The girls giggled, while I crossed my arms over my chest and scoffed.
“That’s nonsense!” I shot back. “I just have a feeling she isn’t telling us everything, that’s all.”
“Like I said, maybe wait until tomorrow before you pass that judgment,” Fiona replied. “She’s probably still shaken up from the whole interplanetary sprint anyway. Not to mention the ‘warm welcome’ she got from Jax and his wards.”
I let a sigh roll out of my chest and nodded again, resuming my rapid scan of the first registry I’d been given.
“You’re probably right,” I muttered, once again haunted by the ease with which Rewa had shown interest toward Blaze. It bothered me even more than I’d originally thought, and I had to shake it off if I wanted to get myself nominated for the Neraka expedition. GASP wouldn’t deploy a biased agent into foreign territory.
We kept on digging through the archives until we reached the year 1,100BA. That was when the Maras really got into trouble. Reports of bloodless bodies strewn across Calliope started pouring in, particularly where the citadels were involved. The Maras had signed an agreement with and had sworn fealty to the Master Druids. They’d been allowed into the cities, and given homes in the western districts. Less than a few months later, the bodies started piling up.
It had all happened just as Jax had explained. The swamp witches had intervened, and House Dorchadas, Jax’s ancestors, had pleaded with them for a better solution, rather than seeing the entire Mara species wiped out. I found the official decree that called for the exile of the murderous Maras. A list was compiled of all those accused of breaking the Druid agreement. The entire House Xunn had made it on there, but Rewa was telling the truth. She hadn’t been born yet.
Maras never showed their true age. After their bodies reached the equivalent of a twenty-something-year-old adult, the aging process slowed down considerably. They were destined to live an eternal life, unless interrupted by external forces that would lead to their decapitation or incineration. True to form, Rewa didn’t look a day past her twenties.
The Exiled Maras had been sent away, and those who remained had been allowed to build their own cities to avoid further clashes with the already angered population of Calliope. There was no mention of the Exiled Maras’ destination. There was no other mention of them, period.
We compiled all the info we found, including names and specific events, in a separate folder, with references and named sources, hoping it would assist Field and the other GASP officers in the decision-making process.
“We need to score brownie points with this one,” Harper said, both palms resting on the manila folder as she looked around the table at us.
Fiona nodded, then got up and went to another bookshelf, returning with an armful of dusty, leather-bound catalogs. Avril instinctively rolled, then rubbed her eyes.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” she groaned, feigning a collapse on the table.
“Harper is right, and Caia made a good point earlier,” Fiona replied. “We need to find some mention of a Druid delegation that crash-landed on Neraka. Or at least try. It doesn’t all have to be done tonight, but we need to show them we tried.”
“We showed initiative,” Scarlett chuckled.
“But we totally did!” Fiona insisted, putting the catalogs on top of the other registries. “If we want to get ourselves to Neraka, we have to push hard.”
“Speaking of which!” Avril straightened her back, index finger in the air, demanding our attention. “How do we get nominated tomorrow?”
“Senior GASP officers are usually the first to put recruit names forward,” I answered, stretching my arms out and reveling in the sound of my joints cracking and my muscles relieving some tension.
“That’s not a guarantee that anyone will mention us.” Scarlett sighed.
“What makes you think they won’t? We’re damn good at what we do!” Harper muttered, moving her head around to loosen her neck muscles. She then took one of the catalogs for inspection.
“What if we put each other’s names forward, too?” I asked. “On top of what senior officers might or might not do about us. And our parents might recommend us, as well. Or they might not. They may prefer us on Tenebris, slightly safer, within the galaxy where the enemy is known, rather than all the way out there on Neraka… Why not put ourselves into the nominee pool? I’m pretty sure we aced our training screenings the other day, and we’re doing this research work now, too. Might as well speak up.”
The girls stopped their page turning to look at me. One by one, smiles stretched on their faces. They all gave me a conspiratorial nod. I grinned, then put my hand out over the table, palm down. They put theirs on top of mine, to seal the deal.
