"Vale, if this book is anything worth a damn, then Myrina lied to me." I mumble again, unbelieving. However I am smart enough to know that most people keep the books that make them look the best, but everything has some semblance of truth.

"How so?" She breathes quietly checking the room around us.

"The Tazi order was also called the slave order. It meant to enslave the parallels that were 'non-magical'. Myrina told me that the Tazi were trained to bring people to the light of magic of other worlds safely so they don't kill each other. She also mentioned that they had to be careful because some worlds would try to take over the smaller ones."

"You are mumbling right now, but I think I am following." She scratches her head trying to wrap her mind around it, but I just continue to ramble.

"If this is true, that means that the Tazi warriors are trying to stop Raphael from becoming the sole crown in what...tomorrow?" I check through the book again, photo after photo of the Tazi standing on peoples throats to 'protect' them.

"I thought he already held the crown?"

Keep up Vale! I almost scream, but my frustration can't be taken out on her. This information turns my world upside down once again, something that I never wanted to happen in the first place. How can I choose a side to support, offered to help her take back over, when in reality it could just be a play to keep her slaves in line?

"He does. In a way. He is transitioning everyone over to the Blood Order. He would be a single King ruling all the planets. The Tazi oppose him heavily, but most want to fall under his line. I mean did you see how excited the people were to see him after we arrived? I wasn't supposed to be taken until tomorrow when the Order came into affect, however I messed up and signed us up for hell a little early."

I watch her process everything, almost able to see the thoughts that flash through her concerned gaze, "So what? What now? He is going to be here soon to come get you. Does this mean you want to ride him like a pony now?"

My face turns a deep red, his tattoos enticing me just from my small memory, "No. This means that I have no idea what is really going on and we have to get to the bottom of it. Because if I remember anything, Myrina is planning to attack in order to gain back control. If she truly was the leader of the Tazi, then we have much more to worry about."

"But she was your old lady neighbor."

"And we traveled through a water well to get to a lava world."

"Fair."

I lay the book between us, and we both read through the chapters together. The magnifier comes in handy when the language is so different than what we are used to. While English is my native tongue, the way their written word swirls and loops is intriguing and one day I hope to be able to read it.

The Tazi started with the original worlds, seven in particular: Lika, Petroz, Genfi, Greta, Bundi, Itka, and Helk. In these worlds only three were magical. The people of Petroz, Helk, and Bundi took over the lesser worlds enslaving them for food production and farming. Farming in this essence meaning soul farming. The Tazi warriors have mastered the art of removing ones soul for their own gain increasing their life span. As the original warriors found more worlds, more and more warriors were enlisted leading to the Great Reap.

"The Great what!" Vale wraps her hands around her neck attempting to protect herself from nothing.

"What in the fuck." I whisper with her, the chapter ends quickly after, the Great Reap being the focus of the next one, but my brain is still boggled.

"Are you telling me this asshole king that threatened to cut out my tongue might be the good guy?"

I laugh in a non-humorous way, "That would be like shoving a hot branding iron down my throat if I had to accept that truth."

"And why would it be so bad? Hm, j'kani, if I was the good guy?"

The King has returned.