“Mud worms?” Rast muttered. “What the hell are those?”
He got his answer soon enough as the two female attendants—one of whom was Nadiah’s friend—stepped forward. Both of them were holding a long, thin stone platter and on each platter was a thick black earthworm-looking creature as long as Rast’s forearm.
Though both worms were the same length, Rast couldn’t help seeing that one was much livelier. It writhed and wiggled so much it nearly escaped its stone platter twice and the girl holding it had to push it back.
In comparison, the other worm was limp and sluggish. It barely lifted its head and couldn’t be bothered to move an inch in one direction or another. Magistrate Licklow examined both worms, pronounced them “equal” and gave the lively, wiggling worm to his son.
This meant, of course, that Rast got the limp, tired looking worm which, now that he looked more closely at it, seemed obviously sick. But sick or well, what the hell was he supposed to do with the damn thing? Were they going to have some kind of a worm race? If so, he was going to protest because Y’dex had obviously been given the worm to beat. In fact—
His thoughts were cut off abruptly as Y’dex lifted his own, writhing black worm, and bit off one end. He grinned at Rast fiercely, black slime dribbling down his chin, and swallowed with obvious enjoyment.
“What the hell?” Rat demanded, repulsed, as the Tranq Prime male took another big bite of the still wiggling worm. Was the contest of wills about who could do the most disgusting thing? Watching Y’dex chow down on the oozing, thrashing worm made him feel like he was on some kind of sick reality show. Suddenly, he felt a soft nudge at his elbow.
“Huh?” he looked down to see Nadiah’s friend, Lydiah motioning at the limp worm on his platter.
“Eat it,” she hissed. “Quickly—you will not be able to compete in the challenge of wills unless you do.”
“Eat it?” Rast’s stomach rolled in protest. He’d had some more of the excellent bread Nadiah had brought him for breakfast but now, at the thought of eating the live worm, it had decided it wanted to come back up. With a grim effort, Rast held it down. “Look,” he muttered under his breath. “How in the hell is eating a live worm going to help me compete in a challenge?’
“The mud worm gives limited short term telekinetic ability,” she replied in a low voice. “The male who is able to lift the largest boulder with his mind will win the challenge.”
“Seriously?” Rast looked at her in surprise. “Eating one of these suckers makes you able to move things with your mind?”
She nodded. “And the more lively the worm, the greater your ability.”
Rast frowned. So that explained the fact that Y’dex had been given the wiggly worm while he got the limp noodle.
“Don’t worry,” Lydiah hastened to assure him. “Y’dex and my father think Y’dex has been given the worm with the most life, but it is untrue. Look closely at yours—examine it.”
Hesitantly, Rast poked at the limp worm, causing it to roll over. What he saw made his gorge rise again. The entire underside of the worm’s belly was writhing and bulging. It was as though there were hundreds of tiny things in there, trying to get out.
“What the fuck?” he whispered, grimacing at the disgusting sight. “Is it pregnant or something?”
“No. Your worm has been stung by a marlot.”
“A what?” he demanded.
Lydiah looked impatient. “A marlot. A creature that usually lives in harmony with the mudworms and endows them with their telekinetic abilities. But when one spawns, they inject their eggs into a mudworm. When the neophyte marlots mature, they eat their way out. This worm is about to burst—the larvae inside it will give you uncharted abilities!”
“Let me get this straight,” Rast muttered. “You’re saying that this worm is filled with other worms? And you want me to eat them all?”
“Yes!” Lydiah nodded her head eagerly. “It took me hours to find one like this for you—the marlots spawn only rarely. Eat it quickly before Y’dex gains the upper hand.”
The idea that he had to eat not only the thick black worm but also its contents of writhing larvae nearly made Rast puke on the spot. He didn’t consider himself a squeamish man—he’d eaten everything from blood sausage to haggis in the past. But at least all of that was dead, he thought, looking at the worm in dismay. Y’dex, meanwhile, was nearly halfway finished with his own worm and still grinning fiercely as he chomped.
