Blood Double (God Wars #1)
Connie Suttle
Chapter 1
Prologue
When the formation of the Dark Realm was decreed in order to shape the balance of the created worlds, a request was sent out to the Hierarchy, asking for one from the higher levels to volunteer. That one would afterward be named Lord of the Dark Realm and hold sway over all he'd created—worlds and creatures alike.
None came forward. Another call came, and still none answered. Finally, Kifirin, high among the Nameless Ones but still a lesser god, offered. His offer was discounted at first, as he held insufficient power. The call went out a third time, and still none were willing.
"I grant this power to you," Kifirin's parent, one of the Al'Riyu who loved his child dearly, agreed to lend much of what he held to Kifirin. "This power will return to me, once the Dark Realm is complete. What you hold will be sufficient past that."
Kifirin bowed and accepted his parent's offer. The Dark Realm was created, according to Kifirin's designs and expectations. Then, because he had no previous experience at creating the races and held little knowledge of how sentient creatures might grow and develop away from his care, Kifirin made a promise never to interfere with the Dark worlds or their decisions. Thus were sown the seeds of the Dark Realm's destruction.
*
Reah's Journal
"Reah, you've done everything you can. The Lifegiver can't intervene or provide assistance if she's pregnant. The power required may be beyond us, even." Edward paced across the deck outside our suite. He was upset, just as I was, but he attempted to soothe me anyway.
"They're dying," I moaned, covering my face with shaking hands. "All those we brought forward to help in the Great Battle eighteen turns ago are being targeted, and new life on the Dark Worlds is snuffed out before it even has a chance to grow and develop."
"Look, we've already asked Belen for help, and he sent Lissa," Edward released a troubled sigh. "If she needs help, Belen said he'd ask Kiarra, Merrill and Adam to go later. Those four should be more than sufficient, if anything can be done at all. You and I know that this requires complete secrecy—it doesn't need to get out that it may be connected to the God Wars. The whole thing is frightening enough as it is, and the enemy shouldn't be alerted that we suspect anything. Sweetheart, be honest—if Lissa and Kiarra can't stop these deaths, we can't, either. The most we might do is weep at their passing."
"But these are lives," I found myself weeping anyway. "Lives that deserve to be lived. Who could do this?"
"Someone powerful, perhaps?" Edward's hazel eyes locked with mine and reflected my concern.
"There are seven levels of gods between us and the Three, including the Koh'Ahmari," I said, brushing tears away. "Any of those could be behind this, and we might not have enough power to fight them."
"Do you think we might be powerful enough, if we stood together?" Edward attempted to mask his growing concern.
"Not without the Three with us," I said. "And that may be what they're hoping for—to draw one of them out so they can play their trump card. If we lose one of the Three, we've lost everything."
"This is worse than I thought," Edward raked fingers through his hair. "No wonder Ashe stays hidden behind SouthStar's boundary, and only comes out when he must. Everything he does is covert and his tracks are carefully covered. I know he's directed Lissa many times, to accomplish what he wants. She's powerful, but perhaps not powerful enough to draw the enemy's full attention."
"I hope it's the same with the others," I agreed.
*
Breanne's Journal
They call this world Le-Ath Veronis. It means Heart of the Vampire. Did I really believe in vampires? Not until now. They're everywhere, here. No, they're not the bloodsucking fiends portrayed in horror films. Most of them are better than that. A few of them might be worse. How did I end up here? I'll save that story for later, because those around me weren't aware of it for a while. I thought they knew—they didn't. Still, that doesn't excuse their behavior—at least in my opinion.
I'll start with the day I was dumped on Le-Ath Veronis. No instruction was given as I was abandoned here—I was only told that I'd understand the language. That's it. I already understood every language I'd ever heard but somehow, my kidnapper didn't realize that. As for everything else, if it weren't for the curse I bore, I'd never have figured it out and who knows where that might have left me?
All the Queen's mates were absent as I was dropped off in her suite of offices. Her personal assistants were on holiday, which left only a skeleton crew running the palace and me under the (sketchy) direction of one Rathik Erwen, vampire.
A temporary employee was Rathik Erwen, hired at the last moment after one brief interview. I can't help but believe no background check was performed as well—I could see how oily he was when I first met him. Barely five-seven in stacked-heel shoes, Erwin believed himself more important than he was and informed me from the moment I was left in the Queen's office that he was running things and I was expected to take care of the work piling up.
Work. That's why I'd been snatched away from my life elsewhere and dumped on Le-Ath Veronis by a being so powerful he could bend time and fold space? It wasn't even important work. Paperwork was what it was, except it was all digital—files and files of it, on what the locals called a comp-vid. The comp-vid was a smaller version of an Earth tablet, but so much more advanced. You never had to worry about Wi-Fi connections or anything such as that—the range of the comp-vid spanned star systems.