Page 1 of Murgul
Prologue
MURGUL
The steady raspof metal against stone usually soothes my turbulent thoughts, but today, it fails to bring the calm I crave. I cannot say I have ever dealt with change well, not that I would openly admit it to anyone. Lifeischange, and if we do not adapt, we die. It is a concept Slavic has drilled into our heads since we escaped the frackin Aynar many orbital rotations ago, but that does not mean I have to like it.
Abandoning my task, I toss the whetstone on the table to my right and gently lay the sword next to it as I look around the armory. As weapons specialist, this room is my domain and sanctuary, but today it holds no solace for me, because even here, amidst the implements of death, the life-changing tides on the Zenith are prevalent.
Through the open door, I can hear females laughing—traversing the corridors from place to place as they go about whatever it is females do during a rotation. It is a sound completely foreign to me, for I do not remember hearing anything of its like before Slavic found his Ruby, and Einar his Rowan. Of the two females, Ruby is the more gregarious, always laughing and finding joy in something. She is the perfect balanceto Slavic’s overly gruff and serious nature. Then there is the little broken one called Rowan…
Suffering hides behind her eyes. It is something I recognize well, and even though it is an odd feeling for me, somehow, I have empathy for whatever it is that she endured. Einar’s gentle nature is the perfect balm to soothe the ragged edges of Rowan’s tortured soul. The gods of Ruk knew what they were doing when they inserted my soft-hearted brother in her path, not that they went about it in an inconspicuous way—though subtlety was clearly not part of their plan. Nearly being used to incubate Velgriddix young is hardly what anyone would call an inconspicuous intervention. Shuddering in disgust at the thought, I force myself to remain calm. The mere hint of those foul beings makes my hands sweat with stress.
Then there is our sweet Kallen. She is the epitome of what a Ruk female should embody. I am not sure what Ruarc did to deserve such a kindhearted female, but she is his mate—if only he would get his head out of his arse long enough to see the gift the gods have bestowed upon him. Surely, they must know what they are doing with all their divine knowledge, despite the fact he has done nothing but reject their gift thus far. But that is not something I have any control over. Shaking my head at his stupidity, I realize that we are split in half, with myself, Falon, and Bikar mateless, and Slavic, Einar, and Ruarc mated.
Taking a deep breath, I force myself to relax into my chair, allowing the tension to flow out of my limbs. None of us ever really believed in the concept of a Starshine. Slavic, Ruarc, and Einar, as the elder three brothers, remember our mam telling them about the special bonds our species can form with one another, but none of us were aware it could be achieved with an entirely different, unknown species. Not only do two of my brothers have the other halves of their souls, but if Kallen, the lost Rukuhk princess, is to be believed, not only is our mamalive, but we also have a youngling sister hidden on the remote planet of Deapra.
A pang of envy slices through me, and I wince in shame.
I do not remember my mam. At all. By the time I was born, the Aynar no longer bothered to hide what they were doing to my people. From what my older brothers have told me, I was taken from our mam almost the moment she bore me. So, this quest to Deapra—to find her and our sister Atasha—doesn’t hold the same weight for me as it does for Slavic, who spent many orbital rotations believing he’d watched our mam die before his eyes.
It is hard to long for something or someone that you have no knowledge of or a deep feeling for. I know that my apathy disappoints Slavic greatly, but to feel anything less than grateful for the stories he provides would be disingenuous, and I will not dishonor the love my brothers have for our mam by acting like a fool. This is part of the reason I have started spending so much time in the armory alone. All the communal areas of the ships are overrun with my brothers, their females, and the other human females we rescued. It is… crowded, and I do not do well in crowds. So, it is best for me to maintain what little peaceful distance I can from the more delicate humans.
Soft footsteps coming down the hall catch my attention, and without conscious thought, I use the tip of my tail to flick the lights off, shrouding me in darkness, the corridor back-lit in front of me. Hair the color of a sun moves past the open door, gleaming under the shining ceiling lights. Suddenly, I feel an intense want deep in my being—an invisible string pulling me toward the creature on the other side of the door. Confused, I turn from the corridor, forcing myself to push aside the strange longing welling deep within my core.
Such things are not meant for me… forus.
Chapter One
MURGUL
Several rotations later.
I have not killed anyone in almost a lunar rotation. It is depressing and making me foul-tempered. We need to make something bleed, suffer, and die.
Soon.
Sighing heavily,I carefully set the blade I’ve been sharpening down before replying to the pulsating darkness inside my mind.
Cease speaking! You are always foul-tempered, so that is not the excuse you think it is. We have been over this topic numerous times. That opportunity is not going to be available to us for a long while.. So. Shut. The. Frack. Up. About. It! Weapon checks and battle simulations will have to suffice for now.
If you would tell your brothers the truth about ME, they would understand what we need to function.
Do we really have to have this conversation again? Yes, they are my brothers, but if you think for one tic that they would allow me freedom on this ship if they knew you existed, you are deeply overestimating the depth of their love for me. They would consider me a security risk, and we both know it.
You are pathetic and always have been. Without me, we would not have survived the frackin Velgriddix, AND WE BOTH KNOW IT!
The instant my alter-ego says Velgriddix, a humid, dank cell reeking of bodily fluids and unwashed flesh fills my mind.
Frack! Murgul… we are no longer in that place, but worry not. I will make sure we do not die, again, since you are such a weakling.
Vrog’s voice becomes far away as memories bombard my mind from every direction. I feel myself slipping further and further away, losing my iron-clad grip on Vrog. I can feel his twisted sense of humor tinged with triumph as he surges up out of the depths of my mind. Distantly, I feel it the moment he takes over my body, invading it just like the parasite he is. We move out of the armory, the door sliding closed behind us before we turn towards my quarters. Vrog is powerful, but even he cannot control the tenuous grasp we have on our sanity.
It should concern me that he can take control of my body, but in truth, it comforts me. Had Vrog wanted to erase me,Murgul, from existence, he would have many rotations ago. He is content to exist inside me… whether I like it or not, and takes my body out for a spin from time to time. Up to this point, he has not crossed any lines that would make me reveal him to my brothers. He is aware that destroying me would result in his execution at the hands of my brothers, as they would see Vrog as something created by the scientist.
So… there is that.
“Oof.”
The quiet exclamation follows the impact of a soft body against mine. My hands snap up and latch onto two of the most delicate arms I have ever felt. The tic our skin meets, an electric current jolts through me, and the shock is enough to silence the noise in my head.