Rast was about to refuse when he looked up and saw Nadiah watching him with anxiety. She was twisting her fingers together the way she did when she was nervous, and the look in her deep blue otherworldly eyes was one of fear and concern. Suddenly his own words came back to him. “No matter what it takes, no matter how hard it is, I’m not giving up until you’re free or I’m dead,” he had told her. Of course, when he had made that vow, he’d imagined some kind of duel to the death—not eating live animals. But that didn’t matter—a promise was a promise.
I have to do it, Rast realized. No matter how disgusting or repulsive it is, I have to do this for Nadiah. He sighed. And to think after all this is over, I don’t even get to stay with her in the end. But that doesn’t matter—what matters is freeing her from that bastard of a fiancée of hers.
Speaking of Nadiah’s fiancée, Y’dex was starting on the last third of his worm and Lydiah was tugging at his elbow anxiously.
“Eat,” she whispered. “Please, off-worlder. You must eat!”
“You’re right.” Not giving himself time to think about it, Rast grabbed the worm and took a huge bite from one end.
The taste was even worse than he’d imagined. It was a cross between mud, blood, snot, and rotting fish—a dirty, salty metallic flavor with a rotten, bitter aftertaste as though he’d been chewing aspirin. The texture was fleshy and sandy at the same time, a little bit like eating soft-shelled crab that had been severely undercooked.
But worse than the taste was the sight. After Rast bit off the end, grayish-red larvae came writhing out the ragged hole in the weakly struggling worm. They were bathed in a coating of slimy black mucus and making a faint, high pitched sound as though to protest the invasion and destruction of their home.
“Excellent! Look how many of them there are!” Lydiah sounded excited for him. “Quickly, off-worlder—eat them! Eat them all!”
Rast wanted to gag but he knew if he did, he’d never be able to start eating again. Grimly, he swallowed the bite he was chewing, closed his eyes and dove in again.
The larvae writhed against his tongue, making him feel like he had a mouthful of bugs. Which I basically do, he thought, feeling sick. Heedless of their struggles, he ground them between his teeth where they popped like rotten grapes and released a liquid that tasted like stale urine which ran down the back of his throat.
His stomach rebelled but Rast refused to throw up. This is for Nadiah, he told himself. All for her. I have to do it, I can’t quit now.
Closing his eyes he took another bite. And another, and another. He told himself that after this, he would never complain about anything that was served to him ever again. Not that he was usually a picky eater but anything would taste better than a live worms stuffed with baby bugs.
Rast didn’t know how he did it but somehow he finished the worm, right down to the last wiggling end. His chin was dripping with black mucus when he was done, his stomach was rolling and his eyes were watering fiercely but somehow he managed to keep the nauseas mess down.
“Water,” he begged hoarsely. “Can I get some water?”
“Here.” Lydiah poured him a cup and handed it to him quickly. “This is a cleansing drink—it will remove all traces of the worm from your palate.”
“Thanks.” Rast took a huge gulp of the minty tasting stuff, trying to get the rancid taste out of his mouth. Then he wiped his chin on the steaming cloth she was holding out to him which seemed to be saturated in the same stuff. “Needed something to wash down the worm chunks,” he told her, hand
ing it back.
“Certainly.” She smiled at him as she folded the black streaked cloth. “You did excellent, off-worlder. I think Nadiah thinks so as well.”
Rast looked up to where she was sitting and noticed a sick expression on her face and a faint greenish tint to her skin. Was it possible that on this world where they ate steamed brains and bug pudding, eating a live worm was pushing the envelope? Rast didn’t know and he didn’t care. He was just glad it was over. He gave Nadiah a thumbs up gesture and she gave him a ghostly smile and nodded encouragingly.
“Are you ready for the test of wills, human?” Y’dex finished wiping his chin on a cloth napkin and tossed it to the other female attendant who caught and whisked it away. “Are you feeling the worm’s strength? But perhaps your worm wasn’t very strong…”
Rast realized that no one but himself, Lydiah and Nadiah knew he’d gotten a special worm. Good, he didn’t want to get anyone in trouble.
