Date: Mon, 29 Feb 2016 09:46:23 -0700
From: Michael Offutt <kavrik@hotmail.com>
Subject: Chapter Seven - The Orb of Winter - Gay Science Fiction

This story is protected under international and Pan-American copyright
conventions. Please remember to donate to Nifty if you're financially able
to do so.

      MY WEBSITE: http://slckismet.blogspot.com/p/books.html
      My email: kavrik@hotmail.com
      Pictures of the characters in this story: http://slckismet.blogspot.com/p/my-artwork.html
      Full story chapters and discussion: http://slckismet.blogspot.com/p/discussion-board-for.html

For those of you who can't wait for new chapters, please visit my forum
where I'm a couple weeks ahead.  The chapters are bigger there than they
are on Nifty. To see for yourself please go to

http://slckismet.blogspot.com/p/discussion-board-for.html

and find the folder that says "The Orb of Winter" and then open that up to
view the chapters. Please note that the chapter order here will differ from
my forum because I cut the chapters into smaller chunks for Nifty's
audience. Also, if you aren't on my mailing list and want to be, please
shoot me an email.

Please check out my books on my website.

				   *****

			       Chapter Seven

   The population of the capital city of Zanda neared half a million souls,
and it was one of two dozen or so metropolises peppered here and there in a
huge country that bore the same name. The approach to the Holy City itself
crossed difficult terrain, but many creatures great and small made the trip
to feel the blessing of Zandine (their god) even if the world at large
regarded Zandine as evil and cruel. Alexi knew that perceptions
(oftentimes) depended on a certain point of view.
   Many checkpoints on the highways that crisscrossed the countryside were
manned by the Blades Acuuarum, the official army of the church of
Zandine. A wall of mountains more than a thousand leagues long and with
peaks so high they stretched like white teeth toward the three suns
protected the southern border. The western shoreline for thousands of
leagues had no river outlet and looked shorn from the sea itself because of
cliffs a mile high. And to the east lay the formidable Bone Wall, erected
by the most powerful necromancer to have ever lived: Lianon Pard. It is
said he created many wonders, and one of them lay at the heart of Slippery
Squib.
   In fact, the only reasonable way to enter Zanda was by ship that sailed
in through the north where its many fjords joined the Sea of Winter. To
guard against a threat from this direction, the powerful All Seeing Eye of
Zandine faced forever in that direction, looking at every ship and vessel
that dared approach the shores of Zanda to gain access to its magnificent
municipalities. Despite widespread xenophobia, merchants risked much to
find their way to the overflowing coffers of Zanda for its mines produced
some of the most precious metals and gems in all the world.
   Alexi had never been to Slippery Squib, but today changed all that as he
navigated the decrepit warren's many crowded streets on a quest for the
Obelisk of Quiet. But he didn't go alone. His companions to one of the most
dangerous parts of the city walked to his right and left: Rowena and
Daphne. Rowena brought along his boyfriend Dudley, who Alexi was sure had
no idea that Rowena was a man. Dudley stood a tall five-foot ten, had
coffee-colored skin, a neatly trimmed beard and mustache, and wore the
cuirass of a Blades Acuuarum soldier. A shiny steel morion sat atop his
brown hair, and he carried a rapier at his side.
   "You've never been down to Slippery Squib, eh?" Dudley asked Alexi. He
winked at Rowena who cooled herself using a silk fan. "If you've packed
your quid," he said, "I might be able to score some Eros for you."
   "I didn't bring any money," Alexi told him flatly. "I just wanted to
come to see the obelisk, and I don't want to be in arrears with the
academy...not this close to graduation. Besides, I don't do drugs."
   Dudley looked disappointed.
   No doubt he's testing the waters to see if I'd brought my money. He and
Rowena probably planned to rob me at some point. Either that or he told his
friends to jump us so that we'd remain none the wiser.
   Dudley opened one of his belt pouches and took out a small tin. Then he
opened it, scooped out a handful of black tobacco, and stuffed it in his
lip. His teeth looked as yellow as urine. He handed the tin to Rowena who
also filled her lip with the stuff.
   "It's good, ain't it?" Dudley said, smacking Rowena's butt. "I told you
I take care of you." Then he spat just to the left of Alexi's
shoe. "Sorry," he said, the tone in his voice disingenuous at best.
   "You're disgusting," Daphne stated, plucking the words right out of
Alexi's mouth.
   That made Dudley stop. "Shut your whore mouth," he threatened, "or I'll
shut it for you." Dudley tightened his fist in warning.
