The battle had clearly rattled her considering she’d let Sage out of her sight without a hint of suspicion. Enough that Sage could’ve easily captured her, dragged her straight to Benjar, and probably been on the path to redeeming herself in the Tribune’s eyes. But she’d lost that chance by continuing to uphold a vow she made to a Ceresian in a prison cell on the Ascendant. The very place she was trying to get back to.
“I haven’t known him long, but I haven’t seen him look at anyone like he looked at you,” Tarsis said after a lengthy period of silence. She’d forgotten he was even there. “What in the name of the Spirit did you do to him?”
“I followed orders,” Sage replied. Then she realized that he’d mentioned the Spirit, and her eyes widened. “You’re Tribunal?”
“Of course not!” Tarsis said. “Vergent. Just consider me intrigued by your faith. Probably the only one on this ship… besides you now, of course. Talon might’ve claimed you were undercover, but I think I know who you are in his story. I’m not stupid.”
Sage struggled to think of what to say in response. “Well, I’m glad you were able to get him off that ship after I put him there,” she settled on.
Tarsis started to laugh before being quickly seized by a grueling series of coughs. “Please…” He cleared his throat. “He pretty much dragged me off it.”
“So you aren’t Tribunal, yet you believe?”
“I needed to turn to something after contracting this.” He gestured down at his entire body. “It seemed as good a thing to believe in as anything else. Don’t know the prayers well though.”
And I doubted my faith, Sage thought. The Spirit truly works in mysterious ways, leading me to him after everything. Never again.
“Would you pray with me, then?” she leaned in and asked.
Tarsis gazed around at all the other quiet Vergents around the room. The youngest amongst them nodded at him in approval.
“I suppose,” Tarsis said. “Mind holding this, Kitt?” He handed a young Vergent his pulse-rifle, and the boy made sure it never stopped aiming at Sage.
Sage slid off the bench onto her knees. A few of the present Vergents stood and glared at her, but Kitt waved them back. Tarsis positioned himself across from her and started to mimic her. For him, it wasn’t easy. His face contorted in pain as he started to bend over, his suit screeching with each motion. Finally, dropping to his knees elicited a series of groans and a sound like his suit breaking in half.
Sage waited patiently for him to get comfortable. “Place your hands like this,” she instructed once he was finally settled. She lowered her palms until they hovered right above the floor, then allowed the tips of her fingers to graze it. Tarsis followed.
“Now close your eyes and feel the Spirit within you,” she said. “Feel it binding us together. Us, and everyone else in this room.”
Tarsis closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The first time it caused him to cough, but on a second attempt he was able to steady his breathing.
“Good,” Sage said. “I am a knight in the darkness. A vessel of their…” Sage’s eyelids sprang open as she caught herself. She froze.
“I’ve never heard that one before,” Tarsis said, keeping his eyes closed.
Very few people have, Sage realized. They were the secret verses that once echoed in her mind. She’d heard them every time she woke and before she went to sleep. It was an honest mistake, but just beginning to speak the executor vows had the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. She exhaled slowly and tried again.
“A more complex sermon, sorry,” she lied. “Follow me. ‘We are blessed with ground beneath us.’” Tarsis timidly repeated her every word. “’We are blessed to walk this plane under the pull of the Earth, never deviating from Her forces and how they shaped us. Our Homeworld has been blighted by darkness, but we are the light. Those—”
She was interrupted a second time when Talon and the Monarch’s captain, Larana, came strolling into the galley. Kitt nudged Tarsis in the back to get his attention.
“I can’t thank you enough, Larana,” Talon said to the captain.
“Call it even,” she responded. “Because of you we have the favor of Ceres. For helpin’ in the battle, the Morastus have agreed to better prices than ever before. The Lakura are soon to follow.”
“I guess we’ll forget that you also saved us from suffocating.”
The corners of Larana’s lips lifted into a wry grin. “Almost even.”
“I’ll find a way to repay you eventually.”
