Shadow of the Colossus

by Nicole Grotepas

  Holly laughed, watching the mix of emotions flitting across her former colleague’s face. “Not at all, Valentine.”

  “Good, because you know, this work is valid. I’m needed here. These kids need me. Some of them are so afraid of everything. I’ve coaxed a few to trust me. They’re like wild animals, scared. Undomesticated. But Ixion, that sounds terrible, doesn’t it?”

  They arrived at the rooms that had been turned into a sort of administrative office, where the forensic workers from Meg and Gabe’s precinct were working to track down the homes and parents of the children. Holly was surprised to see new faces present, most of them the various violet and lavender hues of the Yasoan race. She couldn’t blame Elan for being partial to Yasoan. They weren’t blind like the Centau often seemed to be to the moral corruptness found in some humans and Constellations, but Yasoan were generally more humane and trustworthy than humans and Consties.

  “Elan brought in more people?” Holly asked Val, searching the room for Elan’s face.

  “Yeah,” Val answered. “We were beginning to get desperate. It’s not been quite three weeks, but we were really getting worried about finding where some of these kids belong. Some of them seem to have no home. Maybe they came off the streets. We’re not sure”

  Holly caught sight of Estie and waved as her other former colleague wove around the desks and v-screens to approach Holly and greet her. They exchanged a beso greeting, and then Estie sighed. “This is straining. On my heart and soul.”

  “I definitely understand that. How’s the search?” Holly asked. “Looks like Elan brought in more help.”

  “You looking for him? I think he’s in the training room—where he’s been teaching the classes on meditations and all that philosophy stuff. I’ll take you to him, unless you’re doing that, Val?”

  “No, no, you go ahead,” Val said. “I have a class I’m getting ready for, so I’ll head off for that. Thanks Estie. Holly, as usual, love you girl.”

  Val gave her a hug and departed in the opposite direction, as Estie continued on with Holly through the hallways. They passed children of various ages scattering through the corridors. There were often Yasoan guiding them like shepherds and delivering gentle nudges and calm words. Holly noticed that things seemed to be working smoothly and that, for the most part, the kids looked happy. Real happy, not artificial happiness, imposed on them by Yasoan song or other manipulations. Holly remarked to Estie about how things seemed to be working well under Elan’s guidance.

  “It is mostly him, yes. I might have left already if not for him—I know. Not very cool of me to say, but it’s an emotional strain. Just thinking about what these kids have gone through. As for Elan, I remember that from when he was at the school with us—he’s thorough and meticulous. But he balances it well with understanding. Most of this work has been rewarding, Holly. But a few times, we’ve found parents, only to discover that they had sold their own child to the Shadow Coalition.”

  Holly stopped in her tracks, feeling it like a sledge hammer to her gut. “What?”

  “Sucks. Kills me every time. Some of them are poor. Working in horrible conditions on Paradise. And, as terrible as this is, their child still wants to go back to their parents anyway. We’ve been giving them choices, however. They can stay here, room and board, schooling, training, all taken care of. They can see their parents at any time. But they can know they’ll never be betrayed by us. They’re safe here.”

  Holly recovered enough to ask, “And do they take the offer?”

  “Some of them, yes.”

  “That’s good. I can’t thank you enough for helping with this, Estie,” Holly said. They climbed a stairway to another floor and Estie led Holly through the twists and turns of the hallways, continuing to pass bright-eyed kids on their way to various places with purpose in their strides.

  “It’s been great. Hard, but I wouldn’t change it. I do need to either resign from the position at the school or stay here. Elan has offered me a permanent post here.”

  They finally arrived at a wide doorway. Estie touched the door panel and it swished open. Elan was in the middle of the room, moving in a slow cadence, wearing colorful traditional Yasoan dress. “There he is. This is where he’ll be teaching his class some time today.”

  Holly glanced at her former colleague. “Are you going to take it?”

