GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3) by Marilyn Campbell Read Free Book Online

the flavor and texture. With a wave of the bone, she gave the boy permission to serve the others.
    Josep, the Princess's elderly chief advisor, selected the smallest piece from the heap of bloody meat. He rarely ate animal flesh anymore but it would have been an insult to refuse. With the exception of brief visits, such as this one, his duties had kept him away from the Princess for most of the last twenty years. During that time he had adopted many of the ways of the more civilized people he dealt with.
    Although he still owed his allegiance to Honorbound, he saw her as the barbarian she was. Taller and larger-boned than the average man, her gold-plated helmet with its morset antlers made her appear even greater, and she rarely took off the royal helmet.
    The animal skin slung around her hips was her only concession to modesty as she was extremely proud of her muscular body with its numerous jagged scars. But barbarian or not, the ornate gold medallion that hung from a leather thong around her neck declared her a member of the royal family of the planet Illusia, and therefore, his superior.
    From various civilizations they had conquered, they had gained sophisticated weaponry as well as the ability to travel through space at great speeds. Yet they preferred to maintain their primitive existence in every other aspect of their life. Besides animal skins comprising most of their attire, fire was still the primary source of light and heat. And their manners and traditions had not altered in a thousand years.
    According to custom, no one spoke during the meal. Only the sounds of open-mouthed chewing, slurping and finger licking echoed through the cavernous chamber.
    As Josep glanced at the other eight Illusians who made up the Princess's council, he realized how soft he had become in his years away. The animalistic urges that drove these warriors were also present within Josep but he had learned to control most of his barbarism. Now, however, sitting among them, he could almost feel himself regressing to their level once again.
    Before leaving his ship, he had removed the flowing red robe he normally wore and donned a fur tunic that failed to completely conceal the deterioration of his aging body. But his status had been determined by his mind, not his strength, so his white hair and sloping shoulders did not alter the respect he was paid by his fellow council members.
    As the others did, Josep tossed his unwanted scraps into the center of the table. Before the final course was served, the garbage had grown to a sizable mound of gnawed bones.
    Emitting an elongated belch, Princess Honorbound announced the end of a highly satisfying meal. "So, Josep, my friend, do you bring us good news?"
    All eyes turned to him in anticipation. "Some, though not as celebratory as you had hoped. When I left Norona several weeks ago, the Consociation representatives were almost evenly divided about what action should be taken with regard to Illusia's dilemma."
    With the long curved fingernail of her right index finger, Honorbound picked a piece of meat out of her tooth and flicked it onto the bone pile. "That is not unexpected. What about Gallant Voyager? Where is he?"
    Josep noted how unconcerned she tried to look and knew it was for the others' sake. Her anxious thoughts came through to him whether she wished it or not. "The Consociation Regent, Esquinerra, heeded my suggestion to give Voyager the assignment to track down the Weebort trader. At the time I departed, I was informed that Voyager was on his way to Innerworld Terra, where the Weebort was last reported to be."
    "And the assassin?" Honorbound asked with a little more interest.
    "Frezlo was also headed in the same direction."
    "Good," she said, though so much more was going on in her head that only Josep could hear.
    He was one of the very few of their people who had been born telepathic. That ability had earned him his position as the Princess's chief advisor. On the other hand, her fear