by Jasmine Walt
The End.
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N.R. Larry was born and is now a total nerd. She writes multicultural paranormal fantasy for teens and adults. When she’s not doing this she is raising an awesome daughter.
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Bound by Destiny
Destiny series, book I
Laxmi Hariharan
Bound by Destiny Copyright © 2012 by Laxmi Hariharan
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Created with Vellum
About the Book
When Tiina accompanies Yudi on a mission to retrieve the Isthmus from the ruthless Shaitan, she seeks more than the end of the tyrant; she seeks herself.
Driven by greed and fear for his own survival, Shaitan destroys everything in his path, including Tiina’s best friend Rai. The universe is at stake, the combatants are determined, will Tiina and Yudi face up to their feelings for each other and fulfill their destiny?
A delicious blend of gods and humans, sacred and profane, an epic fantasy that gives you more than a glimpse of your own power and potential.
1
Java, 3017—Present Day
Tiina wakes with a start.
The nightmare is fresh in her mind. She does not scream, though. Save her heightened breathing and an increased pulse, nothing gives away the horror and dejection the dreams evoke. Swept along by a tide of the inevitable, she faces her destiny.
After rousing herself, she pulls on her sturdy neoprene jumpsuit and snaps on a pair of sleek streamlined running shoes, and then hesitates before stepping out the door. She turns back toward her study table and picks up a sword from its place next to her laptop, running her thumb over the ruby in the centre of the hilt.
It has a three-foot blade and at five-foot-four herself, it is heavy enough that she has to use both her hands to secure it in its leather scabbard, which fits snugly across her back. Since her early training with the sword master on her home planet of Ka Surya, she feels naked if she does not have her blade. Royal blood runs deep. She tests to make sure it does not get in the way of her movement. Its weight feels good, reassuring.
Early morning frost greets her as she steps out of her small cottage on the outskirts of Java City. She jogs at a slow pace, then picks up speed, and reaches a steady sprint by the time she arrives at the canal. Within seconds, sweat pools at the base of her spine, and chills of anticipation crawl across her skin. The lush rows of suikerriet cultivated on both sides of the water offer the perfect chance to glimpse the leaves rippling in the breeze.
After a lifetime of greys and browns, the green is sheer joy. It is one reason she chose to live outside the rush of Java’s cities. This is her second time living on this planet, and she is happy to be surrounded by trees instead of crumbling skyscrapers, snarling air traffic, and humans and half lives fighting each other as they struggle through a working day.
The half lives were the result of cross breeding between humans from the mother planet Earth, and the non-human races from the other planets in the solar system.
Tiina smiles, her delicate heart-shaped face lighting up, relieved to be away from it all, and breathes in the relatively clean air. Why! I almost feel content. Her warm brown eyes sparkle as her slim body settles into a well-known rhythm, leaving her mind to wander. This is Java, her adopted planet, where she can shut down the chatter in her mind, and in that stillness, touch that silent space within. This quiet is nothing like the tossing, churning emotions, the only baggage she has from Arkana. The memories reignite doubt and despair. Not wanting to lose her contented state of mind, she tries to rein in the direction of her thoughts.
Deciding to treat herself, she flicks on the flying activator using a small button on the right sleeve of her suit, and goes airborne.
Most Javanese used spacecrafts to travel on the planet, but she loves the thrill of teleporting and prefers to use it whenever she can. Of late, she has taken to running to her destination whenever possible as a means of training. Gotta keep fighting fit, for you never knew what is around the corner.
She stretches her hands in front and with her slight frame as straight as an arrow, whistles through the air, making an arc before settling parallel to the ground below. Just as she recaptures the earlier feeling of well-being, something hits her from the side, bringing her to the ground with a jolt.
She lands among the shrubs bordering the suikerriet fields with a heavy weight on top of her. The shock of the sudden landing vibrates through her and pain lances along her side. Then the weight lifts off her and the breath rushes back into her lungs. Only momentarily dazed, Tiina swears and straightens herself. Thick shoulder-length golden brown hair waves before her eyes, and after pushing it aside, she looks into a familiar face.
Yudi helps her up, and then takes his palms off her shoulders. A black neoprene suit similar to hers covers him from head-to-foot. At six-foot-two, he towers over her.
She looks into his eyes. Not blue or violet, she has always thought of them as indigo. His thick black hair falls over his forehead, and in a familiar gesture, he brushes stray tresses away only to have them settle right back where they were. Somehow he manages to look attractive, even in the middle of the melee. Just as she thought that she was over him, he appeared before her.
“It’s me.”
“How did you—?”
"How did I find you? How many good looking girls of half human origin do you think there are on this back-of-beyond planet?”