   Daphne looked at Alexi and slipped her hand into his. "It is
disgusting," Alexi said, backing his friend up. "Your bullying us isn't
going to change facts."
   Dudley grinned, tobacco juice spilling out of his lips to streak down
his chin. Then he spat again. "You hags are bitter 'cause you ain't had no
cock yet. I'd give you some, but...it's spoken for."
   A pair of pilgrims walked by in the street and bowed to Dudley before
proceeding on their way.
   Just over his shoulder, Alexi spotted crows flying from the distant
belfry, which soared from the roof belonging to the colossal palace of the
Dread Irtemara. Black smoke billowed up to the storm clouds, which seemed
strangely devoid of rain this afternoon. In the air floated the scent of
the local tannery, a foul-smelling concoction of chemicals so pungent, it
overwhelmed everything in the vicinity.
   "See?" Dudley asked, pointing at the pilgrims. "I'm a holy warrior of
Zanda! I serve the Israfil and protect the country. They knew what's up,
and its time you did as well. I'm a big deal in these parts so let's have
some thanks next time you address me."
   Alexi glared at him a moment. "Big deals don't join the Blades
Acuuarum. They join the Timeron knights."
   "Is that so?" Dudley asked. "I could kill a Timeron knight with my bare
hands."
   "Really?" Daphne asked. "There's two over there by that tavern."
   All of them took a look.
   Alexi saw both Timeron knights, and he admired them for their icy beauty
and strength. Sheathed from head to toe in spotless black corobidian armor,
the young men looked barely twenty. Both had angular jaws, sharp aquiline
noses, and dimpled chins. He suspected underneath those suggestive
breastplates lay a torso that mirrored all the incredible muscular bumps
and ridges. They looked slender, stood tall, and wore dashing leather boots
and gloves over their gauntlets and feet. The shiny spurs adorning their
heels had overly large spikes...necessary for riding blue dragons through
the sky. Gorgeous blue cloaks fell from ornate black pauldrons carved with
scenes depicting demons cavorting with humans under a black sun. Each of
course had a weight near the hem so that they could be swung around in
combat. The deadly "cape dance" of the Timeron knights was legendary, and
had cost many a foe a limb or two.
   Around them a crowd of peasant girls gathered, clucking like hens. The
gallant knights signed autographs with paint brushes and one even wrote
something on an exposed breast, smiling in glee the entire time.
   "If you're such a badass, go challenge one of them," Daphne suggested.
   Dudley swallowed hard and then turned his head and spat. "Shut up. Like
I need to prove myself to you."
   "What's the matter?" Alexi asked. "Afraid?"
   Rowena kissed Dudley on the lips. "You have nothing to prove, unlike
these l'il cunts. How about we move along, shall we?"
   "I like the way you think," Dudley said to her, and then kissed Rowena
back, fingers kneading her fake tits.
   Alexi sighed, taking one more glance at the Timeron knights. He knew
nothing so fine would ever show up at the Ball of Blood in their
dilapidated academy of necromancy, but he could always dream.
   They turned a corner, and the road before them had become a kaleidoscope
of mud and horse scat. When Alexi took a step, he despaired that the
strange colored mud immediately slid over the tops of his shoes. Stagnant
pools of red, yellow, blue, and green intermingled here and there to form
off-colored browns and purples. All of these hues came from the dyes used
in the nearby cloth and textile shops. In fact, so much dye had filled the
streets that brightly colored pigs darted amid the thick crowds, lending
the road a kind of cheerfulness lacking in other areas of Zanda. Rowena
took Dudley's hand and walked him through the mud to the entrance of a sex
shop. Laughing, they both disappeared beyond a yellow door while Alexi and
Daphne took their time, picking out a path through all the muck at their
feet.
   To the left, some old miners glared at them, skin so dark with soot that
Alexi couldn't tell what race they were. The old men smiled, revealing
several misplaced teeth. Each had a wiry head of hair with tufts poking out
in every direction. Their clothes looked so dirty, Alexi suspected them of
never having been washed.
   "You girls lost?" One of the men asked, stepping forward. The stench of
weeks of unwashed body swept over Alexi and Daphne.
   "Yeah," the other one said, tongue hanging partially out. "You lost?"
   Alexi grabbed Daphne's hand and pulled her along, barely dodging out of
the way of a horse drawn carriage that passed inches from Alexi's face.
   "Eeek!" Daphne screamed, spotting a rat the size of a dog lying dead in
the street. Its intestines had spilled from inside its bloated body,
crushed one too many times under the wheels of passing wagons.
