The Slave Planet

by Seven Steps

  “Are you saying that Embrya created Zenith?” Lex asked.

  “Yes, and many other places,” Dell Una said. “Zenith was Embrya’s very first creation, her home as you would call it.”

  “How is that possible?” Lex asked. “How can a single person create an entire planet?”

  “When you are a Forger, anything is possible.” Dell Una looked into their confused faces and sighed. “In the beginning, there was a single Forger. In his lifetime, he created millions of worlds. When he died, his life force divided, creating both a Forger and a Keeper. The Keeper pushed back the realm of the darkness, and the Forger created in the light. There are six Forger-Keepers now, but not for long. One pair is dying.” Dell Una looked down, her face sad. “Without each and every one of them, the universe will contract into what it was in the beginning. A single point of light.”

  “That’s incredible,” Lex said.

  “Who’s the Keeper here?” Kiln asked.

  “Heedon,” Dell Una replied.

  “Will we get to meet him as well?” Kiln asked.

  “Perhaps,” Dell Una said, turning back to the lunchunt. She petted him behind the ears again, and he grunted in happiness.

  They crested the top of a hill. A massive tree came into their line of sight.

  The lunchunt plodded on.

  “There it is,” Dell Una said. “The palace.”

  The brown trunk of the great tree was dotted with white burls and spanned several miles around. The leaves were deep purple, dripping golden dust onto the bright green grass like strange, shimmering dew. A thick fog surrounded the base of the tree. Higher up, before the tree touched the clouds, were four large branches. Two of the branches grew horizontally, one stretching east, and one stretching west. The third and fourth branches grew at angles forming an imperfect W with the trunk.

  A low, crystal wall ran between the branches and formed the base of the castle. Within the clear walls, six crystal towers sprang up, four of the towers forming corners, and two towers, one several stories higher than the other, guarding the middle. The four towers were linked together by three levels of connecting bridges, one above the height of the wall, one at the midway point of the tower, and one right below the roof of the tower. The middle two towers were also joined together by three levels of bridges.

  The lunchunt came to a stop at the base of the great tree.

  Dell Una’s eyes filled with wonder, as though she’d never seen the tree before. She turned back to the group, her wings fluttering excitedly behind her.

  “We’re here.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Venus

  Czarina Arees stood at the window, a goblet of blue wine in her hand.

  Embrya will get what’s coming to her. I don’t need her help or protection. I’ll get the eye of Mungogia, and with it, nothing can stop me.

  A knock on the door shook Arees from her thoughts. Bragnia’s head peeked through the crack in the door before she stepped through it, one thick limb at a time.

  “Bragnia.” Arees rolled her eyes and turned back to the window. “Hopefully, you haven’t come to tell me what a failure you are. I already know.”

  Bragnia cleared her throat and stretched her spine to its full length. “Czarina, the battle reports have arrived. We are close to capturing Beta.”

  “I asked for Beta yesterday, and yet it still has not fallen. I’m beginning to think that the problem is you.”

  “The Maharani Nina was a strong and beloved leader. The people, both women and slave, are fighting fiercely to avenge her and her daughter’s deaths. It hasn’t been easy to—”

  “Save your excuses,” Arees interrupted. “Either have Beta by nightfall or I will find someone else who can.”

  Bragnia shifted her weight. “Yes, Czarina.” She bowed and scurried from the room.

  Arees huffed.

  Useless woman. How could I let her be in control of my armies? I must be a greater fool then Jun-Su.

  Her gaze fell again on the picture of her former best friend. She wondered why she hadn’t pitched it into the fire yet. Was she hoping for reconciliation? Surely not. Betrayal wasn’t something that Arees easily forgave. She, like her mother, had only one response to backstabbers. Absolute revenge. But Jun-Su hadn’t been the only one to turn on her. There was Nadira and Eva to consider. Bragnia already killed both Nadira’s mother and her mother’s Prime Servant. But what of Eva?

  Arees picked up her touch screen and opened the public records. She flicked through the screens until she found the name that she was looking for.