“Well, it is not like I was trying to hide!”
“No. You just buried yourself where no one would look.”
“This is a beautiful planet.”
“Sure! A happening place making headlines across the galaxies.”
“It has its virtues…”
“Like what? The trees?” He gestures at the giant metasequoia trees towering over them.
Tiina is about to reply when he puts a finger to his lips, then angles his head as if hearing something in the distance. Following his example, she tunes out the nearby sounds, focusing on the larger space, and picks up a strange low-pitched buzzing, similar to the static on the main frequency of a radio transmitter.
Giant killer bees fly straight at the two of them. The insects are so prevalent on Java that they give the planet a characteristic reddish colour when seen from space. They come in a large seething swarm, an army with a one-track mind and disciplined ranks.
Each creature is massive, about thirty feet long, and at least thrice as tall as Yudi or Tiina. Their legs are coated in wiry hair, mouths dripping mucus, wings whirring like massive twisters and just as deadly if one were to touch them. Descended from thirteen queen bees released from the now-defunct beehives of Java, which were famous for their honeyed d
elights, the killer bees are an amalgam of the best of their home planets. The innocent beauty of nurturing Java fused with the murderous instincts of the warrior planet Mars. Their short lives are spent in equal parts killing all other species while mating in abandon. The survival of the species is almost guaranteed by their strange powers of reproduction instilled by generations of inbreeding.
With little preamble, the bees are on them. Yudi puts an arm out in front of her to protect her. Both assume a synchronistic defence manoeuvre. As one, they whip out their swords and swing, slicing through some of the zipping bugs. Others collapse on the ground. Each fallen insect explodes in a flash of white smoke, scattering its life force. Yet for each one that dies, others spring up to take its place. Every drop of fallen blood gives rise to new life, and the amassing hive stretches out into the distance; a sea of bright red.
The inherent horror of the situation dawns on Tiina. Legends and mythology, like history, have a habit of repeating themselves. There is no getting away from the past or from one’s destiny.
She winces as a particularly large bee slams into Yudi. The force throws Yudi to the ground, knocking the sword from his hand. The sound of whirring wings fills the air, followed by the pungent smell of the creature. Once recovered, he manages to avoid the massive legs of the insect, rolls over to the side, grabs his sword, and then swipes at the beast with all his strength and decapitates it.
He launches at the head of a long row of the insects, taking down quite a few and disappearing into their midst, the rest crawling over him.
Meanwhile, Tiina is pulled into a battle of her own. Another creature attacks her and she swings her blade at it with all her might. This one dances away. It stays almost stationery, observing her out of beady eyes.
She pauses to wipe the sweat on her brow and looks up at the sky. The bees have formed a living, moving carpet, undulating before her, covering the hills, stretching out for as far as she can see. As she gapes, her line of sight fills with the giant insects, which block out the light blue of the vapour skies. Tiina shivers as the bright light of the Javanese sun vanishes and the temperature dips.
She jumps in after Yudi, shoves as many of the creatures as possible out of the way, and, reaching him, pulls him from the ground.
“We have to get out here, now. Now!” she says.
Yudi wraps his arms around her and touches the small button on the side of his left sleeve. They teleport; one minute she is on Java, the next, she is inside his spacecraft docked in orbit around the planet. Small streamlined capsule-like crafts are built for speed, yet made of some of the strongest and lightest metal, reinforced many times over to withstand the pressure of atmospheric entry.
Tiina feels a little out of breath from their quick trip through space. The blinding lights of the stars that flashed by still spin across her vision. She shakes her head and follows Yudi toward the driving pod of the craft.
He slides into the driver’s seat and grabs hold of the joystick. “Hang on!”
Tiina secures herself in the seat next to him.
With a practised move, he inches the lever forward and slides the craft out into the skies.
As the ship pulls away, she looks back at the planet. While craning her neck, she is amazed to see the familiar hills and valleys of Java taken over by a mass of brown, as if a giant dark veil is casting its shadow over the landscape.
The doomed planet shrinks as they glide away and he turns to her. “I agree. It really is a nice planet. Very welcoming, don’t you think?”
Her heart sinks as she continues to watch her fast-diminishing home. “Why? Why did they attack us?”
“It’s classic. Species turning against each other. The beginning of the end.”
“Why did you come in search of me, anyway?” Then it dawns on her. “Wait, let me guess.” She pretends to think for a moment, and then snaps her fingers. “That old story…we have to find the Isthmus and stop Shaitan! What happened, Yudi? Couldn’t you and Rai do it without me? Wait a minute, is that how you found me? Rai…”
“Don’t blame him, Tiina. It took many months of pleading before he finally told me where to find you.”
“I hope he made you grovel.”
