《A.I.: Animalis Inteligentia, Book 1》


 Lore 1: Excerpt From The Book of Dytie

    Lore: Excerpt From The Book of Dytie


    Like bricks working together to create a building so too are Animal, Plant, and Diordna. The building blocks are like numerous animals, plants, or machines all working together to make up the superstructures that are life. These building blocks allow all forms of life to grow, heal when harmed, and reproduce. They duplicate themselves so the ¡°building¡± may become larger, they repair the damaged superstructure, and they give birth to independent new structures that will become new life outside of the parent. We call these building blocks ¡°cells,¡± and they are divided into two major types, each with two sub-categories: Organic and Mechanic¡­Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    The two organic cell types are plant and animal, and the two mechanic cell types are static annam and dynamic annam...


    Static annam is the kind that is found in the ground, the building blocks of metal pods that provide nutrients and materials for diordna kind, much like plants provide for animals. Dynamic annam is the basic building block of diordna kind. When eaten, the static annam is converted into materials for the dynamic annam to use for the benefit of the diordna body, for survival, for repair, and for reproduction.


    Though these building blocks cannot be seen, you may be assured that they are as real as Dytie. These are his words of knowledge to you, that you may understand the creation of all things.

 Chapter 1: The First and The Last

    Chapter 1: The First and The Last


    Research Log, Day 0


    ¡°When the priests came for my work I nearly lost everything I¡¯d ever worked toward. I found myself reminded of the day I was told my mother had died in the war. My parents were old when they had me, so I was still a child when she was drafted. I sometimes thought about the day the priests came to tell me and my father that she was dead, but the intense feeling had faded over time.


    ¡°But the loss of my work felt that same way. It was like losing my mother all over again. I¡¯d begun this project to create a world where deaths like my mother¡¯s would be unnecessary. It was my way of finally saving her, though far too late.


    ¡°And the Drol¡¯s priests came to take that from me.¡±


    Nineteen Years Ago.


    Ekivia watched in horror as her life¡¯s work was ripped out from under her. Not a week ago she¡¯d been on top of the world, today she was in hell beneath it.


    She was Drolite, iron skinned with ever-changing patterns of rust orange slightly tinting the grey, her head painted with a muted purple pattern. She was tall not only for a nawo but for any diordna, at a little under two meters. Her blue lab coat was unbuttoned today, hanging halfway down her shins, and she had her bag slung over he shoulder. Her eyes were normally clear, as she wasn¡¯t often emotional, though recently here in the lab they¡¯d been blue with pleasure sight at seeing the fruits of her long work. But today they were neither clear nor blue.


    They¡¯d had a lucrative contract with the military, even the Drol himself was interested in their work. Her invention would change the world, would change how war was waged, would give the iron nation an advantage over the Verds. And when all was said and done she¡¯d have enough saved to retire for a few years before she was drafted and sent to that war.


    Last week they sent their progress report, yesterday a general had arrived and inspected her creations, two future soldiers that would replace two Drolites in battle. Two lives saved in exchange for a pair of intelligent animals. She expected when they grew they¡¯d be nearly as intelligent as a diordna, if not exactly so, and she¡¯d told the general as much when he looked the infants over. She nearly told them about the next one she was working on, but she hadn¡¯t even injected the ape mother to start the process and didn¡¯t want to get their hopes up. But she¡¯d refined the sequences after several failed attempts and these two successes.


    She would make an animal that looked like a diordna and was equally intelligent. Everything she¡¯d done before, from the minuscule ¡°vet grubs¡± to improve survival rates in transportation and labor animals, to ¡°calling birds¡± that allowed for long-distance communication without connection to a neural line, all culminated in this final work. Her masterpiece.


    Today twenty priests were taking it to be destroyed.


    Her eyes swirled with black and red, sorrow- and anger-sight so thick she struggled to see through it and droplets overflowed, dark blood-like trails down her iron-grey cheeks, leaving lines through parts of the orange rust color that swirled and wove patterns across her face where the tears passed. They said the project was blasphemy, that in attempting to make a new kind of diordna she was attempting to supplant Dytie himself. But that wasn¡¯t true, not more so than having a child was supplanting their god. The power was given to them by Dytie, and so was their intelligence. If she could make an animal diordna then was it not Dytie who had given that ability in the first place? But they would not hear her. She wanted to shout, to fight, to resist the priests, but one did not oppose the will of Dytie¡¯s Chosen or his servants. To do so was to oppose Dytie himself.


    So she stood, watching them file in and out of the lab, books worth of paper notes and several parrots that could store and recall research logs. They¡¯d even searched the satchel hanging from her shoulder, taking anything they thought might pertain to her work. She¡¯d spent more time in this room than at home for the last two decades, and she¡¯d loved it. The building was grown from a single story of bamboo, like most modern structures, then plastered over on the inside to smooth the floor and wall branches. The tables were similarly grown, though from squat bushes that were carefully cultivated to achieve the desired strength, their branches woven together to create a sturdy tabletop, then their roots grown through the floor for strong legs and base. It was all very modern and she liked the aesthetic.


    The only furniture built in the old fashion, using stone tools to cut and carve wood rather than growing it to the desired shape, was the small basket-like beds that held the animal babies. Now empty.


    A priest rushed past her, stuffing one of her parrots into a sack, and she stood almost a head taller than the na. She was taller than most nawo, and many na. When she was younger it had made her feel out of place, sticking out above everyone else. In recent years it had made her feel strong, powerful, recognizable, proud. Today she felt like her younger self again. Powerless. Exposed.


    She looked around the room as it continued to empty, rubbing her eyes to clear them a little. And on one of the countertops grown out of the wall, she saw a gourd box, a little larger than her fist, with a flat bottom so it could sit flat, and her heart leaped. There were numerous like it, used for holding all kinds of things. Tools. Samples taken from different animals to be studied or sent out for DNA duplication. Or, in this case, bees with four-inch stingers, designed to inject the code-altering substance directly into the uterus of a pregnant animal.


    She walked over to it, trying not to draw the attention of the priests. She had to be sure, had to know if this was the gourd that held her most recent batch of bees. She leaned on the counter with both hands, hunching her shoulders, trying to appear exhausted and overcome by emotion. The numbers marking the top of the gourd were the right ones, and she thought she could hear short buzzes from inside.


    She glanced around the room to be sure no one was watching her. At the moment there were only three priests in the room, collecting notes and equipment on the other side of the room. She wouldn¡¯t have a better chance than this, so she quickly opened her bag and swept the gourd off the counter, trying to cover her actions with her body and lab coat. She glanced around again, heart thumping, white fear blending with the other colors in her eyes.


    And met eyes with one of her assistants who was staring at her. The nawo had seen. Her heart sank, and she looked pleadingly at the nawo. But instead of calling one of the priests the assistant nodded subtly to Ekivia.


    With a sigh, she decided it was time to leave in case the priests decided to search her bag again. She tried to suppress the fear in her eyes so they wouldn¡¯t make anyone suspicious and found herself praying that Dytie would protect her and the small piece of her work she was trying to save. Even as she did it she thought her prayer was silly. These were Dytie¡¯s priests, sent by Drol Maharba, Dytie¡¯s Chosen himself. Dytie wouldn¡¯t help her when they were doing His will.


    Still, she had to try. So she walked through the room and past the priests, down the hall with its woven bamboo walls, praying the whole way and trying not to meet the eyes of the priests she passed. She reached the street without incident, walked down the block away from the cart filled with her work to be destroyed, then stuck out her arm to call a ride. She glanced nervously back the way she¡¯d come, but no one followed.


    ¡°Where you headed?¡± A voice asked, startling her.


    ¡°Out of town about an hour east,¡± Ekivia said to the driver. He sat in a saddle on a large dog with wolf-like features that was tied by a harness to the three-passenger cart, painted red to identify it as transport for hire and not private use. The creatures were bred for pulling carts, called a Tug, and although cart travel was a little slower than simply riding your own canine or feline mount, it was the only option Ekivia had. She¡¯d intended to get a cat eventually, once she retired. Which she supposed she was doing right now. The tug was black and brown on top with a white underbelly and face, like it was wearing a mask that ran all the way down its body. A common pattern for the creatures.


    ¡°That¡¯s going to be expensive,¡± The driver said.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°I understand,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°I can pay.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡±


    They rode out of town, the driver trying to chat with her over his shoulder, but Ekivia was too preoccupied, waiting for¡­ something to make this day worse. But nothing happened. No soldiers or police or priests stopped her cart, and when she arrived at her isolated home no one waited for her. She paid the driver an exorbitant number of shells and sent him on his way before stepping inside and closing the door. She walked deeper into the house, running her hand along the small round table grown from the center of the entrance hall then continued up the stairs.


    She¡¯d designed this house herself, though she wasn¡¯t an architect. On the outside, it was a boring two-story cube as a result of her inexperience and penchant for functionality over aesthetics. Even in her animal creations, her prototypes were often dull colors and unimpressive looking. The unique looks would be added to her designs later by other engineers. One of the few choices she made for aesthetic reasons was to select aspens as the walls. She liked the smooth white bark in contrast with the black marks where it split. That choice made the growing of the house much slower than with bamboo, even with the accelerated growth that was written into the sequence.


    That wasn¡¯t the only change the engineers made. Many fewer branches grew on the inside than the outside, so it was easy to prune them where necessary to keep the walls smooth. Except where they wanted inside branches. In her library on the first floor for example branches grew inward at precise locations, then were woven into shelves as they grew. A similar thing was done for the floor, trees grown and bent over, then woven together to create a solid place to stand. Usually when the building was done being grown the floor would be covered with carpet to soften it, and then furniture could be brought in, either young grown furniture meant to finish growing in the home so it could grip the ground, or crafted by traditional carving and then placed around the rooms. Ekivia¡¯s home had a combination of the two types of furniture, but most of the home was uncarpeted. She had long rugs, like pathways between rooms, branching out from a circular rug around the table at the entrance. This was another one of her aesthetic choices. She liked seeing the woven floor.


    Being in the familiar place was small comfort today.


    She made her way along the upstairs hallway, intending to go to her bedroom to sleep. But as she neared her defenses began to lower and her legs grew weak. The angry, sorrowful tears began streaming down her face again. She found herself unable to stand, overwhelmed with emotion, with pain. In that place, her home, she could let her guard drop, and doing so crushed her.


    She curled up on the rug, weeping into it until she fell asleep.


    **********


    Ekivia awoke to the soft squawk and gentle nudge of her doorbird. Its beak was yellow with some red around the mouth, tall and curved with a blunt tip instead of a pointed one, and about half the size of its entire body. She stared at the bird for a moment, her mind sluggish. The creature was bred with an instinct to seek diordna out and then trained to do it when someone came to the door.


