Nakiel Read online

  Nakiel (Verotan Mates Book 2)

  by C.R Corbin

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  More from the Author

  CHAPTER ONE

  It was a mess of ancient memories for him really, of a world that had been gone for far too long. A world that they were all fighting to bring back into the fray of life...but he supposed that it would take more effort than simply attempting.

  They had to succeed, there was no alternate choice, this was it, this was all that they had on their side.

  Time begins to blur as he walks down into the chambers. The hallways distorted and beams of light streak across the stones in wavy patterns while he steps forward. He didn't know what he should have done, if he should have ran and called them all crazy like he usually did or stayed and held his ground. He was a prince, a warrior now. Certainly, during his youth, he had different ambitions of becoming a great thinker or something similar but right now his people needed him to be strong. And so young Nakiel grabs his blade a bit tighter and steels himself for what is to come.

  His brothers had all split up into their own hallways, all of them had ventured deep into the labyrinths of their quests already and here he was. Across the walls were strange patterns of a forgotten land, desert lands covered in sand and red rocks. The sun was overbearing, glaring down on all that walked the paths of this world. He knew very little about the one that ruled this world but he was sure of a couple of things, this was the sun god. Fitting that he would have chosen a planet that was covered in so much of what he was the patron of.

  And so he would venture forth into this world, he would do everything that he could to find her. The spirits had visited him and showed him what she looked like, a lovely girl with blond hair and blue eyes. One of the survivors that lived in the caverns and only came out at night. Or was she one of the few humans that still lived inside the settlements? The details had been fuzzy but he knew where to find her, it was in his bones, he would know where she was when the time came to it. The spirits assured him of that so he didn't fret nor did he panic.

  All he had to do was wait, to bide his time and watch the stars.

  The stories about the sun god, Iza, were farfetched to say the least but even he knew better than to disrespect one of the main beings that had led to the downfall of his people. For all he knew this god could be one of the strongest out of the entire bunch. He was glad that he didn't get the megalomaniac that Yurlun was, Tacion had that honor. But he was concerned about the sun god's power. It was said that he saw all that the sun did, that the only way to hide from him would be to stick to the shadows, of course this was exaggerated somewhat.

  And he prayed that the fortune would be true for the sake of his mate.

  He never considered himself the strongest of his brothers although he was certainly driven to prove the claim. He was the youngest and was often teased but what he lacked in the sheer experience that his brothers had he more than made up for in terms of intellect. He knew everything that there was to know about the gods and their history, even if he hadn't been there in the first place. His memory was impeccable and he was sure that it would carry him through this journey.

  And so he feels out his tools one last time before he finally embarks.

  His trustworthy blade, a weapon fit for any warrior in his hand, and the additional weapon that he had brought with him. A rather large bow that he strung onto his back, it was his primary weapon as embarrassing as that was to say around his brothers who all preferred charging into battle with their hammers and axes. He preferred a decidedly calmer and more tactical approach. He didn't really care that much about their opinions but their teasing did grate him sometimes. He wasn't ashamed, he was by far the most accurate marksman out of all of them and he had made this bow himself, installing such things as a laser sight to track the exact movements of his arrows as well as specialized arrows for many purposes, he brought the electrical ones for this trip specifically.

  And that bow would serve him well once he encountered those damn scouts that Iza loved to send out into battle.

  As he had said, the room's walls consisted of carvings of deserts, wild beasts, and powerful winds. In addition, there was an all-seeing eye in the sky, what he presumed to be a satellite system that merely watched over the entire planet at all times. Some of the more unstable humans had begun to believe that this robotic monstrosity was actually a god, he actually had powers when it was merely the same technology that they had once used but applied without recourse or restriction. He would shoot the damn thing out of the sky if he had to, just to find her. Just to find the woman that would become his eventually.

  He knew her name, the spirits had whispered it to him nearly every night leading up to this moment. Heather, her name rolled off his tongue like the wind itself. He could see her greeting him, he often had dreams of what life would be like should he find her someday, should he be able to claim her. He would be able to leave all of this behind, the constant fighting and conflict in favour of something even better. He would be able to leave all of this nonsensical combat in his past and begin to restore the intellectual integrity of his people.

  It was his hope his dream to be able to start over once again for his people but this time in the right manner, without the arrogance and the reliance on intelligence that wasn't their own. He wanted it more than anything, to be able to say to his friends and family that he was the one that was able to find a way forward for their people without destruction.

  And it seemed so far away, so very far away should he fail but he wouldn't, he refused to fail.

