The Masters (The Stone Dance of the Chameleon Book 1) by Ricardo Pinto

Author:Ricardo Pinto [Pinto, Ricardo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ivory Tower Press
Published: 2020-01-29T22:00:00+00:00

THE PURPLE FACTORY

EVOCATION: What is this path of Law?

RESPONSE: It is the tangling labyrinth.

It is the roiling sea.

It is the spiral of the ammonite.

(from the ritual of the Apotheosis)

THE LEGIONARY KNELT BEFORE THEM, head bowed. Behind him in formal prostration were black-skinned men.

Aurum gave the legionary leave to rise. The man was tall for a marumaga and nearly reached Aurum’s sternum, though he was on ranga. A blue wave sigil embossed his oily black cuirass. ‘I beg to know which of you, my Masters, will take possession of these auxiliaries?’

Aurum threw back his cowl, and the legionary bowed deeper and pushed his wrists together.

‘Twenty Marula?’ said Aurum.

‘Not so many, Master.’

‘Their collars have been removed?’

‘As commanded, Master.’

Vennel pushed forward. ‘Marula? And why, my Lord, have their collars been removed?’

‘Let us discuss this at a more appropriate time, Vennel.’

‘How can we control them without their collars? These creatures are notoriously feral.’

Aurum made a gesture of annoyance. ‘If my Lord will indulge us and show a little patience, he will find that the water will soon run clear.’ He turned back to the legionary. ‘Have the creatures been given the specified treatment?’

‘They have, Master.’ The legionary snapped his fingers and one of the shadow men rose, black as wood and gleaming and well-made. He overtopped the legionary by more than a head. Indigo designs marbled his skin. His forearms were white with bangles. His slitted yellow eyes seemed to search for a direction of escape. Vennel drew back as if he feared contamination. The legionary barked a command, and the black man gave him an insolent look and slowly raised his arms above his head. His bangles clinked as they slid to his elbows. Just under his ribs the skin was puffy and inflamed. The legionary stabbed his finger into this wound and the black man threw back his head in a grimace. Sharpened teeth rimmed his red mouth. His fists were slow to unclench. Given the look of that wound, Carnelian was impressed he had made no sound.

‘They’ve been bitten and even now the poison works in their flesh. They know that without the antidote they’ll die.’

‘How long before the venom kills them?’ said Aurum.

The legionary shrugged. ‘That depends on each creature’s strength, Master: some will weaken in thirty days and be dead in forty; others may survive longer.’

Pity broke through Carnelian’s numbness.

Aurum stood before the other Marula and said in Vulgate: ‘Rise, slaves, before those who are your Masters.’

The Marula rose, unfolded their long limbs and dared to show their teeth. Nearly as tall as Masters, they had poise and pride. They could have been Chosen reflected in a mirror of obsidian.

‘Filthy brutes,’ said Vennel in his high voice.

•

Vennel complained the rest of the way: he was angry about the changes made in their plans without his approval and could see no reason they needed Marula, or that their collars had been removed, however elaborate the measures taken for their control.

They descended into a cave cobbled like a courtyard, rib-vaulted and lit by lanterns hanging from chains.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.