    Ekivia started, sitting up so quickly she got light-headed briefly. Someone was at the door. She pushed herself to her feet, her hand on the still-wet carpet. She¡¯d have to have the black tear stain cleaned. The bird hopped across the floor ahead of her, leading her to the door and the treats there that she would give it. The walls in her home glowed with the dim light of bioluminescence, telling her that it was night. She straightened her coat as she walked down the stairs, which were also illuminated by thin glowing vines woven through them.


    Is it the priests? Ekivia wondered, dread rising in her chest and whitening her eyes. Had they realized what she¡¯d done? Were they here to destroy the last vestiges of her decades of work?


    She reached the entry hall, took a deep breath, and opened the door. A single diordna stood on her doorstep in the early night, a rope in one hand that was tied to the harness on an ape mother. It was the assistant that had seen her take the bees.


    ¡°This ape mother missed its cycle yesterday,¡± the nawo said, holding the rope leash forward.


    Ekivia¡¯s throat caught, her eyes filling with darkened blue as gratitude filled her. ¡°Thank you.¡± She whispered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me,¡± the nawo said as she turned to leave. ¡°Thank the Egeil and Dytie. And keep this hidden or you¡¯ll lose it all again.¡±


    Ekivia nodded, though she didn¡¯t know what or who the Egeil was. The nawo started walking away from the door through the yard.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Ekivia called. ¡°Who are you? I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t remember your name if you were on my team.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t on your team,¡± the nawo said. ¡°And I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t give you my name. Maybe someday we¡¯ll meet again under better circumstances. If so I might get to tell you. Until then do your work and I¡¯ll do mine.¡±


    Ekivia blinked in shock as the nawo quickly turned away, passing through gap in the hedge that surrounded her yard and climbed onto a sleek black cat. They met eyes one last time and Ekivia reached a hand out to stop the nawo, her mouth stumbling as words wouldn¡¯t come to her. The messenger nodded to Ekivia and disappeared quickly down the road.


    Glancing around outside Ekivia brought the ape mother inside. She didn¡¯t expect to see anyone out here. No one else lived out this way. The trees made it too difficult to farm the region so all the farmers lived several hours away to the north. She chose the place to be isolated when she needed to focus on her work without distraction, and today she blessed Dytie for the secrecy that choice gave her today.


    Her work was not over.


    She rushed inside, bringing the ape mother with her. As she closed the door she pulled two treats from the box on the table and gave them both to the door bird, It deserved an extra reward for what it had done tonight, then continued leading the ape upstairs. She took the creature upstairs, retrieved her bag from the floor where she¡¯d slept, then went to the guest room which was on the opposite side of the library from her bedroom. Sitting on the bed near the window she removed the bee box from her bag and pulled the ape mother toward her, laying the creature down on the wool-stuffed mattress. She wished she had something to numb the creature so it wouldn¡¯t fight her when she injected it. She¡¯d just have to do what she could to keep it calm.


    Once they were settled she opened the box and looked inside at the bees dragging their too-long stingers around and around behind them. She found the bee with a single stripe running down the center of its body, indicating it was the first injection, and removed it carefully from the box, holding it between three fingers with the long stinger passing between them. It was hard to maneuver with one hand, but she managed it. Then Ekivia shifted and turned so she could pet the creature to keep it calm.


    She lowered the tip of the stinger to the ape''s stomach and spoke softly. ¡°You¡¯re so good... That¡¯s it. Just sit still with me.¡±


    Ekivia pressed the stinger in until it vanished entirely beneath the skin. Ape and bee squirmed in unison as Ekivia made comforting shushing noises in the ear of the future mother. Slowly, the bee¡¯s insides slipped from its wriggling body, and for the first time it flew, no longer weighed down by the long stinger.


    An arms-length away it fell to the ground. Dead.


    Ekivia carefully pinched the small tick-like sack at the top of the stinger, squeezing the fluid into the ape¡¯s womb before slowly pulling the stinger free.


    ¡°See? That wasn¡¯t so bad,¡± she whispered. ¡°Only a few more.¡±


    It had been decades since she¡¯d done this part of the work. Usually, she just wrote the code and someone else injected them, but this time she was working alone. This time she had to do everything herself.


    The ape squirmed and Ekivia had to stop her petting to hold it down, whispering gently. What she wouldn¡¯t give to be in her lab, with quality help and materials. But she¡¯d lost all that with the only explanation given being ¡°the Drol commands it.¡± So instead of a lab, she was in the guest room of her home in the country. At least the mother seemed to be good breeding stock.


    She shouldn¡¯t complain. She had the bees she¡¯d designed. It was a miracle. Everything was destroyed except these. Her project could continue here because of that one thing. She closed her eyes and sent up a prayer of gratitude to Dytie, thanking him for whoever this Egeil was.


    When the ape calmed she looked in at the bees. If she was found with these she¡¯d be arrested as a thief despite the fact that the sequences within them were hers, and almost anyone else would call them garbage.


    The Drol¡¯s garbage was her life¡¯s work. Her eyes reddened with anger sight at that thought, and she felt a little sacrilegious for thinking it. But if Dytie wanted to stop her why had things worked out so far? Why had anything of her work been saved? It had to be a blessing from Dytie. But if it was then why would his representatives oppose it?


    She selected the bee with the correct markings and carefully removed it from the gourd, maneuvering it into place.


    When she finished the injections the ape mother whimpered in pain and fear, its head tucked against Ekivia¡¯s hand, eyes darting to the gourd, the discarded stingers, the bee corpses.


    Ekivia wanted to document this process going forward. She thought she had a parrot in her study that she could use, but if not she¡¯d need a new one. She¡¯d retrieve it and start a new set of research logs once the mother fell asleep.


    As she waited in the darkness, thinking of how bad the day had been and how lucky she¡¯d been to have any remnant of her work, she smiled. She¡¯d already gone through all the testing phases, so she was certain these bees would work. In a little under a year, she¡¯d have a baby Animal Intelligence.


    Despite the hell that had been today, at that moment she felt a sliver of heaven in the flames.

 Chapter 2: A Difficult Decision

    Chapter 2: A Difficult Decision


    Research Log, 17 Years, 14 Days (Day 5,823)


    ¡°When this started I was looking for a way to save diordna lives, something to replace soldiers on the front line. It was my life''s work to stop others from feeling the pain I felt when I heard my parents died. But things have changed. Raising Mada became my life, not the research, not the proofs, not the possibility of sending him to die in my place. I¡¯ve considered publishing these logs without revealing Mada to the world. Considered keeping him a secret forever to protect him. I thought I¡¯d brand them as science fiction to avoid suspicion.


    ¡°But he deserves better than to be fiction. He deserves to be treated as our equal, not sent to die as a tool of war.¡±


    Three months ago


    "This is suicide," Treblig said as he handed the orders back to Nagemai, his eyes pink with surprise and anger.


    Nagemai, The White General, took the orders and quickly read them again. White General was a title that some thought was passed down by previous White Generals, but in truth she¡¯d been the only one to ever hold it. Nearly a thousand years, and still she survived.


    She''d been on her fair share of suicide missions in that amount of time.


    She was a short nawo, and wore a crisp white uniform that inspired the title. Although she was Redaeli whe was of mixed heritage, commonly called a half-skin, and so had blended copper and iron skin. This gave her a much more complex swirling skin pattern of iron gray and orange woven in and through the copper and teal common to other Redaeli.


    ¡±What will you do?¡±


    Nagemai looked up at Treblig where he stood across from her map table in the command tent. He was Nagemai¡¯s second and a good friend. His copper skin swirled with teal was only exposed at his face because of the wooden armor her wore, and she could just make out part of a black painted pattern on his head beneath the helm. They were on the front lines, so most didn¡¯t bother with things like painting their heads. Treblig liked the ritual of it to help him focus in the mornings. Nagemai was always on the front lines so she''d had plenty of time to learn Treblig''s quirks and rituals.


    These orders would put them far beyond the front lines.


    ¡°This won''t be our first suicide mission,¡± Nagemai said, nodding solemnly. The Redael was getting desperate in her attempts to get Nagemai killed. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to survive like every time before.¡±


    "This is far more dangerous than the last one," Treblig said. She gave him a flat stare in response and he sighed. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re already developing a plan of attack?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Nagemai said, and it was true. She was already considering the logistics of moving beyond enemy lines to strike a city deep in Drolite territory.


    But more importantly, she was making plans to check on something set in motion nearly twenty years before. They were supposed to attack the Drolite city Rebmevon, a city that was home to a scientist named Ekivia. Her spy network had kept a close eye on her for a long time, since before she stopped working as an inventor. Nagemai had a deep interest in her final project, and these orders presented a unique opportunity to check on things set in motion long ago.


    Nagemai was looking forward to finally meeting Ekivia in person.


    **********


    Ekivia came up the stairs from the cellar beneath her house, carrying a large water skin in one hand, filled from the well in the cellar, and a woven basket filled with what would become their lunch in the other hand. Mostly fruit and vegetables, with a portion of bird meat for Mada, and a large ferrum pod for her. She¡¯d eat plant and animal products, she even liked them, but they weren¡¯t the most nutritious foods for a diordna. They¡¯d give a burst of energy, energy diordna needed, but the real substance of her diet was the pod. Roughly ball shaped, the metal spheres grew like melons on farms all over the continent. Their outside was very similar to her skin color when it grew, but when it was ripe the entire outside skin was orange with oxidation. That¡¯s when you knew the inside would be soft, wet with oils drawn from the ground into the pods as they grew. Of course, they were supposed to eat the skin as well as the juicy insides, but there was plenty of metal inside the pod, making a network of pockets to hold the oil, so she didn¡¯t always choose to eat the skins. She liked the taste of the whole thing, skin and center alike, but the outside could be tough and unpleasant to chew on.


    Ekivia left the cellar stairwell and looked at the woven wood covering over the entrance, hesitating briefly before deciding to send Mada back to close it rather than put down one of her burdens to do it herself. The cellar was a good addition to her home, added shortly after¡­ shortly before Mada¡¯s birth. The cool dry space kept his food fresh and helped preserve her ferrum pods by keeping the humidity more stable, and on average lower, than above ground.


    She walked from the side of the house where the cellar entrance was, around to the back door of her home, and pushed it open with her foot. The door opened into the kitchen and dining room, and she found Mada sitting at the table, hunched forward, arms folded to prop him up so he could read the book that lay open before him. He looked at the thing like one might a feast, eyes hungry, consuming every word on the page before turning to the next.


    He¡¯d grown better than Ekivia could have hoped, considering the rocky start to his life. He was roughly her height, a little under two meters tall, with pale skin, short white hair, and pink eyes. An albino, though unlike some other albino animals his eyesight seemed to be fine.


    ¡°Could you go close the cellar for me?¡± Ekivia asked him as he read.


    ¡°Sure,¡± he said, not looking up from his reading.