“Perfect,” I said. “We all want the Neraka mission more than we want the Tenebris one, clearly, so let’s help each other out and kick the ass of whatever evil is plaguing that planet.”
“Deal.” Harper winked.
We kept digging through the travel logs for another hour or so. We couldn’t find any mention of a Druid delegation crash-landing on Neraka. There were plenty of entries on Druids visiting neighboring fae stars and a couple of other planets I’d never heard of, deeper in the In-Between, but none had recorded an incident on Neraka.
Whether they’d chosen not to disclose it or they weren’t the Druids we were looking for, we had nothing to certify that Rewa was telling the truth regarding the way the Exiled Maras had acquired the swamp witch magic.
It didn’t mean she’d lied, either. But what I couldn’t verify, I had a harder time believing or giving the benefit of the doubt. Scarlett was the first to doze off with her head on one of the books, followed by Avril.
I left the report folder with Harper and departed the Druid Archive to get at least a couple hours of sleep before sunrise. I didn’t want to be groggy or late for the council meeting in the morning, and I knew my body well enough to appreciate the positive effect that a minimum of two hours of uninterrupted sleep would have.
Caia
(Daughter of Grace & Lawrence)
I reached my floor and walked down the main hallway leading to my room. There was a set of smaller service stairs at the end, coming down from the platform three levels up. My room was seven doors away when footsteps on the service staircase caught my attention.
Blaze came down, still in his wedding tux, followed by Rewa. He was carrying a couple of fresh blankets and a pitcher of water, and he said something just as he reached the floor. The Mara giggled. They looked like they’d spent the past four or five hours together, since I’d last seen them.
I held my breath and kept walking, determined not to show any emotion. I thoroughly disliked the situation, but it was too late for me to turn back or hide somewhere.
Blaze saw me and stilled for a moment, Rewa right behind him. She craned her neck and blinked a couple of times as my gaze met hers, but didn’t show any other reaction. Having Blaze by her side seemed natural to her, as if he belonged there, and it bothered the hell out of me.
They both walked toward me, as Blaze’s room was two doors down to the left from mine. I gave them a polite nod as I passed by, still holding my breath. He didn’t say anything, but I could almost feel him turning his head and looking at me.
I didn’t want to show any interest. I didn’t want to see any of this.
Blaze and I weren’t close at all, and I wanted to convince myself that I was simply being protective of my fellow Shadians and GASP-mates in the presence of a foreign creature like Rewa. He seemed to have gotten friendly with her fast.
But something tugged at my heart as I opened the door to my room, and I knew—I wasn’t being protective. I simply didn’t like the attention he was giving her. He was gorgeous and fiery, and I was downright attracted to him. I saw Rewa as potential competition, and I immediately shook the thought out of my head, alarmed by my own reaction.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw them both going into his room.
&nbs
p; I had to keep a clear head and focus on the mission at hand. Neraka was my top objective, and our research on Rewa’s people and my capabilities would get me there. I went into my room and closed the door behind me, leaning against it for a minute.
I breathed out, but the unpleasant feeling that Rewa’s presence gave me did not go away. I rolled my eyes and poured myself a glass of water, then slipped into the shower, hoping the steam would help me fall asleep faster.
It didn’t. I tossed and turned, mentally clashing with myself until I reached some common ground with my emotions. I couldn’t turn off my dislike of Rewa, but I could channel it into investigating her, into keeping an eye on her and making sure I’d be there if she proved to be a liar or worse.
It was the only thing I could do, anyway, since I didn’t even know whether Blaze was simply being super nice to her or whether he had other intentions. We’d never had a single conversation that might even hint at something ever happening between us, so I couldn’t assume anything regarding his feelings.
Especially not when I could barely understand mine. I’d never felt like this about anyone before.
