Princess of Zenina Read online

  Princess

  of

  Zenina

  Book 1 of the Zenina saga

  Giselle Marks

  ©Giselle Marks 2016

  ISBN 1541086864

  ISBN-13 978-1541086869

  Dedication

  Princess of Zenina came about following a dare from Colin Hyde and Hilkka Helevuo to write it. I admit that like the Zeninans I find dares very hard to resist. So I dedicate the first book in the series to them. I would also like to thank my cover artist, editor, fellow author and friend Sarah J. Waldock for sticking by me through my vacillations and utter panic. To Les Bush (poet), Robert Gibson, (passion-poet), V.R. McCoy, (author), my daughter Claudia Dodds, Richard Brown, (author), James K. Burk, (author), and Khalid Mohammad, (author) for beta reading and advising me with my various rewrites.

  Glossary of names, terms and places………329

  Author bio Giselle Marks

  Giselle Marks is an English writer, poet and novelist, born in London, who has been writing most of her life. Currently Giselle lives in the beautiful Isle of Man. Her family is grown, contented and expanding. She spends most of her time writing.

  Her historical romances ‘The Fencing Master’s Daughter’ and ‘The Purchased Peer’ have been receiving good reviews. Together with her fellow writer and cover artist Sarah J. Waldock, Giselle wrote and illustrated ‘Fae Tales’ an anthology of fae and mythic tales updated to modern times and intended for teenagers and adults. All three books are available. The ‘Princess of Zenina,’ is the first in the sci-fi / fantasy Zeninan Saga. She has also completed two more Regency romances, ‘The Marquis’ Mistake’ and ‘A Compromised Rake’ and the first of a Regency gypsy series, ‘Jessica’s Tale – Book One, The Gypsy Countess series,’ although she is considering alternate titles. She is currently two thirds through an episodic fantasy book which may become a series, which is currently named ‘Wishing Well Cottage.’

  Other long- term projects include a possible book of her poetry. Her poems have been published in Female First and she has entered two of their contests, scoring a win and a commendation. Within the Isle of Man her poetry has been included in the local Lit Fest poetry trail and in ’Manx Reflections’ a local poetry anthology. Giselle has had short stories published in a number of anthologies.

  @GiselleMarks1

  http://ginafiserova.wix.com/gisellemarks

  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7304857.Giselle_Marks

  Chapter One – Planet Qu

  The pirate launch crept into Zeninan space, checking thoroughly for any other ships in the area on their instrumentation. The launch drifted as if its presence close to planet Qu was unintentional. The planet Qu was on the very edge of Zeninan space, it was uninhabited. Only when the pilot was satisfied no ships were within the planet’s vicinity, he made a quick dash through the planet’s atmosphere, to land next to a hillock with the entrances of several natural caves visible. The passengers disembarked with their luggage. While three heavily armed pirates stood pointing their weapons at the disparate group, two of the pirate crew unloaded a pair of stretchers, carrying them one by one into the rear of the largest of the caves.

  A one-armed man, whose face had been scarred by a laser burn, gestured the others to the cave. He himself assisted the final member to walk the short distance. The grown man who was being led to the cave was alternating giggling with whimpering slightly. The one armed man gently persuaded the man to move in the right direction, as the pirates, having dumped the invalids, raced back to the launch. It took off at speed, heading directly out of Zeninan space returning to their ship, which had waited within unclaimed space, the other side of the boundary.

  “Hurry up please, it is dangerous to be in the open on Qu,” the one-armed man said watching carefully for any sign their presence had been discovered by the local wild life. He made sure they were all within the cave before he went back for his own luggage.

  “Why should we do what you tell us?” demanded the young man wearing a long black dress and a silver cross.

  “Because there are carnivorous horned bears called qumurski which live on the planet, they apparently like eating humans,” the one-armed man stated as he stood guard, blaster ready at the entrance to the cave.

  “I don’t believe you, Major Bromarsh, it’s just another lie, like saying you did not kill all those civilians at Xandabal,” the young man said pointedly, “bears do not have horns and they don’t attack people.”

  “Qu is the hunting preserve of the Zeninan ruling royal family. What do you think the Zeninans hunt?” The older man said in a sarcastic tone.

  “Those pretty antelope things we flew over,” the priest stated slightly less sure of his ground.

  “No, they hunt what hunts the klimboks, because they are dangerous. Zeninans like danger and we better hope that an army patrol comes before the qumurski does. I hope you never get to see one but I have some spare blasters, would you like to borrow one, Father?”

  “I won’t touch your sinful weapons of murder,” the young man said flouncing back into the cave.

  “Floren, Ondiella would you like have a blaster for your own protection?”

  The boy and the heavily pregnant woman came forward and accepted the older man’s blasters and listened to him explain how to use them. What he knew about the qumurski was only from stories he had heard, that they were very hard to kill and were attracted to the smell of humans. He had been told that they preferred human flesh to the klimbocks. He questioned the truth of that story, believing it had been put about to frighten humans away from the planet. None of his charges were fully aware of how dangerous the qumurski were. He was not even sure himself, if he could protect them against more than one of the beasts, but he would die trying. The boy and woman moved back into the cave.