  Grand Empress Amerish.

  She walked to her comm.

  “Comm Grand Empress Amerish, Alpha Sector.”

  The comm flashed the words OUTGOING, for several long minutes, but no one answered. Arees bit the inside of her cheek.

  “Comm Bragnia.”

  OUTGOING flashed again before Bragnia’s freckled face appeared on the screen. Behind her, Arees spied the inside of a hover craft.

  “Yes, Czarina,” Bragnia said.

  “I have an assignment for you. I want you to dispatch troops to Empress Amerish of Alpha Sector. Bring her to me.”

  “Czarina, Empress Amerish is being housed in the jails below High Council Hall. We brought her in the night her daughter, Eva, escaped.”

  Arees’ eyes opened wide, allowing Bragnia to see all of her fury. “And why did no one tell me?”

  “I’m sorry, Czarina.”

  “Have someone bring her up to me.”

  “At once, Czarina.”

  Bragnia’s picture disappeared, and the office was quiet again. Arees paced the room until she heard a knock on the door.

  “Enter,” she called.

  An enforcer swung the door open, and shoved a woman towards Arees.

  Amerish had too much of everything. Makeup ran down her face, her hair was larger than appropriate, and her jumpsuit too tight for her age.

  Arees wrinkled her nose.

  “Empress Amerish,” she said, putting on her most polite voice. “Welcome.”

  Amerish didn’t reply. She stared out of the window, her gaze far away.

  “I trust that you are being treated with the best of care for a woman of your stature.”

  Still no reply.

  “You must be wondering why I brought you here,” Arees said, her patience with the woman beyond strained. “I want to know if you know the whereabouts of your daughter.”

  Amerish looked at Arees, seeming to see her for the first time. “Daughter?” she asked.

  “Yes. Empress Eva. Do you know where she might have gone?”

  “Daughter,” Amerish said. “I have no daughter.” A tear slid down her cheek. “I have no daughter.” Amerish’s face collapsed in sorrow and anger, her tears coming fast. She began to scream. “I have no daughter!”

  The enforcer ran back into the room, looking to Arees for direction.

  Arees nodded at the screaming woman, and the enforcer promptly dragged her away.

  Amerish’s screams echoed down the hall.

  Heart racing, breath coming in quick, Arees sat down in the chair, trying to gather herself. The woman was Eva’s mother, and Eva had broken her. She remembered her own mother, the way her heart broke when her mother turned on the Council and was executed. Had she screamed like this woman? Had her heart ever mended from her mothers’ betrayal? She wasn’t sure, but one thing was clear. She wouldn’t call Amerish back again. Without knowing where Eva was, there was no use in using the woman for blackmail. And, something about the woman disturbed her down to her core. Maybe it was her broken spirit, or perhaps the deep loss that came from losing the one that you held most dear.

  For Amerish, it was her daughter.

  For Arees, it was her mother.

  And Jun-Su.

  Arees sniffed back her tears and stood.

  One thing was for sure. She would not make the same mistake again. If she learned one thing in life it was to not hold anyone dear.


  A third enforcer came into her office without knocking.

  “My Czarina.”

  “What is it?” Arees barked.

  “They are waiting for you,” she replied.

  The enforcer kept her head bowed as Arees marched past her. Six personal guards surrounded Arees as they moved further down the hall towards the balcony.

  She could hear the chants like a rising tide. It was a balm to her soul.

  “CZA-RIN-NA! CZA-RIN-NA! CZA-RIN-NA!”

  Arees smiled and walked out onto the balcony into the excited cries of her enforcer army.

  Their heads tilted up to view her. The letter A - branded onto their foreheads - was dark against their shining, bald heads.

  She stretched out her hands to silence the cheers.

  “My subjects, our time has almost come! We have subdued the Alpha, Zephta, and Omega Sectors.”

  More cheers.