    She turned and walked to the kitchen space, placing her burdens on the counter which, like her bookshelves, were grown as part of the house. Stooping, she retrieved some wood from the space beneath the counter and tossed it into the lower chamber of the brick oven. It wasn¡¯t a large unit, with just enough space for one or two pieces of a split log at a time in the heating chamber, and as much space above in the cooking chamber, but it was plenty big for the two of them.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Taking some kindling, she arranged a trail of it from the logs she¡¯d put in earlier out to the entrance of the fire chamber, which had a small shelf of brick where she could start the fire. She stood and retrieved the pouch with blast powder in it, noticing that Mada was still at the table reading.


    ¡°You going to close the cellar or have you already done it?¡± Ekivia asked.


    ¡°Already did it,¡± Mada said.


    She hadn¡¯t even heard him leave or return, but as she thought that she noticed his gloves, wide-brimmed hat, and mask on the table next to him, his coat in a heap on the floor beside the door instead of on the hook where it had been before. With his complexion, he needed to be covered when he went out in the sun, and the outfit also would keep his features obscured if someone caught a glimpse of him outside. That gave him a little freedom to move as he pleased, though if he was seen the outfit might look strange to others. They planned and practiced swapping places so she could claim it was her they saw and that she liked to keep the sun off, and Mada had a bird on his shoulder at all times that he could send back to warn Ekivia that they needed to switch.


    Thank Dytie they hadn¡¯t yet had to test that lie on anyone.


    Ekivia turned back to the oven and struck the blast pounder with a rock, sending sparks across the kindling and into the fire chamber. It ignited the smaller material, and she watched it, tossing in some slightly larger twigs and pieces of bark. Once the fire caught on the largest pieces of wood, the smell of smoke filling her nose, she placed the small brick covering over the chamber entrance, forcing the smoke to escape through the chimney out the back of the house instead of allowing it to come into the kitchen.


    Standing, Ekivia grabbed the obsidian knife from the counter beside the oven and pulled two clay plates from the shelf above the counter. ¡°Mada, come help me out with the food.¡±


    She heard a grunt from behind her, and then his footsteps as he approached and stepped up beside her, book in hand. She smiled and grabbed the other knife, this one a sharpened shell knife, with a handle made of bone, and held it out toward her son. It wasn¡¯t as strong as the obsidian one, but it was sharp and would cut almost anything.


    He continued to read even as he glanced over and took the knife. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just about done with this chapter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± Ekivia said, beginning to cut the ferrum pod into bite-sized sections. ¡°Did you do your combat exercises this morning?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± Mada said even as he continued to read. ¡°Though I don¡¯t know why you make me do them. I¡¯ll probably never be drafted.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± Ekivia said, and Mada finally put his book down and started sawing an apple in half with his knife. ¡°But I want you ready if you are. Once I¡¯m sent to the war you¡¯ll have to take care of yourself. I¡¯ll do what I can to prepare for that day, but¡­¡±


    Ekivia took a deep breath. She honestly didn¡¯t know how to handle that situation. She planned on revealing Mada before that happened, showing the world that he was a true Animal Intelligence, forge him a place in this world so he could live a normal life. Well, as normal a life as an AI could. To do that she¡¯d need help, and the day of her draft was approaching in just a few years.


    Ekivia held her hand to the side, feeling the heat coming from the oven, then she scooped some ash from a container under the counter and coated the bottom of the cooking chamber with it before unwrapping the meat and tossing it in to cook. It was a large piece, a little bigger than her fist. She¡¯d eat maybe a third of it and leave the rest for Mada.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been thinking a lot about what we should do about me,¡± Mada said. ¡°When you leave I mean. As an animal, I¡¯m more likely to be seen as a tool to most diordna. I know you have another five or six years before you¡¯re drafted, but¡­¡±


    He paused and Ekivia felt her heart sink. She knew what he was going to say. It was something she¡¯d been thinking too. Something she¡¯d been avoiding for several years already, but she didn¡¯t want to be the one to say it. The thought darkened her eyes with black sorrow


    ¡°I think we need to bring someone else in,¡± Mada said quietly, and she could hear a slight tremble in his voice as he said it. She¡¯d instilled a fear of other diordna in him, one that would be hard to overcome. She¡¯d simply been clear and transparent about how she expected the world to be and about what had happened with his¡­ siblings. She did it so he¡¯d understand and stay safe, but now that they needed to take steps to expose him to the world she worried that she¡¯d done too good a job.


    Ekivia nodded, and the only sound between them for a moment was that of the fire cracking, the bird sizzling, and their knives clicking as they cut.


    Finally, she spoke. ¡°I think you¡¯re right. And if you think you¡¯re ready then¡­ we should do it.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m ready?¡± Mada asked, looking closely at her expression.


    She met his eyes. ¡°I think you¡¯ve been ready for a while now. You are what I wanted you to be. Though it¡¯ll take time for others to see it, you are as much a diordna as I am.¡±


    Mada smiled. ¡°Thank you. If you think I¡¯m ready then I¡¯m ready. You are the expert.¡±


    She sighed and they continued their work in silence for a moment longer.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Mada began. ¡°Any ideas who you might bring in? Iakedrom maybe?¡±


    Ekivia laughed. ¡°He¡¯d never agree to that. I know we¡¯re kind of friends now, but his main purpose in coming here is to be sure I don¡¯t break the law and make something new without my license. Besides, he¡¯s not an expert on this kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°Then who do you think is the right choice?¡± Mada asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you about Nevets?¡± Ekivia asked. ¡°I visit him sometimes when I go pick up supplies. We¡¯ve been friends for a long time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I remember.¡±


    ¡°He was the one I wanted to assess you and the others before they were¡­ taken. He was the best in the business back then, and still is from what I hear, though he¡¯d never say so himself.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Mada said, obviously nervous about meeting someone who¡¯d never even been to the house. ¡°When will I meet him?¡±


    ¡°As soon as possible,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°As you said, time is only getting shorter. I¡¯ll call him after we eat.¡±


    Mada nodded, popping a piece of the apple into his mouth, and they continued preparing their meal. After a short time, he told her about the book he was reading, a piece of speculative fiction about a third diordna nation coming from another place and invading their continent. It sounded interesting but Ekivia couldn¡¯t focus on what he was saying all through their meal. She was too preoccupied with what they were about to start.


    When they were done, Mada went for a walk in the woods, bringing his book with him. She¡¯d bought it for him less than a week before and he was already nearly finished with it. While he did that she went to her office and made a call, not to Nevets but to someone she hadn¡¯t spoken to since the day she almost lost everything. She didn¡¯t know if anything would come of this call, but Egeil had helped them before, maybe their mysterious benefactor would do so again. The conversation was brief, and her old assistant didn¡¯t know if Egeil would be able to do anything, but she agreed to try and contact the diordna.


    Then she took out the parrot where she recorded her research on Mada and made what she expected to be her final log. From that point on, day 5,823, any additions would be made by Nevets.


    That done she looked at the intricate bioluminescent vine pattern in the wall that told her the time of day to be sure Nevets would be done with his lecture, then picked up her calling bird again and contacted her friend.

 Chapter 3: No More Hiding

    Chapter 3: No More Hiding


    Research Log, 17 Years, 14 Days (Day 5,823) Continued.


    ¡°As much as it pains me, I can no longer pretend that he can remain secret forever. He deserves a normal life. He deserves to be known. I cannot protect him, no matter how much I wish I could. I¡¯m not ready to reveal him yet, but I can no longer deny that I must do so.


    ¡°And that terrifies me more than anything in this world.¡±


    Today


    Agent Iakedrom was a tall na, his skin on the dark side even for a Drolite. Today it had more of the rust orange swirling in it as he¡¯d been called in early today and hadn¡¯t had time. He had a square jaw with slightly curved corners that softened his face a little, but his eyes were hard. Sharp lines and a dark expression, which was appropriate today of all day. He wore an investigator¡¯s uniform, tan with crisp shoulders, and designed to be left unbuttoned in the summer months without looking sloppy. The symbol of his station was emblazoned on both breasts of the coat in red, the hand with thumbs on both sides, or the Mark of Dytie, on a shield.


    And he had a prosthetic right arm. One that itched almost constantly. He never knew if it was the prosthetic or if they were phantom itches generated by his mind for his missing limb, but he scratched it anyway. The thing was quite remarkable, though he didn¡¯t understand how it worked. It was enough to know that he could use it almost like it were his own limb.


    He made his way up the stairs of the ten-story apartment building. The stairwell was a large rectangular shaft in the corner of the building with a bamboo wall running up the center to support the stairs. Branches grew into the stairwell at specific intervals from the center column and the outer walls and were woven together into stairs. On each floor branches from the hallway reached inward to be woven into the branches growing from the center column to make a landing.


    The Craftsman¡¯s apartment was on the 8th floor. That number was bad luck. One short of nine.


    Damn prosthetic, Agent Iakedrom thought as he continued to scratch the fleshy thing with his left hand. Why did he have to lose his good arm? He glared at the itchy animal hairs covering the replacement limb. He was lucky that this time the itching wasn¡¯t phantom, so scratching helped a little. His surgeon said the tickling was a good sign since it meant that more sensation was being transmitted by the false limb into Iakedrom¡¯s nervous system. Motion and sensation would improve, but it had only been a few months for Iakedrom, so the arm was sluggish and the sensation was¡­ mostly itchy.


    He stepped out of the stairwell onto the eighth floor, passing a couple officers guarding the hallway so no curious residents saw the apartment, their eyes deep yellow with disgust.


    When he reached the apartment his eyes yellowed as well, his stomach churning as he took in the gruesome scene. It was a small apartment, but it was packed with the Craftsman¡¯s creations. He¡¯d been tracking this killer for a while now, and had seen things like this before, but never on this scale. A table and chairs made from diordna skin and bones. Knives and pokers and other unfamiliar tools scattered across the table which still had oil smeared across it. And the body of the Craftsman¡¯s most recent victim. The naked nawo had precise cuts crisscrossing her body, her skin partially removed from one shoulder and down a quarter of her back. Normally a wound like that would be flowing with oil, but the Craftsman had drained the body¡¯s fluids into a clay basin below the table. The smell alone was nauseating. Iakedrom didn¡¯t know what was worse, the corpse in the process of being dismantled or the corpses that had been converted into household items. They¡¯d have to collect everything eventually, but for now, Iakedrom would just make his report.


    He reached up with his still irritated prosthetic to press the foot of the green and red parrot on his left shoulder.


    "The Craftsman Investigation, Log 63," He began, and he could feel the bird stiffen as it memorized his words.


    "The Craftsman was... working on the mangled remains of another victim when we arrived in the apartment. The victim was a female, Drolite by the iron coloration of the skin, and aside from that, we have no idea who she was or how long she¡¯s been dead. And whatever the Craftsman was making from the corpse we can¡¯t tell. We found her skin partially removed when we arrived, her body drained of all life oil and other fluids.


    ¡°Hanging on one wall there are two other skins, pounded flat and scrubbed to remove the oxidized cells, and there are several objects and tools around the room that will be cataloged later. Most of these¡­ items are of Drolite iron, but there¡¯s a Redaeli copper and a strange pale skin I¡¯ve never seen. I suspect it¡¯s one of the other two but has been treated or died somehow to lighten the color.


