26
(Silnaday, cont.)
It was midday as D’zani left her room. She noticed Vissia sitting quietly as if hung over from the night before. She felt the imprint of Breckan all over her, felt another flicker from her as well. She worried that Vissia’s suffering had only just begun.
“You alright?” D’zani asked her roommate.
“Yeah, what’s up?” Vissia asked.
“You seem… different this morning,” D’zani replied.
“Just tired from our late night,” Vissia excused.
“He still hasn’t answered?” D’zani asked.
“No, and now he’s turned off his PCS link. He’s avoiding me!” Vissia cried.
“Let’s go have breakfast,” D’zani suggested.
“I’m not hungry,” Vissia said.
Just then D’zani’s PCS link buzzed.
“Hello?” she asked the unfamiliar code.
“You all right?” the familiar voice asked.
“Elíaz?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to see you urgently. I can’t talk about it over PCS,” he replied. “Meet me where we did before, as quickly as you can get there.”
“I’ll be there,” she promised.
She looked at her roommate. “Are you going to be okay?” D’zani asked.
Vissia nodded. “It will pass,” she said, looking sad.
“He will get his karma. That’s what Kinokei was telling me the other day.”
“I can hope,” Vissia said sadly.
No longer thinking about food, D’zani hurried downstairs and across to the Refuge, ducking behind it where she saw Elíaz. She ran to him and hugged him, meeting his lips with her own eager ones. “I’ve missed you!” she said.
“I only saw you last night,” he reminded her.
“I still missed you this morning! And I’ve only been up half an hour or so!” she replied, kissing him some more. But as her arms dropped to his waist, she felt something hard against her wrist. She looked and saw the hilt of a weapon. It was sheathed in Material. “A shaze?” she asked, suspiciously, dread washing through her.
“Yes,” Elíaz replied, letting her look more.
“But you’re not in the A’mara. Kinokei was right, you are Balan!” she said, her eyes flooding with tears, her heart ready to break.
“Was..,” he replied quietly.
“But that’s impossible. How...”
“Let’s go talk in private,” he said. “The quay again?”
She nodded, going with him, but not taking the offered hand. She wondered what he could possibly say that would right this wrong! She had been involved with a bloody Balan! She felt so stupid to be so badly misled. Her heart seemed to fill with lead and sink to her stomach. Still, she would hear him out. She had her shaze, it was unlikely he could hurt her any more than he already had.
He sat as he had before and she sat near him, not looking at him, not touching him. She stared at the water, not really seeing it, not caring if there were fishes or not. Nothing else mattered except what he could possibly say.
“I don’t understand,” she finally said.
“We were instructed to go to the Blast 2 club to find vessels,” Elíaz started.
“Vessels?” she asked.
“Recipients… ones to have children for the Balan,” he replied.
“That’s terrible!” she replied. She thought about getting up and running away from him. But something inside her made her stay put. She doubted her legs would have carried her anyway.
“I know. I went and met you – but something strange happened to me that night. I don’t understand it. I couldn’t just treat you like a vessel. I started wanting to protect you instead. Protect you from the horrible people the Balan are,” he said.
“Vissia…,” D’zani said suddenly, looking at his face at last.
He nodded grimly. “That’s why I was trying to keep them in our sights. But I failed, and he managed to score with your friend.”
“That’s why he’s not answering her calls this morning,” D’zani said. “She’s heartbroken.”
“Right. It’s terrible, I know,” Elíaz replied. “I couldn’t do that to you – just couldn’t even think about it. I got in huge trouble for it though.”
“You got in trouble for protecting me?” D’zani asked incredulously.
He nodded. “At first, they just threatened you to me. Told me they’d send others to do my job for me. That’s why I warned you in the first place. But today… after we were together last night and I didn’t put any moves on you. My mestari decided that I was no longer Balan. He declared you to be fair game for any of the Balan – with rewards promised to the one who gets you first.”
“I’m to be used like sport?!” she asked, trying to understand.
He nodded. “Then, he told me to leave and placed a Death Edict over me. So, that anyone who kills me will be promoted and rewarded. For the first time in my life, I don’t know where to turn.”
She felt her love for him growing again. She was determined to help. “We will talk to Cyanus,” D’zani said, scooting close to Elíaz and taking his hand in hers.
“But won’t he distrust me too much? Won’t he just want to kill me too?”
“I can’t imagine him wanting to kill anyone who wanted to put things right,” D’zani said. “He will know what to do.”
“Are you sure I can trust him?” Elíaz asked again.
“I’ve already been seen with you. Cyanus talked to me. I was scared that you might be Balan because of your secrets, yet you had asked me to let you prove yourself to me. Cyanus told me that being Balan or A’mara is something in your heart, not the sign above the door.”
“He sounds to be an amazing abári,” Elíaz said, putting his arm around her.
“He really is,” D’zani replied, snuggling against the man she knew she loved – and it was okay to love him now. She could make it right with Cyanus too. Her heart was already feeling a lot lighter.
