by Dante King
“They took me because I fix things. They used to have a mechanic a while ago, but when I got there, the place was in shambles. At first, I refused, of course. But then, they threatened to hurt the other prisoners. I didn’t believe them… so they killed one. They said they’d kill the rest if I didn’t help. So, I helped.”
“And how did you get the pistol?”
“It was left behind by their last mechanic. There was a bunch of Void-tech in there. I gathered it all into my backpack.” She reached back with one hand and patted the bottom of the bag. “There’s a lot in here I don’t understand yet. But I’ll figure it out. I always do.”
“Who ordered you to be kidnapped?” I asked. “Was it Demetrios?”
Nyna shook her head. “No, it was Tortengar, the bastard.”
I gave her a blank stare.
“Oh, you don’t know about him? He’s the grand… ruler… whatever, of Thaz’red, another city. It’s big, and closer to the Ish-Nul than Brazud or any other major city. Tortengar is all about power. Real power, like what the powerplant was producing, and the imaginary stuff, like having weapons, slaves. Really, I think he’s a wimp who talks a good game but couldn’t back it up in a one-on-one fight.
“He’s got this stupid costume he likes to wear all the time. I saw him once when I visited Thaz’red looking for more Void-tech. He had about a hundred slaves carrying him on this big covered sissy-wagon-thing without wheels. He had a bunch of guards, too. He’s a total loser. His whole business is about taxing people, building, always building, and buying and selling slaves. He’s the big patron of the slavery system. Every time a slave is bought or sold, he gets to tax it. People pay him even if they’ve never been to Thaz’red. I’d like to teach that bastard a lesson, you know?”
I did. I started imagining all the horrible things I’d like to do to him, when Nyna started talking again. The woman had a lot of words. Maybe it was just because she’d spent so much time locked up alone.
“I’d like to cut his toes off, cook them up all nice and neat, and feed them to him. Maybe I’d cut his arm off next. Nice and slow, give him some time to recover from the first harvest before. Or, just his foot. I’d want it to last a while, you know? Then, I’d gather up all his slaves, give them heaps and heaps of pebbles, and let them chuck them at him until they turned the bastard to mush or buried him alive. Could be kind of therapeutic for them, don’t you think?”
“Could be,” I said with a nod.
Nyna sighed. “You’re cute. Are you taken?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. It wasn’t what I’d been expecting.
“He’s not taken,” Yaltu said. “He’s shared. Are you okay with that?”
Nyna looked me up and down again, a thoughtful, critical look in her eye, as if I was some kind of circuit she was inspecting before she plugged me into a power source.
“Yeah,” she finally said, with a smile and a wink at Yaltu. “I’m totally okay with that.”
Chapter Six
Our return trip to the Ish-Nul village took only a single night. The hoverbikes made the journey much faster than before.
The village came into sight just as the sun was rising over the ocean, and boy had it become an impressive sight. The entire settlement was surrounded by a 10-foot-tall palisade. The base was reinforced with two rows of spikes, all driven into the dirt and pointing outward at an angle. The gate was ahead of us.
There were platforms at both sides, with a couple of sentries. As we approached at full speed, the gate swung shut, and several more villagers appeared over the edge of the wall.
“Slow down!” I called to my team. “They’ll need time to recognize us before we get there.”
We slowed almost to a crawl. I glanced over my shoulder and searched the distance for any sign of Skrew. When I found none, I sighed in relief. We’d have a chance to warn them of his approach long before he got here.
“It’s Jacob!” someone on the wall said. The gate swung open, and we steered our hoverbikes inside.
A dozen Ish-Nul approached and slapped me on the back. When they turned to Nyna, however, they changed completely. They turned serious, stared at the ground near her feet, and bowed.
“It is good to have the priestess back,” they whispered, one at a time.
Yaltu and I glanced at each other in confusion and waited until the rest of the rest of the village paid their respects to Nyna and left. The streets were clear, and there were only three people left outside: the sentries I’d seen earlier.
