Kings of Ghumai- The Complete series Box Set

by D N Meinster

  Chapter Twenty-Nine - High Council in Exile

  Chapter Thirty - The Heart of Belliore

  Chapter Thirty-One - Five Kingdoms

  Chapter Thirty-Two - The Third Immortal

  Chapter Thirty-Three - Spycraft

  Chapter Thirty-Four - Recovery

  Chapter Thirty-Five - Destinations

  Chapter Thirty-Six - The Third Key

  A Note From the Author

  Chapter One

  At the Foot of the Tower

  "Welcome to Belliore," Rikki said, her voice steady as if she fully comprehended exactly where they'd ended up. Yet her eyes were not on Aros as she responded to him. Instead, there was awe in her gaze as she peered above him at the mighty structures that were all around.

  Aros had stood in wonder underneath the turrets of Castle Tornis, as all nine stories loomed overhead. But the black-stoned fortress had a measurable height. Here, he could not fathom counting how many floors the buildings that surrounded him contained.

  The architecture was unlike any he had encountered before. The bases of most of these colossal edifices had pointed corners that alluded to their boxlike exterior. Aros could only assume they were entirely rectangular because he could not see every side. And, while at their level the towers appeared to be made up of stone, the further up he looked, the more the reflective materials became apparent, be they metal or glass. There was no way to make out the construction of the tops of these towers, for their view was obstructed not only by low-lying clouds but by something else entirely.

  Zooming way above, in the spaces in-between each of these gargantuan monstrosities, were shining metal insects that would glow with the sun's rays for an instant before they disappeared amongst the crowded sky. Aros could not hear their buzz from such a distance, nor could he imagine how large such a creature may be, but the longer he watched endless rows of them pass by, the more intense his chills became.

  "Are you sure?" Aros asked, briefly disregarding his environment and placing his focus back on Rikki. She'd never shifted with them before. How did she know she'd brought them to the right location? This did not feel like anyplace in Ghumai. It was more like they were in a totally new world, one whose breathtaking uniqueness gave way to disconcerting shivers the more it was examined.

  Who’s to say they were not in a land of giants? What if these buildings were normal-sized homes to the occupants of this place? What if those enormous metal bugs were really the size of insects to whoever lived here?

  Nope, Aros did not want to find out the answer. They should go back to Faunli. They could take the long way to Belliore and follow the river, for this could not be the right place.

  "It has to be," Rikki replied as she finally focused back on her friend.

  "The Bellish were always the most advanced," Doren noted, his voice strong and his eyes giving no appearance of bewilderment. He was easily the least affected of the trio.

  "How do you know?" Aros asked, and, for the first time, he noted how alone the three of them were at this level of the city. The narrow streets were entirely deserted. The only hint of life was above. "We can't exactly ask anyone."

  Rikki and Doren spun about where they stood, finally recognizing that there was no one else around.

  "Aros actually has a point," Doren stated, surprised he was saying those words.

  "Hey, " Aros responded with the slightest hint of offense.

  "Well let's find someone to ask," Rikki suggested. She extended her silver staff, and the channeling crystal nested between the two silver wings at its tip lit up. "That way."

  "Maybe we should go back," Aros said. "We can take the river –"

  "Nonsense. We are in Belliore," Rikki insisted. "We just need to find proof."

  Aros ran a hand through his spiky brown hair. Even if Rikki was right, and they were in Belliore, maybe it was best they leave and come back after visiting the other two kingdoms. They still had to grab the Keys from Terrastream and the Twilight Isles. Those places may have been more familiar, and thus more navigable. They were out of their element in this world, wherever it was.

  "Come along," Rikki urged, and she started down one of the streets on her own initiative.

  "Doren?" Aros asked, wondering if his friend agreed with the mage's decision.

  Doren shrugged, but he grabbed the bronze shield off his back before he followed her.

