Kings of Ghumai- The Complete series Box Set

by D N Meinster

  He hurried to get away, but he was unable to move fast in the water. He barely finished two steps before whatever it was lifted off the seafloor and rushed in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, Aros remained on its back, and it carried him along as it swam.

  Aros dropped to his knees, in complete horror as the creature glided into a current and took off at a faster speed. There was nothing to grab onto; no way to be certain he wouldn't be brushed away like the rest of the sand. This unusual animal had triangular wings that effectively flapped through the water. Its body was wide enough to have held four more people if Aros had had company, and its tail was whipping away behind it. He assumed two bumps near its front were eyes, though he couldn't make much of them from his location.

  Once he got used to the speed the winged fish was traveling in, and the initial terror subsided, he considered rolling off of it. It was doubtful such a course would lead to injury, unless the thing's tail slammed into him. And its wild motions made that a distinct possibility.

  When Aros stopped gazing off its side and looked ahead, he saw an enormous metal house emerge in the deep. It was silvery, with the occasional flashing light, and all of its corners were rounded.

  "The generator!" Aros exclaimed.

  The winged fish was coming up on it fast. At first, it seemed like they might collide, but the fish locked itself into a downward trajectory and it dove into the sand near the base of the generator.

  Aros was propelled off the fish's back, and he tumbled through the water until his shoulder knocked into the outside of the generator.

  As he drifted back to the seafloor, he felt something wrap around his wrist.

  M'dalla winked at him and kicked up, swimming along the side of the generator and taking Aros with her. When she reached a certain height, she slammed a fist into a square protrusion and a segment of the metal box opened up.

  She swam into the newly opened compartment, pulling Aros along. Once they were both completely inside, she hit another obtruding block and the door snapped closed.

  They were both trapped inside a metal box, with no clear means of getting out. Aros frantically waved his arms at her in alarm, not seeing how they were going to escape.

  But M'dalla seemed unconcerned. Even though she didn't have her own breathing apparatus and was apparently holding her breath, she appeared satisfied with the situation as she held a hand up to Aros. She eventually closed all of her fingers except one, which remained pointing up.

  Aros tilted his head and saw that the waterline above was falling. The room was draining the water that they'd brought inside.

  M'dalla gently drifted to the floor until the last bit of liquid was gone, allowing her to stand freely and take deep breaths.

  "Can you take this off me?" Aros asked, pulling at the gold that swathed his face.

  "We're still underwater," she replied. "You keep that on."

  Aros groaned but didn't argue. He rubbed at his eyes, which were still adjusting to the water-free atmosphere. Peeking through his hands, he noticed that the stains on M'dalla's cloak were rapidly evaporating. He ogled the impressive material, which she noticed as she headed to the opposite side of the compartment.

  "You're too young for me," she teased as she slid a hand on the wall.

  "What?" Aros asked. "It's not – "

  The wall slid open, revealing a room exactly similar to the other hatches. M'dalla stepped in and Aros chased after her.

  "So where's the self-destruct button?" she asked, her head turning in every direction as she examined the place.

  "The what?" Aros had no idea what she was referring to.

  "The button that makes it explode," she said as if he should've known what she'd meant.

  "Oh, I just hit everything and that's what causes it to explode."

  M'dalla dropped her head and turned to stare at him. "Are you serious?"

  Aros shrugged. It'd worked inside the other hatches. It was bound to work in this one as well.

  "I'll handle this one," she said, and she traipsed over to a console that was embedded with a screen. There was a graph and numbers on display, but with a swipe, the data disappeared and brought up new information. She fiddled with the options, letting out an exasperated sigh every few minutes until she turned back to him. "Looks like we're pressing all the buttons."

  "Told ya," Aros said, not even bothering to suppress a grin which she couldn't see.

  "You didn't tell me anything," M'dalla stated. "The Bellish don't have an option to make it blow, which is probably smart." She pulled a couple levers. "How long do we have once everything's activated?"

  Aros thought back to the jungle and desert. "Less than five minutes," he guessed.