  He shuts his eyes and walks forward, in the maw of this wild beast with fiery eyes was the orb that would bring him there. That would bring him to his salvation, It stares at him with its bronze eyes and body shining in the dim light of the eternal flames down here. On its forehead was an inscription in Verotan, "And so may the world be mended with your journey." And he shuts his eyes and rests his fingers on top of the statue. He prays, shivering as he does so.

  He prays to heaven that he would be able to restore his honor and the honor of his family, that he would be able to make the world right again through his actions. He wasn't asking for bravery, he was asking for a chance. And so as he steps forward and grabs the cube he sees her looking back at him.

  She sits on a rock in the desert, a show of jubilation occurring around her. She wears a dress of blue that was nearly as pale as her, yet she still looks lovely to him. Her eyes dart against his and she beckons him closer and he feels his instincts take over, his cock hardens.

  And he submits to the feeling.

  And so young Nakiel begins his journey into the realm of humans, the sun, and the machine who sees all.

  CHAPTER TWO

  "Heather!" her sister calls out to her while she kneels there in their small tent.

  Ever since she had become an adult a year ago at the age of 18 her sister had been a bit harsher on her. It was to be expected of course, as a result of the entire deal with the machines and Iza, how they had to collect and wash scrap metal in exchange for being able to live here. It was the reason that they
were still comfortable.

  After all her family was one of the few that was still in any amount of luxury. She had a bed to sleep in whereas most people that lived in Karakasis lived on the ground, in the sands or in caverns scattered across the lands. She had heard of tribes of human men going around to hunt those that lived in the villages, raping and pillaging wherever they wanted, in gigantic metal vehicles that used to belong to the military. They said that the men were descendants of the soldiers that used to man the high towers in the desert. After all, from what her father had told her, this used to be the battery of the quadrant. Planets across the stars near this one were entirely reliant on Karakasis to produce power and that filled her with a bit of pride. To know that her home planet was so respected in the grand scheme of things, it made her quite happy actually.

  But it had all been hijacked by the god here, the AI that ran everything. It was said from his satellite eye that he could see all but sometimes she wondered if that was even true. Would he really let the bandits get away with scrap metal from his droids so often if that were the case? Was he simply apathetic? She wondered if that was what it took for a machine to go mad, to not have a programmable purpose anymore. From what she had heard each of the AI's that ruled humanity had all descended from a single one that was developed by this warrior race far from here. She wondered if there was truth to that or if mankind was just trying to cover up one of their mistakes again.

  She didn't want to know actually, there was enough disappointment in her heart already.

  Her father was an old man now but he still worked as a supervisor in the mines. It was quite harsh on his lungs but he persevered. Their mother died some time ago when she was but a child. From what she had heard, the harsh radiation of the sun here had killed her but she wondered for a moment if it was from her mother fighting against the droids. She wanted to think it was the latter, her mother had disappeared early but she missed her dearly. There was a fire in her mother's eyes whenever she spoke, this fury that consumed her and that drove her to wage war against the droids and the machines of this world. She was an ex-soldier apparently before she met her father and fell in love.

  And her father did miss her dearly, more than she or her sister did in fact, that was not to say that they didn't miss her; her father simply saw her mother as one of the great joys of his life.

  And she felt a strong empathetic grief for him in that regard.

  Her hands cinch around the metal and she runs it through the washer again. Even though her father worked in the mines he forbade the girls from going there so she worked at the local wash station, cleaning parts of machinery and pieces of ore that were considered far too delicate for any machine to handle. At least she could stay out of the sun although what was a different question. It felt like it was being kept at just the right temperature not to kill her but not to provide any degree of comfort either.

  And that was the current thing on her mind at the moment. The sweat in her brow seemed as if it was an entire ocean and she was ready to pass out from exhaustion due to the entire ordeal but she stayed steady. She didn't want to let her sister know that she was tired already, she was depending on her and besides it would be in poor taste especially since she had insisted that she take this job.

  Heather was desperate to prove herself, she saw how hard her parents had worked and wanted to achieve the same level of diligence and fortitude that they had but she wasn't quite there yet, she had to admit that it was driving her mad, the prospect of being stuck at home, so she told her sister that she wanted in. Not that her request had meant much anyways considering her sister was going to take her in no matter what, but the age that Sophia was planning to recruit her at had been 20, she had volunteered a year earlier. Sophia wanted to see if Heather could get some results back from the colleges but Heather supposed that some time spent working would be good for her in the long run and so far it was. The money that she brought in with this job on top of what her father and sister brought had been good enough thus far and she was proud of that fact. And soon she should be receiving some word from the colleges.

