1 THE BIRTH
ROYAL PALACE, CITY OF SILVER LIGHT, COUNTRY OF JAIPAR, PLANET BORKO
Prince Everette held his newborn son close, taking comfort in his warmth and breathing in his sweet smell. Leaning against the stone wall, exhaustion overtook him. Morisa’s labor had been long and difficult, and he’d stayed at her side all night.
Outside the window, the predawn sky was lit in vibrant laser light designs, announcing the birth of their child, the future king of Jaipar. The line of succession was secure for years to come—a cause for rejoicing in these uncertain times with the threat of interplanetary war only a whisper away.
Soft footsteps caused him to turn toward the door as his sister, Princess Fawniteen, entered the circular room.
“Fawn, you’re still awake. I thought everyone went to bed after the baby was born.”
“I was about to when one of the servants told me Morisa’s mother, Queen Haleh Farha, has arrived from Encore and is waiting to be received. No one knew where you were, but I thought you might have come here. The tower is a great place to watch the laser light show.”
Everette drew in a shaky breath. “Morisa could die.”
“What?”
“All at once her heart rate plummeted and she lost conscious- ness.” His throat constricted and he could barely continue. “They wouldn’t let me stay with her.”
Fawn placed her hand on his arm. “Oh Everette, I’m so sorry, but I’m sure she’ll be all right. She’s young and strong.”
“Dr. Tenzing doesn’t know what’s wrong with her.”
“Her mother’s a priestess and a healer. She’ll know what to do.”
“I don’t want that woman anywhere near Morisa and our baby. If
Morisa hadn’t used her accursed reishe power during her pregnancy, her life wouldn’t be at risk.”
Fawn frowned. “That wasn’t Haleh Farah’s fault.”
“Yes, it was. She’s the one who gave Morisa to the monastery as a small child to hone her reishe power.”
“There’s danger in using psychic forces, but Anayaism is still a valid religious teaching. There are many paths to God.”
“You wouldn’t say that if you’d visited the Anaya monastery. They’re into power and control, instead of love and service as Master Michio teaches.”
She tightened her grip on his arm. “You’ve never spoken of your time there.”
“I’d rather not talk about it. Morisa’s finally broken the head priestess’s hold on her, and the last thing I want is for Siljana to regain her influence and brainwash Morisa again.”
“Haleh Farah might be able to help Morisa without involving Siljana. You can’t refuse to let her see her daughter and grandson.”
He sighed deeply. “I suppose you’re right. Haleh Farha under- stands the danger of using reishe power.”
When they reached the guest receiving room, Everette discovered several priestesses from the temple of Anaya accompanied Morisa’s mother. They all wore the violet robes of their order. Reishe power pulsed in the room with intense energy like a brewing storm. A chill of foreboding shot through him.
Queen Haleh Farah’s commanding presence filled the room. Morisa had inherited her high cheekbones, black hair with blue highlights, and violet-blue eyes from this woman. But the queen’s stern beauty contrasted with Morisa’s whose fresh face was as lovely as a rose on a spring day.
The queen’s eyes met Everette’s, then lowered to the baby. “Let me see him. He has the gift. I felt it as soon as you carried him into the room.”
Everette held his son protectively against his shoulder. Is it possible my son has reishe power? It was a terrible idea to bring him here. The queen will want to raise him at the monastery if he does. “You’re not welcome here.”
“There’s no time for this. He might need medical treatment— Morisa certainly does.”
“How do you know?”
“I can feel her life force weakening.”
“Jaipar’s best doctors are taking care of her. We don’t want your help.”
Haleh Farah’s eyes narrowed and energy swirled around her. Everette felt a sharp, stabbing pain sear into his temples and threw up an inner shield of light to block her attack.
Fawn moaned and clutched her head. “Stop it. Please. There’s no need for force. Everette, let her see her grandchild. She won’t harm him and Morisa needs her help.”
The pain faded and he didn’t protest when Fawn lifted the infant from his arms and loosened his blankets.
