Storm Phase – 15

In this epic fantasy, a young wizard with a mysterious destiny, a cat-girl ninja, and a diary that turns into a bat-like creature journey through worlds of monsters and mayhem.

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Shurada, one of the house’s two teenage zaboko servants waltzed in, carrying a tray with an iron teapot, two porcelain cups, and a plate stacked with warm, buttered biscuits. Seeing her face lifted Turesobei’s spirits.

Seeing the rest of her sent a jolt of surprise and desire sizzling across his skin and through his body.

People of zaboko ancestry were native to the continent of Okoro. Compared to Turesobei’s people, the baojen, the zaboko were shorter and stockier. Their skin was the light, bluish gray of rain clouds, rather than pale cream. Their hair was black, too. But unlike the baojen, theirs had a reddish sheen and gentle waves. And their eyes were not slender and brightly colored but large and round with charcoal irises specked with blue and sometimes green.

A physically strong and resilient people, they outnumbered the baojen five to one, but since they were not of kairu descent, they were unable to wield kavaru and thus unable to use magic. That was how a small number of baojen had been able to oppress the zaboko within the vast regions of Okoro they had conquered.

Gendin Province, ruled by the Chonda Clan, was one of the few territories where the zaboko weren’t enslaved and enjoyed some freedoms.

Whenever she attended him, Shurada had a spring in her step and an infectious, dazzling smile that lit up her face. Tonight was no different. It was a smile she reserved only for him, and sometimes his sister, Enashoma. When waiting on his scornful mother, she kept her face as neutral and unassuming as possible, which was wise.

Shurada was vivacious and easily the most attractive zaboko girl he’d ever seen. She had a delicate nose, hair that fell in loose curls with an intense ruby sheen, and eyes that were as green as they were gray. With access to the same attire and refinements, she could have rivaled any of the baojen women in Ekaran.

Though, in truth, nothing could rival her attire tonight. Or rather, her lack thereof.

Shurada was wearing only a thin cotton nightgown stretched tight against her wide hips and full breasts. A hint of dark nipple showed through the pale fabric.

His heartbeat quickened, and a tingling heat spread through his chest, raced up his neck, and flushed his cheeks. This was as close as he had ever come to seeing a girl undressed. It was intoxicating.

Shurada frequently flirted with him, but she had never been this daring before. Not even close. He couldn’t imagine what made this night any different than all the others. He had barely seen her the last several days.

“I heard you come in,” she said in a warm, quiet voice. “I thought… I thought you might want a snack before bed.”

He couldn’t peel his eyes away from her chest. His throat was so tight he could barely speak. “Thank… thank you… Shurada.”

She smiled sweetly as she bent over and set the tray down beside his sleeping mat. It turned out the gown wasn’t tight everywhere. It was loose at the neckline, revealing the soft mounds of her breasts. He swallowed hard then tried and failed again to look away.

As she squatted down to pour him a steaming cup of mint tea, her nightgown slid up to reveal a considerable stretch of her strong thighs, and he caught a brief scent of jasmine oil from her skin.

“Is there anything else you need?”

Nervously, he glanced toward the door then forced his eyes to meet hers. “If my mother knew you were in here this late and dressed…” he failed to keep his eyes from roaming across her body “like… you are…”

“As long as we speak quietly, she won’t know I’m in here,” Shurada said. “She drank herself to sleep again.”

“Of course, she did.”

Hands trembling, she held the teapot over the second cup, her cheeks darkening. “Would you like some company?”

Yes, very much. And not because of how pretty she was or how enticingly little she was wearing tonight. Well… not just because of those things. He always enjoyed chatting with her, though their time together was limited.

Socializing with zaboko was forbidden in his mother’s house and frowned upon in most others. Wenari often lamented that her children had to grow up in a clan province where the zaboko were serfs and indentured servants rather than slaves. Of course, physical relations between baojen and zaboko were strictly forbidden, even in the Chonda Clan’s forward thinking Gendin Province.

Flushing from head to toe, he said, reluctantly, “I… I really need to get some rest, Shurada. And my father will be coming home later. And Enashoma… she might hear us.”

The second two excuses were obviously lame. His father slept in the other wing of the house, as far from his mother as possible. And though his fifteen-year-old sister’s room was across the hall, Enashoma was a heavy sleeper. Besides, she wouldn’t care one wit even if she did hear them.

Shurada’s bright smile faded, and she sighed. “I understand.”

“It’s not because—”

“Yes, it is, my lord.”

That title spoken between them in private stung. Perhaps he deserved it, but he had never even kissed a girl before, and he was in love with Awasa. She should be his first and only. More importantly, he wasn’t about to shatter sweet Shurada’s world. She wasn’t thinking clearly. Sure, they could keep a tryst secret. Such things probably happened. But if they were discovered together, she would be lashed and exiled from the province, all the safety and security she enjoyed here gone. He could never do that to her.

A forced smile found its way onto her face as she stood and batted the red-tasseled cord hanging from the ceiling. “Ring if you need anything, my lord.”

“I’m sorry, Shurada.”

“The fault was mine, my lord,” she muttered in a dejected tone. “I hurried in without dressing because I knew you would be exhausted, and I didn’t want you to fall asleep before getting something to eat. I’m sorry that in my haste I was forward and inappropriate.”

“You know I enjoy your company,” he said, feeling wounded.

“Of course, my lord.”

As she started to exit, he remembered something he’d been forgetting. “Wait, Shurada. I have a gift for you.” He fished three coins from his satchel and held them out. “Two for you, and one for Imi.”

