Bram felt cold all over.
“What is it, little one—what did you see?” he demanded, but he thought he already knew.
Alanah shook her head, her eyes troubled.
“I hardly know what it was—something like a giant boulder rushing through the blackness. But somehow I knew it was headed right for us—for my kingdom!” She shook her head. “It can’t be true, right? It must be that I’m having bad dreams because I haven’t asked you yet what danger my people are in. I’m sure you just meant we’re all in danger of dying off with no males, right?”
Bram shook his head, worried.
“I’m afraid not, little one—that, at least, would be a gentle death. No, the danger that threatens your little planet is exactly what you saw in your dream, though I do not know how you came to dream it.”
“What? A huge rock is really headed straight for us?” She shook her head. “But…who is big enough to throw such a thing at us? One of the Gods?” She put a hand to her mouth. “Oh no—maybe they heard me disavow them and say I would worship only your Goddess from now on!”
Bram shook his head gently.
“That’s not how it works, little one. And no god or goddess hurled this rock—this asteroid—at your home world. It just happened to get launched out of orbit around a much larger star than your own and now it’s headed right for you. But please don’t worry,” he added, trying to make her feel better. “We still have at least a week and a half until impact.”
Just then a crackling sound came from a small black square mounted high on the bed chamber wall.
“Captain,” came a familiar voice—Ren’s voice, Bram realized. “Captain, I’m very sorry to wake you at such an hour but there’s some news on the world-killer. I think you’d better get down here to the science lab.”
* * * * *
They dressed hurriedly, Alanah in the clothing Bram had produced for her on the simulator and he in his uniform.
Ren, Bram’s friend who was a physician and scientist, was pacing the floor in a large room filled with equipment and machines Alanah didn’t understand. Mounted on one wall was a mirror which showed the outside of the ship—a viewscreen, Bram had called it.
“I’m sorry to wake you up in the middle of the night. I didn’t want to be-speak you—I thought my mental voice might be mistaken for a dream.” Ren ran a hand over his brown hair which was, for once, not in braids. Released, it flowed down his back like a chocolate river. Alanah wondered distractedly if all Jor’gen Kindred had hair so long. She still hadn’t seen Bram’s out of its braids which he wore clubbed at the back of his neck.
“It’s all right,” Bram said briskly. “You have news?”
Ren nodded grimly.
“Unfortunately yes. The world-killer has changed trajectory and the outcome is now much, much worse.”
“What?” Bram frowned. “But it was already on a course to hit Alanah’s planet. How much worse could it get?”
“It was set to hit somewhere around their north pole,” Bram explained. “It would have caused an extinction level event across the world but there would have been some time—a day at most—before the effects hit the women of Princess Alanah’s kingdom.”
“And now?” It was Alanah who asked, her mouth dry as dust.
Ren blew out a breath. “And now, well…I’m afraid it’s headed directly for your kingdom, Princess,” he said formally. “And it’s picked up speed. We have barely a day before it hits now.”
“What?” Bram exploded. “But you said we had at least a week!”
“That was before it slingshotted around a blue giant star and tripled its velocity.” Ren said tightly. “I’m telling you, Captain—there is no more time for wooing. We need to get down there with shuttles and scoop those females up—all of them—as fast as possible so we can get away to a safe distance. We don’t want to be anywhere near this planet when the world-killer hits.”
“World-killer?” Alanah whispered. “Is that what you call it?”
“Yes, because that is what it is.” Bram’s face was a mask of tension.
“But…but don’t you have weapons aboard your ship?” Alanah demanded. “Like the one you used to explode the gnasher? Can’t you just…just blow this thing out of the sky?”
“We explored that possibility at length, Princess,” Ren said, nodding his head deferentially. “Unfortunately, the asteroid headed towards your planet is twice the size and mass of our Mothership. Our weapons aren’t strong enough to completely disintegrate it. Even if we shot at it, we could only break it into a lot of smaller, but still deadly, particles which would rain fire and destruction down on your world.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Either way, the result is the same.”