Haleh Farha put her hand on her throat when she saw the child’s pure violet eyes and blue-streaked black hair. “He’s a throwback. One of the Firstpeople.” She took the child from Fawn and lifted him into the air so the other priestesses could see him.
A flood of energy pulsed from the child to the people in the room and the priestesses bowed in reverence.
I am Chu-ko, he communicated telepathically in the ancient language of the Firstpeople. I’ve returned to Borko.
A shiver ran down Everette’s spine. From the reaction of the priestesses, he knew everyone in the room had also heard his son’s telepathic message.
A slight priestess stepped forward and pushed off her hood to reveal her face.
“Siljana, what are you doing here?” Everette asked. Though an old woman with white hair and deep wrinkles, Siljana was the Head Priestess and the strongest of the priestesses—and the most fanatical and dangerous.
“Chu-ko has returned with his full abilities,” Siljana said ignoring his question. “We must perform the birth rite.” Energy radiated from her and the huge crystal dangling from her neck.
Everette’s heart jumped to his throat. “No! None of your rites.”
Haleh Farha stopped him with a sharp glance. “You don’t under- stand the importance of Chu-ko coming back to us, nor do you know how much danger he’s in. His body is too sensitive for this world. He’ll die if we don’t tend to him.” The other priestesses closed in. Their psychic power struck him with a painful, burning force.
Everette’s head pounded and his stomach hurt from the psychic attack. Fawn whimpered and her legs gave out. He grabbed her before she hit the floor, holding her upright while he reinforced his inner shield and expanded it to protect his sister.
Everette glared at the queen. “I’ll call the guards if you don’t stop at once.”
She raised her hand and the attack stopped. Everette helped his dazed sister sit on the cushioned seat of the bay window, then took a deep breath and faced Haleh Farha. “You’re not at the monastery where you can abuse your authority without consequences. Here it’s considered an act of treason to harm members of the royal family.”
“There’s no time to try to persuade you. My daughter and grand- child are in mortal danger. Chu-Ko wouldn’t be born with this much reishe power unless Morisa used it while she was pregnant. What happened?”
“It’s not your concern; I don’t want your help.”
“Don’t be a fool. You don’t want it but you need it. If you love Morisa and your son, you’ll help me save them. I need to know what happened so I can heal them.”
Everette stared at his son, torn and uncertain. He swallowed. “Morisa used reishe power to fight Samrat Redon.”
The queen jerked back. “She fought the most powerful of the Imperial sorcerers? How did this come to pass?”
“She and Baymond flew to planet Orgda and were attacked by Samrat Redon and his men. She used her abilities to destroy his headquarters and escape.”
Everette paused, waiting for the queen’s answer. He had to handle the situation diplomatically. The queen’s country was a powerful ally to his.
Haleh Farha frowned. “Your story leaves a lot out, but you’ve answered my question. When she fought Redon, she would have had to open herself to the full force of reishe power. She’ll die if you don’t allow us to treat her. Where is she?”
Everette’s stomach twisted into a knot. Every instinct warns me to protect Morisa from the priestesses. “She is being tended by Dr. Tenzing. You can see her when she’s better. Hand me my son.”
“No, we must attend to him too.”
Siljana stepped forward, glowering at him. “Order Dr. Tenzing to turn Morisa’s care over to us or you will lose her to the Angel of Death before the day is over.”
Everette broke into a sweat as the situation slipped from his hands. He glanced at Fawn and saw her expression was vacant. They’d robbed her of her willpower. Heat flushed through his body; he turned back to Siljana. “What have you done to Fawn?”
“The same as we will do to you if you don’t give your consent for us to help them. Chu-ko is a link between our two countries and is one of the Firstpeople reincarnated. We want him and Morisa to live. Let us attend to them. We’ve mastered the healing arts and under- stand the effects of using too much energy. Your doctors can’t save them.”
Everette turned to Morisa’s mother. He trusted her more than The Head Priestess. “The child appears healthy. What danger is he in?”