   Catcalls and whistles from the shadows of the road alerted Alexi to the
danger of being in Slippery Squib without Dudley as escort.
   "Maybe we should go back," he said, turning to look Daphne in the eye.
   "Back where? The sex shop?" Daphne asked. "They fuckin' abandoned us and
you just know she's going to give him a gobby in there." She tugged on her
lower lip before shaking her head no. "Let's just keep going. It's not much
further. We've come a long way, Alexi. It'd be a shame to turn back now."
   He agreed and they picked up the pace, trudging through mud that at
times sunk them to their ankles and tore the very shoes they wore from off
their feet.
   After a couple of blocks, Daphne said, "My clothes are positively
ruined."
   But Alexi didn't respond. Up ahead, and materializing out of the gloom,
rose the Obelisk of Quiet. The dreadful spire soared into the black
sky. Alexi marveled at its height, which probably came in around eighty
feet. The whole of it was constructed of blocks of meticulously shaped and
carved stone blocks, piled one atop another, in eight huge segments. Each
face bore a different inscription, and the even sections of stone all bore
bas-relief carvings of various demons and undead in alternating stages of
revelry and quiet. Around its base, a small park had been erected. Grass on
the other side of a low-lying stone wall looked yellowed, and there were
several patches of animal turds positively buzzing with flies. A pathway of
small paving stones made its way up to the edge of the needle.
   Alexi crossed the busy street that skirted around the structure, which
dominated a town square squatting pretty much at the exact center of
Slippery Squib. Once he got to the wall, he waited for Daphne who took much
more caution in crossing to the park's entrance. In the shadows of a nearby
carpet shop, a black man in a turban sat in threadbare red and gold robes
sucking smoke through a hookah. Across the street to the north, a slave
auction finished, and a ten-year-old girl was handed to five men who'd
pooled their money into a bowl to buy her. They looked like sailors and
each grinned from ear to ear as they grabbed the screaming girl by the rope
attached to her collar.
   A great commotion to the south drew Alexi's eye as Daphne joined
him. Towering above hundreds of frightened men and women, an eight-foot
tall horned demon waded through the crowd, kicking men and women aside, its
leathery wings flapping behind it, and carrying six huge scimitars in each
of its many hands. Alexi reasoned that the demon—a rather commonplace
thing in Zanda these days—probably got away from its summoner and would
now wreak havoc on the locals until the militia brought it down. Such are
the many perils of dealing in hell spawn. Occasionally, the hulking
monstrosity cut innocent men and women in half with its sword, and
swallowed their fresh carcasses by seizing the remains of their quivering
flesh in its enormous hands. It always made sure to behead them, choosing
victims with long manes because of the ease these grisly trophies could be
hung from its gruesome belt.
   Daphne screamed when she saw it.
   "Shhh," Alexi said. "They're drawn to screams. We're safe as long as we
don't call attention to ourselves."
   "What is it?" Daphne asked him. It's like she instinctively knew he
could give her an answer.
   Alexi swallowed and led her to the lee of the obelisk. The black stone
monument blocked the wind and even dampened some of the roar that came from
the slave market as another choice piece of meat got auctioned on the
block.
   "It's an Abaddon. The name means "destroyer" in the infernal
tongue. They are the workhorses of the armies of Hell." Alexi peered around
the corner of the obelisk and saw that the huge demon had disappeared down
a side street. "It's gone...for now. Hopefully the Blades will deal with it
before it becomes a problem."
   "You mean Dudley?" she asked.
   "I mean men that are like Dudley," Alexi said. "He couldn't face an
Abaddon. Very few mortal men could stand toe-to-toe with one. A Timeron
knight could, but few others."
   Daphne smiled. "You admire them, don't you?" she asked.
   "Who? The Timerons we saw on the street back there?"
   She nodded yes.
   "Who wouldn't?" he asked. "They were so beautiful. There's a lot of
ugliness in Zanda. It's nice to be able to look on beauty once in a while."
   "So why are we here, Alexi?" Daphne asked. "Why are we in the middle of
Slippery Squib?"
   Alexi stared up at all the engravings and marks covering the monument,
wishing that he had the knowledge to comprehend everything. High above the
obelisk's sharp point, lightning played along the belly of furious storm
clouds.
   "We are here because I have questions, and this thing can give me
answers," Alexi said. About a third of the way up, he noticed some motifs
that had been scratched out. Having taken a particular interest in ancient
