“What do you mean?” He asked. “What’ve you seen?”
“The Princess is in grave danger,” she revealed. “I know she’ll be fighting with the rebels, I’ve seen it, but if the Council pulls her out, the outcome could be completely different. The bloodshed I originally saw, has changed, and she is the reason why. They can't pull her out even though she’s in danger.”
“It's Kirill,” Donnchadh said. “He's going to try to send an assassin to kill her.”
“Damn Kirill!” Pyrrhus swore. “He’s going to bring an end to Orion helping the crodillians. The man has no idea what he’s doing to this galaxy.”
“There’s tension between the crodillians and Kirill,” Leilah said. “Kirill wants different things. He’s sending an assassin to take care of more than just Kanti, he’s sending one for Merikh.”
“Aren't the Crodillians helping him?” Pyrrhus asked. “Why would he kill their leader in the middle of a war?”
“They disagree on many things. They don't see eye to eye anymore, but I can't see which one comes out on top yet. That part hasn't been revealed to me. I can feel the tensions and anger, but I don't know what the final result is.”
“That's good,” Pyrrhus nodded to himself. “If they’re fighting from within, then they'll be distracted, which gives us a better chance of defeating them.”
“And you have yet more tensions from within the crodillian command chain,” she revealed. “You’ll benefit greatly from a woman named Jahdiel.”
“She’s one of their top Commanders!” Pyrrhus exclaimed. “She ordered the burning of Demeter! That woman is one of the reasons we’re even fighting this war right now.”
“She’s not the same as when she arrived. Her heart has changed after speaking with the Queen. She’s willing to sacrifice her life so the rebellion may succeed.”
“How? What’s she going to do?”
“What she does, will be up to you. I won’t tell you that you have to do anything, but the opportunity to accept her help will arrive. Know that her heart is pure, but it’s up to you what you do with her,” Leilah bit her lip. “There’s one more thing I’ve seen that you also knew was going to happen, but I thought I’d tell you anyway.”
“They've killed Adira?”
“Not yet,” she shook her head. “But, yes, they will soon. Make sure your rebels stay focused to their cause, don't let her death change what they're fighting for. I’ve seen her die, and it pains me even now as I tell you. What they're going to do is horrible. It's heartless, but these are monsters we're fighting, not our own.”
“Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
Leilah shook her head. “No, not right now. Right now, Donnchadh and I need to wait at the house you’ve provided us with. He’ll have a visitor soon, and he needs to be there to greet that visitor.”
Donnchadh looked to her with a look of surprise. She put his hand on his to calm him.
“We’ll wait for you to come back,” Pyrrhus put his hand on her shoulder with a big smile. “The rebels greatly thank you for your help. I didn't think you'd actually help us, but I think I'm about to find out just how wrong I was. If this is a sign of things to come, everyone’s mind will be blown by your gift.”
Leilah smiled and the sun shone off her radiant skin, making it glow and her red her glisten. She turned around and walked down the steps back towards the house. Donnchadh followed by her side, unable to take his eyes off of her. She didn’t blame him, she knew she was different. Her whole life she’d felt it, but no one could see or understand so she’d kept it to herself. Now she knew her entire purpose in life. It’s why she’d been granted these special powers. The reason she was born was to stop the crodillians from destroying Orion.
Chapter 33
Kirill stood in his room with Ulisse and Abdul in front of him. They’d seen the Princess' message, but they didn't know about his meeting with Merikh yet, which is why he’d called them here. It was time for him to admit to his mistakes and move on with his plans.
“Merikh isn't happy about the Princess' message.”
“I wouldn't think he would be,” Abdul said. “You told him you’d be able to stop this with the Deimos Brotherhood. I can’t imagine him being pleased when he saw the message.”
“There was no way I could stop this!” Kirill raged. “They were planning this before I even allied myself with that creature.”
Ulisse and Abdul both traded looks, not escaping the notice of Kirill. He’d let his anger slip and continued more calmly this time. “I knew all along it'd be impossible. I was using him to take over Orion. He has the power to do it, but I never actually expected there to be a rebellion, especially not an announced one.”
