Empress Hiding Read online

  Shelvana straightened her head and her stare seemed to intensify.

  “We must get home to my Prince for now, Unisha,” Shelvana’s voice seemed to gentle somewhat as she spoke, “I would speak with you and Tempt later, yes?”

  Shelvana held out her hand to accept the bag that Unisha had offered earlier – that the guard still held in her hand at her side.

  Unisha let another easy smile peel across her face – Shelvana felt the guard’s whole entire body smile with it.

  And the marabilla relaxed fully.

  “Yes, Somdech,” Unisha handed the bag to her waiting hand, “We would like that very much.”

  Shelvana simply nodded once in acknowledgement as she took the bag and walked away to change into the clothing Unisha had given her.

  Unisha took a deep breath and walked to take her place with the remainder of the detachment on the small transport.

  Her sire had said landing a position on Prince Hondo’s Red Guard would guarantee her life would not get boring.

  Not boring, my sevgilim – not boring at all.

  That was certainly turning out to be the truth so far.

  Rafal was about to turn into the passageway that led to the Blood-borne sections when a distressingly painful howl rang out from the direction of the Commons Area, and the Prime Magistrate had to respond.

  Because Rafal knew by those sounds that it truly was a matter of life and death.

  Spurred on by his beast’s insistent thoughts and inward actions, Rafal turned and sped in that direction as another cry split the silent hallway followed by the unmistakable crack of an electric whip.

  And then a pained female cry for mercy for her offspring.

  Entering the scene at full speed, Rafal halted himself as one of the shuttle security officers reared back the sizzling chord of the electrified whip, his focus set on the snarling, medium-sized triacate backed against the wall with red eyes blazing. Another security officer laughed and cheered on his partner as he held an older female in an almost strangled hold as that same female writhed to break free, all the while screaming for mercy regarding her female offspring.

  Both Rafal and his beast wanted to unleash the entire wrath of godsfall on the two officers, but they had to carefully handle the situation so as not to attract …

  The whip cracked again and struck the triacate across the side of its face, eliciting an excruciating scream from the mother as she fell to her knees in anguish. The triacate, on the other hand, became incensed at the pain inflicted on it as it lunged forward – teeth and claws bared – at the security officer who hollered some derogatory term about a Green Killer as he pulled the whip back for another swing.

  And Rafal could stand no more.

  The Prince lunged forward at the officer with the whip – screaming loudly to simply introduce a little more chaos into the maddening situation – his actions halting the entire scene: the triacate pulled up suddenly and froze; the security officer stopped his pull on the whip immediately as he recognized his Prime Magistrate; the other officer shut his mouth, but did not relent his hold on the hysterical progenitor; and the female simply sobbed and whimpered in emotional agony.

  Her sweet young Blood-borne female offspring had suddenly come of age, and her altare was the triacate, a known predator.

  Which meant that – according to the rules of the Bohrean Empire laid down by the first Khedive – the young female was to die for simply existing.

  And the watchful crowds caught a collective breath – some of them recognizing Rafal for who he was while some only saw a large, exercised male that had halted a public Khedive-mandated execution.

  Rafal fought to keep his beast inside himself as he angrily snatched the whip handle from the officer, and literally got in the male’s face and hollered so loudly that the skin on the officer’s face moved with each syllable.

  “Black passage!”

  The officer did not even begin to understand the statement – that sentiment written plainly across his face.

  But, then again, Rafal did not expect him to respond.

  There was a deafening silence at first until, from somewhere behind him, Rafal heard what he had hoped to hear.

  “Bir, my Lord!”

  But he did not even turn around to acknowledge – the speaker of that response would know what to do. Rafal heavy-handedly brought the handle down across the officer’s face – the action leaving a slash across the officer’s cheek in the same manner that the whip had slashed the triacate just moments before. He then threw the whip against the nearest wall followed closely by the officer himself as Rafal turned to face the riled predator that had only momentarily stopped in its advance.

  Rafal stood perfectly still as he raised a single hand to distract the triacate as he let a threatening growl roll out from his beast – a much larger predator than the young, stunned, and fearful one in front of them.

  “Vids down!”

  Praise the Gods, thought Rafal at the anonymous call as, not taking his eyes off the dazed but still very dangerous animal in front of him, he turned his voice to the kneeling female progenitor who had stopped her sobbing and simply stared at him in shock – it was obvious she knew who he was.

  “Female! Pull yourself together and come stand beside me so that she sees someone she knows and trusts!”

  But the officer holding her protested.

  “But, Prime Magistrate” – the crowd seemed to almost gasp at that recognition – “It is unsafe for …”

  Rafal angrily cut him off.

  “Release her!” – Rafal let his beast growl again – the triacate’s ears noticeably withering at the sound – “Or you and yours arrive planetside as my beast’s victim!”

  It was not an empty threat as Rafal knew his beast would readily oblige.

  Again, the crowds almost gasped at the interaction as the older female quickly rose to her feet to stand beside Rafal – she was obviously very frightened of the predator that her offspring had unknowingly housed, and Rafal was not exactly a being to whom she would willingly turn for aid. In fact, it was very clear to all observers that she was frightened of Rafal because her trembling was an unmistakable physical phenomena as she tried to stand beside the Prime Magistrate as ordered.

