Queen's Ransom: The Golden Bulls of Minos

by Isabel Wroth

  "Your lovely lady was immensely displeased with Daegana's presence and his attempts to upset her while she watched you battle the labyrinth.

  “He was removed before he could witness your triumph and has been kicking his heels in the bowels of this ship. On our return to Letau, she let him out briefly and publicly accused him of giving Antemion the secret to solving the labyrinth.

  “He denied it of course, but her accusation was enough to make the princes agree his imprisonment was wise until you decided what was to be done with him.

  "Tom has brought several reports to say that there are now thirty-three votes for procuring defenses for the planet, ten still against it.

  “I overheard my lady suggest those ten territories not receive the benefit of superior technology and defenses if they were going to be such 'farking morons.' She is quite fierce when she is riled."

  Dhega couldn't help the grin that stretched across his face.

  "Well I know it. The princes who protest?"

  "Jansus, Tyro, Simo, Marsayus, Pentheus, Ginpho, Demedes, Mnesus, Thesos, and Duris. There is also the argument for who will be appointed to the remaining seats of Bull Island, the fate of Myonaea, and who will take charge at Kaetonia.

  “I suspect by now there is also speculation as to whether or not the seat at Antaeus will be available soon as well."

  Nivir finished notching his horn, laying his blade aside to take up the pot of crimson pigment, pulling a tiny brush from behind his ear while Dhega considered those who still opposed the changes Minos must face to continue thriving, but Nivir had more news to share.

  "On a more pleasant note, the preparations for your wedding and the festival to follow are nearly complete, the city all but overflowing with the people who have come to take part in the spectacle, and all seem very eager to meet their new queen.

  “There. You will be forever known as the only Minoan in our history to survive the Red Labyrinth four times. I know I am not the only one content to not see you attempt a fifth."

  Dhega didn't get the chance to assure Nivir he had no intention of ever setting foot in the labyrinth again, before Jalia's irate voice filled the cabin as though she were still within the room, blasting both with her wrath.

  "You even think about it, and before you can put so much as a toe past the gates, I'll make sure that hell hole is wiped off the face of this planet forever!"

  He and Nivir both looked around the room for where she could possibly be hiding, but they were alone.

  "I promise, my love. I have no desire to do so again," he told the empty air and heard her harrumph.

  "Good."

  When she returned to him, Dhega was glad to have the support of the medical table beneath him.

  Jalia looked as though someone had brushed her fair skin with hints of gold, causing her to glow softly. Her hair was again a riot of golden curls, loosely bound with a gold ribbon that wrapped the length of the thick tail she'd made of it, wearing a simple white gown with a gold belt laying gracefully around her hips.

  "Dhega?"

  "Hmm?" Every step she took showed the smooth, gorgeous skin of her legs, clear up to the thigh.

  She had no jewelry save for a pair of golden metal cuffs wrapped around her biceps, and the vibrant golden shimmer her Luna Patch had taken where it sat centered on her brow.

  "Dhega," she touched him, and he felt the jolt of it clear through to his soul. "Everyone is waiting on us."

  She looked unearthly. Divine. A goddess. How could he do anything other than worship her?

  "Everyone can go to hell."

  Nivir gave a dark chuckle at his side, "I will wait outside."

  *****

  It was a few more hours before Jalia walked hand in hand with Dhega from the bowels of the LUX.

  Her body still hummed and quivered with the glorious aftermath of Dhega's attention, and while she could have utilized the stim-cell to soothe the residual ache between her thighs, she decided she would rather feel the echo of him inside her for days to come. Proof he was alive and well.

  As deeply and tightly as he had fused their bodies together with his need, it wasn't enough.

  She had nearly lost him, and it would be the day after never she forgot falling to her knees beside him in the sand, cradling his bloody, mangled body in her arms while she waited for Angel Eyes to deploy the small emergency shuttle to come and get them.

