Page 49

The Handmaidens of Vannla lived in a compound carved into the rocks on the western side of Vraxos. It was windswept and remote, though Kara noticed there was a sky-shield overhead to keep off the elements.

Not totally without technology, then.

The Handmaidens greeted them as they arrived. They were dressed simply, in plain white robes gathered at the waist by a single gold chain. Silver dusted their delicate cranial ridges and sparkled on their eyelids. Their long hair was gathered into braids which hung over their shoulders, all of them a uniform snowy white.

Kara wondered cynically if they used dye so they’d all match.

They were led through the pillared entrance into a vast hall which extended back through a sheer cliff-face. It should have been dark and damp, but the rock walls glowed with strata of soft iridescence that gave off warmth and light. A gentle breeze circulated to keep the air fresh, carrying with it a pleasant scent that reminded her of jasmine.

The whole effect was ethereal and dream-like. Which was probably the aim, thought Kara snarkily. Give the punters what they expected.

“You are not a believer.”

The voice came from behind them. They turned to see a tall Vraxian female of indeterminate age, willowy and graceful, with silvery hair that fell loosely to her waist. Slim gold chains looped from her ears to her nose and wound round her neck like a serpent. Her dress was white, like the others, but she wore long gloves that covered her arms to the elbow and a cloak that billowed as she walked.

“Your holiness.”

Vahn inclined his head politely but the High Priestess kept her eyes on Kara.

“Your wife does not share your respect,”

she commented. Kara flushed.

“I meant no offence, your, um, holiness.”

The pale yellow eyes lingered on her for a moment longer, then turned to Vahn.

“Greetings, Zhaal Talvahnax. How may I be of service?”

“The Zhaalini and I wish to conceive an heir. We seek your blessing and your guidance, High Priestess.”

“I see.”

The High Priestess turned back to Kara. “Is this what you seek, human?”

“Yes.”

“Even though you believe we are merely catering for the gullible?”

The Vraxian female’s lip curled. “Punters, I think is the word you used?”

It was only by monumental force of will that Kara’s jaw didn’t drop. Coincidence, she thought, refusing to be intimidated.

“My husband believes in you. And I trust him. So…”

she shrugged. “Here I am.”

“Here you are. With all your hopes and fears. So palpable I can almost see them. In that respect, you are like every other Zhaalini I have tended to. Including your mother, Zhaal Talvahnax.”

She turned back to Vahn and he cocked his head, puzzled.

“You? Forgive me, but you look too young.”

“I assure you, I am a lot older than I look. I predicted your birth, and that of your brother. And I foresaw that you would bring great changes to the Empire. Though I admit, my prescience did not extend to an alien wife.”

“It’s for that reason I seek your guidance, High Priestess. Please do not let the Zhaalini’s human skepticism sway you. It’s not her fault. On her world, there aren’t any such as you.”

“I see. You lean towards science?”

she asked Kara.

“It’s what I’m used to. And I thought it was the same on Vraxos. The whole Empire runs on technology and engineering. So you and the Handmaidens… it’s a little unexpected.”

“How do you know I don’t use technology also?”

The Priestess raised a brow, amused. “How do you know I’m not secretly scanning you with nanobots and invisible sensors right now? Perhaps I make my mystical pronouncements after a detailed medical analysis. Isn’t that how the gullible are fooled?”

“And are you? Scanning me?”

The Priestess smiled.

“Always questioning, Kara Singh. Would you not prefer answers?”

Kara looked to Vahn. He didn’t try to speak for her, or persuade her either way, and she loved him for it.

“Yes. I do want answers.”

“And you are willing to undergo the ritual? You are not scared?”

“No. I’m not.”

“Then let us start. Handmaidens, prepare her. Your husband will wait here.”

“Um, what?”

But the Priestess was already walking away.

Vahn took her hand as the Handmaidens gathered round.

“It’s all right, Kara. My mother went through this.”

“And did she explain exactly what happens? Because I’d really like to know right now.”