“You know, I half expected you to turn your back on me and hate me for what I was,” Elíaz said.
“Me too, after finding your shaze. But you suffered a Death Edict because you decided to protect me?! How much more honorable can you get than that?!” she asked with a smile, stroking his hair.
He took the encouragement and pressed his lips to hers.
She put her arms around him and returned the passion eagerly, thinking only of how much she loved him.
“Two in one!” came a cry behind them and an unsheathing of a shaze.
The kiss instantly broken, Elíaz jumped to his feet realizing that D’zani was right with him, her shaze drawn as quickly as his own. Maybe he had underestimated her ability. But he didn’t have time to ponder.
“Breckan! I should have guessed you’d be the first one to try to kill me!” Elíaz shouted as he defended for the two of them from the onslaught. “The Death Edict doesn’t begin until midnight!”
“Early birds and all that rot,” Breckan said as he continued attacking them. “I will kill you, take her and Tasp will promote me to #3!”
“The prize has increased. I should feel honored. But I have defeated you once today. I can do it again,” Elíaz reminded Breckan.
“Life wasn’t on the line earlier,” Breckan replied.
“Which puts the advantage on me,” Elíaz said.
“Stand down, Balan!” another voice demanded.
“Make me!” Breckan shouted back.
“You really think you’re better than four shazes?” the man with the pink abári cloak challenged, a tall, dark young man at his side.
Breckan suddenly turned and ran with great leaping strides, disappearing behind the warehouses moments later.
“I want to hear this story, I’m pretty sure. I’m Cyanus Ivald,” the abári introduced, holding out his hand to Elíaz.
“Elíaz,” he replied shaking the hand.
“Death Edict, eh?” Cyanus asked. “I’ve been hearing more about these edicts recently. I want to know more about how you earned yours and whether you’d like to learn how to stay alive.”
“It’s a long story,” Elíaz said.
“Then let’s do it over lunch.”
D’zani took his hand as they went with the abári.
Other Chapters of this set
Acting the Part - chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Building on Promise - Chapter 1
Acting the Part, part 2 - Chapter 10
Spice of Strength - Chapter 1
Maps and Guides
- continents of Alacantis and Kranisis (five maps)
- continent of Almara (five maps)
- countries of Kri'enden and Yezi'im (four maps plus "other places")
- characters, pronunciation and glossary
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Brighid's Blood 2006 and 1200 B.T.C.E. Katja and Rachel are so desperate for love that they cast two love spells one night. But the Guardians do not consider spells "fun", but rather as cries for help from the very depths of your soul. Certainly Katja and Rachel could not have possibly imagined where these spells would take them! |
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Birth of the Neví 829 T.C.E. It is a tumultuous period of Terrenden history. As is all too common, there are those who wish to profit from the misfortune of others. Some of these come together in a new "charitable organization" and step on the toes of the notorious Uugli. Combine this with draconian new measures to combat pollution and Terrenden has a situation ripe for a power struggle. |
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Rebound of Power: 850 T.C.E. Collection of Romance Terrenden is being terrorized by a previously underestimated Neví who, through the mysterious “Curator,” have been controlling elections all over the planet. In this collection, we meet some interesting women. Iyva - a homeless teenager in Irola whose untrained power leaves her close to death; Marc’la - a breeder of prized caballus in Kasago whose heart lives in the past; Zukie - an abused widow whose heart is afraid to try for future happiness; Jenna - an elections assistant manager and masseuse who has a prejudice against A’mara; Kami - a chola student in Varkevand who has been assigned to protect Ardin, a man who has his own reasons to distrust A’mara. |
| COMING SOON | TO AN EBOOK STORE NEAR YOU!!! |
| Rise of the Neví - 830 T.C.E. The Neví begin their rise in power with the completion of several large housing projects that seem totally charitable, but also hide a great evil within. The draconian measures brought in the previous year has caused major distress throughout the world, perfect for giving the Neví a further foothold on the Terrenden stage. Will the A’mara, now removed from the Council of Peers, be able to shut down the Neví? |
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Acting the Part - 851 T.C.E. Collection of Romance The Neví have infiltrated the Terrenden Freedom Party. Dr. Jarly is on the run and the Curator still dominates the Terrenden stage. Famous actor, Derick Aiden has released his Neví expose film and now the Neví want him dead... In this collection, we meet more interesting women. Kauri - a simple receptionist who doesn’t realize one of her wildest dreams has come true; Tirry - an elections manager who is always the bridesmaid and never the bride; Zara - a chef who has all but given up on finding love for herself; D'zani - who isn’t even looking, but has to chaperone her more vulnerable roommate; Soala - an heiress who is expected to marry, but refuses to marry someone she doesn’t love; Moxara - one whose past griefs have locked away her heart. We also get updates on some of the lovely ladies we met previously. |
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Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
verified author on Goodreads
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also on: Whaleshares, WeKu, and Bearshares
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