Mistworld: Book Two of Four Dominions

By Graham P. Smith

Mira Kinvara's quest to discover the source of the mysterious illness that ravaged her town had led her halfway around the world. The layers of intrigue and betrayal thicken in Mistworld, the sequel to the highly-lauded, Sandworld.

A wealthy politician is dead, and his daughter seeks answers. A pretender sits on the throne, and

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zimbell House Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Aug 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781643901749

Graham P. Smith

Graham grew up in the rural hills of Kentucky. He and his twin brother were the only children within miles of their home, which gave their imaginations license to run wild. The characters, stories, and adventures they fashioned stoked a love of storytelling in Graham that would become his passion for writing. Graham is an eleven-year veteran of the education field, an avid runner, and a mediocre guitar player. He is tolerated by a beautiful wife and three amazing daughters. Mistworld is the second novel in his young adult series, Four Dominions.

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Mistworld

Book Two of

Four Dominions

Graham P. Smith

THIS BOOK IS A WORK of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. All characters appearing in this work are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the written permission of the publisher.

For permission requests, write to the publisher

Attention: Permissions Coordinator

Zimbell House Publishing

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© 2020 Graham P. Smith

Published in the United States by Zimbell House Publishing

All Rights Reserved

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-64390-171-8

Trade Paper: 978-1-64390-172-5

.mobi ISBN: 978-1-64390-173-2

Digital ISBN: 978-1-64390-174-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020907977

First Edition: August 2020

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Zimbell House Publishing

Union Lake

Dedication

TO MY OLDEST DAUGHTER, Faith. Stay original. Stay determined. Stay, you.

Prologue

It took a few minutes before Brown’s eyes became accustomed to the darkness of the cave. It helped that he had traded the normally tinted lenses of his mask for clear ones. Even with the modest light provided by the lanterns carried by his task force, the midday desert sun was a harsh contrast to the near blackness of underground. Although the cave was dark and deserted, it was far from unused.

What the hell is this? asked Simmons, one of Brown’s closest compatriots. The younger woman allowed the light from her bullseye lantern to sweep the large room before him.

Brown already had an idea, but he kept his suspicions to himself. He was interested to see if the others would come to the same conclusion on their own.

The cave had been an entrance to an ore mine decades ago. It had apparently been abandoned when a more convenient entrance to the mine had been constructed somewhere closer to the town of Beryl; a tiny berg on the eastern outskirts of the Sand Kingdom, less than a hundred kilometers from the Razor Mountains and the Nag Champa Sea beyond. The mine, once boarded up, was never supposed to have been opened again. Clearly, someone had other ideas, for the cave had been repurposed for activities other than mining.

The cave’s floor, which had been carved smooth by mining equipment, was littered with overturned tables and broken glass. Papers, which had apparently once been pinned to a large board against the far wall, were strewn across the floor. Objects made of wood and metal and ceramic—their forms now unrecognizable—had been pulverized against the unforgiving stone floor.

But the most disturbing attraction, by far, were the beds.

Eight beds had at one time, it appeared, been lined along the wall farther down the cave. They were identical to those that could be found in any of the world’s four Dominions, except for one unsettling attribute; restraints had been attached to the beds’ frames, their leather and buckles worn from use. Like the rest of the cave, the beds had been tossed asunder.

Brown. Over here, came the voice of Guthrie, another Plague Doctor in Brown’s inner circle. The man gestured toward a pile of documents, which she had been sifting through. When Brown made his way to Guthrie’s side, he discovered that someone had tried to burn the documents before the cave had been evacuated. The lack of fresh air and the damp atmosphere, it seemed, had not been conducive to fire, and Guthrie had found a decent portion of unburned paperwork at the bottom of the sizable pile.

Kneeling, Brown took the papers, which Guthrie had offered him. At the moment, there was no time to go over them with the diligence they merited, but what Brown saw was more than enough to pique his interests.