    ¡°The several pieces of furniture made from the dismembered and mutilated bodies of skinned victims are barely recognizable as having once been diordna. The only recognizable element is the bone used as chair frames, though even those are bent and stretched for functionality. The floor branches are discolored from the spilled life-oil and other bodily chemicals of the victims.¡±


    "Hey Iakedrom," His partner Fosia¡¯s voice said through the calling bird on his other shoulder, interrupting his log. He released the foot of the parrot and it relaxed, ruffling its feathers.


    This calling bird was nearly entirely black, with white on the tips of its tail and wings, and it was one of the last things Ekivia had invented. Made Iakedrom almost wish she could continue working. What other incredible things could she have made if she hadn¡¯t done something to lose her license? Though what she¡¯d done he didn¡¯t know.


    He placed a finger on the calling bird¡¯s foot and responded. ¡°What is it? You get the Craftsman back without problems?¡±


    "Yeah, no problems,¡± The bird continued in Fosia¡¯s voice, ¡°That priest called again. Says the Drol wants you to take another look around Ekivia¡¯s house and bring her in for some questions."


    ¡°I was just there a couple weeks ago,¡± Iakedrom said. They had a standing appointment every few months when he would go and check her home in case she was working on any engineering projects without a license. In the twenty years, he¡¯d had the assignment he¡¯d never found anything. ¡°Did they say why they want me to go back so soon? Is there something specific I need to be looking for?¡±


    Fosia sighed through the bird, and it made a strange wheezing sound in its attempt to imitate her. ¡°They didn¡¯t. All they said was that she recently contacted an old associate. Said it sounded suspicious.¡±


    ¡°Suspicious how?¡± Iakedrom asked. It was a little out of the ordinary since Ekivia could be reclusive, but people talked to old friends all the time.


    ¡°She said she had something she needed to show him,¡± Fosia said.


    ¡°That could mean anything,¡± Iakedrom said, irritation plain in his voice and the slight red tint to his eyes. ¡°Are they sure it wasn¡¯t sexy talk?¡±


    Fosia laughed. ¡°Could be, but the Drol wants it looked into.¡±


    ¡°This could get awkward fast.¡± Iakedrom grinned, frustration draining from his eyes. ¡°Can it wait?¡±


    ¡°Are you really asking that about a request from Dytie¡¯s chosen?¡±


    Iakedrom sighed. ¡°No. Let me know what you learn from the Craftsman.¡±


    ¡°I will. But shouldn¡¯t we change the name? Craftsman doesn¡¯t quite fit anymore.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Iakedrom said, ¡°but all our reports use the term. It would be hell to change it now.¡±


    Honestly, he thought they probably should change it to avoid any confusion, but that wasn¡¯t something he wanted to deal with right now.


    ¡°I just had a thought,¡± Fosia said, thoughtful. ¡°You sure you want to go all the way out to Ekivia¡¯s place? We could trade jobs if you want.¡±


    ¡°On a day like today, I¡¯d trade if the Drol would allow it. I mean, Ekivia is good company and all, but the Craftsman¡­ All this time finding nothing makes the trips almost feel like a waste of time, especially when I could be there with you finishing this investigation. Makes me want something interesting would finally happen.¡±


    It was only half true though. A part of him almost looked forward to the visit. After years of stopping by so regularly, he¡¯d grown to enjoy their time together, and he didn¡¯t much like the idea of her getting into any real trouble. But maybe something minor, just to change things up a bit.


    ¡°Criminal interesting or sexy interesting?¡±


    Iakedrom laughed. ¡°Either way would be a breath of fresh air.¡±


    "I expect to hear all the juicy details when you get back." Iakedrom could hear the grin on her face even through the bird.


    ¡°I¡¯d say the same about the Craftsman if I didn¡¯t already know all the ¡®juicy¡¯ details,¡± Iakedrom said, cringing. ¡°When I get back let¡¯s wrap this slag up quick so we can finally get some sleep.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be done before you return.¡±


    ¡°Done sleeping or done questioning the Craftsman?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully both. See you when the nightmares wake me up.¡±


    **********


    Nevets handed a writ of transfer to the cabbie. The piece of parchment would allow for the transfer of funds from Nevets¡¯s account to the friendly nawo¡¯s. Money hadn¡¯t been used for generations at this point, but Nevets had read about a time when diordna traded shells and other objects. Now, a bank kept track of someone¡¯s finances for them, and instead of using objects they simply shuffled numbers around in a ledger to indicate who held what. The nawo looked over the note, then she nodded and Nevets swung his leg over the saddle on the large black and yellow cat cab to dismount, thanking the driver as he did so. It wasn¡¯t often that a cabbie had to take a trip so far out of the city, and not all of them agreed to do it. That said, the amount he¡¯d paid for the trip was quite large.


    Nevets was a short na, at only 167 centimeters, and he was all soft edges. Round-faced and a little plump around the middle, he wasn¡¯t heavy exactly, he just wasn¡¯t the type who exercised often or watched what he ate closely. He simply had a little more oil weight than others of his height. And he liked trying new kinds of meat and ferrum pod mixtures, so the little bit of extra weight was worth it. He¡¯d start exercising and eating more carefully in a few years so he would be stronger when he was drafted, but until then he would enjoy his life.


    He approached Ekivia¡¯s home. It had been several months since he last saw her, though he¡¯d never been here to her home before. They worked together on many projects back before she lost her license, and they would often go to lunch when she came into the city to shop or manage her accounts with the bank. He enjoyed their lunches, and occasionally he¡¯d bring work problems with him to get her opinion on some new project or other and she always had great insights into his work. That was tiptoeing a little close to the legal line, as she didn¡¯t have a license of her own, but she was one of the most brilliant animal engineers he¡¯d ever had the pleasure of working with, and she wasn¡¯t really working on the projects. He was just sharing a part of his life with an old friend that he only got to see occasionally. That¡¯s all.


    A part of him did worry that the thing she had to show him was related to animal engineering. It would be seen differently if she worked on her own project, and she could get in a lot of trouble if she did more than just theorize. She¡¯d always been fairly conservative, so Nevets wasn¡¯t worried that she¡¯d done something that would get her in any real trouble.


    A slight breeze blew in the early evening, rustling the leaves of the forest around her home and the ones that grew all over the surface of the structure. Nevets wasn¡¯t a plant engineer, but he¡¯d studied it enough to appreciate the brilliance of what they were calling ¡°middle modern¡± architecture. To get the structures to grow properly they manipulated the genes controlling apical dominance, which dictated whether or not a plant grew straight and tall like most evergreens, or branched and grew wide like the trees in this region. Nevets didn¡¯t understand it all, but apparently, by manipulating that specific set of genes they could dictate the intervals at which the tree branched so that they could have floors at precise heights. Once the main structure was grown, it died, so the leaves around the outside were not those of the main structural trees but were instead from the vines that climbed on and around the entire structure except at the door. Those vines had two functions and they had to be alive to provide them: produce bioluminescent light when the sun went down, and at the doorways, they could be stimulated to tighten or loosen to act as hinges and allow the door to either swing freely or remain closed.


    When he knocked on the door he heard the wings of a doorbird squawk inside and then the fluttering of wings as it went in search of Ekivia. Nevets only had to fidget awkwardly for a moment before Ekivia opened the door.


    ¡°Come on in,¡± she said with a smile.


    Are her eyes a little pale today? Nevets thought as he stepped through the door. Maybe she had been working on something secretly. He straightened up and returned her smile. ¡°Thanks. It¡¯s good to see you, as always.¡±


    ¡°You too,¡± She said.


    ¡°This is a nice place,¡± Nevets said, looking around. If he remembered correctly Ekivia designed this place herself. He quite liked the large entrance with the stairs going to the walkway above and the library office just off to the left as you came in. He¡¯d always wanted a library of his own but never had the space for it in the city. Maybe he¡¯d take a page from Ekivia¡¯s book and move out here somewhere.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Ekivia said, then gestured into the library. ¡°Shall we?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Nevets said. He followed her gesture to a large, well-padded, chair. The cloth was red, with a swirling vine pattern that seemed to belong in the house. It made him wonder if she¡¯d designed this as well.


    Ekivia retrieved a parrot from one of the shelves nearby and then sat in a second identical chair. ¡°I¡¯ve been working on something,¡± She began slowly, and Nevets saw the fear in her eyes intensify.


    That look told him everything. She hadn¡¯t just been studying and thinking and theorizing. She¡¯d been doing it without a license. If anyone found out she could be drafted immediately and sent to war. But Ekivia was one of their best, and if she risked everything for a project then it must have been a doozy.


    He smiled, though it felt awkward on his face, and replied with a feeble joke. ¡°I¡¯ve been working on something too. Several somethings, in fact.¡±


    Ekivia smiled and rolled her eyes, some of the white fear in them retreating to make room for blue pleasure sight. ¡°You always are. I need you to listen to this. It¡¯s the best place to start I think, and then you can ask me questions.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Nevets said, nodding.


    The fear returned to Ekivia¡¯s eyes, but she pressed the foot of the parrot. ¡°Recall research log day 7,021.¡±


    Nevets tried to hide his surprise at the high number as he did the math. That was nearly twenty years. If he had to guess she¡¯d been keeping these logs since¡­ well since she lost her license.


    The parrot started speaking, and Nevets leaned forward, listening intently. The log didn¡¯t tell him much about the project as a whole, just where it had landed, obviously in the last few days or so. But there was enough information in there to know she¡¯d made an Animal Intelligence, a feat no one else had yet to replicate. He assumed this was what she had been working on at the very end of her career, and it sounded like she¡¯d truly succeeded. He trusted her assessment, she wasn¡¯t one to fudge her results, but he also knew the importance of getting a second opinion. Giving those second opinions made up the bulk of his work. But he¡¯d never dealt with something like this. An Animal Intelligence.


    ¡°Based on my experience with Mada I believe that Dytie has given him a soul.¡±


    As the bird finished speaking Nevets sat back into the soft chair, his shirt wrinkling against the padding as he did so. ¡°You¡¯ve made an AI,¡± he whispered. ¡°I never thought you¡¯d¡­ keep working after that day. I guess I should have known better. Diordna like you don¡¯t just stop being brilliant, don¡¯t just stop creating because someone tells them not to. I guess I¡¯m more amazed that you kept it a secret all this time. That can¡¯t have been easy.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t as hard as you might think,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°If anyone found out, I¡¯d lose him. I wasn¡¯t going to let that happen.¡±


    Nevets noted that Ekivia called the AI ¡°him.¡± Diordna rarely used masculine or feminine pronouns for animals. They knew they were male and female, but generally, they were referred to as ¡°it¡± not he or she.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Under the circumstances, Nevets decided to adopt the same attitude toward the creature. ¡°You named him Mada. For the First?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°I sometimes think it¡¯s too on the nose, but I couldn¡¯t change it once the name stuck to him, you know?¡±


    ¡°I do know,¡± Nevets said with a laugh in his voice. ¡°That¡¯s what marketing teams are for. And half the time they¡¯re just as bad as the rest of us.¡±


    Ekivia smiled. The fear in her eyes had all but vanished as they¡¯d conversed, leaving them completely clear. ¡°Would you like to meet him?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Nevets said, genuinely excited at the invitation. They¡¯d figure out what to do about the broken laws later. It made him a little uncomfortable, but he thought if they presented it the right way then she would just get a fine or something. His paper on the AI would be an important part of creating the right narrative, so he¡¯d have to write carefully. Maybe if they claimed it was a personal project that they¡¯d worked on together, one started before she lost her license, and to keep it secret he asked her to hold onto it? He could afford to pay some fines, after all. Especially to help an old friend.


