by Bertina Mars
She reached out with her hand and grabbed one of Vron’s broad shoulders. If she hadn’t reached for his solid support, she would not have been able to stop herself from falling off the bed. For dizzying moments, she was lost in sensation before she slowly drifted back down to the ground.
As her breathing became more regulated, Vron abruptly took his hand away from her hot skin. The absence of him was like an aching pain and she looked at him questioningly. The sexual tension had been released, but she wanted more, wanted him to go further.
Instead, he got to his feet and without looking at her, practically lurched towards the door. He straightened, presenting his firm back to her. “I will arrange for the House Matron to bring you food and sugar wine,” he said in a cold voice. “Then you should rest. I will see you again after my duties are over for the day.”
Maya cleared her throat, unable to say anything. She watched him with a lingering heat, but a surge of embarrassment hit her like a tidal wave. She had surrendered herself to him in the most intimate way possible and he had gruffly rejected her.
The wet heat in her pussy faded and a cold anger reached up into her belly. She was just about to vent her frustrations at him when he left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Maya stared at the space where Vron had been standing unable to process what had just happened. The turmoil of all that she’d been through and then her sudden sexual release engulfed her, and she could no longer keep things together. Curling up into a defensive ball on the bed, she burst into tears.
Chapter 4: A Vision And An Escape
As purpled night settled over the palace, the Prince Consort sprawled naked on his huge, silk covered bed, lost in the vision trance brought on by imbibing the dream juice.
The juice was made from the mind mushrooms that grew in the hallowed caverns beneath the palace, and was the most certain way to connect with the supreme intellect of the Blood God. Through the dream juice, the Consort could divine the will of the great potentate.
As he drifted away into the swirling vortex of his mind, he felt himself leaving his physical body. His sleepy eyes gazed down on the richly furnished bedroom, now looking like it had been ransacked with its furniture thrown around and its decorations vandalised, thanks to his own brutish handiwork.
Lying at the foot of the bed was the Earth girl he’d bought this morning, Toa, or Tera or something equally mundane, it didn’t really matter.
He watched her for a moment, listening to her shallow breathing and giggled to himself. She had proven good company as he played with her. The bonus had been that she was an equally willing participant in the act.
But she wasn’t important any more. Nothing was important now. Not this world or its contemptible people. He was walking in the higher realms, communing with the Blood God, as was his right.
The scene of carnage shimmered and disappeared, and he found himself floating over an immense plain of red crystal. He was travelling across the dimension of his master now, heading to the great astral domain of the ancient spirits.
He moved with a freedom he never experienced on Raja-kell, and luxuriated in his power. He was supreme here and sat upon the right hand side of the Blood God. Not bad for a lowly farmer’s son from the outer districts. Back then, nobody gave him the time of day, but now he was the most feared man on the planet.
Grinning to himself, he soared higher and came at last to a colossal pyramid of glowing jade stone. The top of the pyramid folded open like a flower and a magnificent throne of shining gold emerged from its depths.
The Prince Consort drifted down to it and sat upon its dark red cushions. The thrill of absolute power radiated through every cell of his spirit form and from his great seat he could look out upon the universe.
From here, he could see the past, the present and more importantly, the future. From here, he could learn the secrets that would ensure he retained his mastery over Raja-kell.
As he stared at the weaving fabric of the cosmos though, a dark shape began moving towards him. He frowned and unease crept into his mood of bliss. As the dark shape drew closer, it gradually became clearer to see and a golden light radiated from its body. The Prince Consort rose to his feet and pointed a scrawny arm at the apparition.
“You have no place here!” he called out across the gulf of time and space. “Begone!”
The golden thing paused and seemed to be scrutinizing him, and then a deep mocking laughter issued from its unseen mouth. It filled his skull making him cringe in pain. He clutched his head and doubled over.
“No! Stop that!” he screamed. “I am the master here! Leave me alone!”
Rallying his strength, he lashed out with his one hand and a host of glistening blood coloured snakes erupted from his bony fingers. Releasing a sibilant battle cry, the snakes advanced on the golden creature.
The laughter stopped, bringing him a sudden blessed relief. He glared at the intruder and smiled as the first of the snakes rushed to sink their venomous fangs into the golden being. The entity responded by drawing a huge broadsword from its golden depths. The sword blazed with raw, untrammelled power and the being started to slash and hack through the serpent hordes with graceful ease.
The Prince Consort retreated behind the throne, gripped with fear. “You cannot do this!” he screamed. “This is my domain!”
As the last of the snakes disintegrated beneath the power of the sword, the being strode across the swirling galaxies toward the pyramid. As it got closer he could now see that it was humanoid in shape and glad in magnificent golden armour.
Its head was concealed by a ruby crusted helm crafted into the shape of a grinning shark, and the eyes of the shark head blazed with vengeful light.
The Prince Consort screamed to the Blood God to protect him, but the Great One did not answer. He was alone and defenceless against this golden warrior. The entity set foot upon the pyramid and cracks appeared in its smooth surface. The whole edifice shuddered beneath the Prince Consort’s feet and he fell to his knees.
