Halfblood Journey

by Rheaume, Laura

  They both quietly thought about that for a few minutes. When the King endorsed the Scere’s resolution, what few rights they had as Humans would be taken away. Neither of them knew what exactly that would entail for them.

  “You said, ‘We’ll be back.’ So, you’re coming home with us?” Ian asked with a grin, welcoming a change in subject. Scythe could practically feel the smugness coming off the man.

  “I...I think I will…” Scythe began. He had put all his cards on the table. He had accepted them as his okin and that meant dedicating his life to their family. He hadn’t had time to give it much thought, but he couldn’t do that from across the continent…

  He turned his head at the approach of rushing footsteps.

  “Scythe,” Heron spoke urgently, striding into the atrium. “There are police here for you.”

  Ian sat up straight in his chair, “What?”

  “What do they want?” Scythe asked, trying to think what the police would need from him. His involvement with the terrorist case dealt almost exclusively with the Scere and Intelligence. The local police were handling the unavoidably public aspects of the night’s raid: the perpetrators that were caught and the damages to the city.”

  “They are here to arrest you for involvement in the attacks last night.”

  “What! That’s ridiculous! Based on what?” Ian protested. He stood up and put out a hand to rest on Scythe's arm.

  “My aunt is verifying the warrant, but it looks valid. If it is, we will have no choice but to let the officers enter and take you.”

  “Involved in the attacks? You were defending that red dragon’s family, right?” Ian asked.

  “Red dragon?” Heron asked. “Who’s that?”

  “I have been asked to keep that confidential, so please don’t speak of it to anyone. But, I was…”

  They turned when an older Kin paused at the door. “Kiryoku,” Heron asked, waving him in, “what is happening?”

  “The papers are legitimate. We will be letting them in.” He turned to Scythe, “You must decide what you want to do.”

  “Do?”

  “I examined the warrant and they’ve gathered damning evidence against you. If you chose, there is an exit from the estate through this garden.”

  Scythe blinked. Heron’s relation, probably his uncle, was asking him if he would try to run, to escape into the city. It hadn’t even occurred to him.

  “Running is a very criminal action,” he commented. It was virtually an admittance of guilt.

  “True,” the man said.

  “I don’t even know what they want. It could be a simple thing, a misunderstanding…”

  “The judge who signed it is known to me. He would not affix his family name unless he was sure it was legal and compelling. From what I saw of the charges, I would say that you will have a very hard time of it.”

  A very hard time of it? What could they possibly have accused him of?

  If he was taken in, or, worse, imprisoned, he wouldn’t be able to help locate Cord. He wouldn’t be able to safeguard his family. However…

  “I would not dishonor your family in that way.” Heron's family, in accepting him into their home, had in an informal way vouched for his character. That was why it was hard to get people removed forcibly from a home. To bring charges against a guest was to attack the name of the family. If Scythe fled, it would reflect poorly on their choice to welcome him into their home. Scythe would not do that to Heron, whose family was willing to protect Mercy and Ian. “Please permit me to get ready.”

  Ian followed him to his room, where Scythe spoke quickly, “There is money here for you and Mercy for whatever you need, and this is an account which I opened yesterday in your name with the rest of the money. You will need a Kin to help you get it, though, because Humans can’t use the banks here.” He handed him his portable computer. “I want you to keep this. It is my personal database, and it has things I want you to be able to access. You can also use it to track these,” he held up a bag of the round transmitters, “but only with my device, so it won’t work if they take it. Make a copy of it right away in case they ask for it and keep it with you. We can get Heron to help with that.”

  Ian said, “I...I’m sure it’s just some mistake. It’s got to be. You’ll probably be back by dinner…”

  Scythe didn’t answer. He didn’t take stock in wishful thinking. Heron’s uncle said that it looked bad so it probably was.

  His eyes fell on a small box. He lifted it out of his bag and held it in his hand. He didn’t want anything to happen to the gift she had insisted on giving him.

  “This is a gift...for Mercy. I got it from the dragon’s wife, so it is very special. They may go through my things. Can you hold it for me?”

  “Why don’t you…”

  They turned when the door opened, “We can delay them no longer.”

  Ian said, “She won’t like it if you don’t say good bye.”

  He was right about that, so Scythe looked at Heron inquiringly.

  “Hurry,” the young man said.

  The room that Heron had given Mercy was filled with the midday light, but it didn’t keep her from a deep sleep. Ian gently touched her arm, “Mercy, honey, wake up.”

  “Huh?” She squinted, bringing a hand up to cover her face and wincing when she touched sensitive skin. “Ouch.”