  Rafal tried to keep his beast out of his voice, but there was only so much he could accomplish at the moment.

  “Stay behind me always. What is her and her animal’s name?”

  There were tremors in the older female’s voice as she tried to answer.

  “Sh-She is Melody, and we h-h-ha-ad n-named it” – she swallowed hard – “Shyann, but I-I-I swear we h-h-had no i-i-ide …”

  Rafal cut her off as he spoke to the triacate and took a step toward it – the move eliciting a threatening growl from the angered animal as it resumed its offensive stance and angled its head down at Rafal. The slash on its face dripped that deep green blood onto the floor as it prepared to charge.

  “Melody!”

  Rafal’s voice was filled with his beast but was gentle in the intonation.

  The animal paused – the bright, angry red of its eyes seeming to almost flicker as recognition tried to break through the shock of the altare’s presence on this plane of reality.

  “I need you to tell Shyann we will not hurt her.”

  The slight flicker disappeared quickly and was replaced with the same fiery red as the triacate tensed all over again and a threatening growl rose from its broad, muscular chest.

  The female behind Rafal began pleading with the Blood-borne predator although it was very evident that the female feared her own offspring at this moment.

  Rafal let his beast’s growl roll easily out of him – best to let the triacate know that there was another predator here that could have her for a small meal.

  “Melody,” Rafal took another couple of step
s forward as he spoke, and it was evident that Shyann became quite conflicted on her next move as he approached with his beast ringing clearly in his voice – in fact, many in the gathering crowds cowered as well, “You are safe, I promise. Call Shyann back.”

  Rafal felt the animal’s fear subside somewhat and its indecision and confusion grow as Shyann actually shuffled backward somewhat.

  Then, another voice rang out above the mumbling quiet.

  “Başka, my Lord!”

  And a large harness appeared from seemingly nowhere, finally sliding across the floor to stop just short of Rafal’s feet.

  Once again, Rafal did not acknowledge the new voice – he simply reached down and retrieved the harness, waving it clearly so that the triacate could plainly see it. Still, he let his beast dominate his voice.

  “Either you or me, Melody,” his voice was truly not harsh, only definitive, “Shyann will submit to one of us.”

  Rafal could feel the conflict rising in the animal, but instinct told him Shyann was no longer listening to Melody – the triacate was sliding quickly into survival mode because it did not trust the Prime Magistrate.

  Not that said Prime Magistrate blamed the cornered animal.

  In fact, Rafal’s beast caught the vibe of a charge about the same time as the Prime Magistrate hollered in unison with his beast to the entire room, “No weapons!”

  And the triacate rushed Rafal’s position – its talons and teeth bared in an awesome display of a dangerous predator who felt its life was threatened.

  But Rafal – the word ‘weapons’ having just cleared his mouth – caught the full forward thrust of the animal as it tackled him – his massive form not even flinching to avoid the charge. The force of the impact pushed them both backward onto the floor as the crowd parted to allow for their tangled bodies, Melody’s mother screaming her offspring’s name over and over as she fell again to her knees in anguish.

  The scuffle between the animal and Rafal – however many snarls and growls were involved – was actually a very short one – the Prime Magistrate having battled more than one predator while remaining in cognate form – many of said predators much more massive than this smaller-statured female triacate.

  Holding the fight-inexperienced Shyann in an almost strangle-hold, Rafal quickly secured the harness around the struggling and snarling animal’s neck and upper body. Wrapping his strong arms around its neck, he tightened his grip and put his mouth to its ear.

  “Calm, fiery one,” he let his beast growl in comfort, “Or I will calm you. You are safe.”

  The triacate gurgled for air in the same breath that it seemed to almost whimper in submission to Rafal. The mother tried to pull herself together and approach, but, just as the Prime Magistrate relented his hold, the animal jerked around with the intention to snap at Rafal’s arm.

  Having sensed the animal’s preparation for movement, Rafal growled threateningly at the triacate and jerked to tighten the harness – the animal’s front legs collapsing under the tension across its muscles that attached its legs to its body. Shyann yelped loudly in pain and in surprise at the Prince’s action as she gasped for breath through the tightened harness.

  Rafal leaned into the triacate’s ear again.

  “I repeat,” Rafal lowered his head to aid in the lowering of his voice’s intonation, “Or. I. Will. Calm. You.” his voice was not so comforting that time, and the animal truly whimpered in pain and fear at his side.

  Because now Rafal had a role to play.

  Standing tall with the triacate parked in now complete submission by his side, Rafal hailed the two “officers”.

  “Security!” The anger and disdain in his voice was evident in each syllable, but it was simply his cognate voice – his beast seemed mollified for now.

  The two officers approached his position cautiously, and, even in its submissive stance, the triacate growled low in its throat at their proximity. Rafal quickly jerked the harness in reprimand, although not in an overly harsh manner.

