Karrteh's Story

By Lotta Bangs

Arnod & Karrteh tell how they survived their race’s skewed Tests. Karrteh searches for Ro to find & save the missing girls, but Ro has also disappeared. Taj discovers a talent for art. Dino discovers himself & matures.
Ro is recovered, near death, confused, amnesiac, powerless.
Brinna, 3500 cats and Taj conspire to heal her. Taj gets her own apartment to handle her complicated love life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lotta Bangs
• Release date: Mar 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301406500

Lotta Bangs

I’m Aussie, way over 35, thankfully and very happily divorced, and have a wonderful daughter who very occasionally beta-reads for me. A few years ago we had 13 cats; we just lost another, so now only one of those remains. We have added 6 more over the years, including the sweet feral ragdoll which is my Facebook avatar. I generally prefer female cats, but have also had some magnificent males. I couldn’t live without cats, just wish their lives were longer. I’m having a lot of problems adjusting to social media which doesn’t leave me enough time for writing and editing, so I won’t be expanding my web presence any time soon. If you want to know about NEW RELEASES and SPECIALS you will need to FRIEND ME ON FACEBOOK. I have announced coupons to get a new release free here, but apparently nobody reads author biographies. Of course my books are what you are really interested in. Originally, I wrote a long continuous story, starting at Reacquaintance, told from Ro’s POV. Then when Ro disappeared for a year or so, I had to use Taj to fill in the gaps, and she proved so feisty and interesting, that I added in her back story, starting with Getting to Galen and continuing in The Deep End. After Thxx’s Story, the various POVs continue in the same stream. I had to break up my huge tomes into installments that could be published separately as I finished editing them. I’m afraid my writing was quite stuffy at first, with convoluted 12- to 15-line sentences, turgid half-page paragraphs, and a lot of pompous pontification and personal political opinion which the story didn’t need. I had to rip out a lot before I could publish. I think the books are greatly improved now. I was giving away my books for free for most of a year, hoping to develop a fan base quickly, but learned that people don’t value what is free. Though over 20K copies have been downloaded, very few seem to have been read, and even fewer have been reviewed. I was unlucky to attract an ill-wisher who thought it amusing to devalue every one of my few 5-star reviews. Perhaps that put off others from reviewing. Certainly, without good reviews, few readers cared to buy my books, so if you have enjoyed them, I really would appreciate a short review. With the next book, The Power of Art, I will be doubling all my prices, so they’ll never be cheaper than they are now. I believe that I am the only person writing Utopian books today, though mine are nothing like the political satires of yesteryear. My books are based on the power of love to bring out the best in everybody, to develop their souls and help them to evolve into higher beings. Ro started Galen, and she, Taj and their men lead their people to make Galen a true Utopia which reaches out to the stars. Cat lovers will adore Brinna, my sentient sabretooth, though we have intelligent dogs and dinosaurs too. Though you couldn’t call my series a space opera, I do have a space battle planned, probably the cutest ever written, but that is still a way off. I really will have to buckle down and get more books edited and published so I can write some more.