    He followed her back to the entry of the home and they began to climb the stairs, but she stopped halfway up.


    Ekivia turned around to face him, and he had to crane his neck a little to look up at her. Not only was she on a higher step, but she was much taller than he was. She stepped down to his step and opened her mouth to speak.


    Before she could, however, Nevets grinned and stepped up one step so he was at her eye level. ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± He said, and she rolled her eyes again.


    ¡°Nev, I need you to understand something,¡± Ekivia began, solemn. ¡°This AI¡­he¡¯s not just a project to me. He¡­¡± She took a deep breath, and Nevets saw in her expression what she was about to say.


    ¡°He¡¯s family to you,¡± Nevets said, meeting her eyes.


    She nodded, and her eyes turned grey, a mix of fear and sorrow. ¡°I think of him as my son. I don¡¯t want to lose him, and I need to create a safer world for him to live in. Nev, I can¡¯t do that alone.¡°


    ¡°I promise you Kiv,¡± Nevets said. ¡°You won¡¯t have to. I consider you one of my closest friends, though we don¡¯t spend a lot of time together. As your friend and as a professional, I promise you I will do everything I can to help you make a place for Mada in this world.¡±


    Ekivia¡¯s eyes were now completely grey, and several drops of the liquid rolled down her cheeks. She reached up and wiped them with her sleeves, smearing the grey concern sight and the swirling orange patterns of her face. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You are always welcome,¡± Nevets said, and he gestured up the stairs like a servant holding the door for a distinguished guest. ¡°Now, I would love to meet this son of yours.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Ekivia said. She took a deep breath, calming her emotions, then stepped past Nevets and continued up the stairs.


    He followed her down the left hallway at the top of the stairs about halfway, where she stopped. Nevets turned to the door on one side of the hall, but Ekivia didn¡¯t open it. Instead, she tapped his shoulder and pointed to the blank space on the opposite wall. He cocked his head a little and she gave him a crooked smile.


    ¡°I disguised a door here using light vines,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°It took some time to get the look just right, but after twenty years even I forget it¡¯s here sometimes. Look here.¡±


    Nevets bent down, looking closely at several places where she pointed. If he got this close he could see the trigger branch hidden in the twisting vines and the hinge vine a door¡¯s width to the left, spiraling its way up the wall, hidden beneath cleverly overlapping light vine and wall branch.


    ¡°Impressive,¡± Nevets said, straightening. ¡°I guess this is a big part of how you kept Mada a secret all these years.¡±


    Ekivia looked about to reply when the door bird came flapping down the hallway and landed on her shoulder with a soft squawk and a nip at her shirt.


    Nevets looked at her, questioningly. ¡°Were you expecting someone else?


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Ekivia said, suddenly nervous. ¡°There was someone I contacted, but I never heard if they were coming.¡± She pulled some nuts from her pants pocket, tossing them to the ground for the bird. It jumped down, fluttering its wings, and began cracking the nuts loudly. ¡°We¡¯ll introduce you to Mada once we know who¡¯s here.¡±


    **********


    The door opened and revealed Ekivia on the other side, with Nevets Sirrah standing near the table at the center of the entry hall.


    ¡°Ekivia.¡± Iakedrom smiled genuinely as he greeted her. ¡°Good to see you again.¡±


    ¡°Iakedrom,¡± Ekivia said, stepping aside to let him and his officers in. They wore coats similar to his, though of the near-black grey color with the handless shield of the regular law officers, not investigators. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you so soon.¡±


    She spoke casually enough, though Iakedrom didn¡¯t miss the slight paleness to her eyes or the way she glanced at Nevets.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to be back so soon,¡± Iakedrom said, stepping around the table in the center of the entry and holding out his prosthetic right hand toward Nevets. ¡°Iakedrom Yerag. Mr. Sirrah, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. I read your book on prosthetics, for obvious reasons, and was impressed at how well you made genetic engineering accessible and understandable, even to a layman like myself.¡±


    ¡°A pleasure to meet you as well, investigator Yerag,¡± Nevets said, taking Iakedrom¡¯s hand and shaking it while glancing nervously past him at the other officers. Yes, there was definitely something suspicious going on here, though Iakedrom couldn¡¯t yet know if it would be benign or not.


    ¡°How can we help you?¡± Ekivia asked, drawing his attention back from Nevets. ¡°You were just here, what, two weeks ago? I don¡¯t think I could have broken the law in that short amount of time.¡± She glanced at Nevets significantly, and Iakedrom followed the gaze. It seemed Ekivia was trying to tell the short na something with that statement. Perhaps he hadn¡¯t known why Iakedrom normally visited?


    Despite the uncommon tension in the room, Iakedrom was impressed with how casually Ekivia spoke. He supposed after nearly twenty years that was to be expected. ¡°I just received orders to come look around and maybe ask a few questions. I¡¯m sorry for the intrusion.¡±


    ¡°No problem at all,¡± Ekivia said, and Iakedrom gestured for the other officers to start looking around the house. ¡°Nevets was just telling me about his work. He¡¯s writing a new book. I may not get to participate in genetic engineering, but it still interests me quite a bit.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me a little about it while I look around?¡± Iakedrom said, going to the stairs and waving them to follow, which they did though Nevets hesitated, looking to Ekivia to make the first move. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate the company.¡±


    They climbed the stairs together.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Nevets began as they neared the top, and Iakedrom looked at him, noticing a nervous glance down the left hall. ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s something I¡¯m ready to share with someone quite yet.¡±


    ¡°Aside from Ekivia of course,¡± Iakedrom said, turning left at the top of the stairs. ¡°I understand. It¡¯s in early stages and¡­¡±


    His shoe crushed on nutshells left on the floor, interrupting his train of thought. This must have been where they were when the door bird fetched them. He crouched and scooped the shells up, noticing something odd as he did so.


    There were faint scratches on the floor here, so small that he wouldn¡¯t have noticed them if he were standing or walking by. They made a curving pattern across the floor, like those a door might leave when it was too loose on its hinge vine. He glanced across the hall at the door there, but it wasn¡¯t large enough to make these marks, and besides, the curve they followed would be made by a door swinging from the blank wall.


    He stood and glanced at Ekivia who seemed truly nervous for the first time as he handed her the nutshells. So he leaned forward, inspecting the wall closely. And there, hidden in the twists of the wall branches and the light vine he caught sight of a small, downward-pointing nub.


    A trigger branch.


    Reaching a finger between the woven branches, he flicked the trigger. Hingevines relaxed and seal vines retracted, allowing the hidden door to swing open smoothly. From the feel of it the door was well tuned, the hinge vine only slightly loose, likely from years of use. After all, it must have been here a long time, since the beginning even, for him to not have ever noticed there was a room here.


    He tapped the foot of his calling bird twice and it chirped quietly. The birds of the other officers in the house would chirp as well, and they would come to find him. Then he opened the door to the secret room. He took it in quickly, and it looked to be a bedroom, but for whom he couldn¡¯t guess. Aside from the furnishings and some clothing for a na, not a nawo, left lying around the room was empty. So Ekivia wasn¡¯t the one who used the room. The only reason to have such a space was to hide something or someone. In Ekivia¡¯s case, he thought it could be both. To hide an accomplice who could help her break the law and continue to engineer without a license.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need you both to come with me to Rebmevon,¡± Iakedorm said as the other officers arrived. It looked like something interesting was finally happening with Ekivia, and a part of him was sad about that. As much as he complained to Fosia, he didn¡¯t want this nawo to get in trouble. Though, he supposed it was too late for that now. ¡°I have some questions I need answers to.¡±


    **********


    Mada fidgeted nervously as he returned to Ekivia¡¯s home, wearing his protective clothing that kept the sun off and would make it harder for anyone to realize what he was should they see him. His heart thudded in his chest. And even though his eyes remained pink like the blending of fear and anger, it would be obvious to anyone who saw his face that he was terrified. He¡¯d always been anxious, so he thought it was appropriate that his hair and skin were fear-white. He was working on it though, which didn¡¯t mean the fear went away just that he was trying to confront it instead of run from it. Suggesting they bring in a third party to test him was one of these steps into fear. Actually meeting this new diordna? That seemed almost impossible. Mada didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to even speak.


    But fear-white and trembling, he would try anyway.


    After so long fearing the outside world, believing that no diordna in the world would treat him with respect, he found himself unable to dismiss his fears. Ekivia had tried soothing him last night, but it wasn¡¯t so simple. He knew from things Ekivia had said that he was more fearful than the average diordna, but why shouldn¡¯t he be? He was also more likely to be abused by them because they wouldn¡¯t see him as anything but a tool. Now he was about to be thrust into a world where animals were as important as trees. Well, more important, but respected only as much.


    He¡¯d been so nervous waiting in the house that he had to leave, to get rid of some of the nervous energy. So he went to a small shack in the forest and practiced some of the hand-to-hand he¡¯d been taught. It was part of any diorama¡¯s education to prepare them for the draft, so Ekivia had been sure to teach him the basics, and he came out here occasionally to practice. Ekivia herself had built the shack for him to hide in when Iakedrom came on his regular inspections, just to be extra cautious. It was hard to be so deathly still that he wouldn¡¯t make any noise at all, especially when he was nervous. And Iakedrom¡¯s visits did make him nervous.


    Apparently, Nevets¡¯s visits would do the same.


    He cracked his knuckles and shook his hands out, trying to banish the irritation he felt in them when he was nervous. After so long using it to escape the inspections, the shack felt like a safe place to him. It was his sanctuary, and while he¡¯d been there his nerves had settled. Now that he was heading back they¡¯d returned, however. So he supposed it hadn¡¯t been much help.


    He walked slowly, trying both to convince himself that everything was alright and that Ekivia would protect him, and to run away at the same time. He felt sick to his stomach as the back corner of the house came into view through the trees. Then he heard voices from around the front. Ekivia and Nevets must be out looking for him. He took a deep breath and tried to stand up straighter, then changed his path and made for the front yard.