Harper
(Daughter of Hazel & Tejus)
The GASP council meeting started early in one of the halls on Luceria’s fifth level. We were all gathered there, Shadians and Eritopians who had pledged their strength to protecting supernaturals across the multiverse. Field sat at the head of the massive mahogany table, joined by Aida, Derek, Sofia, Lucas, Xavier, and Draven. We gathered around, about fifty of us in total around the oval table—senior officers, seasoned agents, and new recruits alike.
I sat near Caia, Fiona, Avril, and Scarlett, ready to uphold our pact to nominate each other for Neraka if we had to. Our parents were on the other side, a mixture of humor and curiosity twinkling in their eyes as they looked at us. They probably had some idea about what the girls and I had been planning.
Blaze had made it back from Mount Zur just in time, using one of the flying horses that my sister kept in the stables downstairs rather than flying back in dragon form. After the war, the species had dwindled, so Serena had gotten involved in a complex conservation effort that had helped replenish the flying horse population to the point where the creatures could be used by most households on Calliope.
The fire dragon chose a seat near us, flanked by Caia on one side and Heron on the other. Patrik, Serena, Jax, and Hansa were farther to our right and closer to the head of the table, accompanied by Jovi, Anjani, Vita, and Bijarki. The newlyweds looked exhausted, hogging large coffee mugs and frequently moving their heads around to relieve some of the tension in their necks. Judging by the love pouring out of them, Jovi and Anjani had consummated their wedding night and then some, but didn’t get that lazy breakfast in bed that they’d probably planned for, given Rewa’s arrival.
The Exiled Mara sat at the other end of the table, flanked by Jax’s wards on both sides. She didn’t seem very comfortable, but, then again, she was surrounded by Maras who would gladly cut off her head if she made the wrong move. Her people had certainly left their mark on Eritopia.
Incubus servants brought out pitchers of water, hot coffee, and fresh blood, along with a selection of pastries and fresh fruit for the non-vampires in our ranks.
“I hope you don’t mind. I know we don’t normally serve food during our meetings.” Serena smiled. “I figured we could all use a little pick-me-up, given the intensity of the last twelve hours and everyone’s tired faces. Mine included!”
She was right. We all looked like hell in the aftermath of a wedding party loaded with spiced rosewater and little to no sleep. I rubbed my eyes and took out the report we’d compiled in the Druid Archives last night, ready to pass it along to Derek and Field when needed.
“Rewa.” Derek began the conversation. “Before we can determine our next course of action, you need to tell us more about Neraka and your people, as well as the circumstances of these disappearances and efforts to find those gone missing.”
Rewa nodded, then straightened her back, placing her hands on the table.
“Neraka is slightly smaller than Calliope in circumference,” she said, “and it orbits three stars. We call them suns but, technically speaking, the largest of them is the center of our galaxy, and the other two stars are large, bright, and close enough that we stopped making the distinction. Our planet has three moons, which are small satellites with rich crystal deposits that give off different colored hues at night. The weather is good and gentle in the summer, but cold and unforgiving in the winter. There are mountains and valleys, stony ridges and dark gorges, many rivers and lakes, deep forests, and active volcanoes. It is a world like many others, inhabited by Imen, creatures who look like you and me but live shorter lives, raise animals, inhabit small villages, and hunt and gather for sustenance.”
“Were the Imen happy to see you, when you first made it to Neraka?” Jax lifted an eyebrow, clearly ready to take her on another round of questioning. Hansa sat next to him, quietly watching the exchange.
“No, milord.” Rewa sighed. “I would be lying if I said they were. It was hard in the beginning, from what my parents told me. Many years of fighting and territorial squabbles passed before our people could finally settle in peace. The Imen did not like the mountains much, mainly because of how rough the winters got around them, so that’s where we built our cities. We evolved; we adapted.”
“Did you feed off the Imen?” Sofia asked.