Book preview

Chapter 26 Taking up Art

Book 3 Karrteh

Chapter 27 Karrteh’s Reply

Chapter 28 Karrteh’s early History

Chapter 29 Great-Grandfather Arnod

Chapter 30 Surviving, Hiding & Breeding

Chapter 31 Partnering & Starting a World

Chapter 32 Ewad Opens Up

Chapter 33 Beginning to Network

Chapter 34 Rebirthing on the new World

Chapter 35 The First Assessment

Chapter 36 Starting the Individual Worlds

Chapter 37 Teaching a Language

Chapter 38 Inka, the Spirit Child

Chapter 39 Adolescent Lust

Chapter 40 Healers Evolve Faster

Chapter 41 The Girls Pass & Disappear

Book 4 Taj

Chapter 42 Ro Disappears

Chapter 43 Searching the Cross

Chapter 44 Arima Power Training

Chapter 45 First Sketches

Chapter 46 Meeting Brinna

Chapter 47 Brinna meets the Kids

Chapter 48 Taj’s Sketches are Appreciated

Chapter 49 Dino’s Art Exhibition

Chapter 50 Loving David

Chapter 51 Locating Ro

Chapter 52 Preparing to Rescue Ro

Book 5 Rowena

Chapter 53 Trying to Survive

Chapter 54 Settling In

Chapter 55 Rescue

Book 6 Taj

Chapter 56 Return of Ro

Chapter 57 Taj is Much Appreciated

Chapter 58 Helping Dino with Vene

Chapter 59 Advice with Edie

Chapter 60 Getting my own Apartment

Author’s Note

Fragments Part 4

Karrteh’s Story

Chapter 26

Taking up Art

As two men I loved were so into art, I took a class in Art Appreciation. That was really fascinating. I was pleased to confirm my previous opinion of Lang’s modern investment collection.

I booked a drawing course and took home a pile of useful books to study in my room.

Then Evan returned. He had that gleam in his eye and I had done quite enough reading for a while. So it seemed an excellent idea to resume our favorite pastime.

We were just building up to a big mutual climax when we were zapped with a blast of compressed memory from Ro. Obviously it had been intended only for Evan, but we were so closely connected, both physically and emotionally at the time, that I couldn’t avoid getting hit too.

This blast was mixed with Ro’s vividly detailed memories of a whole lifetime of making rampaging love with Zeke. The melding with him as he was dying and in their next life together, plus the many melds with Langdon, somehow had us melding too in the greatest, most fulfilling, yet intimate ecstasy I have ever felt and shared.

That was really mind-blowing.

Afterwards we lay on the bed holding each other for hours, our minds totally open to each other, communicating on every level in a way I would never have believed possible before.

I knew that whatever happened now, I would never feel alone or lonely ever again. I knew Thxx/Rox/Shey and Wid/Zeke—I could never call him Evan again either.

I even knew Langdon and what he had been and saw how much he had slipped. But unlike Ro I felt no guilt over him and had no desire to make up with him.

But the really amazing part was that like Loosha, I had picked up all Ro’s powers and understood what they did and how to use them.

No wonder her race was so arrogant. If the others had even just one or two of those talents they would believe themselves gods. I could see why Ro had hidden most of them away from herself and was trying so hard to learn humility.

Or had she really not yet discovered them as Loosha believed?

Then those without powers, or with no knowledge of having inherent powers, or access to them, would be easy prey for others. Or themselves become soul pirates to steal the known talents of other Creators for themselves.

But judging by the way Thxx had picked up talents from the obvious soul-eater who had frightened her father, the Eaters also could not access inherent powers which were not available to the eaten victim. But Thxx could and did, and having received all her powers, I may also be able to do that now.

Yet Yorrl had known about and understood those hidden innate powers too. He had also known the man was a soul-eater, but had warned Thxx only to never reveal powers she had picked up and to practice them in private.

I would have thought this type of bogeyman was the kind that kids should learn to recognize and protect themselves from. Ignorance was too dangerous in this case.

The Creators had degenerated, into a race of cowardly cannibals with the weak preying on the stronger. They deliberately emasculated and kept the boys and young men under control with the perfectly named ‘Castrator’.

That concoction not only eliminated the libido but also retarded the boys’ development and prevented any spontaneous arising of the users’ powers.

So the pirates were free to attack and steal the successful sex-starved female cadets later. And then at their leisure, could pick off the males who had no hope of passing the Test, stealing from the girls or fighting back.

I locked that knowledge and the powers away in a secret compartment of my soul, the way Shey had had to do with her hemorrhoid secret. I needed to think about it all a lot more before I acted too hastily.

Zeke had not received the powers, but caught my thought about the cannibals. He agreed that it was lucky that Rox hadn’t guessed about the ‘Castrator’ and used it on him. Then he would never have been able to master the insane puberty lust state.

Or learn to turn it on and off to cope with the heavy demands his women forced upon his poor aching body.