  She was rather surprised when she heard that she could end up going to a college. She had been informed when she was about 10 that college was simply a term that was reserved for a select few that had maintained the machines but apparently Iza wanted there to be an educated sector of humans on his side. Engineers, doctors, and artists that would assist him in keeping the morale of the humans up and keeping them healthy, as well as repairing machines that might break along the way. She wasn't complaining of course, the idea that she would even receive this sort of honor was strange to her considering most people she knew worked in the mines but she had been told that she was gifted since a young age. But not in terms of any physical beauty or magnitude, it was all mental, all intellectual. She was proud of that actually.

  And she hoped that she would live up to it.

  The pile of metal to her side was pretty high now, she had been hard at work and soon Sophia would come to collect her. Her sister was much prettier than her and a bit more strict whereas Heather was laidback in nature. That wasn't to say that she couldn't put up a fight if she wanted to, she could of course. She just wasn't as stern as her sister was. She was glad that she could still laugh at jokes herself, Sophia always seemed focused on taking care of their father and making sure everything was alright which was important, don't get her wrong. But sometimes she just wanted her sister to return to the way that she once was, her best friend. Now it seemed like she had stepped into the role of being a mother and it bothered her.

  "Good job today." Sophia says to her as they walk back to their quarters, a large stone building built into the side of the mountain. She desperately needed a bath as soon as they came back, her and her sister both from the smell of it.

  "Thank you Sophie." She states.

  Sophia nods and they continue walking while Heather looks at the other men and women walking home from the factory. Everyone seemed so worn, the night air was still hot even though the sun was gone now. She felt sweat creasing on her brow once again and frowned, shaking her head before she attempted to recollect herself, she could tell the depressive nature of this place was getting to her.

  Rarely did any human have any sort of fun here, rarely did anyone here ever smile and she was beginning to resent that. She was very much a happy girl, a woman that loved to laugh and wanted others to laugh as well so the fact that everyone was simply so dour was a fact that she could understand but one that she desperately wanted to rectify more than anything else. "Dad's home I think." Heather stated in an attempt to stir up some conversation with her sister that wasn't about work for once.

  Sophie sniffs, "Yeah he's probably back from the mines."

  "What are we having for dinner?" Heather asks with a chirpy voice.

  "The usual."

  Ah so canned beef and rice.

  "I figure that maybe sometime next week we could get something else, something a bit nicer." Heather chirps and Sophie scowls.

  "Just because we're earning slightly more now doesn't give you permission to simply go on a spending spree. Be careful with your money, it's important." Says Sophie and Heather merely glares at her sister.

  It was just a suggestion to make life a bit more bearable. All they did was work with barely any days off. It was beginning to grate on her and she could tell that it was beginning to get to her father as well. The old man often yearned for cigars or a nice dinner and Sophia often relented but Heather had no luxury since she was the runt and didn't have the same earning power that her father had.

  And it bothered her, it really did.

  "Remember, 8 am tomorrow." Said Sophia as she walked up the stairs. "Aren't you going to have dinner with dad and I?" Heather asks but her sister says nothing and simply walks forward. Heather sighs and turns her attention to the living room.

  Her father was there and perhaps he would be a better conversational partner. She wal
ks in and sees him in his chair, she was about to greet him but she hears his snoring and sees his arm slumping and her spirit falls.

  She would be eating dinner alone it seemed.

  She knew that she was spoiled, that her father and sister had worked for longer than she had and understood the responsibilities of being an adult but she felt like they weren't even a family anymore at this point. There wasn't anything binding them together other than this house and the memories of her mother and it hurt her, it really did. Perhaps she could call up Monica and go hang out but she knew that it was far too late for that and Monica didn't even show up to work today so she must be really busy or sick, or god forbid both.

  But little does Heather know that she was about to get what she wanted, just not in the way that she was expecting exactly.

  CHAPTER THREE

  He was here, he was finally in Karakasis.

  His hands cinch around his bow as he tries to walk up a rather steep slope of sand. He was on one of the dunes and the spirits told him that she was there in the valley, she lived in one of the settlements there but something told him that he should hurry, an emergency was about to overcome the humans there from what he could tell from what the spirits had told him so he hurried his pace. His grip around his bow tightens and he hopes that he would make it in time.

  That was all that he asked for, a little bit of time.

  He had brought a cloak that would aid him in blending in with the environment. It was tan in color and reflected the light wonderfully, he could be obscured and venture out without worry. His bow was at the ready in case any of his enemies came over the horizon and he was closing in on the mountains now.

  He knew better than to go through the mouth of the valley though, from the intel that he had received he understood that the valley was the site of major mining operations and as such, it was valued by Iza. The materials drawn from this facility were instrumental in maintaining the satellite systems and the solar panels that powered this planet.