Dominion Rising: 23 Brand New Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels

by White, Gwynn

  Aaron stepped around me. “No, seriously. Look.”

  He bent down to scoop something off the ground. I turned to get a better look. It was a black box about as big as his two hands. On the box there was no lettering—no markings of any kind, in fact. It was simply blank.

  “What do you think is inside?” he asked.

  “Aaron, I don’t think that is a good—”

  He opened the box before I could finish uttering my warning. Curiosity compelled me to move shoulder-to-shoulder with him and take a peek inside. The two objects that lay there were as dazzling as the box was dull. Made of a silver-white metal I didn’t recognize and studded with rows of colorful gemstones, they resembled bracelets. They were so pretty, even in the darkness of the ship, that before I could think twice about it, I reached out and touched them. They didn’t zap me or do anything else nefarious. They must have been out of power. I wasn’t naive enough to think anything the demons had made was benign. But they were stunning.

  “They are surprisingly beautiful,” I said, taking them. I lifted them into the light to look at them.

  “You are beautiful,” Aaron stated.

  “I…”

  He smiled. “The typical response to a compliment is to thank the other person.”

  “Thank you,” I said, handing him the artifacts. Pretty or not, I sure didn’t want them.

  His smile widened. “You’re welcome.”

  I hoped he wasn’t laughing at me. Not that I could blame him. I was acting like a moron.

  “So, do you think these artifacts are part of some demon-summoning ritual?” he asked me.

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Why are you staring at me?” he asked.

  “Glaring, not staring. And I was hoping the power of the glare intensified with time.”

  He countered my glare with a grin. “Like a good wine?”

  “I’m not familiar with the rituals surrounding alcohol.”

  “Rituals, huh? I like that.” His smile was so wide that my glare didn’t stand a chance; I felt it soften and dissolve from my eyes. “Maybe I can acquaint you with these rituals when we’re back.”

  “I don’t drink.”

  “Oh?”

  “I’m afraid it will make me crazy.”

  He laughed. “It often has that effect—that’s for sure.”

  But I wasn’t talking about intoxication and all the silly things people did because of alcohol. I meant literally crazy. Alcohol was a pretty potent magic stimulant for Prophets. Considering the volatile nature of my gift, it wasn’t generally a good idea to start stimulating away at random. It was just one of many ways a Prophet could lose her mind.

  “All right, no wine,” he said. “Then how about coffee and dessert? I know a spectacular little cafe in Seastone.”

  “Are you hitting on me, Major?”

  A phantom smile hovered on his lips. “Only if you want me to.”

  I snorted.

  “Let me buy you a cup of hot chocolate tonight,” he said.

  Mmm. Tempting.

  “Sorry, I’m busy,” I told him.

  “Well, when are you not busy?”

  “Never,” Jason said as he joined us in the corridor.

  Aaron’s eyes hardened. “You aren’t involved in this.”

  “Actually, I am. Terra and I are betrothed.”

  Aaron didn’t seem bothered by that announcement. “An arranged marriage?”

  “How did you guess?” I asked.

  He gave me an easy shrug, impressive considering the heavy armor he was wearing. “It’s obvious. You two don’t exactly come across as a couple.”

  Jason’s hard mouth hardened further.

  Aaron didn’t pay him any mind. “Arranged marriages are common amongst vampire nobility as well. Political alliances,” he told me.

  “You’re one of them, aren’t you? Part of the vampire nobility?”

  “How did you know?”

  “I can tell.”

  It was the way he spoke, the way he moved. It was all so polished, so proper, so precise. I could see it clearly, as though it were written on his forehead. That was Father’s training—and my Friday night poker games—at work again.

  “All right, you got me.” Aaron held up his hands. “The Emperor is my uncle.”

  “And you’re betrothed?”

  He snorted. “No. My uncle has tried to marry me off to quite a few ladies, but I always refused.”

  If only I had that luxury.

  “Afraid it would interfere with your lifestyle?” I asked.

