Tales Of Nevaeh: The Trilogy and Backstory of the Epic Sci-Fi Fantasy Series Tales Of Nevaeh: (The 4 Book Bundled Box Set)

by David Wind

  As if speaking to himself, the ancient Master stared at the Staff, his eyes locked upon the bent handle. “Not so simple is it, for they are in a place which doesn’t exist; they are suspended between...then and now, held within the space of the heartbeat it took for me to travel here.” He looked at The Speaker. “They...The Masters, feed their minds with dreams, making them believe what is happening is real. They steal memories of their life before and change them into visions, which they force into Areenna’s and Mikaal’s consciousness. Whatever their deepest desires are, The Masters fulfill.”

  They are strong enough to break free if we aid them. We must free them! The Speaker snapped at the former Dark Master.

  What Jalil said next hung heavy in the air. “Free them we cannot. Returning to the void will not work.” He stared into the angry eyes of The Speaker. “Their minds are separated within the wormhole, their powers cannot combine, but they are made to believe they are together. To free themselves, in order to complete the journey here, they must join… but they know nothing of joining, The Masters will make certain of that. Still, it remains the only way. Areenna has the ability to do this, but if they succumb to the dreams… all will be lost.” Jalil swept his eyes across the eight faces. What think you on this?

  Their eyes burned at him, amber fire flickering within as The Speaker said, “We agree, but we sense it is not just the girl. It will take both to be freed… no, the third as well, the child.”

  <><><>

  Standing in the center of the great hall of Tolemac, surrounded by all the kings and queens of Nevaeh’s domains, a wave of dizziness twisted through Areenna. She grasped Mikaal’s arm and held it until the vertigo passed. She looked around the hall, confused.

  The confusion faded, and as the fog in her mind cleared, she remembered everything. How can I not feel disjoined from reality? Who would not be, on their day of marriage?

  Mikaal covered her hand with his and turned her in a pirouette. The room turned silent in anticipation. Taking a deep breath, he vowed, “Today, I, Mikaal of Tolemac, High King of Nevaeh, give myself in bond to Areenna of Freemorn, and accept her as my mate, to hold her equal with myself, High Queen to High King, man to woman, warrior to warrior.”

  He held Areenna’s hand aloft and smiled at her.

  “Today, I, Areenna of Freemorn, give myself in bond to Mikaal of Tolemac and accept him as my king, my mate, and my equal.”

  The moment they spoke the traditional words of marriage, the musicians began to play and the kings, queens, princes, and princesses stood to cheer the new couple.

  Trebor, King of Lokinhold, stepped forward, his glass raised high. “To the children yet to come, I offer both toast and advice.”

  The crowd, expecting some rowdiness roared its approval of Trebor’s words. A few shouted, “Advice! Advice!”

  “Are you about to make me blush, Trebor of Lokinhold?” Areenna half-shouted, half-laughed.

  “Yes, My Queen, that I am about to do! Follow in my footsteps, My Lord,” he shouted and drew Akassia to her feet, pointing to her extremely swollen belly. “Here is my advice and heed it well! Wait not long, in fact wait not at all. Make your heir tonight!”

  <><><>

  It was a magnificent night, the stars sparkling in a cloudless sky, she could ask for no more. “My Lady,” the chambermaid started, with a final brush stroke through Areenna’s pale blonde hair. “Is there more I can do?”

  Areenna turned from the sky. “No, Irol, thank you.”

  Tilting her head in acknowledgement, the chambermaid left. Alone, Areenna paced the boundaries of the chamber. Her nerves jangled with every step. She could not settle her thoughts. Yet, she must, for tonight was the night she and Mikaal had been waiting for these past two years. Tonight was their marriage night and her mind needed to be calm.

  What do I fear? Certainly not what comes next, the physical bonding with Mikaal?

  Why then? She shook her head. Time had slipped quickly between Mikaal’s visits to Freemorn and her visits to Tolemac. She was glad her father accepted the marriage, but even more so that the other nine kings and queens of Nevaeh agreed as well. With the marriage, Mikaal would not only be High King, but Father Guardian of Freemorn. If they had two male children, one would assume Mikaal’s role while the other would sit the throne as king of Freemorn.