“That was strange,” Yaltu said.
“It’s how they treat me,” Nyna said with a shrug. “They think I’ll blow up or curse the village or something if they get too close or look at me. I’ve never hurt them. I’d never do that. But they don’t understand what I do. It’s just the way things are. It’s my place in the world.”
Reaver gave her a quick hug, then went to move the hoverbikes out of the way.
I noticed Nyna’s expression and slouch, the way she looked to the ground in front of her. She was lonely.
“I get sad once in a while,” she said when she noticed me lingering. “Especially when something good happens in the village—like when they bring in a big kill, there’s plenty of food, but I have to eat alone. I usually just come to the village, pick up what they leave me outside the Great Hall, and bring it back to the temple.”
Nyna lifted her eyes and studied my face. She looked away when Yaltu wrapped an arm around my waist.
I brought Yaltu with me and put my arm around Nyna’s shoulder. She stiffened for a second, then relaxed when Yaltu put her arm around Nyna’s shoulders too.
“We don’t fear you,” Yaltu whispered. “You’re welcome among us.”
I took the opportunity of one of the sentries passing by to warn him of Skrew and the mech. He bowed and returned to his post to spread the news.
I suddenly felt a soft touch on my back and warm breath in my ear.
“Jacob,” Yaltu whispered, her hand warming the small of my back. “I need some… attention.”
I turned to her, a question on my lips, but once I saw the dreamy look in her eye and the small smile curling her lips, I knew exactly what she meant.
“Oh—” I started.
“And so does Nyna,” she said. “I have told her we don’t mind that we share you among us. I’ve also told her you could handle us.”
At first, I wasn’t certain I understood what she was talking about. I glanced at Nyna and saw how she drank me in as she bit her bottom lip, stopping more than once at my crotch.
The Paladin, the priestess, and the seductress, I thought, laughing out loud.
Yaltu giggled and motioned for Nyna to follow as she dragged me toward our small hut by my hand. When the priestess caught up, Yaltu took her hand as well, only letting go when we reached the short stairs and had to walk single file into the hut.
Yaltu closed the door and approached Nyna, who was standing stark still, staring at me like she wasn’t sure what to do. Yaltu wrapped her arms around the younger woman from behind with a lopsided smile on her face. Without a word, she deftly opened Nyna’s trouser buttons, making sure to take her time and let her hand gently slide around the region, and let the garment fall to the floor.
Nyna’s body was beyond any beauty I could have imagined. Her skin was flawless, smooth. Her legs were toned and shapely, and I immediately pictured them wrapped around my hips, me gripping her ass as she held me inside of her with a strength that almost hurt.
I must’ve made a face, because when my eyes met Yaltu’s, she held onto my gaze and slowly, very slowly, began pulling Nyna’s shirt up and over her head. At a moment that couldn’t be timed any better, just when the shirt was about to reveal them, her breasts fell free and bounced once. Her nipples were small, pink, and boy were they stiff. No wonder—I knew what Yaltu’s touch could do to you.
It took me a moment to catch my breath and remember my part in this. I almost laughed when I realized how
I’d been standing there, feeling too lucky to believe it was real, but I played it cool. It was a moment I wanted to savor.
Yaltu watched as I removed my shirt and trousers. She whispered softly in Nyna’s ear as she removed her own clothes, then gently moved her hands over the younger woman’s body, caressing curves and hair, occasionally squeezing softly. “Go to him,” I heard her say.
Nyna looked like she wanted to pounce on me—like she wanted to run, tackle me, and make me her own. As she took her first step, I noticed how hard she was breathing. She took another, unclenched fists I only then realized she’d made, and pounced. I made no effort to avoid her as we collapsed to the blankets and furs piled on the floor.
The rest of the night was filled with frantic hands, thrusting bodies, and Yaltu’s very satisfied face.