Guthrie gazed at his boss through the clear lenses in his mask. Doctor Brown. Does this mean what I think it means?

Brown did not answer immediately. Instead, he continued to let his eyes scour the document, the impending sense of dread growing steadily in his chest. The pregnant silence in the dim room continued to grow until Brown abruptly stood, the paper still clutched in his hand. Gather everything you can salvage from the pile, he instructed, and Guthrie set to doing just that. Brown then turned back to Simmons. Take the collection kit, gather what you can from the broken beakers and vials. And for god’s sake, make sure the collection bottles are shut tight. Brown then spun to the last person in the room, Carter, who had already set up her camera on its tripod. Use every scrap of film you have, he told her. Get a picture of everything, and I mean everything, including the beds, the papers, the smashed tables, and that controlled cave-in in the back, blocking this room from the rest of the mine.

Carter nodded and climbed beneath the black hood at the rear of her camera, to line up her first shot. When she was ready, she prepared the phosphorus for the flash.

Brown watched his teamwork with single-minded fervor and reminded himself that they would perform their tasks better if he remained calm and collected; but they could not see the sweat that had broken across Brown’s forehead at the chilling scene, and they especially could not sense the gnawing dread that chewed at his insides.

God forbid, if he was right, their work had only just begun.

Chapter One

What truly startled Mira about the ocean was just how big it was.

Yes, she had seen pictures of it in books, studied maps of the Four Dominions and understood how wide was the Sindu Ocean that separated the Empire of Mists and the Sand Kingdom. She even understood that it was only the second largest ocean in the world, that the Oqueni Ocean that separated the Farplains Republic and the Wilderlands was even larger.

But Mira had neglected to consider that there are some things that cannot be properly expressed until they are experienced for oneself.

From the railing of the ship, Mira tried to squint her eyes and see the shoreline, which they had left behind the day before. Even with the aid of the telescopic lenses of the goggles she wore, there was nothing but an endless blanket of chopping water in all directions. Even when she swept her gaze across the horizon and circled the deck of the large steam freighter, she saw nothing but water, undulating and breaking and reforming like a carpet of living glass.

It was like being on another planet.

In school, she had often heard the ocean compared to the vast deserts of her homeland, but Mira could not find a more inappropriate comparison. Deserts were solid, rolling and soft and beautiful. When she and Sonam had been lost in the desert months before, they had been able to climb dunes for a better view to orient themselves, and to rest in the cool of the desert night in a cave. The desert was three-dimensional.

On the ocean, the only direction was down, a down that seemingly went on and on forever. If Mira fell from the boat, she would plunge into the cold stomach of a beast older and hungrier than anything in the history of time. She would drown long before she would hit the bottom, her body adrift in the cold belly of the sea forever, never to be found again.

The thought startled Mira, and she abruptly removed her goggles from her face and backed away from the ship’s railing. The freighter did not have a wide deck. Three steps later her back collided with the aluminum wall of the ship with a deep thud.

She’s beautiful, isn’t she? came a voice from Mira’s left. She turned and found a man shuffling toward her along the narrow deck. His skin was tanned and wrinkled from a lifetime of working in the sun, but a generous portion of white hair still obstinately topped his head. He grinned at Mira with a twinkle in his eye that, Mira thought, looked like it belonged on a much younger man.

What? Mira questioned, still disoriented.

The sea. The old man came to a stop near Mira and crossed his arms on the railing, leaning over the edge. He closed his eyes and inhaled the salty air deeply. It seemed to strengthen him. You can spend your whole life getting to know her, and she’ll still find a way to surprise you at every turn.

Mira had remembered meeting the man when she, Sonam, and Kepri had boarded the vessel, Mauritania, but she could not for her life remember his name. That’s rather profound, she commented.

The old man looked back to her. The skin at the corners of his eyes became even more creased when he smiled. Just the musings of an old man. If they live long enough, everyone becomes a philosopher in their own right.