She patted Talon on the back and shook her head. Then she gestured to the rest of her crew, immediately gaining their attention. “Leave them be.”
They stood immediately and hurried out of the galley, moving with such grace over and around the furniture that Sage imagined they might be able to pass for having executor training. Kitt followed the captain to the command deck and on his way handed Tarsis the pulse-rifle. Tarsis remained in the galley, appearing far more relaxed after their abridged prayer than he had been earlier.
“Practicing your prayers?” Talon asked. He didn’t sound judgmental, but it was hard for Sage to be sure. Nobody had acted normal since the moment she got onto this hunk of junk.
Tarsis hung his head. “I… Yes.”
“Learn what you can. Just don’t place too much trust in her words. I made that mistake once before.”
Sage didn’t try to defend herself. It wasn’t in an executor’s nature to complain, even if lacking her implant made her more prone to the urge. Plus, how could she? She had infiltrated his team, lied, killed one of his friends. Even if she didn’t know the trap was coming, she’d done everything else.
“So Elisha is alive?” Tarsis asked.
Talon squeezed past him to take a seat at the main table in the galley and finally glared icily over at Sage. “According to Sage, she’s imprisoned on the Ascendant,” he said. “Surrounded by thousands of Tribunal soldiers.”
Tarsis’ face went paler than usual. “Of all the places in Sol… And you believe her?”
“I don’t know, but there isn’t really a reason to trick me other than being cruel. Though I wouldn’t put that past her. At least last time, Sage had a reason to lie. There’s little information either of us can offer the Tribune if it’s a trap.”
“She’s there,” Sage growled, tired of playing a secondary role in the discussion about her. “Hand Yavortha is holding her there to bait me.”
“Why on Earth would he want to bait his own executor?” Talon asked.
“She’s an executor?” Tarsis gulped.
“Former executor,” Sage corrected. “And because I sliced out one of his eyes, amongst other reasons.”
The news appeared to soften Talon a bit. She imagined that he hadn’t yet forgotten about the Hand who’d escorted them throughout the Ascendant. Stories of Yavortha’s brutality were likely not lost on the Ceresians, even if only a few had ever dealt with him directly and survived to tell their tale.
“That’s all great, but what are we going to do?” Tarsis said. “Storm a New Earth cruiser, just the three of us? No offense, Talon, but I doubt any of your clans will support a direct attack like that just to save one girl, even after what you did for the Lakura.”
Talon pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, deep in thought. “No, but I doubt Sage came here without a plan,” he said. “That’s what it is with you executors, right? Always a step ahead.”
Sage managed to keep a straight face, but he was right. The early stages of an idea had been formulating in her head while she sat in the Monarch waiting. The only problem was that it wasn’t a good one, and it went completely against her better judgment. She didn’t want to join the war against her own people. She only wanted to rescue Elisha and get out, but that was going to be an issue going forward.
Everything changed when she’d made her decision to help Talon and the others rather than sneaking back onto the Ascendant as a soldier. Presently, her armor was so bloodi
ed and dented that it barely resembled a Tribunal suit any longer.
She could only think of one person who could help them get past the sea of defenses on the Ascendant. One person she hoped she’d never have to go to for help again after seeing what he was willing to do to Titan.
“Cassius,” she whispered.
“What?” Talon said.
“Cassius Vale. If there’s anyone who would jump at the chance to attack Benjar Vakari directly, it’s him.”
“That’s your plan?” Talon laughed. “Maybe you didn’t hear, but Cassius Vale is dead. And why would he even care about helping you anyway?”
Sage looked between him and Tarsis, both regarding her like she was crazy. Maybe she was. Maybe whatever surgery Cassius had performed to remove her cybernetic implant had destroyed her brain and her good sense. But at the same time, it let her speak buried secrets without feeling like she was going to implode.
“A long time ago, before he lost his life on Earth, I was going to marry his son,” Sage said. It was the first time she’d ever spoken to anybody about Caleb who didn’t already know about him. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat, kept going. “Cassius reconstructed my arm as well. Honestly, I’ve known him longer than I’ve known anybody else in the Circuit.”
