Laura Jo Phillips (44 page)

Just as Rand and Rudy returned with lunch, Aisling set her stylus down and stood up. 

“I don’t really know what it means,” she said as she came to stand beside Olaf’s chair.  “I hope it makes more sense to you than it does to me.”

Olaf accepted the e-pad that Aisling was holding out to him and gestured for her to take a seat.  She sat down in the center of a sofa and Rudy and Rand joined her.  For a long moment, Olaf just gazed at the picture the three of them made sitting there, together, letting it calm his nerves and ease his heart.  Then he raised the e-pad and began to read.

Oh Black Deceivers, you have come, on the day and hour foreseen and appointed.

We have seen our death, and accept with grim sadness our passing into the realm which lies beyond.

Before you do the evil deed you have come to carry out, know this;

You are allotted a span of time for your webs of evil to endure, and when that span is done, so are you.

Across the Wide Deep, the eggs of your destruction are already hatched.

In the fullness of time, you and all your broods shall be devoured.

In the Veil of Stars, nestled in the crook of the Great Hunter's Arm, lie the peoples of a Thousand Worlds, all woven from the same Fabric of Life, and thus connected one to the other in spite of the differences they perceive of themselves.

Beware, oh, Black Deceivers,

For when the shifters who emerge singly from eggs, and the shifters who emerge in threes covered with the blood of their mothers, discover that they are brothers, they will bind the Thousand Worlds with eternal bonds of blood.

Thus shall they destroy you.

Utterly.

And none shall mourn your passing.

Olaf lowered the e-pad and met his brother’s stunned gazes with his own.  Could this be real?  Could it be right?

“Obviously that means more to you than it does to me,” Aisling said as she watched their faces.  “You want to tell me why you all look so shocked?”

Olaf looked at her and shook his head.  “I’m sorry, Aisling,” he said.  “Yes, it does make some sense to us, but what it says is...unthinkable.”

Aisling crossed her arms in front of her and narrowed her eyes at him.  “That doesn’t help.”

“I know, it’s just...,”  Olaf swallowed hard.  “This seems to say that we and the Narrasti are meant to be brothers.  We have been enemies forever.  They destroyed our world, and we theirs.  How can we be brothers?”

“Don’t forget there is some question as to who actually destroyed our worlds,” Rand pointed out.  “Arima Katre found evidence that suggests a mysterious third party actually did it.”

 “What bothers me is the part that says we must work with the Narrasti in order to succeed at destroying the Xanti,” Rudy said.  “I cannot imagine such a thing occurring.”

Aisling frowned at Rudy.  “Do you mean to say that you would not make peace with one enemy if it meant saving the Thousand Worlds from a much stronger, and far more evil enemy?”

“They destroyed our world, Aisling,” Rudy argued.  “Millions of our people perished.  They nearly annihilated our entire race.  How can you think we would forgive them such an act?”

“If they destroyed your world, then you destroyed theirs,” Aisling pointed out.  “Or, they did not destroy your world at all, and someone else did it.  Either way, they suffered as your people suffered.”

Rudy stood up and paced angrily across the room before turning to face her.  “It is not that simple,” he said.  “You do not understand.”

“I understand that if this oraculum is true, and the Jasani refuse to work with the Narrasti, then all hope is lost for The Thousand Worlds,” Aisling said.  She turned to Olaf.  “Will all of the Jasani feel the way Rudy feels?”

“Perhaps not all,” Olaf replied.  “But most, yes.  I think so.”

“If that is so, then we are all doomed to become slaves of the Xanti,” Aisling said softly. 

Rudy returned to the sofa and knelt down before Aisling.  “I am sorry,” he said.  “This is a sensitive subject for we Jasani, which does not excuse my temper, I know that.  But I do not think that the situation is as dire as you believe.”

“No?” Aisling asked with a sad little smile.  “Perhaps you will change your mind after you have read some of my father’s writings.”

“We have searched for the Narrasti for a very long time,” Olaf said.  “We know little about them, but we do know that they live on a distant, backwater planet, and there are not very many of them.  It is safe to assume that they are not a strong or technologically advanced people.  Even should we welcome them into our very homes with open arms, of what use could they possibly be in a war with the Xanti?” 

“I have no idea,” Aisling replied.  “But the oraculum does not say that they will aid in a war against the Xanti.  It says that the two of you will bind the Thousand Worlds in eternal bonds of blood.”

“Nor does it say that we will become friends,” Rand observed.  “It says that we will discover that we are brothers.”

“How can we possibly be brothers with the Narrasti?” Rudy asked. 

“Again, I do not know,” Aisling said.  “But I will tell you this much; if the Jasani do not make peace with the Narrasti, then the Xanti have already won.”

The Vulpirans’ Honor

Book Six of the Soul-Linked Saga

by

Laura Jo Phillips

Available Fall 2012

A Sneak Peek

Will be available to read online soon.

Look for it at:

www.laurajophillips.com

And

Look for

Berta’s Story

Coming Soon

.