“The proof you seek will be Thomas finding the Book of Concord,” the Doctor said.
“You can give us proof right now, Doctor,” Hoormel Kian said with a smile. “We have discovered a sign in our lands.” The room hushed. “A true sign from the Oracle,” he said. “Once your boy decodes it, we will be convinced, and reassured, won't we, brothers?”
The fauns murmured their approval, the Azure Guards seeming the most excited about the prospect of the test.
“We will, of course, understand if you decline this invitation, Doctor.”
Thomas gulped. The Doctor continued to clench his fists. Somehow and even with his mind-reading abilities, Thomas sensed that the Doctor had been outmaneuvered by Hoormel Kian. The Doctor exchanged a questioning look with Thomas, and he was waiting for him to decide.
Thomas overlooked the assembly as all eyes were on him. The Azure Guard fauns were openly defying him to accept and the others were expectantly waiting for his decision. Minister Idar lifted a questioning eyebrow at him; he had said in his office that if he was the best the Guardians had to offer there would be war for sure.
He had screwed up that interview, and he couldn't screw up again.
Tony winked at him, Elise pursed her lips, and suddenly he felt that the only one in the whole room who doubted that he would take on the challenge was himself. Wanting or not, he was the Cypher and he had the first sign already. Backing down from this challenge would hurt Guardians Inc., its reputation and its mission. Maybe irreparably.
He made up his mind.
Thomas nodded.
The Doctor nodded back at him with a mix of pride, relief, and concern. “We will give the proof you request, Minister,” the Doctor said, “and then maybe we can move onto more important things like protecting the world.”
“Perfect!” Hoormel Kian clapped loudly. “Let's go then.”
“Thomas hasn't rested in three days, Minister,” the Doctor said, but the tiger and the fauns were already walking toward the door.
“There is no rest for the wicked, Doctor. You should know that by heart,” Hoormel Kian growled without looking back, and many of the fauns let out a chuckle. “You have two hours. See you in Ethipothala Falls.”
The Doctor waited until the fauns had left the room to talk with the officers behind him. The last one to leave was Minister Idar, who gave Thomas a nod before leaving the room.
“Commander Agrila…” the Doctor told the cheetah as soon as the door closed. “ I need as many fauns as you can muster in the vicinity of Ethipothala, and the human elements on alert, ready to lend support if needed.”
Agrila took off in a stride, already relaying commands through his wristpadd and comm.
“What about my Watchmen?” Commander Rodriguez stepped forward. “I can have the Watchmen of Nallamalla Forest on site in fifteen.”
“Humans will not be welcome, Commander, but keep your teams on alert.” The Doctor turned toward the stout man. “Clicker…”
“I know!” the stout man shouted as he reached behind his chair and pulled a belt full of tools around his waist. “Call the Indian Prime Minister and set up a security area around the falls.”
“Yes and please—”
“Set up a no-fly zone over the area, got it.”
“Right Clicker, and—”
Clicker turned toward the Doctor. “Clear out Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, monitor all communications in and out from India, evacuate human population from the proximity if necessary, create alternate events to distract public attention, contact the Clans and Fae that have interests close to the event, and come up with a plausible explanation for the blockade. Am I new here, Doctor?” Clicker turned away, the tools around his belt clacking with the sway of his walk.
As Clicker passed, a strong smell of earth and grass floated up Thomas’s nostrils.
“And Clicker…” the Doctor called after him.
Clicker raised his arms in exasperation without looking back. “I’m moving the surveillance satellites! I know!” He slammed the door as he left the room.
“Well,” the Doctor turned to Thomas, “now all we need to do is get ready for whatever the Minister has planned for us.”
“Couldn’t you read his mind?” Thomas asked. Tony looked surprised, his brow furrowing as he tried to gauge the reaction from the others.
“I could, yes,” the Doctor said, rubbing his hands. He turned away and began walking to the door.
“He reads minds?” Thomas heard Tony softly asking Bolswaithe.
“Doctor!” Thomas raced to catch up with him before he left the room. “What did you see?”
