Alien Chronicles 1 - The Golden One Read Online Free Page B

or his hardheaded ability to function and reason early in the day following a night of debauchery.
    “Gambling?” he repeated. “Yes, sire. It is, after all, Festival, and I am not otal yet.”
    “You will lose your fortune someday,” the Kaa said, and drained his cup with a feeling of intense satisfaction. Father of twenty-nine new hatchlings. He restrained the urge to laugh aloud, and instead let the feeling bubble inside him like the effects of a superb dinner wine.
    “Risk gives life its zest,” Gaveid said.
    The Kaa felt generous enough to tease the old one. “Gaveid, you will come to us one day a ruined male, lamenting and wearing the ashes of remorse on your head. Great Father, you will say, why did you not prevail on me to use more reason?”
    The chancellor snorted. “I do not gamble my own money,” he said. “I only risk the fortunes of others.”
    While the Kaa was laughing, a melodic chime sounded outside his dressing room. The Kaa’s good mood vanished like a burst bubble. “Permit no entry,” he said sharply to the slave who hurried to the door. “We will keep our privacy yet a while longer.”
    The slave bowed nervously. “It is Lord Telvrahd, sire.”
    The Kaa narrowed his gaze. “Most especially we do not wish to receive him. Deny him entry.”
    The slave obeyed, and Gaveid cocked his head to one side. “Is that wise? Telvrahd will be offended.”
    “We told our egg-brother we would not discuss his petitions until after Festival,” the Kaa said shortly.
    “The Progressionist Party is gaining popularity in the outlying areas, sire. Perhaps it is best to deal early with the matter, before it becomes a problem.”
    “The Progressionists are fools. Telvrahd is a fool,” the Kaa said.
    “Diplomacy, sire,” Gaveid counseled. “Not confrontation.”
    “Yes, and next you would advise us to listen to the Reformists as well. Must we then give full rights of citizenship to the abiru?”
    “It is not necessary to go to radical extremes to appease these factions.”
    “Factions.” The Kaa flicked out his tongue in scorn. “We are bored with factions and political parties. They should be abolished.”
    “Granted, they are a nuisance, but they allow citizens and nobles to vent their dissatisfaction without violence.”
    “Do they?” the Kaa retorted sharply. “Or do they encourage more grumbling against us?”
    “Sire—”
    “Enough,” the Kaa said, and held up his hand. “This discussion bores us.”
    “Politics remain a necessary evil in the duties of the Imperial Father.”
    “But not today,” the Kaa said with a grin of mischief. He was still swollen with pride, and he wished to savor the triumph of the Hatching as long as possible. “The Imperial Father has executed his most important duty. Twenty-nine new hatchlings,” he boasted.
    Gaveid bowed. “A splendid addition to your imperial progeny.”
    The Kaa cast him a sharp glance. Sometimes it was difficult to tell whether Gaveid was mocking him or not. “And how many hatchlings did you father when you were able, chancellor?”
    Considering the low birthrate in Gaveid’s family, this retaliation was not a kind one.
    Gaveid’s old eyes narrowed to slits. “A swift barb indeed, sire. You have reminded me of lost days, of vigor I shall never regain, of memories best left forgotten in the dust of time. I am honored by the Imperial Father’s attention.”
    Annoyance flared through the Kaa. “And now in turn you remind us of the old days, when the royal hatching was double or triple this number.”
    Gaveid bowed. “Time sets its footprints upon us. Our civilization has changed. Our genetics have changed. We are in decay and decline as a race. The empire shrinks a little more each year.”
    “Don’t say such things!” the Kaa said sharply, turning away from him. Reaching for his refreshed wine cup, the Kaa drank deeply, too annoyed to savor its exquisite taste. “You speak as though we are finished.”
    “The end