  “The post?” She shrugged, “I haven’t decided yet. But, between you and me, I’ll probably stay here. Or even move to the one he’s opening in Rochers Deshiketes.”

  Elan saw Holly and smiled, but did not interrupt his form to greet her.

  “He’s been doing this class to give the kids inner balance. Or so he claims. Seems to work, especially for the particularly troubled cases.” Estie pulled a communicator from her pocket and glanced at the time. “I have to run, Holly. Good to see you.”

  Holly said goodbye and then sauntered further into the room. It was empty except for Elan.

  “Holly,” he said. “The blade fly mating period has passed. The males told me they wished you had been there to see them perish in their penultimate flight.”

  She smiled at him. “I wanted to go. But I had other responsibilities.”

  “There is always responsibility. Just so long as you still go with me for a break. Maybe this weekend?”

  “I would love that. But I can’t commit at the moment.”

  Elan continued in his slow forms as he spoke to her. “I will give you a proper greeting once I’m done with this form. I’ve designed it especially for the children. My hope is that it will restore their inner balance and make them stronger.”

  “Totally fine. I don’t expect you to drop everything just for me. It looks like you’ve made a lot of good additions to the team here.”

  “Yes. I have mainly brought in more Yasoan.”

  “I noticed.”

  “They work well with the kids. There is a lot of mental trauma for them to work through.”

  “It’s a wise choice, Elan, I have no qualms about what you’ve done. It is why I came to you in the first place.”

  “Ah yes. True. I need to return to Rochers Deshiketes. Soon. Perhaps this weekend.” He balanced on one foot, the other out in front of him, one hand out to the side, the other balanced over his extended leg. “I need to secure a property to open the second school. We already have over one hundred children that will never return to a home. The school is their home. The severe cases, I need a more retreat style location for their recovery. There’s a location I believe will work. It’s a peaceful spot on the edge of the lake. Then I must secure more funding. Do you think your source would help?”

  “I can always ask. I know another potential donor,” Holly said, her admiration for Elan swelling. Though her past held that single choice that caused so much collateral damage—Grafton—there was also Elan. He was a beautiful choice. She never wanted to think of him as a mistake again.

  “I would be immensely thankful for that.” He put his foot down, brought his hands back to center, then inhaled long and slowly, closed his eyes, and bowed, exhaling as he did so. His form now complete, Elan straightened and strolled up to her, grinning. Would he kiss her? And not just a quick beso? Her heart beat quickly at the thought.

  “Holly Drake, what is the purpose of this unexpected, lovely visit?” He hugged her, wrapping her in his arms. She relaxed into him and laughed. “Finally, a proper greeting. Is that what you’re laughing about?”

  “I came to see you, of course. To check on the progress of your mission to track down the rightful homes of the hundreds of children. I must say, you’ve done a better job than I thought possible.”

  “I aim to please, and exceed what is expected by incredible percentages,” he laughed. “Let’s go find a cup of kasé.”

  He led her through hallways, and up flights of stairs to the top floor of the spire, where he had a condo, furnished sparsely, but comfortable enough. He brewed a carafe and they sat at his modest bamboo table and sipped thei
r drinks.

  “I expect more affection for that,” he said with a sly grin, eyeing the mug in her hands.

  “And I wouldn’t expect you to not expect that,” she returned.

  As they drank Holly explained that she couldn’t rest until the Heart had been found, and asked if Elan had heard anything new about the organization of the Shadow Coalition. He answered in the negative, as a strange look of discontent clouded his eyes.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “I suspect that you will never be at peace until you’ve disposed of this figure known as the Heart.”

  “Well, yes. He’s the reason you’re now managing traumatized children.”

  “No, Holly, you are the reason I am doing that. Because you have brought balance to the Universe.”

  “Which was taken out of balance by the Heart and his evil and exploitation.”

  “That is part of the balance. There must be forces on either side, always contending with each other. You will never be able to truly wipe out evil.”

  “I will try, until I’m dead. The person who did this to those children must pay. And you’ve still heard nothing more, perhaps something by accident from a child? Nothing to help me track the Heart down?”

