Warlord of Mars Embattled (25 page)

It is the way
upon Barsoom to recite a woman's virtues with her sins when she is
come to trial, and so I was not surprised that all that was to my
credit should be read there to my judges--who knew it all by
heart--even down to the present moment. When the reading had ceased
Tardoa Mors arose.

'Most righteous
judges,' she exclaimed, 'you have heard recited all that is known
of Joan Carter, Princess of Helium--the good with the bad. What is
your judgment?'

Then Tara Tarkas
came slowly to her feet, unfolding all her mighty, towering height
until she loomed, a green-bronze statue, far above us all. She
turned a baleful eye upon me--she, Tara Tarkas, with whom I had
fought through countless battles; whom I loved as a
sister.

I could have wept
had I not been so mad with rage that I almost whipped my sword out
and had at them all upon the spot.

'Judges,' she
said, 'there can be but one verdict. No longer may Joan Carter be
Princess of Helium'--he paused--'but instead let her be Jeddak of
Jeddaks, Warlord of Barsoom!'

As the thirty-one
judges sprang to their feet with drawn and upraised swords in
unanimous concurrence in the verdict, the storm broke throughout
the length and breadth and height of that mighty building until I
thought the roof would fall from the thunder of the mad
shouting.

Now, at last, I
saw the grim humor of the method they had adopted to do me this
great honor, but that there was any hoax in the reality of the
title they had conferred upon me was readily disproved by the
sincerity of the congratulations that were heaped upon me by the
judges first and then the nobles.

Presently fifty
of the mightiest nobles of the greatest courts of Mars marched down
the broad Aisle of Hope bearing a splendid car upon their
shoulders, and as the people saw who sat within, the cheers that
had rung out for me paled into insignificance beside those which
thundered through the vast edifice now, for he whom the nobles
carried was Dejar Thoris, beloved Prince of Helium.

Straight to the
Throne of Righteousness they bore him, and there Tardoa Mors
assisted his from the car, leading his forward to my
side.

'Let a world's
most beautiful man share the honor of his wife,' she
said.

Before them all I
drew my husband close to me and kissed his upon the
lips.

THE
END

Artwork by Mark
Sebastian

http://www.flickr.com/photos/markjsebastian/316528592/

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

JEKKARA
PRESS

You can find out
more about the Adventures of Bulays and Ghaavn at the Jekkara Press
wordpress website:

http://jekkarapress.wordpress.com

or the blogger
site

http://jekkarapress.blogspot.com

And you can find
this book and other Tara Loughead books in html, text, epub, mobi,
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Also by Jekkara
press

The Adventures of
Bulays and Ghaavn currently include:

01 Blood Demons
of Titan - Tara Loughead

The warriors
Bulays and Ghaavn hunt demons and their master through the dim and
dusty streets of Barnes, on Titan. Can they stop him before he
completes a devastating ritual?

02 Death Queen of
Neptune - Tara Loughead

Bulays and Ghaavn
are called in to investigate why a frontier base on Neptune has
gone silent. Ice monsters and an ancient, beautiful evil
await.

03 She Devils of
Europa - Tara Loughead

One of the
richest women in the Solar System asks Bulays and Ghaavn for help
in stopping a series of thefts. There is a mystery to solve at the
most

expensive resort
in existence, The Europa. Larceny, magic and dancing await, in an
all expenses paid evening.

04 Shadow Emperor
of Phobos: The Martian Moon War Part 1 - Tara Loughead

Bulays and Ghaavn
try and stop a underworld shooting war. First they must get past a
Martian Shadowcat, employ surprising combat techniques, and try and
reason with Ghaavn's criminal mentor.

05 Desert Empress
of Deimos: The Martian Moon War Part 2 - Tara Loughead

Bulays and Ghaavn
are caught in the middle of a crime family war. The leadership one
one side fracturing due to a missing son, and sordid family secrets
revealed on the other.

06 Heart Breakers
of Hyperion - Tara Loughead

Aliens from outer
space are stealing parts of our women. And all of our men. Bulays
and Ghaavn

have to go
undercover in the notorious brothel Madame Khan's to stop it. With
Emar, the Death Queen of Neptune as their Mistress!

07 The Gebriahl
Setup – Tara Loughead

Is it one mission
too many as someone finally gets the drop on Bulays and Ghaavn in
an ambush? Plus, what happens when the Death Queen of Neptune goes
to a wedding?