  His brows drew together. “Which part of my lifestyle?”

  “The part where you hit on random women you just met.”

  “Oh, no,” he said with a dry chuckle. “You have a very wrong idea of arranged marriages amongst the vampire nobility, Princess. You’re required to show up together for formal occasions and produce an heir, but that’s about it. Most of the esteemed lords and ladies don’t even live with their spouse. And they all have dozens of lovers. Some of those lovers are the spouses of other lords and ladies.”

  My mouth dropped.

  “Aren’t mages’ arranged marriages the same?” he asked.

  “No,” I choked out. “No, they are not.”

  Talk about culture shock. I was glad Father hadn’t married me off to a vampire lord. He must have known about their bizarre marriage customs.

  “So, if that’s all true, then why did you refuse your uncle’s offers?” I asked Aaron.

  “The ladies he sent to me were, for the most part, horribly dull. And I didn’t trust the ones that weren’t dull. They were too interesting. They were the kind that would slip me lethal poison and then make off with my money.”

  Yikes. I was more and more thankful that I hadn’t married a vampire.

  “How did you end up with the Diamond Edges instead of living in a castle?” I asked.

  “All the sons of lords do military service. Two years minimum. Most leave to rule territories and put on parties. I stayed in the military.”

  “Why?”

  “I prefer the enemy you can see to the one who sneaks up on you to stab you in the back. The cut-throat world of politics is not for me,” he declared.

  “Only the literal cutting of throats?”

  “I make no apologies. What I do makes the galaxy safer for everyone. Or did you think I killed people for fun and then drained the blood from their dead bodies.” He rolled his eyes. “That’s what we vampires do, isn’t it?”

  “I…”

  I stopped. He had me there. I had thought that’s what vampires did.

  “Sometimes you need to look past your preconceptions and get to know the person inside. Everyone deserves that chance, don’t you think?”

  “Sure. Of course.”

  “Fantastic.” His smile returned. “So what time should I pick you up on Saturday?”

  Damn, he was smooth. No wonder he was a Diamond Edge. They were sneaky bastards. Well, two could play at that game.

  “Jason and I would be happy to meet with you,” I told him, taking Jason’s hand. “In the interests of improving intercultural ties between our peoples.”

  Aaron’s smile faded. “Somehow, I don’t think your fiancé is very interested in getting to know the real me,” he said drily.

  “Then it will be a very short conversation.”

  Aaron stared at me in silence for a moment. Then he laughed. “Well played, Princess. Well played indeed.”

  I shot him a triumphant smirk.

  “Now if you will excuse me, I need to use this opportunity to take care of my armor.” Aaron swept into a graceful bow, armor and all, then went into one of the side rooms we’d seen.

  Jason met my eyes. “Walk with me.”

  I followed him back into the belly of the spaceship. It freaked me out, almost like I could see the demons walking around us. Determined not to think about that, I turned my attention to Jason.

  “You shouldn’t encourage t
he vampire,” he told me.

  “I’m just being friendly.”

  “Too friendly. Charming smiles aside, Terra, vampires are dangerous beasts.”

  “So are Phantoms,” I pointed out.

  “They aren’t like us. You can’t trust him. He would betray you in a heartbeat if it were to his advantage.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that. But there was no point in arguing. “Did you have something else you wanted to talk to me about, or was the purpose of this little stroll to warn me about the duplicitousness of vampires?”

  “Cameron.”

  “Cameron?” I repeated.

  “Cameron Storm. Your twin brother,” he clarified. “I wanted to talk to you about him.”

  My twin brother had been kidnapped—we suspected by witches—when we were only a year old. Jason had been searching for him for the last few years. He hadn’t yet found any trace of him.

  “I have a lead,” Jason told me. “We can go look for him later, when this is all over.”

  “Thank you.” I rose onto my tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  He caught my hand before I could retreat. He held it for a moment, his thumb drawing little circles into my palm. Then, suddenly, as though he’d realized what he was doing, his hand sprang open, releasing mine.