The Doctor stopped at the door. He bit his lip as if he were contemplating whether or not to tell Thomas. “All he was thinking about…” he finally said, “were different ways to kill you all.”
Ethipothala Falls
Thomas checked the images Bolswaithe had sent him in preparation for their trip on his wristpadd.
The Ethipothala Waterfalls were one of the most beautiful in the state of Andra Pradesh in India. Three streams combine their waters, and the waters fall for seventy feet along stone ledges of different sizes creating a spectacular staircase of moving water.
At the bottom, the waters form a lagoon that drains into a river that meanders peacefully through the region. This would be a place that Thomas would have loved to visit, but now he dreaded being here.
“Many great clans share the area and the Nallamalla Forest close by. Two of them are openly supportive to the Azure Guards.”
“Don’t tell me,” Elise said, “the Darshere and the Ambuu Clans.”
“Which ones?” Thomas still hadn’t memorized all the clan names from the list Elise had given him.
“Tigers and boars,” Elise said. “Tigers fauns were considered powerful spirits in Hindu mythology until the Guardians began to undermine their influence. They would love to go back to the old ways.”
“And the boars?”
“They just go along for the ride, I guess.”
They had changed their uniforms for combat fatigues and full body armor coverage. The armor was light but still cumbersome at the joints. The engineers were still working on a full deployable helmet based on the electromagnetic design, but it was still months away, so they each carried a combat helmet.
Apart from the standard dart guns, Thomas carried the nunchakus in a pouch on his belt and the sword on his side. Elise carried her short sword, and Bolswaithe had a Bo stick strapped on his back.
Henri, as always, relied on his strength, while Tony looked ready for an all-out war; he carried his dart gun at the hip, two swords on his back, and a fully auto submachine gun on his other hip. Bolswaithe had convinced him to leave the belt with grenades, flash bangs and the auto loading combat shotgun in the armory.
“We are on a mission of peace,” Bolswaithe told him at the armory, holding the shotgun Tony wanted to take.
“You heard what the Doctor said,” Tony said. “Hoormel Kian is just looking for a way to kill us.”
“But we were invited on a peaceful pretense. All other fauns will be watching our actions, and we can't go in ready for war.”
“Should we leave our dart guns too?” Tony retorted. “Maybe you would like to take the picnic basket?”
“Those are Fire Team standard issue,” Bolswaithe said, shaking the shotgun. “This is not.”
“He's right, Tony,” Elise said. “The other clans know the equipment our teams carry. It's bad enough that we’re carrying swords instead of combat knives, but we are a special team.”
Bolswaithe let go of the shotgun. Tony exchanged a look of concern with Thomas. “All right,” Tony said, putting the shotgun down, “but this one is standard issue too, and I'm taking just one full magazine. No overkill there.” He grabbed the short submachine gun and looked at Thomas. “Any objections?”
“Not from me,” Thomas said. He knew he had the final word on whatever decision they took, and he really wanted Tony to both feel safe
and to keep him safe.
“Let's go,” Bolswaithe said, grabbing another full magazine and placing it on his belt. “In case you need one…” he told Tony.
“Insertion is through Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, about seven miles away from the Falls.” Bolswaithe led them through a corridor on the right. “That's the Watchmen team base of operations in that region.”
They went through a door and into a concrete corridor deep inside the Dam. Doctor Franco, Commander Agrila, Killjoy, and a couple of faun Watchmen were already waiting for them.
“This way,” Commander Agrila led the way. The cheetah faun had changed his combat uniform for more standard faun clothing, but Thomas could see the holster belt under his tunic. “I have thirty three agents on site. All fauns,” he said to Thomas. “We will only take action if you or the Doctor gives the order. We are outnumbered out there. If we act without good reason we will damage Guardians relations forever.”
“What would be a good reason to act, Commander?” Tony asked.
“Under the circumstances, only a direct threat to the Cypher's life,” Commander Agrila replied.
“What about us?” Tony asked.