  Her unease continued to nibble at a corner of her mind, eating into the overwhelming happiness of moments before. What? She shook her head, hoping the physical movement would break free the growing shadows within her mind. War was no longer a part of Nevaeh. Mikaal’s father and her father had seen to that, so neither she nor any wife, mother or sister or daughter need worry about losing their loved ones in war. The domains were peaceful as well.

  She shut off her vacillating thoughts and went to the door separating her chamber from the room she would share with Mikaal. She stopped to look at her reflection in the mirror, inspecting herself one last time. Beneath the nightmoss, her pale blonde hair was a gentle contrast to her mocha skin. The simple nightdress had no embroidery, woven golden threads, or silver and jewels; white, shadowed only by the flow of her body encased within the material, it hung smoothly from shoulders to floor. Beneath the light cast by the nightmoss, the outline of her breasts was visible beneath the material.

  She turned left, then right, and, glanced over her shoulder. A single strand of tan leather wove back and forth from hem to the base of her neck, ending in the traditional wedding knot, which was all that held the dress together.

  She walked to the door. Why am I so nervous? I love him. He loves me. What else is there?

  CHAPTER 2

  ALONE on the deck, sitting cross-legged, Neleh breathed the cold salty air of the vast ocean but paid no attention to the water, the darkening clouds, or the people crowded onto the deck behind her.

  It had been a day and a half since they’d begun the voyage to Nevaeh’s mainland, a day and a half of the oppressing sense of darkness caused by the abduction of Mikaal and Areenna. It had taken all that time to begin to understand what the darkness meant. Once she’d grasped its essence, knowledge flooded through her at the depth of Mikaal and Areenna’s trouble—what she discovered terrified her.

  Gaalrie squatted on the deck next to her, one taloned leg secured to the young girl’s thigh. In the pen behind her, Charka stared at Neleh’s back, the three of them, kraal, treygone, and woman-child, had a mental connection more solid than were the planks of the deck attached to their beams.

  Feeling the closeness of the aoutems, Neleh closed her eyes and built a mind picture of Mikaal. She recreated his every detail, from her last moments with him to the boots he wore, his special armor, and the sword and knives he carried. She built him inch by inch, her mind, aided by the two aoutems, generated the perfect duplicate of Mikaal—the powerful set of his body, the strong thrust of his chin, his full lips and straight nose. His eyes—intelligent gray ovals with a tinge of blue and accented with green specks—gazed back at her.

  When she held the image of her father guardian in her mind, she projected her warning to him. She pushed it with all the ability she possessed, and was stunned when it was blocked and thrown back at her.

  Looking at the eddying dark clouds above, she called the powers roiling deep within her. Then Neleh drew all the aid she could from Charka and Gaalrie and sent a lancing thought spiraling to Mikaal.

  An instant later, a powerful force smashed back into her like a fist. The darkly evil power lifted the small, fourteen-year-old girl from the deck and slammed her into the blue kraal.

  <><><>

  Mikaal stood at the window, gazing out at Tolemac. Within the happiness of the day, a sense of sorrow locked him in place. He looked at the main courtyard, and his mother’s fountain within the center of Tolemac, and wished his mother and father had lived to see the day. They would be proud, he knew, they would be happy. His mother had loved Areenna, and had always favored her, as she had Areenna’s mother.

  He
missed his father, the man who had become the first high king of Nevaeh, the man who had led the Nevaens to defeat the Dark Forces, two decades before, wiping them from the face of Nevaeh.

  His mother and father had died two years ago, changing his life. Thankfully, after centuries of war, the ten dominions were at peace and the reign of High King was now exactly as his father had wanted: ceremonial.

  Taking a deep breath, Mikaal shook away his sadness. Tonight was to be the first time he would share a bed with his wife. He’d waited for this night, looked forward to it, longed for it… yet some unknown sense shaded his anticipation and made him wonder. About what, he knew not.

