Chapter 188

"Everything you desire of mine is here before you, Men. My throne…my woman. I can think of no place more suitable to fight than here where those treasures lie. And besides, if I must defend them, then why not do it where I can view them? Surely even you would agree to this."

Menakam shrugged, glancing about the Imperial Ballroom with indifference. "Too bad you play fair, brother. Otherwise, you"d be dead already."

"Do you agree to have our battle here, Men, or not?" Dammen demanded.

"Let"s get on with it!" Menakam growled back, by way of agreement.

Dammen snorted, then took Casina"s hand and led her across the ballroom and up the grand staircase to the coveted throne of Valtor. Menakam watched soberly, smirking at his own cunning thoughts. Then he turned to the wall behind him, deciding on his weapon of choice. For eons, the wall had been decorated with scores of weapons, each one unique to the various worlds of Valtor.

"To view the fair Casina sitting on that seat is encouraging, brother, and makes me desire them both all the more."

"Is he really your brother?" Casina asked quietly as she and Dammen ascended the stairs.

"Half-brother," Dammen corrected. "We share the same father."

As they reached the platform, Casina"s eyes widened in shock. "Uri!" she gasped, a hand covering her mouth. "Your throne! What...happened?"

"It appears Menakam has in his possession the Shir-Kala - the Stone of Reinvention. He stole it from my family some scalons ago." He frowned with disgust at the oversized, tacky-looking seat that had replaced his couch-like throne. "That would explain what happened to my crown, too. No doubt he plans to change TrCasinaar, and Valtor as well."

"He keeps it in a pouch on his belt," Casina said. "The stone, I mean. He used it earlier, to change my outfit."

"That"s good to know," he acknowledged. "Now, sit here. And guard this." He directed her onto the prized seat as he handed her the cumbersome crown for safekeeping. "I want you well out of harm"s way."

"Uri..." Casina raised pleading eyes to his, clutching his arm as if afraid he would disappear. He leaned over to kiss her.

"Don"t worry. I have no intention of leaving you alone again for a long…long…time."

Casina bit her lip and nodded, then watched with dismay as he straightened and turned to descend the stairs.

"Shall we get on with this, brother," Menakam drawled, his arm already positioned through the wide hole of the sharp orum he was unconsciously spinning around on his bicep, as he tested the sharpness of the many pointed blades of the ancient weapon. "There are so many matters that need attending. You know," he continued unnecessarily, "marriage arrangements…your burial arrangements…."

"You presume too much," Dammen replied, with grave confidence.

Men gave a loud, contemptuous grunt. "Presume nothing! I am merely stating facts. I intend to win this battle, Majesty."

"So be it then," Dammen said.

He waved an authoritative hand. Then a huge portion of the ballroom floor opened. It slowly parted back with a loud rumbling, grating noise to form an open, deep, circular hole, nearly one-third the size of the room. Below the floor was an immense black pit, where was revealed a maze of jungle and flora growing beneath it. At sight of this, Menakam was quick to protest. Gaping at the large hole, he stumbled backward.

"What is this? The Ordum course?" He was aghast. "We didn"t agree to this!"

"I chose the ballroom, Menakam, remember? You agreed."

"Yes…" Menakam spluttered, "but…the…Ordum?"

"Would you rather the Paddock of Azor?"

"N-No." Menakam gave a nervous swallow, his face paling as he regarded the dark hole.

"You know as well as I, Men, that when you choose an orum blade as a weapon of combat that it is to be used only in the Ordum course. That has always been the tradition in Valtor."

"Y-Yes…but I guess I…forgot."

Dammen shook his head and frowned at this admission. But he remained firm in his decision to follow the custom.

"As you said. Let us end this here…and now."

Then, in an impressive display of telekinetic power, Dammen extended his arm and snatched another orum blade from off the wall behind Menakam. It was yanked from the wall by an invisible force and thrust firmly into Dammen"s waiting hand.

"No powers, Dammen! You can"t use them to win against me!"

"I won"t need them, Men." Then with a final glance at Casina"s ashen face, Dammen swept a hand vertically upward, rose himself up from the floor, then dropped into the jungle below. As Casina watched from several hundred criminas away, her heart leaped into her throat as again she felt fear course through her. Fear for her husband"s safety and again at being witness to his amazing abilities. Even now she wondered how he had managed to hide them from her for so long.

Menakam snarled an oath as he followed his half-brother into the black pit, his face radiating the fear tightening his own heart. Even the sight of several of his men hurrying into the ballroom to back him didn"t lessen his own overwhelming sense of fear. Why had it never occurred to him that Dammen might pull something out of the ordinary? And why hadn"t he remembered about the Ordum course? Fang! Had Dammen erased his memory of it just for such a time as this? Maka! he thought again as, jumping into the pit, he disappeared beneath the ballroom floor.

"My lady," came a male voice close to Casina"s ear.

Startled, Casina turned to spy Cambra Vernier kneeling covertly beside her.

"Jeiel? Where have you been? Are you all right?"

"I brought in more of my military units to secure the palace, Majesty, as your husband commanded."

"Is that why you left me alone in the tunnel?"

"Yes, my lady. By Kaanig Altair"s command as well." He ducked his head by way of apology.

"I see."

Casina gave the situation thoughtful consideration, only now piecing together what had happened. It seemed that Dammen had been in charge of their mission the entire time. Using her as bait had brought about the anticipated battle between Men and her husband, as he had obviously planned.

"Cambra," she began. "Um, can you tell me...What is...an Ordum course?"

Smiling, the handsome cambra moved closer, concealing his presence from the eyes of the enemies below.

"The Ordum, my lady, is a place of many dangers. It is full of traps, dangerous reptiles, as you call them, mazes, swamp, clay pits, even moving sand, to mention a few obstacles. It is quite extensive. Kaanig Altair trains there often and knows every inch of it. So do not fear, Majesty. Dammen knows exactly what he is doing. Menakam, I"m afraid, has not been through the Ordum course since childhood and has a real terror of it."

"Oh," was all she could say. Moments later she knew what she wanted, nay had to do.

"I want you to train me there, Jeiel," she said, turning to clutch his arm in a beseeching manner, her mien serious. "Regardless of the outcome of this battle, I need to be ready for whatever happens later. I want to become a warrior like my husband, as he wants me to become. Like his mother was.

"Iddo and Kitar explained to me a great many things, but I want to learn everything there is to know about the Valtorian forces. I want all the military training you can give me so that I may rule this world as Dammen does now. Or, if I"m ever left alone again, so that I may rule as Dammen would if he survives, as he has always ruled. I want the people to know that I am as capable as Dammen. I want it to be as though he were always here." She ignored the shocked expression on Jeiel"s face as she continued, "Can you do this for me? Train me in this as well? I want to know everything. Only Dammen doesn"t need to know right away. I"d rather we do this secretly until I"m more confident and able to surprise him. And besides, he may prevent me from pursuing this. So please, promise me you won"t tell him or anybody else just yet."

"Aye, my lady," Jeiel agreed, his dark chocolate eyes glittering strangely at her request. "It will be as you say. By your command."