“When the Firstpeople came to your planet, most of their babies died during their first year of life. Their home planet exists on a higher vibratory frequency than this planet, and they were used to breathing air containing more oxygen. If Chu-ko’s body is like those babies, he will have trouble breathing. Moreover, he is open psychi- cally. He doesn’t know how to shield himself from the energies, emotions, and thought forms of everyone at the palace and is being bombarded by them. We’ll teach him how to shield himself and help him get used to the air here.”
“What can you do for Morisa?”
“She suffers from too much psychic energy flowing through her. It’s burning her inwardly and will kill her if we don’t help her. While she carried Chu-ko, his life energy kept the power from being too strong. Now that he’s no longer in her womb, where his cells mingled and danced with hers, she’s weakening rapidly.”
Fear pulsed through Everette. “I’ll take you to her.” He glanced at his son who was content in the queen’s arm, then strode out of the room. He led the priestesses to the sitting area of the royal bedchamber.
He paused outside the door leading into the inner sleeping room. “I’d best speak to Dr. Tenzing privately.”
Inside the room, four doctors were gathered around the bed. Everette hurried over, concerned for Morisa who appeared to be asleep and wore an oxygen mask. Sweat made strands of her dark hair curl around her red, fevered cheeks. Soft orange light shone from a lamp next to the bed and soothing music filled the room. Jaiparian doctors used light and music to heal people of his race on a deep cellular level, but perhaps Morisa’s body was different. She needed much more.
“Dr. Tenzing,” he said.
The stoop-shouldered old man turned to him with a questioning frown. “What is it?”
“Morisa’s mother has arrived. Would you and the other doctors please wait in the sitting room while she examines Morisa?”
“You’re distraught, dear boy. You’ve gone too long without sleep. Let me give you medicine to calm your nerves so you can rest. Princess Morisa’s dangerously ill. We need to keep treating her.”
“Queen Haleh Farha’s a healer and is here with her priestesses. They’ll take over Morisa’s care.”
Tenzing ran his finger through his white hair. “They abuse the spiritual laws. Will you give your helpless wife to them? They’ll try to make her one of them again. She’s been happy and has grown so much living at the palace these last months, free from their control.”
“We don’t understand their abilities.” Everette’s stomach twisted. “I can’t let Morisa and our baby die because I fear something I don’t understand. Morisa’s body is shutting down because she used enor- mous amounts of psychic energy while pregnant. Do you know how to save her? Do you know how to heal her inner body as well as her physical body? Have you ever treated someone of the Firstpeople race?”
“No illness is physical alone. All diseases start with thoughts and emotions. Your wife used sorcery. She is paying the price. We’ll do what we can to heal her without the use of unnatural forces.”
“Reishe powers are unnatural to us but not to the priestesses. They descended from a race of people from a different planet who were born with these talents. Please don’t fight me in this and leave without further objections. I want my wife and child to live.”
A worried frown creased his brow, then Dr. Tenzing nodded. “We’ll wait in the sitting room. Call if you need us. This isn’t over. I’ll talk to your parents when they awaken and to Master Michio when he comes to see the royal child and give his blessing.”
“I’m glad he’s coming.” He felt lighter knowing Master Michio would be there soon and treasured his guidance as the spiritual leader of the Secret Teachings.
Everette sat on the edge of the bed and clasped his wife’s hand. “Don’t leave me, Morisa.” Her hand was hot in his and he sensed she wasn’t there. Had she already left her body for the inner worlds? Would she return? Could the priestesses save her or were they too late?
He kissed her forehead. “Forgive me, love. I wish I didn’t have to put you in their hands. I fear Tenzing is right. They’ll try to control you.”
Haleh Farha, Siljana, and four other priestesses entered the room, and Haleh Farha rushed to Morisa’s bedside. She put her hand on her daughter’s forehead and her brow wrinkled with concern. “Everette, please leave.”
“I want to stay with Morisa.”
“It’s better if we treat her alone.”
“I want to be here in case she … in case she gets worse.”