  The older man, named disrespectfully by the priest as Major Bromarsh, stood vigilant. He worried about the woman. He was fairly sure she was already experiencing contractions. He prayed her labour would be easy. He would have to assist her, as he could not see the priest dealing with something as messy as childbirth. It would not be the first time he had acted as midwife. He had helped Josie; his second wife, to have babies twice, in that god-forsaken hole, Zeit, where he had sold himself as a mercenary for six long years. She had followed him there, even though he had been cashiered from the Markaban army. As usual his mind returned once more to considering why he had lost his place in the army.

  “I made enemies in my meteoric ascent through the ranks, officers who were jealous of me being a low-born upstart, who felt slighted when my ideas were sought before theirs. There were non-commissioned officers, who thought me a traitor to my class for accepting a commission. Even some conscripts resented me, because I was used as an example of how they could succeed.”

  I was given the dregs of the Army, yet I bound them to me, they loved, obeyed and died for me. I forged a crack fighting force and they took them from me. I lost my roots and childhood friends, the men I enlisted with. The army made sure of that! Officers must not fraternise with other ranks. I was too good a soldier, too by the book. But still I can’t explain my fall. What mistake did I make? Who hated me enough to deliberately fabricate evidence to frame me?”

  Those questions remained unanswered, if dwelling on them would have solved them; Bromarsh knew he would have found answers years ago. But the pieces of the jigsaw did not fit. He needed explanations more than revenge, but if he ever discovered who had set him up, then he would kill them.

  “Chloxena, my first wife left at the first hint of scandal, long before my court martial. Ten years we had been married. Her father, the old General, had promoted the match, insisting she’d be an asset to help my rise. ‘Good old army stock, good b
reeding, our family has had heroes for generations past,’ he had bragged.”

  He sat down in the cave entrance as he thought back over his life, he had desired Chloxena’s fragile beauty, but he had thought she had been far above his reach.

  “The General said I would be the son he had never had, his son-in-law. I couldn’t believe my luck. I worried about whether she’d consider me, but I needn’t have bothered. She threw herself at me. The bitch was willing all right, but not just with me. I, the outsider hadn’t known. Not until too late and then she’d pleaded for forgiveness as she was carrying our first child. I forgave her. I blamed myself for neglecting her. She was more discreet and both of the boys looked like me. I considered getting blood tests done, but the information would’ve filtered through army gossip that I knew my wife was unfaithful. I thought it better, to be thought a duped fool than a complacent cuckold.

  Bromarsh made the decision to talk to Ondiella after the baby came. He had no strong feelings about it, having loved his first wife but not been loved in return, his second wife had adored him, yet he had felt only fondness for her. He argued with himself, “Why not marry for mutual convenience? It could not be worse than living with a loved one who did not feel the same. Perhaps time would make love grow; it would be something to hope for.”

  Chapter Two – Marina

  She ran silently over the scrub, her bare feet skimming the ground. Marina was racing hard in pursuit of her quarry. The giant horned bear had been galloping for almost an hour and showed no signs of tiring. It was not behaving as she had expected, having guarded her thoughts and stayed upwind of the huge beast. She was sure it had not anticipated her attack. Yet as she positioned herself to engage the qumursk, it had raced off in an easterly direction. Irritated by the prospect of losing her prey, she had pursued.

  Marina assumed the qumursk was male, although she was not certain. Acquiring samples from live qumursk for scientific purposes was considered suicidal. It was not an animal you could easily tranquilize with a dart, because of the thickness of the pelt. But as qumurski usually hunted in small family groups, it was a logical guess that this one was male, as only young males normally ranged alone.

  Marina, enjoying the hunt, reasoned his meat would be in prime condition. She was looking forward to supper of qumursk steak roasted in wild honey with considerable anticipation.

  “Vlama,” she thought mentally contacting her friend who was some distance away, “this qumursk is behaving strangely. Just as I prepared to attack, he raced off as if he scented a tasty morsel, yet there was a herd of klimboks nearby. If he was hungry he could have ambled over and taken one or two.” she reported.

  “Do you think he got wind of your scent, ma’am?” Vlama replied.

  “No, because normally he would charge straight at me and I am sure I was up wind and kept my thoughts shielded.”

  “True, there’s only one food qumurski prefer to venison,” Vlama replied dispassionately, but her thoughts also conveyed pictures and smells along with the words.

  Marina wrinkled her nose in disgust at the images and smells of a group of qumurski attacking and then tearing apart a group of humans, before settling down to consume them.

  “You’re right of course, qumurski have only one preferred food to venison. They love nothing better than human flesh. I wish our scientists would come up with a reasonable explanation as to why bears which are naturally omnivores should evolve to be almost totally carnivorous,” Marina admitted, frustrated at the line of thought.

  “When and how it happened seems to be beyond their discovery. There have been enough archaeological and palaeontological expeditions to Qu, but none of them have found the answers to those questions,” Vlama suggested with the underlying implication that they had wasted a lot of money on their efforts without much success.

