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  She grunted and made another mark on her pad.

  “So…what does all this mean?” I said, feeling frustrated at the lack of information about the situation I found myself in. “What do I do now?”

  “Now?” She looked up. “You’ll go to Femme One, pass the Trials of Ascendancy, choose a Consort from among those royal males deemed worthy by the Council of Wisdom, and rule the galaxy.”

  “But…what if I don’t want to?” I asked. “What if I just want to go back to Earth and finish my training to become a doctor?”

  “If you want to be a healer, I’ll train you myself,” she said, nodding approvingly. “But my dear, there are many, many more lives you can touch and heal by being a good and wise Empress than by just being a healer.”

  I sighed. “Now you sound like Kristoff.”

  “Listen to him,” she said firmly. “He was Sundalla the 999th’s most trusted confidant and Guard. If she asked him to protect you, he’ll do it even if it means giving his life. He won’t play you false.”

  Her words confirmed my gut feelings about Kristoff but I had more questions—so many more.

  “Tell me more about the whole Consort thing,” I said, trying to pick my words carefully. “Is it…really necessary?”

  Her faded eyes widened.

  “Necessary? To have a Consort?”

  “Right.” I nodded. “I mean, if the Empress is the one who calls the shots—the one in power—then why does she have to have a man by her side at all?”

  She snorted and shook her head, as if I’d just said something incredibly stupid.

  “A Consort is necessary to slake the divine lust which will come upon you once your needing is ended and the breeding part of your Royal Cycle has begun,” she said, frowning. “Only the seed of the proper male will be able to quench the fire you feel inside.”

  “But how can we be sure that’s really going to happen?” I said. “I mean, I’m supposedly in the needing phase right now and I feel fine.” Which was a bit of a white lie—the tingle I’d felt earlier was already growing. But I was so used to not having any sex drive at all, it seemed impossible that something which had always been inconsequential to me could somehow dictate my life.

  “The needing you’re feeling now isn’t a true needing,” Dr. said dismissively. “Nor was the withdrawal you had. That was just because you very foolishly gave Kristoff a transfusion of your own blood. The Goddess-Empress should only give her blood during the Culling Ceremony in order to pick a true, royal Consort. Once you do that, you’ll enter your true cycle and understand the need for a male to quench your lust.”

  “I gave Kristoff my blood because he was my patient and he needed a transfusion,” I said stiffly. “I had no idea about any of this Goddess-Empress stuff but even if I had, I still would have given him the transfusion.”

  “Careful, my dear.” The old doctor frowned at me. “What you’re saying is only a hair’s breath from blasphemy. The Goddess-Empress must never knowingly give her blood to a commoner.”

  “Kristoff isn’t a commoner,” I argued, beginning to get really pissed off. “Or even if he is, so what? He came to me and protected me before I even knew I was in danger. He followed me and refused to leave me alone even when I thought he was crazy for telling me I was supposed to be the Empress. He’s saved my life multiple times—you can’t tell me he’s not qualified or worthy to have a transfusion of my blood!”

  “Easy, child…” A small smile appeared at the corners of her mouth. “You sound like my Lady-Goddess Sundalla the 999th. She was always very adamant about her causes as well.”

  “Kristoff isn’t a ‘cause,’” I said, frowning. “As far as I can tell, he’s my only friend in this whole mess. The only one who isn’t trying to kill me or control me in some way.”

  “And that will be doubly true once you reach Femme One,” she said, apparently unconcerned by my words. “But though he is a good and faithful guard, a guard is all he can ever be to you. I know the blood you gave him makes you feel drawn to him, but you’ll get over that in a day or so once your blood has left his system.”

  “A day or so?” I raised my eyebrows at her. “Transfused blood should last a minimum of thirty to sixty days in a host body and it can last as long as one hundred and twenty days.”

  “Not the blood of the Goddess-Empress,” she said dismissively. “Its special essence is absorbed into the host body in a day or so and then it becomes as normal as the host’s blood. So don’t worry, my dear—the drawing sensation you feel towards Kristoff will fade very soon.”