Alone and vulnerable, he sobbed in terror and stared up helplessly as the golden being now towered over him. It paused and looked down at him and very slowly it pulled back its visor.
The Prince Consort gasped as he looked up into the scintillating blue eyes and cherubic face of an Earth woman, a woman who he’d seen somewhere before.
“Please!” he moaned. “Spare me!”
The woman smiled pitilessly and raised her sword. The Prince Consort screamed as she drove the blade straight through his heart.
* * *
Back on the material realm, the Prince Consort woke up still screaming. He sat up in terror, drenched in sweat and his own piss, clutching at his chest and only calming down when he realised he wasn’t injured. He was still alive and safe, and he had suddenly just remembered where he’d seen the golden armoured woman before.
* * *
Standing at the edge of the courtyard where the obscene slave auction had taken place that day, Vron stared morosely out at the night wrapped jungle. It had been several hours since he had bought Maya and the intense encounter in his quarters, and his mind had been churning over and over the implications of his actions.
The feel of her soft skin still made his body tingle, and he had to fight the wild urge to go back to his quarters and take her for his own. He knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. The way she had reacted left that beyond a shadow of a doubt. He had never encountered such wild passion since . . .
He closed his eyes, fighting against the emotional pain. He had not encountered such passion since Seema. Seema, wonderful perfect Seema. She had been his world and the only woman he had truly loved.
How could he feel like this for anyone else? How could he feel like this for an Earth woman? It just wasn’t possible.
He opened his eyes and stared up morosely at the night sky, as if he would find answers from the heavens. Shards of pitiless starlight glimmered in the ink black swathe and the icy pearl of the No
rth Moon shone fat and full, as indifferent to his plight as the grim-faced Blood God.
His gaze lingered on the white surface of the moon, its colour the match of Maya’s milk white thighs. How he ached to touch her again, to run his hands along the curves of her voluptuous body and pressed his mouth against her sweet lips.
He longed for her arms to wrap round him, to heal all the pain and torment he had been suffering. He wanted to lose himself in her, and forget the endless hell that was his life.
But it wasn’t meant to be, he realised. She might have feelings for him and he certainly had feelings for her, but any kind of relationship would not survive on Raja-kell.
He could protect her from the amorous advances of the other Blood Sharks, that was true enough, but he could not defend her from the baleful, all-pervading power of the Blood God. Over time, its eternal presence would grind her down and make her as hollow and bitter as it had made him.
Even worse, it could warp her until she was bloodthirsty and mad, like it had done to the Prince Consort and many of the Blood Sharks. It was a fate he could not inflict on his worse enemy, let alone a woman who made him feel like he was alive again.
Now when he looked up at the North Moon, it was no longer beautiful and seductive. It was hard and cruel like Raja-kell itself. Long ago another warrior race, very similar in outlook to his people, inhabited that bleak, frozen orb.
They had terrorized the galaxy for centuries until finally being driven to extinction by the outbreak of the Reptile Plague. He saw his own people on course for destruction too, consumed by the dark energy of the Blood God. But maybe there might be a flicker of hope in the darkness?
He vaguely remembered an ancient legend that an Earth woman had become queen of the North Moon warriors and had established a golden age of peace and prosperity before their final collapse. Could Raja-kell be redeemed in the same way? Could he?
No longer wanting to dwell on it, he turned away and prepared to go back into the palace.
It was time to confront this situation with Maya. As he started walking across the courtyard though, the House Matron, carrying an electro-lantern was hurrying towards him, her silver eyes wide with alarm.
“Vron! Thank the Blood God I’ve found you,” she said breathlessly as she reached him. “You have to come inside quickly!”
“What’s he done now?” Vron asked in a tired voice. “Can’t I not have just a moment’s peace?”
“It’s not what he’d done you should be worried about, it what he intends to do!” the House Matron said urgently. “You must come, Vron. He means to sacrifice the Earth woman you bought today.”
Vron’s heart missed a beat. “What? He can’t!” Remembering himself, he quickly suppressed the outburst and his expression became neutral again.
“Why should that bother me?” he asked in his usual heavy drawl, trying to push down the rising tide of panic. He couldn’t kill Maya! Not before he’d gotten a chance to know her, but if that was the Blood God’s will then maybe it was better this way.
“Don’t pretend you don’t care, Vron,” the House Matron snapped. “I saw the way you look at her. You haven’t looked at a woman like that since Seema died. Are you really going to stand by and lose this woman as well?”
Vron’s barriers broke down. “I don’t even know if she is mine to keep,” he said, his voice raw with pain. “Why does he want to sacrifice her anyway?”
“He had some vision that she was going to kill him,” replied the old woman. “He’s scared out of his wits and has vowed she won’t see sunrise.
He sent two of the guards to take her to the sacrifice chamber, but I told them you and her were in the viper gardens on the other side of the palace. Hopefully, it should buy you enough time to make your escape.”
Vron blinked at her. “Escape?”
“Yes, escape you idiot!” the House Matron retorted.