Zandan hieroglyphs, he recognized the ones here as having been made around
the Fourth Age. That would make this landmark at least a thousand years
older than the surrounding city.
   That can't be right, Alexi thought. All the legends say this was built
by Lianon Pard after Zanda was founded.
   "What is it?" Daphne asked. "You see something, don't you?"
   He nodded. "That damaged stonework there," he pointed with his index
finger. "The hieroglyphs are in ancient Zandan."
   Daphne stared up at them and then said, "How come no one has noticed
those before? I can make out several. Would you like me to read them to
you?"
   "Yes," Alexi said excitedly. "My recall of ancient Zandan is fuzzy, and
I can't quite make out the symbols because the stone's been damaged so
much."
   "I don't know why I can," Daphne said, "but there's this weird kind of
light that's playing along the edges, making them easier to read."
   "Light? What kind of light?" Alexi asked, squinting at the stone. But he
definitely didn't see what his friend saw.
   Daphne shrugged. "It's white and outlines the symbols, all of them in
fact, as I stand here. Even the ones that are completely missing...like
this one...it's been chipped away by a hammer or something. I can see that
it's in the shape of a woman with an urn on her head."
   "Go on," Alexi urged.
   "It's a story. The figures here are making an offering to something in a
great temple, and their offerings are contained in the urns that they
carry. The great temple lies in a vast graveyard of dragon bones, and they
stretch out underneath a black sun whose name is Helio...Hurlo...
   "Hurlothrumbo," Alexi said.
   "Yes," Daphne replied. "How did you know?"
   He shrugged. "I recognized the cartouche there. It was in an old story
of Lianon Pard's adventures called the Locket. In that story, Lianon Pard
found the font of necromancy itself and called it Hurlothrumbo. He said it
rose above a mythical placed called The Dragon's Graveyard. The rays of
Hurlothrumbo slay the living. I think that's it up there," he gestured.
   "The dark sun with its rays coming down on an army of undead and
demons?" Daphne asked.
   "Yes," Alexi said. "Lianon Pard created a powerful locket and hid it in
a mythical place called the Machlen Nocturnis. The traps are said to be of
such deadly design, that no one could retrieve the locket without Lianon
Pard's blessing. It is also said that the Locket is the only way into and
out of the Dragon's Graveyard and that whomever wears it will be rendered
immune to the death rays hurled by Hurlothrumbo as it passes overhead."
   "What lies in the Dragon's Graveyard?" Daphne asked.
   "A great treasure of some sort?" Alexi asked. "Does it say on the stones
because I'm not sure?"
   Daphne started to read again. "This part is about the Queen of Demons,"
she said, circling around the obelisk. "It tells a story of how the Queen
of Demons was the most powerful goddess in a pantheon that numbered seven
and twenty. To prevent an apocalypse on Wynwrayth, a great being known as
the Thread—father and overlord of the gods—bound them all to a thing
called the Cycle of Faith. All of them save Thomas, god of war, were forced
to abandon their bodies of flesh and take spirit form. As long as they no
longer possessed a flesh and blood avatar to walk the earth, each god could
only exert its will on Wynwrayth through its worshipers. Thomas was allowed
to keep his body because he was born of Inzilbeth, Taleta's sister, who was
slain by Deeping Lore. Out of respect and memory of Inzilbeth, her one and
only child would be granted permissions denied to the other gods. The
Thread reasoned that this should happen because the Thread believed them
all culpable for Inzilbeth's death. Taleta, of course, disagreed with the
Thread's ruling and declared war on her brothers and sisters. Eventually
defeated, it says she was imprisoned in the lowest layer of Hell, and the
key to her release was the Halo of Thomas, which existed as a ring of light
that shone over the young godling's head. This is because most of Thomas'
powers came from Taleta, who bequeathed them to him as a baby when he was
born. She also promised that one day they would clash, and it would be the
War to End All Wars and that when she triumphed, darkness and demons would
consume the cosmos that the Thread created. Only then would Inzilbeth's
death be avenged."
   "So the other gods just willingly gave up their flesh and blood bodies
and bound themselves to the Cycle of Faith?" Alexi asked.
   Daphne squinted, reading further up the obelisk. "Yes, it happened after
they imprisoned her in Hell. The other gods weren't as strong as Taleta,
and they didn't have as much of a say in opposing the Thread's wishes." She
paused, still reading. "This seems quite important. Thomas eventually gave
up his halo for fear that it could be snatched from his head while he
