The Lost Voice

by V. St. Clair

  “Who lives may learn.”

  There might be murderers roaming the streets looking for Gifted to kill, and he might be missing an extremely important meeting with Hera, Topher, and Jessamine about it, but right now Max found it hard to feel anything but happiness. He was a free man, and he was enjoying a nice evening out with someone he liked. If this was his reward for suffering through weeks of torture in the Augenspire then he was glad he endured it for the chance to meet Ana.

  “Are you going to sit there grinning at your menu like an idiot, or are you going to order?” she broke his train of thought, and Max blinked and looked up.

  “Well if you put it like that, I guess I’ll order.”

  12

  Topher Augen

  ~

  You were never meant to forget.

  ~

  Topher punched Lorna in the stomach so hard her mouth guard flew out and landed on the ground between them. He paused to allow her time to retrieve it, which proved to be a mistake when she delivered a sharp kick to his knee instead, forcing him into a kneeling position.

  A hiss of pain escaped his lips, and he raised an arm to block the next swing, grabbing her arm as it came within reach and pulling her sharply towards him. Lorna stumbled into him and tripped, and Topher used the momentum to throw her over his head, hearing the thud of her body hitting the floor behind him.

  Lorna coughed and returned to her feet as he stood, testing his weight on his knee. It was painful but not unbearable.

  “We aren’t aiming to cripple each other,” he pointed out, crouching into a combat stance as they paced in a circle.

  “Then why did you just try to make me cough up my uterus?”

  “Your stomach is padded. My knees are not.” The two of them were sparring only in basic padding tonight, in case they ever needed to fight without armor on.

  “Next time don’t leave your knees unguarded,” she replied coolly, darting forward to attack again.

  Topher was prepared and was able to block her first attack with his forearms, but it still felt like being hit by a ground-car. He was stronger, but Lorna was more agile, and she always seemed to amass enough momentum to make up for the difference in brute strength.

  He elbowed her in the face and she turned her chin up, deflecting most of the impact but still leaving him an opening to smash into her chest, knocking her back to the floor and making her cough. She swept his legs out from under him while still gasping for breath, and Topher toppled to the ground beside her, rolling onto her and pinning her with his legs.

  “As much as I love watching you two unnecessarily beat the shit out of each other,” an unexpected voice said from the door, “it’s time to break it up.”

  Topher growled and pushed himself to his feet, annoyed by the interruption to his conditioning and even more annoyed by the source of it. Andro had always been an ass, and after the treachery committed by two of his closest friends, Topher didn’t trust him at all.

  “What do you want?” he asked, allowing some of the irritation to bleed into his voice.

  Andro scowled.

  “I happened to be the one nearby when Jessamine asked someone to find you. You’re wanted on three-hundred.” His voice was even, and annoyingly calm, though his gaze was penetrating and distasteful as they made eye contact.

  Topher pulled off his padding, checking for obvious signs of damage while he processed this.

  “Right now?” he asked to buy time.

  “Yes,” Andro confirmed. “Your sparring with Lorna will have to wait until later.”

  “We were nearly finished anyway,” Lorna replied smoothly, removing her own padding and gently massaging her stomach. “I’m going to get some paste before my stomach bruises.”

  She walked past Andro without comment, stopping at the door and glancing back at Topher as though to ask whether he needed her to stay. At a slight tick of the head by Topher, she nodded and left.

  He wiped his face with a damp towel and pulled on his light armor without acknowledging Andro, walking to the door to search for Jessamine and wondering what new crisis had befallen them now.

  “I’ll walk with you,” Andro offered, falling into step beside him as they neared the elevator.

  “I can find three-hundred without assistance,” Topher commented dryly.

  Andro ignored the broad hint and continued to stand beside him in silence while they waited for the elevator. After a moment he said, “I heard there are a couple of murders being investigated.”