Maximilian. That’s his name. I’d never seen the ocean before yesterday, Mira replied. You’re right, It’s beautiful.

Max observed her with knowing eyes. But you’re scared of her.

Mira swallowed nervously but smiled through her embarrassment. Yes.

Max nodded. Fearing the sea is wise. She can’t be contained, only harnessed. If you try to fight her, she’ll eat you alive like she has thousands of sailors over the years. But if you go with her, follow her lead, try to bend her instead of breaking her, she can tell you secrets you never dreamed of. Max readjusted himself on the railing. Fear isn’t a bad thing, as long as it doesn’t control you. Fear can be useful. It can teach you things, both about yourself and about what it is you fear.

Mira looked away from Max and back to the sea. Though she was still terrified of the sea, what the old man said made some sense. But she was still going to stay as far from the railing as possible until her feet were back on dry ground.

Listen to me, rambling on like an old fool, Max abruptly stated. I completely forgot why I came to find you. Your friend below deck was asking for you. Max’s face became grave. I don’t think he’s doing so well.

Mira rolled her eyes. That big baby. She began walking to the great bulkhead door that led to the interior of the ship, and only then paid attention to what Max was wearing. He’d donned a slick, gray jacket of some water-repellant animal skin. The afternoon sun was beating down. Mira had rolled up the sleeves of her traveling cloak to feel the sun’s warmth on her arms. chosen a short-sleeved shirt to feel the sun’s warm on her arms. Max must have been roasting, in such a jacket.

Max apparently noticed Mira staring, but he returned her gesture with a nod of his head. Storm’s on its way. No sense in not being prepared.

The sky was perfectly blue, not a cloud in sight. Mira took in the horizon, and then turned back to Max with a skeptical look on her face. What makes you say that?

Max was no longer looking at Mira. Instead he had pulled a pipe, composed of some solid, bone-colored material, from his jacket pocket and was stuffing tobacco inside the end. It’s like I said, he replied, striking at match on one of the buttons of his jacket. If you get to know the sea, she can teach you all sorts of secret things. He lit the pipe and nodded to Mira a final time, his impish smile still in place.

Mira returned the man’s smile, and then continued to the ship’s interior.

The ship itself was a marvel. When she had first boarded yesterday morning, she had barely been able to stop herself from making a beeline to the engine room to see how the massive, metal tub worked. Just the fact that something so large and so heavy could float boggled her mind, but it was the steam-powered workings that really interested her. She had only been able to find a few spare minutes to visit the engines and speak with the ship’s engineers, but what she had seen had turned her into the proverbial kid in a candy shop.

Steel. Aluminum. Coal. Steam. Rivets. Pistons. These were Mira’s favorite things, and the steam freighter had them in excess.

She stepped over the door’s threshold, which was actually a lip of two massive pieces of steel hull riveted together. The interior of the ship was dark, in order to keep the storage area and sleeping quarters cool. Only a few low-burning kerosene lamps lit the halls, and Mira had to wait a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dimness. Then she started down the hall, turned left, and descended shockingly steep, narrow stairs to the lower decks. Three doors down on the left, she rapped the metal with her knuckles.

Who is it? groaned a voice from the other side. It echoed metallically.

It’s me, Sonam.

Thank goodness, Sonam’s voice droned. Come in.

Mira turned the handles in the middle of the door, and then pushed it inward. She stepped over the lip of the doorframe and into a room even darker than the hallway. In the blackness, she could barely make out a figure sprawled on the room’s small bed.

Mira, Sonam moaned. I need you do me a favor. He weakly lifted a pillow toward her. I want you to smother me with this pillow. Please.

Mira stepped to the bed. How long have you been lying here? How long has it been since you’ve had anything to eat or drink?

The mere mention of food and drink seemed to further sicken Sonam. When he replied, his voice quavered. Long time. I don’t know. Anything I eat or drink comes right back up. But Kepri offered to bring me a glass of water.