  "This is a situation where it'd be really helpful if you could swim."

  Aros slapped his hands down on multiple buttons. "It's plenty of time to get away from here."

  "On dry land, maybe," M'dalla shot back. "You don't have to drag some ass wearing heavy armor."

  "Hey!" Aros exclaimed when he realized she was talking about him.

  Once they both made it around opposite sides of the room, they met at one last panel that would start the cycle. M'dalla grabbed Aros' wrist before he hit the final button.

  "When we're out there, remember to kick. Got it?"

  Aros nodded and she let go of his hand. His fingers landed on the button and he gently pressed down. He looked at M'dalla who yanked at his arm and tugged him toward the exit.

  All of the screens were illuminated in red and a wailing filled the room. The door to the compartment slid open, and subsequently closed behind them once the two were inside. M'dalla took a deep breath before banging her shoulder into the protrusion next to the outer door. When it opened, a torrent of water knocked them back as it rushed in to fill the vacuous space. M'dalla locked an arm around Aros, dipped her hair into the water, and pushed off into the vast ocean.

  Both of them vigorously kicked as they tried to head both up and away from the generator. M'dalla arched her arm as she propelled them forward, and Aros mimicked her, wondering if that was all it took to swim. But though their limbs rapidly fought against the waters, they weren't getting away nearly as fast enough as they should have. M'dalla could have saved herself and let go of Aros at any time, but she held onto him and kept at it.

  Fish fled from their path as they beat back the current and moved onward. But their intensity wasn't enough, and it seemed like a lot less than five minutes had passed when a creaking sound followed by a muffled blast pervaded the ocean. Neither looked back to see what they already knew was happening.

  The shockwaves from the explosion hit them first, and propelled them closer to the water's surface. Their frantic swimming didn't cease even as they rose further, as they knew what was coming next. Debris from the generator caught up with them. Jagged bits of metal and chunks comparable to rocks floated by at even greater speeds. Still, they didn't check to see what was coming. All that mattered was getting above water.

  M'dalla reached the surface first, taking a deep breath as her head emerged from beneath the ocean. When she had sufficiently recovered, she pulled Aros up alongside her. They both gaped at the AGT, which hovered over them, just out of reach.

  "How do we get up there?" Aros wondered as the rain ensured his head remained drenched. Then he remembered how he escaped the first hatch. "Mr. Kwee!" he shouted from under his breathing mask.

  "I got this," M'dalla said, and she let go of him and twisted in the water. She faded away instantly, leaving Aros bobbing alone on the surface.

  Without her support, Aros gradually began to sink back into the ocean's depths. He thought he was going to fall to the bottom again until a metal chain smacked into his head. Aros grabbed on, and he was pulled up until his entire body was free from the waters.

  M'dalla hauled him up the rest of the way, until he plopped down onto the floor of the AGT. Mr. Kwee let out a pleasurable shriek upon his return.

  Aros held his arm out for M'
dalla until she directed the breathing apparatus to retract using the lines of light. He looked up at her, grateful that his face was finally free of that horrendous obstruction.

  "Three generators down," she said. "Where to next?"

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Disruption

  Rikki could not allow any stray thoughts to enter her mind. One part of her consciousness was devoted to continuing the rainstorm in Cortex. Another was concentrated on Doren as she willed the MR to cease its infection and return his body to normal. Unfortunately, she was more effective with the precipitation. While her hand remained locked on Doren's face, she could only halt the bronze from spreading. She was unable to roll it back or cure the plague that was doing this to him.

  Doren was silent; his eyes unfocused. He didn't twitch nor blink. Either the MR was no longer allowing him to, or he had fallen asleep with his eyes open.

  Rikki wanted to let go of his face and wrap herself around him while she still had the chance to. She'd give up on the storm if it meant being able to do that.

  But what about Aros? He was out there, risking his life so they could complete their mission. What kind of partner would she be if she made his journey irrelevant? What kind of friend? No, the rain would continue while she remained MR-free. She would give Aros the opportunity to do exactly what he said he would.