“I did not, ma’am,” she replied. “But my forefathers did, over the course of a few decades. They didn’t kill many, but still, the Imen did not like it. Frankly, after what my people had been through already over such selfishness and greed, they’d gotten tired of it, too. There were no swamp witches to save us the second time around, so we had to find a way to make peace with the locals. In the end, my people swore off the Imen blood, and turned to animals for sustenance. I’ve never had the blood of an Iman, and nor has anyone else in my generation.”
“What about the rule of law?” Jax took a sip from his cup of blood, his eyes fixed on the Exiled Mara.
“Very strict, milord. Those who hurt Imen, who feed on them against their will, are immediately imprisoned. Those who kill Imen are executed on the spot. It is part of our peace treaty with the Imen. We cannot tolerate violent creatures in our midst. We cannot control them, either, but we can at least make an example out of them.”
“And the disappearances?” Draven leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table.
“The first of our people vanished two years, three months, and five days ago.” Rewa sighed. “At first, we thought they’d just run off to start new lives somewhere, but then children started disappearing as well. Our city is less than a mile away from a cluster of dark gorges where people have gone missing before, but never so many over such a short period of time. Nevertheless, we thought they might hold the answer to our questions. The scouts we sent to check never returned, either. One by one, our people vanished. It got to the point where the notion of a foreign and hostile entity lurking in the darkness began circulating. It’s truly a mystery, and I don’t know what else to tell you about it.”
“Were any bodies recovered?” Jax asked.
“None whatsoever, milord.” Rewa shook her head. “We asked the families of the missing for details of the last time they’d been seen, but nothing concrete came up. Whether they left the city on their own or were abducted from their homes remains unknown. The last Exiled Mara to disappear was Sienna, the daughter of Rowan Roho. House Roho is one of the five Houses in charge of my city, Azure Heights. The disappearances do not discriminate. The rich and poor are taken alike. But Sienna was my best friend…”
The Exiled Mara choked up, tears brimming in her eyes.
“We grew up together. I’m the firstborn of my House, and so is… so was Sienna,” she added, her voice trembling. “We were going to inherit Azure Heights. We live good lives there, milord, you have to believe me. We’re peaceful and happ
y. We love our culture and fashion. We throw season balls and celebrate the little pleasures of life as best as we can… It’s not fair for our species to dwindle like this, when we’ve done nothing to deserve it. We live full lives, and some of the Imen have even chosen to live among us because of our prosperity and our beautiful customs. None of the Maras who have gone missing did anything wrong. Especially the children—they wouldn’t hurt a fly!”
Her shoulders slumped, and she leaned against the back of her chair, waiting for GASP’s senior officers to say something. A minute went by in absolute silence, accompanied by meaningful glances among ourselves, before Derek cleared his throat.
“As was suggested last night,” he said, “we should send a team to Neraka to investigate, and an intervention team to Tenebris. Both are issues that GASP needs to address, for different reasons. The Tenebris operation is part of our alliance with Eritopia, our commitment to support the Druids in rebuilding their world and achieving peace across all twenty kingdoms. Neraka, on the other hand, is a call we should answer, as it is GASP’s mission to provide assistance to those in need, supernatural or otherwise.”
“I agree.” Field nodded. “I’d recommend focusing strength and tactics into the Tenebris intervention team, and a diverse selection of GASP agents in an investigative effort for Neraka.”
“Indeed,” Xavier said. “We can start with a reconnaissance team, keep a communications channel open with them via Telluris, and, once they gather more information, we can then send some intervention forces to assist in the capture and destruction of those responsible for these disappearances.”
Hums and nods of approval came from around the table, except from Jax. He glanced at Rewa, then shifted his focus to Derek and Field.
“I need to lead this recon team,” the Lord of Maras said bluntly. “It’s my duty, to both my people and GASP, to make sure that we know what we’re getting ourselves into and that none of our agents get hurt in the process. The tales that Rewa has told us so far seem nice and peachy, but I will not believe it until I see it with my own eyes.”
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