No Turning Back
Page 18
Chapter 12
The next four months were a haze of activity. Sylenn now went out regularly with the others to investigate reports of Drones and seek out those who had yet to reveal themselves. Nearly every day, she and another Descendant went through the portal created by the map to locations all over Alluvia. There was no time to admire scenery or appreciate being in new places, for as soon as she stepped across, the Hunter strained eagerly on the leash It had agreed to wear. They ran through the grand palaces of Qina, the jungles of Comoryos, the forested mountains of Gernsey, the water-bounded city-states of Amalrich, and saw none of them. Their view narrowed as they stepped over the platforms so that all They saw was Gontozenels.
Long before the end of those four months, Sylenn had had enough. When Satherlin called for a meeting, she decided to demand a change.
"Niel, glad you made it. Close the door, if you would," Satherlin greeted the food-laden man, who was, as usual, the last to arrive. Sylenn sat on the floor between a couch and a over-stuffed chair, partly because it felt safer there and partly to keep Mosin from plopping down next to her. He hovered so near her that she often found herself checking her bathing room before she went in.
"So, let's reference the reports we've compiled on the Gontozenels' recent movements," Satherlin began. "I think we've all agreed that they appear to be acting in greater concert than we've ever seen before. The attacks last week in Nieun and Lesoth happened at exactly the same time, and both had a focus: the warlords of those countries. The Archives tell us that Gontozenels rarely act together and seldom attempt to strike a particular target; there's been less than a dozen in the last 3,000 years. But the last two months have fifteen such events, four of which were simultaneous strikes. So something is going on. Lyshunda, your thoughts?"
The second in command nodded thoughtfully. "There's not much of a pattern to the strikes that we can see. They've hit public places, private estates, government houses, even open fields. I want to call it random, but I can't. I think it has to do with us having found the Hunter." Several pairs of eyes flicked over to Sylenn. "But I don't have any suggestions right now." She frowned in frustration.
"Tad?" Satherlin prompted. The tall man shrugged, his dark eyes fixed on the far wall.
"The same to me. When it comes down to it, we don't know enough about them. We've been observing them for thousands of years, but we're no closer to knowing them than we are the Ancients. Tesselëans. We don't even know why they started fighting, and we don't know why we're still fighting, true? Other than to protect our kind from them. Condenados frustrante."
"Clatyn?"
"They're starting to use more weapons," the burly man replied. "Not just their regular blasts. They're using human weapons like guns and knives and even carriages as rams. I couldn't prove it, but I think they're behind the e-car explosions in Vanautue, too. That causes just as much terror as anything else."
"Terror," Lyshunda interrupted, straightening in her chair. "Maybe that's what they're doing. It isn't that they want to destroy buildings or kill people; they want to make everyone afraid! Which would explain why we're getting even more bad publicity from everywhere." Her lips thinned considerably.
Satherlin agreed. "That does make sense. It is more difficult to do what we need to when the people put themselves in our way. As incredible as Sylenn and the Hunter's performance in Ivrithan was, there were many who felt it was brutish behavior from the Daemon-Kin." He smiled wryly, sending a supportive glance over at Sylenn, who continued to stare at the floor.
"But then we have to wonder how they're organizing themselves," Hae put in, "when they've never shown this kind of cooperation before."
Sylenn raised her head slightly, darting a second-long glance at the older woman. Hae's health had been failing faster these past few weeks, giving everyone concern. The beast sniffed with her nose, making a small whine in her mind. It could not be much longer before Hae's heart gave out.
"I'll bet they got someone highly placed," Kylle suggested. "Someone with much political power and wealth, who could make them all line up and take orders."
"An old one," Sylenn murmured, slowly straightening.
Satherlin held up a hand to forestall the others. "What do you mean by an old one?"
Sylenn looked up at him without moving her head, eyes bright with the Hunter. "The old ones have more power, more authority. The young ones must listen to, obey them. But not old in themselves; no, old in their hosts. It takes time; time to learn the host's potential, time to learn how to make it move. The young ones, they have held their hosts too little, and they forget so much in the transition. So strange, the humans are to them, as strange as they to us. The old ones, they have had time to remember, time to plan. They see us; they fear us. They think to drive us with the hate of humans." Sylenn blinked, then shook her head and ducked down.
"That does make sense," Lyshunda mused.
"But what do we do about it?" Clat demanded flatly, leaning back on the couch and lacing his hands behind his head. "All good and well to say they're doing this or that for whatever reason, but that doesn't get us any closer to finishing them. Maybe Kylle's right, that they've got someone in a powerful place, but maybe they've got this old one stashed someplace no-one knows about. Maybe none of us have heard of him, and maybe we all know him."
"You're right, speculation isn't action," Satherlin replied. "But at this point, we don't have enough information to suggest action, which is why we're speculating. To date, Descendants have always waited on Gontozenels to make the first move. Since we can't communicate with them, and we don't know if any of that machinery in the Garage can track them, we still have to wait for them to reveal themselves."
Hae spoke up. "Perhaps we should send the Hunter out more frequently in order to search for them. So far, we've had It responding the same way that we do. Now may be the time to give It a longer leash, so to speak."
Sylenn hunched over her knees further to hide the flash of excitement.
"You may have a point there, Hae," Satherlin mused, ignoring Mosin's building anger. "What do you think, Sylenn? Will the Hunter work with us to sniff out Gontozenels in hiding?"
Sylenn nodded without hesitation. "But I go alone."