Heir of Shandara (Book 4) (5 page)

The former members of the Safanarion Order brought their families and followers, with many journeying to Shandara on foot. The Safanarion Order had been originally made up of different factions, with the Wardens representing the warrior face of the Order. The Wardens were the shields and head of the De’anjard, Shandara’s armies. There were factions devoted to justice and laws as well as the pursuit of knowledge. Then there were the ones who bore the mark of the leaf. That faction pursued knowledge of the living world, seeking to be in harmony.
 

The library within the White Rose, the palace that had been home to the Alenzar’seth for hundreds of years, had been remarkably well preserved. As different parts of the city were brought back to life, residents were also discovering much of the Hythariam underground infrastructure was left intact.
 

Sarah walked the palace grounds, heading to one of the new trams the Hythariam had built to make the journey across the vast city much quicker. She had divided her time between Shandara and her home city of Khamearra. She was the High Queen now, succeeding her father.
 

Thoughts of her father had always been a fine mixture of pain and loss. She remembered the kind and gentle man he was when she was young. The ruthless tyrant he had become ignited a cold fury that hadn’t diminished, even with his death. If anything, her anger with her father had grown as she tried to hold Khamearra together. There were many opportunists that sought to take whatever they could when they learned of her father’s demise.
 

She was lucky to have established a ruling council that could carry out her decrees. The High Council was made up of former members of the Resistance and those who had endured her father’s rule but had not become pulled into its corruption.

Sarah entered the tram and was flanked by her De’anjard bodyguards that Braden, the Warden of the De’anjard, had insisted she allow to accompany her. To be honest, she suspected that Aaron had something to do with it as well. She already had to limit those who stood in line to guard her. Not only were the De’anjard with her at all times, but she was also often flanked by soldiers of the Free Nations Army who were former Elitesmen that had changed sides near the end of the war.
 

She had disbanded the Elite Order, giving the former members the option to serve in the Free Nations Army. Some of them, like Isaac, were too old to serve in the FNA as a fresh recruit. Isaac was among her protectors, but she hadn’t said a word to him since he had whisked her away from the battle at the Elitesman stronghold. She squeezed the hilt of her sword and glared out of the window at the buildings zipping past. A faint bruise showed beneath Isaac’s craggy old beard. No one would lay a hand on her without her permission. She didn’t care who gave the order. She told Aaron she understood why, but understanding did nothing to quell her anger.
 

The fact that she had been too nauseated to leave with Aaron this morning was enough to get her hackles rising. She hated that he’d slipped away from her.
You’ll pay for that, Shandarian, Alenzar’seth or not.
After a few moments plotting a revenge unworthy of her, she sighed. What was the matter with her? She could go from pleasant to furious inside a minute. She looked at Isaac and was about to apologize, but her temper flared anew. The old Elitesman’s chuckle did nothing to soothe it.
 

The tram came to a halt, and she got out, leading her entourage. As if she needed their protection. She could best any one of them, former Elitesman or not. She set a quick pace, and in no time at all she came to a white building in the style of those at Hathenwood. Tall and circular. The doors hissed open at her approach, and she went inside. The walls had the appearance of being made of glass, but they also functioned as displays. More Hythariam technology that she had come to know in the past six weeks.
 

Hunched over a machine was Roselyn. Her long, lustrous raven hair was pulled around her neck and covered her shoulder. Her fingers worked the holo interface, and the images on the screens in front of her changed. She turned as Sarah entered, and her golden eyes widened for a moment before she smiled in greeting and waved her over. Sarah gave one glance over her shoulder—that was enough to tell her protectors that they weren’t allowed in the lab.

“Verona said you were ill again this morning. Are you feeling better?” Roselyn asked.

“It comes and goes,” Sarah said.

Roselyn nodded. “I’ve begun analyzing the data sent from Tanneth and the others this morning. I know you must have hated having to leave them behind, but it was really for the best. They’ve all been exposed. Everyone outside Verona’s shield appears to be fine. Why is it that whenever Aaron and Verona are together they seem to attract all sorts of trouble?”

“They’re men. Put enough of them together, and trouble has no choice but to come poking around,” Sarah said, and was surprised to find herself smiling a bit. She and Roselyn had grown quite close, and Sarah felt fortunate to call her friend. Aaron and
his
ever-expanding group of friends were one thing, but they were mostly men. Sometimes, a woman just needed another woman to be around.

“That is true,” Roselyn said, and her face grew serious. The screen in front of them changed, showing floating yellow spheres that were latching onto healthy white ones. After a few moments, the other spheres changed too, becoming yellow. “That’s it. This is a partial re-creation based upon the data sent. It appears to be tailored for humans. Hythariam aren’t affected at all.”

“Are you surprised? According to Aaron, Halcylon hates all humans.”

Roselyn nodded, her eyes downcast. “It shames me that something this awful is coming from one of my race.”

Sarah didn’t say anything for a moment. “Evil isn’t restricted to a particular race. Sometimes, it just
is
,” Sarah said, thinking of all the awful things her father had done during his reign and how it had become her mission to undo the damage that was done. “What does this thing that the Zekara have created do exactly? Anyone caught in the path of the cloud died. At least it appeared that way.”
 

“That’s the thing; it does more than kill. It functions like a parasite, but it still keeps going even after the host has died. Most parasites die with the host,” Roselyn said.

“The beast this stuff came out of appeared to be part machine and something else.”
 