“Death for my world,” Alanah said, putting a hand to her forehead. “Oh Gods…death. Just as I dreamed it.”
“You dreamed of the world-killer?” Ren frowned.
“Yes, although…I don’t know why or how,” Alanah whispered.
Ren looked thoughtful. “Maybe the dream was sent to you by the Goddess. Now you know the threat is real—hopefully you can convince your people to come away before it hits.”
“Maybe…” Alanah was filled with fear and uncertainty. Oh Gods, what were they going to do?
Bram took her in his arms and held her close, giving her comfort with the warmth of his big body.
“I’m so sorry, little one,” he rumbled. “I thought we would have more time to get your people used to the idea of coming with us. But now…”
“If they don’t come, they’ll die.” Alanah’s voice was hardly a breath but she could hear the horror in her own tone.
“I’m afraid so,” Ren said. “We need to get them back up to the Mothership and get to a safe distance as soon as possible.”
“But if we just show up there, intent on rounding them up, we’ll scare them to death,” Bram protested. “They’ll never learn to trust us…or think of us as potential mates.”
“Yes, they will,” Alanah said, lifting her chin. “They will if I explain things to them. I just need you to bring a few things with us to show them.”
“You’re sure they’ll follow you, Princess?” Ren asked.
“Alanah is their leader.” Bram spoke with confidence. “They trust her and will obey her.” He looked down at her. “Just tell us what we need to do, sweetheart. We’ll follow your lead.”
“All right.” Alanah squared her shoulders. “Here’s what I think…”
But even as she explained her plan, she couldn’t help having misgivings. Her people would listen to her—as long as another voice didn’t speak louder. As long as Thiera didn’t poison their minds against her and the idea of going with the giants.
Oh Goddess of the Kindred, she thought, sending a prayer for the first time to her new deity. Please help me bring my people to safety. Please let my voice be heard.
Chapter Fifteen
“The princess—Princess Alanah is back—even sooner than she said she would be! She’s back!”
The news spread like wildfire across the inner and outer courts. By the time Alanah and her new mate reached the castle, almost everyone from the highest born noblewomen to the lowliest scullery maid had already gathered to greet her.
Alanah could see the curiosity and in some cases hope, in their eyes. This, in turn, gave her hope as well. She knew many of the women were tired of living in a world without men. And the Jor’gen Kindred, while huge in size, were gentle in spirit and lovely to look upon. She had certainly never seen a man as handsome as Bram—although it was possible she might be a little prejudiced in his favor since she was so in love with him, she admitted to herself.
She was wearing a simple yet elegant grayish-blue gown Bram had made for her and Bram himself was dressed in his uniform, as were all the Kindred warriors who accompanied him. They looked handsome with their long braids twisted into clubs at the back of their necks, their immense height, and their tight black leather trousers and deep blue uniform s
hirts.
Handsome but alien too, Alanah thought with a touch of unease. She just hoped she was making the right decision to show them to her people all at once. But she wanted the women to see there was more than one giant—and possibly begin to wonder about the idea of taking one for a husband, as Alanah herself was.
“Alanah! My Princess, it’s so good to see you!” Jenla came running up to take her hands as soon as Alanah walked into the outer courtyard. “And…who is this you have brought with you?” She looked up at Ren, who was just behind Bram, with a kind of wonder in her eyes. He stared back intently until Jenla dropped her own gaze in apparent confusion.
“These are the people of Bram, my beloved,” Alanah said firmly, reaching for Bram’s hand. “Jenla, do me a favor and send the town crier around. Let everyone know that I need to see them at once, here in the outer courtyard.”
“They’ll come to see the giants but I don’t know what people will say,” Jenla murmured. “Thiera has been doing her best to poison everyone against you ever since you left. In fact, she’s got half the noblewomen to agree that she ought to depose you as ruler.”