  Dhega had found her in the crowd, his pain filled gaze fixed on her as he had thrown his weight against a lever at the heart of the Red Labyrinth, and everything had stopped.

  The churning death trap had paused, and a pathway straight through to the gate there in front of the pavilion had opened.

  She hadn't thought it possible for someone as grievously injured as he had been to move so fast, or so blindly.

  The path to freedom opened, and without once taking his eyes from her, he ran, and literally a second after his feet passed the entrance to the maze, the doors slammed shut and once again the monstrous labyrinth came alive, churning and snarling with rage to have been denied its prize.

  The crowd watching had gone completely silent up until the gates had closed, and then they erupted in cheers so loud the entire stadium rocked, chanting his name over and over.

  Jalia had nearly flung herself over the edge of the balcony to get to Dhega, stopped from doing so only because Zavir had anticipated her, and showed her a narrow set of stairs instead.

  Even now, having intimately felt just how alive Dhega was, she clung to him. Both hands wrapped around his as they made their way outside.

  Angel Eyes had parked the LUX in the forecourt of the palace, pretty much blocking the flow of traffic in and out, and it seemed everyone came to check out the 'alien' spaceship in their midst.

  There was a row of warriors with a variety of bladed weapons strapped to their hips or shoulders surrounding the exit ramp of the ship, their backs toward the LUX, keeping the crowd of curious people at bay.

  Jalia let go of Dhega's wrist to touch the earring now back in place at the helix of her right ear to ask Angel Eyes to park somewhere else.

  "I'll shoot up into orbit around the planet and take the shuttle down for the shindig. Your baggage was taken away by a pair of horny hunks while you and the hubs were uh...busy." Angel announced. The shindig, being Jalia's impending wedding.

  Dhega's thumb leisurely swept up and down the back of her hand, a small smirk canting his lips toward her.

  "It is strange to hear another voice in my ear."

  Jalia couldn't help but to laugh, reminding him how to touch the cuff now situated on his wrist to ensure the only communications he received through his new earring slash com-link were private or emergency only.

  Nivir and Zavir also had new communicators and were finding the little hoops made their lives much easier. Jalia hoped all the princes, warriors, and common folk had access to such things, soon.

  Once stepping off the ramp, Dhega moved forward with long, purposeful strides, forcing their group of warriors to move with them, enclosing them in a circle of protection that also acted as immediate crowd dispersal. The people saw their king on the move and got the fark out of his way.

  That and the LUX's engines gave off an intimidating whine which sent the curious folk running for cover.

  It wasn't a long journey to the same council chamber she'd been in not three days ago, and just like before, the princes were wildly debating on whether Dhega was still alive and who would have to run the Red next to take the throne.

  Maybe there should be a new rule about using inside voices when the entire group was together.

  "Will it always be like this?" Jalia asked, looking up at the scowl etched deep in her lover's brow.

  His face told a story of irritation and exasperation, but his eyes were soft as they roamed her face.

  Jalia had spent another few minutes in the revita-chair to minimize the look of having been so thoroughly had by said lover, but she still wondered if it was obviou
s to anyone who looked close enough. The lick of heat in Dhega's glance made her think it might be.

  "No. Will you gather their attention as you did before? It was most effective."

  It took her half a second to understand what he was asking for, but his request made her smile. Which made it a bit difficult to get the ear-piercing quality of her whistle just so, but it was enough to silence the princes almost immediately.

  It was comical the way they all stopped mid-word and turned toward the sound she made, giving Jalia ample time to notice the genuine reactions of the princes closest to them.

  It was hard to fake one's emotions when caught off guard, and what she saw was relief. Lots and lots of relief.

  She wasn't sure if the men were relieved they didn't have to run the Red, or if they were genuinely pleased to see Dhega alive and well, and in one piece.

  "Bull's Balls! His arm..."

  "How is that possible? We all saw it ripped from his body..."

