The Guild Book I - 8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Vard walked the stone parapets of Castle Yates proud of what his people had achieved in such a short of time. All of Yates, Westbirth to the east and Travole to the south were now under clan rule. It was now time for the clans to rest, and enjoy their victories while they waited for the spring rains to end. Such enjoyment included the claiming of more birth kin.

"Are they all here?" Vard asked as he entered the main hall of the castle.

"Yes Vard." Sparrow grinned... looking down on the thirty or so men and women from the conquered lands.

Vard stepped forward, jumping on top of a table, so that all in the hall could see him. All at once the hall went silent as the eyes of the Yates' birth kin fell on Vard, each one going down to one knee.

"Do not bow." Vard's deep voice boomed cause all those present to rise.

"But are you not our new lord?" One voice spoke up.

"I am. I am your new lord but I will not have my birth kin bow down to me. Do you not feel it? Don't you sense the bond between us?

There were a few nodding heads.

Turning his attention back to the brown haired man who had spoken Vard spoke again after a moment of silence. "You... look into your heart. Tell me what you want more than anything at this moment."

The man squinted his eyes close as if he were trying to block something from his mind... he did not succeed. When they opened again... there was a hungry look to them. "I want you my lord. I want to serve you, be with you, love you and I want you to love me back."

"What is your name?"

"Landon my lord."

"Then come to me Landon... come all of you and claim the love you desire." Vard declared with outstretched arms.

Something was happening to Joshua... and it frightened him. He remembered the person he had been when Thomas had saved him from the mines... timid and weak but with each birth kin he met however his confidence had grown as the missing pieces of his life were put in place. With this confidence however had come a new found sexual hunger.

Returning to the ship's deck Xavier found Joshua still there... still beautiful. "My lord... we are arriving at the canyon. Would you please come inside?"

"Yes," Joshua replied standing up and walking over to the much shorter man. On getting closer, Joshua let loose one of his charming smiles. "You are birth kin."

"I am what."

"Let me show you." Joshua said not knowing any other way to explain it. He wrapped his bare body around Xavier, pressing himself hard against the ensign. Joshua, once he felt sure that Xavier had no where else to go leaned down and gave him a breath stealing kiss.

With the kiss done, and his own sex now erect through his black uniform Xavier felt a single tear fall down his face. "I understand."

"Shall we explore this understanding?" Joshua's lust spoke for him, giving him a level of sophistication he did not have before... a gift and curse of his father... Falcon.

"Please..." Xavier replied, his lower lip trembling in anticipation

Lifting the officer up into his arms Joshua carried Xavier inside to the observation deck where the two men ravished each other as the sky ship made its way down the narrow canyon.

"Good work navigator." Austin grinned, slapping the officer on the shoulder.

"Thank you sir... I have never traveled through the canyon before. It was interesting."

"Yes... you will find that to be the case any time you travel through it."

"Why is that sir?"

"Let me show you." Austin said as he took out the chart book. "Remember I asked the direction and wind speed?"

"Yes I do sir."

Austin took out a eight charts... each on labeled the Canyon of Last Hope. "The wind you see determines one's path through the canyon."

"A different rout for each of the eight winds?" The nav officer said amazed.

"Yes... it even gets more complicated if the wind changes direction while you are in the canyon. But that only happens during the hours of dawn and dusk."

"I see." The young officer said amazed.

"Now if you will excuse me... I must see to our guest." Austin said as he planted a light kiss on the nav officer's cheek before climbing down to the observation deck.

There Austin found Joshua, spread out on a divan the ensign held protectively in his arms. "Birth kin?" Austin asked.

"Birth kin." Joshua chuckled as he rolled over on top of Xavier sliding easily inside him.

Austin watched with great interest as he watched the half blood Guild's man make love to his officer... he felt as if he too were making love even though his hands remained still by his side. Then with a flash he was no longer aboard the Sloth but found himself in a cavernous hall, lit only by primitive torches. Surrounding Austin was a mass of humanity all in some state of undress... their eyes filled with hunger as they pursued their hedonistic ravishing. Only four other people appeared to be on their feet... a blond woman and man, a red head, and a man with raven black hair who was in the middle. It was the dark haired man that the others focused their attention on... That was until the man's black on black eyes fell on Austin.

"Who are you?" The man asked in a deep voice... bringing an immediate halt to the orgy.

"I am Austin Valesky."

