Born Of Fire And Darkness (Book 2) (33 page)

“Taste it?” Extending her tongue, she licked her palm seductively, then sighed with a shiver.

He shook his head as though trying to clear his thoughts. “My mother said the blood of Eurmus was tainted, that I should never mix with your kind.”

Octavia smiled and licked her fingers. “That’s a shame.” She breathed in and threw her head back. “Did you know that practitioners can achieve ecstasy without even touching?”

He leaned forward. “How?”

“It’s in the blood,” she said. “We can manipulate it, send it rushing, coursing, pulsing through our bodies.”

Next to her, Gysella groaned deep in her throat, her breathing coming harder.

Zain appeared entranced with their display. “If all of you devote yourselves to my mother once she returns, you could feed her all at once. Constantly.”

“That’s right,” Treviia said. “And we can teach others. You too. If you want to taste.”

All four conduits writhed, their breathing quick and heavy. One by one, they each held their bloody palm up to him.

He stared like a predator who had caught the scent of frightened prey. “And you will come to my mother, once I call her back?”

“She is worthy of adoration, and we see how much power she has. We can feed her night and day,” Betram said. “There are hundreds of us throughout the empire. More even in Kilovia.”

Treviia began to whimper as though unable to contain her pleasure. She leaned back on her knees and pulled up her robe in the front.

As though powerless to resist, Zain knelt in front of her, sniffing the air, then groaned deep in his throat. He took her by the wrist and licked the palm of her hand where she had bled.

The other three conduits circled around the couple, each touching him with their bloody hand. When Octavia made contact with his skin, she was jolted by the power she felt within him. It threatened to overwhelm her as it coursed through her. She felt his growing excitement and she found herself eagerly waiting for him to take Treviia, thirsting like she hadn’t touched water for days.

“Your blood
is
powerful,” Zain whispered. He turned and met Octavia’s gaze. “But not more powerful than mine.” His presence slammed outward, and Treviia was thrown to the ground in front of him.

Octavia reached into her pocket and took out the bloody twine they had prepared. Moving behind him as he knelt over Treviia, she wrapped it twice around his neck. The jute was thin, but he clutched at it as though it choked him.

With the demi-god distracted and flailing, Betram wound one around his right wrist, and Gysella around his left.

Zain shouted as though in shackles, and the four conduits scrambled away from him.

Octavia turned to the senators and Dula Merria. “We have bound him. His power is held, but only as long as the twine holds.”

Dula Merria looked at the senators. “He will not stop until he and his mother rule all of Talmor.”

One of them glanced at her. “But is his mother not one of the Spirits? Is it not their right to rule us?”

“No,” said Dul Merria. “We do not need them anymore. I, for one, do not wish to be enslaved.” He looked to Octavia. “What do we do?”

Octavia shrugged. “He tried to usurp the throne. What would your laws have you do?”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Zain shouted. He reached up and tried to break the small woven threads at his neck, but they wouldn’t budge. His eyes bulged with hatred as he spat at Octavia, while the senators moved around him. “You and all your kind will die. I will bring her back, and we will start with—”

His eyes widened. He’d been so entranced he hadn’t noticed the senator behind him, nor the knife in his hand. It wasn’t until the Dul pulled back the bloody blade that Zain understood he was dying. He fell in a heap where Treviia had been moments before.

The senator stood over him as the demi-god lay bound and dying on the floor. “I pronounce you guilty of treason and sentence you to die.” His voice quavered with emotion.

The other two senators and Dula Merria murmured their agreement.

They all stood in silence for a moment before one of them turned to Octavia. “We must thank you. We had been taken in.” He might have been one of the most powerful men in the empire, but at that moment he looked shaken and embarrassed.

He’d been more than taken in, he’d been completely bewitched, but she understood him not wanting to admit as much.

“What can we do for you?” Dula Merria cleared her throat. “We owe you so much.”

Octavia glanced down at Zain. Strangely, his unlined, pale face looked so innocent in death. “Pang is banished and her son is dead, but Braetin is the bigger threat to Talmor and to this world. I must go to Vol and find a way to confront her, too. She has begun making offspring of her own.” She pushed away the knowledge of who had borne the terrible creature those children. “And we must make sure the way is closed forever so they can’t simply hunker down and return in fifty or a hundred years.”