  "Is that really him?"

  "How could it be?"

  Dhega cleared his throat pointedly to silence the rush of whispers and waved his newly healed arm at the assembled men, "Sit down, let's get this done. I have other things to do today, and we've delayed enough." Forty-One asses hit their seats and stared in rapt fascination at the flawless skin of Dhega's arm.

  "As you can see, I'm not dead, so unless there's another challenge being made, I am still your king."

  Jalia hoped her expression was enough to dare someone to open their mouths and challenge Dhega.

  She half-hoped they did, just so she could make good on her threat to blow Antaeus off the map. Thankfully, everyone closed their swinging jaws so as not to be mistaken for having spoken.

  "Good. To business then. I understand there was talk of collusion between Antemion and Daegana while I slept?"

  Seated to her left, Turju stood up and gave a regal bow of his horns, his smile wide and genuine when he voiced his happiness to see Dhega alive and whole.

  Dhega sighed, lifted his hand and made a fist, "Through the wonders of advanced technology, I am restored. My arm is my own, no, I don't know how it is done, but it was. Jalia can explain later."

  His firm decree took some of the tension out of the room, and Turju confirmed Jalia's suspicions about Daegana,

  "Three palace attendants have come forward to say they did indeed witness Daegana visiting Antemion in his quarters late the evening before the council meeting.

  “We cannot confirm what discussion was had, as her majesty insisted we await your return for any further questioning."

  Jalia smiled gratefully at Turju, keeping her tongue between her teeth when Dhega ordered Daegana be brought in.

  Zavir must have been waiting outside with him, because only seconds after the order was given, Zavir and Tom both escorted the infuriated prince into the room.

  The shackles around Daegana's throat and wrists clanked with every shuffling step he took, his robes wrinkled and stained from having worn the same pair for days.

  He looked so much less intimidating, all frazzled and furious as he was paraded past his peers, many of them who seemed delighted to see him in chains.

  Dhega gave his grandfather no opportunity to speak, "You know the charges set against you. What can you say to prove your innocence, old man?"

  He gave no outward sign at all his anger or his emotion towards Daegana, his tone bored and uncaring, but with her hands still wrapped around his, Jalia could feel the tension humming through Dhega's body. Daegana forced himself to stand tall as his gnarled body would allow.

  "I do not proclaim my innocence," Daegana told them all.

  "Then you do not deny meeting with Antemion to impart the secrets of the Red Labyrinth?" Kalphius asked gravely.

  Daegana shrugged, "I do not proclaim my innocence, because I have done nothing worthy of imprisonment other than express my hopes to the Marchesa that Antemion would prove a worthy opponent. I am as surprised as all of you he did not die three feet past the gates."

  Kalphius gave a grunt of a laugh, "I did not realize you were growing hard of hearing, Daegana. Do you need me to speak up and repeat the question?"

  Daegana opened his mouth to no doubt give a scathing reply, but Tom leaned in and whispered something in his ear that made the elder turn a sickly gray, looking to where she sat with true terror in his eyes, and Jalia wondered what Tom could have possibly said.

  Daegana opened his mouth and spilled his guts.

  He told them everything, from having met with Antemion several days before the meeting on the road to Iros and their discussions about the inner workings of the labyrinth.

  How Daegana had assured Antemion he could be king, if he simply followed Daegana's advice and instruction.

  When he was finished, Daegana slumped between Tom and Zavir as though all the strength was gone from him. He looked rather pathetic, not a single ounce of his defiance left, and to her surprise, Jalia felt sorry for him.

  Dhega was no more disturbed than he had seemed to be moments before, but he looked thoughtful. He hated his grandfather with a passion, had told her he'd been looking for a way to get rid of the bastard for years, but now that he had just cause to do so, Dhega was silent, and so was everyone else as they waited for his decision.