“I do feel…something,” he said, which was true, actually. Now that his stomach had begun to settle, he felt a strange tingling sensation at the very top of his head, as though tiny, invisible fingers were massaging his scalp and playing with his hair. “It’s weird…like someone’s messing with my hair.”
Lydiah’s eyes widened. “Already you feel the fingers of the mind? So quickly! I have never heard of any but a Kindred feeling the worm’s power so fast.”
Y’dex scowled. “I feel it as well. Father,” he said, turning to Magistrate Licklow. “Hurry, we must begin the challenge while the worm’s essence is strong within me.”
“Of course, my son. Of course.” Magistrate Licklow cleared his throat importantly. “And now for the challenge of the wills. I will state the rules. Ahem. Each challenger will attempt to lift the rocks from smallest to largest using only his mind. The male who is able to lift the largest rock and hold it aloft the longest will be declared the winner. Esteemed challenger Y’dex Licklow will take the first turn.” He nodded at his son. “Go ahead. Start with the smallest rock first.”
“I know what to do, Father,” Y’dex snapped. “Haven’t we been working on this for weeks ever since the bride you picked for me ran away?” He sneered at Rast. “Don’t worry thought—she’ll be coming home with me shortly.”
“Been practicing, have you?” Rast tried to sound casual. “I guess you knew Nadiah didn’t want anything to do with you early on.”
“Of course I’ve been practicing.” Y’dex frowned haughtily. “The hand of the mind is like any other muscle—in order to use it effectively you must flex and test it.” He smirked at Rast. “Good luck lifting anything at all with your puny human mind, off-worlder. It is I who have the advantage in this challenge.” Then he glared at the line up of rocks.
They ranged in size from a pebble all the way up to a boulder taller than Rast and were arranged in a neat row about ten feet away. Rast remembered that it had taken four of the largest Tranq Prime males to get the largest into place. How was Y’dex going to lift that behemoth using only his mind? And more importantly, how was he going to do it?
But for the present, his rival wasn’t trying to lift anything nearly so large. Instead, he was gazing steadily at a pebble which would have fit easily into the palm of his hand. He looked at it for a long time—so long that Rast began to wonder if the whole challenge was just a joke. Maybe it was all an excuse to see who could eat a live worm and keep it down. Maybe—
Suddenly Y’dex’s face turned red and the pebble began to rise into the air. It rose a foot, then two feet, then three and kept going until it was eye level. Then, with no warning, it sliced through the air straight at Rast’s head. He ducked just in time to keep from losing an eye and heard the pebble clatter to the ground behind him.
“My apologies.” Y’dex bowed, an unpleasant little smile playing around the corners of his thin mouth. “I must have lost control of it. The hand of the mind is a tricky thing.” He nodded at the pebble, which had been put back in its place in the line-up by one of the female attendants. “Your turn, human.”
“Right. My turn. My turn to move things with my mind.” Rast took a deep breath and stepped up.
He hated to admit it but he was beginning to feel nervous. The tingling at the top of his head aside, he had no idea how to go about lifting anything with his mind. And if what Y’dex said was true, the skinny worm-eating bastard had been down here tossing rocks around with his “hand of the mind” for weeks—possibly months. For Rast, this challenge was like going to the gym and being expected to dead-lift five hundred pounds on the first try with a muscle he’d never used before. And in this gym, he was the ninety pound weakling. How the hell was he going to win this challenge?
Then he looked up and saw Nadiah watching him with a mixture of hope and fear on her face. That was all it took to give him strength. I can do it, he told himself. If I ate the damn worm, I can sure as hell do this.
Glaring at the pebble he whispered, “Move.”
Nothing happened.
“Move!” Rast told it again, clenching his hands into fists. Still the pebble remained motionless.
“What a pity.” Y’dex yawned loudly, as though bored. “It appears I ate my entire worm for nothing. I could have beaten you with one bite.”
Lydiah, who had struck Rast as quiet and unassuming until now, faced her brother with hands on her hips and fire in her eyes. “He’s only having trouble because no one had explained to him how the hand of the mind works.”
“The rules state—” Magistrate Licklow began but Lydiah shook her head.
