Sky was about to reach them to help Sophie put them back into her body when Sophie snapped again, “Don’t!”
Nathan, who was about to help as well, looked alarmed, and froze. “I’ll stand watch, too,” he said. The icy calm of a mission had descended upon him again, and there was nothing visible of the insecure, sweet boy now as he stood up gracefully and moved to stand near the closest window.
“Is there anything we can do?” Sky asked.
“Not you, no,” Sophie breathed. “I just need to be fast enough.”
The Band around her wrist was glowing a golden colour. The light spread to her own hands before she started picking up the intestines and carefully put them back in Eidi’s body.
“But—” Sky started.
“If you’d paid more attention in class than to girls,” Sophie interrupted dispassionately as she methodically worked her way around Eidi’s open abdomen, “you would know that my magic disinfects my hands.” There was utter focus in her eyes as she worked. “Your hands are not clean. Even if you could help put them back in, which, unless you ever paid attention in medical class you wouldn’t even know how to properly, your dirty hands would give her an infection. And then that would kill her.”
Sophie didn’t look up as she spoke. If it hadn’t been for the tense situation and Eidi’s life on the line, Matu would’ve laughed at Sophie’s disparaging comments about Sky’s reputation back when they had been at school.
“That was low,” Sky muttered.
“Yeah, well, so were your grades.”
Sky snorted.
“Will you both shut it?” Matu snapped.
Eidi loosed a raspy breath.
“Talk to her,” Sophie commanded, looking up at Matu. Sky quickly stepped back, making sure his torch was still aimed at Eidi’s stomach, so Matu could take his place by her side.
Matu didn’t want to stop looking at what Sophie was doing. He knew that she was working as fast as she could and that she wouldn’t fail, yet he still wanted to make sure. Still, he tore his eyes away and met Eidi’s. The poor woman’s face was a mask of excruciating pain. Her brow was covered in sweat, and it mixed with the blood from the thin gash across her forehead. The delicate hand Matu now clamped within his own massive one was clammy and incredibly weak. She barely held on to him.
Matu started soothing Eidi in their native language, the Swahili words coming softly and rhythmically; telling her whatever she needed to hear to hold on. He told her that Sophie was the best, though Eidi knew damn well who Sophie was and what she could do. Matu assured her he had no doubt Eidi would walk out of there in no time.
Though that only seemed to make Eidi’s fear grow.
Matu snapped his head up to Nathan and Lian. “Search this house. Find something, anything, that might tell you where Reth and Yaro are. NOW!”
But before either Aster could move, Eidi rasped, “No…”
Matu looked back down. “What?”
At that moment Eidi grasped his hand tightly and screamed. It pierced the deafening silence of the night. Matu snapped his head over to Sophie in horror.
“Soph!”
But her hands were glowing brightly. Her eyes were still fixated on them. Matu couldn’t see any of Eidi’s intestines anymore and he watched as the skin of her belly started knitting itself back together. A few seconds later Eidi’s skin showed no sign of there ever being such a life-threatening injury. The blood staining her dark skin, her clothes, the floor and Sophie’s hands, was the only evidence that, if the Asters had arrived only minutes later, Eidi would’ve been dead.
Eidi Okoth took one gulp of air and shot up to a sitting position. She would’ve fallen back down again if Matu hadn’t steadied her with an arm at her back. His Band glowed bronze for a moment, but his magic settled again. He didn’t need his magic of Strength to keep this woman upright. Eidi turned to him and squeezed his other hand. The gash along her forehead had vanished too. Only dried blood remained. Then, remembering what had happened, her free hand shot to her mouth, and she started crying.
“It’s all right,” Sophie soothed, the earlier sharpness in her voice having vanished. “Deep breaths.”
“What happened here?” Matu asked.
“Disciples,” Eidi breathed as she turned her attention back to Matu. And then the whole story came out. Along with a rush of tears that streamed down her cheeks.
“They knew about our training programme for all Affinites in the country. They knew our connection to the Small Council. They thought, because of that, we knew Gayle Mendosa’s location.”