  "Doren," she whispered, hoping that the nearby peacekeepers would be unable to hear her. She leaned her head closer to his. "Doren."

  He blinked once and he moved his eyes so they were fixated on her.

  She could feel a tear trickle out of the corner of her eye before she had even said a word. They had delayed speaking about how they felt for so long, but she would wait no longer. She would not let him go off to the Bastion before they had a chance to discuss their feelings. Even if this was to be a one-sided conversation, it was time Doren knew exactly how she felt about him.

  "I wanted to tell you when we were in Radite," Rikki began. "But not with Aros and Yveen there. Before that, I had only planned on telling you when we escaped Castle Tornis. That didn't go exactly as we thought, but I guess we made it. And now it feels like I might be too late, so I'm not gonna wait any longer. It's time I said this out loud. Doren, I – "

  The wall beside her lit up, displaying an enhanced image of Versil Talap. His enormous eyes were locked onto her as he said, "Sorry to interrupt."

  Rikki aimed her staff at him, unable to hide her contempt with this disruption. Could she make the wall return to its previous state? She wanted to finish her conversation with Doren. But seeing as how she had no idea how he appeared on the wall in the first place, she wasn't sure she'd be able to make him go away.

  Versil smirked. "Do you intend to use that on me? Come now, Ms. Nasem, I'm not here for a conflict."

  "You're not here at all," Rikki said, eyeing him suspiciously. All the other Bellish showed up as three-dimensional representations of themselves, except Versil. He always took up an entire wall. "You don't even try to hide it with the...the..." She didn't know what exactly to call them.

  "A holographic projection?" he responded. "I've always preferred telescreens. You hardly have to get dressed to use one."

  Was he trying to joke? "Have you been spying on me?"

  "Naturally," Versil replied. "All three of you. Our technology allows me to do so with ease."

  "What right do you have?"

  "Right? You are in my kingdom. That gives me all the right. We don't get tourists here. Your presence is a threat as much as Hatswick's was. I won't let you work in the dark against me."

  "Against you?" What was he talking about? Their mission was to acquire the Keys, and since he stood in the way of that, they'd had to work around him. But there was no sort of insidious plot against him. He must’ve been paranoid.

  "Your friend is in the experimental zones right now," Versil stated. "Attempting to sabotage our power grid."

  "We're only trying to get the Key," Rikki told him.

  "Maybe that's true," he said. "Or maybe you'd like someone else to lead the Directorate. Someone that would be more amenable to your demands." He leaned in until only a gigantic picture of his eye was displayed on the wall. "What are you hiding?"

  Rikki glanced at Doren. This banter was distracting her when she needed to be focusing. Both of her friends were counting on her. She needed this man to go away. "Nothing," she shot back.

  Versil fell back so his entire head was viewable again. A couple fingers stroked the bottom of his chin as he considered what to say next. "Your friend is sick. But you've been holding back the effects of the MR. That's more progress than I've made. Allow my peacekeepers to escort you to me. Together, we may be able to cure this plague."

  Rikki glared at both peacekeepers in the room before she turned back to Versil. "Now you want my help? I offered!"

  "I didn't expect your assistance could be anything more than a hindrance," he replied. "I was wrong. Come here. Help me create a cure."

  "I can't leave Doren," she said, the fingers of her right hand still glued to his face.

  "You can't cure it from there," Versil replied. "We will look after him, I promise."

  Rikki's eyes narrowed. "Like you looked after Yuurei? No thank you. I will not leave his side."

  "I promise he will not meet the same fate as Yuurei," Versil said. "Is my word not good enough?"

  Rikki let out a "Ha!" and a booming thunder shook the hospital. "You are a face on the wall. We've never truly met, and yet you've done more to put obstacles in our path than anyone besides Neanthal."

  Versil was taken aback by the comparison. "I am no Thalian. I've kept the Key where it is because it is safer there. I come to you now for aid, not malicious intent."

