The Devil Within
by
Della Ann Boynton
The Devil Within, The Angel Within, and all
characters therein, are copyrighted by Bon Publishing co. and Della Boynton.
Any unauthorized copying and distributing for profit will be prosecuted, and
yes, I do have a lawyer. Not for profit fanfiction is encouraged, however. ^_^
warnings:Male/male sex, graphic, language, violence, attempted NCS
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The Devil Within
by
Kracken
Stuff I legally have to say:
The Devil's Own, The Angel Within, and all characters therein, are copyrighted
by Bon Publishing co. and Kracken. Any unauthorized copying and distributing
for profit will be prosecuted, and yes, I do have a lawyer. Not for profit fanfiction
is encouraged, however. ^_^
warnings:Male/male sex, graphic, language, violence, attempted NCS
Now, on with the story, sorry...
Sequel to The Angel Within
Chapter three
The guard had several clan disks tied in his wild black hair. He was tanned,
short, and dressed in silks, leathers, and furs. His hand never left his sword
hilt even as he bowed to Sunnie and gave him a grin.
"At your service, Lord," the man announced formally. "I am Than'k'Ria
of the Ria Clan of Northern Peloeder, High Guard of the Ch'n'Chi. Your order
is my command."
High Guard was only one step down from the Chi'n'Chi's Second. Sunnie felt a
moment of panic as he realized that he might have made a terrible mistake by
calling on the Chi'n'Chi's help. The clan lord had sent, not just a servant
to be his guide, but a high ranking guardsman. That made Sunnie's visit official,
with all of the diplomatic ramifications that carried with it. If he insulted
the Chi'n'Chi inadvertently now, Sunnie knew that he could cause an, incident',
with wide reaching consequences. "I think that I've changed my mind-"
he began, but Than frowned sharply.
"You have been offered the hospitality of the Chi'n'Chi," Than told him. "To refuse now would be to dishonor him. I would have to defend that honor, Lord." His hand flexed on his sword hilt as he spoke, every muscle tense.
I..." Sunnie swallowed, ducking his head in shame and feeling trapped, as he frantically tried to find the right words to get him out of his unintended insult. "I'm sorry, I'm new to your customs," he finally replied, hoping against hope that it was enough, "Of course, I will accept the Chi'n'Chi's hospitality. If you would please take me to him...?"
The man relaxed. "Yes, Lord," he replied crisply and motioned Sunnie to proceed him. "How may I address you in all honor?"
"Sunnie," Sunnie replied as he stepped into the corridor.
"Your clan and title, Lord?" the man pressed anxiously, not wanting to offer any disrespect.
"Sunnie of Truheart clan is my full name," Sunnie amended. He searched his memory to make it into something the man would understand. "Sunnie'k' Truheart of the Geranto Truheart Clan."
"Ah, " The man replied. "Yes, Lord Sunnie'k' Truheart."
People stared. Sunnie had dressed in jeans, walking boots, a black sweater over a thermal shirt, and a thermal black coat over that. His pack of personal things hanging from one shoulder, and his barbaric guide, told everyone that he was leaving, going from civilization out into the native side of the world. Sunnie saw both sympathy and envy on the faces of the people that passed them cautiously by.
"I'm sorry if I accidentally offended," Sunnie felt the need to say as they left his apartment building and headed towards customs and the gate that led outside the base.
It wasn't going to be easy getting past security, Sunnie knew. He was nervous, not sure of his explanation as to why he wished to leave the base. In fact, he was certain that his explanation had gone through a revision. Shame, and a sudden realization of the far reaching consequences of his actions, was convincing Sunnie to turn his search for Jhai into a simple visit with the Chi'n'Chi and then a return home.
Clan disks clattered as his guide nodded. "You are a stranger. Much can be forgiven, Lord, yet," he added gravely, "there are some who will not accept that excuse."
Sunnie understood the warning. It was the same one that Jhai had tried to give him. His inexperience could get him killed, could get other people killed. While Kevarians understood technology and had a well formed government, they were still using swords and ritualistic customs that were complicated. Killing was often casual and common place.