    As he came around the corner he saw a large cat mount, though it wasn¡¯t a common transportation animal. No, this was a Pursuer. Large enough for three diordna to ride, the sleek black cats, originally based on panthers, were commonly used by law officers in their work. Nevets was a lucky na to have such an animal.


    Then the full scene came into view and Mada froze.


    The cat was not alone, and it did not belong to Nevets. There were two others, and officers to ride them. Ekivia and Nevets were being escorted from the front door by a na in the tan uniform of an investigator. Mada¡¯s breath became ragged and fearful, his eyes darting from the officers to Ekivia and Nevets. What in Dytie¡¯s name was happening? Iakedrom wasn¡¯t supposed to be here for another couple of months or so.


    His mind buzzed with questions and fear, and way behind it all, a tiny, unheard voice warned him to run. But even if he could hear it over the buzzing in his skull, his feet were firmly rooted by fear.


    Then Ekivia looked up and met his eyes, her own eyes widening in shock and filling with fear.


    **********


    "Oh, Dytie."


    The muttered curse from Ekivia drew Iakedrom¡¯s attention, and she glanced hurriedly away from something that had caught her eye in the trees somewhere. Her eyes turned completely white as she met his and realized he¡¯d heard her.


    He searched the tree line around the yard only briefly before seeing the figure standing among them. It was hard to see details in the shadows cast by the low sun through the trees, but that was definitely a diordna.


    "Is that one of our officers?" Iakedrom asked, looking around to count. No, They were all here in the yard with him.


    ¡°No, sir."


    Iakedrom turned to Ekivia and Nevets. ¡±Who is that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Ekivia responded, too quickly.


    Iakedrom waved to an officer. "Go see who came to visit."


    Almost before the words finished leaving his mouth, Ekivia leaped at the officer, latching onto his torso with both arms and looping one of her legs around his legs to trip him. Ekivia and the officer fell, thudding to the ground a mere meter from Iakedrom, and Ekivia shoved her forearm against the back of the officer¡¯s neck to try and pin him.


    In all his years checking up on Ekivia, all the time they spent chatting over the occasional lunch he¡¯d happened upon, Iakedrom had never seen anything like this from the nawo. She¡¯d always struck him as gentle and reserved. Now she grappled with one of his officers, growling fiercely, holding the na down, if not expertly then effectively.


    And the trigger for this transformation stood silhouetted in the trees.


    ¡°MADA!!¡± She shouted, still pinning the wriggling officer. Her shout awoke Iakedrom from the shock of what he was seeing and he leaped forward to help the na, grabbing Ekivia¡¯s arm and trying to pull her off the officer. ¡°RUN!!¡±


    Iakedrom glanced up at the figure, who seemed to hesitate slightly before taking a step toward the house. He tried to signal to the other officers with one hand while still grappling with Ekivia. They got the message and started toward the figure, removing batons from their belts as they did.


    ¡°NO!¡± Ekivia shouted so closely to Iakedrom that it made his ear ring. ¡°PLEASE!¡±


    The plea seemed to be directed toward the figure in the trees judging by the volume of her shout, but Iakedrom couldn¡¯t help but feel it was partially directed at him as well. The desperation in her voice was thicker this time, like a mother pleading with an invading army to spare her child.


    The figure turned and bolted, vanishing almost instantly behind trees. One of the officers who¡¯d moved to pursue thought better of going on foot and doubled back, climbing onto the back of one of their mounts to give chase.


    Unable to loosen her grip on the officer and growing frustrated, Iakedrom drew his cnido and leveled it at the side of Ekivia¡¯s head, his finger resting near the fang-like trigger sprouting from the handle, the world taking on a red tint as a little anger sight filled his eyes.


    Cnidos were fairly new technology, a weapon made of flesh and bone. Before acquiring one Iakedrom had wanted to understand them, so he¡¯d read up on the topic. Much of what he read flew over his head, but he got the gist of it. Like his prosthetic, it had a set of small lungs and a small heart to keep it alive and functioning, and he had to inject it periodically with nutrients as well. It reminded him a little of holding a snake around the neck with his thumb on its head, though the short ¡°neck¡± of the cnido had bone running through it and the head was elongated. Earlier models hadn¡¯t had much of a nose, but the newer ones, like this one, did. Supposedly it helped with accuracy.


    The trigger bone protruding from the handle was small and curved like a fang, but backward, so the tip pointed forward instead of back and was easier to loop a finger around. From his reading, Iakedrom knew that inside the cnido were cells, related to the stingers of jellyfish of all things, that were about the size of a small egg. The cells were under extreme internal pressure, one side of them pulled inward by suction. Inside the dimple was a short bone, like a sharpened cylinder. When the trigger on the handle was pulled something inside stimulated the cell, causing air to rush in and fill the vacuum with such force that it made a painfully loud cracking sound and could fling the bone from the nose of the weapon and through the skull of a diordna at close range if you hit them in the right place, killing them. It was less effective at longer ranges, but it would still do damage to anyone hit. Bows were generally more effective, especially at long range, but the cnido took much less skill and was far easier to carry and use as a law officer.


    ¡°Kiv!¡± Navets shouted, and she turned, looking at the nose of the cnido as if she were meeting the eyes of a predator.


    Her grip loosened on the struggling officer and the two of them stood.


    ¡°Please,¡± Ekivia said as she looked around at them all, anger and fear in her eyes, desperation in her voice. ¡°I couldn¡¯t live with myself if something happened to him.¡±


    She seemed to be speaking to everyone present, not just Iakedrom.


    ¡°Please,¡± She repeated, and Iakedrom softened his expression.


    ¡°Look, Kiv,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt anybody. Why don¡¯t you start by telling me who that was.¡±


    ¡°It was no one,¡± Ekivia said, eyes slightly pink. That was a color he associated with defiance.


    ¡°Now I find that hard to believe,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°After all, you used his name, and you assaulted an officer of the law to protect him.¡±


    Ekivia met his eyes, more red bleeding into her sight in defiance. Iakedrom felt himself growing angrier with her.


    ¡°I want to help you if I can,¡± He said, trying not to clench his teeth. ¡°But I can¡¯t if you tell me nothing. I need you to help me help you.¡±


    She glared at him. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±


    Again he was struck by the contrast between this intense nawo standing before him and the one he¡¯d known for almost twenty years. He was surprised to realize that the contrast hurt. He felt lied to like it had all been an act. He thought they were developing a friendship after all this time, and he truly respected her not just as what she once was, but as the retired geneticist she was now. Had all these years just been an act? Had she been lying and manipulating him all this time, pretending to be someone she wasn¡¯t? That thought made him both sorrowful and angry at once, darkening his eyes. That was another question he would get answers to eventually.


    He felt betrayed, and the more he thought about it the angrier he became, to the point that he could feel his oil pressure rise.


    In his anger Iakedrom made a snap decision, quickly turning the cnido aside and pulling the trigger, sending a bonelette burrowing into the dirt beside Ekivia¡¯s feet with a loud, painful, crack. The handle was red from being squeezed, and the cnidoblast, or empty bonelette launching cell, slid out the bottom of the handle, fell, and splattered in the dirt.


    ¡°You will,¡± Iakedrom said, noting with some satisfaction the uncertainty he now saw in Ekivia. If she would change in an instant to become a dangerous opponent, he would mirror that change. ¡°You¡¯ve always been kind and cooperative before today, but what I just saw was anything but. It leaves me wondering how well I really knew you. I want you to remember that not only my job to investigate, but to interrogate. And I¡¯m good at it. I will have answers eventually.¡±


    ¡°Tell me, Iakedrom,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°Have you ever interrogated a mother?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Iakedrom began to respond, but motion caught the corner of his eyes.


    They¡¯d all been so focused on Ekivia that they¡¯d failed to notice Nevets, who had moved around to one of the Pursuers. The short na heaved himself into the saddle and kicked the beast into motion. Iakedrom raised his cnido, aiming it at Nevets. He hesitated a moment to increase the range, not wanting to kill the na, just stop him. It would hurt his accuracy, but he couldn¡¯t afford to kill the little scientist.


    Ekivia leaped at him as he was pulling the trigger, sending his aim wild as they fell to the ground together. Iakedrom¡¯s back thudded to the dirt, the force of the blow knocking the wind from him. Ekivia held his cnido arm by the wrist, pinning it in the dirt as she shouted over her shoulder.


    ¡°GO!¡± An officer grabbed her and yanked her off Iakedrom. ¡°FINISH WHAT I STARTED!¡±

 Chapter 4: Esile

    Chapter 4: Esile


    "Research Log, 17 Years, 19 Days (Day 5,828)


    ¡°I have been dreading this day since Mada was born. I told myself I¡¯d reach out to have his intelligence tested when I was ready but ready still hasn¡¯t come. But it needs to be done.


    ¡°I''ve decided to bring in Nevets Sirrah for several reasons, the most important being that I trust him. He came in for some early tests of Mada¡¯s siblings so he¡¯ll know how to approach this. Besides that his work on the physical and mental capacity of animals is unparalleled. He¡¯s well known by geneticists and lay diordna alike. He¡¯ll add credibility to my work and Mada¡¯s status as an individual and not a tool. Knowing that I would likely go to him for this I¡¯ve made efforts to maintain a friendship with Nevets though time and the distance to the city often make it hard to make plans together. He is a good friend to me, and I hope I have been a good friend to him. Without his help, I don¡¯t know how we can carve a place for Mada to live in this world.


    ¡°From here on the research will be his. I have done all I can. And I am far too close with Mada to look at him objectively.¡±


    Nevet¡¯s heart pounded faster than the pursuer¡¯s feet against the forest floor, the world tinted so white with his fear that it nearly blinded him, and had to keep blinking hard to try and clear his vision. This was insane. When he¡¯d accepted Ekivia¡¯s invitation to visit he never would have predicted that he would be stealing a pursuer and chasing down an officer of the law to protect a project started nearly twenty years ago. Nevets understood that if Mada was taken he¡¯d be confiscated at least and destroyed at worst. He was made by an unlicensed engineer in clear violation of the law. Nevets could maybe talk around that fact and save them, but he wouldn¡¯t get that chance if Mada was destroyed and he was discredited for breaking the law. Although, stealing a pursuer was also breaking the law. He didn¡¯t know what to do.


    But Ekivia was his friend, and her plea kept ringing in his ears. Please. I couldn¡¯t live with myself if something happened to him. This wasn¡¯t just about a project. This wasn¡¯t just Ekivia¡¯s last creation, not just her livelihood. This was her life. Her family. And he was determined to do what he could to help her keep it intact.


    She¡¯d said it toward Iakedrom, but Nevets had felt it was truly meant for him. And he¡¯d made a promise that they were in this together. Though he didn¡¯t know how yet, he¡¯d buy time for one of them to come up with a plan that would protect them all. If that was even possible.


