Chapter Fourteen

“Elara, wait!” Zafir exclaimed, attempting to block my way to the door. “You can’t handle such an enormous prison by yourself, nor are you in the right frame of mind to try! You’ve been awake all night—”

“I’m going.” I pushed Zafir out of my way and yanked open the door. “I may not be able to do anything about it personally, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing I can do.”

Zafir attempted to follow after me but I fused the door to its frame as I left. Sure, I’d been at the fighting arena for a good five hours and it was now the wee hours of the morning, but I wouldn’t let that of all things stop me. Especially not when I had a good idea who to go to.

I parked near Rel’s cafe and walked the rest of the way. The main floor was closed, but the lights upstairs were most certainly on. I ascended the stairs to the outer door of his apartment and knocked twice on the door, then waited.

A moment later, the door swung open to reveal…a mostly unclothed Rel. Underwear and an unfastened robe counted as clothes, right? Oh no, he’s hot…

“E— Lethe?” Rel questioned, bringing my attention back to his face. “What… Come inside.”

He stepped aside, and I silently took the invitation. When he opened his mouth to speak again, I motioned subtly to my visor, hoping he’d get the idea our conversation wasn’t private—and to do something about it if he could.

“I’ve already taken care of that.” Rel waved dismissively. “My question is why you’re here. I thought you’d be at the Embassy still, taking care of matters.”

Rel motioned, and I glanced in that direction to see a screen with the news on it—news that showed the rescued slaves being delivered to the Embassy in question.

“You’ve been stubborn about maintaining your ‘disguise’ and separating ‘Elara’ from ‘Lethe,’ so what changed?” Rel took a step closer and leaned down to peer at me, his glow turning a dark, almost black, blue-grey.

“I… You have many contacts among the different clans, right?” I asked quietly.

Something about my tone must have caught Rel’s attention, because he straightened, and his expression became more serious. He considered something for a moment before answering, “That I do. Are you thinking about taking an invitation off planet already?”

“I have intel that I’m not allowed to—and can’t realistically—act on.” I sighed and crossed my arms, shaking my head faintly. With or without voice modulation he clearly fucking knew who I was, so I figured I should just speak as myself. “I need you to deliver a message to someone who has the manpower and can act.”

“How much manpower?” Rel arched an eyebrow at me.

“Uhm…” I thought for a moment. “With Syldrari strength I’m not sure…but in humans, it would take a military offensive.”

“…one moment.” Rel walked over to a bookcase and pulled out what I thought was just a decoration, but it expanded into a blue-green communication device of some variety. After he was done conversing with whoever was on the other end, he glanced at me apologetically. “You won’t like who can help, but I’ll see to it that he behaves himself.”

“Who—” I sensed movement behind me and promptly turned, bringing my hands up instinctively to catch the blade of a sword between my hands. At first, it appeared to be merely a sword with no one wielding it—until the air rippled and the owner of the blade appeared. It took most of my self-control to keep lightning from arcing down the blade when I saw who was at the other end.

He, however, wasn’t having it. The Syldrari disguised as a human, again, twisted his sword out of.my grip and launched at me, the blade shooting past my head. I swiftly turned with a kick, which he caught in one hand, encompassing my entire ankle. He discarded his sword, and instead shifted to punch my gut. I knocked his hand away and carried through with my motion, spinning behind him and dropping into a sweep. He managed to bring me down with him, but I landed in top with a hand poised at his throat, electricity crackling around my fingers.

I sensed power welling up within the Syldrari as he snarled, but it was Rel of all people who spoke up, “Enough. Kindly refrain from destroying my apartment.”

“Humph. Is that all the strength you have?” The Syldrari under me scoffed.

“You were holding back, so I did as well.” My response got a deadly glare out of him. “Why would I waste my strength on someone who doesn’t take me seriously?”

“Lethe.” Rel stepped up beside me and offered me a hand. “Let him up.”

I hesitated before dismissing the electricity and letting Rel pull me to my feet. The other Syldrari got back to his feet with ease and adjusted his long coat, before turning to glower in my direction.

