Descended Part 1: Queen of the Universe? Who me? Read online

  Chapter Four

  Kristoff

  I don’t know what time I woke—sometime after dawn, I think. There was a warm, golden light pouring in through the nearby window which was quite different from the pinkish light of Femme One. The Majoran solar system has a red giant star at its center so even at noon, our day looks much like an Earth sunset.

  I would have gone to look out the window but when I tried, I found that someone had tied my wrists and ankles to the strange, metal-framed sleeping platform I was on. Not only that, but they had taken my armor and sword. I was wearing a thin, short shift-type garment which ended well above my knees, probably because it had been sewn for one of the inhabitants of Earth.

  I had been on the small green and blue planet for a number of days and the first thing I had noticed was how small they all were here. They might well be Pure Ones, with rare DNA, but it didn’t seem to have done them any good—at least none that I could tell. Even the new Incarnation of the Goddess-Empress, whom I had been watching over, was smaller than her predecessors. Though tall for an Earth female, she would still only come half-way up to my shoulder if we stood side by side.

  The Goddess-Empress! Charlotte Walker!

  Suddenly, my activities of the night before came back in a flood. I had been watching over Charlotte, waiting to reveal myself until I could first identify the threat I was certain was stalking her. Why was I certain? Because of the Court politics on Femme One. There was always someone seeking to gain power and the Ascension of a new Empress to the throne was a perfect time to gain it.

  The moment the news spread that the old Goddess-Empress, Sundalla the 999th, had Ascended to the Heavens, the race had begun to find and crown her new Incarnation. Of course, there could be only one true Goddess-Empress, but that wouldn’t stop ruthless power mongers like Prince Morbain—a male I particularly loathed—from trying to put their own imposters on the throne. Morbain and others like him would seek to put a weak, easily controlled female in the place of ultimate power—that way they could rule through her and twist the galaxy to their own will.

  Sure enough, someone—probably Morbain—had sent an assassin-droid after Charlotte. I had been waiting, hidden by Nicean stealth technology that essentially rendered me invisible, and watching the entrance to her place of work where she was apparently a Healer. From my vantage point, I had seen the droid appear, stepping from mid-air to make a grab for a young male wearing the same long white coat many of the attendants at this House of Healing wore. So, apparently I wasn’t the only one with stealth tech—it was an unwelcome surprise but good to know.

  I had grabbed for the droid—which was faceless and silver at the time—and kept it from taking its intended victim. Who just happened to be the same male that had insulted the new Empress in my presence later that night. The one I had felt compelled to punish for his insolence. At the time, however, I only knew I had to stop the assassin from finding its target.

  I knew what the droid was trying to do—the moment it snatched some helpless, unsuspecting idiot, it could suck out their life-force and assume their identity. And by choosing someone who was already emotionally close to Charlotte Walker—someone she considered harmless and not a threat—it could kill her quickly and easily, the moment it got her alone.

  I had dragged the struggling droid around to the abandoned side of the building, trying to disable it. But the sleek, silver killing machine had another surprise for me—nano-tech.

  My armor is incredibly strong—made of the best alloys the galaxy can produce. But it’s not meant to repel a weapon so small it can seep through any chink or crevice. As I struggled with the droid, I felt them working on me—thousands, perhaps millions, burrowing into my skin to make the long, jagged wound which Charlotte had sewn up last night.

  Though I fought with all my might, the nanites had taken me down, ripping into my flesh, seeping inwards to attack my vital organs. In fact, I had no doubt that without the transfusion of sacred blood the new Empress had given me, I would have died of their damage.

  The blood—why had she given me her blood? My mind swirled with the memory of her essence entering my body. It was forbidden for any save the Consort candidates to have the Empress’s own blood, and even they only imbibed a tiny bit of it during the Culling Ceremony. To have it pumped directly into my veins—it was worse than wrong—it was sacrilege.

  I had tried to stop it but Charlotte had ordered me to allow the transfusion to go on. Why? Was it simply to save my life—the life of a male she had never even met before? If so, maybe she truly was worthy of my devotion, as my old mistress, Sundalla the 999th had insisted she would be.

  No. I hardened my heart against such a thought. Though our relationship had never been physical, I had loved and served my old mistress with my whole being. I had promised to protect her successor but I knew I could never give myself as wholly to another mistress as I had to Sundalla the 999th. Most probably, Charlotte Walker had given me her blood because she had no idea of the consequences of her actions.

  As she had no idea that an assassin-droid was stalking her, intent on taking her life before she could ascend to the throne.

  It shall not happen! I swore to myself. Charlotte Walker was the true incarnation of the Goddess-Empress—I knew it because I had the Vision—the ability to see the gorgeously-hued rainbow aura that radiated from her like a cloak of pure energy. But the Vision was rare—in fact, I might well be the only male with the gift left in the Majoran system. Which meant that Charlotte would have to pass several tests to prove herself as the true Incarnation, since I doubted the Council would take my word alone on such an important matter.

  But she had to survive the inevitable assassination attempts first—and how could she survive them without me to protect her?

  I knew what victim the assassin droid had taken—the older male with stooped shoulders and graying hair. He didn’t look threatening in any way but I had seen the gleam of silver deep in his eyes when he looked at Charlotte…I had to get to her before the droid did.

  If it hadn’t gotten to her already.

  No—can’t think like that. Have to get out of here and find her!

  I tugged experimentally at the soft but strong restraints that bound me to the metal bed. I could tell that they would hold a lesser male easily—probably even a large Earth male. But I am Majoran—the Captain of the Imperial Guards. No restraints could hold me from honoring and protecting my new Empress. Though my heart had been given to my old mistress, still my loyalty belonged to her new Incarnation.

  I tugged again but the restraints were at the wrong angle for ripping. Soon I concluded that it would be easier to tear away the part of the bed I was bound to. Of course, I didn’t know how much noise it would make or when someone might come into my room. I would have to be quick—I couldn’t risk getting injected with another dose of sleeping medication.

  Gripping the railing with my right hand, I gave a quick, hard jerk. There was a sound like tearing metal and the entire long bar came off in my hand. Then I was able to reach across my body and untie my other wrist. The process was somewhat awkward because I was still tied to the metal railing, even if it was free of the sleeping platform, but I managed.

  I had gotten myself free of both wrist restraints and one ankle restraint as well, when I heard voices outside my door.

  “…haven’t got a bed for him yet, so we put him in here and just left him on the gurney,” one—an older sounding female said. “He’s supposed to go to the psych ward and be evaluated.”

  “Why?” asked the other—a lighter, younger female voice.

  “Apparently he came in dressed in a Roman gladiator outfit with a huge sword and everything.”

  My ears perked up at that, even as I worked fast to get the last restraint untied. My armor had my stealth tech and weapons, as well as the remote that would call a shuttle from my ship, which was orbiting invisibly around the Earth’s moon. I needed it if I was ever going to get the new Empress