"I do not recognize your clothes. What kingdom are you from?"

"I come from Wor."

"Where is that?" Vard said as he moved in closer.

Austin did not know who the man was but he felt drawn to the dark man. There was a magnetism about him just as Joshua had only different. Where Joshua drew in people by the kind gaze that could set anyone at ease, the dark haired man's eyes radiated an overwhelming power... a power that filled a person up with devotion. "I do not know how to explain it to you for I do not know where I am."

"You are on Santor... birth kin." Vard replied before he let his long tongue run down Austin's cheek.

"Santor... but that is impossible. Santor is tens of thousands of light years away in dark space."

"So you are from another world?" Vard asked as he circled around Austin, examining him.

"It appears so."

"Amazing." Vard said from behind. "Do you know a person named Joshua?"

For some reason Austin felt hesitant to answer.

"I will take that as a yes." Vard grinned.

Then as quickly as he had appeared on Santor, Austin found himself back on the Sloth... Joshua and Xavier looking at him bewildered.

"Captain, where did you go?" Xavier said panicked.

"I don't know... at one moment I had been watching you... the next I was on Santor."

"Santor?" Xavier asked confused.

"A dark world... a planet long abandoned by the Guild." Austin explained as Joshua went up to Austin and licked the very spot that the dark man had.

"Vard," Joshua sighed.

"Vard?" Austin moaned.

Joshua nodded his head. "Please, tell me what you saw."

And so Austin did... going over the description of the dark man several times.

When he had asked every question he could think of Joshua pulled Austin to the bed and held him. "Thank you... now that I know where Vard is I feel much better."

"But you have no way of getting there." Austin pointed out.

"You found a way."

"Yes... but I don't know how I did it. Who is this Vard and how do you know him?"

"I don't know... all I feel is a need, a need to find and be with him."

"Did you even know he was a him until I described Vard to you?"

"No I didn't."

"Joshua... are you sure you want to meet Vard... he is nothing like you. I am actually scared of him. "

"I know..."

"Then why do you..."

"Because he is the part of me that is missing... he is more than birth kin to me."

"If you say so..." Austin said unconvinced.

As soon as Austin had disappeared Vard let out a deep wail...a wail that was picked up by all his birth kin. "Joshua... my Joshua... you seemed so close to me until today."

Wor... Vard repeated in his head between calls of Joshua name. Joshua was on a planet called Wor. How was he to bridge the Void on a planet that had not had control of its own skies in over a thousand years?

"There has to be someone who remembers the old secrets of the Guild... someone who remembers the past." Vard insisted.

"Vard... are you alright." Sparrow asked with concern on his face.

Needing to fill the emptiness that now filled his heart, Vard pulled his friend into a tight hug as his lips explored the sharp features of the man's face. As always Sparrow gave himself up easily to Vard's sexual hungers. None among the birth kin would or could deny Vard. Sometimes Vard wished they would... not knowing that with each birth kin he planted his seed in, the greater his dominating will grew... a brightening flame dimming the light of a room full of small candles.

"Prelate... we have been receiving reports on some disturbing behavior among the populace."

"Tell me beloved," Lorien said, looking fondly on his emerald masked High Ambassador.

"Pregnancies among women in their 21st year has increased greatly. Also men of the same age have been vanishing only to reappear out of nowhere."

"The awakening..." Lorien said coldly... the warmth out of his voice.

"Yes Prelate... that is what it appears to be."

"How goes General Felix's campaign on Dullon?" Lorien changed the subject.

"It proceeds slowly Prelate but the end result will be the same."

"Why so slow?"

"We misjudge the extent that the people would resist. Who would have guessed that they would explode nuclear weapons on their own planet?"

"How many ships have we lost?"

"Twenty seven my lord.... But we have gained control of the skies so their resistance can not last much longer. How long can they last without rain?"

"Too long... unfortunately. I am certain that our would be Prelate is on one of the dark worlds... I am betting everything on that."

"I see... may I take this as you ordering Dullon and the other dark worlds destroyed?"

"No... not yet at least. There are not such an unlimited number of settable worlds that we should go about destroy so many of them. Order General Felix to detonate one of Dullon's moons. That should get the people's attention."

"I will see it done at once Prelate."

"Good..." The Lorien smiled. In six weeks the Prelate hoped Felix would have the situation on Dullon under control... then it would be Wor's turn.