by S. E. Weir
Zultav turned his gaze toward Kuvaq, one of the older assassins who remained after so many of their brethren died in the attack. Kuvaq gave him a nod of agreement. Qartan blathered on about plans to use others as fodder while the assassins were sent to take out the leaders in the Empire. As if the assassins hadn’t tried with one young female and lost too many to count.
There were more religious males than assassins now, but those assassins had heard enough. At Zultav’s nod, all of the assassins stepped forward.
Qartan turned at the movement with a frown, watching Zultav and Kuvaq walk toward him. “What are you doing? I didn’t order you to do anything. Go back to your posts!”
Zultav met Qartan’s beady gaze with resolve and anger. No more. The suffering Qartan had brought to them was too much.
Their intentions must have made themselves clear to the putative leader. He stiffened, then stepped back, pulling others in front of him. “You are under my orders! You Dak will stay in your rightful place! I command you to stop!”
Zultav bared his teeth as he stepped between those who were in his path while the rest of his brethren closed in on Qartan’s cronies. “We would have followed you if you hadn’t squandered us exactly as the Empress spoke of. She seems to value her people. You do not. You would throw away our people for your own ends. You are not worthy of being a leader or of being followed. Our brotherhood is no longer yours to do with as you please.”
He heard the thud of bodies hitting the floor and saw the alarm in Qartan’s face. His brothers had taken care of the others as they had planned.
After Qartan had left the room with his brothers lying dead on the floor after their failed assassination attempt, Zultav had spoken with the others. They had concluded that their time of following the leadership blindly was finished and that Qartan and his faction needed to be stopped. They had just been waiting for the right moment to act.
He quickened his pace after the backpedaling panic-ridden worthless excuse for a Qendrok. Zultav drew his knife in his lower left hand and grabbed Qartan’s neck in his upper right, lifting him with enough force to choke him.
Qartan squawked out of clenched vocal cords. “It is against the law to kill your leader.”
Zultav grinned harshly as he leaned toward Qartan’s face. “Didn’t you hear? It’s a revolution.”
He stabbed Qartan in the heart, twisting the knife to make sure he would suffer and have no chance of surviving.
Lowering the dying leader, he dragged the mostly dead body through the surrounding group of wary, horrified, and tentatively relieved Qendrok. He approached the camera, stopping close enough to be seen and far enough away that they could see him throwing Qartan’s body on the floor.
“The brotherhood gives you Qartan and his co-conspirators. They would have used us all for fodder, including the females and younglings.”
“Dak Zultav?”
He turned at hearing the weak voice behind him to see Xoruk and Jokin entering the room, supported by the guards who had been sent for them. Xoruk looked down at the body by Zultav’s feet with a bewildered frown.
“What have you done?”
Zultav straightened. “What had to be done, Dev Xoruk. The Empire is here after a large-scale assassination attempt on the female Qartan named an abomination. They gave us the ultimatum of revolution or death.”
Jokin gave Zultav a sharp glance. “He was still your leader, Dak Zultav.”
Zultav met his eyes evenly. “He was not deserving of the honor, Dev Jokin.”
Jokin and Xoruk exchanged glances before sighing. “No, he was not,” Jokin replied with a glance at the body before turning to the cameras.
“I assume the Empire is watching. You can come down, Delegates. We will make certain you are not attacked.”
The previous voice spoke again. “Heartening, Jokin, thank you. We will be there shortly.”
Phina sagged against the wall, hoping it would help keep her upright. They had been up for over thirty hours at this point, and there was yet more to do. Qartan and his faction had done a lot to keep their people repressed and ignorant of the changes happening in the universe. Much of that was predicated on the lack of technology available on the planet.
She shook her head and turned to listen to Link’s conversation with Zultav. The assassins had told them they would not lead the people, nor would they serve the leadership as they had in the past.
“Perhaps that is for the best.” Link patted the conflicted but determined assassin’s arm. “Too much power is easily abused, as you have found out.”
Zultav changed his arm position and nodded. “Yes, we have found this to be true. Hopefully, Xoruk and Jokin can work with you to decide what the leadership will become and what alliance our people will have with the Empire.”
Phina nodded tiredly as she glanced at the larger group where Todd, Will, and Peter stood with others of the Empire, as well as Xoruk and Jokin. A medic was doing what they could to heal the Qendrok leaders without placing them in a Pod-doc. “That is part of what we are here for.”
