Story #232 - Brighters II

Brighters II

Kendra Al’ten was cold.

That in itself was odd enough, but the fact that men around her hadn’t gone completely insane yet was also of great interest. The third sun was just peeking above the horizon, though it would still be an hour before its golden rays hit the shifting Sands. They’d been on the move for the past three days, and though she’d been able to hold her own against the sixty men who held her, that was in large part because there was something holding them together, something unifying them, keeping them from her throat.

A woman.

Taller than Kendra by half, the Brighter woman was one of only a few that Kendra had seen in her time on Deloar. Most of the tribes kept their females in camps scattered across the planet’s meridian, and it was only once, in the Capital with Lath, that she had seen one of the women by herself. Beautiful and imposing, Kendra found it hard to believe that the Brighter women were even the same stock as the men – aside from the skin color, there was nothing similar about them in frame or stature.

Thoughts of her husband nearly brought her to tears. What would he do when he found her missing? He must have by now – his business in the Capital was concluded, and she wouldn’t put it past him to return early. Lath doted on her, and rightly so; she had always given him the best of herself, and he had returned the favor. The fact that he was a Jeldor Berserker had never deterred her from seeking him out, from pursuing his love and his commitment. Many women looked at the Berserkers as prizes for an evening, a tryst that could be reported to friends as some sort of conquest, but at heart they were afraid of the large, black-eyed men. Kendra wanted more than that, more than a single night of torrid passion, and had bet her heart and her life on the fact that Lath’s focused determination would extend to her once she had broken down his walls.

It did.

A foot stuck suddenly in her path was meant to trip her, but she had kept enough of her attention forward she was able to avoid it. The Brighter, O’wol, grinned at her as he passed her by; he had been the most vicious of the bunch when they attacked the compound. The attack had come without warning, howling men descending on her home in waves. She expected them to be more crazed, utterly without thought, but the Brighters showed a remarkable level of restraint, considering the fact that all three suns were down. It wasn’t until O’wol had her by the hair, pinned against the Compactor while she spit out curses, that it became apparent who was really in charge.

“Beast!” The woman’s voice had cracked out across the compound. “You will let her go. Now!” O’wol’s eyes had flared with anger, and he drew in a sharp breath, but he released his grip. Kendra took the opportunity to knee him sharply in the crotch, sending him to the dirt and setting the woman who commanded him into a small fit of laughter.

“You fight well, off-worlder,” the woman had said to her, smiling, “but you face the least of us. Soon, you will face the wrath of the shadows, and none can stand against their might.”

Kendra hadn’t bothered to reply, and instead charged across the compound at the tall woman, but was stopped halfway there by a gang of rough Brighters. They knew who led them, and weren’t about to let Kendra anywhere near her.

She smirked at O’wol as she stepped over his outstretched foot. It still wasn’t clear why the men were following one of their females, but they all gave her a wide berth as she rode. The only one of them mounted, she sat like a queen, and aside from casting curious glances in Kendra’s direction when she cried out against her capture or screamed at one of the men, the leader had never spoken to her again.

“Stop!” The woman bellowed, and the small group ground to a halt. “O’wol, come here.”

The muscled man shot a dark glare at Kendra and then slouched over to stand in front of his leader.

“You are arrogant, Brighter.” It was strange to hear another one of their kind use the off-worlder name, and she could see O’wol stiffen.

“Please,” he said through clenched teeth, “forgive me, priestess.”

Preistess? Kendra had never heard of any codified religion among the Brighters. She knew as much as any one from off-planet – that they were kind when the suns were up, and full of madness when the darkness fell.

“Quite impossible, O’wol. You have defied my command at every opportunity, and forced me to constantly monitor you as though you were a child.”

O’wol’s face went red, and he stiffened in front of the women – the priestess.

“Will it be now, O’wol? Will you face me down, cur? Will you test your might against that of the Shadows?” A darkness ran over the skin of the woman, an oozing black that seemed to seep from her pores and drip from her eyes. O’wol took a step back, his face going slack.

“Please, priestess, please!” O’wol fell to his knees, hands clasped in front of his chest. “I will leave the off-worlder alone, I swear.” His tone was contrite, but Kendra could see that his eyes were narrowed, even as he looked at the ground. He feared for his life, but it did not entirely snuff out his anger.

“Very well, worm,” the priestess took a deep breath, and the liquid shadows around her dissipated, burning off into the chill air. “But should I see you misstep again, you will meet our Gods sooner than you wish – and they will not be kind.” The priestess raised her voice. “Move, dogs! We must reach the Point by tomorrow. The gods await their sacrifice!”