Matu’s heart sank as Eidi Okoth continued her story.
“They cut all the wires—all the lights. We heard them, but we couldn’t see anything. And they pulled us out of bed. There were so many… so many… And they tied me to a chair—Reth, too. And they hurt…” Her voice hitched, and she choked, “They hurt Yaro.”
Eidi sobbed greatly before continuing. “They thought we’d tell them if they promised not to touch Yaro, but we didn’t know… Neither of us knew… They didn’t believe us…”
“Where is Yaro? And Reth? Where are they now?” Matu pushed. He held his right hand steady at her back while gently stroking her left hand with his thumb.
“They took them. I don’t know where exactly. Because Reth owns and runs the Academy, and I am just human, they thought there was a better chance he’d know the Queen’s location than me. So they told him they’d kill me and that Yaro would be next if he didn’t give them the information. But he doesn’t have it… neither of us know… Oh, Matu… They attacked me, and left me for dead, and they took them both. I don’t know what they will do to Yaro to get Reth to speak, but Reth doesn’t know… You have to go after them! Please, you have to save them!”
“Shh,” Matu assured her as Eidi continued working herself up. “We’ll find them, I promise. We’ll do all we can to find them.”
“But you can’t be here while we look,” Sophie pointed out.
Eidi stared at Sophie without responding.
Sky backed up his sister. “Sophie’s right. You won’t be safe here.”
“They’re right,” Matu whispered. Eidi turned her head slowly back to Matu. Her body trembling violently, Eidi nodded slowly.
Matu nodded to the rest of them and started helping Eidi back to her feet. Despite the woman’s shaking, Eidi stood stronger than Matu had expected. She was an amazing human.
“Send Lian, me and Eidi back,” Matu instructed Sky. “She needs to get to the Medical Bay and we will update Sylvia. You three find out what you can about this attack. See if you can find anything that can tell us which Disciples did this. That might narrow down our search in the Underworld.” For the Underworld was divided up into territories, and while the seven Higher Kings rarely ventured into the territory of another, it could cost Reth and Yaro their lives if the Asters stormed the wrong one. Knowing which King the Disciples responsible for this served, would already help focus the search.
Then maybe, if the Asters were lucky enough to find anything more specific, they could find Reth and Yaro before that specific King discovered that Reth had no idea where to find Gayle Mendosa.
Chapter 5
Axel Reed and Emissary Nicholas Nelson had joined Sylvia Allen in the Board Room while the Asters were away on their mission. Axel and Sylvia had both taken a seat at the large oak table, while Nicholas was typing furiously behind the computer as Matu and Lian shimmered in with Eidi Okoth between them.
Sylvia got up the second she laid eyes on the blood-soaked Kenyan woman.
“Eidi!” the Consul exclaimed.
Eidi Okoth, still in shock from the events of earlier that night, barely acknowledged the Consul as Matu led her to one of the chairs at the table.
Nicholas stared at the woman. As Emissary of Saluverus he knew about every Affinite in the world, as did the two Emissaries from Viria and Auro. However, he was in closer contact with the Affinites who served a direct purpose to the Small Council.
The Okoth family, because their training Academy was the largest in Kenya, were always in contact with both Jackson Kelly and Nicholas Nelson. They would speak often about the progress of the Affinites in the Academy, since every Affinite would be asked to take a place in the army should a war ever break out. This had been taken all the more seriously in the past ten years because of Gayle’s magic, and the promise of the great threat that her magical birth portended.
“I’ll get some water,” Sylvia was saying, and the woman bustled out of the Board Room.
Nicholas watched silently as Eidi, with her eyes closed, focused on breathing as steadily as possible. Yet the tears that rolled down her cheeks and the shaking of her hands showed she was in no way calm. Or in any state to tell the members of the Small Council who were still in the room what had happened that night.
“Where are the others?” Axel asked, filling the silence.
“Still in Nairobi,” Matu answered, looking up from Eidi. “Sky shimmered us here for Eidi’s protection.”
“What happened to her?” Axel asked.