Link appeared preoccupied as he watched Zultav’s arms move. She nudged him. “Is something wrong?”
He hesitated, then looked at the assassin. “Zuktav, do you know anything about a plot within the Empire?”
Zultav frowned, puzzled. She saw a thought occur to him and he froze, appearing cautious as he asked, “What is your position in the Empire?”
“I’m known in both the diplomatic and spy circles.”
“Hmm.” He called another assassin over, having a short conversation that she had a hard time following even with the translation program in her implant. It appeared that Kuvaq was cautious about something and Zultav wanted to speak, gesturing at them occasionally. They turned to the diplomat spies, cautious but resolved.
Zultav gestured at his friend. “This is Kuvaq. He is the oldest of us.” After exchanging greetings, he continued, “One of Qartan’s cronies boasted in the presence of us both that soon they would have full access to the spy arm of the Empire. The rest was vague hints, but it sounded like there was someone on the inside of your spy organization who would be allowing them access.”
Link and Phina exchanged glances. Link’s eyes were tight and anxious. This was the first major indication they’d had that Link’s gut feeling was right. He reeled and steadied himself with a hand on the wall.
Phina thanked the assassins. “Let me know if there is anything we can do to help your people.”
Zultav and Kuvaq bowed. The older Qendrok’s voice sounded rough from disuse. “We will tell you. You have allowed us to help ourselves with the space to act, which was what we needed.”
She smiled as they walked away and turned in concern to Link. “Are you all right?”
Link startled, forgetting his situational awareness. She was too concerned to tease him about it. He shook his head, with his face revealing little though his eyes were akin to dread and anguish. “Phina, maybe I’m too old for this. What have I missed with my role being so divided between the diplomats and the spies? My people deserve better.”
“Hey.” She stepped forward and placed her hand on his shoulder. “That’s why you are training me, remember? You already knew you were spread too thin.”
“Yes,” he answered but shook his head remorsefully. “I wanted to start training you before you turned eighteen, but I wanted you to also have more time without the weight of everything on your shoulders the way it has been on mine.”
She stepped forward to hug him and patted his back. “Thank you for giving me that time. I’m here now, and I’m going to help as much as I can.” She stepped back and gave him an encouraging smile. “We will take care of everything together. You aren’t alone.” She thought back to meeting Masha and patted his shoulder before backing up. “I don’t think you are as alone as you think you are. You just like taking care of things on your own and don’t always recognize the help.”
Link frowned in protest. “That’s…” He
stopped and thought before finishing. “Yeah, that’s probably true.”
Phina grinned as Todd walked over from the larger group with a smile just for her. She turned to him with a welcoming smile as Link groaned. She glanced at him in surprise.
“Just great. I was hoping I had more time before this happened.” He gestured between Phina and Todd with a disgruntled frown.
It didn’t fool her for a minute. She could see the twinkle of warmth in his eyes as he tried to push back the unwelcome news they had heard. She shook her head ruefully. “How long have you known?”
“Probably longer than either of you did since you both seemed determined to stick your heads in the sand. Glad you got it sorted out.” He smiled at them, pleased as pie as if he was the one to make it happen.
Phina shook her head as she turned to Todd. “I need to sleep. I’ve been up too long.”
Todd nodded but didn’t get a chance to respond before Link waved them both away. “Go. This mess will still be here in the morning.”
They nodded and excused themselves, holding hands once they were alone as they returned to the ship where they would be sleeping. Phina’s heart was lighter as they shared a companionable silence. The night felt peaceful but also alive as various sounds from people in the city and creatures in the woods reached her ears. The religious compound lay right between the city and the natural elements of the planet. Their ships had landed to the side of the walled compound.
Phina’s tablet beeped, letting her know she had a message once they entered the ship. She pulled it up as they walked to her room. Fiona had responded to the message Phina had sent on the way to Xaldaq, letting the woman know she had opened the letter and knew why her mom had kept them apart, as well as the knowledge of their shared psychic gifts. The conversation with Fiona seemed so long ago, even though it had only been a few weeks.
Phina,
Thank you for your message! I’m so happy you reached out to let me know. I hope you don’t mind, and I could never come close to your mom, but I’ve thought of you as one of mine ever since you were a tiny girl.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe you are so grown up even though you are the same age as Will. I hope you are looking out for each other? I worry sometimes, but knowing you have each other’s backs relieves that anxiety for me. Yes, for both of you, baby girl. That’s how family works.
