Alliance of Serpents Read Free

laughed softly. "You know them as the
Vermilion Mages."
    The words registered slowly, as though
everything that was happening to him was being processed a
half-second late. "The Refuge , you said? What is that?"
    For a moment, the stranger eyed him, as
though weighing some unapparent danger in his mind. Finally, he
said, "It is a starship."
    "A what ?" Arus' voice rose to nearly a
shout.
    "Relax," the man said, rising from his chair.
His height alone was enough to make Arus tremble. "There will be
time for explanations later. For now, I must go check on Kitreena.
Don't mess with those connectors running into your implant. Doc
Nori will be in to examine you shortly."
    Arus tried to comprehend it all, but there
was too much he didn't understand. He barely managed to shout out
"Wait!" before the door had closed completely. "Who are you?"
    The man looked halfway back. "I am Damien.
There is no need to be afraid, I assure you. We are friends." With
that, the door slid closed.
    Friend or not, the man was a frightening
sight. Arus ran his fingers along the implant until he came to a
series of wires running from the device and into a machine beside
the bed. What if he wants to use the implant to make me his
slave just like the Mages did? For a moment, he contemplated
pulling the wires loose. Then again . . . what if they are  somehow keeping the implant from controlling me? I
don't know what to do. In any other situation, he would've
asked Master Eaisan for advice, but . . . "Master Eaisan," he
murmured as the reality of his memories hit him. "I murdered Master
Eaisan!"
    The flood of tears that followed could've
filled the ocean twice. "I didn't mean to do it!" he sobbed aloud.
"I tried so hard to resist!" Though he only had one eye to shed
tears, he more than made up for it with the number that fell,
soaking his pillow for what seemed like hours. "Father, I'm so
sorry! Master Eaisan, please forgive me!" Every memory he had of
his former master flashed in his mind, from the most intense
training sessions to each and every telling of The Blade of
Kaleo . He'd been just as much of a father to Arus as Dayne had
been, and he'd been slain by Dayne's own sword, the blade Arus'
father had told him to use to defend the helpless and protect the
innocent. And Arus knew, no matter what the future brought, no
matter what he accomplished, no matter how many people he helped or
how many battles he won, nothing would atone for the sins he'd
committed or the damage he'd done. Nothing would bring Eaisan back,
and nothing would change the fact that it had been Arus who'd
killed him.
    "Now, now," another voice began beside him,
"you mustn't cry like that!" Arus wiped his eye and looked up to
see an elderly man with a billowing white beard standing over him.
"You should be happy, for today you shall have your life back!"
    "Who are you?" Arus whimpered, trying to
force back the endless flow of sobs.
    The pudgy old man drew himself up in regal
fashion, smoothing his white coat as he did. "Doctor Antigones Nori
at your service!" He smiled like a proud grandfather. "I've
specialized in many fields throughout the course of my career, from
internal medicine to biomechanics, cybernetics and . . ."
    The old man rambled on about his various
certifications—most of which Arus had never even heard of—before
heading to the terminals on the far wall. He was lively for his
age, Arus thought, full of energy and clearly happy to serve anyone
he could. It was certainly a refreshing change from the Vermilion
Mages, but then, just about anything would be. "Where are we?" he
asked when the doctor's babbling finally wound down. "The man who
was here—someone named Damien—said we're on a starship, but I don't
know what that means."
    The doctor peered at him quizzically. "Ah,
yes!" he said, snapping his fingers. "Damien told me that your
people were unfamiliar with the ways of the universe. Let me see
here . . ." He trailed off on another string of incoherent ramble
as