Alien Chronicles 1 - The Golden One Read Online Free

their chatter. They were as lost to him as the eggs which had not hatched. Ugly, deformed, weak, or merely plain—they had been deemed unworthy of his notice. They would live their lives outside the palace, joining other Rejects, unaware of the heritage which had been denied them by fate.
    While the saffron-robed attendants did their grim work, the cerise-robed attendants moved slowly about, cuddling the acceptable hatchlings in their arms, cooing to them and singing.
    The Kaa finally turned his gaze upon the master still waiting at his side. “Master of the Birthing,” the Kaa said formally. “What news do you bring us? How many born?”
    The master bowed deeply and cleared his throat. His rill lay limp about his neck. “Good news, sire. The hatching was a splendid and most bountiful one.”
    From the corner of his eye, the Kaa saw another group of Rejects swathed in blankets and carried out. His pain grew, and from the gallery he heard a few hushed cries from his wives.
    “How many?” the Kaa asked, although in his mind he was counting.
    The master bowed again, careful to keep his gaze averted from the Kaa’s face. “Twenty-nine blessed hatchlings are born to the Father and his gracious wives.”
    Twenty-nine acceptable hatchlings of the fifty born. Better than half. The Kaa blinked. Twenty-nine hatchlings and twenty-eight favorite wives. Tonight when the sunset marked the end of Festival, and the closing bells in the city’s spires were rung, songs of joy would fill the wives’ court in the palace. There were enough tiny, dewy-rilled hatchlings for every set of loving arms. And he would allow Myneith—First Wife, and still most favored—to have two. She would be pleased by the gesture, and perhaps she would forget that she was growing older, with less plumpness stored in her tail as her beauty became eclipsed by the newer wives.
    “Congratulations to the Imperial Father,” the master said.
    “We are pleased,” the Kaa replied.
    The master released an audible sigh of relief and bowed with a smile.
    The Kaa also smiled, and the drums began to roll with flourishes. Triumphant music soared in a rising series of fanfares. Now word would flash through the palace, and the waiting courtiers would be agog with the news.
    Twenty-nine perfect, beautiful hatchlings . . . May the gods show mercy and let them all live, the Kaa prayed.
    Satisfaction swelled within the Kaa. Rising from his throne, he bounced a little on his toes. At a time when fewer and fewer Viis offspring were born every year, at a time when beauty and perfection seemed harder to find, he at least need not fear that he was losing his powers or his virility. Yes, he was indeed the Father of the Empire.
    But there remained one official question for him to ask.
    He pinned the master with his gaze. “Do any of these newborns surpass the sri-Kaa in beauty?”
    The master tucked his hands together and tilted his head. “One male is crimson, green, and gold. A most striking combination.”
    “Indeed, yes,” the Kaa said, surprised. His thoughts flashed to Abiya, his newest wife from the southern continent. She was exotic and high-tempered. Perhaps she was the genetic mother of this son, not that it mattered.
    “Still,” the master continued, “unusual coloring does not in and of itself surpass the sublime qualities of the sri-Kaa. She remains supreme among the Imperial Father’s progeny.”
    Relieved, the Kaa uncurled his tongue within his mouth and gave the master a nod. “Then it is done. We shall gaze upon them tomorrow when it is certain they will live. Inform our wives of the happy news.”
    The master bowed yet again, so deeply this time the folds of his rill shook free. “Yes, sire. It shall be done.”
    The Kaa walked away. By the time he reached the tall double doors of bronze carved with the legends of the First Hatching, the guards had snapped to attention, and two of them swung the heavy doors open for him.
    Trumpets blared, and small