  “Mercy, Scythe has to go. He just wants to say good bye real quick.”

  “Go?” She blinked, and her eyes sharpened. She glared at them, “Where?”

  Scythe spoke from beside him, “The police have some questions for me. I’ll try to be back soon. You just rest.”

  “The police? Is it serious?” she was fully awake now.

  “I haven’t done anything, so there shouldn’t be any cause to worry.”

  “Okay,” she said and, surprisingly, took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She sent a ribbon from the hand that he held and tied it around his. Scythe. Be safe.

  I will. She was even calm on the inside. This was not her typical behavior...

  She smiled at his confusion, and it echoed through the connection between them.

  “Scythe, they will enter the house if we do not meet them soon,” Heron prompted.

  Scythe nodded and said, “I have to go. Try and…”

  She just nodded, pulling her power away from him. She lay back and yawned. “I’ll behave. You just make sure you get back here soon.”

  Was that Lena he heard in her voice?

  He didn’t know what was going on with her, but he was glad she hadn't panicked. He squeezed her hand, turned away, and strode quickly down the hall to catch up with Heron and his uncle. When they reached the foyer, a group of five Kin in uniforms stood by while another argued with two impressively forceful women.

  Heron spoke firmly but respectfully, “Captain, there is no need for concern. Our family is honored to support the police in their service to the City.”

  The man looked ready to give an angry retort, but decided against it. “Naturally.” He gave his attention to Scythe. “Scythe, son of Scythe?”

  “Yes.”

  “You are under arrest and will be taken into custody until a hearing can be held to determine if you will be brought to trial for crimes against the Kin.”

  That sounded pretty serious.

  Beside him, Ian’s heart was beating madly. He squeezed Scythe’s arm again reassuringly, but Scythe was pretty sure Ian did it in part to keep himself calm.

  Scythe shifted nervously, “May I see the warrant?”

  The man handed it to him and Scythe read down the list of substantiated causes for arrest. By the time he got to the bottom, he had gone from nervous to anxious and his heart was keeping pace with Ian’s. He tried to remind himself that he was innocent, but the list was fairly long and there were a few things that sounded bad for him. Finally, he drew in a deep breath and said, “All right.”

  He turned to bow and formally address Heron and his family members. “I
humbly ask your forgiveness for bringing trouble to your home. It was not my intent. I also thank you for sharing your hearth with my okin. I am in your debt.” He was filled with remorse for having put Heron’s family in such a bad situation mere hours after having been accepted into their home.

  The two women and the elderly man were clearly surprised, but bowed graciously. One of the women said, “It was our honor.”

  Turning to his kiryoku, Scythe said, “Ian, do not leave this house. Do not let her leave for any reason.”

  Ian’s comforting hold had turned into a strong grip, as if he could keep all of it from happening by holding on to Scythe tightly enough. “Okay, house arrest, got it.” With an effort he let go and hugged Scythe, who returned it lightly, trying not to stretch the skin on his back. “Take care. We’ll get this figured out, Scythe.”

  Scythe turned around and nodded to the captain, who was pulling out handcuffs. “There is no need for that. I have no intention of resisting.”

  “It is procedure,” the man explained, fastening Scythe’s wrists behind him.

  Scythe's jaw tightened, along with his stomach. He didn’t like to be restrained. At all.

  “Let’s go,” the captain said and gave him a little push.

  Scythe went ahead of them, a place he didn’t like to be. That and having his hands bound made the hair on the back of his neck crawl, made things inside of him itch; it physically ached to not be able to act on his impulses. Then, another sensation started to fill him. Although he knew that he was innocent, he was beginning to be afraid of what might happen next.

  His stomach started to swirl uncomfortably. What is this feeling? Each step seemed to take longer and stretch farther than it should have, giving him the sensation that he was covering a large distance. When he took his seat in the back of the car, he looked over at Ian. The man seemed to be standing very far away. Then the door slammed shut between them.

  He thought that he might have lied, unintentionally, when he said he would be back soon.

  -----------

  “Did you suspect terrorist activity would occur in The Capital on the day of the attacks?”

  “No.”

  “Did you believe there would be such activity in The Capital at some time?”

  “Yes.”

  “And, did you know that there would be significant damages?”

  “Yes.”

  “And loss of life?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yet you did not inform Quo Ire Security?

  “I arranged for a message to be sent.”

  “This one?”

  Scythe reviewed the screen in front of him. It was the memorandum that he and Temper had sent as representatives of the Scere before they left for the King's palace. “Yes.”

