Conduit - M J Marlow (best short books to read txt) 📗

I reminded him that we had human ‘company’ and he shrugged. He didn’t care. He would come meet my friends. I looked at his wings and he smiled. I watched as they folded down behind his back and vanished. I couldn’t believe it. How was it possible to make wings disappear? I felt his back and they were still there. I focused my mind harder and they reappeared. “A little glamour,” Everd shrugged. “To anyone whose mind is weaker than ours, they will appear not to be there.” He held his arm out to me. “You may introduce me as one of the brothers whose family is the caretaker of your castle.” I was more than happy to comply. It would be interesting to see how the twins took to Everd. They certainly shared a sense of fun. I introduced them to each other and the Abbott pulled me aside. I told him Everd had asked and he did not look pleased. Obviously my new friend was not yet mature enough for the others to think of him as more than a child himself. I would have to ask about that, I decided. We rejoined the party and I watched as the twins not only took to Everd; but made him an honorary brother in our family. There was a knock on the door and Brother Dominic stepped in. He bowed his head to me. “Forgive the intrusion, Highness,” he said with a frown, “but the archaeologists have found something they believe might interest you. It belonged to your ancestress, Queen Isabella.” We left the Abbott’s office and trooped down to the campsite. Henri turned as we entered and he bowed his head to me. I did not trust the man. He had been supplying women to the warriors of the Dyhazri from among his research students. I could see Everd’s tight smile and knew he shared my anger. “Your Highness,” he smiled. “We have found a casket of jewelry we believe belonged to your ancestress.” He had a beautifully carved medieval casket brought forward and opened it. I ran my hand along the carving and I knew it was so. I could feel her through the wood. “Her husband had it commissioned for her as a wedding gift,” I smiled as I stroked the surface. I looked at the jewelry. “She prized the casket more than the things it held.” “You know your ancestress well, Your Majesty.” “I have learned a lot since the Abbott started sharing the history with me, Professor,” I told him. “It is all quite lovely. I shall leave it to you to document them.” “You’d trust us with your ancestral treasure, Your Highness?” “You are a well-respected researcher, Professor,” I told him bluntly. “You have no need to steal from me. But if you do, I hope the pieces find their way to a museum where they can be enjoyed and not to some private collector who will hide them away.” “She’s become quite strange since she arrived here,” one of the girls said as she watched me. Jonas’ ears perked up. “Is she really content to live the rest of her life in this valley?” “The royal family has an obligation to the valley,” one of the monks who had volunteered to help keep watch on the archaeology site nodded from where he was washing an artifact. “There is no need for her to leave.” “How could she not want to leave?” Hannah frowned. “The valley is very well organized, but there is a whole world out there to discover. And she’s so young. She must want to explore.” “I assure you,” the monk hid his smile, “our young princess will not be isolated here.” He nodded towards the castle that was just visible through the misty lake. “Unlike our monastery, the castle is fully ‘wired’?” I was on the shore of the lake as the sun set behind the mountains to the west, my bare feet in the chill waters. I enjoyed this time of day, when the silence was just beginning to fall. The Sylenni were busy with their tasks and I was enjoying a little solitude. I had asked Dovid to leave me on the shore and he had done so. I was within call of the males if I needed them. I heard a noise and turned to see Jonas and Jason coming towards me. The looks on their faces were stern and I knew they had heard or seen something they shouldn’t have. “Is it true?” Jason demanded as he came to my side. “They really expect you to stay here forever?” Jonas exclaimed; his fists clenched. “They have asked me to stay for a while,” I told them both. “They want to rebuild the village and that means I have to sign contracts and other legal documents.” I looked up at them for understanding. “It will be easier if I am here.” “But what about us and the other kids, Dulcie?” Jason asked. “We’re your family. We need you, too.” “You have Gramps,” I said to him. “These people need my help, guys…” I felt a familiar numbness that I now associated with Dyhazri warriors and shot a warning to the princes. I looked at the twins anxiously. They could not be allowed to be involved in this struggle. They had to be protected from what I was slowly beginning to understand was happening among the Sylenni people. “You have to leave, guys. Please…” I felt something strike my arm and looked down at a dart. My mind was spinning in confusion. “Run!” I cried as I fell to my knees. “No,” I shoved them away weakly as they tried to help me up. “You have to go!” The twins watched me collapse and reached out to help me up. Jonas pulled back as another dart hit near