Gerard was already calling the sisters to try and warn them, but they weren’t picking up. Had Lars already got to them? Had Bonedust made similar piles of his Sløv, as he had done with the Orcs? He already had his weapon drawn before entering the room. Maybe it was fresh from surprising Enyo and Eris. Why weren’t they answering their phones? The nausea in his middle grew and his patience began to waiver. It began to overwhelm him. He’d lost Sløv before, but the three in his employ now were the most talented he’d ever worked with. They were the closest thing he had to a family and he wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Pick up the phone, he kept thinking. Pick up the phone. Whilst his brain whirred, Lars slowly adjusted himself, standing straighter and brushing the hair from his eyes. Eyes that seemed surprised. High Våpen aren’t known for being slow, in thinking or acting and they’re also very difficult to surprise, but somehow, Lars had been stunned into inaction and a dreadful slowness, as his three attendees flew past him unceremoniously, like rag dolls carelessly tossed across a room to expectant, childish arms. Three horrific noises came from the bodies as they hit the opposite wall, leaving dents in its surface. Three men slumped at the contact, barely conscious and trying to regain control of their limbs, but badly hurt both in pride and body, also not enjoying being surprised in that manner.
Four women entered the room then. Two sets of identical twins ready to fight. Ready to hurt. Gerard couldn’t help but smile then. He’d seen the sisters use this trick before, creating mirages of themselves to confuse a more powerful enemy, or a more numerous one. They all moved independently and unless you knew what to look for you didn’t know whether you were attacking a real person or their afterthought. The smile widened as he recollected the beating the sisters gave Fortune in training when they’d first used this trick. Maybe they’ll be alright he thought, doing the math in his head. Three down, for thirty seconds at least, and one surprised, albeit deadly, opponent to overcome. He despaired as Lars regained his composure though, his stance widening, hands moving, incantation uttered. The four women moved at once, independently and in unison, confusing and predictable. Two headed straight into contact with the dangerous blond man, Gerard wincing at the poor decision, a fresh wave of nausea taking him. Then he saw it, the other two women had made their way to a red box.
Distracted by the violent charge of two screaming warriors, Lars prepared to fight, initially taking up a defensive stance, willing his adversaries to come in close. He parried the synchronised blows and for the second time in as many minutes he was surprised. The deadly and swift strikes from Enyo and Eris drifted past his block and harmlessly drifted through him. The mirages had done enough to keep him in a state of confusion as the real Enyo grabbed two silver gloves and made a door large enough for them to slip through. They’re going to make it Gerard thought, nausea replaced by pride. Worry replaced with hope. Let it be said that Lars Engen is a terrible and furious man, for he let out a sound of anger Gerard could hear as clear as a bright sunny sky. His turn to be surprised as he saw the door that’d opened up next to him. Instead of looking at the screen now, he turned to see a smiling Eris falling through the door followed by a serious Enyo raising her hand to click her fingers and close the door. A few feet away from him, through the portal he saw Lars turn, frenzied eyes meeting his as a maniacal smile infected his face. He barely saw the man's arms move but he saw what flew out of his hand. A glimmering knife made its way through the air, heading for Enyo’s heart. She was completely unaware of the real danger heading her way, too focused on getting through the door and clicking her fingers as soon as possible, trying not to lose any body parts in the process.
Våpen are quick. Fast enough to catch a snake by the neck as it strikes. Fast enough to whip a bird out of the air. Fast enough to dodge bullets, and Gerard needed to be fast. Without thinking he pulled Enyo through the door and turned his back to the door in order to protect her from being hit. He grunted, amused by the dull thud of the knife hitting him in the shoulder before grunting in pain. It hurt more than it should as he fells to his knees, Enyo clicking her fingers and ending up sprawled out on the floor. The door had disappeared. The danger was momentarily over. The burning in his shoulder, not.
Eris and Enyo were at his side immediately and helped lift him to his feet as Fortune and Haverforth returned. Another grunt as Sharn removed the knife without taking her eyes from her screens. The relief was immediate, thankful for Eris muttering a healing spell from behind him. He found his feet, his senses following suit and looking expectantly at the two new arrivals. He waited for them as they walked over, the burning in his shoulder suddenly returning with more force than earlier.
“I cannot heal it Hältia, we need a Bleeding Heart.” Eris was frustrated at not being able to help, Enyo feeling guilty that her master was wounded because of her.
Gerard took a knee for a moment, catching his breath and mastering himself. “In due course Eris. I want to hear what these two have to say first.” A calmness and serenity falling upon him. Fortune stepped forward without hesitation, concern and respect in his eyes. They’d been through worse together and he had faith in his master.
“It is as you suspected. Tor’s file has been edited heavily. He is older than the file says and there are references to him giving up being a Dyad to stop an evil called, The Thousand Curses.” Fortune shrugged having not heard any of this, before continuing at Gerard’s nod. “Known affiliations include a wytch named Eve - the other half of his Dyad - a Werewolf royal family, Obed Rumaliza and a woman named Rosalind, although they just have her name. He was also indoctrinated into The Balance ahead of his years based on exemplary fighting abilities.” Gerard nodded again, patiently taking in all the details. “This was all before he lost his memories and has been drifting since then. The file is still well redacted, but this is what we could get that wouldn’t raise any suspicions.”