“But you were wrong,” Abdul said. “I told you not to side with the crodillians, now you're stuck with them, for better or for worse. There’s no switching sides or admitting mistakes to the resistance. They’ll kill you either way because you’re seen as a traitor.”
“I’m not stuck with Merikh. I have assassins on my side to help make sure of that,” Kirill pointed to Ulisse.
Ulisse backed up. “Whoa, I don't want to be on the crodillians' bad side. I'm living with them right now and I'd rather not upset them. I like living, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to end up like the rebels.”
“Merikh must die now,” Kirill furrowed his eyes. “I’ve waited too long and now I’m suffering for that. He’s going to kill everything in Orion. We have to stop that. I need something to rule.”
“I strongly advise against this Kirill. You’re right, you have waited too long, and now is too late to kill Merikh. He'll be expecting a desperate move like this.”
“They're going to kill Adira!” Kirill revealed. “They're going to do it publicly for all of Orion to see. Do you know how the rest of Orion will look at me if they find out that I let Merikh live after killing her?”
“Why not just leave here?” Ulisse asked. “Join the rebellion. I'm sure they'll forgive you if you leave before anything happens.”
“No! I won’t join the rebels. I’ve come too far to take that step back.”
“It may be your best option,” Abdul agreed. “Get the entire Deimos Brotherhood out of here before it's too late. The resistance would happily take them in.”
“My best option is to kill Kanti and Merikh, then nothing will keep me from ruling Orion!”
“You're going to kill Kanti?” Ulisse asked. “She's leading the rebellion that may very well get rid of the crodillians.”
“She’s brought all of this trouble down on me. If she hadn't made that speech, we wouldn't be talking about any of this right now.”
“We would’ve eventually. I told you to kill Merikh days ago,” Abdul shook his head.
“Everything will be fine,” Kirill assured them. “My assassins are going to kill Merikh and I’ll send Ulisse to take care of Kanti.”
“The crodillians will know you had Merikh killed,” Abdul said.
“And what are they going to do about it?” He asked. “They’ll be too busy slaughtering rebels to care about what happened to their leader.”
“It’s up to you. I’m done trying to convince you what to do,” Abdul put his hands in the air.
“I’m glad to hear it. I was getting tired of your whining,” Kirill crossed his arms. “Ulisse can make a poison for the Princess. Nothing that points directly back to me.”
Ulisse looked between the two of them. “I can do it. I mean, make the poison anyway. I don't know how I'm supposed to get it to her.”
“You’ll find a way to do it,” Kirill waved his hand with a flick of the wrist. “Just make the poison and deliver it to her any way possible. Once that's done, she's good as dead and we’ll be one step closer to our ultimate goal.”
“Things won't go this smoothly,” Abdul warned. “I believe you’ve waited too long to act. I’m trying to sway your decision, I’m just telling you what I think.”
“We’ll just have
to wait and find out then, won't we Abdul?”
Kanti and Anlon got out of the cruiser and followed Nimesha and Falcone to Drakos Mavros. They’d all been in the house talking when Nimesha all of a sudden brought up that she needed to get to Hera. It’d been totally out of the blue, but it was obvious she’d been waiting for the right time to tell them. Everything was planned out - from how she was going to get there and to how she was going to kill Kirill.
It’d been a surprise to Kanti and Anlon that Kirill had sided with the crodillians, but neither had bothered to ask how exactly she’d found out. They assumed one of the rebel bases had revealed the information and then Pyrrhus had asked her to do what she did best. They both knew about his plan of a pure galaxy and he probably thought the crodillians were his best bet at achieving that.
Nimesha was determined to get there and eliminate him. She swore that he was more dangerous than the crodillians, and they all believed it. It was her who’d worked for him firsthand, so she knew exactly how powerful and manipulating he really was. Everything he’d ever taught her was now going to come around and bite him. She’d only failed on assignment her entire time in the Brotherhood, and that failure had brought her here.