Imi was their other teenage servant. Shurada was a year older than Turesobei, and Imi was just a few months younger. Where Shurada was gorgeous, full-figured, and vivacious, Imi was cute, slender, and reserved. He suspected she had a crush on him as well, based on the way she darted glances his way and giggled with Shurada whenever he walked away.

He had thought that they were laughing at him and teasing him in a mocking way. Until last spring when Enashoma had pointed out otherwise. “They’re obviously flirting with you, dummy. Shurada especially.” Of course, to him, nothing was ever obvious about girls, his sister included.

After that, Shurada’s flirtations increased. Whether from him noticing her and responding in some unconscious way or Enashoma having said something to her, he had no idea.

Oh, if only Awasa could see him the way Shurada and Imi did… Although they probably only liked him because he was nice to them and because they didn’t get to spend any time with other boys their age.

Eyes alight again, she bounced over to him. “So you do like me better?”

“I’m not dumb enough to declare a favorite,” he chuckled. “It’s just that I have only these three coins, and you’re the one who brought me the snack I desperately needed.”

As her hand neared his, she paused. “You know, I can’t accept this. If your mother found out…”

She said the same thing every time he snuck a few coins to her and Imi.

“See that she doesn’t.”

“I’ll put it in my dowry with the pay Lady Wenari gives me.” She took the coins from his hand. Her fingers brushed against his, and it sent a shock through him. “Thank you, my lord. Sleep well.”

He watched her intently as she swayed out of the room, his heart hammering with forbidden desire. He wanted to be with Awasa — desperately, he believed. But right now he burned for Shurada with the passionate intensity his grandfather expected of him when it came to studying spells.

He rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. If Shurada was this forward again, he would have to talk to Enashoma. He trusted his sister to know better how to handle something like this, and more importantly, to keep it secret.

He crammed a few biscuits down his throat and drained the cup of mint tea Shurada had poured for him. As his heartbeat slowed and desire ebbed, his disappointment with his father resurged.

Noboro’s return was nothing like he had hoped. As usual. He wanted to hear tales of his father’s travels and, more than anything, spend time with him. After all, who else was going to teach him how to be a man?

Kahenan was all about studying wizardry. And his mother, whenever she took an interest in him, was a demanding tyrant who saw him as nothing more than a status symbol.

He wasn’t sleepy anymore, but maybe fatigue would drag him into unconsciousness. He reclined on his mat and closed his eyes. His disappointment in his father faded, only to be replaced by images of Shurada in her nightgown. After a few minutes of pointless fantasy, he gave up on sleep and sat up.

He pulled the ancient diary from the satchel and ran his hands along the cover. The runes shimmered, but Lu Bei didn’t appear. He had asked the fetch not to appear unless called for.

“Lu Bei,” he whispered.

Though the original transformation had taken a couple of minutes, the change now took only a handful of seconds at the most. Lu Bei wheeled around the room before landing on the sleeping mat.

“Did you need me, master?”

“I was just lonely and wanted someone to talk to,” he sighed.

“The girl seemed like a nice distraction to me, master.”

“You know what’s going on even when you’re in your book form?”

“Of course, master. What good would a magic diary be otherwise?”

“I suppose so.”

“Naturally, I can’t see anything or talk to you, master, but I can hear everything that goes on around me. Unless you instruct me not to. For instance, you might want a future, intimate encounter with the young lady who was here earlier to remain private.”

His cheeks blushed hot. “Such things are not allowed!”

“What silliness! The rules are yours to make, master.”

“Tell my mother that. Besides, I’m in love with someone else… my betrothed.”

“I see no reason why you cannot enjoy as many women as you want from any ancestry you desire, master.”

“That’s very forward thinking of you… the ancestry bit anyway. But that’s not how things work.”

“Master, you are…” Lu Bei shook his head and sighed, then he patted him on the hand. “I’m sorry your father disappointed you and that you couldn’t allow the girl stay, if only for a chat.”

“You want to know something that’s really disappointing — and irritating?”

“Of course, master.”

“My father is discussing important matters with my grandfather, and they won’t let me in on it. I’m old enough to be included and keep their secrets!”

Lu Bei slammed his fists into the mat and yelled, “It is an outrage, master!”

“Shh! You’ll wake my mother. Her room is at the end of the hall.”

“Ooh, that Shurada is a brave one, master.”

“Too brave.”

He waited for a tap on his door, thinking Lu Bei must have woken even deep-sleeping Enashoma, but if he had, she wasn’t motivated to cross the hall and complain about it.

“I think that is very wrong of them, master. You will be the next high wizard. You should know the important things they’re talking about. They must include you!”

“I’m glad you agree with me, but Father said no.”

Lu Bei’s little face adopted a defiant scowl. “You’re going to let that stop you, master? Unacceptable. Sneak over to that pavilion and do some eavesdropping.”

“That would be wrong of me, Lu Bei. There are rules against spying, even on your family members.”

“Such rules, master, should never apply to you.”

He frowned. “You’re going to be a bad influence, aren’t you?”

“Most likely, master.”

He should go to bed. He should do what was expected of him. But he was sick of “shoulds” and “should nots.” To hell with all their rules and restrictions! It was bad enough he couldn’t spend time, intimate or not, with Shurada. And that he had no say in his future.

“You have to be the next high wizard, only you can’t listen in on our important discussions.” What a load of crap! How else was he supposed to learn how to be the next high wizard?

“What the hell,” he said. “Let’s do this.”

“That’s the spirit, master!”

With a feeling that he was going to regret his actions in a few hours, he pulled on his traveling boots and donned his canvas cloak. Then he slipped out through his window and raced into the pouring rain with the tiny fetch fluttering alongside him.

To Be Continued…