As Sunnie confronted the grim security guard at the gate, and his guide explained that he was now the Chi'n'Chi's guest of honor, he almost wished that the man, in his crisp, government, uniform, would turn him back. He couldn't though, and Sunnie saw that in the sourness and exasperation of his expression. To insult the Chi'n'Chi by denying him passage, would create a diplomatic disaster.
Though Sunnie was an outcast, and considered a criminal on his home world of Geranto for his perversion of loving another man, on Kevare he was a model citizen. There wasn't anything in his personal file that security could latch onto to in order to deny him passage.
"You may go, even though this is highly unusual, sir," the man told him tightly. "I'm certain that the Legate will want to speak with you about this matter... when you return."
Sunnie had the chilling feeling that the man had been going to say 'if' instead of 'when'. Since it was in his own mind as well, it was as if the man spoke his thoughts aloud. It gave Sunnie courage, after he was given his passport and allowed to go through the reinforced gates leading out into the native Kevare, to say to his guide, "I think... I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing."
On Geranto, he had been directed in every aspect of his life by adults. It was still an old habit he found hard to break. His guide was older than he was. It felt natural to ask for his help and his advice.
As they walked a narrow, cobblestoned street, lined on either side with the doors to shops and homes alike, and threaded their way through a market and a square filled with people relaxing and talking together, his guide tried to reassure him, even though he seemed uncomfortable with the task.
"It is best to nod and say nothing, rather than to speak and contradict," Than told him. "There is a saying, 'A fool does not need help to be shown for a fool.' The court can be full of intrigue and fighting, but you are the Chi'n'Chi's favored guest. You may avoid conflict without offense to keep peace in his hall, but do not flinch or look aside when challenged."
Everyone wore jewelry, feathers, furs, and leathers, Sunnie noticed as he listened and kept close to his guide. Everyone wore weapons, even the children. Clan disks were absent on the lower class, though, and many simply wore a simple design on their clothing that let everyone know who their lord was. The Chi'n'Chi's symbol was a hunting bird; stooped for a kill, beak open and threatening, and claws extended to strike. There was another one almost as common, a red glyph in a circle. When Sunnie pointed it out, his guide looked troubled.
"Rhori'n'Chi, the Chi'n'Chi's brother," he told Sunnie, "He has a very large household and he is the highest ranking of the Chi'n'Chi's kin." He paused as if reluctant to go on, but then said, as if he felt that it was his duty, "Some say that he would make a better clan chief. There are factions. Speak carefully when you see his glyph, Lord. The ones wearing it will carry your words back to their lord."
Sunnie's golden hair was unusual and drew a great deal of attention. Most of the Kevarians had very dark hair, long and tied in plaits. They were also a short, stocky people. Sunnie had broad shoulders, but he was very thin and slight next to them. He overheard several comments about the weakness of offworlders, but his guide cursed the people who made then. Those people looked frightened when they saw his clan disks.
Sunnie's homeworld had been primitive. The pungent smell of so many people close together was unfamiliar, but the smell of animals, wood smoke, and open hearth cooking, was. He found himself breathing it in and feeling a familiar bout of homesickness. His world might have been a hard place, but it was still home, still the place where he had been born and raised to be what he was today. He could fault them many things, but he couldn't hate the pastoral life he had led. Sunnie had truly enjoyed that aspect of it, until they had discovered that he wasn't like other men and had cast him out.
"The Chi'n'Chi's hall," his guide announced.
It was a very large place held up by wooden pillars and wooden beams. The outside walls had been carved with intricate designs; forests, birds, beasts, and people hunting, and the wood had been polished until it gleamed a dark mahogany. The color reminded Sunnie of Jhai and his longing for his lover was suddenly so strong it was painful. He wondered, when Jhai found out about his disobedience and his weakness, if he would condemn him. At that moment, Sunnie was all too willing to condemn himself.
