.”
From this area at the front of the house, Mingor could see the entire island. When the weather was foul, the windows could all be closed and heat would rise up from the floor. Noah realized he was only thinking of those things now because he wasn’t certain how he felt about Mingor confessing that he loved him. Noah cared about him a great deal, but love seemed too much too soon.
“Why are all these fountain things empty?” Noah realized it was possibly the most inane question, but he wasn’t ready to think too deeply about his feelings. Surviving death had made him extremely emotional. He didn’t want to confuse feelings of relief with much deeper emotions. Mingor was an amazing man, and Noah was bound to him for the rest of his life, willingly, at that, but he needed time to think. Somehow, even after everything they had been through, Noah found the prospect of love intimidating.
“I felt it was inappropriate to surround myself with pure water in such quantities when those below me struggle.”
“I thought you made pure water for them?”
“I do. But I am only allowed to make so much.”
“Why? I mean does it drain you to do it?”
“No.” Mingor looked over at the village below, and Noah followed his gaze. All the fires were out now. It seemed to Noah they had all gone to sleep shortly after the sun set. Since night was only six hours long, he supposed that made sense. “My advisors keep tight controls over the amount of water and consequently salt. In this way, they keep the populace in their place and also keep the price of our salt high.”
“That is the only product Thand exports?” Noah could not imagine an entire economy based on salt.
“The land that you see before you is all the land that exists on this entire planet. We can barely grow enough food for those we have. Imports are excessively expensive.”
“But it’s just salt.”
“It is a curious kind of salt.”
“Can I see some?”
“Of course.” Mingor led him across the observation area to what turned out to be their dining room. “I had my staff working overtime on finding food suitable for you.”
Noah looked at everything rather dubiously. The table was enormous but only the one end was set.
“Forgive the inappropriate table. It is simply too big to move. I have requested a smaller one be fashioned for us.”
“I’m not worried about the table.” Noah figured over thirty people could eat there with plenty of elbow room. The only concession they would have to make was that
the table was much lower to the floor than what Noah was used to. He figured after a few months he’d be able to mimic Mingor’s graceful way of falling down into a seated position.
“What does cause you concern?”
“Given how disappointed your advisors were that I managed to survive, I don’t know how keen I am to eat anything.”
“I assure you that nothing here is poisoned.”
Noah nodded but still didn’t want to eat.
“If you wish, I will go first.”
“No!” Noah didn’t want something intended for him to end up in Mingor’s belly. Or vice versa. “I honestly don’t know how you can eat anything, either.”
“My staff is chosen by me from the worshipers below.” Mingor extended his hand toward the sleeping village. “They would never wish to harm me.”
“I thought they weren’t allowed up here?”
“That is not so.”
Again, it had been something Noah assumed since he’d seen the advisors’ children working on the platform and not the ragged people from below.
“But the crew of your starship couldn’t wait to blab to your advisors.”
“They were not Thandlings.”
“No?” When Mingor sat down, Noah followed suit. Rather than chairs there were hard cushions similar to what they’d used on the starship.
“They were a merchant crew that I compelled to transport me.”
“Compelled?”
“Yes.” Mingor did not blush, hang his head, or offer up any indication that he was ashamed of what he’d done. “I needed to go somewhere else to find a sephir. Since traders are the only way on or off Thand, I compelled them to appoint a room for me and take me where I needed to go. There is no doubt in my mind they had no ill intention when they told my advisors I was on board their vessel. Certainly, they were asked why they wished to land and they told them I was on board and I had someone with me. This in turn prompted my advisors to demand the trial by fire.”
Enslaved by a King [Sold! 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 9