“She’s bringing us information. Settle down.” Rel stepped past me and toward the annoying Syldrari.

“You believe her?” The man asked, looking to Rel in disbelief.

“She’s telling the truth. Hear her out.” Rel pointed at a nearby seating area. “Sit. Both of you.”

“…fine, but if she lies, I will kill her.” The man scoffed.

“Oh yes, I’m sure you’d find it so thrilling to kill the dainty human you find so uninteresting,” I scoffed back, rolling my eyes within my visor as I plunked down in a seat. “I’ll cut to the chase. One of the Syldrari I rescued earlier tonight informed me that there is another, much larger prison in one of the territories north of here, and it one contains all Syldrari. Some appear to be simply prisoners, and others are being tested on. According to the rumors he heard while there, he believes there to be at least one queen imprisoned there, but some of the rumors he heard claim there to be five.

“From what he told me, the complex sounds just as large as some of the government’s smaller military installations. There could be a few hundred to a few thousand prisoners, and an unknown number of human guards and employees. There are also robotic defense systems patrolling the prison and its grounds. I’ve been ordered to stay far away from that place because I couldn’t possibly deal with the issue on my own.”

“Yet you wanted to do something.” Rel nodded faintly, then looked at the other Syldrari. “You know as well as I do that she isn’t lying.”

“Her source could have been.” The man shook his head faintly. “I refuse to send my people charging in without—”

“Do I look or sound like I’m asking you to go rushing in like an idiot?” I demanded hotly. “What I want is for someone to be able to determine on their goddamn own if it’s true—and act on it if it is. Considering you want me to keep my nose out of Syldrari business—”

“Is that what you call your antics from earlier tonight? ‘Keeping your nose out of our business?’”

“Would you prefer I’d left the Syldrari and rescued everyone else?” I snapped.

“…no. But your masters would have had an ulterior motive in—”

That was the last straw. I snarled, “Listen, you paranoid, xenophobic prick. I have a fucking job to do, if I don’t want being a ‘fuck puppet’ to become my job.”

“Being able to perform her job while upholding her personal morals is integral to her survival,” Rel added, turning to look at the annoying one. “She could be a great ally—”

“Why should I make concessions for one person who, in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t matter?” The Syldrari countered, eyeing Rel before looking at me. “Those who separate from the pack are the first to get picked off. That is the way of nature.”

“She isn’t asking for concessions and neither am I,” Rel answered before I could snap back. “You are needlessly antagonizing someone who could be a valuable ally to the Syldrari. She has been kind to us and given us information that others wouldn’t risk delivering. Only criminals need to fear crossing her path…and even then, a Syldrari could easily deal with her.” Rel glanced at me and added, “No offense.”

“None taken. I’m aware Syldrari are superior to humans in every way—and that’s why the slaves from tonight and this tale of another prison worry me so much.” I shook my head, forcing myself to calm down. “I don’t like the idea that they’ve found a way to capture and subdue Syldrari. Experiments are even worse. I know our government is trying to unlock the ways of chosen evolution, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they think you physically hold that key—or that they can take it.”

“See? She even accepts our superiority. And you wonder why she said you’re the xenophobic one…” Rel rubbed his temples. “Lethe has had a long night. Are you or aren’t you going to investigate? I’ll contact another clan if—”

“Fine. I’ll look into it.” The bitchy one snapped. “Anyone else is prone to politicize it, which is why you called me first. Right?”

“Ah so the lights are still on when Lethe is involved.” Rel tapped his own temple, smirking at the other Syldrari. “You’re correct. With a queen recently removed from this planet, another visiting, and rumors there are more hiding here, the other clans are scrambling for leverage.”

“Why this planet, though?” I muttered, getting an odd look from the bitchy one. “What? Females are rare in your species, right? And I’m under the impression queens can only be female. If that’s the case, isn’t it statistically improbable that there would be so many queens on this planet? After all, I would think being near the empire is dangerous for them.”

