Halfblood Heritage

by Rheaume, Laura

  “It could have been just a group of smugglers,” said Scythe, wishing that they had more to go on.

  “You’re right. It could be another dead end, but it’s our only lead right now. My people are still hunting, so something else may still turn up. Although, we won’t know until I call in.” Grant had reluctantly placed his phone on the pile of traceable devices they had left at their first stop. They traveled very light now, with the minimum of gear. Each person had just their clothes, which they had closely checked, and one backpack.

  “So we’re heading for the gate?”

  “No, she was able to identify the trucks from their tags; we’re headed to the warehouse of the company that operated one of them. I’m hoping that there we can find out what the contents of the shipment were.”

  “If the Youngs were there, we’ll know it,” said Scythe. “If we don’t find something, what else have we got?”

  “Not much. Your Han lead fizzled out. He was hit with a variety of serious charges as a result of the shooting; he was returned to the city the day after you disappeared, incarcerated but not even interrogated before he disappeared. There are transfer orders, fake of course, and record of his removal from the detention area. However, he never arrives at the indicated location, and my people can’t locate him. Unfortunately, this type of disappearance is all too typical for this whole operation. As for other leads, we can recheck some of the suspected places from Lena’s records with your enhanced senses. We might catch something she missed. Although I don’t recommend it unless we are totally out of options, we can always use your little trick on a number of people, suspects that we couldn’t get any hard evidence on. For example, people operating or giving clearance for departures from the gates would be...”

  “But the more I use it...”

  “Yeah, it’s not a good idea. If you were Human, you would be working for the government and it would be highly classified. As a Kin with that talent, I’d be surprised if they’d let you near anyone significant again. Certainly, they wouldn’t let you in the city again.”

  “They’d probably just kill me.”

  “I didn’t want to be as blunt as that, but, yes, I suspect that is the truth. I don’t know why your own leadership hasn’t used you. Kin society must be very different from ours.”

  “To be honest, I don’t know what they’d do. I don’t think anyone outside of the Blades knows, but I’m not sure.”

  “A secret like that would be very hard to keep.”

  Scythe shrugged, “I guess.”

  Scythe looked out the window at the buildings and people, safe from recognition as a non-Human behind dark, tinted windows. He had seen more of the city in the last day than he had in the three years he lived there. Like he had when he visited the bordertowns, he soaked up every detail: his eyes roamed the streets and dug in every corner and shadow like a hungry wolf. He snatched onto people striding along the street alone or in pairs, nodding or smiling at each other as they passed. So simple and easy, those polite little nods strangers gave to each other in Menelaus. He was fascinated by them for some reason. Here the wariness and cynicism born of a harsher life in the bordertowns was missing. Well, not missing, but hidden. He'd seen them both, plenty of times, but he didn't see them now. It became a game to him, to see if he could catch a glimpse of a suspicious look.

  At a corner cafe, small round tables were filled with chatting, careless people. A young, good-looking waitress hovered at one table, laughing and writing on a small pad of paper before whisking off. She held up two fingers for the patrons at another table and nodded her head. One young man who had been talking to her grinned and his friend patted him on the back.

  Grant, noticing the object of his attention, asked, “Do you have places like that in your city? I never heard of any.”

  “In Poinsea? Sure, but it's not exactly the same. There is nothing outside, except for the parks. People do get together like that, but mostly with their families in their homes or with other employees in rec rooms at work. There are a few places where people can get together, but most of them are formal meeting halls. Something like this, a separate place outside the home, isn’t really valued.”

  “Why not?” Grant asked.

  “Well, if someone is a friend, you would invite them to your home or you would be invited to their home. That is the most welcome, hospitable place. Meeting outside seems, I don’t know, cold or something, or maybe sneaky, like you don’t want your family to know what you are up to. For the Kin, family and friends are everything; impressing people you don’t know or people who aren’t important enough to be invited to your home just isn’t...um...”

  “It isn’t a priority?”

  “Not even that. It doesn’t even occur to them. It’s like, ‘Why would I go to a place with a bunch of strangers? They aren’t my family.’”

  “So the Kin don’t care about people outside of their own personal circle?”

  “Well, you are talking about two different things. Anyone who is Kin is part of, like, a large family. So, anyone you meet is a ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ to you in that way, but they aren’t close to you. It’s kind of weird because they are like family at a deep level, in a way that can’t be broken. At the same time, you don’t love them the way you love your family...”

  “Or friends,” added Grant.

  “Right,” nodded Scythe. “In this case, though, ‘family’ includes them. The translation for ‘friends’ in Kin explains how close those people are for you. In Human, a friend can be someone you really love, or it could be someone you hang out with every now and then, or it could be someone you hardly ever see, but are on good terms with. A friend can also be someone who is close to one of your friends, who you hardly know. For the Kin, though, most of those people would be just ‘Kin’ to them. The closest word for ‘friend’ means ‘chosen family,’ so it is only used with someone you really love. Everyone else is Kin.”

  “It sounds like the whole Kin race, I don’t know, care about each other. Don’t they ever hate each other?”

