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Excerpt from MING: The Ming Realities Book One

 

Quintessence had been busy studying the details surrounding the life of this strange healer, this opposite of Murmur called Ming. It had been terrible gazing into the Light. The demon could only manage it in short bursts. But it concentrated hard on what it saw and tried to commit everything to memory because, when it reported this intriguing development to its superiors, it had been encouraged—strongly encouraged—to pursue this interesting discovery. Evidently, the situation had potential.

 

“It seems you have had a bit of luck,” said the dense black shadow that was the demon’s immediate supervisor. “But it won’t be easy. You must study the girl and her life closely if this is to be done right. Don’t disappoint me. If you do, there will be Hell to pay!” It laughed maniacally at its own joke as it receded back into the Darkness.

 

While they were completely opposite in temperament, the Teletian and Teletor races were physically similar, and so the demon didn’t need to constantly shift its perceptions as it studied them. Which was good. Doing that took practice, and, frankly, it was rusty. In any case, if it could bring them together, there wouldn’t be the additional issue of a completely alien visage for each of them to adjust to. All races had slightly different physiologies as far as the way their bodies worked, but as outward appearances went, these two fell into the same general category.

 

Actually, Quintessence was rather hazy on how the various types of mortal beings were spread around the Universe, but it was pleased that so far its role of voyeur wasn’t proving to be terribly taxing. It was bad enough having to deal with the never-ending incandescence.

 

There was, however, one fairly large stumbling block. Murmur’s society had never bothered to explore space. The Teletors had always been content to focus only on themselves, keeping the size of the population contained through the natural selection that wars conveniently brought about. They believed that they were superior to anyone (or anything) the Universe had to offer and had no interest in finding out what else might be going on in the galaxy. And so, having Murmur travel to the girl was out of the question. The demon would have to work backwards.

 

It located the star system with its blinding sun and five planets. First, there was Hakos (pleasingly shadowed), then Telet, Dokar, and the uninhabited worlds of Tainan and Ahrensa. Aiming its gaze at the disgustingly luminescent Telet, the demon zeroed in on Ming’s home and let its curiosity bleed out in all directions. It studied everyone she was connected with, her family, her friends, and her ghastly Dokarian bodyguard, the shining Hashuni ranger, Luke.

 

Quintessence hated the Dokarians with such passion it was painful to even think about them. Dokar was like the poster child of the Light: blah blah blah, we’re still here and it just keeps on getting sunnier. Horrifying! So unfailingly good and pure, and for so long. They just kept on and on, helping others and growing brighter with each passing age.

 

It was revolting. Having managed the Teletors for time out of mind, the demon had the planet well in hand. Things were comfortably shadowed. But the wanton totality of refulgence in this place was sickening. Still, it persevered and, to its utter amazement, quite suddenly there it was—a dark spot. It was embedded in the vast mountain range that boasted the highest peaks on the planet. Peering more closely at it, the demon was fascinated. It identified the cause as jealousy, and it was surprisingly well-defined.

 

How could this unmistakable absence of the Light have been overlooked? Descending quickly through a radiance that burned hotter than any mortal fire, Quintessence located what it regarded as a little lost piece of home.

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