    For now, that meant crashing through the forest on one of the fastest mounts available in Drolian territory. He drove the mount as fast as he felt he could without driving it headlong into a tree. He prayed to Dytie that he was headed in the right direction, as he couldn¡¯t see or hear the officer who¡¯d set out after Mada first. He thought he was going the right way, but it was hard to be sure, and they could have turned at any point. For all he knew, Mada was already taken captive, back at Ekivia¡¯s house, and this had all been in vain.


    As he thought that he heard the crack of a cnido to the right, and pulled the reigns, turning his sleek black beast toward the sound. It only took a moment of weaving through the trees at dangerous speeds before he spotted the other pursuer. Its officer stood on the ground in front of it, cnido drawn and held forward, Mada kneeling in the dirt with his head bowed, body heaving with breaths so heavy Nevets could see the motion from fifty meters away. It didn¡¯t look like the AI had been shot though.


    The officer was approaching Mada slowly, cautiously, and Nevets whispered a prayer of gratitude to Dytie. The officer glanced toward Nevets as he approached at full speed, then turned back to Mada, obviously mistaking him for backup. She pulled a rope from her hip and commanded Mada to lie down and put his hands behind his back. Nevets was only a few bounds of the pursuer away. He aimed the pursuer toward the other mount and gave a single verbal command in its ear.


    ¡°Chikt.¡±


    The short sound was not one known by most diordna, but Nevets had worked with these beasts before and helped train the sound into their minds. They couldn¡¯t use real words so anyone stealing the creature wouldn¡¯t know how to use it to its full dangerous potential. This particular command had another safety feature. It would only be obeyed from the rider on the mount¡¯s back.


    A command to attack.


    Nevets¡¯s pursuer slowed for a brief moment as it reached its target and Nevets leaped off, tackling the officer as his mount sunk its teeth into the other pursuer. There was a loud crunch as Nevets and the officer crashed to the ground, and the wind left his body in a burst. He rolled off the nawo and tried to stand on shaky legs. Oil oozed from several cuts on Nevets¡¯s right arm, though they weren¡¯t bad. Behind him the growls of the pursuers made the air rumble, and he felt the vibrations in the ground when they thudded against the ground.


    The officer stood, eyes pink with angry shock. Her uniform was torn in several places, with oily oozing trails wetting it around the tears. In their fall she¡¯d landed on the cnido, now laying forgotten and broken on the ground, and its cnidoblasts had all triggered with their explosive force, sending them into the dirt and tearing across her torso. As soon as she got to her feet one of her legs buckled. It appeared that one of the bonelettes had shot straight into her thigh.


    She reached for her baton, rising despite the obvious pain in her leg, blackness mixing with the red and white in her eyes. She stepped forward and Nevets looked around desperately for a weapon, a branch, or anything to defend himself with, but before he could the officer was on him. He raised his arms, blocking the baton and protecting his head with his forearms. Almost as soon as the baton made contact with his arms she swung again, this time at his side, and he thought he felt one of his ribs crack.


    Desperate to end the assault, Nevets dove forward, tackling the officer again. They hit the ground hard, and he scrabbled desperately at her wrist, trying to pin it down along with the baton. He¡¯d barely managed to restrain the weapon, feeling a momentary sense of relief and victory join his terror. He pressed her wrist against the dirt with one hand, trying to pry the weapon away from her with the other as she wriggled beneath him.


    The officer punched him in the side of the head, knocking him off her. In mere moments she was on him, pinning him far more expertly than he had her, somehow restraining his legs with hers while also pinning his upper body with her hands. No matter how he struggled he couldn¡¯t free himself. It had been too long since he¡¯d taken hand-to-hand training seriously, and he was regretting that for the first time. He had failed Ekivia and himself, though he didn¡¯t know how he could have done more.


    Just as he was giving up a rope loop around the officer¡¯s neck from behind, yanking the nawo back and off Nevets. The officer dropped her baton in her surprise, reaching with both hands to grab the rope and try to pull it around her chin unsuccessfully.


    Mada pressed one hand to the back of the nawo¡¯s neck and pulled on the two ends of the rope with the other. The officer thrashed, twisting and grasping the air around her head, but was unable to get ahold of Mada. The AI had control of the fight for now, but Nevets didn¡¯t know how long that would last. He needed to help.


    Nevets grabbed the baton from the dirt and scrambled to his feet, pulled the weapon to the side, and just before he swung the officer met his eyes. Pale fear overwhelmed the other emotions in them, fear that reflected Nevets¡¯s own.


    He swung the baton, striking the nawo on the side of the head. The weapon bounced off her hard metal skull, breaking the skin near the temple and sending a few drops of oil flying. She teeter for a moment, then collapsed, and Mada let the rope go, allowing her to slump onto her side in the torn-up dirt.


    Behind Nevets the pursuers continued to fight, grunting and roaring at one another, though with much less energy than when they started. Nevets could sympathize with that.


    He turned to the creatures and spoke another command, one that could be given by anyone if they knew the right word, though that was a closely guarded secret as well.


    ¡°Mbek.¡±


    The pursuers stopped fighting and stepped away from each other, settling down on the overturned dirt. Panting loudly, they began licking their wounds, and Nevets turned back to Mada and the unconscious officer.


    ¡°Sorry I didn¡¯t jump in and help sooner,¡± Mada said, not meeting Nevets¡¯s eyes.


    Nevets shook his head. ¡°No need to apologize. You did fine.¡±


    Mada nodded but didn¡¯t seem to agree. The only feature Nevets could see of the AI was Mada¡¯s eyes, pink irises, and a few strands of white hair peeking between his mask and hat. And he was tall, maybe even a little taller than Ekivia herself. She hadn¡¯t mentioned any physical details earlier, though they hadn¡¯t had much of a chance to discuss these kinds of details. And despite the lack of changing pigment in Mada¡¯s eyes or the mask disguising his expression Nevets could see the tension in Mada¡¯s posture and in the way he kept glancing around, from the pursuers to the baton in Nevets¡¯s hand to the officer on the ground.


    As what they¡¯d just done slowly began to dawn on Nevets he became dizzy, his eyes yellowing with disgust sight. His hands and chest were covered in a combination of his own oil and that of the officer, and trying to rub the oil from his palms didn¡¯t much help. There was even a little blood from the destroyed cnido. He didn¡¯t know enough to say whether or not the officer would be ok with that wound in her leg and the cuts across her body from the bonelettes or if she¡¯d lose too much oil, but he thought she probably would survive. He could see that she was breathing at least, so that was good.


    If he hadn¡¯t been committed to this endeavor before, he was now whether he liked it or not.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tie her up,¡± Nevets said, legs shaking as he lowered himself to sit against a tree. ¡°Just in case she wakes up.¡±


    Mada nodded, hurrying to do as he was told.


    Nevets brought his knees up by his chest and leaned his head against them. This was one of the worst ways their first meeting could have gone. The chaos and the investigator¡­ how had Iakedrom known to drop in on this exact day?


    As his head started to calm down, Nevets began prodding at his body, feeling the many bruises and checking his reins to see if any were broken. He was no machinologist, but he thought he might be able to tell if something was broken. He was wrong of course, all he could tell was that it hurt. Diordna bruising was different from animal bruising, the skin hardening from the pressure of the impact that caused the bruise in the first place. Luckily Nevets didn¡¯t have any bruises on his joints. Those could be a huge pain, slowing or even stopping joint movement for days on end.


    Mada finished tying the officer¡¯s hands and feet together, then turned toward Nevets. ¡°Where¡¯s Ekivia?¡±


    ¡°She distracted them so I could get to you,¡± Nevets said.


    ¡°So¡­what do we do now?¡± Mada asked, voice shaking slightly. ¡°We have to find a way to help her.¡±


    ¡°Right now I think the best way to help her is to do the work I came here to do,¡± Nevets said, trying to formulate a plan even as he spoke. ¡°She¡¯s arrested for engineering without a license, though they don¡¯t realize it yet. When they do realize it we want to be sure we¡¯re ready with a response.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a good idea,¡± Mada said. ¡°Prove I¡¯m not property and you prove she didn¡¯t break the law. If I¡¯m a diordna then all she did was have a child through unconventional means. And even if they did find her guilty, what she made, if presented right, could appear to be more important than the law, and so forgivable.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Nevets said, more surprise in his voice than he wanted. He hoped Mada didn¡¯t catch it. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have said it better myself. We¡¯ll need to find a safe place first though. Can¡¯t do the work if we¡¯re in prison.¡±


    ¡°Or if I¡¯m destroyed,¡± Mada said in a whisper, head down. Then he looked up at Nevets. ¡°I know a place we can hide for now.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Nevets said. ¡°I¡¯m Nevets by the way.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Mada said.


    Nevets smiled. ¡°I figure as much. I just thought we should formally introduce ourselves since we didn¡¯t get the chance earlier.¡±


    ¡°Ok,¡± Mada said. ¡°Then I¡¯m Mada I guess.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Nevets said, finally feeling steady enough to stand. ¡°Let¡¯s get to this hiding place of yours.¡±


    **********


    Considering all that had happened, Iakedrom felt lucky to have returned to the city before nightfall. They were approaching summer though, so daylight was longer lately. He rode his pursuer with Ekivia tied to the saddle behind him, and his officers rode around them, the wounded Ailyaj on the other unwounded mount, while the others rode the two bleeding animals. That had slowed them down, but not too badly. The creatures were well designed and would work until they died if you pushed them hard enough. Iakedrom thought they¡¯d survive though.


    Before leaving he¡¯d called for a search team to hunt for Nevets and the one called Mada, and to retrieve anything that might be relevant evidence from Ekivia¡¯s house. They¡¯d crossed paths with the group of fifteen officers, five of them riding canine mounts used in tracking, called simply trackers. Iakedrom always thought the creatures looked goofy, white with brown spots, long drooping ears, and legs too short for their bodies, but they were extremely good at their job and could carry up to four riders on their long saddle. They would find the fugitives soon enough, and until then Iakedrom had answers to find.


    The city of Rebmevon was one of the oldest and largest in Drolian territory. It wasn¡¯t always so large, but in the last generation or so it had expanded following the invention of grown buildings and had quite a variety of structures, some of the old brick or stone style, others of the newer tree, and still others the bamboo, all pressing up against each other and competing for space. There were constant building projects going on, tearing down old structures and growing larger new ones to accommodate the increasing population. But right down the center of the city, there was a large street entirely in the old style that wound from the south end all the way north and housed the garrison stationed here.


    It was fairly near a heavily contested region called the Mahkram region to the northeast, and so had been destroyed more than once. But it was also the best place to house a large military force that could be deployed quickly to push back an attack on Mahkram. It was a cruel irony that one of the most fertile farming territories for metal pods of both coprum and ferrum was right near the border between the Drolian and Redaeli territories. Still, Rebmevon was far enough back that it was never the first strike in an assault, so it could grow, and most felt safe living here. The garrison also helped with that feeling of safety, currently just under 10,000, though three-quarters of them were out of the city on patrol right now. Add to that a substantial police force and the city was sure to keep growing.