  Topher compressed his lips slightly and stepped onto the elevator. He didn’t know how Andro had found out about the Gifted murders, or whether he knew they were tied to the Augenspire in some way, but it was an unpleasant surprise.

  “We are supposed to investigate all murders, so I’m relieved to hear it.”

  Andro scowled at him as he punched the button for the top floor.

  “Stop being a smartass. If anyone knows what I mean, it’s you, since you’re privy to all Jessamine’s most private business.”

  “Then you know any information I’m privy to stays between the Vicereine and myself, unless otherwise requested by her.”

  Topher said nothing more and the elevator reached the top floor. Before the doors could open, Andro palmed the button to hold them closed. Topher immediately tensed in preparation for a fight, mentally assessing the restrictions of the enclosed space.

  “Is it true that someone is whacking the Gifted?”

  Topher frowned and relaxed marginally.

  “Where did you hear that?”

  “Certain members of the General Assembly leak like sieves. Word is that two bodies have been found and there is reason to believe someone in the Augenspire is responsible for them.”

  Not just the Augenspire, but possibly the Provo-Major.

  “You seem to know more about it than I do,” Topher shrugged. “I’m not in any of the good gossip circuits these days.”

  “Cut the crap,” Andro snapped. “You’re in almost all of the General Assembly meetings since you took the reins from Shellina, so anything they know, you know.”

  Topher’s voice was low and dangerous when he said, “I took nothing, if you’ll recall. She gave the order that put me in charge, and when Jessamine returned I gladly bowed to her authority. Never question my loyalty.”

  Andro knew the danger of his misstep and held up his hands in surrender of the point. “Fine, but don’t insult my intelligence by pretending not to know what I’m talking about.”

  “Why have you taken such a sudden interest in the wellbeing of the Gifted?”

  Andro frowned at the continued evasion.

  “Jessamine may have told us she thinks all the traitors are sorted out, but we both know she’s got her eyes out for anyone who might have been colluding with Fox and Parl, and with Parl dead he can’t even be interrogated to learn the truth.”

  They were informed of Parl’s death first thing in the morning, and while most of his closest friends looked grim and sad, Andro had seemed furious. Topher was definitely planning to keep a close eye on his movements, strongly suspecting him of being part of Fox and Parl’s plot to overthrow Jessamine.

  Shame Parl died before we could interrogate him.

  “We also know she’s pissed a lot of people off with her recent pandering to the Gifted agenda, so even those who might not have been in with Fox and Parl from the beginning might be plotting against her now,” Andro continued, a bite of annoyance coloring his tone.

  “I wouldn’t know anything about it. Would you?” Topher asked coldly, and Andro spared him a disgusted look.

  “Of course not, you judgmental ass. You’ve never liked me because you only like people who are as boring as you, but that doesn’t make me a traitor.”

  Topher raised an eyebrow and said, “I don’t like you because you’ve been an elitist dick since the day I was appointed. You think I don’t know who started those jokes about what a ‘gutter rat’ was doing in the Provo-Major all t
hose years ago? You think I enjoy you and your asshole friends making snide comments to me about Jessamine and Shellina because you’re jealous of the access I have to them?” He rolled his eyes in disdain. “Those are the reasons I don’t like you. The reason I think you’re a traitor is because some of your best friends turned out to be traitors. If I ever get any proof of your complicity, there will be no hell deep enough for you by the time I’m finished with you, so I hope for your sake you’re on the right side of history.”

  Andro removed his hand from the button without breaking eye contact with Topher and the elevator doors slid open. He watched wordlessly as Topher exited the lift and the doors closed behind him.

  Topher exhaled his frustration and continued through the lobby and into the sitting room, where Jessamine and Reya were already waiting for him, both in their light armor.

  “Oh good, you’re dressed appropriately,” the latter said from the couch, rising to her feet and grinning. “What happened to you?” she asked after a closer look at him.

  Topher didn’t meet her gaze when he said, “Lorna and I were sparring downstairs. Andro said you wanted to see me.”