  “Mikaal…”

  His whispered name floated through the air and he turned. When his eyes fell on Areenna, his unease fled along with the breath exploding from his chest.

  <><><>

  Areenna’s heart sped at the way the moonlight filtered through the window, outlining him with a yellow and white halo. She took in the beauty of the way the light framed him, and then walked forward. “Mikaal…”

  They met in the middle, their arms securing their bodies to each other. Their lips melded; fire spread through their bodies

  Tearing his mouth from hers, he scooped her from her feet, carried her to the bed, and placed her on it. Then he joined her.

  He kissed her passionately, and she responded completely. With one hand under her, the other resting on the slight swell of her belly, he drew his lips from her and smiled down at her. “I have dreamed of this night for so long.”

  She smiled, lifted her hand and caressed his cheek. Her fingers traced his lips. “As I have.”

  His hand slid toward her breast, his mouth settling upon hers. A moment later, she drew her lips from his. “Wait,” she whispered. “Let us but lie together for a few moments.”

  Shifting onto his back, he drew her against him and smiled. “Are you all right?”

  She rested her head on his chest and listened to the pounding of his heart. “I need a few moments. Hold me,” she whispered, working to understand what was happening to her; to discover the cause holding her back from the very thing she’d desired for so long.

  He drew her tighter. “What name would you choose for a daughter?”

  Caught off-guard by the question, she smiled. “I have no idea.”

  “What think you of Neleh?”

  The name cut her like a knife. Why, she had no idea. “Strange… I have never heard it before.”

  “I have, but I know not from where. Yet it seems familiar.”

  She nodded with her cheek still against his chest. “It does. I…”

  “What is it?” he asked.

  She raised her head to look into his eyes. Her hand lay upon his chest. “I don’t know. Something is…off.”

  “I don’t understand. How is it off?”

  She shook her head, her eyes never leaving his face. “I have this feeling, this sense—I don’t know how to express it—telling me to be cautious.”

  “Does this sense tell you something is not right, that what is happening seems…unreal?”

  She stared at him. “You feel it too?”

  “A touch, yes. Oh, how I wish you could know my thoughts, understand what I am thinking.”

  “I…” She fell silent. She stared at him. His words sent a shiver through her, spreading a coldness that captured both her body and her mind. “How can I know what you are thinking?”

  “I did not say—”

  “—yes, you did.” She lifted from his chest, sat up, and faced him. “And even stranger, I feel as though I should be able to do so.”

  Mikaal laughed. “Nerves. We both suffer from nerves… No one can know another’s thoughts. That would be like the powers the Dark Ones used on our people before my father defeated them.”

  Areenna slid from the bed in a single smooth motion. She went to the window where Mikaal had been standing moments before and looked at the courtyard below, at the fountain in its center, and at the water bubbling from the spouts.

  The fountain wavered and a sudden flash of memory surfaced. She saw herself sitting on the bench before the fountain, not just staring at the water, but becoming part of the water. She shook her head. The memory fled, gone so quickly she doubted it had been there at all.

  Mikaal’s voice floated to her. “Come back.”

  Turning, she willed away the perception of wrong and returned to the bed. She looked into his gray, luminous eyes, into the twin pools of love calling to her and half-sat, half-fell across him.

  He drew her face to his and kissed her. He pulled the length of her body against him, pressing her close and sliding his mouth from her lips to the soft skin of her neck. His right hand went to her back, his fingers on the wedding knot. His lips burned across her skin and a low moan bubbled from her mouth. His need overwhelming whatever remnants of control remained.

  Areenna’s body arched against him. Heat raced through her, turning her blood to lava. Her fingers dug into the muscles of his back as she accepted the passion ruling her body.

  Just as Mikaal began to pull the knot free, a vision crossed before his eyes and he froze. He snatched his hand away from the leather knot as if it were on fire. He pushed her from him, stood and began to pace.

  Areenna, her breathing labored, could only stare at him. “What happened?”

  “You are right. There is something wrong. I don’t remember what happened to them.”