“The Zekara are made up of the former Hythariam military. The beast was likely part of some type of research. The type that is kept secret—like what the Elitesmen have done in their Citadel,” Roselyn said.

“Since the others were exposed, does that mean they’re all at risk?” Sarah swayed slightly on her feet.

Roselyn grabbed a nearby chair and helped her to sit. She looked at her as if she were one of her patients. “You look a little tired; are you feeling all right?”

Sarah took a sip of water from the cup that Roselyn handed her. “I just felt as if I was going to pass out all of a sudden. Dammit, I can’t be sick right now. It’s been like this for almost a week.”

Roselyn nodded, and Sarah thought she saw a small smile. Roselyn withdrew a small scanner from her desk drawer. “I just want to run a quick scan.”

“Fine,” Sarah said.

Roselyn had her lie back and ran the scanner from her head to her stomach, where she kept it for a few seconds. Sarah watched as Roselyn studied the scanner for a moment. Her eyes widened, and she looked up at her, smiling.
 

“You’re not sick. You’re pregnant,” Roselyn said, beaming.

Sarah’s mouth fell open. “Pregnant? Are you sure? I can’t be pregnant.”

“With twins actually,” Roselyn said, and her fingers dashed through the holo interface. In moments, two circular images appeared with smaller ones within. “These are your children. I’d say you are five weeks along.”

Sarah stared at the screen; her mouth kept opening and closing, but no words came out. “Twins,” she whispered, unable to tear her eyes from the screen. She brought her hands down to her stomach.

Roselyn let out a laugh and hugged her. When she pulled back, both women had tears in their eyes.

“By the Goddess, never in my wildest dreams did I think that this is what was happening to me,” Sarah said, and she looked up in alarm. “Aaron…”

“He’ll be fine. We will figure out a way through this.”

Sarah’s eyebrows drew together. “But the war with the Zekara could begin at any moment, and Khamearra is holding together by a thread. And—”

“Sarah, everything will be fine. Trust me, we will find a way through this.” Roselyn took a moment before continuing. “You do want to be a mother?”

“Of course I do. I just didn’t think it would happen so soon for Aaron and me. Oh Goddess, Aaron. How do you think he will react?” Sarah’s breath quickened in her chest.

Roselyn took her hand. “He loves you more than anything in the world. He will make an excellent father.”

Sarah knew she was being foolish, but she could hardly keep up with her racing thoughts. “We can’t tell him. At least right now.”

“Why ever not?”

“He needs to focus on what he is doing. If I tell him now, it’s all he will think about.”

“He will find out sooner or later. You might be able to conceal it for now, but eventually you
will
start to show.”

“I know, but for now I really think I should wait to tell him.”
Oh Goddess, I’m pregnant.
The thought was emblazoned in her mind.
Me, a mother…
Her memories of her own mother were so distant that they were more feelings. “I will tell him, but not right now. Promise me you won’t say anything.”

Roselyn nodded and glanced back at the screen, her lips pursed in thought. On-screen was a depiction of the Alenzar’seth sigil, a Dragon cradling a single rose.

“What is it?” Sarah asked.

“I think I know what Halcylon has done,” Roselyn said, and began navigating through the holo interface.

Sarah waited for the rapidly changing images on-screen to stop.
 

“This is a sample of the Ryakul poison taken from Aaron’s blood when he was wounded. The poison was active in his system. We thought that the Ryakuls had poison that came out of their claws. I can’t believe I didn’t see this before. It’s not poison but a virus seeking to spread itself. What Halcylon has done was alter the virus that changes Dragons into Ryakuls so that it affects humans,” Roselyn said.

Sarah reined in her racing thoughts. “Are you saying this virus will change humans into something similar to a Ryakul?”

Roselyn tore her eyes from the screen. “Yes,” she whispered.

Sarah’s stomach clenched. There was no cure for this sickness. “We have to warn them.”
 

C
HAPTER
5

ZEKARA

Far to the north, deep in the forests of Safanar, thousands of Hythariam loyal to the Zekara labored. It had been two months since they had arrived upon this world, and Halcylon still caught himself gazing up at the sky. It was a beautiful world. So alive. He had almost forgotten what a living, breathing world could be like. From glorious skies overhead to the strange scents of the forests around them. The Nanites inside every
 
Zekaran had sped up his race’s acclimation to this world. The atmosphere was too rich when compared with the thin, sterilized air they had to breathe in their mountain base on Hytharia.
 

The home world of the Hythariam was gone. Destroyed. The singularity that had slowly been feeding off their system of planets for thousands of years had finally devoured their home. He had been born to a dying world where only the strong survived. As leader of the Zekara, he had to make tough choices. The type of choices that made those playing at being civilized uncomfortable. The harsh truth he had come to accept from a very early age was that civilization is an illusion. An illusion that allows weakness to fester and drain away from the truly visionary people. With the invention of the Nanites that kept their bodies free of sickness and prevented the decrepitude of old age, the Hythariam had conquered mortality. The ruling councils of Hytharia had been swayed to the line of thinking that immortality was against the natural order of things.
Fools
. It was the destiny of his race to spread themselves among the planets of the galaxy, but their time had been cut short. There were thousands of Hythariam with him. Easily a number that would repopulate the species that had once numbered in the billions. Now they had a lush and fertile world at their disposal. There was just the humans to deal with. He had thought to decimate their entire species, and he still planned to kill many of them. But he’d decided the rest would be enslaved.