Read Spirit of Empire 4: Sky Knights for Free Online Page A

The preening suddenly stopped and he spoke. “Greetings, Sir Galborae,” he said, “and welcome aboard our great ship. You have no need to fear me—humans are not my preferred food.”
    Galborae had thought he could not be further surprised, but the creature had actually spoken to him. “You speak, and you have hands?” he blurted out in amazement.
    “I do, ten of them, the better for fighting, eh?” M’Sada clicked his mandibles together, his way of laughing, though Galborae completely missed that little nuance. “As strange as I might seem to you—and I am not offended in the least that you consider me strange—there are others among our Empire who are even stranger. We’ll do our best to limit your exposure. You’ve seen enough already. We know it has not been easy.”
    “I have seen much, but I cannot put my hands around it yet.”
    “I believe you. Your adjustment to us is going much better than we thought it would. Be proud of yourself, sir. May I introduce our leaders?” He turned his head to the two humans standing right behind himself. “Meet Lady Krys and Sir Tarn, Knights of the Realm. They are truly great ones among our people.”
    Galborae bowed, this time more deeply. “You must have been the ones who decided to stay and help me. Thank you.”
    Lady Krys spoke, her eyes moving to him but not in the normal way. He suddenly realized she could not see him, that she was blind. He wondered how a blind person could be a great one, but he understood that he had a lot to learn about these strangers. This was but a tiny piece of the whole.
    “Among our people, such a decision is not really a choice,” Lady Krys said. “We regret the need for our presence, but we will never abandon you. That’s our way. We’re taking you to another world where you will meet more warriors. There, you will train with them to kill the demons. When you are ready, you will lead them back to your world.”
    Galborae looked around the room and wondered if the warriors would be like the ones here. He considered for a while, deciding that he could probably fight beside them despite their strangeness.
    “I will do my part, M’Lady.”
    She cocked her head to the side. “And what exactly will your part be? You are a warrior, but what your people really need is someone to explain us to them, someone to lead them through the changes that are coming. Are you that person?”
    Galborae lifted an eyebrow and said thoughtfully, “Before you came, my kingdom was the only world I knew. I have seen with my own eyes that there are many kingdoms. They do not know me, and I do not know them.”
    “But once you learn how to kill the demons, these other kingdoms will listen to you if only to learn how to fight beside you.”
    He nodded his agreement. “That much is true.”
    “You should know about the civilization we’re bringing you to. Will you please take a seat while I explain?”
    Sir Tarn pulled a hard chair over to him, judging it would be the easiest for him with his wounds. The rest of the people either left on other duties or scattered around the room and made themselves comfortable.
    “Our Empire is ruled by a Queen,” Lady Krys began. Galborae raised his eyebrows, but she could not see him so she did not know, nor would she have cared. “She is one of the Chosen, a small group of women from one blood line. The Chosen are born with certain Traits found nowhere else in our Empire, chief among those Traits the ability to see into the mind of every known creature.”
    “They reads minds?” Galborae asked with a frown, not certain how he felt about that.
    “No, not exactly, but they have the ability to determine the Truth of a person. It is mainly because of that trait that the Chosen have been called to rule, a rule which has lasted for many, many generations. Our Empire has benefited from their creatively in resolving the most complex disputes.”
    Krys paused, knowing that what she was about to say was not