by Ryan McCall
Michael piled more ice into the bucket and shook his head. “Was that a gunshot?” he asked.
Reese nodded. “You won’t believe this. Someone killed the Galrian minister.” He took another look through the telescope. The guards had swarmed over the pavilion and were restoring order.
“What!” said Michael, shock in voice. “It sounded like it came from right above us.”
Reese agreed. “A powerful rifle. The blast on one of them is powerful enough to sound close even if you’re not near them.”
“No fucking kidding,” said Michael. He was keeping a careful eye on his mixture in the beaker. “It made me drop the entirety of the glycerol into the mix. I hope the temperature stays low enough. The reaction could run-away.”
“I don’t know what that means, but it doesn’t sound good. Do we need to get out of here?” asked Reese.
“Calm down,” said Michael in a reassuring manner. “I have it under control as long as the temperature stays low. But, uh, if you see red smoke, then run.”
Reese opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was still in shock at witnessing the assassination.
“It’s going to be fucking chaos here. Security will be looking everywhere for that shooter,” said Michael.
“Worried about your experiment?” asked Reese.
Michael shook his head. “Once it’s fully mixed I can put it in the cold storage. After twenty four hours, it’ll be fine. A Galrian official assassinated on Alkon soil, there could be a war.”
“You’re right,” said Reese. The thought was sobering to him. He had no desire to see another war, the few childhood memories he had of the Estaran Civil War were traumatic enough.
Before Michael could reply there was a resounding smash as a grey-cloaked figure burst through one of the lab windows and rolled along the floor. Reese and Michael stood in stunned silence. The figure stood up and turned to look at them. It was woman, her short blonde hair sticking out from beneath her hood. She turned her head and Reese could see her face more clearly. There was something startlingly familiar about her. Like from a half-remembered dream.
The woman scowled. She pulled out a dagger and approached Michael. He realized what she intended and started protesting. “No don’t,” he said in protest and backed away from her.
However familiar she looked, Reese wasn’t going to stand by and watch her attack his friend. He grabbed a nearby container of acid and threw it at her. She had lightning reflexes and ducked, the container missing her.
It smashed onto the bench behind her, spilling everywhere and sending up wisps of white smoke. One glass shard hit the mixture Michael had been working on. The carefully positioned beaker rattled slightly, but stayed in place. The woman took a quick glance at the noise before turning her attention to Reese.
She had a cold-looking face, coated with a trace of annoyance. She obviously hadn’t been expecting to encounter anyone. As her eyes met his, she stopped and stared. Now that he could see her eyes, Reese was certain he knew her; if only he could remember how. Those deep blue eyes were so familiar. Thoughts and memories buried deep in his mind were racing to the surface. But when he thought he had a solid hold of them, they floated away.
They were snapped out of their staring contest by Michael. “Oh shit. It’s unstable,” he said.
Reese looked over at his friend’s experiment. It was giving off dark red smoke and bubbling near the top of the beaker.
Michael ran the opposite way and threw himself behind a lab bench. Reese jumped over the nearby bench and ducked down. He heard the intruder scrambling to get away from the boiling beaker, she believed Michael’s panic. A few seconds later a tremendous blast went off and Reese put his hands over his ears to dampen the sound. Bits of rubber bench rained down on him.
He slowly stood up and looked over to where Michael had hidden. “Michael. Are you alright?”
The chemistry student pulled himself up and shook dust off his sleeves. The explosion had caused damage to the ceiling. Michael gave him a thumbs-up gesture to indicate he was fine.
Reese then looked at the woman. She had been much closer than either of them and had been thrown onto a nearby lab bench. She was slowly trying to pick herself up. Reese grabbed a nearby empty beaker and held it tightly in his hand. He grabbed her roughly by her collar and shouted, “Who are you? Are you involved in the shooting?” He was ready to smash her over the head with the glassware.
She looked into his eyes and whispered in a reverent tone, “Rius. Rius is it truly you?”
He dropped his arm. Rius was his birth name. His adopted family had Alkonised his name when they took him in. He looked into the woman’s eyes again and then suddenly the memories flooded to the forefront of his mind. He remembered the way she had teased him, the smile on her face when they played together. This was his older sister, Lucina Galius. His sister who he had long believed to be dead with the rest of his family.
It was as if his memories had been locked away all these years and now they were released. Reese fell down as he was hit with everything at once. He was no longer paying attention to anything in the lab. He was bombarded with a full spectrum of repressed memories and he fell forward, his eyes closing as his mind played one memory in particular.
Chapter 30
The memory spilled through Reese’s mind. Suddenly he was four years old again and in his parent’s house. He was at the edge of the kitchen playing with his wooden toys, while his mother cooked. He giggled and his mother, Servia, looked over from her cooking and smiled at him. Suddenly a pair of hands covered his eyes. “Guess who?” said a playful voice.
“Lu-lu,” he said while laughing. It was the nickname he used for his older sister.
“Damn, you got me.” She lifted her hands off his eyes.