  A non-descript stranger – his face almost completely obscured by his collar and hood, pushed silently past Rafal, handing him the whip while he almost silently whispered, “Vids up, my Lord. Passage in four hurs.”

  The stranger blended immediately into the dispersing crowds and was gone.

  Seeming to completely ignore the stranger, Rafal let his anger and adrenaline have an outlet as he glanced down at the whip in his hand.

  “Public executions are forbidden in my demesne!” Rafal’s voice was brutal simply in its intonation, and Shyann shuffled and almost whinnied nervously in response.

  The officer who had used the whip – his uniform torn and the side of his face covered in a bruise where it had impacted with the floor as he slid into the wall – spoke almost defiantly.

  “Prime Magistrate,” he never actually raised his eyes to meet Rafal’s – something that angered Rafal’s beast – it abhorred cowards, “We were told that the shuttles were not technically in your de …”

  The words would never be completed – at least not this day – as Rafal reached up and, talons bared, cuffed the male across his sniveling face, driving him to his knees. The officer held his face in pain.

  It was time to re-introduce the population this day to the feared Prime Magistrate.

  Anger fueling his every breath, Rafal reached for the other officer’s uniform collar and practically lifted him off the ground to get in his face.

  “And who told you such saçmalık, safdil?!”

  Even the triacate tried to cower away from Rafal’s anger, but the Prince held firm to the harness as well as to the officer.

  “Our last two visits from the Khedive’s Perse Inspector were very clear, Prime Magistrate,” his voice trembled as he grasped Rafal’s wrist.

  Rafal took only a moment to release the groveling man – both he and his beast had witnessed the officer enjoying the entire spectacle so, they held no sympathy for him as he fell face-first onto the hard floor.

  “Then I suggest you both talk to the Perse Inspector about finding another job, creatures,” Rafal paused and let his beast back into his voice as he yanked their access badges from their uniforms, “Because neither of you will work in my demesne again,” he paused as he motioned for Shyann’s female progenitor to follow, “And that includes all public shuttle service between Bohrea Cardinal and the ICT.”

  He would deal with the Perse Inspector issue later.

  As they exited the Commons Area, Rafal spoke as gently as he could manage at present to the older female.

  “Do you have other offspring?”

  The female tried to politely keep her distance yet still appear to walk alongside her Prime Magistrate as had been indicated to her by him.

  “She is all that I have, Prime Magistrate,” she tried to keep her voice from breaking like her heart as she kept glancing down at the triacate, “And now I will not ha …”

  “Retrieve both of your belongings immediately,” Rafal stopped suddenly and turned into the female, letting his size be a major intimidating factor in this interchange, “You are to speak to and contact no one, do you understand?”

  The female’s knees nearly gave out under her as her eyes grew wide, and she nearly fell apart.

  “By the Makers,” her voice trembled uncontrollably, “You would execute us bo …”

  Rafal growled aggravatedly at the sniveling, but the triacate nuzzled her progenitor’s leg in an attempt to comfort – obviously the animal felt nothing threatening about its Prime Magistrate.

  “Execution requires no belongings, female!” The words were a whispered command with much of that deep animalistic sound to it – the beast, too, was ready to be finished with this responsibility and hold Chiyoto – its patience running thin, “Now go!”

  The female glanced down at the triacate who, this time, licked her progenit
or’s hand. A small, trembling smile almost breached the female’s tear-streaked face as she raised her eyes for the first time to meet those of her Prime Magistrate.

  Rafal only jerked his head to indicate that she needed to leave quickly, but the female’s entire demeanor relaxed as she bowed deeply, “Straight away, my Lord!”

  Rafal just shook his head as he turned to open the door to the Security office.

  “Found those animal instincts, yes, genç?” he whispered almost chidingly to the animal on the harness.

  To which the young animal simply rubbed her uninjured cheek firmly against Rafal’s thigh.

  But as he walked into the security office, his entire demeanor changed once again.

  The officer behind the desk quickly rose to attention when he caught sight of Rafal who jerked his head downward toward the triacate.

  “An isolated holding cell immediately,” Rafal demanded as he slightly jerked the triacate’s harness – the triacate growling low but not threateningly.

  The officer could not get from behind the desk fast enough.

  “Yes, Prime Magistrate!”

  The officer walked to the wall and palmed a secbox to enter his id-code. Removing one of the pass keys from the box, he made haste past Rafal – commenting under his breath about the Green killer at the Prince’s side – to the nearest cell with a glowing yellow bar above it to indicate that it was empty.

  Holding the door for the Prime Magistrate, the officer waited just until Rafal had passed through and then he returned to his desk – the presence of the triacate obviously getting to either him or his beast.

  Rafal led the triacate near to the bed and lifted the thin blanket from it. He draped the blanket gently over the animal as he whispered in a barely audible voice.

  “Melody, the harness will fall with your presence,” Rafal’s voice was almost soothing as he firmly yet carefully grasped the scruff of the triacate’s neck, “Iyilik meleği arrives soon – give it to him,” Rafal turned away from her to depart, “Perhaps we meet again someday, proud one.”

  And, before the triacate could turn to look at her Prime Magistrate, the door latched and he was gone.