Thanks to all my beta-editors: Merry, Mia, Chelsea, Bill, and George. Cover art by Rob Gudenkauf.
This is the second book in the Kenna Saga. If you like this, look up the completed first book, "Worlds Apart." I'll be posting new chapters about weekly. I've written about twenty chapters of this second book so far, but am still editing them and you may see minor changes in published chapters as the process continues. I welcome comments and feedback and hope you enjoy reading.
The Tower to HeavenA glowing city roosted on a black spire. Searchlights pierced the clouds that floated through the city. Holograms of dancers, larger than life, sprouted from the tops of skyscrapers that jutted above the pointed peak. Glittering towers crawled down the sides of the ancient volcano like rivers of ice. Gilt ships flitted between mirrored walls while open topped pleasure craft full of revelers drifted in slow circles around the zenith of the throbbing metropolis.
A small cargo vessel marked with Imperial insignia dropped from the black sky: no stars could be seen in the glare of the megapolis. It dove past the probing lights and slowed as it reached the volcanic barrens of the mountain's lower slopes. Holes riddled the foundations, with piles of waste rivaling the highest peaks of lesser planets.
Some of the pits glowed with a hellish light. Others were windows to a pitch-black abyss. Thousands of ships and crawlers pulled ore from the belly of the earth to feed the pipes and smokes of innumerable refineries.
The plain, gray ship flew slowly above the open mines. No one cared. After floating towards a small hole illuminated by a flickering, orange glow, it dove again, narrowly fitting through the throat of the pit. Twisting and turning with the narrow and coiling cave walls, the ship screeched and groaned as it lodged itself into the throat of black rock.
A red lightsaber sprung from the cockpit windows and melted a glowing, circular escape. Glass panes and steel struts exploded outwards followed by the smooth exit of a woman in black robes, lightsaber in hand. Black fabric briefly billowed around her as she landed at the bottom of the tunnel.
As she advanced, bright magma-light turned the air wavy with heat. The cave floor shivered, rock moved like the ocean with a throaty roar. The woman in the tunnel danced over the cresting earth as it shook beneath her. High above, frolicing crowds laughed as their skyscrapers swayed like bare tree limbs in the wind.
The earthquake barely hindered her determined strides and the tunnel opened up into a broad cavern with a river of lava oozing through it. A large canvas and easel obscure a man at the far side of the cavern. Beside him, thumb-sized tubes of paint rested on a small table. The artist and his implements seemed immune to the shimmering heat of the planet's blood.
"I'm here to finish what I started." Her damaged voice grated like a stone on boulder.
The painter, whose broad shoulders could be seen on either side of the large canvas, delicately added a few points of color. "Good to see you again, old friend." His deep voice flowed like honey.
"The last time we met, I thought I'd killed you." She raised her lightsaber, though its light glowed only faintly in the harsh orange of the cave. "I'm here to…"
He interrupted her. "All is forgiven. You only did what I wanted." He leaned back to consider the painting. She could not see his art or face.
The woman in black leaned forward so the lava illuminated her mouth and chin. Gold shined in thin strips that twisted and turned on her jaw and cheekbones. "What you wanted?"
"Yes, of course. I admit it took me some time to learn that it was you that leaked my plans to the Republic. I was upset. Perhaps I was too hard on you."
Her lips rose to bare her teeth as her nose curled in rage. "Enough!" She threw her left hand into the air and dozens of lightning bolts blasted from her fingertips towards the painter.
Rising like a wave cresting over rocks, the man in black pulled the glistening, wet painting to the side as he stood. With his other hand, he gently caught the strands of lightning, cupping them into a glowing white ball. The searing white light illuminated half of a handsome face. One clear blue eye, half a head of long, blonde hair. His right eye glowed an unblinking white, set in silver and black metals twisting in curves and digital lines that flowed along his right cheekbone and up over his skull. He smiled.
Ready to strike again, she froze and stared at the painting: a red outline of a woman's body on a black background. The red woman throws her head back in a scream. A flaming chain erupts from her mouth before falling down, tight, around her hands and legs.
She dreamed this image many times. She is the wailing woman in chains. A gasp shuddered out of her.