“Actually, she was a little vague. But she said it was… interesting.”

“Interesting? What the fuck does that mean?”

“She never elaborated. Not even to my father. But she said everything she was told by the Priestess came to pass.”

The Handmaidens patiently guided Kara away from Vahn. She cast a desperate look over her shoulder.

“Can’t you come with me?”

“The ritual is for females only.”

“You’d better still be here when I get back.”

“I’m not going anywhere, kalehsha.”

Kara allowed the Handmaidens to lead her into a smaller room off the main hall. It was lit with candles on every surface, the floor covered in thick rugs. In the center of the room was a single bed with a white robe laid out on it. One of the Vraxians took her arm and led her to it.

“Please, Zhaalini. Put on the robe and lie down. Be comfortable.”

“Is this, like, an examining table?”

“It is a divination chamber. The High Priestess will join you shortly.”

The Handmaidens retired to the edge of the room. Clasping their hands in front of them, they directed their gazes at the floor. Kara watched them for a moment. They remained silent and completely still.

They are fucking weird.

With a small sigh she quickly stripped off her outer clothes and pulled on the robe. It was light and fluid but it covered her from head to toe, so she didn’t feel exposed. Then she arranged herself on the bed and waited.

The door opened and the Priestess walked in. She had removed her cloak and gloves and Kara saw with a start that her hands were not blue-tinted like the rest of her. They were bone-white.

The Handmaidens gathered in a semi-circle around the bed, heads bowed and fingers clasped as if in prayer. Kara would have found it amusing if not for the crackle of anticipation that hung in the air.

The Priestess stood at the foot of the bed and raised her arms.

“The ritual begins,”

she said. “I call on Vannla to give me knowledge, so that I may see what lies ahead for Zhaalini Castellian.”

The Handmaidens began to chant softly, an eerie humming cadence that thrummed into Kara’s consciousness. Apprehension coiled in her stomach. What if the Priestess told her she couldn’t have children with Vahn? What then?

Seriously, get a grip. You’re not buying this act, are you?

The Priestess lowered her hands and hovered them directly over Kara. She didn’t touch her in any way but heat flooded through Kara’s skin. She shifted uneasily.

“What’s happening?”

“Do not be afraid, Kara Singh.”

The Priestess closed her eyes. “Vannla is speaking.”

She slowly traced the length of Kara’s body. She never once made contact yet waves of invisible energy seemed to radiate outwards from her palms. The chanting grew louder.

The Vraxian paused over Kara’s abdomen. Warmth coiled lazily, flooding the part where she supposed her womb lay. It was disorienting but not unpleasant. The High Priestess’s eyelids fluttered.

“Vannla, I beseech you. Let me see.”

Kara had the strangest sense that she was growing lighter, as if at any moment she might lift off the table and float to the ceiling. Orange sparks spiraled in the air above her, like embers from a flame. And all the time the chanting washed over her, through her, like an undulating ocean.

She tried to hang on to her skepticism. She wanted to believe it was all a con, but the heat coursing through her body was real. She could feel it.

How is she doing that? Is there a heater hidden in the bed?

The Priestess moved her hands in a complicated pattern and the warmth became something else. Something powerful. It rippled and changed, morphing into silver skeins of emotion that intensified with every breath.

Disconcerted, she tried to sit up and found herself pressed back by the Handmaidens. The Priestess opened her eyes and Kara saw her irises were white and opaque. She inhaled sharply.

“I don’t think I…”

“Be easy, Zhaalini. Let the spirit of Vannla fill you.”

The chanting became louder and suddenly Kara’s mind was languorous and hazy. She drifted in a cocoon of warmth, not able to move but content to lie still.

The shimmering strands inside her expanded, filling every hollowed out space and healing every unseen scar. The feeling grew until she was full to overflowing. And now, at last, she was able to identify what she was experiencing.