  “We have only one place left to conquer: Beta. Our dream has almost come to fruition. Soon, our new order will be global. And then, when Venus is reined in, we will follow our destiny to Mungogia, Mars, and Zenith! Are you with me?”

  The enforcers gave a shout of agreement, and Arees held up her hands to absorb it.

  By the end of the day, she thought. Beta will fall. No one will ever hurt me again.

  CHAPTER 8

  Zenith

  A cool, damp cloud surrounded the base of the great tree. The light from the suns didn’t quite reach here, keeping everything in eternal twilight. Mist laid heavy around them, obscuring their view of anything past the tree. Even the road that they had just traveled on disappeared in the haze. Above them, the purple foliage rustled in the breeze, sprinkling golden dust like a gentle rain.

  The moss covered roots of the great tree rose high out of the ground, forming large arches that looped over their heads. At the center of each arch was a white burl, matching the burls on the tree’s bark.

  Green moss crept up the trunk of the tree for a hundred feet or so. The moss only seemed to grow within the confines of the fog.

  Lex rubbed the chill from his arms. “How do we get in?”

  “We take a cloud, of course,” Dell Una replied. “Follow me.”

  She fluttered her wings, flew over the lunchunt’s head, and touched down softly on the moss covered ground. Scratching the lunchunt behind the ears, she waited for the group to climb down from the cart and join her.

  The lunchunt opened its mouth and panted with pleasure at the attention.

  When the last of them, Lex, finally exited the cart, Dell Una undid a wide leather strap that wound around the beast’s belly. With the strap loosed, she waved her hand over it, and gestured to her left. The cart moved backwards, taking the strap and the attached wooden poles with it.

  Now freed from its burden, the lunchunt huffed and plopped down onto the moss.

  A collective gasp rose from the group.

  “You moved the cart without touching it!” Eva cried. “How did you do that?”

  Dell Una smiled. “Like I said, when you are a child of Embrya, there are no limits.” She nodded to her right. “Our carriage awaits.”

  A heavy midst formed under the arch in front of them. Slowly, it formed into a small cloud.

  Lex gulped as the cloud settled directly in front of him.

  Waist high and wide enough for all of them to stand comfortably, it seemed to be waiting.

  Dell Una fluttered onto the cloud, landing in its center. “Climb on. There is plenty of room for all.”

  “Is it safe?” Lex asked.

  “Extremely,” Dell Una replied.

  Lex took a deep breath and tentatively placed one foot on the cloud. When nothing happened, he stepped fully onto it and let out the nervous breath he had been holding.

  “See?” Dell Una smiled.

  Eva climbed on next, followed by Nadira and Kiln.

  “Everybody ready?” Dell Una asked. “Up we go.”

  Lex felt his stomach drop as the cloud maneuvered from under the cover of the arch and ascended out of the fog.

  Kiln leaned over the side of the cloud, the wind rushing through his hair. “Look at the view!”

  “Be careful.” Nadira chided, pulling him toward her.

  Lex’s gaze moved to Eva, who stood at his right. The last time they’d been alone had been in Mahala, the free slave village, before it was destroyed. That seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had changed since then.

  Have her feelings changed? He wondered. Perhaps now that she is out of the clutches of her mother and Venus’ strict laws, she won’t think of me in the same way.

  He stretched his pinky towards her, rubbing it against her graceful fingers. She noticed, and smiled, offering her pinky to him in return.

  Emboldened, he released her pinky, and laced their fingers together.

  She tipped her face up to him. The two suns made her golden skin glow, tightening his chest with an emotion he couldn’t identify.

  Joy. Lust. Fear. They all stirred around in his chest, speeding his heart.

  A powerful urge to kiss her rose within him. Her lips were so close. He would only need to lean forward and capture them.

  What would she say? I’ve never kissed her in front of anyone before. Will she be embarrassed? Infuriated? Or would she surrender to me like she did before?

  Her smile widened, and she bit her lower lip, causing his chest to tighten further.

  What would she say if I kissed her right now?

  He moved in.

  The cloud lurched forward, throwing them apart. And then, they stopped.