Get up, Mira pressured. She took the pillow from Sonam’s outstretched hand and pitched it against the wall. We’re going to meet her halfway. You have to move around, get used to the sea. And until you take some food and water, you’re not going to feel better. She grabbed Sonam’s wrist and hauled him into a sitting position, then tossed his arm over her shoulder and began to haul him to his feet.

You hate me, Sonam moaned. His knees buckled, but on the third try Mira actually managed to get him to stand.

If you wanted someone to be your kindly nursemaid, you should have had Max fetch Kepri instead of me, Mira stated, manhandling him toward the door. Sonam’s feet trudged along with her. He nearly tripped on the doorway, but Mira managed to haul him out of the room.

The sound of feet descending the metal stairs at the end of the hall made Mira raise her eyes, and she found the slight form of Kepri Sargisan approaching with a cup in her hand. The shorter, older girl wore a pair of pants whose legs were cinched around her calves, a pair of sandals, and a white, billowing shirt. Her scandalously short hair bobbed up and down as she stepped dexterously down the ladder. She stopped suddenly when she saw Mira half assisting, half dragging Sonam toward the stairs.

Kepri, Sonam pleaded, raising his gray-rimmed eyes to her. Help. Mira is trying to kill me by making me leave my bed.

Thirty seconds ago you asked me to smother you! Mira snarled.

Kepri stepped quickly toward the pair and pressed the cup of water into Sonam’s hand that was not slung over Mira’s shoulder. He tentatively sipped at it. You may want to try to feel better quickly, she told Sonam. Kepri’s eyes then drifted to Mira. Brown wants to speak with us as soon as possible.

Mira felt her spine straighten. Even Sonam seemed to stand up a little straighter at the statement.

Mira had been waiting on pins and needles since the three of them had boarded, wondering when Brown would meet with them to discuss their mission. Her stomach filled with nervous butterflies. Why make him wait? She asked. Let’s find him now.

Chapter Two

The three youths ascended the stairs and continued deeper into the ship’s hold. They stopped at a door –larger than the one that joined Sonam’s bunk to the hall- and knocked. From the other side came the sound of the door’s dial being wrenched open, and it swung inward to reveal a figure in a ghostly white jacket and a mask with a long, pointed nose and dead, black eyes.

I’m sorry, said a voice behind the mask. One of the figure’s hands took the mask’s beaklike nose and lifted it to reveal the face of Guthrie, one of Brown’s trusted Plague Doctors. Without knowing who’s there, I’m required to wear the mask. Please, come in.

Sonam was now walking without much help from Mira. Maybe the water was helping him, but she suspected it was chiefly because it had been Kepri who had supplied the water that accounted for Sonam’s seemingly miraculous revival.

Although the freighter was, strictly speaking, a cargo ship and not a passenger ship, some of the interior rooms had been converted into working space. This room in particular, it seemed, had been utterly conquered by the Plague Doctors. Four people in white jackets milled around the room, looking over paperwork and comparing notes on a chalkboard that stood against the far wall on two spindly legs. As Mira, Sonam, and Kepri entered, a tall man strode toward them. He had brown hair that was graying around his temples and intense eyes the color of storm clouds.

Thank you for coming so soon, Brown said. He gestured toward a table, around which were a few chairs. Please, sit. This won’t take long.

It had been an interesting few months in the Sand Kingdom.

Mira’s ordeal had begun with her father catching the dreaded pyritic fever when a sudden outbreak had crippled her small village of Beryl. She and Sonam Nzari, whose own family had been struck by the fever, had set out to the Sand Kingdom’s capitol, The Hourglass, in search of a cure. There, the two of them had quickly become embroiled in events that stretched farther from their own small town than they thought possible. A woman named Lycentia Sutton, an academic from the Empire of Mists, was somehow involved in the spread of the fever through Beryl. Mira and Sonam had rescued Kepri from the clutches of a foul man in the employ of Sutton named Marcel, and the three youths had met Brown and learned of Sutton’s duplicitous plan. Before they were able to catch her and learn the depth of her involvement in the spread of the fever, Sutton had escaped in a hot air balloon from the Hourglass Lyceum.