At the risk of sounding smothering, I insist you come to dinner when you get home. Will tells me you have a gentleman friend now, and he is welcome too. Your friends and loved ones will always be welcome.
Your mom was amazing, and you are just like her, Phina. Be the fantastic woman you are, save the universe (I always teased your mom about that), and then come home so I can give you a big hug and know you are safe.
With love.
— Fiona
Tears crept down Phina’s face as she finished reading.
“Hey.” Todd put an arm around her and looked down in concern. “Are you all right?”
Phina nodded as she handed Todd the tablet to read while she wiped her tears. Sundancer sat watching them from the bunk on the top and passed her warm, comforting feelings.
Todd finished reading and set the tablet down to hug her. “You sure you are all right?”
She nodded and tried not to cry anymore as she hugged him. It felt nice to stand enfolded in his strong arms. She felt safe with him, and that was something she hadn’t felt since her parents had died. She tried to explain the jumble of emotions in her head and heart while Todd listened patiently, stroking her back every so often.
When she finished, he told her quietly, “I think your parents tried to love you by giving you as much family as possible. I understand feeling alone for a long time. It’s easy sometimes to feel alone even among a lot of people. It’s being known that is important, and feeling known by people you care about.”
“Hmm.” Phina thought about that and slowly nodded against his chest. “I think I see what you mean.”
“Do you feel like you don’t deserve other people caring about you for some reason?”
Phina froze and didn’t answer, but Todd gently nudged her chin up so she could meet his kind eyes. She exhaled heavily and mumbled, “Maybe.”
He smiled and ran his hand down her hair in a soothing gesture. “You have such confidence in your skills that it surprises me sometimes when you don’t have that same confidence in yourself. I understand. When people have been hurt, it’s hard to believe sometimes that you are worth being loved and cared about by others.”
“Listen to him, Phina. He is a wise and discerning individual.”
Phina glanced at Sundancer. “You just want to be petted, too.”
“This is true. All should bask in my magnificence and give me pets and scratches. And fish.”
Todd and Phina laughed, but Phina had a thought and turned to Todd, her gaze sharpening on his. “Do you feel that way too? That it’s sometimes hard to believe you are worth being loved and cared about?”
Todd swallowed and nodded. Phina scowled and hugged him harder. “I want to punch that ex-wife of yours. You are amazing. It’s her fault if she couldn’t see it.”
He grinned, the shadows that haunted his eyes disappearing. “You are too, Phina. I guess we need to keep reminding each other until we believe it.”
Phina gave him a beaming smile. “That sounds fine with me.” She hesitated then added, “Are you all right if I consider you part of my family too?”
Todd quirked an eyebrow, but she could see the question pleased him. She remembered he didn’t have any family of his own since they had left Earth and resolved to make sure he knew he didn’t need to feel alone anymore. “As long as it’s the kissing kind of family. I don’t think I could go back to keeping my hands off you.”
She responded by reaching up and kissing him, which he returned enthusiastically.
Sundancer grumbled about wise and discerning individuals being demoted to enamored and randy as he jumped off the bed and disappeared out the door that shut behind him.
Phina couldn’t help feeling regretful about Aunt Faith and whatever had happened there. Phina hoped she was at peace now. She resolved to see what she could find about the possibility of mind control, so the questions she had would be answered.
She focused on Todd, wanting him to know she cared about him and that he wasn’t alone anymore. She would get rest tonight and help put together a plan for the Qendroks’ future so they would be safe and protected, never being used again for someone else’s self-aggrandizing agenda.
Then, she would work with Link to discover this potential traitor in Spy Corps. If the pattern Phina saw emerging was what she thought it to be, then soon she would be able to expose the growing darkness working against the Empire. Perhaps it was the same darkness her parents had seen.
One thing Phina had learned: light always breaks the darkness.
She was determined to be that light.
The End
The Story Continues
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Author Notes - S.E. Weir
July 10, 2021
Hello again! I can’t thank you enough for choosing to read the first three books of our series, and now our author notes here. :)
I’ve been part of the KGU fan community since I picked up Death Becomes Her, Michael’s first book, about four years ago. However, I have been more on the periphery since it’s difficult sometimes to extrovert, even through social media. Perhaps it’s my insecurities that cause me to be so surprised at how amazing and supportive you all have been since the first book has come out. I like to think though that it’s mostly just that you all are awesome!