  We went back to the front of the ship, where Aaron stood in his suit of spotless armor. He’d cleaned away all the mud. Wow, he worked fast.

  “The storm is slowing down,” he said. “It’s the typical pattern of the witches’ weather spells. There will be a calm before the next one hits.”

  “How long do we have?” Jason asked him.

  “A few minutes,” Aaron said, closing his helmet. “Five maybe. Ten at most. Then the next cycle will begin.”

  Jason nodded. “Let’s go.”

  We jogged out of the ship. The clouds had cleared. I squinted as the blinding glare of the sun hit my eyes. The next wave of clouds was already moving in, but at least it had stopped raining. For now. If Aaron was right, it would soon start right back up again. Jason took the lead, scaling the steep slope.

  “You’re not taking the direct path to the twin lakes,” I observed.

  “No,” he said. “There is another path, a way to bypass the coming storm entirely.”

  His eyes drifted up in thought, but his pace didn’t slacken. He was running so fast that I could hardly keep up. The wind whistled in my ears as I wove through the trees after him. Leaves shuddered and branches whipped against my arms.

  Then Jason just stopped. He stood in place, turning and scanning with his eyes.

  “What are you doing?” I asked him.

  Jason continued his turn-and-scan pattern. “Looking for the portal.”

  Then he activated his portal key and ran through. Aaron and I did the same and followed.

  Winter greeted us. A gust of wind swirled across the frozen plain, kicking up spirals of dancing snow. They turned and twirled in time to the whistling beat, funneling into white columns that sparkled like millions of tiny diamonds.

  I could hardly appreciate the show, just as I could hardly feel my fingers. Even the gloves I’d just pulled out of my pack were no match for the cold. At least my clothes were doing an adequate job of warding off frostbite. Thank goodness for fast-drying fabric, or I’d have frozen to death within minutes.

  “I know this place,” I said. “But how did we get here?”

  We were on Everlast, a mage winter world. It was one of the sixteen kingdoms of Elitia.

  Aaron pressed a button that pushed back his helmet, exposing his face. Davin had explained to me that vampire armor had both an electric and a mechanical mode. That ensured it functioned in both tech and non-tech areas, like the Wilderness, where we were now. The vampire just had access to more features in electric mode. His armor wasn’t powered at the moment, which meant no temperature control. He didn’t seem cold, though.

  Neither did Jason. Though his leather armor had been compromised by slashes from the hellhounds’ fiery jaws, his face betrayed no hint that the frigid temperature affected him. Maybe Jason had built up a resistance to the cold by running laps barefoot through the snow. I snorted. I wouldn’t put it past him. Jason took his training very seriously.

  “Is something funny?” Aaron asked.

  “You mean besides my frozen fingers? No, not really,” I said through the thick scarf I’d wrapped over my nose and mouth.

  I was happy Jason had moved too far ahead of us to join in on our exchange. His response would have included phrases like ‘hardship makes the body stronger’ and ‘pain is the path to excellence’.

  “What is that?” Aaron asked, pointing at what looked like a group of people standing under a rare cluster of scrawny trees on the frozen tundra.

  I cupped my gloved hand over my eyes and looked out. “Trouble.” My pulse quickened. Well, at least my alarm pumped some blood into my hands.

  “Everlast mages,” I clarified. “They’re somewhat…temperamental. They aren’t always welcoming to outsiders, even to other mages.”

  “So why are we heading straight for them?”

  I sighed. Jason sometimes forgot that not everyone was immortal. Including himself.

  The snowy winds quieted enough for my eyes to make out the ivory stone walls just beyond the trees where the Everlast mages had gathered. The walls were thick and high—and imposing enough to make even a blizzard think twice before attacking the city-sized castle.

  I pulled my scarf more tightly around my face and pushed forward. Aaron and I fought against the wind, stopping only when we reached Jason. He stood a few paces from the Everlast Elitions, locked in some kind of staring contest with them.