“Disciples meant to kill her. If we’d got there any later she wouldn’t have survived her wounds. Sophie healed her just in time,” Matu explained. He left out the debacle of Sky’s initial diagnosis; Matu was still seething inwardly about what that could have meant for Eidi.
The door opened again and Sylvia entered with a glass of water in one hand, and a jug in the other. She set the jug on the corner desk and walked over to Eidi. The woman raised her eyes and with a shaky hand took the glass Sylvia offered her. The water in the glass trembled as Eidi raised it to her lips to drink.
“They meant to kill her?” Axel asked.
“She should’ve already been dead. The Disciples didn’t check that she was when they left,” Lian explained.
It seemed strange to be talking about Eidi’s death so lightly when the woman was sitting right in front of them. But Eidi didn’t seem to be any more distraught than she already was while the Ambassador continued his questions.
“Why would they be that sloppy?” Axel asked, suspiciously.
“Because it was no longer about her,” Matu answered.
“Reth and Yaro?”
It was the first time Nicholas had spoken since Matu and Lian had shimmered into the room. He was looking at Eidi as he asked the question.
“Are the others still in Nairobi to find them?” the Emissary added.
Lian shook his head. “The Disciples took both of them.”
“They believe Reth knows Gayle Mendosa’s location. They tortured Yaro first, to see if either Eidi or Reth would break. When they were sure Eidi didn’t know anything, they killed her and took Reth and Yaro away. Or tried to kill her,” Matu finished explaining.
Axel swore under his breath.
“They think Reth might know?” Nicholas asked.
“Given his high status with the Small Council, it’s not the strangest thing to presume,” Sylvia said.
“But he doesn’t know,” Lian said.
“We know that,” Axel snarled. The sound of his voice sent shivers up Matu’s spine. He and Lian both knew that the anger emanating from the Ambassador wasn’t directed at them, but at the information they were giving.
Matu clenched his fists by his side. He forced himself to keep his mouth shut even when he wanted to demand how they were going to get Reth and Yaro back. But he would never demand that of Axel Reed. The Small Council would come with a plan once they’d had time to process all the information, and Matu and the other Asters would just have to wait until that happened.
Lian didn’t have that kind of patience. Not when it came to saving people who were in trouble. “And what are we going to do to make sure he doesn’t get killed when they find that out?”
Matu shot his brother a warning look but Lian wasn’t looking at him.
Axel opened his mouth to speak, and Matu braced himself for the Ambassador’s anger. But before any words came, Axel was cut off.
“They’re… they’re going to kill Yaro,” Eidi stammered. Her shaking had increased and she looked even paler than before.
“Get her out of here,” Axel commanded.
Sylvia stepped in front of Eidi, and said softly, “We’re not going to let that happen, all right?”
Sylvia took Eidi’s hands and raised the woman up to her feet.
“Take her to the Medical Bay for observation,” Axel ordered.
“Sophie healed her,” Lian said. “Physically she’s fine.”
“She’s still in shock,” Sylvia responded sharply. “We need to keep an eye on her until she calms down.” She softened her voice again and directed it towards Eidi. “That’s right, come with me now.”
Sylvia wrapped an arm around Eidi and guided her out of the Board Room. At the door Eidi struggled to loosen Sylvia’s grip on her so that she could turn around. For just that moment her trembling stopped as she stared back at the Ambassador.
“Save Yaro,” the woman said, her voice stronger than any one of them would have expected. “If you have to choose, you save Yaro. Reth would want that, too.”
Sylvia returned an arm around Eidi and tried to guide her out of the room. “Don’t talk like that. We are not faced with such a choice yet.”
But Eidi wouldn’t have it. She shook Sylvia off again. She looked at both Matu and Lian and said, “If you do have to make that choice, make this one.”
“Get some rest Mrs. Okoth.” Axel spoke before either Matu or Lian could open their mouths.
Eidi looked back at the Ambassador. “Promise me,” she pushed.
Axel stared the woman down for a moment. Yet Eidi was unflinching. “Promise me,” she whispered hoarsely, with the last of her strength.
