Briannas Prophecy Read Free

their safety, he thought with a sigh. Striding to a console that controlled the security device, he immediately felt he should be far away from that particular station. He looked at it for a while, perplexed, but the peculiar feeling persisted.
    Never one to ignore his instincts, Niklas turned and headed to his quarters. There was a twelve level security lock on his door, a habit that had stood him in good stead throughout the years. He always locked his cabin with a complex pass code he changed often. Entering the code, he approached the security console at the opposite end of the room. He eyed the sonic bath wistfully for several seconds. He really wanted to wash away the layer of filth that covered his skin, but something prodded him away from it and told him this was more important.
      Sitting in front of the console, Niklas waited as the air in the seat adjusted to his body’s tensions. The cushion infused with heat to ease the pain in his lower back. Niklas typed the pass code to access the security system, hearing several warning beeps as soon as the program was activated. A female voice announced over shipboard speakers.
    “Warning! Warning! Explosive device found! Sonic bath, location High King’s quarters. Warning! Warning! Explosive device found! Security console one, bridge. Warning! Warning! Explosive device found! Storage compartment three, storage compartment seven, storage compartment nine.” There were a few moments of silence before the computer added in a calmer voice, “Explosive devices disabled and extracted, transported and detonated. Risk to ship is now zero. All is well.”
    Niklas heaved a sigh of relief. He still wanted to wash, but he now eyed the sonic bath with suspicion. Hadn’t his crew said they searched for more signs of tampering? Why hadn’t they used the security device? Why the Sonic Bath and not the Security console?
    He thought for a moment, then knew. The bath had been acting strangely. He’d asked Ornos to take a look at it. When Ornos came to repair it, the other man had made it clear he would rather work alone. Niklas never left his rooms while Ornos worked. A situation had never come up to take him away from the maps and charts at his console. Ornos couldn’t have gotten in at any other time with the magnetic locks in place. He set the explosives in the bath because he couldn’t get to the console. Ornos had probably installed timers on the devices, so they would explode after he left the ship. Either that or he hadn’t considered that Niklas would use one of the crew baths to cleanse himself before calling for the repair.
    Pacing the perimeter of his quarters, Niklas couldn’t help but wonder if others were sent to stop him. He sat on the bed and felt the familiar comfort of the soft air cushion and his Carboda quilt. His mother had commissioned the quilt from the witches of Nasha when he was a child. The witches had constructed it to protect him while sleeping and give him comfort. It was not unusual for a family member to purchase such a quilt for a loved one. The power of the witches of Nasha was legendary.
    He fingered the soft material, needing some sense of comfort, of safety. The soft velvety feel beneath his fingers relaxed him. The soft muted colors brought a sense of stability and of security. He looked down to the swirling pattern and felt himself drawn into the moving tapestry, his anxieties floating away.
    Slowly, he undressed, looked down at his smooth yet muscular chest marred by only one scar, and smiled as he remembered how he had received it. His cousin had been angry about something. They had been wrestling when Niklas accidentally pushed him into a large outcropping of rock. Haron received a large gash on the side of his face and grabbed a sharp rock, plunging it toward the left side of Niklas’s chest. Niklas’s father had found them then and pulled them apart.
    After instructing the crew to give up their search for Ornos and concentrate on