“If she becomes worse and I don’t think we can heal her, I’ll call for you so you can say goodbye.”
He took a deep breath to calm himself then nodded. The baby was asleep in Haleh Farha’s arms and she placed him gently in the cradle. “Go, we’ll do all we can to save them both.”
Everette left the room and returned to Fawn. She was slumped against the bay window as if sleeping, but he could feel a spell surrounding her. “Fawn, wake up.” She didn’t stir. He hoped she was all right. He’d demand Haleh Farha remove the enchantment right away, but he didn’t want to take the queen’s attention off saving Morisa and the baby’s lives.
He adjusted Fawn’s position so she lay on the bay window cushion in a more comfortable position. A small, slender woman, she was easy enough to maneuver. She appeared younger than her twenty years. She rolled onto her side and sighed, continuing to sleep. She’d been awake all night, awaiting the infant’s birth. He took a deep frustrated breath, upset with the priestesses, and with himself.
He placed an afghan over Fawn. “I wish you were awake so we could talk. You wouldn’t have let them touch Morisa. You hate magic.” Despair settled over him. “What have I done?” He and his sister had always been close. Her husband, Baymond, had already left for planet Saroka to be a missionary for the Secret Teaching. Fawn and their son would join him now that the baby was born. Everette longed for Baymond’s advice. His childhood friend would know how to break the spell cast on Fawn—maybe he could even help Morisa and the baby.
Everette pushed a blonde strand of hair off Fawn’s forehead. “May Master Michio be with you in your dreams.” He sat in an armchair and focused within. Chanting his secret word, he went deep within to restore his inner balance.
Sometime later, he returned to his bedchamber to see how Morisa was doing. Several priestesses and royal physicians waited in the outer sitting room. The air hummed with tension. He surrounded himself with an inner shield before knocking on the bedchamber door. A priestess opened it.
“Would it be all right if I come in?” he asked.
The woman turned to Siljana. “Prince Everette’s here.”
The head priestess and Haleh Farha exchanged a meaningful glance, then the queen rose and came over to him. “Come in. Morisa is doing much better.”
Everette crossed over to his wife and saw that although she was still unconscious her color and breathing were better. Relieved, he put his hand on her forehead. Her fever had receded. He peered into the cradle and saw the baby slept contentedly. Everette’s heart expanded in unconditional love for his wife and child. “Thank you,” he said to Haleh Farha who radiated calm energy.
“Morisa’s still not out of danger, but she’s stabilized.”
“How is the baby?”
“He’s adjusting to this world. I was afraid he had little chance of surviving but I’m more hopeful now. Will you stay and join me for breakfast?”
“All right.” He sat in an armchair at Morisa’s bedside and clasped her hand, thinking about how much he loved her. Inwardly he chanted HU, a love song to God, to center himself.
The food arrived and Haleh Farha took the tray from a serving girl Everette recognized from the royal kitchen. The aroma of warm bread caused his stomach to rumble. How long had it been since he’d eaten? Haleh Farha accepted the tray and set it on the nightstand.
He took a slice of bread and devoured it in a few gulps, enjoying the taste of berries and melted butter. Another disappeared a moment later.
Haleh Farha sat near him and ate a slice of bread in a more digni- fied manner.
Everette lifted a glass of gonzoberry juice and took a deep drink. When he set the glass down, he felt an odd sensation spread through his body. His limbs felt heavy and fatigue settled over him. The food should have been safe to eat—it came from the royal kitchen. Had Haleh Farha put something in his juice? If so, when?
Panicking, he tried to rise but his legs no longer functioned. He tried to speak but his tongue felt thick in his head. The queen rose and towered over him. “You were wrong to marry my daughter in secret using the ceremony of the Secret Teaching and you were wrong to force her to leave her religion for yours. She is an initiate of the Lady Mother and I’m reclaiming her. Her destiny is to be a priestess.”
Everette fought against the effects of the drug, but it was too strong. A terrible fear descended over him and he was drawn into a dark, dangerous world.
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