Anlon had offered her Drakos Mavros as long as she promised to bring it back and Falcone had volunteered to go along. She’d resisted at first, but Falcone was persistent, saying he had to make up for doubting her loyalties when they first met. When all was said and done, she’d revealed he was the only pilot that was ever on her mind.
“I'll miss you two,” Falcone winked. “Make sure to behave yourselves while Nimesha and I are out hunting down bad guys.”
Kanti chuckled and wrapped her arms around him, stuffing her face into his feathers so the others couldn't see her tears. When she let go, she sniffled, trying to hide her emotions. Falcone reached his hand out to Anlon and he grabbed it.
“Take care of the Princess, got it?” He shook his hand. “Don't let anything happen to her while we're gone.”
“I won't,” Anlon smiled. “She'll be safe here with me.”
Kanti walked over to Nimesha and hugged her. She wrapped her grey and black furry arms around Kanti and looked at her with her golden eyes.
“I'm sorry I tried to kill you,” Nimesha smiled.
“I know you are,” she hugged harder. “Promise to come back?”
“Promise,” she said. “I wouldn't leave you guys after making it this far. We’re almost finished and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us.” Anlon came over and hugged her. “And thank you for giving me a chance, Anlon. You could've killed me back on Erebos, so thank you.”
“You're welcome,” he let go. “Now you two hurry up and come back. We'll be waiting for you.”
Falcone and Nimesha walked up the ramp of Drakos Mavros. The ramp hissed up and the engines roared to life as Kanti and Anlon moved away from the ship. The nose pointed towards the sky, and the dragon shaped ship sped off to Hera. Anlon looked to Kanti and hugged her, seeing a familiar ship that Drakos Mavros had been covering just seconds ago. He knew that ship. He’d seen it when Camillus found the races that killed his family.”
“Donnchadh is here,” Anlon whispered.
Kanti let go of him. “What are you talking about?”
He turned her to face the ship behind her. She gasped at the sight and turned to Anlon with worry on her face.
“Just because the ship is here, doesn't mean he is.”
“We need to tell Pyrrhus. If Kirill is helping the crodillians, he could've sent one of his men here to derail the rebellion. That ship could mean only one assassin. Donnchadh.”
Anlon pulled out his comlink and called Pyrrhus. It didn't take long for him to answer and it sounded like a few of the Council members were speaking in the background.
“Yes, Anlon?”
“Donnchadh is here,” he said. “His ship, Cerberus, is at the spaceport.”
The other end was silent a moment, except for the voices in the background. “I know he’s here. I allowed him to stay after meeting with him and his crew.”
“Do you know who he works for and what he did to my family?” Anlon shouted. “He's going to destroy our rebellion!”
Kanti put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down. She knew he wasn't thinking straight and she didn't blame him. This was the malak responsible for killing his family and he’d tried to move on from it. He accepted it’d happened and let Donnchadh face fair trial, but now he was here in the heart of the rebellion.
“He's here to help,” Pyrrhus tried to calm him down in a soothing tone. “He’s brought others with him that are assisting us with the rebellion.”
“Where is he?” Anlon asked.
“He's in one of the houses about a block from the Capitol building. It's the only glass one on the entire street. You can’t miss it.”
Anlon hung up the comlink and ran to the cruiser. Kanti quickly caught up to him and got in next to him.
“Don't act brash, Anlon. If Pyrrhus let him stay here, there’s a reason why.”
“Do you know how bad I want to kill him for being here?” Anlon turned to her. “I thought I didn't want to, I thought I’d forgiven him, but now that he's escaped imprisonment, the emotions are taking control. He deserves to die on Keres for what he’s done.”
“I understand why you feel that way,” she took his hand. “I really do. I won't tell you what to do, but whatever decision you make, be sure it's what your family would want. Remember, you forgave him already.”
