Free The First Kaiaru by David Alastair Hayden Page A

millennia.”
    “My father died on his last adventure—Turesobei’s first. Until then, I had thought my father would always return. He had seemed so invincible to me.”
    “My father disappeared when I was very young. I do not remember him.”
    They sat in silence for a few moments, both staring at the gate. The Blood King had never before seemed so human to Enashoma.
    “I am sorry you must endure this,” he said. “But at least you understand now that I would never make you go through it lightly. I would not wish such torment on another.”
    That was odd, because he didn’t mind making them writhe in excruciating agony with his torture spell whenever he was the least bit peeved.
    “This is simply how life works,” the Blood King said. “My sister and I took on the same job my mother had held. We ventured out...out onto the starry seas. And eventually we too....” His voice choked, he winced, then he doubled over as if in pain.
    She reached out a hand then pulled it back. “Are you okay?”
    He righted himself, his eyes turning violet. “Of course.” He stood. “Wait here if you want. I have better things to do.”
    “Aren’t you going to start teaching me?”
    “Not yet. You need to spend time getting used to the feel of the kavaru. And you need to learn to accept that you are a bonded host.”
    “How do I do that?”
    “For starters, you should stop blocking your mind and your pathways to keep Nāa from contacting you again.”
    “How did you know I was doing that?”
    “It was easy enough to see, for someone with my powers, and given your brother's destiny, even easier to guess.” The Blood King eyed her fiercely. “You will report to me every morning at dawn to update me on your progress in communing with Nāa.”
    Without waiting for a reply, he swept away, down the steps from the Gate Platform, and out into the courtyard. Then he disappeared.
    Enashoma shivered. Turesobei might be used to dealing with the Blood King’s sudden mood shifts, but she wasn’t. And all that about his parents and sister.... He had seemed human, almost too human, and that had made her even more uncomfortable. Something within him was deeply twisted.
    Enashoma’s gaze returned to the gate. She took a deep breath. She couldn’t just sit here waiting on the platform. They would be gone for hours, perhaps days. She should try to distract herself.
    The kavaru pulsed eagerly. She really should try bonding with the stone. No, bonding wasn’t the right term. She was already a bonded host, whatever that meant. She only had to open her mind to Nāa.
    And she did need to… commune… with him to find out what he wanted, find out why he had awoken and what was so special about her. Procrastinating wouldn't help anyone. She needed to learn as much as she could as quickly as possible. If they ever got a chance to escape, as unlikely as that might seem, she wanted to do her part.

Chapter Thirteen
    T hough it seemed as if they were speeding through a tunnel of white clouds, Turesobei knew they were simply passing through the Wraithspace at incredible speed.
    Not entirely unlike the Shadowland, the Wraithspace was a ghostly realm which lay underneath, or perhaps between, all the other places in the universe. He had been trapped there briefly, though he remembered little of what had happened, except something vague about Chonda Lu and being attacked by demons. Upon escaping, he had teleported back into the Nexus and had nearly died because he arrived in a rose bush, its thorny vines woven through his body.
    Turesobei stumbled out of the tunnel onto the other side of the gate and found the others waiting on him: Motekeru and the hounds, Rig and Ohma. Awasa in her new, lightweight armor of azure and black. Zaiporo in heavy armor of burgundy and green. Iniru in her sleek black and smoke garb of partial plates and thick padding, which was as heavy as it could be without diminishing her mobility. And Kurine in the finest armor Lord