Born Of Fire And Darkness (Book 2) (7 page)

If not for the emperor’s inexplicable show of favor for Octavia, the Kilovian religion might have been outlawed completely because of Seba’s actions. Graiphen would have found that an acceptable response.

Considering that the senate was disinclined to act, he couldn’t understand why the emperor hesitated to turn Seba over to the temple, but there was nothing he could do about that. The day would come when the emperor didn’t think himself above the Spirits, but for now, Graiphen had to bide his time.

The senate’s timidity played into Graiphen’s hands. It meant that he could wait until the emperor came to his senses. Braetin would not be so patient, but here in Durjin, she could not occupy his body and invade his thoughts. When he returned to Vol with her prize, she would be pleased, forgetting how long she’d had to wait. He’d learned that the gods’ concept of time was different from any person’s.

The acolyte led Graiphen under the tall white spires of Pang’s temple, down through the maze below and into the inner sanctum. When he passed under the archway, he noted the room had undergone a transformation.

It had been, he recalled, decorated in a soft, feminine manner before, but now opulent decorations filled every nook. The sparkling golden and gem-encrusted statues and ornaments looked gaudy to his eye, an ostentatious show of wealth by someone with little taste or reserve. People buzzed from one place to another, all dancing attendance on Kiarana. She sat, her back straight and proud, on a draped settee in the center of the room, rapaciously soaking in the attentions.

One woman sat next to a small basin, drying Kiarana’s feet. Another poured a glass of deep red wine. Others fussed over cushions and another over Kiarana’s sheer dress. One young man adjusted some drapery under her critical eye. All those near the former acolyte whirred in a heightened frenzy of activity.

When Graiphen stepped forward, her eyes fastened on his. He bowed to Pang, who had inhabited the woman’s body ever since he’d loosed his seed within her.

“Lady Pang,” he said.

Kiarana never took her eyes off Graiphen as she snapped her fingers. “Go. Everyone.” Her voice thrummed with power as though two sets of vocal cords vibrated at once. Within seconds, the room emptied.

When the two were alone, she said, “Even though you are rough and hardened, you are beautiful in your own way. I tend to prefer youth and suppleness, but I admit you stir something within me.” She smiled lasciviously. “Perhaps it is merely the challenge I adore. The chase.”

He bowed his head politely. “I am flattered.”

Kiarana threw back her head and laughed. “You are not. A man like you does not succumb to flattery, so I would be foolish to employ it. A man like you appreciates nothing but power.” Her blue eyes glittered.

A flicker of impatience rushed through him. “Why did you call for me, Lady Pang?”

“There is someone I want you to meet. But before I introduce you, I think I wish you to pleasure me. I am worshiped day and night by many willing servants, but it is you who occupy my thoughts.”

He realized she’d switched tacks, attempting a more subtle form of flattery.
Interesting.
What did she want? “My lady, I have done as my mistress required of me.” He knew better than to underestimate Pang or any of the Spirits, but he belonged to Braetin, a pact even Pang must honor.

Kiarana leaned forward in her seat, her round cleavage nearly spilling over the top of her dress. “What if I could offer you a new accord?”

“An accord?” He hesitated. He had no desire to stand in the middle while Pang and Braetin fought for dominance. No sane man would.

“Yes. A bargain. I offer you something you want, and you give me something I want.” Kiarana licked her lips.

“What do you want, Lady Pang?”

“You.” Kiarana’s voice warbled, stretching out the word.

“I am but a man. What use could I be to you that a hundred other men could not be, and they more willing and eager, they untied to another mistress. Or is that the allure? Is it that you wish to take something away from Braetin?”

Kiarana laughed deep in her throat and stood. She crossed the distance between them with long, languid steps, her sheer gown sweeping the floor. “Braetin is weak,” she said. “Even with the energy I provided her, she is not what she once was. For obvious reasons, I did not give her enough to restore her completely. It will take her years to recover.”

Graiphen furrowed his brow. He’d lost consciousness and not seen the method Pang had used to restore his mistress. “But she is feeding. More come every day to offer themselves to her.”

“And if that stopped, she would die.”