Upon examination by the Plague Doctors, Mira and Sonam learned that they were somehow immune to pyritic fever, and the Doctors had synthesized a treatment from their blood to treat other victims of the illness. So far, it had saved the lives of many people, Mira’s father included.

Sonam’s father had not been so lucky.

That had been over a month ago. Mira still had no idea what caused her and Sonam’s immunity to pyritic fever, where Sutton had fled to, or what Sutton’s true motives in the Sand Kingdom had been. And while she wanted nothing more than to return home to her father’s workshop, she understood that her part to play in bringing Sutton to justice was not over, yet.

Her part to play, and that of her friends she assumed, was why Brown had called for them.

But Brown did not direct his attention to Mira. Instead he looked to Sonam. Of how much of your father’s business dealings were you aware?

The question seemed to catch Sonam off guard. He blinked several times before answering. Almost nothing, he replied quietly. I was raised to believe that the work of the man of the house is his business alone, and it is not a child’s place to ask questions about such things.

What Mira knew of the Qasim Nzari, she disliked. When she had been just a child, Qasim had tried to pay her father, Maleer, a bridewealth to purchase Mira as a wife for Sonam. Of course, Maleer and Mira had both refused, but Qasim’s ego had been unable to take the rejection. He had forced Sonam to belittle, harass, and even assault Mira at every turn for years following, and had savagely beat his son when he did not fully comply with the chauvinism. Qasim was the reason Mira had grown up hating Sonam.

Even during the time that they had spent together in the desert and The Hourglass, Sonam had not spoken much about his father. Mira had been at Sonam’s side when his father had been buried after succumbing to pyritic fever, and even then Sonam had not offered many words about Qasim. Mira could hardly blame him.

Brown raised a long, rolled piece of paper to the top of the table and unfurled it. He pinned the corners with heavy weights. Do you recognize this area?

It was a map. Sonam leaned over it and studied it for a few moments. It’s the eastern Sand Kingdom, he finally said. He jabbed the map with a finger. There’s Beryl.

Brown nodded. From a pocket in his jacket he revealed a flat drafting pencil. He marked a small circle on the map, slightly northeast of Beryl. Do you know what lay here? Mira gazed at the map. There were no markings on the map where Brown had drawn, not even unusual elevation lines. It appeared completely inconsequential.

Sonam only considered it for a moment. Nothing, he said. It’s just empty desert. Most of the desert is, between Beryl and the Razor Mountains to the east.

Wrong, Brown put in. There is an old entrance to a copper mine here. One that hasn’t been in use since before I was born. It’s no longer marked on the map because another entrance to the mine was discovered. Brown moved his finger to a tiny icon of a pickaxe, more than half a kilometer to the west. It is right here.

Who cares? Mira wondered aloud. Companies move the entrances to mines all of the time, right? One area of a mine begins to run low, and miners get tired of navigating kilometers of empty tunnels to get to new deposits.

But what’s left of this mine entrance is what’s interesting, Brown went on, because a man named Qasim Nzari purchased this worthless cave almost twenty years ago from the mining company that had abandoned it.

Sonam’s face twisted in confusion. But that doesn’t make sense. Why would my father buy such a meaningless piece of property? Sonam then looked to Brown, and his features colored with suspicion. Why are you looking into my father’s businesses? He has nothing to do with you.

Brown ignored Sonam’s question. Do you have any memories, as a boy, of being taken to this place? Any memories of caves or dark places? Anything at all?

No! Sonam cried, standing suddenly from the table. I do not! And I do not appreciate whatever you are insinuating!

Brown regarded Sonam carefully. And just what is it that you believe that I am insinuating?

The only reason you and your Doctors ventured into the Sand Kingdom was to find Lycentia Sutton and discover her involvement with the spread of pyritic fever. Is that not true?