“Well done. What else could you glean from the redacted parts?” Gerard pressed his Sløv, his intuition telling him more could be found. “Take your time. Patience is like water, revealing all.”
Fortune looked back down at the file, enjoying that his masters wound hadn’t deterred him from teaching another lesson. “There are references to time he spent in criminal organisations for a long time after losing his memories. Triads mostly.” He paused whilst he scanned more of the document. “There’s a long army career in the Naïve world too, special ops, Black ops etc. From the amount that’s been blacked out here, our man was involved in some very off the books work.” Another pause. “I can also see a few innocuous sentences that look like they are saying he was part of something else. Some sort of project, but there’s not a lot here.”
“What about our five Nahgwal?” Gerard turned to Haverforth, the man very eager to contribute.
“Also edited and redacted in places, but nowhere near as much as Tor’s. They were all kept as missing reports, but in actual fact they were all originally reports of Nahgwal going mad on missions and killing everyone in sight.” Haverforth didn’t know what to do then, his social skills failing him.
“And?” Eris finally said, encouraging him to keep going.
“They were all captured by a more powerful Nahgwal and taken to a secure facility in sector forty-seven.”
“Why did you call them degenerates earlier?” Gerard said to the third Orc in the room, ashamed he didn’t know his name.
“It’s Magra.” The Orc obliging Gerard’s unsaid thoughts. “They are degenerates because they are selected for that post based on lineage only, rather than being appropriate for the work. They are arrogant and believe themselves above the law. It leads them to being violent after they have served their time. In some cases, they are violent during their time too and that’s just The Eyes.”
The sisters made the connection first, pensive noises coming from them as Fortune linked the disappearances as well.
Haverforth was last to the party of revelations but excited nonetheless to explain. “So, mad Nahgwals are take
n to a secure facility run by an arrogant section of The Protectorate and all evidence of this happening is either destroyed, edited or not recorded in the first place?” A rare feeling of bravery took him then, exasperated by the injustice. “We should confront them!”
“In due course, Sean.” Pride swelling in Gerard at the book worm’s courage. He looked at the silver fingers of Enyo and then up to her face. “We should leave.” She looked at her hands, turning them over a few times as if trying to see a way to reset them.
“Not for a few hours I’m afraid Hältia.” She offered disappointingly.
“We’ll see about that.” Gerard smiled.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT - POOLS
Leopold didn’t ask to shake hands with Eve once he’d handed over the location spell items she needed. His eyes said there was no need for payment. They said that he knew the sacrifice she’d made and may have to make again. They said thank you and sorry and your welcome and be safe. The connection she felt with him was accidental but appreciated. Two worlds, innumerable monsters and overwhelming odds stacking up against them, there was a quiet and influential man who could help. A businessman who should have no sides, had chosen his. They held hands like old friends, both of hers cradled in his vast palms and his eyes wished the blessings of Surelikai upon her. Once they reached Tae, Eve placed a hand on her hull, the purple light glowing around her touch.
“Take us somewhere remote please, pretty one.” a gap fell away in the side of the ship, allowing both women to step aboard and take the seats that had already grown into place for them. They were crude representations of the armchairs they had just been in, Tae explaining that they carried physical memory with them as they approached.
“You were reading our thoughts?” Isabella asked suspiciously, feeling as if her privacy had been violated. Like a telepath had read her mind without permission.
“Not quite. Our consciousnesses are partially connected. I don’t see or feel or hear everything you do. I just receive the echoes of your experiences.” Tae explained cheerily, hoping her new friends would find this exciting.
“You’re full of surprises Tae.” Eve offered, wanting to know more about the Wind Dancer’s home planet and how they came to their world, but it would have to wait. “Where’re you taking us then Tae.”
“It’s a surprise.” Purple lights flickered randomly, simulating excitement.
“How long do we have?”
“How long would you like the journey to be?” Eve laughed at how fast The Silent Flight Commander might actually be able to fly. She remembered being told no one knew how fast they really were, but she knew she wanted to talk to Isabella about how she got her injuries and thought a few hours would do. Purple lights dimmed towards the floor, mixed with a powering down noise. Was Tae sad? Almost in answer to her question, the lights flared again, powering her engines and flexing herself.
“Can I play as we fly?” Eve didn’t know what that meant so she nodded. Or mind nodded. She wasn’t sure. A few minutes into the flight though, she knew what Tae meant as she cut wide sweeping arcs through the sky, dipping in and out of clouds, performing bizarre tricks and whirling about trying to break the laws of physics. Neither of the women felt the movement, but they saw it through the transparent hull, bringing nauseating feelings to their stomachs. Unsaid emotions passed between them all and the hull went black, taking any remaining sickness away with it.