  "Our creators used the labyrinths as a system to decide which of their slaves had the strongest will to survive. Pitting brother against brother, father against son,"

  Dhega finally said, still tracing circles around some imperfection on the table top. "In the five thousand years since we came into our own and shook off the collars of our masters, we have clung to their ways, using the labyrinths they created to prove which among us had the right to lead, to rule.

  "We allow criminals and traitors the chance to wipe clean their transgressions by running the Red. Allow them the opportunity to take fate into their own hands, to begin anew.

  “To continue plotting and causing harm until the next time they are caught. Five thousand years, and we have changed so little," he mused, reaching up to let his fingers rub absently at the four red lines etched into his horn.

  His gaze wandered the room, touching on each of the faces surrounding them, coming finally to rest on her.

  Jalia squeezed his hand gently, not sure where he was going with this, but prepared to support him just the same. He pressed back and took a deep breath before looking back to his peers.

  "Each of us has had a chance to make our own fate. To run the Nine and have the opportunity to govern a province, to have our voices be heard above all the rest, to be a leader of our herds, to elevate ourselves and bring changes we desperately desired, no matter if we were born to a royal family or if we were outcast.

  “And instead of using our positions for the betterment of all, there was betrayal, plotting, scheming, hunger for blood and death.

  "I believe our creators would be proud of us, and I find the thought sickening. I will no longer allow our masters to guide our hands, turning brother against brother, mother against son, son against father.

  “Those traitors among us will no longer receive the opportunity to change their fate or use the labyrinths to twist our laws to suit their own desires.

  “Daegana will be executed without mercy for his crimes, as will anyone else who decides to break our laws. Are there any objections?"

  Not a single soul replied, and Dhega waved his hand at Zavir, ordering Daegana taken back to a cell to await his death.

  Jalia couldn't find it in her to feel sorry for him, secretly glad she wouldn't have to go back to Antaeus to watch him die in the meat grinder of the maze he had loved so much.

  Dhega looked to her, maybe to gauge her reaction, grunting under his breath before continuing.

  "Minos will be protected by a network of our own satellites, the tracking system within the nebula to ensure unauthorized entry is dealt with.

  “We will have no less than three warships outside the nebula, the shuttles, communications�
�and having witnessed the capability of the healing devices available to us—our healers will now have access to advanced technology for the betterment of our people.

  "It is my decision, that you may each choose whether or not your province or your herd, benefits from the protection and conveniences to come.

  “If you choose not to protect your people and your territory, should you come under attack or be devastated by a disaster which could have been avoided with the advancements, no aid will come to you."

  Dhega took a beat, allowing his decree to sink in, and for those resisting the changes coming to understand they would be at a severe tactical disadvantage if they opted not to have accept the upgrades. Jalia wasn't sure Dhega's ultimatum was wise, but she held her tongue and waited,

  "Does anyone wish not to be included in these changes being made for the betterment of our planet and our people?" he asked, waiting patiently for several minutes, but none raised their hands.

  "Very well. I will gather the information on what is available to us, and at the next solstice, we will all gather again to decide how best to proceed. Objections? Good. Moving on.

  "There are forty-one Golden Bulls before me, and only twenty palaces or provinces to govern. Several of you have waited many years for the opportunity to claim your seat of choice.

  “Kaetonia, the southern and eastern palaces of Bull Island, and Antaeus are now available, but as change is swiftly approaching, there are other prominent appointments which will require proper care. As it stands, all our pilots and warriors who man the Rir ship come from Atiphates, and they have served us with honor.

  “Prince Lycoris is to be commended for his devotion to the safety of our borders thus far."

  Jalia saw a gray-haired bull give a nod of thanks from farther down the table, "I would appreciate your assistance, Lycoris, in choosing among the bulls present who you would feel best suited to taking command of two of the new warships.

  “You will, of course, maintain command of the third—if it is your wish—and as I understand it there are programs to decipher whether or not the warriors are suited to piloting the smaller crafts?"