slept. He took it from his own head, and it became a circlet of fine white
bone. Then he presented it to Sheila, goddess of dragonkind, who placed it
in a temple within the sacred realm of the Dragon's Graveyard. There, she
placed a fabulous beast to guard it so that none may ever steal away with
the bone circlet and throw it into the Pool of Arcanos. If this were to
happen, then the chains holding Taleta in Hell would break, and the Queen
of Demons would be set free on the world once more. In other words, she
would emerge in flesh and blood to lead her people in the War to End All
Wars."
   "Now I know why the demons and undead up there are having a party under
the dark sun," Alexi said.
   Daphne nodded in agreement. A thunderclap sounded and it shook the
ground around them. A bit of rain started to fall.
   "Thomas is not the only god with a flesh and blood body anymore," Alexi
said. "You know as well as I that things changed last year."
   "Careful," Daphne said. "Gods can sometimes hear you when you speak
their name."
   "What does it mean?" Alexi asked. "With gods walking the earth once
more? This can't be good, right?"
   "I guess that depends," Daphne said. "Are you someone that wants a god
to be able to just kill you outright for disagreeing with him? Or are you
someone that would like some restrictions on that power? You know...like
having to work through your followers. I think if you're part of the latter
crowd, then having more flesh and blood gods on Wynwrayth threatens to
unbalance everything. However, if you have one on your side, then you are
powerful and every country in the world gives you respect. But as with all
things, if they go out of kilter, it usually means lots of death. It's all
just a game to them, Alexi. They're immortal and as old as the universe
itself. They're all playing some cosmic game of chess that has rules to it
us mortals are not privy to know. But if the Queen of Demons does emerge
someday because some fool sets her free with the Halo of Thomas, I think
we'd be smart to position ourselves on the winning side."
   "Which is what our leadership is doing. Hence, the strong presence of
Timeron knights just across the bay in the Keep of Anghul," Alexi said.
   "And the Nykoran army that marched through our streets. The Noremarians
and the Nykorans are allied with Zanda because for the first time in
thousands of years, a flesh and blood god who represents our interests
walks the land," Daphne said.
   "Do you think we are evil, Daphne?" Alexi asked. "The Book of Thomas
says—"
   "You've read The Book of Thomas?" Daphne asked. "That book's forbidden."
   Alexi broke out in a cold sweat, staring into the eyes of his
friend. "Parts of it," he admitted.
   She shook her finger. "I'll keep your secret, but you should stop
sneaking into the forbidden section at school. You're going to get
caught. Do I think Zandan life is evil?" Daphne considered this a
moment. "There are things I don't like about it; things I would
change. Demons running around without their masters is one. But our society
has to be better than the rest of the world. The Valion knights are so
cruel that they feed any child born with imperfections to the wolves. How
barbaric. There is nothing wrong with things that are out of place, or
malformed. Chagidiel, the god of flesh, teaches that ugliness is a lens
through which the true nature of man may be revealed. Disease should be
embraced for it strengthens the surviving population and culls the weak so
that they may go on to live in paradise. And don't even get me started on
backward views of female power. Noble women in our society are celebrated
for having sex with lots of men. But would you believe that there are
societies beyond our borders that consider our last Dreaded Irtemara
disgusting for her birthday gift to the Blades Acuuarum?"
   "You mean the time that she fucked the entire legion? It took three days
and they reportedly wet her cunt repeatedly with wine to keep it
lubricated?" Alexi asked. "That story?"
   "The very same," Daphne said proudly. "Dreaded Irtemara Shalisa was a
legend, and a hero to the people. Everyone loved her, and the thousands of
men in the Blades Acuuarum wept when she died. I hear they're even erecting
a statue of her near the palace."
   "What of rapes and murders?" Alexi asked.
   "Those exist in supposedly good societies as well, you know?" Daphne
stated.
   "But it happens here more often," Alexi argued.
   Daphne put her hand on her hip. "According to whom? I'll have you know
that I overheard a merchant who said that when the Valion knights...a
supposed force for good in the world...conquered an army in Cassiterides
that they executed them all. Twenty thousand men died before
sundown. That's not murder, it's genocide. At least when we conquer our
foes, they have an option to live comfortable lives in the households of