  “Fastest service in all of the cosmos.” Dell Una stepped a barefoot onto the rough, massive branch that supported the palace.

  Lex looked around at his friends. He laughed shortly.

  I’d nearly forgotten they were here.

  He looked back at Eva, but she was already stepping off of the cloud, taking in the magnificent sight around her.

  The expansive square was flanked by four towers, one in each corner. Two towers stood in the middle of the square. Between the two middle towers was a bustling market crowded with both Zenithians and ambassadors. Hundreds of large, purple leaves grew out of the branches that served as the palaces foundation. Under each leaf sat a Zenithian behind a small wooden table showing its wares. Some showed blankets as black as the deepest recesses of space, decorated with glittering spiral patchwork. Each patch sparkled in the sunlight, throwing rainbows on the walls and ceilings of the booths. Some showed colorful robes, decorated with large pictures of volcanoes, oceans, or trees. Others showed intricately decorated pots in various shapes and sizes.

  One booth in particular seemed to be the most popular. A red-haired Zenithian spooned out thin green liquid from a wooden vat and handed it to the ambassadors as they passed. The ambassadors drank the liquid, smiled, and headed back to the booth for more.

  In the center of the marketplace stood a large fountain. Its white stone glittered and shined. In the middle of the fountain, made of the same winking white stone, was a beautiful statue of a man and a woman entangled in each other’s arms. Rainbow colored jets of water sprang from the platform beneath the lovers before settling into the clear pool below.

  Lex and Eva stopped to admire the statue, while Kiln and Nadira walked on.

  “Beautiful isn’t it?” Dell Una asked, coming up behind Lex.

  “Who are they?” Lex asked.

  “That is Embrya and Heedon,” Dell Una said. “Forger and Keeper, entwined together forever.”

  “They’re like us,” Eva whispered.

  “Yes,” Dell Una said. “It is typical for creation to resemble its creator. We are all made in their image, with some slight modifications of course.”

  “You said before that Embrya was your mother,” Eva said. “Does that make Heedon your father?”

  “It depends on what you would call a father. Without him, I wouldn’t be here. In that sense, he is like a father. However, Embrya is my mother, my
creator in the truest sense. I have a bond with her that I do not have with Heedon.” Dell Una thought a moment. “He is my Keeper, my planet’s protector. That’s how I like to think of him.”

  Dell Una turned and moved diagonally through the busy marketplace, her destination the crystal tower to their right.

  Lex and Eva stood unmoving. Their fingers found each other, lacing together in a quiet embrace.

  “I’ve seen Heedon before,” Lex whispered.

  “Is he the man from your dream?” Eva asked. “The man with the beard?”

  His eyes turned to her. The fact that she remembered their conversation made a lump form in his throat.

  She cares, he thought.

  “Yes,” he croaked.

  “What do you think it all means?”

  He shrugged, enjoying the warmth of her hand in his. “I don’t know, but something tells me that we’ll find out soon enough.”

  They stood in silence for a moment.

  “You know,” he grinned. “I’ve never held hands with a woman in public before.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

  She gasped, and tried to pull her hand away. Her eyes flew wide.

  “What if someone sees us?”

  “Who?” Lex asked. “Arees? The Enforcers? Jun-Su? Men aren’t slaves here. That’s only on Venus. Here, we can be whomever we want to be.”

  Some of the panic left her eyes, and she allowed him to run a finger along her jaw.

  “What do you want to be, Eva?”

  She closed her eyes, surrendering to his touch again.

  I love it when she does that.

  “Eva.”

  She cracked her eyes open, her gaze heavy with need.

  “What do you want to be?” he repeated.

  “Yours.”

  Their lips touched, and he kissed her there in front of the fountain. She was so soft in his arms, so yielding to his touch. He wondered how he’d lived all of his life without her.

  He hoped to never live that life again.

  Although they could see staircases and a sitting area, opaque walls hid most of the interior of the tower from view.

  Several Zenithians greeted them as they fluttered past.