Return of the Matka-Zem (The Sorain Chronicles) (26 page)

"
I will. Thank you, Seth." She placed a hand on his shoulder.

Seth smiled and gave her a bow before heading back into the building. Valencia slowly returned to her suite in deep thought.

***

Uzuri leisurely strolled from the throne room and with a flip of her wrist summoned Liam to follow. Anger had swelled inside her when the Matka-Zem joined the council, however she took pride on how she
'd been able to smile and speak calmly throughout the meeting. She had instantly taken a dislike to the princess. The girl's beauty out shown even her own striking features, making her feel inferior in her presence. At first, the girl held herself aloof and Uzuri thought she would be easy to manipulate. It didn't take long before she'd realized the girl was watching each person like a hawk searching for its prey.

When the Matka-Zem took control of the meeting, Uzuri realized her control as a council member was in jeopardy. The princess was young and headstrong. She would have to tame the girl before she ruined everything her family had built. Uzuri had a plan and the means to use it. All she had to do was keep the princess in Kota Emas and bond her to her son.

"We have to be quick! You must get control of the Matka-Zem." She hissed into her son's ear. Nails digging into Liam's arm, she pulled him along the path. "There will be a celebration for the princess tonight. You must encourage her to select you for the Kleben. Once you are bonded, you will be Regent."

"
I'm confident I can charm the girl. I am pleased she is beautiful. It will make the Kleben most enjoyable," Liam said with a lustful laugh. "She has enough spunk to make the chase enjoyable, but she will be mine in the end."

"
Keep your wits about you, Liam." When she saw lust glaze his eyes, Uzuri slapped him across the face. "This girl is smarter than you think."

"
You may have manipulated Aeson with ease, but not me." Liam rubbed his fire-red cheek with a delicate hand. "I will not be your puppet."

"
No, but you are my son," she ran a finger down his cheek where she'd slapped him, "and you will stand by your family."

"
Yes, Mother, the power of Sora will remain in our family." Liam's smile was evil. "We will continue to rule the planet."

"
We must be quick," she repeated in a hushed tone. "Aeson will regain his strength, now that the Matka-Zem is back. We certainly don't want that old fool to jeopardize our plans."

"
Why worry about him?" Liam gave a hard laugh. "He will die once the Kleben happens and I will gain his strength."

"
Just make sure you woo her, my son. She must not bond with another." Uzuri clasped her arm around Liam's and started to walk them toward the exit.

"
Have no fear, Mother," Liam snickered maliciously. "The Matka-Zem will not refuse me."

***

Donna and Parth strolled the city as they made their way toward the library. The city's design was spiral and in tiers. The highest tier was composed of towers, built for the lords of the city, where they dwelled with their fancy technology and slaves. Parth told Donna that many lived their entire lives without leaving the spiral towers.

The second level, swirling in a loop just below the towers, was where lower-class Torpek strived to become elevated above their stations. All were Torpek and still well-to-do, with their nice homes and shops, possessing just slightly less luxury than the lords of Kota Emas. The lowest tier was where the beggars and slaves mingled among the poor. Very few Torpek walked these streets, and only then for shady dealings that were not performed in the towers.

The gold-plated city glistened in the twin suns' light. However, Donna saw past the superficial glitter. On Earth, huge cities had their own unique shine, but all had the same back alleys and shady streets. Kota Emas, though on a different world, was no exception. Raised on the streets of San Francisco, Donna saw no difference. When she first saw Kota Emas from afar, dreams of perfection soared in her heart, but reality shattered her illusions. As they made their way towards their destination, she became quiet and solemn and she noticed the Mlinzi glance at her with a hint of concern.

Once they reached the library, Donna was glad she could lose herself in the search for information. She had a passion for knowledge and it did not deter her when the search through the archives took hours before she finally found what she was looking for. At first, she searched the disks provided by the librarian, but that proved to be fruitless. It was strange how little she found on the Matka-Zems of the past. The archives only spoke of the elegance or beauty of the women, never about how they lived. Placing a hand on the hilt of his sword, Parth convinced the librarian to permit Donna entrance into the written archives, stored in the basements. The written records were ancient and fragile. Some disintegrated with the slightest touch, while others were just moldy and dusty and caused her to cough. With a sigh of relief, she finally found what Valencia had requested.

"We need to get this info back to Val ASAP," she said. With a groan, she stood from the bench where she'd settled down to read and stretched like a cat. Having been stooped over the table for so long had caused a cramp in her back and she could barely take a step.

Parth mumbled something under his breath and came up behind her.

"Hold still." Parth placed one meaty hand on her shoulder and the other in the small of her back. Before she could refuse, he applied pressure. Her spine popped like a balloon as pain shot through her body and into her skull.

"
Are you trying to cripple me, behemoth?" Donna rounded on the Mlinzi and grabbed the front of his tunic. With all her might, she tried to shove the man backward, but he did not even waver. Storming out of the room, she let the door slam in Parth's face. As she climbed the stairs, Donna smiled to herself. Her back really did feel better. She was just pretending to be angry with the large Mlinzi, and had been curious to see if she could physically move the man. "Didn't even budge a centimeter," she said under her breath.

"
With your size, you should not strike head on."

Donna jumped at the sound of Parth
's voice. She had not heard him reach her side and it surprised her how quiet the huge man was.

"
Unless you are fighting a child."

"
Hey, I know more than you think, you overgrown gorilla." Not bothering to look back at him, she already knew he was rolling his eyes at her.

"
You should strike at their weakest areas. Each creature has their own sensitive spots." Parth ignored her words and continued his lecture. "You must learn this if you wish to continue on your path."