  “Honestly, right now their hate is focused on someone else,” replied Scythe, grinning a little at Grant’s reaction, before continuing, “but, to be honest, sure, everyone doesn't get along all the time. There are fights and rivalries and everything else between people; it’s not a perfect society or anything.”

  “That’s a relief,” sighed Grant.

  “Why?”

  “Because I was starting to get a little jealous,” he laughed. “I can’t imagine a society where people aren’t squabbling about one thing or another.”

  “Humans aren’t like that,” argued Scythe.

  “Sometimes they definitely are.”

  “Yeah, but mostly, on a daily basis, people get along.”

  “On a daily basis, the opposite is also true.”

  “I think that is because Humans like to be independent, of their family, of their society. They like their rewards to be their own; they don’t share well. The Kin are more group oriented. As long as the job gets done, it doesn’t matter who does it, because everyone benefits.”

  “Interesting. Ah, we are almost there,” he said, pointing. “It is around this corner and about halfway down the block. Can we pick up my agent?”

  “We’ll have to clear her.”

  He nodded, “Okay.” He pulled the car over at the corner and a woman stepped away from the doorway of a closed shop, lifting her hand in greeting to Grant in the driver’s seat. Seeing Scythe in the passenger seat, she reached out and opened up the back door, pausing when she saw the two Blades moving over to make room for her.

  “Get in,” prompted Grant.

  “Um, okay, sure,” she answered, clearly uncomfortable. She slid onto the backseat, pulling on her safely belt and closing the door. “Sir, how are things going? I was expecting the van...”

  “Change of plans, Harmony. We’re trying to get under the radar. Hold still, they need to check you for devices. Hand over your phone and dat
a reader.”

  Passing the electronics to Pride, who began to work on them, Leandra brought her head close to the woman, who seemed to shrink in on herself. After a few seconds, the Kin woman said, “I don’t sense anything. How do we know she wasn’t watched?”

  “We don’t. Let’s go,” said Pride, placing the powerless devices on the floor.

  “Hey, I need those...” Harmony objected.

  “Okay, Grant,” Scythe prompted.

  Grant pulled the car back into traffic. “What do we have, Har?

  “I think the building is empty, but I’m not sure. Right up there, the white one. Turn in at the ramp. It curves around to the back.” She turned to Scythe, “My name is Harmony. I’m a friend of Lena and Ian.”

  “Scythe. Hi.” He pretended not to notice how fast her heart was beating, or how she stiffened at the sound of his name. “Thanks for your help. This is Leandra and Pride.” She offered her hand to them and they each awkwardly shook it. “Do you know what could have happened to them?”

  “Um, no, but I’m really concerned. They ran into too many bodies and missing people on this job.”

  Scythe’s made sure his face was still, but he knew that the Kin at least would be able to detect the tension that was building in him. He repeated, “Do you know where they could be?”

  “No, but I hope this warehouse helps us out,” she pointed past him, addressing Grant. “Right here.”

  “Drive past, Grant,” interrupted Scythe.

  “This is it,” he protested, slowing the car.

  “Drive past. We have something we need to do first,” insisted Scythe, his voice hardening. “She’s lying.”

  Chapter 22

  Leandra took hold of a surprised Harmony by the shoulders, pulling her back against the seat.

  The tension around Harmony flared higher, and it showed in her high pitched voice, “No, I’m not. Grant! What’s going on?”

  “Are you sure? She and Lena worked closely on several assignments...”

  “Find us someplace to stop, Grant. Someplace without any people around.” Scythe, feeling excitement grow in the pit of his stomach, undid his seat belt and turned all the way around. “You know where they are.”

  “I don’t,” she lied, “but, I’m almost sure we’ll find information at the warehouse.”

  “Who took them?”

  “How should I know? I haven’t seen her in weeks!” Harmony’s words raced out of her mouth.

  “Look, I can tell you are lying, and I’d rather not have to hurt you really bad to get at what you know...” Scythe’s voice changed, and a little of the heat he had been striving to contain started to spread through his body. “But I absolutely will do whatever it takes to find my friends and that includes keeping you alive long enough for us to get what we want from you.” He felt his skin start to tingle, a tantalizing sensation that he tried to ignore.

  “Scythe,” Grant nervously interrupted, pulling the car into a driveway that passed between two warehouses. “Are you sure she’s lying? I’m not comfortable with...”

  “She knows, Grant. She’s involved. If it were Kin missing, her life would already be forfeit. As it is, she is free to go, once we find them.” He looked at the woman and calculated. Then he guessed, “The warehouse is a trap for us?”

  She clamped her mouth shut, but her wide eyes told him everything. The car stopped abruptly. Grant shoved it into park and turned around, his expression suddenly intense.

  “Harmony, answer him. Do you know what happened to Lena? Is there a trap waiting for us?” When she didn’t answer, but just shook her head from side to side, Grant snapped, “Damn. Get her out of the car.”

  They all got out, and Leandra easily pulled Harmony from the backseat as the second car came up next to them. Smoke rolled down the window, “This it?”

  “No, we think it might be a trap. We could have company soon, can you check it out?”