Guards stood at the huge, wooden, main doors of the hall. Sunnie's guide spoke briefly, the men nodded, and they were allowed to pass through. Once inside, Sunnie gaped. He had seen some technologically wondrous buildings on the base, but somehow, a vaulted ceiling of wood, three stories high, with intricately carved pillars, and a procession of painted warriors leading to another set of doors at the opposite end, was more wondrous by far. Hands had made it all, hands and primitive tools, Sunnie was certain. It wasn't prefab or construct. It wasn't plastic board or electronically assembled. It was art and dedication.
His guide snorted, amused and puzzled. "This amazes you?"
Sunnie nodded. "It's... beautiful."
"And unique," the man added smugly. "It isn't like your world, where everything comes out of a mold as alike as peas."
They walked across the great space. It was cold and a draft swept down and around Sunnie from windows that were shuttered but not paned in glass. He shivered as they confronted another set of guards. This time, they were told to wait while a man slipped inside the doorway to announce their presence.
The guards examined Sunnie minutely. Remembering Than's advice, Sunnie met their looks firmly, despite the fact that he was afraid and only wanted to hide behind his hands.
"They send their children?" One guard asked contemptuously.
"No," Sunnie's guide replied in a warning tone. "This has nothing to do with the Legate. He is the Chi'n'Chi's honored guest."
Sunnie saw the fear again, the same reaction as the people on the street outside who had been afraid of insulting an important clan chief's guest.The guard didn't apologize. Sunnie had every right to take offense at the remark and to ask for satisfaction from the Chi'n'Chi.
"It's allright," Sunnie told him. "You didn't know."
The guide made a sound of disapproval, but the guard looked relieved, even though it was edged with puzzled contempt. Sunnie had shown weakness in reassuring the man and allowing the insult to go unchallenged. Still, Sunnie wasn't prepared to do anything else. He didn't want the man harmed or frightened, despite the consequences.
The doors opened again and they were allowed to enter. This new room was long and narrow. A carpet ran it's length, decorated with a depiction of a flock of hawks in various stages of fighting each other. There were tall pillars on either side, standing like an honor guard and leading up to a wide, solid, wood chair flanked by guards and a young boy holding a computerized pad.
The presence of that pad, in such a rustic setting, was almost shocking.
Sunnie and his guide walked the length of the hall and then stopped before the chair. Than gave Sunnie a look, asking for understanding as he sank to his knees. Sunnie did the same.
"An old custom," Than told him, pleased by Sunnie's compliance, as if he was used to offworlders who had refused it. "It is much harder to kill a man if you have to start your attack from your knees."
The boy, about fifteen, slim, dark haired, and dressed in simple leathers, wore a single glyph of the Chi clan in his hair. Even the guards had worn more than that. He gave them an arrogant look, but also inclined his head imperceptibly.
"I am the voice of the Chi'n'Chi," the boy told him. "You will be shown all hospitality until the Chi can give you audience properly. Ask and you will receive. These are his orders, honored guest."
Sunnie nodded and didn't try to respond. The boy found that acceptable. He gestured to a guard and that man stood expectantly.
"You will be taken to suitable quarters to rest," the boy told Sunnie. He pointed to Sunnie's guide. "This man will be your servant and your personal bodyguard. He has the Chi's trust."
Than raised an eyebrow, for some reason amused by the compliment, and then he was standing up and gesturing for Sunnie to do the same. "Sunnie'k' Truheart thanks the Chi'n'Chi for his hospitality and awaits his pleasure," the man replied for Sunnie.
The boy gave a nod as if that had been a slight breech of protocol, but acceptable. The guard took up position and then led them from the hall. Sunnie leaned close to his new bodyguard and asked anxiously. "Who was that? He looked like the Chi'n'Chi."
"His nephew, Wyston," the man replied and the string of clan title was noticeably absent. "He is a bastard and an eunuch by accident when he was younger. His is a servant of the blood. Important, but of no account as well."
Sunnie was shocked and then sympathetic. The man snorted at his soft expression.
"He is of no account," the man amended, "but I did not say that you didn't need to fear him."
Return to Chapter Two
On to Chapter four