"The Crown. It devours you. I can save you." His smile was gone.
Lilija felt his piercing gaze. She tensed her whole body, suddenly afraid that he could see her thoughts. She trembled, but was it fear or hate? "You bound me in these chains."
"And I can unlock them, Lilija. Come to me."
She shook her head. Her eyes narrowed. "What price?"
"I only ask that you help me improve the Empire. You did so once." Using the Force, the big man lifted the easel onto its feet and set the painting on it. He never looked away from her.
"I will never serve you, Ursbrung. I know you."
Ursbrung's lips curved into a shallow smile. "Then you know I am right."
"You know nothing but pride!" Lilija stepped forward, raising her lightsaber.
He turned his back to Lilija and looked at the painting. Lilija couldn't help glancing at the canvas again. She shivered. Anger and defiance roared back into life in her chest and her lips ripped into a canine growl. She leapt across the cavern at Ursbrung, both hands gripping the lightsaber above her head.
His back still towards her, he threw his right arm behind him and stopped Lilija's charge in mid-air. She fell to the ground and though her foot seemed to land lightly, her first step cracked the black, pitted stone. She shot forward again.
Ursbrung lit his lightsaber as he spun to catch Lilija's blade. She screamed like a banshee and the golden threads that wrapped around her struck like a hundred serpents.
Ursbrung threw his arms to his sides and the threads crashed into an invisible sphere around him, but before he could bring his arms back to defend himself, Lilija stabbed at his chest, forcing him to shuffle back. His steps were smooth, but Lilija chased him unrelentingly. She seemed both faster and stronger than him.
He managed to just block every death blow, but the tip of her blade sizzled as it cut through the matte black armor on his chest. Ursbrung blocked and dodged dozens of attacks, always retreating. Yet he remained calm, focused, his eyes searching to meet hers.
Lilija missed Ursbrung's neck by a centimeter, cutting off some of his hair. She strained forward. She hated Ursbrung to her core, hated that he had played her, hated his condescension, hated his desire to control. She must end this soon. She drove him towards the lava.
Golden cords tightened on her arms, digging into the flesh of her chest and face. 'No, not so soon,' she thought, 'just a little more.' The Crown of Sitis, stolen from Ursbrung years ago, could only grant so much power before it became hungry again. Now it must feed. Either on Lilija-or Ursbrung.
Lilija commanded the Crown to attack and, again, dozens of golden threads streamed forth.
Ursbrung clenched his fists in front of him. The thin, metallic streams crumpled upon themselves into two twisting spheres between the combatants.
"I mastered the Crown. I could teach you the same."
Lilija felt the bite of the unholy artifact. She had never known that these threads could feel pain. Under Ursbrung's hand, they writhed and their roots tore at her, muscle and bone. As the crown she wore clawed at her flesh, Lilija feel to her knees and hunched over, using all her will to hold back a scream. Ursbrung released his grip and she collapsed as the Crown's tendrils retreated back into the darkness of her robes.
Looming over her, Ursbrung slowly brought his lightsaber over her head. "Learn from me. I can show you the way."
"N-never." Lilija gasped for breath. She rolled to the side, the sharp edges of the igneous stone tearing at her robes and skin. She pulled herself to her feet, but the Crown no longer offered her its stolen strength. It betrayed her. She wobbled, her feet uncertain on the uneven ground.
She collapsed as the cavern convulsed again. The lava river just behind Ursbrung overflowed its banks, but parted around the Dark Lord. Lilija tried to flee, but she no longer felt the Dark Side coursing through her. Infernally hot air burned her throat and skin.
The lava streamed towards her and she tried to run, but she tripped and fell, cutting her hands on the sharp rocks. She found herself lifted up into the air.
Ursbrung stood there, one arm outstretched, the other still holding his glowing lightsaber. "There is hope for you." He considered her like a scientific specimen with his human and robotic eyes.
Lilija felt a crushing tightness constrict her throat. The subterranean walls groaned and shook around them. Instinctively, her hands went to her neck, but she knew she lacked the strength to resist. Stars flashed before her eyes before everything went black.