Read Online Spiderwork by L. K. Rigel - Free Book Online

always occur. As with Lord Ardri. He cannot be king. He has no soul."
    "Does it have to be during gestation? How can we create a rift?"
    "The rift is created by the hieros gamos , the sacred coupling that brings on the heights of ecstasy."
    "Sexual orgasm."
    "Not the pathetic release we have found humans so consumed with. Your species' obsession with profane coupling leaves us dumbfounded. The ways of Samael are truly mysterious."
    The horrible longing sensation began to creep over Durga again. "So what then, a super orgasm? Orgasm of orgasms?" There. That put the Empani back on track.
    "The hieros gamos is the sacred coupling that brings on the highest heights of ecstasy."
    "You said that."
    It can happen at any time during gestation, but the optimal time is in the sixth month when the body is well formed and the time of confinement is limited."
    "What about Jake? How can he obtain a soul?"
    "There is a way, but it is more likely to destroy his spirit than to ensoul him."
    "Why am I not surprised?"
    "A settlement priest of Asherah knows the way." The Empani's energy was fading. It was coming to the end of its message, but Durga didn't understand.
    "What priest? Where do I find her?" The Empani's skin looked tired. Durga had never seen it sweat before. But it had never brought a message from Asherah before.
    "Lord Ardri must run the liminal gauntlet."
    "What the shib is the liminal gauntlet? Where is the priest?"
    The Empani shifted back to the shape of the musician and smiled. Then it disappeared.

The Coronation Feast
     
    The first reaction to Durga's dress was decidedly negative. Her security detail was unhappy with the amount of space it took up. The two men were under Jake's orders to protect her, and the long trailing skirt made them have to stand too far away. She hadn't designed her dress with accessory guards in mind.
    Getting into the lift, she and the guards had to gather the skirt in their arms so they could all fit. The poor men were red-faced with embarrassment. The unsophisticated settlement dwellers would probably rather battle raptors than carry silk taffeta for the Emissary of Sanguibahd.
    She couldn't worry about their discomfort. "Captain Gordon, you will keep a distance when we're inside the hall."
    The guard's frown deepened. "Lord Ardri has ordered me to protect you from those who would bother you in any way."
    She softened her tone and touched his forearm. "You would intimidate the ambassadors and princes I must speak with. They will see you as Lord Ardri's agent, listening to words meant only for the Emissary."
    At her touch, his red face turned purple. He seemed to struggle between his duty to protect her and his wish to ensure her comfort.
    "No one can save me from bother, Captain Gordon, but if harm threatens I will be glad if you intervene." If the settlement priest were here tonight, Durga certainly didn't want Jake's guards listening to that conversation.
    In the corridor Captain Gordon and his partner fell in behind her skirt's long train. She squared her shoulders to prepare for her entrance.
    She had been so naïve. Showing the world she was no longer a child was the furthest thing from her mind. Her challenge now was to find a priest of Asherah who knew about the liminal gauntlet and to come up with a way to forestall Garrick's protest.
    Also, how do you tell someone they have no soul?  
    Garrick didn't care about Jake's soul, but Durga did. The Empani had been right. On the Great Chain of Being, a soulless human would be the lowest of the low. Useless in the sacred effort to replenish the earth with— souls! Jake had to acquire a soul or he would lose everything he'd worked for.
    "Durga, Emissary of Sanguibahd!"
    She swept into the room in her most imperious manner. This was what people craved. Pomp. Ceremony. A fixed Great Chain of Being where everyone knew their place. Her place was at the top. She was the bridge to the goddess. Durga knew all about the glory. Now it was time to claim