by Alma Boykin
“Thank you.” She wheezed. “Water, please? Hot, too hot.”
“The fever has broken, my lord imperial master. Allow us,” one of the maids began.
Pjtor and his son got out of the way, then left the room to the women.
“Will she live?” Young Pjtor asked.
His father swallowed hard. He noticed Geert Fielders trying to be invisible a few meters up the hallway. “Yes, Godown willing. I did, she should.” She must.
“She has Jumper. Mama will get better,” Toni assured them.
His son crouched, then picked his sister up, standing with a little assist from his father. “Yes she will, Toni. You knew exactly what she needed.”
“Of course I did. Jumper makes me feel better.” She nodded firmly. “I want to see Mama.”
The men exchanged looks. “You can see her after she rests a little more, Toni.”
Her dark eyes grew round and wet, and her lower lip began to quiver. Pjtor suddenly realized why Geert never disciplined his daughter, leaving it to Margit. Oh dear, what do I do now? He had no idea. How do you tell little girls no?
Young Pjtor saved him. “Mama said you can come back after you have dinner.”
“Oh. Then let’s get dinner!”
His son passed Toni over to the maid, who assured the little one that dinner would come very quickly and then she could come right back. Both men sighed as the little girl disappeared around the corner, insisting that “very quickly” meant “that very moment.” “Was I that bad, honored father?”
Pjtor hesitated. He did not know. “Probably not. Getting out the window of the homefold seemed to be your preferred activity.”
“Ah.”
“And there was that time you hid in the laundry basket with a month and more of bedding and almost got beaten with laundry bats for scaring the women in the wash house.”
Young Pjtor looked at the long carpet running down the hall as closely as if he were trying to read Godown’s will in the pattern. “Dinner, my honored lord father?”
“Dinner.” He was very hungry, and very tired. He turned to Geert, “Join us.”
Geert bowed, “Thank you, my lord.” That was all he said, but that was enough for Pjtor. Geert understood.
“Peet’s in the water again!”
“Am not! I just sat down to put my boat in is all.”
“Yes, you are and your pant legs are wet.”
“They are not.”
Geert coughed behind his hand. He stood arm-in-arm with Margit, in the shade of one of the trees in the Empress’s Garden at Sea Court, Pjtor’s little private retreat. Pjtor had designed and built the structure himself for the most part, a small ten-room palace where he could be away from the matters of empire. Gardens and fruit trees surrounded the snug wood and stone building.
“The pond was not my idea,” he informed his old friend.
Geert looked at him. “I do not doubt that, my lord. But the ship model?”
“Yes, well.”
“And the grandchildren, my lord?” Margit asked, smiling.
“Strictly my son’s doing, I assure you.” Young Pjtor and Lord Mandrovic’s daughter had not wasted any time providing the empire with another generation. After ten years together they had two sons and two daughters still living. Pjtor III, or Peet as his younger sisters called him, had his grandfather’s fondness for water and his father’s habit of escaping supervision as often as possible.
“Pjtor Pjtorson Isaac Boris Anders Michael, what are you doing?”
The adults exchanged looks. Nothing good came when someone used all of a boy’s names. Geert pointed to a side path and Pjtor nodded, leading the way. If he was not there, Peet could not appeal to grandfather’s authority to get out of a spanking. The long summer evening felt especially good to Pjtor. He’d needed most of that winter, nine years before, to recover, and Alsice took longer, but she did recover. Although she never did learn to ride astride. She was waiting for them in the Little Palace, having announced that she was taking over the cooking building for the afternoon. Pjtor recognized the look in her eye and had decided to flee. Swift One was getting a new sail, so he and Geert and Margit walked the gardens as the children played.
Pjtor stopped and turned to Geert. “Thank you.”
“My lord?”
“Thank you for keeping me from killing my son. I—” Damn it was hard. “I was wrong about him.”
“No, my lord, you were right, just impatient, if I may venture to say. My father chased me out of the house at least once.” Geert shook his head.
“And he threw a chamber pot the second time, in front of a procession of the St. Donn’s brotherhood, as you may recall,” Margit informed Pjtor with a wink. “And scored. Thanks be it was empty.”
“Selah.” Geert had turned scarlet red. “My lady wife, your memory is too good by half.”
Pjtor turned his back until he stopped the laughter. “Now I see why you favor St. Issa over St. Donn.”
“My lord, that has nothing to do with it, I assure you. St. Donn is patron of inland watermen, not of those who go to sea.” But Margit and Pjtor’s laughter drowned his protest.
Thank you, Godown. The land you gave me is secure, peace is here, the harvest was good last year, and my family is well. Thank you, Godown.
Later, in the light-filled afternoon room of the little palace, eating a kookee and sipping cream-laced chokofee, Pjtor smiled.
Alsice, her grey hair tucked under a lace-trimmed cap like Mistress Fielder wore but embroidered with blue-green and thread-of-silver, smiled up at him. “Godown is good.”
“Yes, He is.” Pjtor took her hand and kissed it. She blushed.
Very good indeed.
