Urden, God of Desire Read Online Free

groundskeepers were en route, a band of seven men with a small hovercraft to raise the statue and place it on a loader ship. As he watched the men work, Enrue relaxed. It was nice not to think of the massive war soon to be underway. He pushed aside his plans to meet with his allies later that evening and took a moment to breathe in the clean air.
    “Forgive me, Shiemir.” Yet another retainer had appeared from the palace, a data sharer in his hand. “I have the figures on Southern Irnia for you.”
    “Ah, yes.” Glancing over the young man dressed in the standard blue uniform, Enrue took the sharer from his aide and sifted through the tallies. Seventy-three closed brothels, nine slaver houses, and three black market body banks. “That’s all of them?”
    His retainer nodded.
    Enrue turned off the sharer and set it beside him. Watching the groundskeepers raise the black goddess, he frowned, his mind returning to the emissary the Empire had attempted to send. He doubted the Cossia would give up easily. She had her orders. Rubbing his chin, he wondered if he ought to capture her and send word to the Empire, demanding a higher ranked official attend him.
    A flower drifted across his field of vision, dancing circles in the air until it came to rest on his lap. He grasped the delicate bloom and drew it to his face to breathe in its perfume. Glancing at his retainer he asked, “Is there something more?”
    “Yes, my Shiemir. The Cossia from Kyleena. Her ship has changed course, and we estimate it will arrive in Alga by nightfall.” The retainer’s brow crinkled with worry.
    “Good, good.” Enrue waved his retainer away. “Send an envoy of my police to meet with her. I want the Cossia brought to my palace in Taraf.” He clutched the data sharer and rose. “No harm will come to her. Be sure the officers know my will.”
    “Yes, my Shiemir.”
     
    * * * *
    The boardroom in the Irnian palace had survived well enough to still be useful. Only one wall bore a jagged crack as a result of the bombings. Enrue sat at the head of the long, black table with his three most trusted allies. There was a hint of danger in the meeting, but the Empire had yet to realize Enrue’s intent. Like any overgrown government, they felt safe in their rule, secure due to their vastness. The Empire considered itself untouchable.
    He studied his allies, Jorin from Em-3, a balding, elderly man with a quick retort always at the ready. Then there was O’ka, the Empress of Em-19. If not for her dark-nylenth ancestry, Enrue might have found her attractive. She was stunning, but prone to acts of violence. She’d killed her last two mates, and though she hinted she welcomed the idea of him as her lover, he had no desire to become her third victim. Women don’t interest me any longer. My urges passed with my youth.
    The representative from the Sovra system, his third ally, continued to scratch notes across his arcane papers. A wonder they manage space travel. In Sovra, people aged slowly and the man scrawling out his notes appeared to be no more than a teen. But Enrue knew better. Hyath was older than him by thirty years. His youthful face gave off an innocence worthy enough to fool most high-ranking officials in Kyleena. He was an excellent spy.
    “My friends,” Enrue began. “Ours will be a new light in the universe, an alliance of fellows united for peace and the fair treatment of all the races. This exploitation of newly colonized planets and their people is just like that of Earth so long ago. It’s wrong.”
    O’ka raised one eyebrow and half-grinned at him, her expression alluring. Pheromones drifted through the temperature-controlled air. “We are all in agreement. My armies will take this location as base to launch an attack when the Empire comes.”
    “They will come sooner than we think,” Jorin interjected. He ran a palm across his sweaty brow, his sparkling eyes narrowing. “And when they do, my fighters will attack from the