I thought about raping him again, but really didn’t have the energy. I felt too comfortable to do more than just lie there, luxuriating in his love and sorting through those fascinating memories.

It was generous of Zeke to offer, though he always used this oblique method of implying exhaustion to stir me up. He didn’t feel any stronger than I did after what we had just shared.

So I gave him a little consolatory titillation by nibbling at and sucking on the fingers of the hand with which he had been stroking my bottom lip. I added a couple of tiny bites to see if that stirred him into activity.

I reached out to Karrteh, who was sitting through some lecture and asked why he had never let Thxx know his feelings for her.

He seemed shocked that I had guessed, so I sent him the four memory paragraphs in which she had waited and hoped for him but rather sadly settled for Beey. Those memories were a lot more than mere words, containing her full emotions and the deeper unvoiced thoughts behind them.

Karrteh whispered his eternal thanks, sending delightful shivers through me and cut the communication. Now it was up to him.

Then I bit two of Zeke’s fingers and sucked them into my mouth, and we were at it again. Back where we’d had to leave off before. Both fully on and eagerly hungry for more of each other. We fell out of the bed and got wedged into a helpful corner at one stage.

That gave Zeke a great idea. He ’ported us as we were to his apartment and wrapped a great length of clean canvas around us.

Thus contained, we were able to use the canvas as a fulcrum to shove against. So we could put all our energy into thumping and butting and driving into each other instead of the furnishings, both of us yelling and screeching in triumph.

It was so gloriously good, and again Zeke passed with all possible honors as we collapsed into each other’s arms, sated, exhausted, but so happily loved up.

Book 3 Karrteh

Chapter 27

Karrteh’s Reply

Taj had asked me: Why Karrteh did you never let Thxx know your feelings for her? When I did not answer, because I could not, she sent me this:

When it came time to choose a partner, I picked Beey—pronounced Bee followed by a distinct Y-sound. He was the male who had shown the most appreciation of me, and aroused in me the strongest feelings of love. I wanted to keep love in my life always.

Beey had been one of my mother’s little charges so I had known him all my life and thought I knew him very well.

I had also considered Karrteh, because he already understood about love, but he loved his sister so much I didn’t like the idea of getting between them. If we had an argument they might both gang up on me.

Also I had only known him a very short time so he was largely an unknown quantity. And he had made no declarations of affection towards me.

People were already starting to pair up. I couldn’t wait too long or Beey, the best male of our group, would be snapped up by someone else. And if Karrteh proved to have no interest in me except as a friend, I might have to settle for whoever was left at that time.

So Thxx also, had kept a precautionary journal. I doubt many of our generation mates had done so.

The small snippet Taj had sent me revealed so much. If only I had known that she had still been free. If I had not believed Beey when he said they were promised and had already become lovers, how different our lives might have been.

Never once did it occur to me that she had not even known of my feelings. My heart was in my eyes when I looked at her, and in my mouth when I spoke to her. How could she not have known, when even insensitive Beey had noticed?

But it is true that I had made no declaration, believing I was far too late. I also had not seen that Thxx held feelings for me. Orma, who knew how I felt and is very skilled in such matters, also had not noticed.

I had still hoped after their assessment, when Beey had so betrayed and humiliated her, that Thxx would turn to me. But she did not. She was courted by several adult Creators then, as well as other cadets and would have none of them, and again I did not declare myself.

Why had I not spoken? I was not afraid of rejection, I was not too proud to open my heart and mind and let her see, yet I had shown her nought.

Taj carries Beey’s binds, as does the one called Langdon, though Zeke does not. Does Thxx also carry binds even though he allegedly has no idea who she is? Did he put binds on the three of us back then to close our eyes and minds?

Or did he tell the tale of their alleged partnership and lovemaking to all her early suitors to fend them off until she was really his? How could stupid Beey even have realized her importance? Was it just lucky chance?

I had been so afraid that Thxx also had suffered the same fate as Orma and the other girls, whatever that had been.

Orma and I have