Happiness. I feel happiness

The chanting reached a crescendo. Kara couldn’t make any sense of what was happening to her, nor could she stop it. But she had no desire to. It was as if pure, liquid joy was being poured into her body.

Happiness and love.

It cascaded through limb and bone, tissue and cell, a shiny, glittering wave that made her whole. Made her complete.

And when the Priestess dropped her hands and the energy fell away, she felt the loss as acutely as if part of her had been severed with a blade.

The chanting stopped. The Handmaidens drew back and resumed their silent positions. Kara sat up shakily.

“What… what was that?”

“Your future, my Zhaalini.”

The Priestess looked at her with satisfaction, her yellow gaze back to normal. “Or more precisely, the feelings you will one day have for your children.”

Kara could barely force the words past her constricted throat.

“Vahn and I… we can have children?”

“Had you experienced nothing, then I would know you would never conceive. But your reaction to the ritual proves that you are both fertile and compatible with your kalehshun. You will have at least one child together.”

Tears sprang to Kara’s eyes.

“It was so… so intense,”

she whispered. “All those feelings for someone I haven’t even met yet.”

“Do you wish to see? Some do, some don’t. The choice is yours.”

Kara barely hesitated.

“Show me.”

The Priestess touched Kara’s forehead. An image filled her mind.

An image of a Vraxian female. Her skin blue and scaled, as all her compatriots were. The same height and build. The same ridged brow, sweeping from her temples to a bony crest at the center of her forehead.

But her eyes were brown and her hair black. And her feet, while still bare, sported five phalanges instead of four.

Kara murmured in wonder.

“Is she…?”

“She is your firstborn. The first Vraxian-human hybrid. Her kind will be known as Terraxians, and they will conquer the stars.”

Kara’s heart started hammering.

“Our daughter,”

she whispered. “She’s beautiful.”

Tears ran from the corner of her eyes and she wished Vahn was with her. “When? When will we meet her?”

“All I can tell you is that she will be conceived when the moons are at their zenith. You will know in your heart when the time is right.”

The Priestess let her hand fall and the image in Kara’s mind vanished like a dream. But she knew she’d replay it over and over from this day forward.

“How many children will we have?”

“I cannot say. My gift does not extend that far. But I can tell you this. Your firstborn will be your husband’s heir.”

“But that’s not possible. Females can’t rule. That’s Vraxian law.”

The Priestess smiled enigmatically.

“All I know is what I told the Zhaal’s mother. That her son would change the Empire. I thought my vision was referring to the end of the war, but now I see it more clearly. The Zhaal will change the Empire for his daughter.”

She moved towards the door and Kara stood.

“Wait. What should I tell Vahn?”

“What you tell him is up to you. But in my experience, it is unnecessary to tell our males everything. Your daughter will herald a new era for Vraxos. She will be the bridge to enlightenment between many different species. But your husband only cares that his offspring is happy and healthy. I would start with that.”

She left the room.

The Handmaidens picked up Kara’s clothes and held them out. They spoke in unison.

“The ritual is over.”

“Bring her back,”

she demanded. “I want to know more.”

“The ritual is over.”

“But I still have questions.”

“The ritual is over.”

The Handmaidens would not say anything else. Kara took her clothes and immediately they melted away to the edge of the room until she had changed. Then they led her back to the vast hall where Vahn was waiting. He took her hand.

“Kalehsha, what happened?”

“It was amazing. I saw our daughter. Our daughter, Vahn!”

“And she… she was healthy?”

“She was awesome.”

Kara smiled and Vahn noted her whole face was glowing. The weight in his chest, the one he hadn’t realized he was carrying, loosened.

“So there’s nothing to stop us producing a heir. Though a daughter will be wonderful,”

he added quickly. “The important thing is, we are able to have children.”

“We are. Though the Priestess didn’t know when or how many.”

“It does not matter. It only matters that we will. And when we have a son, the Empire will be secure.”

Kara hid a smile. She threaded her fingers through Vahn’s.

“We got what we came for. Let’s go home.”