“What?” Alanah exclaimed. She had guessed that the Elder Witch might get up to some mischief while she was gone, but this was beyond the pale. “Never mind,” she said, shaking her head. “Just get the crier to bring everyone here as soon as possible.”
“That won’t be hard,” Jenla said. “Almost everyone in the outlying settlements has moved in towards the castle since the red-eyed death anyway. Rounding them up should take only a little while.”
She cast a last shy look over her shoulder at Ren, then ran off to find the crier, a girl named Grenlah who had a voice that could rattle windows in their panes.
“The red-eyed death?” Ren asked in a low voice as some of the crew they had brought with them started setting up the props Alanah had asked for.
“It’s what we called the plague which carried off our men,” Alanah explained softly. “The very first symptom is that the whites of the eyes turn as red as blood.” She swallowed hard. “I remember the first time I saw it—my father, he was the first to…to catch it. And his eyes…” She shook her head, unable to go on.
“Forgive me if I caused you pain, Princess,” Ren said hastily.
“No, it’s all right.” Alanah took a deep breath. “I’ll be fine.”
“You’ll be perfect,” Bram assured her, stroking her hair gently. “Are you ready to speak to your people, little one? I can hear the crier calling them now.” He winced. “Whoever it is, she has a voice like an alarm klaxon.”
“Yes, Grenlah actually has a much better voice for crying the news than her older brother did,” Alanah remarked. “She took over the job after…after the plague took him.”
In a few minutes Jenla came rushing up again.
“I think most everyone is here, my Princess. Should we begin?”
“I don’t see Thiera.” Alanah scanned the crowd. “Where is she?”
Jenla shrugged. “Who knows? In her magic room, most likely. You know the walls are thick in that part of the castle—it might be she can’t hear the crier. Or she might be ignoring the summons.”
“Let her ignore it if she wants to,” Alanah remarked. To be honest, she was somewhat relieved. Not having Thiera here would make it much easier to make her case to the skeptical group of noblewomen she saw standing near the front of the crowd with arms crossed over their chests and eyebrows raised.
“Show time, little one,” Bram murmured in her ear. “Everything is ready to go.”
“All right. Thank you.” She looked up to give him a grateful smile and Bram leaned down from his great height to give her a swift kiss on the lips.
There were scandalized murmurs from the noblewomen but many of the others looked more hopeful than upset.
Taking a deep breath, Alanah stepped forward.
“My people,” she said in a voice which echoed and carried in the large outer courtyard almost as well as Grenlah’s. “I bring you dire news—our world is in danger.”
“What?” Some of the women looked disbelieving—others turned pale.
“If you will be still I will show you what I mean,” Alanah told them, raising her hands to keep them quiet.
She stepped up beside the huge, portable viewscreen the Kindred had brought out and set up for her and motioned to Ren who was controlling it.
“Look into this mirror,” she told the crowd. “For it reflects things that are to come.”
The viewscreen flickered to life and many of the women gasped and made signs to ward off the evil eye.
“You do not have to fear the mirror,” Alanah told them quickly. “It will do you no harm—it only shows the future.”
In fact, this was a great simplification of the technology of the viewscreen but since she didn’t understand it herself, Alanah had decided to go ahead and take a mystical approach in dealing with her people. Time enough to teach them all about the “science” Bram was so excited for her to learn—for now, she had to speak in terms they could understand.
On the screen, an image suddenly appeared—it was a boulder made of rock and ice—a boulder so vast it nearly filled the entire screen. It was speeding through the darkness of space with faint stars flickering in the background.
“Behold, the world-killer,” Alanah told her people. “This is what Bram’s people call an ‘asteroid.’”
“A massive chunk of rock and ice which travels through the heavens above,” Bram put in helpfully. “This one is as tall as your tallest mountain.”