Talon and Tarsis glanced at each other, dumbfounded. Sage had little doubt that hearing how close she was to Cassius would sound like a terrible crime to a Ceresian. She didn’t expect Tarsis to look more appalled than Talon, however. The good feelings from their shared prayer had clearly worn off.
“Did you help him savage the Amerigo?” Tarsis snarled. He jumped up to his feet, the legs of his suit firing off like pistons. The sudden exertion exhausted him, and he panted as his pulse-rifle pointed again in Sage’s direction.
“You were there?” Sage asked.
“You mean while his demon creation slaughtered every Keeper alive there? Yeah, we were there. Thanks to Talon, we got off before he took control. Nobody else did.”
Demon? Sage thought. She recalled the blazing red eyes of the android Cassius had called ADIM. So that’s how he did it, and that’s why he didn’t find Talon on board.
“I had nothing to do with it,” she insisted, “but I’ve seen the abomination you’re talking about. He calls it ADIM.”
“And you would dare ask him for—”
“Quiet!” Talon yelled, banging the table. A Vergent head peeked in from around the corner, then quickly ducked back. “Sit, Tarsis. It’s all irrelevant now. I’m sorry if you were close to that monster, Sage, but the Circuit is much better off with him dead.”
“He’s not,” Sage replied without a shred of doubt. She wasn’t sure why, but she remained confident that Benjar was right for not trusting the news. If Cassius was dead, somehow, someway, she knew she would feel like he was. Perhaps it was the Spirit holding their souls close, like intertwining threads. Bound by tragedy forever.
“Trust me, he is,” Talon said. “Or do you want me to find the feed of Zaimur Morastus putting a bullet in his head?”
“I don’t care what you saw. He wouldn’t allow himself to be captured.”
“You’re right, Talon,” Tarsis muttered. “She is out of her mind.”
Talon sighed. “We’ll find another way.”
“Might as well hand her over, then. Yara Lakura already praised you for what you did with the generator. Maybe if we tell her what Sage really is, you’ll get a command of your own to end our days leading.”
As Talon and Tarsis deliberated, Sage looked down at her artificial arm. If you ever need me, Sage, this will allow you to contact me. Keep it safe. She remembered Cassius saying those words before he sedated her and sent her to Titan. It wasn’t a very clear memory, but she knew he’d stored something in her arm.
She ran her human fingers along the length of the synthetic limb until her nails slid beneath a latch. Inside the small compartment was a segmented metal sphere. She spun it around in her hand until her thumb found a comfortable depression. She shifted it as far as it could go, and then a blue light blinked on. Talon and Tarsis stopped their conversation and stared at her.
“Cassius?” Sage said softly, holding it right to her mouth. “Cassius, are you there? Are you alive?”
“What is that thing?” Talon asked. “Tarsis, if she tries anything, shoot her.”
“Gladly.”
Sage ignored them and continued to examine the sphere. “It’s some sort of holo-communications device he gave me.”
She spun it around, getting a look at every angle. It seemed relatively simple. Custom. She placed her thumb back in the depression and tried again. “Cassius… Cassius, can you read me?”
Talon scoffed. “He’s not going to—”
“By the Ancients, Sage, is that you?” a man responded through the device, causing both Talon and Tarsis to jump. It transmitted quietly, almost like a whisper, but Sage would recognize the voice anywhere. After everything that’d happened, she wasn’t sure why she felt glad to know he was still alive, but she was.
Bound by tragedy… forever.
“It’s me,” Sage said.
Tarsis stood, getting as close as he could manage so he’d be able to hear. She had to press her ear against the device because his suit was so whiney. Talon slid down the bench, getting so close to her that their arms touched. It caused her heart to flutter.
“You must be near, then,” Cassius said, sounding unexpectedly eager to hear from her. “This device has a limited range. Are you safe?”
“I am. Cassius, it’s difficult to hear you.”
