Dark Lord (7 page)

She scanned the crowd, searching for him again.
She didn’t care what others said about him.
She knew that he was a hybrid.
Maybe he made himself invisible to escape the circus.
There was no telling what the male c
ould do with his hybrid genes and his being a member of Nefertiti’s harem wasn’t the best idea.
Engaging in intercourse with a hybrid could be dangerous to one’s health.
Who knew if such
a thing was safe?
Hybrid seed
might
act as a toxin in a human’s body.
It was possible that the different physiologies would be grossly incompatible.
If
Dev
was part hybrid, then
matings
between hybrids and humans must be possible
, but t
hat didn’t prove the
matings
were safe.
She could test him
out,
ensure that he could mate with a woman without the woman suffering any ill effects.
It would be the right thing to do.
She really should investigate the long-term effects as well and ensure a human woman could tolerate the use of a hybrid male body without suffering any negative effects years down the road.
How to convince the Countess that the need was pressing?
Who
was she
kidding, Nefertiti would never agree to such a thing.

“Where is Lord Langley?” Nefertiti asked.
“I do not remember him taking the rope.
He cannot be allowed to disrespect me.
Prince
Alyntine
, fetch him at once.”

Alyntine
left to search for
his wayward nephew
.
The juggling events continued for another half hour and then the circus was over.
The lords were allowed to dress in short tunics and they discarded their wigs.
The party continued in the small salon.
Nefertiti
indicated that she would reveal a new sculpture
.
S
he led them toward a table and unveiled a rather hideous design of a naked man in the embrace of a large winged insect.
The insect possessed the face of a woman and it was kissing the man.
The
C
ountess smiled and pressed a kiss to the statue.
“This is the
dronusfly
queen and she is openly fornicating with the
Asstrum
male.”

“What does the sculpture symbolize,
C
ountess?”
Audrelia
asked.

“It is a reminder to all of us that the people of
Asstrumnia
are truly alien.
The hybrids mate with the
dronusfly
queens and create huge winged aliens.”

Briella
had never heard of the
dronusfly
and she wondered if such a thing existed.
“How do you know this?”

Nefertiti produced a scroll from her robe.
“The scholars obtained this document
from the archives, lost for centuries.
It depicts such a creature and it describes how the winged aliens ravaged much of
Flourda
.
There is another document that shows a diagram of a winged alien
ravishing a former queen of
Flourda
.
It shows also that the poor queen conceived a winged infant that was so grotesque that she went insane from the sight of it.”
She passed the documents around the room so that the ladies could peruse them.
“Ladies, I tremble at the sight of these images.
What I am about to tell you is much worse.
I debated whether to keep this information from you, to share it only with my top advisors.
I decided after the deepest soul searching that I should disclose this terrible news to all for your own protection.
It is terrible news.
The oracle of the
Flourdan
court has seen a terrible future for
Flourda
.
The winged beasts will attack and ravage every lady of good birth
.
T
he females will be ravished and the
males
will be
devoured by flames.
A
great winged beast will sit upon the
Flourdan
throne and will rule for nine hundred years.
The armies of
Asstrumnia
will descend upon us and
they
will devour us with their teeth, then those alien hybrids will take all of our estates and businesses.
Any
Flourdan
survivors will be enslaved, but it is doubtful there would be many survivors.
In my hand, I have the oracle’s vision of our future.”
She passed around the oracle’s scroll.

There was much wailing and crying in the room as the people absorbed the news.
“
So, the
Asstrum
m
yth is not a myth at all, is it?” Portia asked.
“These alien hybrids exist and they are about to invade us?
Why now?
There have been no alien abductions or attacks on
Flourdans
.”

“The alien threat is real,” Nefertiti said.
“I do not know why they will invade our lands.
The oracle is never wrong, so it will happen.”

“
When is this to occur?”
Audrelia
asked.

Nefertiti walked away from the statue.
“It will be within the year.
They will come.
That is why we must join forces with the Romans.
They can help us defeat the hybrids.
There is no other solution, no other option.
The Romans have great armies and we need the might of Rome to aid us when the aliens come for us.”

Dev
walked toward the sculpture and studied it carefully.
He stared at the
Countess
with suspicion
.
“Does the
Queen
support an alliance with the Romans?
I am not so sure of that.
What would the Romans get out of this alliance and what would the
Flourdans
be expected to give up?”

Nefertiti glared at him.
“I did not ask for your opinion on the matter, Lord Langley.
I have a complaint to issue against you.
Where were you during the circus?
I do not recall seeing your performance.”

Dev
captured her eyes with an intense stare.
“You are mistaken,
Countess
.
I performed in the circus with the rest of the lords.”

“You are right, of course,” Nefertiti replied.
“I remember now.
Next time, you should aim to produce a more memorable performance for me.”

Briella
gazed at him curiously.
She had seen
Dev’s
eyes flash red for an instant while he was lying to Nefertiti.
He had definitely lied, as she knew he had not performed at the circus.
A normal person would not be able to lie to the
Countess
and get away with it.
Nefertiti may have mental problems, but she wasn’t stupid.
Briella
was certain that
Dev
had used some sort of alien mind trick on the
Countess
, especially since Nefertiti believed
herself to be
incapable of
making mistakes.
That woman would never have claimed a mistake.
While Nefertiti began to make a speech about the benefits of
Roman friendship,
Briella
moved next to Dev.
“You were not in the circus.”

“Were you disappointed that you didn’t get to see me juggle my loincloth?”
Dev
asked.
“I could arrange a private demonstration for you later.”

“I don’t need a private demonstration.”
She
may have been a little disappointed in his absence, but she wasn’t about to admit it to him.
“I saw what you did just now.
You made her believe that you were there.”

“The woman a
ccepted my lie as the truth.
I would lie again should the occasion warrant it.
The woman does not deserve my honesty.”

“It is not the lie that bothers me,”
Briella
said.
“You convinced her using unnatural means.”

“What are unnatural means?”
Dev
asked.

Briella
sighed, as he was making things more difficult by pretending he did not
know what she meant.
“Alien mind control.
Does that ring a bell?”

He looked at her sternly and irritation was evident in his tone
.
“After that speech about winged aliens and alien hybrids from
Asstrumnia
that the
Countess
just made, you would accuse me of being one?
Are you trying to get me killed?
I assure you, any accusations of that nature could cause a mob of frightened people to lynch my ass.”

The thought of him being harmed made her feel anxious and panicked, which was disturbing.
She could not afford an attachment.
“I don’t want you killed, Dev
.
However, I do think you are a threat to Avenal.
I’m the new safety officer, and it is my responsibility to safeguard all residents, including those in the harem, the ladies, and the
Countess
herself.
The alien threat is real and the oracle has always been right.”