his hand and turned to see two large square blurs coming towards us. He looked around for something to defend me with and crouched down to pick up a rock, as another dart shot out. Jason was knocked to the ground and darkness took him over as he struck. When he came to, I was gone. The darts that had not hit him were gone as well. Dovid was getting out of the boat. He yanked Jonas and Jason up on their feet and saw the attack. “Get back to the dig site,” he told the twins firmly, “and stay there. You can do nothing to help Dulcie right now.” “Who took her?” “You do not need to know,” Dovid snapped. He sent word to the other males and ran for the monastery. “Go away, boys!” he snarled as the twins followed. “This is not…” he froze as he saw where they had taken me. He turned to the boys. “Take the others and head for the pass. We are under attack.” “And your monks are going to fight?” “Our monks are trained to fight,” Dovid nodded. “They know what is at stake if we do not free Dulcie from these intruders. You do not.” He could see that they boys were not listening. “Someone needs to warn the camp, or they will be next!” He shoved the boys away. “Go!” The twins could see the man was serious. They took off towards the camp and skidded to a halt as they saw several of the dark blurs there already. They found a place to hide and watched as the people in the camp were taken prisoner. The one in obvious charge slugged one of his ‘men’ as he started to bite one of the boys. “No!” he hissed. “Our scientists want them as lab rats. We must learn of this race if we are to subjugate them properly.” He saw that one of the girls had already been bitten. He yanked Samantha to him and saw her blank expression. “Pretty girl,” he crooned as he ran his fingers along her jaw line. She looked up at him expectantly. “You will do what I want, won’t you?” Samantha nodded and he smiled. He handed her a knife. “Kill that one,” he nodded towards the largest of the boys. “Drive the dagger into his throat.” Jason bit his lip to keep from crying as Samantha did exactly as she had been told. “It would appear this race is susceptible to our venom. They become quite compliant.” He nodded to his men. “One bite to control then, not to damage.” He nodded as it was done. “Come with us, apes. We will join the rest of the strike team.” The twins waited until the invaders were past and then fell in with the captives. They did not note that two more boys had joined them; their minds were chained and they had to obey their captors. The twins were horrified. An alien species had invaded this valley and the royal family’s caretakers knew of their existence. They followed the others as they were herded into the main hall in the monastery. They saw me secured to a pillar in a netting material. One of the invaders, his uniform embellishment declaring him of a high rank, was sitting on a throne. His smile widened as the alien who had taken the camp made his report. “Indeed!” He looked at them hungrily. “So the apes become our abject slaves when we mark them. This is wonderful.” He pointed to Hannah. “Come here, pretty ape.” Hannah did so. He ripped her blouse open and dug his claws into her breast. She whimpered in pain but she did not fight. “They sing well for a primate race. I think we are going to enjoy ourselves on this world.” He stroked Hannah’s hair. “By the time rescue arrives, if it arrives, we will be kings here.” “What of the princes?” “We have their abomination,” the leader nodded towards me. “They will not do anything to cause harm to befall her.” He smiled. “Build a pretty cage for our little guest.” He looked around. “Hang it from that hook in the corner where she can watch us play.” The twins watched as the lizard brought out some bars of metal and placed a box on top. The bars began to glow and then they formed a cage. They were astounded, and hid it as well as they could. The lizards freed me from the netting and shoved me into the cage. Before they closed the door, they fashioned a manacle and a chain and fastened the manacle around my ankle. The other end of the chain was melted to a ring fastened to the side of the throne after being run through another ring soldered to the arm of the throne. The leader pulled on the chain and I was yanked down. I hit the floor on a roll to avoid damage and the twins were relieved. “Come, pretty one,” the leader laughed as I fought his pull. “Don’t fight me. I am not going to hurt you.” He held out his hand. “I merely wish to give you a gift.” One of the men handed him a coil of what looked like wire. He got me down and pressed the end to my neck. I could feel it circling my throat and shuddered as I felt something piercing into my larynx. “There we go. Your voice is now mine to play with.” He pulled me into his lap and ran his hand along the collar. “Tell me, pretty one,” he said as he looked into my eyes; “how old you are.” “17,” I replied. “A mere fledgling then,” the alien smiled. He raised my arms and noted the markings on them. “Not yet ready to mate.” He cupped my breast and I slapped him. “With the usual spirit one associates with an adolescent.” He shoved me off his lap. “We shall have to beat that out of you, pretty. Go back to your cage and remain