In the morning, I awoke to find myself completely surrounded by naked women. The heat from the bodies pressing together was like an oven, and I wondered how I’d managed to sleep so long. Then, I remembered the amount of effort I’d contributed to the scene the night before. I’d been exhausted, completely tapped of all physical resources. I smiled and wondered if I could have done that before the Lakunae changed me. The five satisfied, sleeping women around me confirmed it didn’t matter. I was happy, and so were they.
I extracted myself as slowly and as quietly as I could. Nyna woke for a moment before I covered her with a fur blanket. Reaver scooted over to the spot I’d vacated and wrapped an arm around the priestess, who returned the embrace before going back to sleep. All I could do was shake my head and smile before I got dressed and headed outside into the cool morning air.
I hadn’t fully appreciated that the Ish-Nul had built more than just the palisade. What I’d absently assumed might be new homes near the corners of the village I then recognized as ballistae, similar to the ones the Ish-Nul used to harpoon huge fish and drag them from the ocean. The design and shape of the ballistae suggested they could be lifted with only a moment’s notice, so they could be fired over the defensive wall, then lowered to keep them safe from return fire or to be reloaded, or both.
“What do you think?” Timo-Ran said from behind me.
“I think you did great work,” I said. “These ballistae are large enough to knock down a decent-sized hovership—maybe even a hovertank. The fact that you’ve got them concealed behind the wall will add an element of surprise that our enemies won’t be expecting.”
“It is good work,” Timo-Ran said as he stopped beside me. “And now we have defenses, I have warriors who are ready to fight alongside your growing army. We wish to free our kin from Thaz’red. We are ready to fight beside you and die in your service. And, with our defenses in place, I am confident my people will be safe while some of the warriors are away.”
I wished I was more shocked, but I’d been expecting the pronouncement. I’d even been considering asking them, but had held off becauseI knew that if I asked, the whole village would pack up and move out without a moment of hesitation. I also knew that volunteers would fight harder than those who fought only because they were ordered to.
“I appreciate that,” I told him. “Our goal isn’t a minor one. To free the Ish-Nul, then free the entire planet from the Sitar. But we’ll need to raise an army. We’ll need to show the people they can fight. We’ll need to show them how to defend themselves, and empower them to do so. We need them to believe they can win.”
“I believe we can win,” Timo-Ran said, looking at me intently with his dark-blue eyes. “I know we can win, and I’m willing to die to prove it.”
I nodded slowly. “Then, I’ll make sure you get your opportunity—not to die for your cause, but to make our enemies die for theirs.”
He laughed and slapped me on the back before he turned back to the nearest ballista. “I look forward to it, my captain. When do we leave?”
“Just as soon as I get a chance to visit the Void Temple,” I said. “I have questions I can only get answered there.”
Timo-Ran grunted.
“Tell me of the priestess,” I said. “She’s nice enough, but what do you know of her? Was she always a member of the Ish-Nul?”
He grunted again and scratched at his beard. “She’s not a member of the Ish-Nul. We have given her a place of honor, but not membership. If she asked for it, she would have it, but she doesn’t ask for anything.
“She first came to us five big cycles ago. It was in winter, I remember, because although she had some furs, they were of poor quality. There was a storm, and the snow was almost up to my shoulders. She was cold and starving, probably lost. The men were interested, of course, but she was in no condition to talk, so the village brought her into the home you’re staying in now. It used to belong to another, but she had already rejoined the Void.
“We fed the poor woman and warmed her cold bones. When she’d regained some of her strength, she began to speak, and didn’t stop for hours.”
“Yeah,” I laughed, “she does like to talk.”
Timo-Ran grunted again. “It was not so much the number of words, though that was odd. It was what she was telling us. She said she’d spoken to the Void Gods. She said they told her things, and that she’d annoyed them. I can’t imagine how.”
I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or not, so I kept a straight face.
“What did they tell her?” I asked.