  “No, I am sorry. But that is a dangerous mission, Holly.”

  “There is no reason to not take it, unless you will stop taking care of the children.”

  “I won’t do that. Your vendetta has nothing to do with them. They are innocent.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

  “You can end this, by ceasing. But I understand that you will not.”

  “I can’t, Elan.” She wished she could tell him otherwise, in some way. Longed to run away from the problems and build a home with him in the north. Hiding from what was happening wouldn’t make her happy. She would know what she turned her back on. She would know what was behind her.

  “I will be here, waiting, if you ever can.” Neither of them said anything for a long moment.

  THIRTEEN

  “Can I help you?” Holly asked later that day as she climbed the stairs leading up to the floor of the precinct where Meg and Gabe were stationed. She held onto the polished wooden banister and took short breaths to avoid inhaling all the smoke. The cops loved smoking pipes and cigars, which was fine, but it reminded her of Grafton. The precinct was also where he’d worked, and there was still judgment and condemnation emanating from some of his old friends. Luckily she no longer gave a damn.

  “You tell me, lady,” the cop said back to Holly. “The way I see it is, no. Since you can’t bring back the dead.”

  “Ouch.” She scoffed at him and strutted away, feeling powerful for not giving a crap about what he thought.

  As she walked back into the area where the detectives worked, Holly ignored the gazes she felt all over her. She expected it by now. But it no longer bothered her. They didn’t know anything about her, save what Grafton had told them, the dishonest bastard.

  Meg looked up when Holly walked in. “Look what the scree-cat dragged in,” Meg said, referencing the wild cats that lived on the cliffs bordering the massive continental plateau. Holly nodded to the others on Meg and Gabe’s team, Miko and Daxan, who were at their respective desks.

  “A hero, I think,” Holly said, pretending to be arrogant. “Do you guys ever work? Aren’t there murders happening in the city all the time?”

  Meg laughed, enjoying Holly’s attempt at being cocky. “I always love it when you pretend to be a cocky bastard.”

  “Me too.”

  “Well, good to see you. Mom has been killing me. I think it’s your turn to host her. It’s crowded with her, myself, and Lucy, and then on top of that, Gabe thinks he needs to stay over all the time.”

  “Ah, does he now. I’m sure it’s all Gabe.” Holly sat down in an empty chair next to Meg’s desk. “I don’t mind if mom comes to live with me. You know I don’t. As long as she doesn’t let my odd hours keep her awake and annoyed.”

  “Fabulous.” Meg fixed Holly with a level stare. “I’ll send her over as soon as possible.”

  “See that you do. Now, then, where is Gabe?”

  “What, you don’t want to see me? You want to just see Gabe? Anyone else you’d rather see?”

  Holly laughed. “Not really. Just Gabe. Wondered if you guys wanted to get lunch.”

  “Some of us have to keep a schedule.”

  “I know. It’s hard, but I do manage to make time for you. Well, if you guys aren’t hungry, I was wondering if you could help me organize this information I have on the Heart. I need to find him. Or her. I have to track this down, once and for all. You in?”

  “I suppose Gabe and I could do a chart with you.” Meg said, rising and leading Holly into the back room. It was closed off from the rest of the force, because even though Gabe and Meg suspected they’d caught the mole, there still could be more. And that was exhausting, keeping their leads under cover from a potential leak on the force. “He’ll be back soon. He just went out to grab us some coffee and pastries.”

  “Healthy.” Holly sat at the table and looked at the board. “You guys don’t have a case right now?”

  “We’ve solved a couple, so no. Waiting for a new murder is so fun.”

  “Lucky me.” Holly really did feel thankful. It was never fun to stare at reminders of gruesome murders.