  “Tell me about them.” Aaron eyed the Everlast mages, like he was assessing a threat. I wasn’t sure he was wrong about that.

  “Everlast, known as the World of Phantoms, is just like the name suggests,” I said. “There are many Phantoms here, and they all like to fight. Their biggest source of entertainment is the gladiator-like tournaments they hold.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  “Only if you’re a Phantom.” Or crazy. Which, come to think of it, was probably one and the same.

  I looked at Jason, waiting for him to acknowledge us. When he didn’t, I prompted him. “What are we doing here?”

  “Taking a shortcut,” he replied, his eyes still locked on the guards. “The Everlast mages have a portal that will bring us exactly where we need to go.”

  “I have no knowledge of a portal to Temporia in this area,” Aaron said.

  “It’s not on the main system. The mages of Everlast alone control the portal.”

  I looked across the icy tundra. The pale grey sky was growing whiter by the moment, and the wind had picked up significantly even in the few minutes since we’d jumped over to Everlast.

  “So are we going to ask them to use the portal or just stand here and freeze to death?” I said.

  “Patience.”

  I looked at the stony-faced guards. “Are you sure about this?” I asked Jason. “Haven’t you heard the stories about the mages of Everlast?”

  “Heard it and lived it. I visited them once.” The slight edge in Jason’s voice suggested it hadn’t been a pleasant experience.

  “What happened?”

  His eyes remained locked in a staring contest with the front guard. “They attacked me. I won.”

  I reached behind my back. “And you aren’t afraid they’re still bitter about that?”

  “No, they respect strength and power.” Without turning, Jason caught my hand before it closed on the hilt of my sword. “I wouldn’t do that unless you plan on challenging a band of Phantoms.”

  I lowered my hand. “These guards are all Phantoms?”

  The guard in front seemed to have given up on outstaring Jason, but he was motioning for the other guards to surround us. The soft crunch of footsteps on snow sounded behind us.

  “The Queen’s Guard are all Phantoms,” Ja
son said. “Last time we met, I left on good terms with them, but try not to provoke them into a game of dominance, Terra.” Jason spun his finger, indicating for us to turn until we were all pressed back-to-back. “They’re Phantoms, after all.”

  “Yes, I’m familiar with the type,” I said, cracking a smile.

  Jason cocked a snowy eyebrow at me. “Not like these Phantoms. Follow my lead.”

  The castle gates creaked open, and the head Phantom guard motioned us to follow him inside. Hopefully, we weren’t walking to our doom.

  15

  Queen of Phantoms

  Snow swirled in with us, dusting a helping of white crystals across the cavernous hallway before the Phantoms could shove the double doors shut behind them. Reaching over five meters high and made of thick wooden slabs, the doors looked anything but lightweight. Add to that the barrage of a brewing blizzard, and it wasn’t all that surprising that it took four Phantoms to close the doors.

  As we followed the captain of the guards down the hall, ice crunched and cracked beneath our boots. It was warm enough in the hallway that the crystals had slowly begun to melt, forcing me to watch my step. I had no intention of falling hard on my butt in front of our hosts. I doubted such a fumble would endear me to them. The mages of Everlast respected demonstrations of strength, not clumsiness.

  “Just out of curiosity, Jason, how many of the Queen’s Guard did you defeat last time?” I whispered to him.

  “Five.”

  “All Phantoms?”

  “Yes.”

  “All at once?”

  Jason nodded.

  “Wow.” The words popped softly out of my mouth. “And what started the fight?”

  “They challenged my claim of being the Elite Phantom.”

  Yeah, that must have gone over well.

  “I provided a demonstration.”

  Of course he had. Telling the Elite Phantom he was not the Elite Phantom was about as smart as cutting your own arm off.

  “I trust you didn’t kill any friends of our would-be hosts?” I said softly.

  Jason favored me with an inscrutable eyebrow twitch.

  “Ok, ok.” I held up my hands. “Just making sure. You do have a penchant for running in knives flying, Jason. And for incinerating your enemies with your smoldering stare.”