He shrugged and glanced around. “It doesn’t matter,” he whispered. “The Void Gods listen. They don’t speak. Personally… I think the priestess is mad. The others think maybe the Void Gods speak only to her, which is why they call her the priestess. That, and the things she does.”
“Like?”
He looked around again before answering. “She has things, like your sword, but different. She uses them to cure illness and heal injuries. She has repaired broken tools and weapons. She has never harmed us, but these things are… unnatural. I don’t understand them.”
And so, he fears them, I thought to myself. If he was going to help me defeat the Xeno, he, and everyone who thought like him, would have to get over their superstitions and fears. They’d have to learn to embrace change and technology, even the things we ourselves couldn't fully explain. We needed every advantage we could get, and we needed to embrace every tool at our disposal. I made a mental note to discuss this with him when the time was right.
I returned to my hut, and when I opened the door, was welcomed by the wonderful smell of cooking food. Reaver, Yaltu, and Enra were already eating. They waved at me and smiled. Nyna and Yaltu were sitting by the small fire, turning vegetables and chunks of meat they’d skewered on sticks and arranged close to the flames.
“Good morning,” Yaltu said as she leaned around Nyna and smiled.
Nyna didn’t turn to look at me, but she did smile, and I thought I saw the hint of a blush rising on her cheeks. I didn’t blame her; she’d probably surprised even herself the night before. I was certain that, had I not been Void-touched, I would have been too sore to walk for at least a day.
I sat down next to Nyna and accepted two skewers she passed to me, along with a wooden bowl and a spoon. I pushed the meat and vegetables off the skewer into the bowl and ate a few chunks while the women talked about the defenses, the food, and what they knew or had heard about the city of Thaz’red.
“Nyna,” I said when I’d finished my food, “I need to visit the temple. I have questions that I believe can only be answered there. I need to find my people, and I think they’re in Thaz’red, but if not, I need to know where they are.”
She stared at me as she chewed thoughtfully. “What makes you think you can get those kinds of answers there?”
“It’s a Void Temple, right? So it’s full of Void-tech?”
Nyna looked down. “No one has wanted to visit the temple in a long time. The Ish-Nul say it’s a place of danger. They’re not wrong—but they aren’t right, either. Everything can be dangerous until you understand how to use it, you know?”
“I absolutely
do,” I said. “Will you take me there?”
I had to fight the urge to repeat the question when she didn’t react for a moment. It was obvious to me that the Void Temple was a part of her life she had kept private, one that she wouldn’t share easily. I wanted it to be on her terms.
“If we leave now,” she finally whispered, “before I change my mind.”
Chapter Seven
Nyna and I had left the others at the village and were now screaming through a steep mountain range on a single hoverbike. Since Nyna knew the way, it only made sense to let her drive. But man was it a scary ride—and she was wearing her colorful backpack, so I couldn’t hold onto her properly. She took turns hard enough to rip a normal passenger from the seat, jumped over gulleys wide enough to get a hovertank stuck, and careened around the edges of seemingly bottomless chasms. At one point we even had to make our way down to the gullies and dodge the huge boulders dotted around them. But before long we re-emerged to the smell of the ocean.
“Couldn’t we have just traveled along the beach?” I asked.
She laughed. “Yes, but I had to make sure we weren’t being followed! And, how boring would that have been? Life’s too short for flat beaten tracks.”
I laughed and shook my head. She was a unique girl, and I looked forward to getting to know her better.
Ahead, I caught sight of a strange rock formation. There was a ring of evenly spaced stones of roughly the same size, surrounded by broken, cracked ground. For ten yards around the stones, nothing grew—not even the strong-willed weeds I’d seen in every corner of this planet.
Also the treeline didn’t approach the stone circle. It seemed that the forest had either decided the place was either too frightening or too nutrient-sapped. It sure was a frightening sight.
Nyna powered down the hoverbike some ways off, and we climbed off.
“Follow me,” she said. “And I mean it. You have to walk where I do. No shortcuts.”