The word hit him hard. Die? He had been taught from childhood that the Spirits were immortal. Ever since he’d seen their true forms that day in the rift room, he’d considered their origins and nature. The temple scrolls had taught him nothing that would explain what he’d seen. Speaking of anything that happened within the inner sanctum was forbidden, which made inquiries unwise.

“Some of my brethren are dead already, doomed by the acts of one of our own. When his people expelled us from this world, only the strongest survived. Me, your mistress, and two others.”

Four of the Spirits were dead? Graiphen took in the news with quiet alarm. After a moment, curiosity got the better of him. “Which of your brethren survived?”

“The ones you call Usher and Slondaemon. But Braetin would never call them forth.”

“Why not?” Graiphen’s mind reeled. Of the eight Spirits of Light and Shadow, four were
dead
. Usher, the Spirit of Shadow who was said to guard the human dead, and Slondaemon, the Spirit of Shadow whose realm was disease and decay, were the only survivors.

Kiarana shrugged. “I suspect she finds me less of a threat. She never did understand the power of love and light. Perhaps she thought I’d be easier to betray once she returned to full power.”

That, Graiphen thought, sounded exactly like the way Braetin would have made the choice. He’d known no pact she had made that she did not later betray. Some found it a difficult concept. How they could follow a god they could not trust? Graiphen understood that it taught her devotees to always be useful, to never rest on their laurels.

Kiarana went on. “Even knowing what she has in mind for me, I accepted her offer and gave her what she demanded in exchange for what I wanted. Now I’m planning for the moment she will try to do away with me. She will not find it easy.”

“When there were eight of you in this world, none tried to do away with the others. You lived in peace and perfect balance. Why should she betray you?” The question, of course, was a false one, but he could not bring himself to acknowledge that Pang’s concerns were rightful.

With a chuckle, Kiarana shook her head. “Because it is her nature. And don’t be so sure none tried to do away with the others. There were rifts and alliances even then. Still, the past is of little importance. I’d rather talk about today.” She shivered as though an unpleasant thought had crossed her mind.

“You, my dear Ultim Qardone, could be master of all eight temples.”

“But if Braetin’s followers uncovered how to summon her here, surely Slondaemon’s and Usher’s could do the same.”

Kiarana smiled brightly. “No, only one rift can appear at a time and remain stable. Two would fork the power, rendering both useless, or worse, deadly. Once Braetin is gone, I can give you the key to ensure no other rifts can ever be created for Slondaemon and Usher to pass through. If the link to this world is severed, none can connect to this place again. I alone will feast on the delights of this world. It is like a banquet to a hungry soul.”

Graiphen studied her. “But wouldn’t that mean you could not return to your own world? I saw your forms. You are not here in the flesh. If the connection is severed, you would no longer be here.”

“If you join with me, I will teach you how to open the rift completely to bring me through in the flesh. It is not something my people do, in this or in any of the other feeding worlds. To do so means never being able to return to our own homeland. But our world is slowly dying. Some try in vain to revive it, but I mean to survive.”

Graiphen considered the strangely segmented body of Pang’s physical form. Would it survive in this world? What kind of power could she wield if she were here in the flesh?

“In exchange for your help, I will free you from Braetin. Her plan to return to the old ways is ridiculous. With four of our brethren dead, it makes no sense to continue the charade of shared power. No, there will be one temple. You will govern it, and with my power, the empire. We will expand our borders. This entire world will be mine, and you will lead the people in coming to me.”

“You’re forgetting the emperor.”

“Have no worries about the emperor,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I have other plans for him. He will either prove useful, worshipping me as I demand, or be crushed beneath my feet.”

Pang’s presence expanded as she spoke, and he felt the heady brush of her power. People believed her to represent love and light, but her true nature was unlike those tales written by philosophers and clerics of old. He wondered if she had dictated those tales herself, or if they had simply never known the truth. Her touch felt completely different from Braetin’s, but he could not deny that she was potent.

“Ruling with fear is one thing,” she purred. “But make people love you, and they will willingly rush to their deaths in your name.”

“Is that what you demand? Death?” he asked.

