Briannas Prophecy (6 page)

Inhaling deeply, he breathed in her sweet scent again and smiled. She smelled very nice, too, which was more than he could say for the women on some of the worlds he’d visited recently. He stuck his hands into the pockets of his new jeans and sauntered toward the place he would call home for the next few weeks.

 
He’d no sooner stepped into the house before he heard a shriek overhead. He started toward the stairs at a run, looking up just in time to watch Minra, his engineer, fly down. Her nut-brown hair was in disarray as wisps of cobwebs framed a face nearly as white as the blouse she wore. He reached out to steady her as she appeared ready to topple over any second.

“There is a furry beast up there!” she shrieked and pointed at the stairs with a shudder. “I’m not going up there again, not until it’s gone. I don’t know what it is, but when it looked at me and opened its mouth, I saw razor sharp teeth.” Still trembling, she pulled free, wrapped her arms around her middle and rubbed her biceps. She did a nervous little dance and her whole body shook. “Get Cholo down here to take care of it.” She blushed, lowering thick, dark lashes. “Or Rodel.”

A sound caused them both to look up. Minra squeaked with fear and moved to put herself behind Niklas. She grasped his waist and looked around him to the carpeted stairs.

He grinned, tempted to remind her who he was. The thought made him wonder what kind of reaction he’d get. He’d grown very fond of the crew over the last year of travel. Sequestered aboard the ship together for so long, they had become a family of sorts. “No need for them, Minra. I can handle this creature.”

He didn’t bother to tell her he knew exactly what it was. She would have known had she spent more time using the subliminal discs, which was a situation he would address at another time. Niklas approached the stairs quietly. He didn’t want to startle the little creature. Sitting down, he ignored Minra’s sharply drawn breath, held out his hand and crooned softly to the shiny black animal.

It crept cautiously toward him as it sniffed the air. When the animal was in his lap, he began scratching it behind its ears and under its chin. Soon it began to emit a strange humming sound, similar to the vibration made by the
hoverpods
on
Terrna
. This must be what the subliminal disks had referred to as purring. Niklas stood and walked toward Minra.

She backed up a step, held her hand out in front of her as if to ward him off. She shook her head, obviously still afraid of the little creature.

“It will not harm you. The domesticated ones do not attack unless provoked,” he said softly, still petting the cat. He rubbed a particularly good spot under its chin. The animal tilted its head back and closed its eyes. “Feel how soft his fur is,” he whispered. “I have never felt anything like this before.” His big hand gently stroked the silky fur. The cat let out a pathetic little mewling sound and tilted its head to the side in ecstasy.

Tentatively, Minra reached out and touched the silky soft coat of the cat and her eyes grew wide with undisguised amazement.

“If you take him in your arms and hold him gently, he will not hurt you. Carry him into the…” Niklas paused, tried to remember the word. “Take him to the kitchen and give him some of the milk we picked up this morning. I think they are supposed to like that.”

Gingerly, Minra took the cat from him, cradled it in her arms and left.

He turned in a slow circle, studying the empty room. On this world, this area would be considered spacious. It was barely the size of a bathing chamber in his palace.

There was plenty of work to be done here. Looking down, he saw bits of paper and cigarette butts on the floor. A dark stain marred the beautiful wood under a broken window where it had begun to rot. The kitchen wasn’t modern, even by Earth standards. He couldn’t add a replicating device even if it had been. According to the information they’d gathered,
replicators
weren’t available on this world.

Niklas didn’t know what they would do for food. He had never handled raw foodstuffs before, and he didn’t dare eat anything Minra prepared unless he suddenly became suicidal he thought with a grimace.

On any other planet, he would have contacted the government for permission to dock or just set the ship down in an unpopulated area if they weren’t advanced enough to contact. He couldn’t do that here. According to what they learned from their history, this world loved warring, and there were too many airplanes which could fly over any remote area and spot his ship. Even though Niklas knew he would win any armed conflict, he didn’t want it to come to that. As it was, the crew had to leave him here with Minra, until they could find a permanent way to fool their radar. Right now, the
Conquest
remained well hidden behind the planet’s single moon.

Niklas leaned against the doorjamb, resting his head on the cool wood. The subliminal disks had been extremely out of date. It took Reva forever to gather the data they needed to make sure everyone, especially him, would be able to function on the surface like they’d been born here. There were still a few, Minra for example, who needed to spend more time with the revised discs.

He shook his head. It had been far too long since his world had sent a scout vessel to study these people. Earth was so far out of the loop of contacted worlds, they had ignored it for over a hundred and fifty years. That must never happen again. He had been prepared to appear on the surface carrying a replicated weapon on his hip, based on past information. It wouldn’t have taken long to get arrested by the authorities, and with no identification, he would have had a very difficult time getting himself out of
that
predicament.

Niklas rubbed the back of his neck. He could feel another headache coming on. They were becoming far too regular. So much so, it was beginning to feel strange to not have the familiar sore neck and ache between his eyes. He’d need to lie down soon, a circumstance he awaited with mixed feelings. When he slept, he dreamt of a woman calling to him. Whenever he tried to force her image through the haze of his subconscious mind, he woke abruptly. The headache always preceded the dreams. Stopping by the kitchen, he needed to inform Minra that he was going out. She leaned against the counter, watching the cat drink milk from a small bowl. She turned when he entered the room. “I’m going to go out for a walk. I’ll try to find something for us to eat while I am gone.”

Nodding, she hitched her shoulder. “Be safe, sir.”