“Or tomorrow,” Betram said grimly.

Octavia nodded. “Please, by the power of the One, let it not be tomorrow.”

All in the room voiced their agreement to that.

∞

The Chamber of Days lay in perfect silence, the corpses of Nassore and Graiphen in drying pools of blood on the floor. In the corridor, guards blocked the door, awaiting the arrival of priests of Usher, Spirit of the dead.

Near Graiphen’s body, a thorn quaked. It searched once more for his heart, and in the eerie quiet, it scraped across the short distance and over the thickening pool.

Once it touched his skin, it dove like the spike on the end of a scorpion’s tail.

Graiphen’s cloudy eyes opened. He did not breathe, but breathing was not required of him.

With effort and many groans, he struggled to his feet and shambled through the garden door.

Chapter 33

Low, somber bells rung throughout the palace, announcing the death of Nassore.

“What will happen now?” Korbin asked Dula Merria once she had escorted him, Octavia, and the Sennestelle members back to Octavia’s chamber.

“I suspect the senate will confirm Jorek’s daughter Eya as empress, but she is young.” A look of worry crossed the Dula’s face.

“Are the children in danger?” Octavia asked.

Merria’s eyes flashed wide. “No, of course not.” But her response had been too quick, too defensive. After a moment, she said, “I will see to their safety myself.”

“I think it’s time for us to leave.” Octavia met Korbin’s eyes. “We must return to Vol and finish what we started.”

He nodded his agreement. “I will be glad to leave this place, but I fear we’re going home to something much worse.”

Octavia turned to Betram. “Will you return with us? I need your help.”

Betram hesitated. “Vol is not a place for conduits. I might go, but the women certainly should not if there’s any chance Braetin might use you to create more creatures like Zain.”

“I doubt gender matters,” Korbin said. “Pang used my father to create Zain, and she could do the same with you.”

Treviia’s hands shook. “I can’t leave my people here.”

Betram touched her shoulder lightly. “We all understand if you choose to stay.” He met Octavia’s eye. “I know what you’re facing, but how can we step into the nest of that creature, knowing she wants to possess us and use our kind to make children?”

“I don’t think she can possess us,” Korbin said.

Octavia turned and looked at him. “What?”

“Pang couldn’t enter my body after I killed my father.” He swallowed hard and took a moment to compose himself. “I felt her presence all around me, but she tried and failed to take over my mind. I’m not sure why, but maybe it’s that way for all of us.”

Octavia clutched the shawl around her. “Now is the time, Betram. The Sennestelle must act. We must rid this world of Braetin and her children, and if I can, I will make sure none of their kind can ever return.”

“How are you going to do that?” he asked.

She had no idea, and the question hung in the air.

“I will go,” Gysella said. “I cannot bear children anyway, so Braetin cannot use me to create her abominations.” She looked at Betram. “I agree with Senne Octavia. We all heard Trinity’s voice. We know the threat is real. We cannot leave those in Vol to be ravaged by this creature. Go to the Sennestelle. Enlist any who will help and follow us to Vol.”

Betram sighed. “Of course you’re right.” He looked at Octavia. “You must think me a coward.”

She shook her head. “May the power of the One ever guide you, Sen Betram.”

“And you, my sister,” he said.

Dula Merria watched the exchange and when it seemed all was settled, she said, “I can help you get out of the palace. Now is the best time. There will be questions, and I suspect you want to get moving before the hearings and trials begin.”

Korbin nodded. “Yes. If we don’t leave now, we could be stuck here for days, weeks, even longer.”

Dula Merria said, “I’m afraid you can’t take much with you, or you risk drawing unwanted attention. I’ll give you a few moments to change and prepare yourselves. Meet me outside.”

The three other conduits left with her, and Korbin and Octavia were alone. “Are you ready for all this?” Korbin asked.