“‘I’m just a soldier’ she says…” Rel shook his head and shot me an amused smile. “If we’re talking statistics, yes. It’s strange for there to be more than one queen here. All queens who have visited this planet in the past are accounted for, which means any captive queens were previously undiscovered. That the Syldrari population hasn’t reacted to their presence, however…”

“The humans must have found a way to dampen their abilities or camouflage the presence they radiate.” The bitchy one sighed heavily. “Or it’s a trap. No Syldrari in their right mind would leave queens in the humans’ possession. Trap or not, it should be dealt with before someone younger and dumber tries.”

“Good. We agree then.” Rel put a hand on his hip. “Now, what are you planning to do about the slaves at the Embassy?”

“They aren’t being sent back to Syldra?” The bitchy one frowned, then shot me an accusatory glare.

“Hey, I just dropped them off. The suits there were muttering something about there being no trips to Syldra until one of the gates is repaired, though. They stopped talking when they spotted me though, so it seems like they’re trying to keep something quiet.”

“I’ll look into it.” Rel glanced at the bitchy one. “Go make your preparations. Lethe should be going home for rest.”

“Hmph.” The bitchy one hesitated, giving me an odd look, before standing up, fetching his sword, and disappearing from sight.

“You need an escort back,” Rel stated, turning to walk into an adjacent room.

“I’m fine, I’ve got my bike, and HQ’s location is supposed to be a secret,” I protested, rising to my feet.

“You’re sure?” Rel paused, turning to look at me. “Many people will be looking for you now.”

I sighed and crossed my arms. He was right about that. I considered it for a moment. “You can escort me to my bike if it makes you feel better. It’s a few blocks from here. Figured I shouldn’t park on your roof or outside your door.”

“An acceptable compromise. One moment.” Rel disappeared into the other room and came back a few minutes later dressed for work. “I have to get the cafe ready for business soon anyway. Don’t worry about it—I’ve already slept.”

“Early riser huh?” I gave him a half smile.

“A trait of the trade, I’m afraid.” Rel laughed, glowing a yellow-green like summer grass. He rummaged around in one of his pockets, then pulled out a medallion with a round, blue-green crystal set in the center. A faint glimmer of electricity flickered within it. “Here. Use this for practice. It will help you get that lightning of yours under control.”

“Uh…thanks?” I took the medallion and turned it over in my fingers, mildly confused, before looking back up at the amused Syldrari. “How?”

“Think of it as a battery.” Rel motioned loosely, motioning for me to follow him outside. “You can charge it with as much energy as you want and teach yourself how to control the amount and intensity of your power. You’re lucky you haven’t fried yourself yet.”

I nodded and slipped the medallion into a pocket. “Yeah…I guess it isn’t exactly normal for humans to have magical powers.”

Rel remained silent, looking a tad lost in thought as we made our way to my bike. Once we got there, and I hopped onto the bike, Rel spoke up, “Lethe. I know Casair told you not to question anything, for your own sake…but I’m going to give you different advice.

“Question. Everything. Skepticism is healthy. It’s how you react to the truth and what you do with that knowledge that is important. You aren’t a normal human—that much is clear.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I nodded to Rel, and he gave me a small smile before stepping away from the bike. I pointed at my visor. “Mind undoing the…whatever it is you did?”

Rel chuckled and put his hands in his pockets. “Of course. I’ll leave you with an answer, then. Your suit, much like your brain chip, is of Syldrari design—and your bosses appear incapable of tinkering with it. Disrupting the communications and modulator they added to it is a simple matter of conflicting frequencies—one that is too high for human ears to hear.

“Any Syldrari can hear through the modulator. Disabling the rest requires a more…experienced touch.”

“So, I need to be more careful. I’ll keep that in mind.” I nodded, and Rel moved away to let me leave. As I turned away and rocketed off on my bike, the earpiece crackled.

“There you are!” Zafir exclaimed. “Where are you? I swear, if you’re on your way to—”

“Cool off. I’m on my way back. Someone with the knowhow and manpower will be looking into it,” I interrupted him. “Do me a favor and have a hot meal waiting for me when I get back, alright? I’m fucking hungry.”

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