“I know you’ve been planning to do it for a long time, through the secret passage that leads into the mushroom caverns underneath the palace. You have your cache of supplies all ready, so there’s nothing stopping you. I shall deactivate the security grid so the cyber-wolves don’t come after you. Now go!”
Vron stared at the old woman in shocked gratitude. He felt that he should hug her, but his own reserved manner and ingrained sense of decorum still held strong, even in the midst of a crisis. Instead, he offered her a watery half-smile. “I won’t forget this.”
“There won’t be anything to forget if you don’t get a move on!”
Vron nodded and stalked across the courtyard. He suddenly paused and turned back to the House Matron. “You could come with us,” he offered.
Holding up her lantern, the House Matron gave him a weary smile. She suddenly looked very old and tired beneath her heavy make up.
“I served the Prince Consort’s predecessor and the Peacock Feathered Emperor before him. I’ve lived in the palace since I was a child. I can’t survive out there the way you can. This is the only life I know.”
Her words settled on him like a lead weight, and he knew there and then he couldn’t turn back. If he did he would share her fate. He wanted to be free at all costs now and he wanted Maya at his side. Hurrying inside, he prayed that he was not too late.
* * *
Maya was woken by someone banging hard on the door. Opening her eyes, she looked around groggily. An electro-lantern cast a feeble light over Vron’s Spartan quarters and with a heavy groan she realised that this wasn’t some kind of insane dream.
She really was trapped on an alien planet and she really had had an orgasm in the presence of a virtual stranger.
The banging on the door became more insistent, and gathering her wits she tried to figure out what was going on. Still in her flimsy outfit, she slipped off the bed and hovered anxiously in the middle of the room, not sure what to do.
“Lord Vron, please open up!” a rough voice called through the door. “We have orders from the Prince Consort to collect the slave. Open up now, or we will have to break the door down.”
Fear sliced through Maya. What did that freak want with her? And where the hell was Vron anyway?
“Lord Vron, this is your last warning,” called the guard. “We’re coming in!”
Something heavy banged against the door, making Maya jump. Wood splintered and the door was thrown open. Two guards entered the room warily. When they saw Maya was on her own they marched forward and grabbed her.
“Get off me!” she yelled. “What are you doing?”
“Silence!” snapped one of the guards. “You will come with us.”
Shoving her out of the room, they marched her down the corridor. After what she’d done to the slaver captain that morning, they were not taking any chances and held her tightly. They had gotten part way down the corridor when a figure in grey stepped out in front of them.
“Let her go,” Vron said in a soft voice.
“Lord Vron, we have orders to take her to the sacrifice chamber,” one of the guards said nervously. “We have no choice.”
Vron nodded. “Neither do I.”
Moving in a blur Vron hit the guard square in the stomach, making him keel over. His companion released Maya just in time to receive an upper-cut to his chin. As he went down Vron grabbed Maya’s hand.
“Run,” he said flatly.
She didn’t need telling twice. Clinging to his hand tightly she bolted with him down the rest of the corridor and round the corner. Vron took her to an alcove behind a statue of a coiled serpent.
He reached out and pressed a stone slab on the wall. Maya stared in shock as a secret passage opened in the alcove.
“Quickly! Down the passage before more soldiers come,” Vron urged.
He let go of her hand and urged her down the passage. She plunged into darkness and Vron followed. He snatched up a lantern that was waiting next to the entrance and switched it on. He pressed a switch on the other side of the secret opening and the door sealed shot. Vron’s handsome f
ace was a stoic mask in the light of the lantern. “Come on, we have to get out of the palace as soon as we can.”
He took the lead and Maya followed, utterly clueless at what was going on but with no other choice. They hurried down a roughly hewn passage for several kilometres, and Maya’s feet started to hurt under the hard stone.
With the lantern raised, Vron took her downwards until they came to a cave mouth that opened into a vast cavern complex where the ground was soft soil. Some crude low level lighting had been set up along the cavern walls and Maya saw thousands of conical shaped purple mushrooms growing out of the soil.
Vron led her to a small cave off from the main cavern they were walking through, and came to a halt.
“Here,” he said softly, pulling out a large rucksack from a hidden cranny and opening it. “Put this on.”
He pulled out a dark robe of a scratchy feeling fabric and a pair of walking boots that looked a couple of sizes too large for her. Maya grimaced at the clothing but slipped the robe over her current clothing, ignoring the discomfort the robe had on her bare skin.
“You want to tell me what this is all about?” she asked as she pulled on the boots. “What’s with all the macho hero stuff?”
Vron frowned at her, looking completely baffled.
“Why are you beating up your own men and running off in the dead of night?” Maya clarified. “Not that I’m not grateful to be out of that place, but it’s all very confusing.”
“The Prince Consort has received a vision,” Vron said, checking through the rucksack before closing it up and strapping it to his broad back. “He has seen you kill him, so he has ordered that you be sacrificed. I am rescuing you.”
“That’s very good of you,” Maya drawled, “but I’m guessing you’ve just pissed the Prince Consort off now, so you’re going to get sacrificed too I shouldn’t wonder.”
Vron secured the pack and heading back into the main cavern space. “That doesn’t matter now. Keep close and don’t wander off.”