  “To whom?”

  “My parents. I don’t remember their deaths only that they died. I…don’t remember anything. I…I just saw a vision of my mother and a little girl.”

  Areenna rose from the bed and crossed the room. “What did this little girl look like?”

  “She was small, perhaps eleven or twelve. She was pale skinned, with light hair and her eyes had a strange yellow cast to them, almost the color of her hair. She appeared very young, but somehow she was older.”

  Areenna gazed into his eyes and then pressed against him. Her hands went around him and drew him closer. “I think we had too much wine today, too much celebrating, and it’s affecting us.”

  Held by her, feeling the heat rising from her body, Mikaal relaxed and smiled. Now, my love, it is time for you to take my mind from these other things, he thought.

  “Yes, it is time,” she whispered in reply.

  Mikaal arched away from her, his eyes wide, the blood draining from his face. “Areenna, I did not speak aloud.”

  CHAPTER 3

  ENAID STOOD ON the foredeck, watching the child who sat at the bow. Ever since Neleh had uttered the words yesterday, she had not moved from the spot; she took no food or drink, nor did she even move. At nightfall, Gaalrie had flown to the girl and nested at her side. Charka settled into the very edge of the small pen they had moved from the rear to the front, and had not moved since last night.

  She tried to talk to Neleh several times, but the girl was in a strange semi-trance Enaid could not break. Sirod had tried as well, and failed.

  Suddenly, with Gaalrie at Neleh’s side, an aura extended around Neleh. At first, the myriad colors swirled wildly about the girl; seconds later, the colors combined into a pale yellow-gold, which contained her like a low-caste fire, while directly above Neleh’s head, a funnel of storm clouds gathered.

  Sirod stepped next to Enaid. “Whatever happened to Mikaal and Areenna, it is terribly wrong and she struggles to fix it.”

  Fix it? Enaid questioned silently, her eyes traveling from the girl to the clouds above.

  What is happening? Layra’s query was echoed a half-second later by Ilsraeth as the two sorceresses joined Enaid and Sirod.

  Enaid projected herself to Neleh, attempting to join with her and found herself blocked. Yet she gained enough to understand. Whatever it is that has happened to Mikaal and Areenna, Neleh seeks them.

  In the next instant, a wave of power gushed across the deck, picking up Neleh and flinging her back into Charka’s legs.

  Enaid
raced toward the small girl, but Neleh simply rose and returned to where she had been sitting. Watching her, Enaid realized the girl’s pale eyes, although wide open, were as unseeing as glass.

  Without another word, aloud or silent, Enaid went to Neleh and sat directly behind the girl. The other women, two queens and Sirod, followed and sat by Neleh as well.

  The women, acting as one, reached out and placed their hands on Neleh’s shoulders and back. “Use us, Child,” Enaid commanded in a loud voice. If you are to succeed, use our powers.

  <><><>

  When the hands fell upon her, and the powers flowed into her, Neleh sat straighter. Gaalrie shifted from her side to sit within the basket made of Neleh’s crossed legs. Charka pushed his large head between Enaid and Ilsraeth, and pressed his nose to the small of her back.

  She built another mind picture, this one of Areenna standing next to Mikaal. She projected her thought but this time to Areenna. She held the thought simple and steady in her mind: a road sign to where Areenna must go; a warning for Areenna to know her real self and Mikaal’s self as well. Using the added powers, she pushed her thoughts forward to the mind picture of Areenna. This time her projection did not hurtle back, yet, there was no responding mind touch from Areenna. Neleh could only hope Areenna sensed her call.

  <><><>

  What’s wrong with me? Taking in the taut expression on Mikaal’s face, Areenna could do nothing but stare at him in shock. Unexpectedly, something came alive within her—something unfamiliar, while at the same time very familiar. Her abdomen grew warm, and then turned hot, as if a fire had come to life deep in the pit of her belly. The heat grew unbearable, twisting and flowing within her, tunneling deeper and deeper into the very part of her that made her a woman. She grew afraid, terribly afraid.