“What’s his name?” Eve wasn’t looking directly at Isabella as she said it, wanting to keep the question as casual as possible.
“Elias. He hates that though, so everyone calls him Gerard.”
“You met him at The Protectorate?”
“Rarely are answers either day or night.” She laughed. “We had a run in whilst I was tracking a wyzard who’d been terrorising both worlds. He called himself Fyrekhan. An ex-Sojela gone rogue.”
“You were both tracking him, right?” Dark locks bounced with the nod, but she kept her eyes from Eve’s for now.
“We’d both come close to capturing the dirty Fuegen. Close. Didn’t matter what either of us did or how much help we had though, he always got away.”
“You found that out before or after you got naked?” Eve sniggered as she said it, trying to keep her friend’s memories light and warm. It worked.
“After.” She laughed. “When we first met though there was a. Misunderstanding.”
“You punched him.” Eve didn’t need to know the answer to the question she didn’t really ask. Isabella always found a way to punch a boy, or man, she liked before they got to know each other.
“No.” Isabella lied. Sensing the misleading statement, Tae jerked her seat, so Isabella’s hair fell across her face.
“Sorry.” Tae lied.
“Fine. Yes. I punched him. A lot. I actually came face to face with Fyrekhan when Elias interrupted us. His entrance distracted me long enough for the wyzard to escape, leaving me with him and his three Sløv.” Isabella smiled at the memory, one she’d come to find funny after re-living it countless times in her head.
“You stayed long enough to fight a Venatoré.” Eve said, finding the concept maddening. “Did Mo teach you a lesson when you got back?” In her best imitation of an elderly Japanese man, Eve delivered one of his catchphrases. “Unless you are me, leave the Våpen and their lap dogs to the fates.”
Isabella laughed before explaining. “I was furious at him, Eve. I knew I should’ve run but instead, I turned and went for him.”
“Silly, Blue.” Tae said affectionately, purple rippling with her own internal laughter.
“I was nearly on him when he waved his assistants back and defended himself. I don’t know how long we were fighting but after a time we just, fell down, exhausted.”
“What did his servants do?”
“They left after Elias gave them a nod. Bleeding from a cut on his cheek he turned to me and said, round two?”
“Round two involved more grunting but less clothes, right?” Eve laughed, purple light doing the same.
“Something about him stopped me in my tracks, Eve.” Isabella blushed. “I lost myself in him. When we were together, he was all that mattered. Life’s trials were pointless, but life’s purpose breathed through him.”
“I know how you feel. Tor has the same effect on me.” Purple pulsed around them and they enjoyed Tae’s purring of agreement. More surprises they both thought, realising that Tae may have been sharing their emotions as well as their thoughts.
“We decided to work the case together, pooling our resources and going for more and more rounds.” Isabella continued.
“How long were you together.”
“Five years. Until we finally tracked down Fyrekhan.” Sadness seeped into her voice, dark locks falling across her face again. “We were in love and we were strong. But so was our prey. Elias was actually the one who found him. You should’ve seen how excited he was. We’d bring a terrible criminal to justice, together. Then we could be together.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’d both decided to quit and make something of our own. He was tired of The Protectorate and what it’d become. So was I. I was also exhausted from fighting for the losing side. It was our last case. Our last fight.” Eve placed her hand on Isabella’s shoulder, sensing what was coming.
“I’m so sorry, Blue.” She emphasised the nickname in a way that she would feel comforted by it. By Tae’s new meaning she’d given to it.
“We underestimated Fyrekhan. I’d seen nothing like it before Eve.” She looked up then, green eyes swimming in pools of tears. “Fyre, everywhere. Elias spared his Sløv from the fight, but it took all I had to stay away from the flames. Somehow, they were coming out of thin air, seeking us out from dark corners.”
“The fyre wasn’t coming from him?”
“Not possible right? But that’s what happened. Neither of us could get close to the wyzard. Capture had gone out the window. Surviving was our priority.” She paused, darkness shadow
ing her face. “I remember his face. The way it contorted and shifted. Jerked about, phasing in and out of view rapidly, unnaturally.”
“How did you escape?”
“Good and bad timing. There’s a moment in battle when you know something needs to give.” Eve acknowledged she was right. “We were in a deadlock and our prey was impatient, so he turned on me. Flames, heat and death shot towards me from everywhere. I jumped to get out of the way, but the only part of me that wasn’t engulfed was my face.” Tears streamed from her green eyes. “Elias flew forward, faster than anything I have ever seen, flames licking at his sides, but he didn’t care. He’d seen what the wyzard had to me and he needed to finish it. Fyrekhan’s face stopped its chaotic dance for a split second, long enough for me to see a symbol cut into his face before it returned to normal.” Eve wanted to ask about the symbol, but she waited for her friend to finish.
“Next thing I know, I’m back at the monastery, Elias by my side. The healers said he’d been there for days, waiting for me to come back to life.”
“He left you, didn’t he?”
A Dyad in Time Page 35