  “And then what? You think I’ll treat him like dirt just because you say he’s not good enough for me?”

  I didn’t know why I was getting so upset about this—it was pretty much what Kristoff himself had been saying to me from the moment we met—that he was just my guard and could never be anything else. But I’ve never liked elitist bullshit and I wasn’t having it now.

  “All I’m saying is you must have a Royal Consort, child,” Dr. Churika said frowning. “Bear that in mind and don’t do anything you shouldn’t with your guard.”

  I thought guiltily of the way Kristoff had helped me pleasure myself and how good it had felt to come in his arms. Of how safe I had felt when he held me the night before and I talked to him about things I’d never told anyone else before. Would I really lose all the good feelings I had for him once the special essence in my blood was completely assimilated into his system? It didn’t seem possible but the doctor seemed to take it as a matter of fact, not even open to discussion.

  “You’re silent,” she said grimly, interrupting my troubled thoughts. “Which I take it means you’ve already done things you shouldn’t.”

  “Anything I have or haven’t done is none of your business,” I said firmly, tired of listening to her crap. “I’m an adult and a doctor myself, you know. I don’t have to put up with this kind of condescending treatment. In fact, I want to get out of this…this slime tank right now!”

  To my surprise, she smiled again.

  “Ah—so much like your predecessor! Come out and get dressed then.” She nodded at my discarded scrubs. “Are those ugly, baggy garments really what healers wear on your home world?”

  “They’re called scrubs and they’re very comfortable and practical,” I said stiffly, clambering awkwardly over the high side of the tank and taking the towel she offered. To my surprise, I didn’t have to use it much at all. The slime slid off my skin and went back to the tank, leaving hardly a trace behind when I got out of it.

  Dr. Churika made a tsking sound with her tongue and shook her head. “You’ll have to get used to court finery once you get to Femme One and I’m afraid it’s not nearly as comfortable as those ugly Earth clothes of yours.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that so I just kept quiet and pulled back on my underwear and scrubs.

  “As I said before, you’re not truly in your Royal Cycle yet, so I’m not going to prescribe any kind of suppressant for it as I might for an Empress who was having difficulty between the onset of her needing and her joining with her chosen Consort. If you have difficulties or renewed desires, just remember that they will pass.”

  “But…what if they don’t?” I asked, remembering the overwhelming need I’d experienced before Kristoff had helped me to help myself earlier.

  “They will,” she said firmly. “They’ll only last another day at most I should think, if not less. But if you do experience a problem, I’ll recommend that you go to the Royal House of Goddess Pleasures.”

  “The what?” I asked but she was making a few final notes on her pad and turning to go.

  “Kristoff can explain,” she said. “For now, you need to get to Femme One.”

  “Thank you,” I said stiffly. I wanted to add that I had about a million more questions but I got the distinct sense she was dismissing me.

  I would never treat a patient that way! I thought resentfully as she nodded and left the room. I wonder what the hell Su
ndalla the 999th saw in her?

  Whatever it was, Kristoff must have seen it too. I heard Dr. Churika explaining her diagnosis and everything she’d determined to him out in the hall, which further pissed me off—what about patient confidentiality, damn it? What about my right to privacy?

  Dr. Churika acted like I had lost that right the moment she decided I really was the Incarnation of the Empress. But I was still a person with feelings—just because I shared DNA with some exulted dead person on another planet didn’t change that fact!

  Lifting my chin, I stalked past them and went out to the waiting room. Let them talk about me all they wanted to—this was still my life and I was going to live it the way I wanted to.

  I hoped.

  Kristoff

  Charlotte was quiet on our trip to Femme One but I could feel her troubled emotions through the bond we had formed when I gave her my vow. She was unhappy and worried—my skin itched to reflect her feelings but I suppressed the urge sternly, knowing she would not like it.

  There was another emotion, too, buried so deeply under the others I could barely feel it. It was there though, and it was strong—a deep current of desire was building inside her.