  "Great," Aros sighed, and he watched his friends slip away before he chased after them. Rikki was easy to spot, for though her magenta hair appeared darker down where they were, her white and gray dress stood out among the black streets and stone bases. Meanwhile, Doren was like a green mist beside her, his light garb the only part of him visible, as his lengthy black hair melded in perfectly with the atmosphere.

  Aros caught up rather quickly, though he kept his hand tight around the hilt of one of the clawblades on his back. He was not ready to withdraw the Ligold blades yet, for he was not sure he would want to engage any of the beings that lived in this city. It was better to keep the swords resting on their magnetic straps, so as not to appear threatening.

  The trio made little noise as they searched the streets, though the shuffle of their boots and sandals against the ground was magnified in the eerie quiet. Aros was only reminded this place was alive every time he looked up. The longer he kept his attention on the empty alleyways and windowless structures, the more it seemed like this city had a population of three.

  Aros dismissed his idea of giants the more they went on. Any gigantic individuals would shake the ground with the force of a Faun army. There was not even a quiver in the land below.

  "Have either of you noticed something odd about these buildings?" Doren asked as they went.

  "Besides their height?" Aros replied

  "Yes, besides that."

  Aros looked up again at their mirror-like walls, watching as they amplified the passing clouds. Was he missing something?'

  Rikki stopped as soon as she realized what Doren was referring to. "You're right."

  "What?" Aros asked, puzzled what he was missing.

  "Take a look at that, Aros," she said, pointing to the base of a nearby structure.

  Aros stared at it, trying hard to make out what he was missing. He squinted his eyes and silently demanded that this secret reveal itself.

  Missing.

  Aros' mouth dropped opened. His eyes darted from base-to-base. None had them. Not even giant-sized ones. "They're missing doors."

  "Exactly," Doren replied before darting over to one of the sleek walls. He ran his hand along it as if he was expecting to feel something that his eyes could not see.

  "Well, maybe they're not buildings," Aros guessed as he followed Doren. "Maybe they're something else."

  Doren paused and gave his friend a befuddled look. "Like what?"

  Aros had no idea, but he felt like he should supply an answer. He studied the endless facade, picturing not the hollow innards of a castle, but the filled in kind like a...like a..."Monument. They could be monuments."

  Doren moved his hand away from the smooth exterior. "I mean they could be, right?" He eyed Rikki.

  "There is a way to find out," she replied, pointing her staff at the building.

  "What are you doing?" Doren asked, jumping into her way.

  "I'm going to create a door, obviously," Rikki said. "You want to know what's inside, don't you?"

  Aros leapt in front of Rikki as well. "There's a good chance I'm wrong."

  "It's better to stay out here, in the open," Doren added, "than face the unknown by going in there."

  "Are you two scared?" she asked, astounded by their apparent lack of courage.

  "No," Aros and Doren said in unison.

  "You could damage the integrity of the building by doing that," Doren hastily came up with an excuse. "It could collapse on us."

  "Yeah, the integrity," Aros repeated.

  Rikki returned her staff to a vertical position. "I suppose it's better to find someone
out here in the street. If we can." She began walking off without them again.

  Aros glanced at Doren before gawking at the place they had almost entered. He knew it would have been terrible to go inside uninvited, yet he couldn't explain why. If they were monuments, it could be sacrilegious. And if they weren't, who knows who they would have found and what their reaction would be to a mage, a guardian, and a prince showing up.

  Actually, he did know who would know, but She still wasn't speaking to him.

  "Come on, Aros!" Doren shouted back at his friend as he fell further behind.

  "Right." Aros nodded and made to catch up.

  The three of them continued to roam the empty streets, hoping they would find someone that could provide them with some answers. Were they in Belliore? What exactly lined these streets? And why was there no one around?

  "Take a look at this," Aros said, stopping at the base of a particularly unique structure. Unlike most of the buildings around them, this one didn't have corners; instead, it was completely round. "How do you think they built this?"