Anlon nodded and steered the cruiser towards the Capitol building, looking for the glass house Pyrrhus had been talking about. It didn't take him long to spot the house shining in the sunlight and he took the cruiser down. They exited and approached the front door of the house. Before reaching it, a beautiful red headed woman with one green eye and one blue eye opened the door. She walked down the steps and stopped in front of the two of them. Neither one could take their eyes off the stunning woman.
“I’ve been expecting you, Anlon and Kanti,” she motioned them in the house. “Please, come in.”
“Umm. We might be at the wrong house. I'm not sure how you were expecting us unless Pyrrhus led me here on purpose,” Anlon said. “I was looking for a black malak with white markings on him.”
“Donnchadh is here,” she replied with a warm smile. “I’ve brought him here with me.”
“And you are who?” Kanti asked.
“I'm Leilah,” she took Kanti's hand. “My tribe and I found Donnchadh dying on Erebos. We took him in and brought him back to good health. He convinced us to come back here and help with the rebellion.”
“I think he’s lied to you, Leilah. He works for the Deimos Brotherhood. There’s no way he wants to help with the rebellion. The malak has done nothing but destroy this galaxy for years,” Anlon said.
“But you’re wrong about him. He brought me here to help you fight the crodillians. He was helping the Queen before he was betrayed by Kirill and fled to the wastelands where I found him.”
Donnchadh walked around the corner and looked to Anlon with tears in his eyes. He approached and looked to them both with shame and sorrow on his face.
“I’m truly sorry for all I’ve done to hurt you.”
“You killed my family!” Anlon backed up. “You killed one of your friends! You worked with my father and you killed him! How could you possibly come here now to help us? Help the children of the people you betrayed?”
“I know what I’ve done and how it’s hurt many in this galaxy,” Donnchadh looked up from the ground. “I can never make up for all my mistakes and I’m truly sorry for all the pain that I’ve caused you.”
“Why come here? Why ever show your face again after your crimes?”
Kanti took his hand to comfort him, and Leilah walked over to put her hand on his shoulder.
“I can't explain my past actions,” he replied. “But I'm not the same as I was then. After you caught me trying to kill Adira, she locked
me in the dungeons as you saw. She too, wanted to kill me and I wanted her to. She told me of Kirill's plan and how I was manipulated and used all those years,” he looked Anlon deep in the eyes. “I accepted my fate on Keres, but when the crodillians arrived I knew it was a chance for me to make up for past mistakes. I found the Queen and talked to her. I told her I wanted to help free Orion from the crodillians, so we came up with a plan that would delay Jahdiel killing her. I told Jahdiel about Kirill and I was sent on a mission to retrieve him.”
Anlon let out a deep breath. “How'd Kirill betray you?”
“I didn't know about the rebellion was being put together here because I’d been on Keres, so I was trying to put one of my own together. I told Kirill to come peacefully so we could rebel using the Brotherhood, but when I arrived he told Kellagh that I planned to assault them. My only option was to flee into the wasteland. That's where Leilah and her tribe found me poisoned and dying.”
“Where’s the rest of Leilah's tribe?” Kanti asked. “Pyrrhus said there were more.”
“They’re gathered in one of the rooms,” Leilah answered. “Their powers aren't as strong as mine. They can't see or feel things the way I do.”
“I don't quite think I understand what you're talking about,” Kanti said.
“I can see things before the happen. I saw Donnchadh dying and knew where to retrieve him. I wasn't sure why I saw him, but I knew there was a reason. He told us about starting a rebellion, but I waited for my visions to guide me. Sure enough, I saw a desperate and failing rebellion I had to help. Donnchadh proved to me the right decision was to leave Erebos and assist you against the crodillians,” Leilah smiled to the Princess. “I can see his heart, like I see yours, and I promise you, it’s as pure as yours. He is a changed being, just like Anlon. The hate in his heart left long ago when Adira told him to protect you. The same has happened to Donnchadh.”
“How did you...,” Anlon started.
“I see many things,” she interrupted. “It’s best I share only those that are relevant. I’ve been blessed with this ability, but I also must guard some of the things I see, even from those close to me.”
Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) Page 32