“I have to keep my voice down where I am to avoid prying ears. As far as the Circuit’s concerned, I’m a dead man.” He paused. “How did you know I wasn’t?”
“Lucky guess.” Her throat went dry just from thinking about what she was about to say next. They’d had their ups and downs, and clearly he’d lost much of his sanity. But Cassius had always been capable of terrible things. Caleb had told her some stories of childhood, of his firm backhand. Cassius never let Sage see that part of him, but she knew it was there. She’d just always looked away until it affected her and the Tribune.
But now she needed that man who was capable of anything. Sage swallowed hard and said, “Cassius, I know I shouldn’t ask, but I need your help.”
“Whatever it is, we should discuss it in person,” he responded.
“That might be difficult. I’m aboard a ship in the main hangar of the Hound’s Paw. The flagship of the Morastus fleet.”
Silence. Sage blinked. The others did the same, leaning in as if to will another answer.
Finally, Cassius responded, “I won’t bother to ask how or why you got there, but I’m in the private hangar right above you. Stay where you are. I’ll send my associate to retrieve you as soon as possible so that we may avoid unnecessary confrontation. We have much to discuss.”
By the Spirit, Sage thought. Of all the places in the Circuit he could be, he’s here? She had no idea what he could possibly be up to, or why he was hiding and keeping the fact that he was alive a secret. It didn’t matter. For better or worse, it seemed they were destined to meet again by a power greater than her. Perhaps it wasn’t her place to judge him or the things he’d done.
“He’s here?” Tarsis said. He turned to Talon, eyes bulging. “How could he be here? It’s a program or a trick of some kind. We watched him die.”
“An old executor lesson,” Sage interjected. “Never trust your target is dead until you’re close enough to touch the body.”
“What are we doing, Talon?” Tarsis asked. “The man stole a solar-ark just to make a point.”
Talon drew out a breath and leaned back. He stared up at the ceiling, countless different thoughts flickering across his features.
“He’s done plenty worse than that,” he admitted, shrugging. “I’m already about to trust one turncoat Tribunal. Might as well go to another. What could they possibly do to two dying men that isn’t worth having a chanc
e to save Elisha?”
Tarsis grumbled something under his breath, got up, and stormed out of the room. He stopped at the entrance into the hallway. “Your call,” he growled before continuing on his way.
“We’ll go to him, then, Sage,” Talon said. “If that really is him,” Talon said. “I’m not saying I’m willing to work with him, but I’ll listen to whatever plan he’s got. If either of you are up to something though, I won’t hesitate to—”
“Space us,” Sage finished for him, the start of a playful grin touching her lips.
Strange as this was, crazy as it seemed, she could feel her faith being rekindled, like electricity crackling through her veins. The chances of her and Talon meeting again after he was sent to an ark were infinitesimal. Impossible. Yet here he was. And though just looking at him too long made her itch, and him using her real name made her feel queasy, she knew…
The Spirit was clearly with her on her mission to save the innocent soul of a child. Tribunal or not.
4
Chapter Four—Cassius
While Cassius waited for ADIM to retrieve Sage, he strolled slowly around the White Hand, his arm outstretched so that his fingers lightly grazed the smooth hull. ADIM was correct. She was in as good a shape as ever. A few divots were left here and there from stray shrapnel, but overall, the shields had held. It wasn’t anything more than superficial damage, which he could fix up in the days following the war.
“Gaia, please release the cargo bay for me,” he ordered as he reached the back of the ship.
“Yes, Creator,” ADIM’s voice responded.
The entrance irised open and the ramp lowered to Cassius’ feet. He reached up to his ear. His comm-link to ADIM was off, but there was no question it was the android’s voice that had responded.
“ADIM, is that you?” he asked.
“It is. As this unit explained earlier, the White Hand has been optimized. This unit has synchronized with Gaia’s outdated program, improving her overall performance by 47 percent. We may now transmit messages through the onboard communications relay.”
The Circuit: The Complete Saga Page 54