Alma T. C. Boykin was born in the Midwest, moved to the Great Plains, and after a brief period living in places where trees almost outnumber people, returned to the plains. She escaped college with a BA, worked for a living, then returned for an advanced degree some years later. When not writing or rotating the cat, she teaches and does a few other odds and ends. Hobbies include cooking, reading, hiking, geology, astronomy, and music.
Visit Alma’s blog at AlmaTCBoykin.Wordpress.com
Elizabeth of Starland
Book 1 of the Colplatschki Chronicles.
Stubborn as a mule? No, stubborn AND her mule.
Colonial Plantation Ltd. abandoned ColPlat XI, writing the planet off as a tax loss after a series of severe Carrington-type events. Now, four hundred years later, Laurence V of Frankonia wants to write Elizabeth von Sarmas out of his kingdom, but like her Lander ancestors, Elizabeth refuses to roll over and die.
To survive, she needs to cross the continent, thread her way through a holy war, and find friends in the Eastern Empire—an impossible task for a sheltered gentlewoman. Or is it? Never underestimate a woman with a mission and a mule.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Starland-The-Colplatschki-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00HFEWKXY/
Elizabeth of Donatello Bend
Book 2 of the Colplatschki Chronicles
Elizabeth grows into her duties as colonel and lady of Donatello Bend, and makes a fateful enemy.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/dp/B00KKY2G1M
Elizabeth of Vindobona
Book 3 of the Colplatschki Chronicles
Ten years after Elizabeth reaches the Empire, court politics and military command aren’t the only things she has to deal with. A marriage proposal, an assassination attempt, and a siege on the Imperial Capital bring new challenges... and new opportunities.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/dp/B00LNE7D2U
Elizabeth and Empire
Book 4 of the Colplatschki Chronicles
Twenty years after the events of Elizabeth of Vindobona, an untried emperor sits the throne while courtiers scheme. Elizabeth must navigate politics, religion, her relationship with Lazlo, and the Frankonians’ wrath in this fourth book of the
Colplatschki Chronicles.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Empire-Colplatschki-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B00PNW640U
Peaks of Grace
Book 5 of the Colplatschki Chronicles
Margurite deSarm knows that she cannot govern the Sarm lands alone. But her husband, Gregory Berlin of Louvat, refuses to fulfill his duties. As Marta attempts to undo her marriage, Odile Rheinhart discovers her own unique calling. In their own complimentary ways, over ten years the two women work to keep the Sarm Valley free from the machinations of Phillip of Frankonia while balancing family, duty, and desires.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/dp/B00S1XGJSA
Circuits and Crises
Book 6 of the Colplatschki Chronicles
The Turkowi begin their advance from the south as a fight between brothers threatens the Empire.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/dp/B00UZP7QFM
Blackbird
Book 7 of the Colplatschki Chronicles
Charles Malatesta will defend his inheritance or die trying.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YHXJ3A4
Marie’s Tale
Novella
Another side of the story of Duke Aquila Starland.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/dp/B00MW7YODI
Forcing the Spring
Book 9 of the Colplatschki Chronicles
After being forced to grow up too quickly, Pjtor is determined to drag his land out of the Harriers’ clutches.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Forcing-Spring-Colplatschki-Chronicles-9/dp/1927967856
And more...
Keep up with all the latest books by Alma T C Boykin on her blog: AlmaTCBoykin.Wordpress.com
(Listed in chronological order from the perspective of Rada Ni Drako.)
Hubris: The Azdhagi Reborn
Book 1 of the Cat Among Dragons prequel series.
When the Azdhagi overreach the limits of their science, only a few individuals stand between them and chaos. Three interlinked disasters start a chain reaction of tragedy and triumph leading to the re-creation of Azdhag society.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Hubris-Azdhagi-Reborn-Alma-Boykin-ebook/dp/B00J8UCN9O
Renaissance: A Novel of Azdhag Survival
Book 2 of the Cat Among Dragons prequel series.
When the Empire calls, dare an Azdhag disobey? Two generations after the Great Relocation and the Azdhag Empire threatens to pull apart as Great Lords, colony residents, and Freetown inhabitants struggle to control their worlds. A ghost from the past forces the King-Emperor to send the Prince Imperial and a most reluctant Tartai of Tarkeela to the colony on Pokara. Trouble, madness, and carpentry await.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Renaissance-Azdhag-Survival-Alma-Boykin-ebook/dp/B01E0CKMX8
A Cat Among Dragons
Book 1 in the Cat Among Dragons series.
They started it. Rada Ni Drako just wanted to do her job, but her father’s people declared her a corrupt half-breed, one unfit to live. Now she’s on the run and in need of a new identity and a job. When she fled back in time to join an interstellar mercenary company, she did not anticipate becoming the Pet of House Nagali, becoming the student of a mysterious but very well connected Healer and diplomat, and fighting her way into power as the only sentient mammal in the court of a reptilian empire. And falling flat on her face several times in the process.
This collection of short stories, the first in the Cat Among Dragons series, begins the saga of Rada Ni Drako and her odd assortment of allies. Join the adventure as Rada takes on her father’s people and tries to keep her head, and the rest of her, intact.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/A-Cat-Among-Dragons-ebook/dp/B00AMNB0N6
Hairballs
Short fiction from the Cat Among Dragons series.
