They silently followed their hostess to a table, set for an intimate dinner for two. The sun had set, and the stars were becoming visible. The manticore picked up a large candle, briefly turned away, and blew a stream of fire, lighting it before replacing it in the center of the table with a sincere smile of pleasure.
“My name is Kora. My daughter, Darla, will take care of you tonight, Empress. I will make your room ready while you dine,” Kora explained, holding out a large menu.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Kora,” Nali replied.
“What would you like to drink?” Kora asked.
Nali sighed. “You wouldn’t have any bourbon, would you?” she wistfully inquired.
“Only the finest the pirates had to offer,” Kora chuckled.
Nali laughed. “Then make it a bottle,” she declared.
Kora grinned. “With pleasure, Empress,” she said before turning to Asahi. “Would you like something else?”
“Bourbon is fine,” Asahi replied.
Within minutes, Darla returned with a bottle of bourbon in a large decanter and two glasses. Darla poured the bourbon into the glasses while Nali ordered for both of them since she was more familiar with the cuisine offered. He picked up his glass and sat back.
This was a lot different from their meal and accommodations the night before. Except for brief breaks every couple of hours, they had kept going. Fatigue was wearing him down, and he knew that Nali must be as exhausted as he was, if not more so, after her battle with the alien.
“Tell me more about the Goddess’s Mirror,” he quietly requested.
She looked at him with a startled expression before she sat back in her chair and looked up. The sky was now dotted with stars that glittered like billions of brilliant twinkling lights. His breath caught at the beautiful swirling river of colors flowing across the heavens.
“It is said that the Goddess who created our world wanted a place where magical creatures could exist in harmony. To do that, she created the Seven Kingdoms. Each Kingdom held a piece of her essence. The Dragons received the Dragon’s Heart while the Sea People were gifted the Eyes of the Sea Serpent. The Elementals were given the Gem of Power—which turned out to be more different than any of us expected,” she mused. She took a sip of her bourbon before she continued. “The Isle of Magic was given the Orb of Eternal Light, a gift that Magna, the Sea Witch, was able to unlock through the spell she cast on the King of Magic. She used the power to kill the alien that had possessed her body. The Giants were given the Tree of Life while Ashure—” Nali stopped and looked down at her glass with a half-smile. Asahi experienced an emotion that surprised him. It almost felt like—jealousy. She sighed and looked up at him with an amused expression as if she could sense his conflicted emotions.
“You said that he and Tonya are together,” Asahi remarked.
“Yes. It is good to see him happy—not that he didn’t appear to be before. Ashure is a complex man. His mother was from the Isle of the Monsters and his father was a pirate. Neither one of them deserved a son like Ashure. In fact, neither one of them should have become a parent at all. The only good thing they ever did was create Ashure, though of course they didn’t intend to do that. They died when he was very young,” she explained.
“You love him,” he reflected, watching the play of emotions that crossed her face as she spoke of Ashure.
She smiled at him. “Yes, very much. I never had a sibling, but Ashure is as close—and as irritating—as any brother could be. He is the King of the Pirates and protector of the Cauldron of Spirits,” she said.
“That sounds ominous,” he replied.
Nali’s grin hinted at her dangerous side. “Only for those who cross the line. You aren’t in your world any longer, Asahi. Here we are each made of a magic that goes all the way to our souls. The magic doesn’t die when we do.”
Asahi was quiet for a moment as he absorbed that information, then he asked, “And what is the story of the Goddess’s gift to the Isle of the Monsters?”
She glanced at him before looking up at the sky again. “It allows me to see the future—when she wants to share it with me. The mirror warns me of harm to my people—or any of the Seven Kingdoms—and can guide me in protecting them… sometimes,” she softly replied.
“But…?” he prodded.
She looked at him with a rueful expression. “But—it is often not very clear,” she admitted.
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “Did anything like the incident with the alien earlier ever occur before?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Never,” she said.
Asahi saw Nali look behind him and heard Darla approaching with their meal. He sat back and silently waited as the young manticore placed their dinner on the table. He murmured his thanks to her and waited until she left them alone before he spoke again.
“The mirror is too dangerous to use again. Somehow, the alien can connect with it,” he stated.
“I’ve warned Reese about the dangers. He, the other guards, and Pai will keep watch tonight. Pai and the manticores have excellent night vision. There is also the possibility of using the mirror to our advantage now that we are aware of the entity’s capabilities,” she countered.
Asahi nodded and began eating. The delicious flavor of grilled fish seasoned to perfection flooded his taste buds. Nali’s soft groan of pleasure covered his stomach’s growl of delight.
“This is delicious,” he commented.
She nodded. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was—or how tired,” she confessed with a rueful grin.
Chapter 9
Nali bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing at the myriad of emotions flitting across
