Page 40 of Alien Legacy

Another wave of one of his fingers and a video began.

Jelena had seen stills of sub-Prince Murduk, but this 3D rendering was alarmingly real. As if she was there on the balcony watching the Royal commit murder in front of the Akurn population. When Murduk had Abiditan’s father and another warlord thrown over the twelve-story railing, she gasped along with everyone in the room.

“Father!” Abiditan jumped from his chair and reached to the monitor as if he could stop what happened.

His anguished cry broke her heart.

He clenched a fist when the video closed. “That dhasa is going to pay.” His growl was harsh and low.

Katsuki grabbed his arm and murmured for him to sit.

He glared at her as she rubbed his forearm with soothing words. With his lips pressed into a thin line, he sat.

Katsuki wrapped her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder.

“And where is Mother?”

“I’m afraid she passed soon after you left.”

Abiditan slumped as if the air left his body. “And what of our sister, Homa?”

Warad-Mushtal rubbed his eyes. “I encouraged her to enter the temple of the Goddess Namatar. I believed she’d be safe there.” His reddened gaze settled on Abiditan. “It turns out I was wrong. Sub-Prince Murduk declared the temple property of the monarchy and has ordered all priestesses to be entered in a lottery for the nobles to claim. I haven’t seen her since then. The only good thing is the lottery won’t take place until Sychar’s execution. We may still have time to find her.”

“Is she housed at the same place Sychar is?”

Zamush’s raspy voice startled her. She’d almost forgotten he was there, since he was so quiet and rarely moved.

Warad-Mushtal sighed and sat back. “I don’t know. None of our informants within the palace have been able to uncover her whereabouts.”

The tendons in Abiditan’s thick neck flexed. “We can’t allow her to be a pawn in Murduk’s illegal game.”

“I agree. We will discuss all this and more when the WOTA leaders arrive here in the morning.”

His man, Bairam, stood at the threshold and nodded.

“Until then, we’ll eat and catch up. Then you and your friends can settle into the quarters I’ve assigned to you. When the morning comes, we’ll need clear heads.”

Chapter Seven

~Zamush~

Morning couldn’t come soon enough for Zamush. He’d spent the night tossing and turning, images of Jelena taunting him. It was a temptation to join her in a Dreamwalk like he’d planned, but he decided against it. They both needed to rest for a clear head in the morning. Too bad his racing mind hadn’t cooperated. With groggy eyes, he rolled to the edge of the bed and rubbed his face.

A high ping made him look up.

The room’s domestic droid flickered on and rose. “Good morning, esteemed guest. Your personal effects are available for you there.” The Frisbee-shaped device zoomed to the far side of the room where a drawer extended from the wall. “The meeting will commence in sixty clicks. I will lead you there when you are ready. If you have need of me before then, my access word is Guruvash23.” The saucer-shaped metal device lowered to the floor and powered off.

Not sure what sixty clicks meant, but that should give him enough time to take care of personal business. Closing his eyes, he opened his senses to see if he could telepathically connect with his brother Raiden. Nothing. Not sure if it was the distance that blocked him, or if Raiden was blocked. He frowned at both scenarios.

With a grimace, he opened his eyes and let the effort go. There had to be another way to connect with his family. He could use the communication center here on the estate or have Qhasheik show him where it was on the Nergal.

Pushing the idea to the back of his mind, Zamush stood and stretched before heading to the cleansing chamber to get ready.

He finished buckling his Warlock Moto boots just as the domestic drone announced it was time to leave. Donning his black-leather, gothic trench coat, he followed the droid through a maze of hallways to an elevator.

Several floors down, they journeyed through a couple more twists and turns until they arrived at a conference room.

Damn place was enormous and could easily hold twenty people in decadent comfort. He grunted. Good thing his brother Michael wasn’t here. The man would get lost after two steps from his room. He hoped his brother had gotten his psychic powers back.

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