“No, of course not. But we have no choice. Someone has to stand against them. Pang is gone, as well as her son. It’s a start, but I’m afraid it’s only truly the beginning. Are
you
ready?”

“You’re right. This isn’t over, but we should remember that we did something. We made a difference and probably saved this city from Pang. She would have seen so many killed and enslaved. It’s a good thing.”

“Yes,” Octavia said and squeezed Korbin’s hand. She tried to smile, but she couldn’t celebrate the victory for the losses they’d endured: Jorek, Graiphen, and even Nassore. Who knew how many others would fall victim to Braetin in the future? She had to be stopped, but Octavia didn’t know where to begin. She certainly couldn’t succeed alone.

“Yes,” she said again. “It’s a good thing.” She looked around. “It’s time. Let’s go.”

A Note from the Author

Thank you so much for reading Born of Fire and Darkness, the second book in the Gods of Talmor series. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review at your favourite online retailer.

I welcome contact from readers. At my website
http://www.indiadrummond.com
you can contact me, sign up for my newsletter to be notified of new releases, read my blog, and find me on social networking. Follow my
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—India Drummond

The Gods of Talmor

Book 1: Spirits of Light and Shadow

Dark magic spreads throughout Talmor’s second largest city, threatening to disrupt the balance of power between the temples and the senate. Soon, the most powerful man in the city is cursed, and only his estranged son Korbin can help. With the assistance of Octavia, a Kilovian conduit schooled in the magic of the One, Korbin seeks to help his father—and find redemption. When an ancient Spirit of Shadow sets the pair in her sights, however, their hope of redemption and restoration fade, and they seek only to survive.

Download Spirits of Light and Shadow from Amazon

Book 2: Born of Fire and Darkness

The Spirit of Shadow is on the move, gathering followers and gaining strength, and a Spirit of Light enters the world to stake her claim. The emperor summons Korbin and Octavia to the capitol as he tries to balance the spiritual needs of the people with the survival of the nation. Opposed at every turn by priests, politicians, fanatics, and even demi-gods, the pair must conquer their fears and unravel the past if they want to save themselves and everyone they care about from certain destruction.

Book 3:
Coming 2016

The Dragons of Kudare
Co-authored with KC May
.

Book 1: The Lies Dragons Tell

A mysterious illness strikes down a young woman pledged to the god of the Blessed Empire. Two brothers, as helpless as the healers who say there's nothing more they can do, watch while their sister fades away.

Determined to save her, they approach a dragonborn alchemist who promises help but leads them along a path of hardship, darkness, sacrilege, and death. Impossible choices divide the brothers as their love and loyalty are tested. What price is too high to save someone you love?

Download The Lies Dragons Tell from Amazon

Book 2: The Secrets Dragons Keep:
Coming Autumn 2015

Caledonia Fae

Book 1: Blood Faerie

Unjustly sentenced to death, Eilidh ran—away from faerie lands, to the streets of Perth, Scotland. Just as she has grown accustomed to exile, local police discover a mutilated body outside the abandoned church where she lives. Recognising the murder as the work of one of her own kind, Eilidh must choose: flee, or learn to tap into the forbidden magic that cost her everything.

Download Blood Faerie from Amazon

Book 2: Azuri Fae

A faerie prince disappears in the borderlands, and his father enlists the help of outcast Eilidh and her bonded druid, Quinton Munro. Tantalised with hints of a lost and ancient magic, they learn that time is working against them every step of the way. Is the prince’s disappearance related to the vanishing of an entire Scottish village?

Faced with deception, assassination attempts, and a mad queen who would sacrifice her own child to keep a dreaded secret, Eilidh struggles with an impossible situation. Her people demand she commit treason and betray the man she loves. Will she do what duty requires, or throw away the chance to reunite the kingdom in exchange for the life she hadn’t dared hope for?

Download Azuri Fae from Amazon

Book 3: Enemy of the Fae

With a young, inexperienced monarch on the Caledonian throne and traitorous plots implicating those nearest Queen Eilidh, unrest is rife in the kingdom. She must sift through the intrigues and lies to survive, all while trying to discover which of her trusted companions hates her enough to commit mass murder.