  "Why do you call it Magenine's Retribution?" Rikki demanded to know. "Tell me honestly and I might consider helping you."

  Versil gazed away from the screen. "If I told you, you wouldn't think of helping me." He turned back to Rikki, a look of desperation flashing on his face. "Belliore needs you. This kingdom may fall if the MR isn't dealt with. Is that not enough?"

  Versil's words tugged at Rikki's heart, but she feared he may have been manipulating her. If he'd been spying on them, he might know exactly what to say to get her to do what he wanted. She did not like the thought of forsaking an entire kingdom, but she would not leave Doren on the word of Versil Talap. "Let me bring him," she said, testing his determination.

  "What?"

  "I'll come if I can bring Doren along," she said.

  Versil's eyebrows fell. "He's quarantined. You'd risk infecting me and the others around him?"

  Rikki glared at him. "That's how it has to be."

  Versil's scowl was all the more menacing because of its enlargement. "I should have known better than to trust a mage to do what's right. All of you are foul creatures that believe themselves better because some goddess granted you abilities beyond normal humans. Well, look what we've done in Belliore, all without magic. You're not better. Magic is a disease, as is made evident by your friend, right there. When I cure it, you will find no help from me."

  Before Rikki could respond, Versil's image disappeared and the wall returned to normal.

  Rikki's mouth hung open as she processed the multitude of insults Versil had just laid upon her. All she'd asked was to bring Doren with her. Why would that send Versil into such a tizzy? Unless his words were what he truly believed. It would certainly explain why they called it Magenine's Retribution.

  Rikki shook the thoughts from her head. She could not spare anymore on that dialogue. The storm. Doren. Those had to be her priorities.

  Yet she kept hearing his voice, over and over. Versil's contempt was plain, but if he was so desperate, he would have agreed to her aid no matter the conditions. So why wouldn't he?

  "Did you hear all that?" Rikki asked Doren.

  She thought she saw him nod slightly in response.

  "We've been so distracted by all the technology, and so focused on
our mission, that I think we missed something. But I can't figure it out from here." Her mind had to concentrate on her magic. But as she refocused on the rains and the MR within Doren, she remembered what she was saying before Versil had interrupted.

  She took a deep breath and tried to resume the one-sided conversation. "As I was saying." She winked at him. "I've been meaning to tell you this for a long time." Rikki glanced at the wall, hoping no one else would appear there. "We've been friends for so long now, Doren. But I think you know, that's not enough anymore." She leaned over his body, so her eyes stared directly into his. "I'm in love with you, Doren. I have been since..." She paused. "Do you remember when I accidentally set myself on fire and you put me out? I knew that day that I would always want you by my side. Hatswick would always scold me when I couldn't control my magic. But you'd always know what to say so I didn't feel so ashamed. I was Amelia's heir! I wasn't supposed to be doing things like that. Everyone would be disappointed in me. Except you."

  Rikki couldn't control the tears as they dripped down her cheeks and fell onto Doren. "I'm going to cure the MR for you, Doren. I won't let this be the end. I love you." She bent her head closer to his until her lips were on his bronze lips. It was the first kiss for both of them.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Missing

  2 D.R.

  The days moved slowly on the Twilight Islands. There was little to do but chat and eat, or play games and sleep, but the Kytherans were adjusting. King Shine worried that all these finely-trained soldiers would become layabouts and was working with the guardians to implement a regimen to keep their wits sharp and their muscles strong. They were going to take back their home one day, and they could not be feeble and faint-hearted when the time came.

  Unfortunately, a lazy army was not his only concern. Word had spread of an assassin on the Islands, one who could not be seen by men and not be killed by mage. Less than a year as king and Shine was already dealing with panic and turmoil. And he'd found there wasn't much he could do about it from his manor. The guardians and mages were on alert, and they'd interviewed witnesses to try to identify who was attacking them. Was it a Twilean unwilling to accept their new companions? Was it a Kytheran gone mad? Or was it a Thalian doing the bidding of his master? After a deck of debate, they were nowhere near an answer.