  I told myself uneasily that it was of no consequence—that it would pass. In fact, Dr. Churika had been certain that this false needing Charlotte was going through would be over in a day—maybe even less. Considering that the transfusion had taken place two nights before, she was surprised it was still occurring at all. I was too, to be honest—I was certain that at any moment I would feel an easing of the lust inside my new mistress and then neither of us would have to worry about her false cycle any more.

  And yet…part of me didn’t want to feel her lust and desire for me disappear. I knew it was foolish and wrong, but I already desired her as I had never desired a female before. Knowing she returned my feelings, at least for a little while longer, made my own desire more bearable somehow.

  I wished I could tell her I knew of her need and offer to help her with it again. But I knew I could not. Even wishing to do it was wrong—as her Guard, I should want only what was best for her. And wanting to be with me wasn’t for the best at all. In fact, it would complicate matters immeasurably if she was still having desire for me when we reached Femme One.

  Speaking of Femme One, I was pushing the hyperdrive to the limit and beyond and the center of the galaxy where my new mistress would rule was rapidly getting closer.

  In only a solar day and a night we were there. I will add that Charlotte slept alone that night. And I let her, though I felt her longing for me through our bond. She wanted me to hold her again—I could see it in her eyes when I bid her goodnight as clearly as I felt it through our connection. But she was too proud and strong to ask and since her needing had not reached a fever pitch again, there was no reason to sleep in the same bed again.

  Though I wanted to—the Goddess knows I did. I wanted so badly to hold her in my arms I ached with it.

  But my needs were not important. What was important was transporting my new mistress safely to Femme One and allowing her feelings for me to fade and that was exactly what I intended to do.

  When we finally reached orbit around the great, golden globe that is Majora Prime or Femme One, I told Charlotte to strap into the copilot’s seat beside me.

  “Wow,” she breathed as we got nearer and nearer to the sprawling, gilded palace complex. “Is all that the palace? It looks more like a small city!”

  “The palace doesn’t only house the Goddess-Empress,” I told her. “The Council of Wisdom who help her govern and make decisions all make their homes there. Also most of the Royals and some of the greater nobles. Not to mention all the support personnel—the maids and cooks and footmen and gardeners and many, many others who are on the palace staff.”

  “I thought you told me your mother was a noble,” she said, casting a glance at me.

  Though she was still in the baggy “scrubs” she’d been wearing on Earth, she’d had a sonic shower and had let down her hair. It hung down to her shoulders in a profusion of golden waves and her eyes looked very green. She was beautiful, though it was not my place to tell her so.

  “My mother was a lesser noble and she wasn’t even a native of Femme One,” I told her, frowning. “Such distinctions are important—rank is everything at Court. I am considered a commoner by Royal standards.”

  “What—is there some kind of a caste system here? Are you untouchable just because you’re only lesser nobility?” she demanded.

  “Only untouchable to you, my Lady,” I told her gently.

  She blushed scarlet and looked away, making me regret my words. But I could feel her desire for me growing and I knew it was important to put some distance between us—even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.

  As my mistress was being quiet, I concentrated on piloting the ship. I had decided to get as close as I could in stealth mode. Whoever had ordered and paid for the extremely expensive assassin-droids was doubtless waiting for news of our arrival. I needed to get Charlotte in to see the Council of Wisdom and have her declared the True Incarnation as soon as possible. After she was given official status at Court, it would be much harder to have her killed. Until then, our situation was going to be precarious at best, extremely dangerous at worst.

  I got as close as low orbit before someone finally hailed me on the com-u.

  “Unidentified craft,” a vaguely familiar voice barked. “You are in violation of Femme One airspace. State your ID and intentions at once.”

  “This is Imperial One,” I responded. “Y’lex is that you?”

  “Captain Verrai?” the voice sounded startled. “We thought you were lost!”

  “Lost?” I frowned. “Didn’t T’zorin and the rest of my crew tell you I was on another mission?” Someone had known I was gone and what I was looking for—I was sure of it. Otherwise, why send the assassin-droids?

