Free Collision: The Battle for Darracia - Book 2 (The Darracia Saga) by Michael Phillip Cash

every face for the familiar one so dear to him. He saw panicked people, filthy and shocked, their homes destroyed. “How many people were hurt?” There had been a major mudslide with many casualties. V’sair wanted to organize relief efforts.
    “The coronation, Sire,” Swart appealed.
    “Will wait. What happened on the hills of Aqin?”
    “It’s all this rain. The bottom dwellers have been flooded out of the illegal settlements. We have set up refugee camps in the Plains of Dawid.”
    “How do you expect me to think about things like coronations when my people suffer?” V’sair rounded on General Swart.
    “How can you call them your people when you haven’t been properly crowned!” Swart stood angrily. “Perhaps all this is a sign from the Elements.”
    “What kind of sign?” V’sair’s back went rigid as he inquired quietly.
    “I meant nothing, Your Highness. I am only looking for the good of the monarchy.” Swart leaned closer to V’sair. “Walk with me, Sire.”
    V’sair stood and strolled the chamber next to his grand mestor, their feet echoing off the slick floor.
    The general waited until they had passed a distance to give them privacy. “I have information.”
    “Yes?” V’sair looked at him intently.
    “The interrogations of the assassins have been troubling.” Swart frowned.
    “What have you discovered?”
    Swart looked around the room, his eyes darting to every dark corner. “I am taking every precaution for your safety. But, Sire, I am not happy…I feel that we are missing something.”
    “What, General? You did an excellent job. Youintercepted them before anything happened.” V’sair placed his hand on the general’s stooped shoulders. “I know I am a sore trial to you, my lord general, but, like my father before me, I trust you with my life.”
    “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
    “You used to call me V’sair.”
    “I am worried, my…V’sair. Although they have talked, I suspect they know someone close to you is involved. I am nervous.”
    V’sair shrugged his shoulders. “I feel secure in your hands. But please, General, make sure my mother is safe.”
    “I have doubled the guards, on you both.”
    V’sair placed a trusting hand on his shoulder. “I knew I could depend on you.”
    “But, Sire, I would feel better if we had the coronation. It would give you legitimacy as the king.Besides, all the people love the pageantry.”
    “Well then use funds for all this pageantry to get supplies to the ones suffering down there.” He pointed a finger to the grayness outside. He watched the general shake his head and go back to the large, stone conference table where the rest of his counsel argued. Walking slowly to the window, he was oblivious to the discussions taking place behind him. He glanced through the gloom, wondering if Tulani was safe. Warm, dry, and safe.
    He didn’t want to be crowned. It felt so final, as though his father was really gone. He stared at his reflection in the window, and the room receded as mist hovering changing shapes over his head. It spangled the air, filling it with the smell of ozone, and his hair went static, rising off his scalp. All sound receded as he watched the image of his father materialize in the window. The face floated, becoming fuzzy, indistinct. It became more clear as a familiar body took shape next to V’sair. The reflection smiled sweetly, the eyes lit withincandescence. Drakko was healthy and whole, taller than V’sair. The boy rubbed his eyes, afraid to blink lest the apparition disappear. He glanced to his advisors, noting them locked in heated comments, then looked back at the specter. A smile spread across his father’s generous mouth. He nodded to his son, and V’sair felt tears sting behind his eyes. Pressure landed on the young man’s shoulders; V’sair touched the spot, knowing without a doubt his father had just squeezed him affectionately. Strong hands reached up, lifting the crown from his own dark head to