"
Or I'll die, huh?" She glanced over her shoulder at the Mlinzi and smiled. "Are you volunteering to teach me?"

"
My orders are to protect you." Parth stared at her blankly. "It will be easier if you learn how to defend yourself."

"
Ok, Parth, you're on. After my bath, we can hit the books." Donna gave a laugh, still finding it hard to believe she was on an alien planet, getting ready to take fighting lessons from a man who was part of an élite warrior race. On Earth, traveling with the aliens had seemed surreal, but now it seemed like she was in a dream. She wondered if she really was in a coma, connected to tubes in some hospital, trapped in her mind, instead of on an alien world.

Looking forward to immersing herself in the steaming pool to ease the tension from her body, Donna was thankful when she reached the apartment. Once she opened the door to the suite, however, all thought of the bath fled at the site before her. Ona stood over Gabby with a switch in her hand, while the girl laid prone over an ottoman. Ripped from neck to waist, the girl
's dress hung off her shoulders, revealing her bare back. Covered with bloody welts, Gabby softly moaned in torment. The other women watched in glee as Ona brought the switch across Gabby's back, leaving another red welt across the girl's shoulders.

"
What the hell are you doing?" Donna yelled at the woman in both shock and anger.

Ona only glanced at her in distain and struck the girl again. Gabby whimpered in pain as her small frame shook from the blow.

Storming over to Ona, Donna grabbed the switch with both hands. Using the moves she'd learned on the yacht, she twisted the woman until the stick smacked Ona in the face, causing a welt between her eyes and bloodying her nose. Donna released the servant with a shove toward the door. "Get the hell out of here, before I sic him on you." She pointed at the Mlinzi who took a step forwards in acknowledgement.

With only a glance at the large man, the three women hurried out the door as fast as they could.

"And don't come back," screamed Donna. "We don't need you."

"
Some of the wounds are deep but she will heal." Parth was already kneeling before the prone girl to inspect her wounds before Donna reached Gabby's side. The large man withdrew a small jar from his cloak and started applying the ointment to the girl's bloody wounds. Gabby sighed in relief from the ill-smelling cream.

"
What is that stuff?" Donna wrinkled her nose and frowned at the jar. She bravely stuck her finger in the gooey salve and felt her finger turn numb.

"
It's a salve made from the Kupoa plant. It numbs the area and helps with healing." Parth peered at her with a slight smile. "Where did you learn how to disarm the old woman?"

"
Thane taught me." She gave him a lopsided smile. "He said I had to learn how to protect myself because he wasn't going to do that for me."

Parth gave a soft chuckle and nodded in approval while he continued to smear the gooey substance on the girl
's back. Once covered with the salve, they helped the shaking girl to her feet.

"
Thank you," Gabby whispered, keeping her head bowed.

"
Parth, can you be a doll and help the kid gather her things?" Donna frowned as she thought of the women pouncing on the girl again. "I don't want her near those bitches alone."

"
Come girl, we don't have all day." Parth nodded his acceptance and tapped Gabby's shoulder.

Well, it seems he
's not as hard as nails after all,
Donna thought, smiling to herself at the gentleness of the huge Mlinzi towards the frail child as they headed out the door.

***

Lunch with her father was a pleasant affair. They both made an effort to bridge the gap between them. With her Gift, Valencia touched the Regent's hand often to send tiny streams of energy into his body. With each flow, Aeson became brighter and more alert. Her father seemed starved for her power, as if someone had been slowly draining him of his life force.

At first, she found it difficult to talk with her father and frequent pauses interrupted their conversation. Mostly, she listened to him talk of when she was a child. Occasionally, fragments of memory fluttered in her mind, but for the most part the events he spoke of were as alien to her as was the planet itself. After the meal was finished, they did not linger long. Valencia claimed fatigue from her journey. A smile founded on her lips when she spied Alana step out from behind a plant and follow silently behind her. A feeling of security flowed through her with the knowledge the Mlinzi were close by.

When she finally returned to her suite, Donna told her what had happened to Gabby. Anger swelled inside Valencia and she started to head back out the door to find the women and give them a piece of her mind, but Donna placed a hand on her arm to stop her from rushing out of the suite.

"
You have more important things to worry about. Besides, Parth and Gabby should be back soon." Valencia glanced at her friend's hand and smiled. The human could not absorb her power, making her the only person she could trust.

"
Okay, what did you find?" Valencia said, as she motioned Donna to a pair of lounge chairs and they pulled them together so they could sit and talk. Valencia leaned forwards to listen to her friend and saw Alana step closer to listen to their words. However, before Donna could speak, the door slid opened and Parth strolled into the living room, with Gabby in tow, each carrying a small box.

"
Is that all you have, Gabby?" Donna asked, now focused on the girl and her lack of belongings.

"
The child lived in destitution," Parth grumbled.

"
Well, not anymore." Valencia smiled at the shy girl before turning back to Donna. "Okay, now that we're all here, tell me want you learned."

"
At first, we didn't find a thing on the computers in the library, but Parth kindly asked the attendant to show us the written archives." Donna gave the huge Mlinzi a broad smile. "It took a while, but I was able to go back as far as five different Matka-Zems. There were remnants of history of older ones, but I will tell you of those later. As we all know, the last two got lost in their power. But what we didn't know was the last one, your mother, didn't even bond with Sora before she got trapped in her mind."

"
What? How did that happen? Why didn't my father or a Mlinzi help her?" Valencia stared at her friend in puzzlement.