“Lucina, watch your language,” said their mother in a warning tone.
His sister cast her head down. “Sorry, mother.”
“Can you help Rius put his toys away? Dinner will be ready soon.”
She nodded and started picking up the nearby toys. Reese crossed his arms in defiance, he wanted to keep playing. “Come on Rius, you know the rules. You have to tidy up before dinner.” Lucina opened the straw box near the wall that held his toys and dropped them in.
Then the main door to the house opened and his father, Aurelio, walked in.
“Hey kids, your father’s home.” His father bent down and extended his arms out wide. Both Reese and Lucina ran over and hugged him vigorously. “Wow, be careful. The two of you are getting so big and strong, you’ll soon be knocking me over when you do that.”
Servia put the pot to simmer and walked over to her husband. “Is there news?” she asked.
“Nothing new,” he replied. “The rebels are still moving west. The third army has yet to engage them.”
Only six months ago, anti-monarchist rebels had started a rebellion and they had slowly been gaining ground. The couple’s eldest child, Erebus, had gone off to war with the Third Royal Army of Estara last month. The rebels were west of Tercium and the royal army was positioned to prevent them from seizing the city.
“When’s Erebus coming back daddy?” asked Reese.
His father looked at him. “I don’t know son. He’s away protecting us. But I know he’s thinking about us as much as we are thinking of him.”
The memory faded and was replaced by another.
Reese was huddled with his mother and sister in their house. The sounds of battle could be heard outside. Reese was shaking and his mother tried to comfort him. “Don’t worry, my sweet boy. It won’t last long. Your older brother and the other soldiers are out there fighting to defend us. They’ll drive back the rebels and we’ll all be celebrating later, you’ll see.”
The door burst open and Aurelio came running in. “Servia. Oh thank the Creator,” he said. He ran over and pulled his wife into a hug. Then put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. His face was deadly serious. “You and the children need to l
eave, right now.”
“Why? Have they broken through? How can we get out?” She started panicking.
“No,” he replied. “The fighting is still in the eastern fields, but from what I heard the rebels are winning. General Cassius was struck down by cannon fire. There’s something else though. I…,” he struggled to find the words. “I was working with someone and I found out what he wanted. He’ll be coming to get it.”
Servia still looked confused. “I don’t know what you mean. Who are you talking about?”
“It doesn’t matter. Take the children and get out of here. Take them to the city hall. There’s a refuge there,” he said.
“What about you? You’re coming as well.”
“I’ll be right behind you. I have to take care of something.”
“I’m not leaving with you, there’s no way,” she protested.
Aurelio didn’t reply and bent down to look Lucina in the face. “Ok Lucina. I need you to be strong. You have to help your mother and Rius get to the city hall, alright?”
The girl nodded.
“Good,” said Aurelio. “Take hold of your brother’s hand and no matter what happens don’t let go. I love you.” He hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head.
He looked over at Rius. “Rius, you have to go as well. Be a good a boy.” He hugged and kissed him too.
There was a growing noise of panicked screams from outside. Aurelio opened the door to have a quick look. He closed it again “You have to go now my love. The rebels have entered the city. Take the children and go.” The boom of multiple cannons could be heard and his father’s fear was obvious on his face. “Servia please! Take them now.”
There was a crashing sound from the roof and Servia instinctually pushed her children out of the way. The ceiling crumbled and plaster and wood fell on her, a long section of timber pinned her legs.
Aurelio ran over to his wife. Lucina approached her parents but her father said, “Stay back Lucina.” He looked between his children and his wife, torn.
“Lucina,” he said, “I’m going to help your mother, but I want you to take your brother to city hall. Can you do that for me?”
The girl had tears streaming down her face but she nodded.
Aurelio looked at his wife, her eyes were fluttering open and shut, but she was still breathing steadily. He put his hands on the wood and tried pulling. It only shifted slightly and his wife moaned in pain.
Lucina had backed up and taken Reese’s hand, holding it tightly. Their father looked back at them.
“Lucina, go now!” he shouted.
Lucina pushed the door and pulled Reese along with her. He kept looking back and crying for his parents, but his sister didn’t stop.
The streets were in chaos. There were other people trying to get to city hall and soldiers were directing them. But with cannon fire hitting the city, few were listening to them. Lucina and Reese dodged aside from several adults barging past. The followed them as best as they could.
A man shouted in terror and pointed. Everyone tried to scatter but it was too late. Several cannonballs hit the buildings nearby and the resulting explosions blinded Reese. He coughed and sat up. Smoke drifted past his eyes. He could hear loud crying. Then he noticed his sister was no longer holding his hand.
He turned his head everywhere, but he couldn’t see her. There was too much smoke and the adults were moving around in confusion. He felt the air behind him start getting uncomfortably hot. The building behind him was on fire and it was rapidly spreading. He stepped back a few paces; the heat slowly increased and made him feel dizzy.
Then he was grabbed by the shoulder and spun around.
“Rius Galius. What in the hells are you doing out here?” It was the next-door neighbor, a middle aged woman. “This is no place for children,” she said. “Come on. Let’s get you over to the refuge.”