He inclined his head and stood in the hallway for a minute studying her. It was too bad she wasn’t much of a cook, either. There wasn’t a better engineer in the fleet, but when it came to more traditional womanly pursuits, she was at a loss.

Since his feet were his only mode of transportation, at the moment, he walked toward the main road. Oddly enough, it was called Main Street. It seemed as though he’d been walking forever when Niklas finally found a place with merchants. He sighed, relieved to see the muted light of neon signs glowing stubbornly through the fog.

He entered the shopping center, following his nose to the nearest restaurant, his mouth watering at the wonderful scents. Niklas read the sign and tried to remember the word
pizza
from the subliminal disks. A flat disk-like pie made with vegetables or animal flesh. It didn’t sound very appetizing, but it smelled good. He shrugged. It was worth a try.

Paying for it wouldn’t be a problem. Out of necessity, the first place they found was a coin shop that bought gold doubloons. He had several thousand of the strange coins that had been taken from a sunken ship a few hundred years ago. Scout ships often acquired money this way. They used it to purchase items from planets where off world currency wasn’t accepted or would cause unwanted questions, like this one.

The man in the shop had been clearly astonished when faced with the two perfectly preserved Brasher doubloons.

Having turned a peculiar shade of green when Niklas told him he wanted it in cash, he’d laughed. “Cash? What makes you think I have so much here in cash?”

The man produced it, though. The shifty look in his eyes told Niklas the man was taking advantage of him, but he didn’t care. He had more of them, and he needed the money fast.

Now in possession of nearly a half million dollars, the fifty thousand he had used to purchase the house and the ten thousand for identification and a social security number left him with most of what he’d gotten. Now he could begin searching for his bride. After he ate, of course. A man had to have his priorities. Niklas, feeling out of place and unsure of what to do, watched the man in front of him.

“I’d like a small pepperoni to go,” the man said, his gaze glued to the menu. “And give me an order of breadsticks to go with that.”

Niklas smiled. It seemed some things were universal. It shouldn’t be a problem when it became his turn.

Finished with the other gentleman, who had decided to sit down and watch a car race on the TV provided by the restaurant, the boy behind the counter looked at Niklas and asked, “Are you gonna eat it here or is this to go?”

He looked around. Happy to see the clean tables, he smiled. “I’ll eat here. I’ll have one small pepperoni please.”

After paying for the pizza and something to drink, he chose a seat, then folded his large frame into the small booth and waited to be served. By the time the boy finally came from behind the counter with the pie, Niklas was starved. He took a minute to savor the delicious scent of the unusual creation before him.

The tangy, spicy scent made his mouth water with anticipation. Picking up a fork and knife, he served himself a strange wedge shaped slice. He cut into it with the knife, stabbed it with the fork and lifted the piece to his nose sniffing it experimentally. The smell of melted cheese and crisp pepperoni assaulted his nostrils and his empty stomach protested with a grumble.

“Well, I guess I have to try it sometime. At least it smells good, and it isn’t still moving,” he muttered before he placed it in his mouth. He closed his eyes. The first bite was delicious. There was nothing like it anywhere else in the known star systems. This was definitely one thing he would make sure made it back home.
I’ll have to ask Shona to come down and learn how to make it. Or possibly just take one of each kind up and have it programmed into the replicator if all else fails.

He returned to the house with another pizza, having bought one for Minra. Niklas knew she would appreciate not having to eat her own cooking as well. Dropping the square box on the table, he left her with her dinner and went into the other room to read the electronic copy of the scroll he carried with him.

Trinaugh,
Terrna’s
current keeper of the light, had insisted he take it in case it could be of some help in finding the one he sought. The woman would have the hair and eyes he knew to look for, but she would also possess the Heart of
Terrna
. It was a heart-shaped stone pendant the size of the tip of a man’s thumb, reputed to be infused with some mystical energy and a small part of Morwyyn’s power. Yet, the scroll said the stone was not the key to their salvation, the woman was.

And yea shall she possess the Heart of
Terrna
. The very stone I have created to carry that which is mine.

Yet the stone shall not be the salvation of
Terrna
, only she who possesses it. Find the woman who possesses the Heart of
Terrna,
and ye shall find the savior of your world.

The people of
Terrna
will serve her as Queen, for she shall be Queen. Bound to the rightful Heir, she shall prevent the cataclysm, caused by the death of the sister, Tomar. If the rightful Heir should find her quickly, she shall have the power to reverse the death of the sister, and all will be right with the world.

Shall she find happiness with the Heir, the world shall see peace for one thousand generations. Shall she find unhappiness, peace shall last only as long as she lives.

The gathering of evil is upon us. The others of the Sorcerers Guild of Nasha will entrap the evil while I make my escape to protect that which one day will save the world. Yea the legends be true, for I have seen it, so shall it be.

“Did you discover anything useful yet?” Minra sat down next to him, a slice of pizza on the plate she carried.

“I think so,” he nodded. “There are stories here, legends about a man named Merlin. I think it may connect with Morwyyn.” Niklas shifted in his seat to face Minra. “Morwyyn left
Terrna
to protect The One when he, and others like him, disappeared. I think the mythology of this planet tells us where Morwyyn went.” He was excited that he’d finally found something. All of the research they’d done, and this bit of legend, nearly a thousand years old, appeared to be his first real clue.

“They were known only on this world as the Arthurian legends, as if they never really existed. Morwyyn had been called Merlin. Perhaps it was a slip of the pen, or perhaps he changed his name to protect The One. She must be a direct descendant of the great sorcerer.” He smiled, glad to have finally found a piece of evidence which proved that Morwyyn had actually come to Earth.