- D

Story #231 - Brighters

Brighters

The second sun had just dipped below the horizon as Lath Al'ten drew his mount inside the stable. It had been a long journey home; summer on Deloar was a brutal time for travel. Checking his chrono, he frowned – in only an hour and a half, the third sun would be coming up, and it was by far the worst of the three. Choosing to settle in the northern climates had made sense when he and Kendra had arrived planet-side, but at least in the Capital there were four or five hours of uninterrupted darkness.

He smiled when he thought of his wife. Dark hair, fiery eyes and a spirit tougher than his thoroughbred Jinth'a made her the perfect woman for him, even if she did drive him to the occasional bout of madness and distraction. His time away had been too long – speaking to her by du-phone was not nearly as satisfying as the real thing.

“Shh,” he whispered to Duaala, his steed, as he slipped out of the stables into the temporary darkness. The beast didn't bother to whinny in response; Duaala was as glad as he to be home, and would be asleep within moments. He had made it away from the meeting today as soon as he could, and with one of the council members having taken ill, what they had planned to cover was cut short. A quick lunch, some food for Duaala and he was on his way, ready to surprise Kendra a night early.

Though he'd only been gone a month, the small compound they'd built looked different, somehow, and Lath decided that was mostly because of the new Compactor in the south corner. They'd talked about installing it before he left, but they hadn't found the time with harvest season approaching. He'd told Kendra to wait until his return to get it up and running, but as with so many things in their lives, Kendra took the initiative. He smiled. She was a trial, plain and simple, but he would have it no other way.

Even the front door looked different, a darker color than the gray he remembered. As he came closer, he saw the darkness radiated from the lock on its right hand side, and was not new coat of paint or a splash of mud.

It was char.

Dashing forward, he slammed into the door full speed and felt it give way under his weight. He crashed into the main hallway, eyes wide and mouth open.

“Kendra!” He screamed, the broken pictures and gashes in the wall rushing past him as he raced through the house.

“Kendra!” He was desperate now, panicked. Kendra could handle herself in a fight, but the char on the door told him this hadn't been some bandit attack for crops or fuel – this was the work of Brighters.

They had another name, some unholy mangling that he'd heard spewed out from the lips of councilmen from time to time. The Brighters were the original inhabitants of Deloar, sun-worshipers that imbued each of the three stars in the sky with different personality traits. They were a warm and welcoming, if backward, people until all of the suns left the sky, and then they became frenzied, savage. In the darkness, their thin veneer of civilization slipped away, replaced by a consuming blackness that had them looting villages, burning crops, and taking women. He'd heard a Brighter speak, once, at the University in the Capital, and someone in the audience has asked about his people's behavior in the dark. The Brighter's face had gone absolutely still, and he replied that there were “no men in the dark, only shadows”. As far as Lath was concerned, that just meant they were trying to escape responsibility for their actions.

A search of the bedroom revealed no evidence of a struggle, but no sign of his wife, either. Brighters didn't usually come this far north during summer – they found being so close to their gods disconcerting. He seen only a small tribe, once, three years ago near the river to the south, and they had been gone within a week. Why, in the last month, had they come?

His voice was hoarse by the time he'd finished a circuit of the compound, and though there was minor damage everywhere, none of the major systems had been affected, and none of their fuel or food was missing. Only Kendra.

Calls to every neighbor in a ten-mile radius went unanswered – it looked like the Brighters had hit fast, and hit hard.

He was almost back to the stables when he spotted the tracks heading north, into the Sands. A large group had moved between the Compactor and the house, and from a distance, he could see something dark fluttering in the wind, caught one of the Compactor's edges, still sharp and new. Quick strides took him to within arms reach, and he felt his legs go weak. Kendra's hair, long and smooth, snapped out a subtle beat to the pulse of the wind. It had caught on a small rivet, one of several he could see she hadn't properly counter-sunk; she had always hated the pulse-drill.

Lath felt himself go cold, felt the battle-lust he had left behind on Corrul begin to rise in his throat. They had agreed that moving away was best for both of them, best before the law or the Order caught up with them, and Deloar had seemed the perfect place.

No more.

Within moments, he was back in Duaala's saddle, the Jinth'a moaning at being woken from a sound sleep. Kendra's hair was tied around his wrist, and Lath would not remove it until he found her, dead or alive. The Brighters had roused a Jeldor Berserker from his self-appointed slumber, and they would pay the price.

Lath checked his chrono as he spurred Duaala forward. Third dawn came in an hour, and ground covered by night would come more swiftly.

- D