She started pulling him by the hand, but he resisted, “No. Not without Lu.”
“Your sister’s here too?” The woman took a quick look around the area. “I can’t see her anywhere.”
The sound of more cannon fire could be heard and the woman picked him up and ran. “I’ll tell the guards about your sister, but it’s not safe for us to stay here. We need to get to the refuge center.”
“Lucina,” he cried as the woman took him away from the blasted scene. He shouted her name all the way to the city hall. The woman put him down and sat with him inside the packed refuge and he softly cried. No one was talking, they were all waiting in tense silence for the battle to run its course.
He fell asleep before the battle ended and by the time he awoke, the civilians were being allowed to leave. The rebel army had captured Tercium. They were allowing everyone back to their homes.
Reese was in shock as the neighbor carried him outside and saw what had become of the city. Smoke rose above the buildings and in front of city hall, rebel soldiers stood guard over a group of defeated royalist soldiers. Reese put his face into the woman’s shoulder and started crying again. He wanted to go back to sleep in the hopes that he would wake up to find that this had all been a nightmare.
Chapter 31
Her brother opened his eyes and Lucina felt her emotions stir. She thought all of her training had rid her of them, but they had returned at the sight of her long-lost brother.
“Rius,” she said. “You’re awake.” She pulled him into a tight hug, not wanting to let go. She eventually did and watched as he shook his head and stood up.
He looked over at his friend, Michael and then back at her. The chemistry student was keeping his distance. He was smart enough not to ask her questions about her unorthodox entrance to the lab.
“Lucina you…you’re alive.” He was still having trouble accepting it. Not that she was any less shocked to see him. She thought he had been killed in Tercium along with her parents.
“Believe me Rius, I’m as surprised as you are. When I returned to our home, it was too late. I was told everyone had died.” She was deliberately ambiguous about her return. She didn’t have time right now to go into detail about her abduction, her journey to Longhaven or the fact that she had not been able to return to Tercium until she had graduated as an assassin, many years after the war.
“My name is Reese,” he replied in a terse voice. She felt a pang of sorrow. There was that Alkon name his friend had used. Something else the Siege of Tercium had taken from them. Lucina had personally killed the Estaran Republican commander who had attacked the city.
Personal vengeance was frowned upon within the Arm, but as part of her elevation to master status, she had been tasked with three kills, all of her own choosing. Once submitted, only the Dark Hand himself could remove her chosen targets. He usually only did so if the Arm had an investment or relationship with one of the candidate’s choices.
“I have so many questions,” he said.
“I imagine you do, but I don’t have the time to answer them, brother.” She couldn’t yet bring herself to use his Alkon name but it he preferred it, so she dropped the use of his birth name. “Tell me where you live and I will come and see you when I have time, I promise.”
“Are you serious? For years both of us thought each dead. Then we run into each and you ‘don’t have time’. What the fuck does that even mean?”
She understood his anger. She was going insane with frustration, the emotional shock of seeing her brother was heavy, but she was running out of time. “I…can’t explain right now. Please brother,” she pleaded. “Tell me where and I promise that no matter what, I will come.” He gave her his university room and block details.
“Good. Now both you and your friend have to remember this,” she said and threw a look at Michael. “Under no circumstances can you tell anyone you have seen me. If you mention me to anyone, Imperial Guards, Scepters, your university professors, your lives will be in danger.”
Michael couldn’t help himself. “You’re involved in that shooting aren’t you?”
Sh
e threw another look at him, this one was much more hostile and it shut him up.
“I am utterly serious about this Reese,” she said. “Tell no one whatsoever. I will not be able to protect you if you do.”
He thought for a moment, but then nodded. “What about the window?” He gestured towards where she had fallen through.
“Not a problem.” She walked over, picked up the remnants of Michael’s nitroglycerin experiment and flung it at the window’s remaining glass. The she smashed the rest of the glass out with a metal prong.
“Tell them the chemicals did all that damage. It won’t even be a lie.”
As she stepped past her brother she traced one hand gently down the side of his face. “I will find you. I promise.”
Then she was away. She ran down several sets of stairs and then exited into another hallway. She took the emergency exit out one of the windows and quickly climbed down. She hit the ground and ran. She passed through the paved corridors that ran along the building and turned onto the red brick path that led out of the university.
As she moved further away, she heard the sound of people running up to the science building. That would be the Imperial Guards. Once they figured out the shot had come from a long-range rifle they would be checking all of the campus’s outlying buildings. She needed to reach the southern gate before they decided to cut off access into or out of the university.
As she reached the gate, she slowed down. She hoped none of the Scepters had time to communicate with anyone and keep it locked down. There wasn’t anyone around, so she pushed it open slightly and stepped through.
Ral was standing across the street, his face covered with his grey hood. She walked over. “No guards?” she asked.
“Dead,” he replied. “Not that they would have heard anything from the Scepters if they were still alive. I placed powerful magnets around the gate.”