  “This message was sent mere hours before the attack. It has been determined that there was not sufficient time for the police to have an impact on the terrorist activities. Did you suspect that?”

  “Yes, but...”

  “So, you intentionally notified the police too late for them to be able to do anything…”

  “My intention was for city security to safeguard the lives and property of its citizens.”

  “But you did it too late.”

  “I was not sure of the time.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because my information was limited.”

  “Yet, wouldn’t you say, Agent Scythe, that any early notice would have been better than none?”

  “I...did not think that at the time.”

  “And now?”

  “I am not sure if it would have helped. Perhaps.”

  “We will review your information and sources.”

  “I collected it while working for the Scere. It will have to be petitioned from them.”

  “You are obstructing.”

  “I am following procedure.”

  The man went back to his desk and clicked on his display, sending data to the judge. “Here I have what we have been able to gather in the short time we’ve had. I am sure that, given the permission to bring the case, we will be able to come up with more evidence.”

  Scythe looked down the list and frowned.

  “Let’s start at the top. Have you researched the listed techniques, ingredients and items?”

  “Yes.”

  “These are many of the same items used by the terrorists in their activities, isn’t that correct?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t use them…”

  “You will have an opportunity for rebuttal at the end,” the judge warned him and Scythe nodded.

  “Are you familiar with the devices that were made?”

  “Yes, for the most part.”

  “Could you construct them?”

  “Most of them.”

  “Is that a ‘yes’?”

  “Yes.”

  “Next item. Were you present in the regions during the times that the following attacks took place?”

  It took Scythe a minute to remember some of the locations and dates. “I think so, but I was on…”

  “Were you in the given regions?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you had opportunity to involve yourself in these attacks?”

  “I would have to check and see what I was doing each of the days…”

  “You admit that you were in the area where attacks happened.”

  “Yes.”

  “Next item. You met with this man, is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is this not the man who was responsible for setting off a bomb at the Huran plant?”

  “Yes, he tried to kill me.”

  “But, you survived.”

  “Yes.”

  “So, he didn’t actually succeed in killing you?”

  “No.”

  “You met with him, and later he blew up the Huran plant, is that right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Next item…” The prosecutor went down the list, identifying several more things that could be interpreted as links between Scythe and the terrorists: his presence at Huran, which was sabotaged, his association with known Human sympathizers, the three years he spent living with the Humans, his Human heritage, his disregard of basic Kin values as seen by his years of self isolation, the books found in his apartment that were related to science or Human history or warfare. As he reached the end, he asked, “Where were you on the night of the attacks?”

  Scythe was silent.

  “A failure to answer this question will be very injurious to your claim of innocence, Scythe. Will you tell us what you were doing that night?”

  “I was not involved in committing terrorist attacks.”

  “I am not asking you what you did not do, I’m asking you what you did do, on that night.”

  Scythe could not answer, so he did not.

  The man smiled at last and said, “Well, I think we have enough to bring the case before a panel, but just to cement it, we have a witness to your offenses. Because of her injuries, she was unable to attend the hearing, but we have recorded her testimony. Please play it,” he directed everyone’s attention to their screens.

  A Kin woman with multiple bruises and cuts on her face spoke through a damaged mouth that made her words difficult understand. Despite her weakened condition, her eyes were sharp and angry, and Scythe’s blood ran cold when he heard what she had to say.

  “They knew where we were because he sent us there. It was all a set up. He left us there to finalize preparations for the attack and later sent in a team to pick us up, but I was the only one there. When I got to the factory, they tied me to a pipe and he came in. He didn’t have to use any weapons, because he is an experienced killer. Everyone knows that the halfblood is one of the best hand-to-hand fighters. His hands are enough to do...what he did.” Summer’s voice wavered a little, but she swallowed and visibly forced herself to be strong. “Scythe...was working for them all along. He admitted it to me, bragged about it when he was beating me, and cutting
me...and other things.” She was getting increasingly upset, breathing faster and faster. “He’s one of the leaders, more cunning than we thought, to be right there in front of us the whole time, planning it all.” One of the machines started beeping, a nurse moved in front of the camera, and the recording turned off.

  The prosecutor looked around at the incredulous faces, many of which were slowly turning accusatory looks at Scythe.

  Scythe felt sick, physically sick, at what had been done to Summer, and was even more horrified that, through his manipulation of her memories, Cord had her believing that Scythe had done those terrible things to her. It was just what the man planned to do to Mercy. Summer believed it and there was no way to prove to her that it hadn’t happened. She would testify and she would be telling the truth.