Brown said nothing.

Sonam pressed his lips together in a thin, infuriated line. You believe my father was somehow in leagues with her, don’t you? Did you and your crew of white-coated ghosts find something on my father’s private property that you think makes him a villain?

Did you ever hear your father mention her name? Brown pressed. Or hear him say something about a cave?

No! Sonam thundered. I didn’t! And whatever is going on in your head, it’s wrong! My father might not have been the most honorable man in the Sand Kingdom, but he never had anything to do with Lycentia Sutton! He scooted his chair back from the table. None of us asked to be brought along on this mission of yours, and especially not to have the affairs of our relatives who have passed into the Lands Beyond spoken of with such incredulity! He gestured wildly to Mira. I supposed you’ve combed through the business ledger of Mira’s repair shop, making sure she hasn’t been selling pressure cookers to spies?

Brown eyed Sonam. No offense was intended, he said slowly and gruffly. But it is of the utmost importance that you try to remember as much about that place as possible.

I know nothing about that place! Sonam exclaimed. My father never said or did anything regarding it! I never even knew it existed until just now. And now I’m going to forget about it, and I suggest you do the same, because I could have all of you thrown into a Sand Kingdom jail for being on private property without invitation!

Mira did not actually think he would do it, but Sonam was technically correct. As co-executor of his father’s wealth, Sonam had –along with his mother– shared control over all property formerly owned by Qasim.

Tension crackled silently in the air between Brown and Sonam. It was Sonam who looked away first, turning and stalking from the room. He slammed the bulkhead door behind him, leaving everyone else silent in his wake.

Chapter Three

T hat wasn’t necessary , Said a female Doctor by the name of Carter.

Brown turned to face her. What are you talking about? It’s of the utmost importance that we learn whatever we can about that cave. It’s possible that Qasim Nzari left information about it with Sonam, whether the boy realizes it or not.

That isn’t what I meant, Carter went on. "For God’s sake, Brown, the boy just lost his father to the fever. We’re not even sure the things we found there will amount to anything, much less if Sonam’s father was actually involved with any of it. For all we know, everything discovered could have been happening without the knowledge of the father or the son."

Excuse me, Kepri interjected. Both Doctors turned to look at her. "What did you find in that cave that Sonam’s father owned?"

Brown ran a palm across his face, seemingly trying to wipe away his frustration. We’re not sure. There were lots of beakers and medicine jars, and more than a dozen hospital beds.

It was ... some kind of clinic? Mira voiced.

Again, we’re not sure, Brown went on. We haven’t had time to look over much of the paperwork. It’s going to take us weeks to sort through the complete pages of notes we found, in addition to the partially burned pages we were able to salvage.

What makes you think this had anything to do with Lycentia Sutton and the fever? Mira queried.

Sonam was right about one thing, Brown replied. We’re not certain, yet, that the two are connected. It just seems awfully coincidental that such a place is owned by the father of a boy who happened to stumble across our paths as we were chasing an Empire fugitive. Regardless, it’s the job of Plague Doctors to investigate circumstances such as this.

It was still cruel of you to bring it up, this soon after the boy’s father has passed, Carter commented in the background.

Brown spun to her and threw his arms into the air in exasperation.

Maybe we’d better go and find him, Mira suggested to Kepri. The older girl nodded. Mira returned her attention to Brown. That is, unless you need something else from us.

No, that’s all, Brown sighed. Until we sort through what we discovered in the cave, I won’t return to the topic.

Carter nodded approvingly to Brown, as Mira and Kepri left the room.

They first checked Sonam’s bunk, but he was not there. If she were Sonam, Mira decided, she would not have gone there, either. Sonam had probably already seen enough of the inside of his bunk after his bout with seasickness.

The two girls ascended the stairs and exited onto the ship’s deck. The sunny afternoon had turned cloudy and gray while Mira had been indoors, and a stiff wind buffeted