“And unfortunately, it is headed directly at our little world—at our very kingdom.” Alanah tried to keep her voice steady and her face calm as murmurs of dismay and whispers of worry rippled through the crowd. “When it reaches us, well…”
She pointed at the viewscreen which showed a new picture. The massive rock slammed into a round planet and burst it apart with pieces spinning off in all directions. Ren had explained to her this was what was called a “simulation”—a picture of what might happen in the future but hadn’t happened yet. It seemed to have a great effect on the assembled women. Many turned white and one or two fainted and had to be revived by their friends who held smelling salts under their noses.
“I know what the mirror shows is frightening, but don’t be alarmed, my people,” she said, raising her voice to be heard over the babble of the crowd. “We will not perish.”
“How shall we not?” shouted a voice from the crowd. “When this thing—this mountain from the darkness—is about to hit us?”
“It will not hit us,” Alanah said firmly. “Because we will not be here.” She held out a hand to Bram. “This giant—my giant—is Captain Bram of the Jor’gen Kindred. He and his people have volunteered to take us far from here before the world-killer can reach us.”
“Go with the giants?” demanded one of the women. And another asked, “Where will they take us?”
“Why straight to the fiery depths, of course!” a new voice rang out. “For they are demons from the pit, sent to drag us there.”
Alanah sighed deeply as she saw Thiera the Elder Witch pushing her way to the front of the crowd. Apparently she had heard the crier after all. She was wearing her traditional black feather headdress and cape and looking both regal and wrathful.
“They will not take us anywhere but up to their ship, which flies through the sky as our ships float on water,” Alanah said, making her voice strong and assertive.
“Lies!” Thiera exclaimed in her high, dramatic voice. “How can a solid ship float in the air?”
“I have been there,” Alanah said. “I have seen it. Where do you think this far-seeing mirror came from? Their ship is full of such wonders. They have machines—mechanical contraptions—which can do in a matter of minutes the work we slave for days to complete. Truly, it is a marvel to behold.” Encouraged by the wondering looks of the other women, she continued. “It is always warm there and there is always enough to eat—no
one need break their back to harvest grain or worry about going hungry if not enough is harvested.”
“And what are we to pay for the privilege of losing our home to view this ‘marvel?’ Thiera sneered. “Must we be the giants’ slaves the rest of our days? Call them ‘Master’ and bow to them as we all once bowed to the king?” She narrowed her beady black eyes. “Or do they want other things from us?”
“We wish nothing but to be of service to you,” Bram said, stepping forward to stand by Alanah’s side. “There is another planet in your solar system—we believe it is where your ancestors came from. It is far enough away that it won’t be affected by the fall out of the world-killer’s collision with your own planet. Anyone who wishes, we will deposit them there. Although…” he cleared his throat. “Any who wish to stay aboard our Mother Ship are also welcome.”
The Elder Witch snorted. “Now we come to the crux of the matter! They wish to use us for their pleasure.” She turned to face the crowd. “But they cannot! See how tall and huge the giants are! Even the smallest of them would split one of us in two if they tried to put a baby in us.”
“It’s true that the Jor’gen Kindred have very large, er, members,” Alanah said quickly. “But along with the other wonders aboard their ship, they grow a special fruit.” She reached into the folds of her cloak and held up the peachy-pink, triangular fruit. “It’s called a ‘bonding’ fruit and it helps a female to, er, open to a male—even a big male, like my Bram here.” She nodded up at her giant who nodded gravely back.
“Poison!” Thiera shrieked, pointed a shaking finger at the bonding fruit. “It’s poison! One bite will kill you.”
Alanah was tired of having to shout down the other women. Without taking her eyes off Thiera, she put the ripe bonding fruit to her mouth and bit down on the juicy, fresh flesh.
There was a collective gasp but Alanah didn’t stop eating, even though she could see Ren from the corner of her eye trying to tell her something. The fruit was delicious—sweet and salty and tart all at once and she wished she had more time to savor it.