Rada, Yori, and some of the other Scouts are unwinding from a mission when they hear that the Division is testing new battle armor. Yori gets the idea that someone needs to put the armor through its paces, and against Rada’s better judgment, Yori ropes her into the adventure.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Hairballs-Among-Dragons-Story-ebook/dp/B00B1DR544
Justice and Juniors
Book 2 in the Cat Among Dragons series.
A collection of short stories following the exploits of Rada Ni Drako in a universe full of danger, excitement, and strange alien species.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Justice-Juniors-Among-Dragons-ebook/dp/B00CA95AP4
A Double-Edged Wish
Book 3 in the Cat Among Dragons series.
Rada Ni Drako soars to a new height—a moment of carelessness brings her crashing down. Rada and her business partner Zabet survive a King-Emperor’s anger, a contract that leads to plague and discovery, and motherhood. But when inattention, famine, and a conspiracy from Earth’s future combine against her, Rada proves once again that there’s nothing so deadly as a cornered cat. Especially one who already lost her soul.
A Cat Among Dragons short story collection, including the novella Famine, Fortune, and Justice. 92,000 words.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Double-Edged-Among-Dragons-ebook/dp/B00FP46K96
Revolution from Above
Novella
It takes a mammal to save a planet. Caught away from her soldiers when mercenaries invade Drakon IV, Rada Ni Drako must find a way to reconquer the planet. Help comes from a strange quarter, but even that might not be enough when treason slithers into view. Lord Ni Drako needs all her wiles, luck, and dirty tricks just to survive. When a mammal fights a mammal, even dragons duck for cover.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Revolution-Above-Among-Dragons-Novella-ebook/dp/B00JRDA7SQ
Promises and Powers
Book 4: Short Stories in the Cat Among Dragons series.
Don’t threaten a HalfDragon’s family: he’ll change the world in order to protect them.
Alien invasions only exist in bad movies. Earth’s militaries know better. That knowledge forces Joschka Graf von Hohen-Drachenburg to make a choice. Will he remain in hiding, or will he risk losing everything in order to protect his family and House Drachenburg? His decision pulls Rada Ni Drako back into his life. She in turn receives an offer she probably should refuse, from a creature as old as Earth itself.
When the Cat and a HalfDragon join forces, everything changes.
A Cat Among Dragons short story four-pack. 24,000 words.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Promises-Powers-Cat-Among-Dragons-ebook/dp/B00IOV8L94/
A Touch of Power
Book 5: Short Stories in the Cat Among Dragons series.
So much for an “easy consulting job”! From wandering alien graduate students to a musician who plays more than just a guitar, Rada Ni Drako, or Rachel Na Gael as the humans call her, has her paws full of mischief. Her old friend Joschka von Hohen-Drachenburg isn’t helping, either. Rachel really should have read the fine print on this contract.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Touch-Power-Among-Dragons-Book-ebook/dp/B00KVP9SA2
Between Flood and Flame
Book 6: Short Stories in the Cat Among Dragons series.
What price justice, and who will pay? Rada Ni Drako returns to Drakon IV and rediscovers the joys of politics. She and her business partner, Zabet, prefer to live and let live, but a corrupt King-Emperor drives Rada to disobey a direct order. The results may bring down the government, if Rada survives.
A dying junior cries out for justice for a long-forgotten crime. And General Andrew Whitehead decides to solve two problems with one building. It
’s just another uneventful decade (or two) for the Cat among the Dragons.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Between-Flood-Flame-Among-Dragons-ebook/dp/B00M20HW9S
A Cat at Bay
Book 7 in the Cat Among Dragons Series
When old enemies and allies collide, a Cat needs her Dragons.
Rada Ni Drako senses something amiss, or does she? Rada’s worlds seem to be spinning out of control after an encounter with a stasis-field scrambles her Gifts. A commanding officer who can’t bring herself to trust “the Alien”, strange doings in the depths of the Drachenburg, and a flare-up Rada’s centuries-old feud with Clan Blee on Drakon IV leave Rada wondering if age has finally caught up with her. Or does something far more dangerous than just the passing years gnaw on Rada? For old enemies lurk in the starry depths, watching, waiting, as patient as Time itself . . .
Rada’s foes are about to rediscover a deadly truth: nothing is as dangerous as a cat at bay.
Available from Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com/Cat-Bay-Among-Dragons-Book-ebook/dp/B016LT2Y20
Shadows and Anguish
Book 8 in the Cat Among Dragons Series
Out of the embers wakes a fire. Out of the shadows comes an avenger.
After near death at the hands of her father’s enemies, Rada Ni Drako returns to her duties, her body healing and mind intact. Or is it? The new commanding officer of the 58th Regiment of Foot does not trust her and guards his own secrets. Her strongest allies now serve elsewhere. And new dangers threaten all that the Cat Among Dragons holds dear. From the coasts of Britain to the forests of Drakon IV and the depths of the Harz Mountains, Rada Ni Drako fights her shadows.