  “Yup. Have our driver give us a turn around the block. We can check out the warehouse, too, if we know which it is.” He gave Scythe a second look, “You okay? You look...”

  Scythe interrupted him, leaning down to speak to the woman at the wheel, “Can you circle the area a bit? We suspect a trap. If it looks doable, let our people check out the warehouse. We just passed it, number 5367, a white building.”

  She nodded. Her eyes touched on Harmony and then traveled to her boss. “That okay, Grant?”

  “Go ahead and keep an eye out, Fiola.”

  “Wait,” Smoke put up a hand in front of her before turning back to Scythe. “What's going on with you?”

  “I’m fine, just a little tense.”

  “Well, keep it together, okay? You have your dose?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got it,” Scythe answered, tapping the pocket that held the medication he’d been carrying around but hadn’t had to use yet. “Don’t worry, I’m okay.” He did feel okay. More than okay, now that they were getting somewhere...

  “We’ll be right back. Leandra, keep your eye on him.”

  When she nodded after giving Scythe an appraising once over, Smoke waved the driver on. The car circled theirs and returned to the main street.

  Scythe asked Grant, “How do you want to do this?”

  Grant shook his head, “Harmony, you’ve got a choice right now. If you don’t help them out right away, you are going to be really sorry later. You may even be hurt. Are you ready for that?”

  “I...I don’t know what you are talking about, honestly, Grant. I checked out the gate, found the discrepancy, and followed up until I found the warehouse. I’ve checked it out and it seems empty.” She paused, eyeing the Blades, “Don’t let them touch me.”

  “It’s not empty,” said Scythe, his fingers curled in tight fists, “and she knows where they are.”

  “I don’t!” she yelled, starting to shake. “I have no idea.”

  “Give me five minutes and I’ll have it. Get me the belt,” said Leandra, pulling Harmony over to a stack of huge spools outside the closed warehouse door.

  Pride, Scythe and Grant followed her and the border patrol officer pulled off his belt and handed it to Scythe when he gestured for it.

  Squeezing the leather strap in his hands, Scythe tried to calm his growing excitement, but he found it difficult. The woman’s smell of fear and her heightening panic were chipping away at his self-control. He tried to think of a way to calm himself. Scythe said in Kin, “I could get it easy if I use my gift.”

  “Yeah, but then she would know, and we’d have to silence her, right? I mean, are you going to let someone who obviously works for our enemies walk away with that information?” asked Leandra, not expecting an answer. She took and threaded the belt through the cable on the spool and then drew it around Harmony.

  Scythe felt his stomach turn when Leandra cinched the belt to hold the woman in place. He clenched his jaw at the memory of an insidious sense of helplessness, one that still occasionally haunted his nights. A chill crawled its way up his spine.

  “Who cares? I say we kill her anyway,” said Pride, cracking his knuckles.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Look at Grant. Besides, we won’t need to, because she’s a lightweight. Watch. Pride, you and Scythe hold her, and tell Grant to ask the questions.” Leandra pulled out a large knife and held it up to Harmony’s face before quickly using it to cut open her shirt.

  The woman screeched, shaking harder and repeating her earlier statements. Scythe closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing and not the smell of sweat and the trembling of the arm in his hand.

  Grant said, although he was clearly uncomfortable, “Just tell us, Har. Where are they?”

  Scythe’s eyes flew open when the woman jerked and then froze with a gasp. He saw that Leandra had placed the edge of the blade against Harmony’s skin, just below her bra, her cool eyes fastened on Harmony’s face. She started to move the blade along the skin, until it was just below the woman’s breast.

  He swallo
wed, mesmerized by the blatant threat.

  Leandra whispered to him in Kin, “Hold on, Scythe, just a minute more and it will be over. I’m not going to hurt her.” He looked across at Pride, who was watching him closely. He focused on the man’s eyes, taking a deep breath and nodding.

  Harmony frantically looked around, and when her eyes found his face, Scythe’s attention was pulled away from his friend and drawn like a magnet to her panicked gaze. Something in her eyes made him feel stronger and more confident.

  His shoulders dropped and he had no problem saying smoothly, “No one is coming for you. Even if they do, they’ll be too late. The only thing that will save you from being hurt is giving us the answer right now.”

  The woman’s mouth moved, her eyes jumping from Scythe to Leandra to Grant, but she didn’t speak. Leandra shrugged and started to press on the blade. The smell of blood reached Scythe’s nose just as the woman began to whimper, “I can’t. I can’t. Please, just stop.”

  The scent of her blood tingled in the back of his throat and made him lightheaded; his eyes fixed on the small red drop that had bubbled up on the edge of the blade. The sounds around him started to get fuzzy.

  From a distance, he noticed that Grant leaned forward, pale but determined, “Tell me, Har. Where are they?”

  The woman began to cry outright, “I can’t. I’m sorry, but I can’t. I just...” She let her head drop, her whole body sagging against the belt. “I won’t, because I can’t...”

  Leandra grabbed the woman’s hair and looked into her terrified but determined face. “Shit, she’s gonna take it. Look, she’s even ready to die.” Her eyes cut sharply to Scythe, and her eyebrows drew together in concern. “This will take too long.”