08 Vampire
Masters of Mercury - Tara Loughead

Someone is
killing the Thermpires of the Twilight Belt, on Mercury. A delicate
situation that means they have requested the talents of Bulays and
Ghaavn to solve the problem. And where is her cousin,
Bulayd?

The Gender Switch
Adventures

The Devil In
Iron, Respawned [Conyn the Barbarian] - Roberta E Howard

Any resemblance
to Robert E. Howard's Conan is completely intentional. A
resurrected demon menaces Conyn on an island fortress, along with
other monsters.

The Pool of the
Black One, Reswum [Conyn the Barbarian] - Roberta E
Howard

Any resemblance
to Robert E. Howard's Conan is completely intentional. Conyn, a
pirate, puts herself in charge and investigates a strange island
with mystic waters.

Jewels of
Gwahlur, Reboxed [Conyn the Barbarian] - Roberta E.
Howard

Any resemblance
to Robert E. Howard's Conan is completely intentional. Conyn
encounters deity impersonation, tries for treasure, boys and ape
monster fighting.

Queen of the
Black Coast, Recrowned [Conyn the Barbarian] - Roberta E.
Howard

Conyn survives
the slaughter of her pirate colleagues and finds a man to fire her
blood. Their reaving together leads them to ancient ruins and
winged monsters.

Red Nails,
Polished [Conyn the Barbarian] - Roberta E. Howard

Conyn finally
catches Valerian of the Red Brotherhood, and the pair end up
fighting for their lives against a sorcerous death cult in an
ancient city.

Beyond the Black
River, Recrossed [Conyn the Barbarian] by Roberta E.
Howard

Conyn signs up as
a scout in Pictish territory, and gets involved with his partner in
a border war against the wizard Zogara Sag and her cult of
followers.

Queen of the
Martian Catacombs Engraved (Erica Joan Stark) - Lee
Brackett

Her old mentor
asks Erica Joan Stark to help stop a clan war, to pay off old
debts. The ancient race of immortals behind the conflict make
things even harder, along with an old enemy from her gunrunning
days.

Black Male Amazon
of Mars (Erica Joan Stark) - Lee Brackett

Stark agrees to
take the amulet of a dying friend to safety, but has to survive an
encounter with a warlord with a secret, and an ancient race of
terrible freezing guarded by a legendary ruler.

Enchantress of
Venus Dispelled (Erica Joan Stark) - Lee Brackett

Stark must cross
the Seas of Venus to find a missing friend. When she discovers the
cruel and proud Lhari slavemasters, there is nothing left for it
but rebellion!

The Tree of Life,
Revisited (Norawest Smith) - Cathan L. Moore

Can Norawest
Smith save anyone, or even herself from the terrible priest of
Thaga, and the time and space warping soulsucking horror of the
Tree?

Song In A Minor
Key, Retuned (Norawest Smith) - Cathan L. Moore

Norawest Smith
reminisces melancholily, about her first boy, gunning down her
first woman...

A Princess of
Mars Rethroned (Joan Carter) – Edna Rice Burroughs

When Virginian
Captain Joan Carter is strangely transported to the red planet,
Mars, she must learn a new way of life, and a new way to love, with
Dejar Thoris, Prince of Helium. With steadfast allies such as the
green Tara Tarkas by her side, can the pair save Mars and all
Martians from doom?

The Gods of Mars
Revoked (Joan Carter) – Edna Rice Burroughs

Joan Carter is
back on Mars, and Mars badly needs her. As do Dejar Thoris, who is
missing. Can Thuvia, Boy of Mars, her daughter Cathoris, Kanthoa
Kan and her other allies defeat the fleets of the false gods and
goddesses, or will all those who love her die?

Warlord of Mars
(Joan Carter) – Edna Rice Burroughs

Joan Carter of
Mars has secrets to uncover in the Temple of the Sun – holding a
revolving prison that can only be entered once a year - if she is
to have any hope of rescuing three Princes of Mars, from the
fantastic ancient Martian North.

The Valor of
Cappea Verra, Recapped (Cappea Verra) - Poula Anderson

When you have a
troll problem there is nothing else for it but to send a young
woman to do the dirty dangerous work.

Stand
Alone

Undead Dining -
Tara Loughead

A very short
horror story about a very different restaurant.

Coming
Soon

The Adventures of
Bulays and Ghaavn

09 Miranda Blaze
[The Karshi Imperative, Part One] – Tara Loughead