  "Same way they built some of the towers of our castle," Doren replied. "Only higher."

  Aros gawked at it until Doren grabbed his arm and tugged him along. They resumed their search, though the more time they spent without encountering anyone, the more their gazes turned upward.

  "Do you think the Bellish went extinct?" Aros asked, his neck tilted up while his feet kept on marching.

  "Someone had to build these," Doren replied, doing his best not to sound exasperated.

  "They could've died out after," Aros stated. "Or died out because they built them."

  Rikki stopped walking and shot a look at both her friends. "They didn't die out."

  "How do you know?" Aros asked.

  Rikki pointed down one of the adjacent alleyways. "Look."

  Aros and Doren both peeked down the path Rikki was indicating. Standing amidst a tight space between two of the enormous towers was a man whose features were hidden by a light brown trench coat. His back was facing them, and he seemed to be looking at nothing but shadow.

  "Together," Rikki whispered, and the three of them slid as quietly as they could toward this individual.

  Though they were mere feet away, he failed to notice them. Rikki crept closer and tapped the man on the shoulder. "Excuse me."

  The man's body stiffened, and he turned his head toward her.

  Rikki was so startled by the man's appearance that she hopped back.

  This man did not have a face. He lacked ears and he lacked hair. He had no features at all. There was only chrome skin covering whatever skeleton lie beneath. It was not dissimilar to the same material that covered the massive buildings all around them. Yet even without eyes, it was obvious that she had gotten this being's attention. It kept its expressionless silver head fastened in Rikki's direction.

  "What is it?" Aros asked.

  The metal being's neck jolted and redirected its focus towards Aros.

  "Does it understand me?" Aros wasn't sure whether to reach for his weapon or run. In his indecision, he remained completely still.

  Without being incited, it next turned its head towards Doren.

  "Can you tell us where we are?" Rikki asked, trying to converse with it and take its attention away from Doren.

  "Unidentified humans," it somehow said without a mouth. "Please prepare for incarceration."

  "Incarceration?" Aros asked, unfamiliar with the word.

  "Dungeons," Doren said, and he readied his shield.

  Aros' eyes bulged and he locked his palms around the hilts of each of his blades. "Say when."

  "We are only seeking answers," Rikki said, still attempting a chat.

  "Invalid response," it replied, and it stretched its arm toward Rikki.

  "What?" Rikki took a step back, getting closer to her friends.

  The metal being's hand rolled back onto itself, like it was made of pliable dough, and was almost instantaneously replaced by a peg-like stick with a minute hole in its center. Without warning, a white light shot out from the stick and headed right at Rikki.

  Doren leapt into its path and let his shield take the brunt of the hit.

  "Does it have magic?" Aros shrieked.

  Neither of them provided an answer. Instead, Doren simply turned and said, "Run."

  All of them took off out of the alleyway, charging down the streets like they were being chased by a mob.

  As they bolted down the road, Doren said, "Aros must've been right. This can't be Belliore. We need to leave."

  Rikki remained defiant. "It has to be!"

  "Those don't look like the Bellish!" Doren shouted back.

  A white beam of light streaked past them and collided with the wall of a nearby structure. The gleaming frame cracked upon impact and began emitting wisps of smoke. The trio barely had time to observe the damage as they ran by it.

  "Keep going!" Aros shouted, getting the best look at the results of the attack. If that hit one of them, there was no knowing what type of injury it may cause. The golden M hanging from his neck bounced against his chest more furiously as he urged his legs to move faster.

  As they continued running from the chrome man, the vastness of the city became clear. No matter how far they went, they seemed to be surrounded by the same types of buildings, with just as many behind as there were ahead. It was reminiscent of Kytheras, as there appeared to be no empty spaces in any direction. But Aros hardly had time to feel at home while he was being chased.

  "Maybe we should shift!" Aros cried out to his friends as he felt his legs weakening.

  "Let's!" Doren said in agreement.