  “T’zorin only returned a few solar days ago with the Assimilation vessel you captured, Captain,” Y’lex said. “They were attacked by pirates—he was the sole survivor. He’s pretty shaken up.”

  “I see.” I frowned, not liking what I was hearing. All the males I’d taken with me were hand-picked Imperial Guards with years of experience. Their loss would mean a hole in the ranks it would be difficult to fill. And with the new Empress to protect, it was a bad time to be short-handed.

  “Do you want clearance to land?” Y’lex asked me.

  “Yes, but not in the main docking bay,” I said. “I’m going to the Empress’s private hanger, near the Royal apartments.”

  “Yes, Sir, Captain.” I could almost see Y’lex saluting. “Clearance granted.”

  “Good. And Y’lex—keep this quiet,” I told him. “I don’t want anyone knowing I’m here.”

  “Yes, Sir.” He sounded puzzled but obedient.

  “Good—Verrai out,” I said.

  “Y’lex out,” he replied. “Oh but Captain—one more thing. You’ll want to hurry if you’re going to make it in time.”

  “Make what in time?” I asked, frowning.

  “The Investiture, of course,” he said, sounding surprised. “Isn’t that why you came back? The True Incarnation of the Goddess-Empress is going before the Council in just a few minutes. If you don’t hurry, you’ll miss it.”

  Charlotte gave me a shocked look and mouthed, “What?”

  I only shook my head sharply at her.

  “Oh, I’ll make it,” I told Y’lex. “Don’t worry—I’ll make it in plenty of time.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Charlotte

  “What is he talking about the Investiture of the new Empress?” I asked as Kristoff flew the ship into a small, private docking area in the side of the massive, golden building. “How can that be when you said I was the Empress?”

  “You are the True Incarnation of the Goddess-Empress,” he growled, frowning as he finished landing us in a large, dark space. “Whoever is going before the Coun
cil is an imposter. We just have to prove it.”

  “How?” I asked but he was already taking me by the hand and leading me out of the spaceship.

  “Come with me and be quiet,” he ordered. “We’re going to take the back way—the old Empress’s private entrance to the Council chambers. Almost no one knows about it so we should be safe.”

  “But…we’re in the palace now. Doesn’t that mean we’re safe?” I protested as he pulled me along.

  We left the large, echoing docking area and came to what looked like a solid stone wall. Kristoff knocked on it in a certain rhythm, which caused the door to appear like magic. He pressed his palm to the door and it opened just wide enough for him to whisk me through it.

  “We’re not safe until the Council has declared you the True Incarnation,” he growled. “And even then you’re still in danger—only of a subtler variety.”

  The hidden door led into a vast apartment with no windows. It was decorated richly with big, bulky, expensive looking furniture—most of it painted gold (or maybe made of gold, which seemed more likely)—and all of it extremely ornate. Wow—was this supposed to be my new living quarters? It was a far cry from the cramped, messy apartment I’d had back on Earth.

  I didn’t have much time to admire my new digs though—Kristoff was already reaching behind a huge, heavy tapestry that seemed to depict some kind of a battle scene to tap on the stone wall behind it.

  Another passage opened and he pulled me through it, leading me into a claustrophobically tight corridor. It was pitch black but Kristoff seemed to know exactly where he was going. Keeping a firm grip on my hand, he pulled me along at a run through the tight, black space which was dusty with disuse.

  “Kristoff,” I gasped, as we finally came to the end of the corridor. “What are we going to say? How can we prove I am who you say?”

  “It would be easier if even one of the Councilors had the Vision as I do,” he growled. He appeared to be knocking and patting the wall—maybe looking for another hidden doorway. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case. I am the only male in the past fifty cycles to be born with the gift and the Council won’t just take my word for it—especially not if they’ve already been poisoned by the lies of another. Which they must have—I can’t think of any other reason they would Invest any female as the True Incarnation without making her go through the Trials.”