Dark Warriors: A Dark Lands Anthology (Darklands) Read Online Free PDF

spiraled towers of the Bride House came into view, and the transport slowed as the shields were lowered to let them through. Nothing was being left to chance with the precious cargo.
    The ‘precious cargo’ gave her captor a dirty look as he removed her cuffs. Unease prickled her skin as he remained beside her on the way down the ramp. Twin women carved of stone, implausibly tall, held the entrance door’s capstone above their heads. A whisper of carved silk swathed their bodies, doing very little to disguise their nipples. She could actually see the dip of their belly buttons.
    Of course, Vana’s sudden fascination with art was more a way of dealing with her growing fear than a study of alien sculpture. Her breathing became harsher the deeper they moved into the building.
    As if sensing the fear radiating from her, the warrior next to her looked at her. His helmet slid back into the collar of his body armor, leaving his face exposed.
    “Dagon!” She hadn’t realized he’s switched places with the other man. They all looked alike in their armor. Even more disturbing was the long, silver scar on his cheek. Perfectly smooth and covering most of the left side of his face, it hadn’t been there before. Though it looked more like paint than healed skin, somehow she knew it wasn’t cosmetic. At some time, someone had hurt him badly.
    She shivered.
    He regarded her through lowered lids. “No man here is going to harm you, adajah. You are far too precious to my people to abuse.” His eyes moved to the triple file of woman moving across the sunlit, pink marble floor, silently including them in his statement.
    Massive white marble columns carved with twining vines and flowers soared to the arched ceiling. Skylights let in light and warmth, providing the perfect environment for the brightly plumed long-tailed birds that flitted about overhead. Potted plants perfumed the air with their delicate blossoms.
    Had she not been a virtual prisoner, Vana would have appreciated the place more.
    They were escorted into a large, circular room strewn with carved benches upholstered in geometric tapestry. The men waited until the women were seated and then ranged around the perimeter of the room. Dagon stood on a dais before the long windows.
    “My name is Dagon,” he said. His words didn’t quite match the moving of his lips. For the first time she realized that she’d always heard a faint, almost whispered echo whenever he spoke. She’d put it down to his accent, but now she wondered…
    “We are using translators to communicate, as our languages are very different. Our needs, however, are much like that of your Earth men.”
    The women rustled with a ripple of fear. Vana tensed.
    “We need wives,” Dagon went on, his ice blue eyes taking in their action, but revealing none of his thoughts. “You were chosen because you have no families, no one who will miss you. We also have no families. Our women are unable to produce female offspring, a result of an engineered virus wrought by our enemies, the Dark Ones.” His eyes glittered with the first glimpse of emotion; hatred. “You will be given everything you need during your adjustment phase. Our men will court you, selecting wives. You will have some say in the matter, but be aware; you will choose a man.” While the women still reeled with shock, he gestured. Two elder women came forward and joined him on the platform. “This is Ellyn and Adibi, two of our few surviving women. They will act as your counselors and teachers. That is all.” With that abrupt statement, he and all the men filed out of the room.
    The moment he was gone, a buzz of frantic whispers began.
    Ellyn stared after his retreating back. “I see we will have to work on his reassuring skills,” she said drolly. Her pale eyes moved over the crowd of frightened women. By the light streaks in her black locks, she must have been on the far end of forty, or perhaps a well-preserved early fifty. “You see what