  Rikki started slowing down, but before she could extend her staff for her friends, another silver being fell from the sky, landing on the street and in their way. This one was completely naked, revealing that its entire body was featureless besides for its chrome skin. It stood up to an intimidating height and examined the situation it had fallen into.

  Rikki didn't hesitate, swinging her staff toward it and sending a burst of wind that knocked it off its feet and out of their way.

  As the three of them made to move beyond it, another chrome man fell from the sky, landing just to their side.

  While they hurried past it, two more chrome men landed in the streets. And then they saw three more crash into the ground up ahead.

  "I preferred it when the streets were empty," Aros whined.

  "We just make tons of friends when we arrive somewhere new," Doren sarcastically noted as he raised his shield up and prepared for a battle.

  Aros withdrew both of his swords. He pointed their curved tips at the chrome men as they came closer. "What are they?"

  "Dangerous." Rikki's channeling crystal turned the same shade of green as her eyes as she targeted the metal beings. With a flick of her staff, the black streets around them turned to mush. With each step, the chrome men sank deeper into the black goop. When they were neck deep, the streets solidified and left them stuck in their rocky depths.

  "Now, let's shift," Rikki said, and she turned her staff toward her friends.

  The sound of breaking stone caught all of their attention. The chrome men's arms broke through the top of the streets, and they each climbed out of the trap Rikki had created with her magic.

  Doren moved his shield in front of Rikki as one of the chrome men fired at them. The white beam left no mark on his enchanted weapon.

  More white beams came at them, as the chrome men transformed their arms and sent their formless arrows in their direction.

  Rikki manipulated the streets, raising the black stone to create a barrier against the incoming attack.

  Meanwhile, Aros did his best to use the swords to take incoming hits. Though the Ligold blades were durable, the beams still left dings in the metal. The clawblades lost their sheen as he continued to swipe at the incoming lights.

  As the chrome men got closer, Aros saw an opportunity for a counterattack. He lunged forward and plunge
d both blades into the torso of one of the metal beings. Its arms flailed around a bit as it seemed unsure how to respond.

  While Aros had the thing in place, Doren came around and took a righteous swing at the chrome man's head. It was swiftly decapitated, its head flying off into the distance. But no blood leaked from its wounds as its body slid off Aros' swords and onto the street. Both of them bent down to get a closer look at the headless body. At the base of its neck, there was now only a bundle of wires.

  Doren slid his shield in front of Aros as a beam of light made its way at them. After the bronze metal took the hit, Doren charged forward. He slammed his weapon into several of the chrome men, knocking them over as their shots went wild.

  Rikki continued trying to restrain the metal beings, but no matter what type of binding she conjured around them, they broke free. When she attempted to attack them with fireballs, they came away unfazed. When she tried to freeze them, they easily broke through the ice and kept going.

  Only when she sent them flying into the air did she get a break from their attack, but by the time they came back down, they were joined by even more of their identical comrades.

  "Too many," Rikki said, and she hurried to Doren's side. "We need to – "

  All at once, the chrome men stopped moving. The primary weapons on their arms remained pointed at them, but they didn't fire.

  "Look at this mess," a voice bellowed from behind the hordes of chrome men. "I haven't seen chaos like this since one of our weather machines went haywire. Who's responsible? If it's Killian again, I'm gonna – " The man pushed aside one of the metallic beings and studied the three Kytherans he had stumbled upon.

  This man had an actual face; clean shaven, with eyes, a nose, a mouth, and everything that came with it. He had a full head of short black hair, and body covered in shimmering metal armor that was fancier and more stunning than the plain silver that made up the chrome men. "Who are these three?" he asked one of his metal subordinates.

  "Unidentified humans," one of the chrome men answered. "Name unknown. Genetics scan inconclusive. Place of origin unknown."

  "I know what unidentified means," the armored man replied. He turned his attention to the trio. "Any of you care to tell me?"