  “We inspected the beacons around the planet before landing. They warn humans Planet Qu is the hunting preserve of the Zeninan royal family, and that the qumurski eat people. We confirmed there were no other humans on land when we arrived. The army patrols regularly contact any ships that are in close proximity and warn them away,” Marina’s mind voice sounded annoyed as she considered the matter.

  “Most trespassers are deterred by the qumurski’s love of human flesh and the army patrols. The army checks the planet remains uninhabited. Few accidental visitors survive to tell the tale. Pirates have been sneaking in recently and dumping their sick in the hopes the army reach them before the bears.” Vlama thought in reply.

  “Conventional blasters have very little effect on the beasts, charging qumursk frequently distract first-time hunters from attacking before it is too late. He is speeding up. I have to reluctantly conclude he is drawn by the smell of human flesh. There must be some recent arrivals, probably pirates as you say. Those seeking medical assistance who do not fear retribution visit the Zeninan Embassy on their planets. I’ll check ahead,” Marina stated, before mind searching ahead of the charging bear for human thought patterns.

  “I’ve located at least seven humans, two are very weak. Damnation I must hurry or he will finish them off and be licking his jowls before I get there.” Marina sprinted forward to overtake the hurtling animal, to put herself between it and the stranded humans.

  “Inform the others of the problem and include my medical bags and fresh clothing on the sled,” she asked tersely as she concentrated on eating up the ground. Marina mused, “No Zeninan would willingly eat meat fed on all the chemical muck most spacers put inside themselves.”

  Then Marina decided she was being unjust, berating herself for dismissing their putative demise as merely unpleasant food additives, she resolved to treat them kindly if they survived.

  Marina sighted the humans as she passed the qumursk, her breathing coming faster as she ate up ground over the rocky soil. Now less than a kilometre away; they were spilling out from a cave-mouth, watching the advance of the huge quadruped with terror. Marina stopped some forty metres in front of the cave.

  “Your weapons will be ineffective against the qumursk. Please lower them and return inside the cave, while I deal with the bear,” she calmly informed them in their dominant language.

  Marina pulled a javelin from its case which she had worn strapped to her back and stood waiting poised for the beast’s attack. She hoped they would obey without question, as she was in their line of fire. Even if they missed her, they would enrage the massive beast now rushing towards her.

  Ignoring screams and noises behind her, she concentrated on her oncoming adversary. The qumursk had slowed, instinctively feeling an enemy stood between him and his snack. Marina took the guard off her thoughts, letting the beast realise her intention to kill him. Mentally telling him how she admired his strength and stamina, she allowed him to see she felt no fear or panic. At last the beast understood her confidence in her absolute superiority over him. The qumursk comprehended that this shiny figure was predator not victim. As far as his limited brain was capable he doubted his survival, yet he refused to flee. He halted momentarily, lowering his head lining up his horns, then charged straight at her.

  Marina stood her ground at the earth shook with the impact of his galloping feet. He was five lengths from her and still she waited; four lengths from her as she loosed her javelin, three lengths from her as it drove deep between his eyes into his brain. Only one length from her as the huge beast collapsed shuddering with a final ululating cry and died.

  Chapter Three – Major Bromarsh

  The former soldier stood in front of the cave, he had heard the great bear’s coming long before it was visible, waiting ready to protect those in his charge. He did not disturb the others or explain the risks. He was hoping if he could manage to kill it, maybe they would survive until the Zeninan Army came. Their patrol might only be a few hours away. He entreated the gods, if they existed, that his gamble would pay off.

  As he spotted the qumursk, he was briefly unsettled by a slight pressure, a touch to his mind. He noticed i
t but did not analyse it, his attention on the oncoming beast. Then he noticed movement behind and to the left of the creature. And glancing in that direction marvelled as a small metallic Gold woman raced towards him, passing the massive animal.

  Her colour astonished him, never knowingly having seen a Zeninan Gold. Bromarsh had thought they might be slightly yellow as all Zeninans he had seen before had flesh toned skin, like most homo-sapiens derived humans. He had not realised the surface pigmentation of the Zeninans was actually mentally controlled by them. Or that their fleshy pink and brown tones he had seen were not their colour at birth, but indicated only their wish to conform to the norm of the planet they were on. So the glowing metallic sheen like burnished yellow Gold surprised him.

  As the late morning’s wintry sun reflected on the sweat glistening on the skin of her body, the effect was all more striking. She put ground between the monster and herself, so Bromarsh observed her in greater detail. Naked except for a breechcloth of golden cloth, a crimson knife-belt and a sash that ran obliquely between her breasts, Bromarsh stared in fascination. Tall and slender, but muscled like an athlete, a little less than a female body-builder, but at least as much as a pole-vaulter. Her strength and speed indicated the all-round athlete, no obvious discipline being preferred amongst the many.

  He found himself amused to be assessing her as a soldier, rather than as a woman, which she so clearly was.

  “Yes, she is beautiful, although not as perfectly so as other Zeninans I’ve seen. She must be strong-minded too, to resist the pressures to follow the Zeninan ideal of perfection personified in woman. I’ve obviously been without a woman too long if I’m seeing them as fighting units, not bodies to be lusted after. I must be getting old, time I settle down and stop fighting.”