Fruits of the Gods by William C. Tracy

Author:William C. Tracy [Tracy, William C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: NineStar Press, LGBT, Fantasy, other-world, family-drama, magic users, elements, slave, lesbian, trans, sisters, ghosts, spirits
Publisher: NineStar Press
Published: 2019-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

ON THE SIXTH day after leaving the caravan, they followed a well-worn dirt road. Gemeti told them it was the main highway from Neharda to Karduniash. Kisa was acting like a squirrel stuck out of her tree, though Belili didn’t feel much better about being so vulnerable.

“Are you sure you don’t see anyone?” Kisa asked for perhaps the hundredth time. She clutched the basket of mori as if they would protect her. They sounded like the most powerful of the godfruits. Belili’s only experience, again, was with Ilzi, directing his thoughts into her mind, influencing her to…no. She had her own power. She would show him what she could do. If she’d had access to godfruit when she was captured, she could have defended herself and Ligish.

“Even if there were someone on the road, Kisa, who would recognize the slaves from the Aricaba orchard?” Belili thought her question was reasonable, but Kisa only swiveled her head like she would twist it off.

They had good clothes, well-cut hair, obvious locks of magical color. They even had their own servant. Anyone would only think they were what they appeared: minor nobles traveling into Karduniash. Belili ignored the itch between her shoulder blades. The capital city was still more than a week away. Instead she watched the new species of trees, wondering how to prune them. The pomegranate was a simple vase shape, while the mango grew much like a malus. The guava was spare, often growing low to the ground. While they traveled, they had fresh fruit—the non-magical kind.

Day and night, Gemeti told them the ways of the capital. She talked while they walked along the road, and before sleep. The woman was a font of information, on every topic but herself. Where had she come from? She deflected all questions about her past. She said she had lived in Neharda most of her life, but she was obviously trained by a high noble family, from her information on Karduniash society. Belili shook her head, watching the sides of the road for disturbances. She checked her pack again. The box was nestled halfway down and padded on all sides. Now she knew more about the four godfruits, she wondered what the gods intended with the fifth one. How could it balance the others without making the nobles even more powerful?

Belili also watched Kisa as they walked. Her sister was becoming bolder. Freer, like a noble.

Along the way, Gemeti told them of Khanni and his daughter. She had known the man for years, and they had helped each other move slaves from Neharda to the capitol.

“So we left later that night, with the slave dressed as a guard, Khanni as the guard’s mother, and me as his doting grandfather! By all the gods!” She wiped at an eye, laughing, then turned serious. “We would be lost without Khanni’s papers and forging equipment. Getting into Karduniash is not like passing through the gates of Neharda.” Gemeti looked thoughtful for a moment. “With the prunus festival coming up, there will be even more security.

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