“Did he ever!”
“Well, you sure took your time. Almost nine months to the day since you walked out on me.”
“Ah! Counting the days, were you?” He grins. “May I remind you that I did not walk away? It was you who left.”
“How dare you.” After realising they had picked up exactly where they left off, and not liking it one bit, she changes track. “How is Rai, anyway? Has he decided whether he prefers the male of a species yet?”
“I don’t remember you being so cynical, Tiina.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“You haven’t forgiven me.”
“No. Though thanks to you, I did find a new life…” Her voice tapers off. “Which I just lost.”
The empty space where Java once was stretches out behind them. It is difficult for her to equate the vacant expanse with the home she had until just a few hours ago. Tears fill her eyes and, angry for being so weak, she tries to swallow them away.
“I am sorry, Tiina.” Yudi reaches across and places his left hand on hers, his right still maintaining control of the ship. “Sorry for then and sorry for now.”
“You apologising is a first. You never did say a word when it mattered.”
“I’m saying it now. I am here to give us a chance.”
“Among other things. You thought I would go along with your promises again, eh?”
He beckons, “Come, let me show you what’s happening around us.”
Once the spacecraft is put into auto, he gets up from his seat. Tiina follows him out of the main deck to the living quarters. Yudi stops just outside of the quarters and switches on a small screen tucked away in the wall.
Tiina is transported to horrifying scenes of destruction. Helplessness grips her, and fear snares her heart as scenes of violence unfold before her eyes. Men pick up arms against their will. Women commit suicide. Cities burn. The most sacred places on the planet are invaded, realizing her deepest, darkest fears.
Finally, she can take it no more, and pulls away, shaken. “Turn it off. What do you want from me?”
He cuts the images. “Come back to Arkana, Tiina. We need your help in finding the stolen Isthmus, and time is running out.”
“So Mimir told us when he called upon the three of us to take on the mission. But that was months ago. Are you sure Shaitan still has it?”
“You saw for yourself how powerful he has become. His control continues to grow. He already has some form of presence across most of the planets in the galaxy, but if we don’t stop him, he will become invincible.”
“I still don’t understand why it has to be me. Why can’t you and Rai do it together, or find someone else?”
“Mimir insists the three of us do this.”
“Yeah! And that’s still a mystery to me—why he thinks the three of us can work such magic.”
“Don’t forget, we were the best of our class at the Academy.”
Tiina rolls her eyes. “So modest. Good to see that you haven’t changed, Yudi.”
He has the grace to look shamefaced. “Since it was my fault we split up the last time, he insisted it was up to me to get the three of us back together and continue the mission.”
“So…we are…still…the…saviours?”
He nods. “You knew it was only a matter of time before I found you. Mimir can be adamant. What Mimir wants…”
“…Mimir gets! But do I have to come with you to Arkana? Why can’t we just meet Rai somewhere else?”
“It’s not like I have a choice, believe me.”
“You would drag me back to the place…where you dumped me?”
He speaks in a patient voice, as if talking to a child. “I didn’t dump you, Tiina.”
“No, you only cheated on me!”
Perhaps she
should just outright refuse to help him. After what he did to her, spending more time with him does not appeal to her. It’s not like she owes him anything, yet…yet that pull of attraction or something between them tugs at her and stops her from saying anything else. Let him suffer a bit more. Just as he let her live in a vacuum these past months. Not a word, nothing, and then he drops out of the skies.
He rushes to fill the silence. “So, we’re on then, right?”
The supreme confidence with which he has just assumed she will agree to go with him she hates. That and the annoying, cocky smile he wears, which she loves to hate. Unreasonable anger bubbles up inside. It is a familiar reaction, one he has always managed to elicit from her from the time they first met. He calls it chemistry.
For her, it is more like biology. Senseless lust, combined with wanting to possess and being possessed, akin to a suicidal one-way street.
“You know, Yudi, this is not a rewind situation, where the scene is frozen, and the characters don’t know what to do with each other!”
“Do we know what to do with each other?” he jokes. “Look, I was stupid, completely dense. You are never going to forgive me…or forget the past. But can we bury our differences, for Mimir’s sake, and get on with it?”
“Can’t you just tell me what’s really on your mind? If you could but speak your heart, you would save us both so much time!” She punches him in the eye. “Now we can.”
“Ouch!” He gasps, bringing his hand to his left eye.
“Be friends, I mean.” With a grin, she holds out her hand, hoping his eye pained him.
“Yes, of course.”
Then, putting his hand over hers, he pulls her to him. They look into each other’s eyes for an instant, and she is taken aback to find that his lips are not far from hers. After only a moment of hesitation, she breaks his hold, pulls him, and throws him over her shoulder.