“Of you, I demand life. You have already given me one. There will be others.” She snapped her fingers and a sheer-robed priestess appeared at the door.

“Yes, mistress?” She bowed low.

“Bring Zain to me.”

“At once.” The priestess padded away urgently.

Kiarana turned her attention back to Graiphen. “His name means
light of the gods
in one of your world’s ancient tongues. I thought it appropriate.”

Graiphen turned over her offer in his mind. Braetin did not abide betrayal, but she herself had served it up many times. If anyone could protect him from her wrath, it would be another of her own kind. And if his mistress was as weak as Pang claimed…

But would service to Pang be more palatable than service to Braetin? He despised so much about her temple. It seemed soft and weak, indulgent and frivolous. And yet, she had power. He felt it when she had rested in his body, when he’d taken Kiarana and Pang had moved to her new home. The physical pleasure had been unmatched in his experiences. That he could not deny. He suspected this Spirit of Light was Braetin’s equal, and his goddess had perhaps underestimated her rival.

He turned and saw Kiarana watching him. He bowed his head, still unable to form a response, unsure if he should even entertain her proposal. Perhaps the offer was a false one. While he was unconscious on the floor of the inner sanctum or by some other means since then, Braetin could have asked her to test his loyalty. If so, and he failed that test, his life would be forfeit.

The servant’s footfalls drawing back caught his attention and he looked to the door. She entered carrying a small boy. He had black hair and bright blue eyes. He looked unmistakably like Korbin had at four or five years of age.

Kiarana took the boy from the priestess and turned to present him to Graiphen. “This is Zain. Our son.”

Everything in Graiphen wanted to deny it. How could this be possible? He had only lain with her two weeks before. But she was a goddess. What would be impossible for her?

The child rendered Graiphen speechless. He had another son? A demi-god? He bowed his head. When he raised his eyes and met the boy’s gaze, he saw power thrumming within him. He appeared like a child, yes, but his eyes were ancient.

“Consider my offer,” Pang said through Kiarana. “But don’t delay. I am not a patient creature. Although I find your reticence charming at the moment, that will not always be the case. Do not make the same mistake as your mistress. Do not underestimate my power… or my hunger.”

“I will consider your words carefully.” He bowed to her and the boy before turning to go.
My son.

Graiphen knew he must be careful. A wrong choice would mean death. But which path was right?

Chapter 7

Korbin could see that every mile he and Octavia moved away from Vol tortured her. She seemed plagued by guilt at leaving her people behind; still, she did not complain aloud.

Because Octavia was in a hurry to reach Durjin and even more so to do her business and return, she requested the carriage move every moment possible of the daylight hours, rather than a more leisurely, comfortable pace. Since the carriage, the wagon that carried their belongings, horses, two drivers, and a servant had all been commanded by the emperor to assist however Korbin instructed them, he received no argument at the rush.

Each night, they stopped at an inn that had been arranged and prepared for them. They received the best room available and every innkeeper fawned over them, offering anything they might need. Octavia received the offers politely, but she was quiet and distant. She joined Korbin at meals, but immediately afterward, would steal away alone to practice her meditations.

She had brought only one small bag, while he had packed three large trunks. He supposed she had no clothes appropriate for court, and when he spoke to her about buying the necessary garments, she gave him a level look that made him wish he hadn’t mentioned it.

“If the emperor wants my advice so badly that he’ll disrupt my life and work for it, he won’t care what I’m wearing,” she said.

Korbin didn’t agree with the assessment but kept silent, knowing he was fortunate to have been able to talk her into going at all.

More than once, through an inn wall, he heard her shout in the night. The first time, he rushed to her door to see if she was all right. When he knocked, she answered in a thick, sleepy voice, telling him she’d only had a dream. That night, he sat in the darkness, listening hard, but when he heard no more sounds, he eventually went back to his own fitful sleep.

On the journey, they made idle chatter, and he learned more about her new apprentice. He spoke of moving into Eliam’s house and the joys and trials that accompanied that. Octavia told him about some of her more interesting cases and her frustration with her newfound popularity. He talked about the constant jockeying in the senate.