Spear of Destiny James Baldwin (free romance novels .TXT) 📖

“A taboo of necessity, enshrined by all who have won their place in the goddess’s eyes before me, and in those who are yet to come.” Solai gave me a sultry glance, which earned a scowl from Karalti, and motioned to a pair of wooden chairs. “Is it true, Paragon? That you seek to release the Deceivers?”

“I took a seat. “Only because we have to. As I said to Samayan, there are thousands of Starborn in Archemi now. A minority of them are power-hungry assholes, and it’s a matter of time before they unleash the Drachan. If we don’t destroy them in a controlled manner, the end result will be the same.”

“Why would anyone believe the Drachan would assist them in their pursuit of power?” She didn’t drape herself over the sofa the way she normally did. Instead, she sat down and neatly drew her legs up and to the side, spine straight. The Avatar and his guard remained standing.

“The short answer? Because humans are stupid. A human Architect is trying to resurrect the Drachan for his own purposes as we speak,” I said. “They’ve infected his mind. He keeps saying he needs to ‘cleanse the world of squalor’. He’ll kill everyone, or conquer them, and when there’s no defense against the Drachan, they’ll turn on him and destroy everything here.”

“Squalor?” The Avatar cocked his head. There was no direct Meewish translation for it, so he mimicked my pronunciation. “That is a dark word.”

“A dark word?” Karalti chirped aloud. “What do you mean?”

“I do not know,” the Avatar replied. “But when you said it, the Shield of Ancestors fell silent. A ripple of disquiet passed through the multitude of souls who observe us here, on the sacred terrace we lifted in thanks to their sacrifice. It… scared them.”

“Wait. Squalor is a name?” I frowned. “Is it one of the Drachan? He was ranting about the Drachan telling him or showing him things.”

“I do not know. But I advise you to stop saying it aloud.” The Avatar shivered, his robes rustling.

I narrowed my eyes. “Whatever it is, I’m not afraid of it. If you don’t name evil, if you don’t keep your eyes on it, you just make it stronger. Stare at it and speak its name, and it loses power. That’s what I think.”

“Right. We can’t pretend it doesn’t exist,” Karalti said. “Maybe there’s a Drachan named Squalor, and it’s behind what’s happening?”

“That is possible. The names of the Deceivers were not passed down through history,” the Avatar said. “And there is wisdom in what you say, Paragon. But until you have a clear understanding of what you are dealing with, it is best not to draw attention to yourself. We have a principle of war in our homeland: ‘if you are stalking a deer in the brush, there is a tiger watching you from the trees.’ It is easy to become prey to something larger and more powerful than yourself when you are hunting, if you are unaware of the predator stalking you.”

“Okay… yeah. You’re right.” I nodded, and leaned forward on my elbows. “I just don’t want Ororgael to think I’m afraid.”

“Fear is normal in the face of horror,” Solai said. “Courage is the discipline which overcomes it. You faced me in single combat, knowing you would lose, and you did so with grace and good humor. I believe you have courage, Paragon. Both of you.”

I smiled at her. Karalti bobbed her head and made a throaty chortling sound.

“I would like for us to stay in touch, Hector.” Solai rose, and breezily crossed over to us, her silks fluttering in the wind. “I very much enjoyed our night together, for one thing… and for another, after witnessing your commitment to this cause and speaking with the Avatar at length about the return of the Triad to Archemi, I think it wise that my people stays up-to-date with the happenings in Ilia. We are as comfortable as kittens here in Meewhome, insulated from the despair of the world. And yet, we were invaded by foreigners and we did not know they were here. The Shield of Ancestors has failed us for the first time in history.”

“Not the first time, my Queen, but failures are rare. The Napath have many ancient magics other humans have lost, and they managed to slip through the Shield of Ancestors without raising an alarm,” Sanayam added. “That disturbs me, Paragon. I thought about this in the context of what you said to me about your goals, and concluded that we must prepare.”

I looked to Karalti. She smiled back at me.

“You know, I was expecting to have to fight with you both about this,” I said. “About taking the threat of Ororgael seriously, that is. I know for sure that others are going to be harder to convince.”

“We are not like humans.” Sanayam folded his hands into his sleeves. “Humans live in the past. We view the past as the realm of the dead. I am testament to the fact that we treasure our past as a vault of wisdom, but we do not dwell there. Life is ahead of us. As the world changes, so do we.”

“Indeed. And should anyone threaten our territory, they will pay in blood.” Solai flicked her tail from side to side, turning to pace.

“Rin was talking about developing long-range communications devices out of the tech we dug out of the Chorus Vault.” I motioned to the Avatar. “If we figure something out, that might be a way to stay in contact?”

“Yes. Or your lovely dragon queen can bring you here.” Solai stopped in front of Karalti. “Sanayam? Will you give them the token?”

Sanayam stepped forward and showed us a pair of earrings.

“These will grant you free access through the Shield of Ancestors,” he said. “You will be