“Only one of us isn't expendable,” the Doctor answered with a smirk and then looked over at Tony. “You can think that twice, Mr. Della Francesca.”
Tony leaned in closer to the Doctor.
“All right. I'll call you Tony from now on…,” the Doctor said.
“So, you do read minds! Ain’t that something?” Tony said with a laugh.
“Yes, Tony. Forgive me for all those times that I’ve read your mind,” the Doctor said.
“Well, uh…forgive me for all those times that you read my mind and saw something about you, Doctor.”
“Don't worry. ” The Doctor said, “But you still can't call me Doc.”
They left the bowels of the dam and boarded the van the Watchmen used for transport. Killjoy sat down beside Thomas while Henri flew just a couple of feet above it.
“You'll be fine, Thomas,” Killjoy whispered. “Rely on your teammates and your training.”
“Will you help us if things go bad?” Thomas asked.
“I will,” Killjoy said, “but I don't think I'll need to.” Thomas would have loved it if Killjoy lost her Vice Principal disguise. Her true form was really imposing, but he had never seen Killjoy in her true form outside the Five Treasures of Snow. Up there, in the mountain training Dojo she favored her true six-armed identity, but everywhere else, including inside of the Mansion she was the stout Vice-Principal Khanna Thomas had met so long ago in his Carlsbad high school. She had told them many times how important it was to hide as much as you could to your opponents. To downplay your strengths. It was a huge tactical advantage to hide her true nature until needed.
They continued the shot trip listening to a Watchman report about the Falls. Thomas’s mind wandered for a minute as he thought about his grandfather, and he wondered if he would hear the thunder-flash of his grandfather’s team when they stopped.
The car stopped in front of a ravine overlooking the Ethipothala Waterfalls, and all the fauns that were at the assembly and a couple dozen more were waiting for them.
When Thomas stepped from the car, he didn't need to wonder about Grandpa anymore. The circle of fauns opened to greet them.
There was no thunder-flash.
Morgan and his team were already there.
Gramps was embracing his new body and life. He looked like a medieval hero pulled out from a fantasy movie. He was dressed in leather pants and boots and his white shirt was made of wool. A long scabbard hung from his belt, and he rested his hand on the pommel of a sword. Unlike them, Gramps and his team wore no armor, not even a ring mail shirt.
As his grandfather turned to look at him, he recognized the face he had seen in the old photos his Gramps had shown him from his days in the Marine Corps. The Warmaster had given him back the toned body of a man in his late twenties, and the rugged looks of the man Gramps had been when he was a soldier. The Warmaster had really known how to lure Gramps to his side. He looked just like he did in one of those old pictures with his Marines squad—eager, ready for anything, and tough as nails. Thomas couldn’t feel anything but pride as he stared as his grandfather.
He also felt a surge of hope; maybe today he would be able to talk with him and explain everything Killjoy and Mneme had told him about the visions and what they really meant. He took a step forward, but the Doctor stopped him with his cane.
“What is the meaning of this?” the Doctor asked as Tony and Henri stepped in front of Thomas.
“It is about options, Doctor,” Hoormel Kian said as he stepped forward. Behind him a group of fauns displayed the Azure Guard pendant proudly. “You claim that you have a Cypher in your team, but we know for sure that there is a Cypher here,” he said, pointing at Morgan. Gramps wore the Azure Guard pendant around his neck. “And we know that this sign reader has the Fauns’ interests at heart.”
“Hello, Tom,” Morgan said casually. “How you’ve been?
Thomas stood frozen as he stared at his grandfather; he could see the softness of his grandpa’s eyes in his twenty-something-year-old face.
He resisted the urge to run to him, because of all the fauns around him, but also because of Gramps’s reaction to seeing him.
He hadn’t tried to reach for him.
Maybe everything Tony had told him was becoming true and Gramps had changed more than just on the outside.
The pride he had felt was replaced with apprehension.
“I’m okay, Gramps, and you?” he said as casually as he could.
