Kia's Biehshah Gift

Chapter 32 Strength For Councillors

W~Via looked at Ir. "I think you know of a substance called xerthus."

Ir went white! But both Ryonne~'s turned gray and gasped.

The red-curled Zheien looked at them. Frowned, but with his bright blue eyes very wide! "You know of it? How?"

The one who just died, whom Eanne~ held very tightly, wept. "My bae took of it to save my life! I ne thought one could feel such pain and live!"

"Pirad cautioned me that ne of you must eat it! Is only for a Collective, to strengthen an army, with one drop!"

"My bae W~Via took a vial, and practiced healing on me! O, he suffered, but I also had pain!" Both of them, and Eanne~, dripped green sweat powder that rose in a cloud!

Pas gasped and ported his ennead in to sing for them! W~Via cried. But he waved up a vial of glowy blue stuff and handed it to Ir. "Go, quickly, and find the Councillors!"

Ir took it but spread his arms out. "They are all here—"

"Pirad told me, a Cube has a Host and a Councillor. These are Hosts, ne Councillors, whose faces change for they are a composite being of their members with intelligence."

Ray came over. "I don't have a Councillor. I'm directly connected." She blinked deep blue eyes.

He frowned at her. "Ne think to take xerthus! It would kill you. Eriganh has the Red Cube, but you have the Blue. Think of your Councillor—"

"There isn't one! But I gave it to King Wtensau and they went to Aryll. Does Bess have a Cube? She went with them!"

Ir frowned. "Aryll is in the 9th Galaxy, and I think they would not want to see Bisillips on their world! We are old rivals. Wtensau blamed us for their fall, though I think it was Satauuver's lies, but King Nonosuan and Satauuver had an alliance and traded slaver methods. Nonosuan helped Satauuver take Wtensau's throne, and he will never forget that, or the deaths of a third of his people! Why did you give such a powerful Cube to them? Do you know he will fight Rentappenen, when he taught him how to conquer the Thirteen?"

Ray yanked at her dark blond hair. "Wtensau prayed for forgiveness. I changed the Aryllans back to the peaceful people they were! He knows how to use it, and yes, I believe him! I don't care what you people did after they changed. Your people formed the Alliance with them, so you must have gotten along back then, didn't you?" The rage in her face surprised me! All the Zheien rumbled.

The hair-yanking gesture was a Biehshah one for 'You're stupid!'

Pas sang healing but Ray and Ir glared at each other. Finally, Ir sighed. "We are a stupid and foolish people. Aryllans are very like Zheien, so maybe Wtensau can forgive us for teaching him how to enslave the Ty'nirrhans. It saved their world. Unlike us, Wtensau always treated slaves with kindness, despite how savage he became. He never killed for pleasure like Satauuver did.

"I cannot imagine the suffering of his people. They became savage predators, and spread the plague to all the Aryllans in the Thirteen. Like the Zheien, they made colonies before Llsam's experiment, hundreds of thousands of them. Their colonies were larger than Zheien colonies. Hundreds of thousands of worlds like MarKu but double the population. Because of us, they lost a third of them. We enslaved Aryllans in large numbers because we sent Elshar slavers." Ir shuddered, and his brown eyes poured tears.

Ten waved up drinks for both of us. "I am happy I did not live through that! Where is Llsam now?"

"In stasis. Pirad found him. Our Pirad, here on Ye~, found him and took him to Alb Seer. I think that is how he died of rogues. Deesamor rogues, here in Alb! But, without them, you would not be able to hold your Cube, Kia."