After a moment all Axel gave was a short nod. Eidi wouldn’t get more of a response from the Ambassador than that and she knew it. The Kenyan woman nodded slowly. She dropped her head and her hands resumed their shaking. She let Sylvia put an arm around her once more and together they left the Board Room.
The door closed behind them with a soft click. Everyone left in the room stared at it in silence, until Nicholas said, “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Agreed,” Axel said gruffly. The Ambassador turned to the two Asters standing in the room. “The others are trying to find any indication of which King those Disciples work for, correct?”
“Yes, but I don’t think—” Matu started. His words were cut off by the appearance of a blue light in the middle of the Board Room. Matu and Lian both took a step back as Sophie, Sky and Nathan appeared in the room.
Sophie looked absolutely horrible. Not only were her hands and clothes covered in Eidi’s blood, but the dark liquid had somehow also managed to stain parts of her face and blonde hair.
Matu’s heart sank as he took in their faces. The grave expressions on them told him enough: they hadn’t found anything that would lead them to a specific King, and therefore a specific territory in the Underworld. It would be nearly impossible to find Yaro and Reth when they didn’t even know where to start looking. Even if they did manage to capture the right Disciple who would break under interrogation and tell them what they needed to know, they might already be too late. It wouldn’t be long before the Disciples found out that Reth had no idea where Gayle Mendosa was, and Matu didn’t want to think about what would happen when they did. Disciples, and certainly Kings, weren’t ones to let captured Affinites walk out free once they had foregone their usefulness.
If Matu had any say in the matter he would go into the African Underworld and start there. Disciples had no magic, and couldn’t transport. The odds that Reth and Yaro had been taken by Disciples from another territory were small. It had happened in the past that Disciples from one King ventured into the territory of another, but not for many years. Matu would bet anything that the African King was behind this, and he wanted to start looking for Reth right now.
But it wasn’t up to him.
It was up to Axel and the
rest of the Small Council. And Matu would await their decision and follow their orders. Even if he didn’t agree with them. Even if he couldn’t stop picturing Reth and Yaro’s faces in the back of his mind. The thought of his father’s best friend being held somewhere in the Underworld, his own life not being threatened, but that of his thirteen-year-old son… It made Matu sick to even think about it.
And yet he still wouldn’t do anything rash.
It wasn’t his call to make, and it wasn’t his way to disobey orders.
“Nothing?” Axel asked, reading the same thing on the faces of the three Asters who had just shimmered in.
Sky shook his head, his eyes blazing. He looked as though he wanted to grab one of the chairs around the oak table and throw it across the room in anger. Though he seemed arrogant and nonchalant to the rest of the world, and to the other Asters ninety per cent of the time, it was in these moments when his real self shone through. His feeling of uselessness angered him more than anything, especially with his goal to remain known as the greatest Aster of his generation. He wasn’t ready to say that there was nothing he could do. Sky would rip through the whole Underworld if that’s what it took to get Reth and Yaro out.
That was the main difference between Matu and Sky. The anger that shone in Sky’s eyes was the same as the anger Matu felt; Matu was just better at hiding it and controlling it. He would keep it to himself. It wasn’t his job to get emotional about Affinite victims. It was his job to save them when he was ordered to. And not a second sooner.
“Reth and Yaro won’t be killed just yet. The Disciples need Reth alive to tell them Gayle Mendosa’s location,” Nathan said matter-of-factly. The cool, focused calm that took over Nathan when on a mission apparently hadn’t left him yet. There was no emotion in his voice as he spoke.
“But how long until they figure out that Reth doesn’t know?” Lian asked. Matu detected the edge in Lian’s voice, but his body language revealed nothing. Lian also couldn’t stand waiting around, but not in the same way Sky did. Sky’s reasons were more selfish; wanting to prove he and his magic could handle anything. Lian couldn’t stand being ordered to wait and do nothing ever since he had received that exact same order when his parents had perished in a house fire one year earlier, when he thought there was still something that could’ve been done. Matu knew it would weigh on Lian’s conscience that two Affinites were out there, helpless, and the Asters were ordered not to go in and help immediately.
A Queen To Come Page 5