  “Is that why you look like you want to punch a wall?” Reya raised a skeptical eyebrow.

  “Andro and I were speaking in the elevator, which never brightens my day,” he admitted. “He’s heard something about the business from the last Assembly meeting,” he added. “Apparently someone has been leaking intel.”

  Jessamine narrowed her eyebrows.

  “Good to know. We’ll discuss it further after we finish our mission tonight.”

  “What is our mission tonight?” Topher asked.

  “We are going to meet someone at your mother’s house who might be able to give us some insight into the very Assembly business you just mentioned.”

  Topher raised his eyebrows. It was a good idea, little though he liked the thought of visiting his mother right now.

  “Are Reya and I your only security?” he asked prudently.

  “Yes. I promised I would keep the crowd to a minimum to avoid skewing the proportion of ‘us’ versus ‘them.’ ” Jessamine sighed. “One day I’m going to make it so there is no ‘us’ and ‘them,’ or die trying.”

  Topher hid his distaste for the sentiment, forcing his face to remain neutral and his thoughts elsewhere. Without Jessamine at the helm they would be left with Shellina running the planet, and she was distrustful of the Gifted and would reverse any progress her sister made in the blink of an eye.

  “Is it imperative you be there in person?” Reya asked. “I’m not particularly worried about the people in the house, but getting you there leaves you open to attack.”

  Especially since someone high-ranking in the military is still murdering people on the streets.

  Jessamine didn’t respond for a moment. “Yes, I must. I won’t show them any fear. I am the leader of this world, and I intend to be seen in it.”

  Reya nodded and they moved to the elevators.

  “Who else knows you’re leaving the building?” Topher asked, working through the logistics.

  “Hanna. I asked her to wait in my rooms and tell anyone who showed up that I am busy and will speak with them in the morning. In the event of an emergency, I have my communicator with me so I can be reached.”

  And so you can be tracked by the Augenspire if we’re all killed out here and they need to recover your body…

  Topher shook the thought and said, “Good. Does my mother know to expect us, or will this be another surprise visit?”

  “I gave her warning. I don’t want to take advantage of my allies’ unplanned hospitality any more than necessary.”

  “Are we flying?” Reya asked as they departed the building through one of the less-used exits and made their way towards the vehicle garages.

  “I thought we’d take a hybrid,” Jessamine suggested. “I’d prefer we stay on the ground, since everyone expects me to be in a hurry and fly through emergency lanes to get places. It’s faster, but a single government vehicle flying through a dedicated lane tends to stand out and make for an easy target. We can easily lose ourselves in traffic on the ground, but I still want the ability to fly if the need arises.”

  “I’ll see what we’ve got in stock. Wait here.” Reya entered the garage alone, leaving Topher and Jessamine waiting in a nearby secluded area of decorative shrubbery and trees.

  “What does Andro know about the Gifted murders?” the Vicereine asked as soon as they were alone.

  “He’s heard rumors that two Gifted were killed and it’s being tied to the Augenspire in some way. I didn’t get to question him thoroughly about it, since he was mostly pressing me for confirmation and I was determined not to give him anything. He said someone on the Assembly leaked the info.”

  “Lavesh? Freeman?” Jessamine exhaled heavily. “Harold, Skye, and Rolf are all too ethical—and smart—to do it, and Jarlais has no reason to.”

  “Do you need me to look into it?” Topher volunteered, mentally kicking himself because he had almost no free time as it was and he was asking for more work.

  “No, thank you. I intend to bring Lara and Dred up to speed on the situation and assign them to the investigation team. While we’re on the subject, what do you think of Gareth, Andro, and Lorna for the team to do preliminary screenings of the candidates for Provo-Major?”

  Surprised, Topher said, “I think it’s a good mix of skill sets, because they’ll all be looking for different qualities.” Truthfully, he was shocked his name hadn’t cropped up on either list.