“No, Father. There is nothing that states an off-world contestant may not at least hear an explanation of what he is expected to do to complete the challenge.” She looked at Rast. “Listen carefully—the hand of the mind is not moved by words but by thoughts. Imagine yourself lifting the pebble, picture it in your mind as you would hold it in your hand. Then will it to move and it will happen.”
“Stupid female!” Y’dex glowered at his little sister. “Whose side are you on, anyway?”
Lydiah lifted her chin. “I am on Nadiah’s side. She is the one who will have to bond with you if her challenger loses. And I wouldn’t wish that fate on an animal I liked, let alone my best friend.”
“Lydiah!” Magistrate Licklow looked aghast. “How can you speak so to your own brother?”
“After all the cruelty he has visited upon me? I would rather be related to a mud worm.” Lydiah spat at her brother’s feet, spun on her heel, and left the challenge grotto.
“Wow.” Rast shook his head. “When your own kin feel that way about you…”
“Be silent,” Y’dex snarled. “The challenge is still in progress and yet the pebble has not moved. Father,” he said, turning to the magistrate. “How long does the off-worlder have to try? Isn’t his time almost up?”
“Indeed it is. Indeed it is.” The magistrate nodded, smiling. “In fact, if he doesn’t move it within the next—”
Rast turned them out and concentrated on the pebble. As Lydiah had directed, he imagined holding the pebble, pictured closing his fingers around it, feeling its smooth surface and slight but substantial weight in the palm of his hand… and then he imagined lifting it into the air.
To his surprise and relief, the pebble moved. More than moved, actually—it shot into the air as though a major league pitcher had decided to throw a fastball at the high, vaulted ceiling.
“Oh!” he heard Nadiah gasp behind him and there was a smattering of applause from the spectators as he let the pebble hover in midair for a moment and then lowered it gently to the ground.
“A lucky fluke,” Magistrate Licklow muttered but Rast didn’t think so. He felt an overwhelming mixture of exhilaration and relief—he was actually going to be able to do this. Despite his inexperience, he was going to make it work!
“I’ll lift a larger one this time,” Y’dex said. Bypassing some of the smaller rocks, he concentrated on one about the size and shape of a bowling ball. For a long m
oment, nothing happened and then his face turned red and the ball rose slowly but steadily into the air.
Rast watched alertly, trying to be sure that Y’dex wasn’t going to lob the damn thing in his direction. To his relief, his competitor simply lowered the ball-sized rock after holding it aloft for two minutes and then looked at him. “Your turn.”
“All right.” Looking at the rock, Rast concentrated hard. He imagined hefting it in his arms, lifting it high into the air. It was harder this time but not too much—about as hard as lifting an actual bowling ball with his hands, he thought as he held it steady in midair. He made sure to hold it for a full four minutes—doubling Y’dex’s time—then let it go gently back down to the stone floor.
Y’dex frowned. “Most impressive for an off-worlder. But let’s see if you can manage this.” He turned to stare at the largest rock at the end of the line—the one that was more of a boulder than a rock.
How the hell is he going to manage this? Rast frowned. From what he could feel, lifting something with his mind took about the same strength as lifting with his physical body. Was Y’dex really strong enough to heft a boulder it had taken four large men to move? For that matter, was Rast? Then again, he didn’t really have to lift it high or hold it long—he just had to lift it higher and hold it in the air longer than Y’dex could—if the Tranq Prime male could lift it at all, which was beginning to look doubtful.
Y’dex stared at the boulder, his fists clenched, his red face frozen in a sneer of effort. But the huge rock didn’t budge an inch.
“My son…” Magistrate Licklow spoke in a low, worried voice. “My son, do not attempt such a huge burden. You will strain your mind.”
“Quiet….Father,” Y’dex ground out. “Let…me…work.”
The Magistrate fell silent though he continued to watch his son anxiously as he shifted from foot to foot. At last when Rast was sure nothing was going to happen, the massive boulder shifted and then wavered about an inch into the air. It stayed there for only about thirty seconds before it came crashing back down, but there was a murmur of approval from the audience anyway.