Zandans everywhere."
   "As slaves," Alexi said. "My father had four of them, and he raped them
constantly and left them all starving."
   Daphne frowned. "But he did feed them after they earned their keep I
assume? And he clothed them and took care of their children. And if some of
them died, I'm sure he hired a necromancer to make them undead so that
their family would never know permanent loss. Imagine the comfort of always
having your mother around, even if she has a craving for raw flesh. You
could feed her livestock."
   "Mindless undead?" Alexi asked. "And they stink, you know? The undead
rot unless you don't make zombies, and that requires a powerful
necromancer."
   "Enough," Daphne said. "Alexi, honestly, if you can't see that we're the
good guys then there's no arguing with you. But I'm warning you now that
some of your ideas are dangerous and could be seen as heresy to the
Israfil."
   He nodded and stayed silent. A gust of wind stirred the leaves at their
feet, and Alexi leaned upon the obelisk to steady himself. When his hand
touched the stone, a doorway in Alexi's mind opened and revealed to him a
vision.
   He stood at the end of a road. In front of him rose an ironwork gate
some twenty feet tall. Large stone pillars adorned with the faces of
leering demons that swallowed children's heads stared down at him.
   The tops of the fences had been filed into sharp points of rusted black
steel and shaped to resemble human phalluses. They pointed toward a night
sky filled with sparkling stars and beneath it spread colossal bones for as
far as Alexi could see. Had it not been for something terrible rising above
the graveyard at this very moment, Alexi might have taken a minute to
stargaze.
   But as things were, he stared at a bloated, misshapen and angry moon
surrounded in an aura of darkness.
   Alexi knew that it couldn't really be a moon because it hovered only a
mile or so above him. But the thing looked the part. It floated like a
Zandan "lantern for the dead." Slowly and purposefully, the thing drew a
straight path toward the fence, beginning with some enormous structure on
the horizon: a tower of gleaming white stone with many parapets and conical
roofs, all of which shone like gold in the eerie light. The face of this
moon was a leering, naked skull and he surmised that it was several hundred
feet in diameter. Its eyes bubbled fire—pinpoints of blue formed the
centers of those horrific sockets. From between its teeth emanated a beam
of gray light that spread outward in a huge conical swath easily a thousand
feet wide.
   Alexi approached the gate and placed his hands on the iron rungs. They
felt unnaturally cold on his flesh. Smoke billowed upward from his burning
skin, but he didn't mind. He stared at the faraway structure and saw a ring
of bone floating in a golden mote of light. He knew that he gazed upon the
Halo of Thomas, but he didn't know why he could see it so clearly.
   "The halo is the key to the power of Hurlothrumbo," a deep voice said in
his mind.
   "What do you mean?" Alexi asked. "Who's speaking to me?"
   "Retrieve the circlet and you shall become the Master of Necromancy,"
the voice told him. "This is your destiny, Alexi. Find the locket in the
Machlen Nocturnis, and you shall be Lianon Pard reborn."
   "But where is the Machlen Nocturnis?" Alexi asked.
   "Seek out Horigum Khaine in the Hollows on the Street of Perversions,"
the voice said. "He owns a shop called, `Agony.' You must go there and
inquire within."
   When Alexi fell to the ground, the vision and the voice fled his
mind. He opened his eyes to a sting on his cheek and Daphne slapping him
across the face. "Alexi!" she shouted. "Are you okay?"
   He nodded, swallowing. He looked around but he saw only the familiar
streets of Zanda. A torrent of rain had soaked both of them through to the
quick, and he shivered in the cold wind.
   "You were screaming," Daphne said. "What happened? Did the obelisk
reveal something to you? The Obelisk of Quiet never shows anyone anything
unless you're the reincarnation of Lianon Pard. Answer me! What did you
see?"
   "It's nothing," Alexi reassured her. "I-I saw nothing. The lightning
scared me for some reason."
   He let that sink in for a moment, and Daphne stared into his eyes
probably trying to figure out if he was lying or not.
   Only Lianon Pard can read minds, Daphne, he thought. Just let it go.
   "Fine," she said. "Can we go home now?"
   "Yes," he agreed, taking her hand in his. But as they left, he felt like
unfriendly eyes followed him all the way back to the academy.


				   *****

As usual, there's more on my website at
http://slckismet.blogspot.com/p/discussion-board-for.html under the label
"Chapter Six" if you care to read ahead. Please comment on the forum. I'd
love to hear about what you'd like to see in the story and maybe who your
favorite character is thus far.