  The board was a holo-screen. Meg walked up to the bay that created it and made a glowing card with a giant question mark on it using her fingertips and set it to float in the center of the holo-screen. “Let’s just fill out what we know.” So they put up a bunch of facts about the Heart. Connections. Locations. Holly shared what she knew with Meg, while Meg designated different areas for types of facts. Meg also pulled out some information that her and Gabe had gleaned from their sources and added it to the chart. It wasn’t much more. But anything would help.

  Holly pursed her lips, shuffling through her brain to remember details about the Heart. She rummaged around in her memories of talking to the Hands. That was the closest she’d gotten to the Heart—her few run-ins with the Hands. “One of the last things someone from the Shadow Coalition told me was that he was on Itzcap. Something like, ‘not always, but usually.’ So, what does that mean? Oh, and it’s a male. That Hand called him a ‘he.’”

  “Narrows it down. Did they mention what race?”

  “No, but probably human. I did run into a very high level member of the SC that was a Yasoan, of all things. Yasoan,” she repeated, suddenly noticing how little she thought Druiviin. “But that guy was dirty. I should call him a Druiviin,” Holly said.

  “Hey, keep it down,” Meg said, glancing through the windows out onto the floor where Daxan and Miko worked. Daxan was Yasoan.

  “Sorry,” Holly acquiesced. “It was strange to run into a corrupt Yasoan, that was all.”

  “You know your fair share of race oddities. Don’t tell me you don’t,” Meg said, flashing Holly a withering look. “Some of them are infamous.”

  “Like who?” Holly asked, grinning, feeling a bit roguish.

  “Oh please. I know the circle Cosma Kenyon runs with. Macav Onini. Beatrice Le Tissier.”

  “Well, only one of those people are a race that you wouldn’t associate with corruption.”

  “You give yourself away. That was a shot in the dark, sister. Now I know you know all three of them.” Meg crossed her arms and gloated.

  Holly stood and approached the holo-bay. “What a dirty detective trick. I thought you were above crap like that, Meg,” Holly said.

  “I may faint. To what do I owe this pleasure? The Wolfe sisters together at last, in one room,” Gabe said, from the door. He strolled in casually and handed a biodegradable cup of coffee to Meg. “There’s pastries out there, Meg, if you want one. Oh, and sorry I don’t have a cuppa for you, Holly. Didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “I’ve had enough to drink already, today. Thanks, though, Gabe.” She leaned toward him as h
e gave her a beso in greeting.

  Meg slapped Gabe on the back and squeezed his arm as the three of them clustered around the holo-bay. “I’m always with my sister. Give me a break, Gabe.” Meg released a short laugh. “You don’t have to make Holly feel special every time you see her.”

  “Wait, what? Speak for yourself, Meg. I like that Gabe makes me feel like a ray of sunshine every time he sees me.”

  “That’s right. And plus, she is special, Meg. She’s Lucy’s aunt. Doesn’t get much more special than that.”

  “I’d think being her mother was more special.” Meg glowered at her ex-husband.

  “Meg, come on. Is Gabe not making you feel special enough?” Holly looked at Gabe. “Get with it, Gabe.”

  They laughed as the conversation ceased and everyone looked back at the holo-bay chart.

  “The Heart, eh? You going after the centerpiece, Holly?” Gabe asked.

  “No one else will.”

  Gabe shrugged. “They might, eventually.”

  “He single-handedly kidnapped over a thousand kids. If that doesn’t wake the Centau up, I suspect nothing will.”

  “Well, they weren’t Centau kids. That’s the problem. Human and Constie kids are disposable.”

  “They sure are,” Holly agreed.

  “So, the idea is that you’re making this chart to see if you can narrow down where the Heart is? Because if you ask me, based on this, chart, he wants you to think he’s on Itzcap, but he’s not. He’s somewhere else.”

  Meg made a querying sound and studied the chart more, then glanced sidelong at Gabe. “Good point. I think you’re right.”

  “Then where is he?”

  “He wants you to think Itzcap. Somewhere posh. And because he’s throwing the trail in that direction, my guess is the least posh place in the six moons.” Meg said, nodding.