  It must have shown on his face because Jessamine said, “It occurred to me recently that I blindly assign you to too many things, because I know I can count on you for results and because I trust you. But I have fifty-nine—well, fifty-seven at the moment—other Majors who are all perfectly capable as well, though twenty of them are out of town on assignment. Most of them are probably even still trustworthy,” she added with a wry smile. “It would be poor leadership for me to ignore them and load up my favorites with all the work.”

  Topher understood. “Please don’t hesitate to come to me with anything you feel you need me for, even if I am busy with other work.”

  Jessamine nodded and Reya returned with their hybrid vehicle.

  Topher climbed into the front seat and began doing a security scan while Jessamine got in the back. He equipped his Talents for infrared vision and heightened senses, looking around for suspicious heat profiles while they drove towards downtown.

  Jessamine sent a few emails from her communicator, and the three of them kept mostly quiet until they reached Hera’s house. Per protocol, Topher climbed out of the car first and did a security sweep of the immediate area while Reya remained in the driver’s seat with the engine running until he gave the all-clear.

  The three of them approached the front door and knocked. Topher’s heightened senses put him on edge until the door opened and they were safely inside. After a quick heat scan of the house confirmed there was no one hiding, he removed his Talents and returned them to their clips on his belt.

  His mother was waiting for them in the living room, along with a Gifted man Topher had never met before. He looked to be in his forties, with greying hair tied in a ponytail and an emblem shaped like an intricate spider web hanging around his neck. Topher was intrigued by what power it was supposed to convey.

  “Excellency.” The man stood up at the sight of Jessamine and bowed. The sudden movement had both Topher and Reya reaching for their weapons, but they relaxed after he made no move to come closer to the Vicereine.

  “You must be Ryker,” Jessamine greeted him, ignoring her Majors’ twitchy reflexes and stepping forward to shake the man’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, though the circumstances are far from ideal.”

  “The pleasure is all mine,” he insisted. “Meaning no disrespect to your late father, but many of us are glad to see you leading Elaria. Most of us would do anything we could to help you.”
/>
  “Thank you.” Jessamine looked to the furniture. “Let’s sit down. No need to stand about uncomfortably while we talk.”

  Topher, who knew exactly how uncomfortable it was to sit on squishy couches while wearing light armor, would have preferred to stand. Upon reflection, Jessamine probably felt the same, but wanted to put Ryker at ease.

  Jessamine sat between Topher and Reya, while Hera and Ryker took a seat on the sofa facing them.

  “Has Hera explained the situation to you?” Jessamine began.

  “Yes, sort of. You want me to try to read an emblem and see if there are any memories left behind that will give an idea of what happened when its owner was killed?”

  Memories? Topher worked to contain his surprise, giving Ryker’s emblem a closer look. Those must be strands of memories, all interconnected…

  “That is the long and short of it, yes,” Jessamine confirmed. “I should point out that this is part of an ongoing and confidential investigation, and it is critical that you keep any knowledge of this to yourself until the investigation has concluded.”

  “Of course, Excellency,” Ryker assured her. “You’re the first ruler we’ve had in a long time that cares about us and our rights, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you as long as you keep fighting for us. It’s an honor to have you show such trust in me.”

  Maybe we should think about relocating Jessamine to the Academy, Topher thought wryly. The Gifted love her, and with all their assorted powers, they’d probably be excellent at defending her.

  Then again, it might be harder to hide her Gift at the Academy. He was still stunned, both by the knowledge that she kept such a thing secret from him for eight years, and realizing it didn’t bother him in the slightest after he learned the truth.

  “Very good.” Jessamine reached into her pocket and withdrew a clear plastic evidence bag from within, the emblem plainly visible. The bag was sealed with red tape, which she now broke with one finger.

  “Be careful,” she said to the room at large, extending the bag towards Topher. “I don’t think there is any blood or bodily fluids on it, but it hasn’t been cleaned.”