“Gramps?” Hoormel Kian feigned surprise as he interrupted the exchange. “Is he your grandfather?” he asked. The other fauns seemed to take an interest.
“Yes, he is,” Thomas said.
“Now, please tell me what could possibly make a sibling stand against his ancestor? Are you under any duress, young man? Have the Guardians threatened you in any way?” Hoormel Kian asked.
For whatever reason, Thomas felt mesmerized by the tiger faun—his bright orange coat with black stripes, his long, sharp claws. “No duress, Minister,” Thomas said through gritted teeth. “It’s my choice to be a Guardian.”
“I see…” Hoormel Kian said. “If at any moment you feel you need to part with the Guardians and rejoin your family, the Darshere Clan is at your service.” He chuckled, and then bowed deeply at Thomas.
“Thank you, Minister,” Thomas returned the bow.
“Minister Kian,” the Doctor said, “you still haven’t told us what this is about.”
“Ah! It’s very easy, Doctor Franco. It is a contest. More than fifteen hundred years ago the Azure Guard gained control of the Book of Concord, and while you humans call it the beginning of the Dark Ages, it was a time of peace and prosperity for the Fauns. Even if you humans won’t accept it, you too lived simpler lives more in tune with nature.”
“It was also a time of Magic, too, including Wraith Magic,” the Doctor chimed in, “and of continued Wraith incursions. Have the Clans forgotten how many times the Guardians had to help you fight off the Wraith or empowered Fae? How many times Dragons took over your lands? We took care of them; the Guardians protected you, as well as humans from them.”
“Boogeymen. You’re trying to scare us with Boogeymen, but you’re forgetting that we’ve lived these last five hundred years under the foot of humanity. We have seen you take over the planet, despoil its resources, kill our brethren and our anchor species, and take over our lands. How many clans have disappeared because of humans? And directly behind them are the Guardians supposedly guiding them.”
“That is changing, Minister. This place and your Clan lands are proof. We are focusing humanity into protecting nature. We’ve brought species from the brink of extinction.”
“Oh yes, Doctor. We see your results with Mar-Safi. Your Cypher even denied her the honorable passing her Clan deserves. No, Doctor, not anymore. We have given the Guardi
ans our support and our faith for too long and for far too little in exchange. We need proof that the Guardians are deserving of that trust, or we will place it somewhere else.”
“The Clans have short memories,” the Doctor replied in a calm tone. “Have they already forgotten what the Warmaster did during World War II? The horrors he helped Hitler visit upon humans and Fauns alike. Have you forgotten, too, that the Clans themselves helped bring Hitler’s war machine down?”
“Supporting Hitler was a mistake,” Hoormel Kian said, “but only because the Lord Protector believed in human promises. You call him Warmaster, as if he was only interested in war. But under the Lord Protector’s guidance, Fauns and humans alike would find a more balanced path. And that, Doctor, is why we are here today. To see which of the two is more deserving of the Clans’ support.”
Hoormel Kian walked toward Morgan and placed a paw on his shoulder. “We could've let the Azure Guard take the sign, but we didn’t because we respect our treaties with the Guardians.” He motioned for Thomas to come forward to the overlooking point of the Falls. “You can confirm the Oracle’s magic can’t you, Cypher?”
Thomas gazed down at the waterfalls in all their magnificent beauty. In the middle of the cascade, as the water fell on top of a large ledge, he could sense the Oracle’s powerful signature behind the water curtain, but it was too far away to sense anything more. “I do,” he said. “It is a sign to the Book of Concord.”
“Then let’s have two hands reach for it,” Hoormel Kian announced. “And let the best one win.”
All the fauns fanned out, leaving the two teams in front of each other. Thomas’s heart pounded in his chest. He looked over at the Doctor, hoping he would intervene, but it seemed that there was no stopping whatever was about to happen. He looked over at his grandfather, his eyes pleading. He thought he saw a glimmer in Gramps’s eye, but it could have been the light. Thomas stood at the edge of the waterfalls and took a deep breath.
It was finally time to face off against him.
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