    If they¡¯d had to cross the entire city to reach his officer¡¯s house it would have been dark when they arrived, so Iakedrom felt lucky that their headquarters was on the southeast side of the city. He rode his mount to the front of the building, one of the old two-story brick ones, and let Ekivia down. As the two of them entered the building the other officers in his small team took the wounded mounts to the stables out back, and Ailyuj took herself to a hospital. Most of her wounds looked to be surface wounds, so she¡¯d probably be ok.


    ¡°Iak?¡± Fosia said as he entered the room.


    The officer¡¯s house was not where they lived, but where they worked. The main room was an open space with modern grown desks and chairs where investigators could sit and work. The doors were all grown as well, integrated into the brick structure by vines that grew between them so they supported each other. These same support vines would glow with bioluminescence at night, providing a cleaner source of light than the old torches. The brick still bore blackened scars from those. Iakedrom closed the entry door and heard the hinge vines tighten with a rough, almost grinding, sound.


    The main room was about fifteen meters wide by twenty long, with rooms on both sides. The ones along the right wall were used for meetings of investigators or to get some quiet while they worked, and their commander used the one at the very back for an office. The rooms on the left were all interrogation rooms or temporary holding for suspects. Just to the right of the entrance was the stairway, which led up to the prison floor, though there was some storage space up there as well for evidence or confiscated items. The supplies for the officers were kept out back in the stables with the mounts.


    ¡°Things got interesting,¡± Iakedrom said to Fosia.


    ¡°And it looks like not in a sexy way,¡± Fosia said. ¡°That¡¯s a shame.¡±


    Iakedrom gave her a flat stare. ¡°How about you? Did you get your nap in?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. Been too busy.¡± Fosia sighed and glanced at Ekivia. ¡°One of our other guests refuses to answer questions until they can see you personally. They say they want a chance to look at your arm. I¡¯d appreciate if you could pop in real fast so things can get rolling.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Let me get Ekivia settled and I¡¯ll be right over.¡±


    Fosia nodded, returning to her desk to wait while Iakedrom went to one of the interrogation rooms. The main structure of the rooms was brick, but in recent years they¡¯d put new doors on, grown from vines and using hinges and triggers like the ones in Ekivia¡¯s home. This not only allowed for greater privacy if they felt they needed it, but also made it possible to seal the entrance more easily by including a seal trigger on the outside only that would stimulate vines to grasp the walls all around the door and hold it in place.


    Iakedrom sat Ekivia down on a bush-grown chair in front of a bush-grown table. ¡°I trust I won¡¯t need to bring in a constrictor for you?¡± He asked the nawo.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t don¡¯t anything wrong,¡± Ekivia said.


    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t done anything wrong you wouldn¡¯t be hiding anything,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Diordna only hide things that they think others would think were wrong. I¡¯m not your enemy. I thought we might have been developing a friendship after all this time. I suppose I was wrong about that.¡±


    ¡°Not entirely,¡± Ekivia said quietly.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s good to hear,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Though I¡¯d like to see that, not just hear it. I¡¯m not sure I know who you really are, so when I get back I want to hear an explanation. I honestly hope that explanation matches the good diordna I¡¯ve come to know. Just think about that for a little.¡±


    He stepped through the doorway and closed the door, flicking both the regular trigger branch to tighten the hinges in place and the seal trigger to lock the door shut. Thick vines uncurled from around the edges of the door, reaching outward to grip the brick frame. He paused a moment outside the door, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his palms, the squishy flesh of his prosthetic doing little to alleviate the pressure he was starting to feel behind his eyes. Today had been an emotional day, it was hard to keep it all in.


    He sighed, then crossed the room to where Fosia sat, scratching at his itchy prosthetic absently.


    "You really shouldn''t do that," Fosia said, gesturing toward his prosthetic. "It may heal fast, but you¡¯ll leave scars, and the healing takes energy. It can wear them out faster.¡±


    "The damn thing itches," Iakedrom said. "What do you expect me to do?"


    Fosia reached into one of the shelves at the side of her desk where she kept her personal items and presented a leather pouch. ¡°I needed a break so I picked this up for you. It¡¯s supposed to help with the itching.¡±


    She tossed it to Iakedrom and he caught it with the prosthetic hand, still surprised at how close to natural that felt sometimes. He opened the pouch and dipped his metal fingers into it, removing a small blob of the creamy yellow substance and applying it to the prosthetic.


    ¡°Better?¡± Fosia asked.


    ¡°A little,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Thank you. Learn anything we didn¡¯t already know from the Craftsman while I was away?¡±


    Fosia sighed and glared at her desk. ¡°No. But I haven¡¯t been in there for a while. Like I said, I needed a break. I¡¯ve been trying to do a little work on another case to clear my head.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I¡¯m assuming our ¡®Esile¡¯ is the one that wanted to see my prosthetic then? Which room is she in?¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°Six,¡± Fosia said.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t learned her real name yet?¡± Iakedrom asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Fosia said. ¡°Though I have compared her to Esile¡¯s portraits from before she died, and they do look more than similar. If the portraits weren¡¯t so old I¡¯d say they were the same person.¡±


    ¡°Do you know if it¡¯s possible she survived?¡±


    ¡°I checked with a machinologist, and she didn¡¯t think so,¡± Fosia said. ¡°Though she also admitted that most diordna die at war, so she didn¡¯t have many records of very old diordna.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Iakedrom said, sighing. ¡°Wish me luck in there.¡±


    ¡°Good luck in there,¡± Fosia said with a crooked smile. ¡°You¡¯re going to need it.¡±


    Iakedrom grimaced and rubbed his forehead. A little orange oxidized skin flaked off as he did so. He needed a chance to scrub off. Maybe in a few hours, he¡¯d take some time to clean up and get some sleep. But for now, he didn¡¯t have time.


    He walked across the room, passing two desks with other investigators at them on the way to room six. He paused outside the door, then touched the triggers and pushed it open. Their ¡±Esile¡± was average height and far above average strength. Her eyes were clear of color, clear of emotion. The real Esile was the greatest mind in their nation, possibly the world. Her work led to the creation of all nonanimal organics, as they called them. Things like his prosthetic and the cnido he wore on his belt. She theorized it was possible long before anyone else thought so, and time after time her theories proved right.


    The only reason she wasn¡¯t laughed into oblivion in her time was that she contributed in several other ways as well, advancing diordna medicine and their understanding of the inner workings of their bodies. She posited that animal bodies were created by Dytie as a model, then the robot bodies were made as a final perfection of that form. Muscles, the apertures of the eye, the joints, and how they fit together. There wasn¡¯t anything quite like diordna kind among animals, but there were many animals that seemed to have parts of diordna in them. She figured that if they were modeled after animals in some way then perhaps the two could interact. After all, the impulses that drove an animal¡¯s body weren¡¯t that different from the ones that drove a diordna body. She was supposed to have died generations ago at war, like all of them would eventually.


    She was perhaps the most brilliant mind ever born to diordna kind. And if this Esile was that Esile, then she was beyond insane.


    Even though her feet and hands were bound to the table by constrictors, strong snakes that would tighten their grip if she resisted them, Iakedrom had the door sealed by another officer as he entered. He wasn¡¯t going to risk anything when it came to this nawo.


    She smiled as he approached her. ¡°Iakedrom, I¡¯m glad you could visit.¡±


    ¡°I¡­can¡¯t say the same,¡± Iakedrom said.


    She laughed. ¡°That¡¯s ok, I understand. I¡¯m glad all the same.¡±


    A small patch of oil under her palm caught Iakedrom¡¯s eye. ¡°Did something happen to your hand?¡±


    ¡°Oh, this,¡± She said, lifting her hand slightly, though not giving Iakedrom a good view of the wound. ¡°I hurt myself a little moving around in these restraints. Nothing for you to worry about, though I appreciate the concern.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Now, you¡¯ve gotten to see me and my arm and you know what we want. This cooperation can¡¯t be one way, I think you know that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I understand that,¡± Esile said, taking on a serious expression and nodding. ¡°You want names. Starting with my real one, which I promise I have given you. But I was wondering one thing before I start giving them to you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not how this works,¡± Iakedrom said.


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t you wouldn¡¯t be here,¡± She replied quickly, then rushed on. ¡°But it¡¯s just a small thing. I just wasn¡¯t to feel the prosthetic. Just a quick touch and that¡¯s all.¡±


    Iakedrom met her eyes, staring into them, looking for a reason behind her request. He could think of none. The nawo was unstable, that was reason enough. He thought a moment, glancing at the constrictor around her wrists. With one of those weaving around her wrists and through holes in the table to keep her in place, she wouldn¡¯t be able to attempt an attack, so he stepped forward hesitantly and reached out.


    She lifted her hand slightly, but he pulled away just before he got close.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a game, Esile,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°There will be no more requests from you after this.¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Esile said. She sounded so kind, reassuring, gentle when she spoke. She was anything but.


    Iakedrom nodded, then placed his prosthetic hand against hers. He felt faintly the smearing of oil from her wounded palm, why Fosia hadn¡¯t had it bandaged yet was beyond him. He supposed¡ª


    Esile stabbed something into his prosthetic hand, and the pain was sharp enough that even the weaker signals from the arm were enough to make him yank his hand back instinctively. He stared momentarily at his palm at what she¡¯d used as a weapon. It appeared to be a piece of her skin, though it was hard and formed into a point. He looked at her oily palm and what she¡¯d done clicked. She¡¯d bitten off some of her own skin, then hardened it by crushing it with her teeth and shaping it into a small barb. His eyes filled with a deep orange angry disgust as he stepped to the door and called to be let out.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± She said, visibly relaxing. ¡°Did you want to take the names or was the other one going to do that?¡±


    Iakedrom glared at her as the door opened, then stepped out of the room. He held the hand up to keep the blood from dripping on the floor while he looked for a bandage kit.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Fosia asked, eyes white with shock as she handed him a cloth.


    ¡°I think she chewed off some skin from her palm, hardened it with her teeth, and stabbed me with it.¡±


    Fosia¡¯s eyes turned to yellow disgust sight. ¡°That¡¯s pretty bad. How¡¯d she get so close?¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t,¡± Iaekdrom said, glaring. ¡°I got too close to her, let her touch my prosthetic. I didn¡¯t think she could do anything, restricted as she is. Shoulda known better with her.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Fosia said. ¡°You shoulda. At least it wasn¡¯t the other hand though, right?


    ¡°This better get us some answers,¡± Iakedrom said, gritting his teeth. His hand was suddenly itchy, far itchier than he¡¯d ever felt before, bordering on pain. ¡°Can you grab me that cream from earlier? My hand is so itchy I can barely stand it.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we get Esile¡¯s skin out of it first?¡± Fosia said, concerned.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get it,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°You get the cream.¡±


    Fosia nodded and ran back to his desk. The itching had moved to his wrist now, and he reached over to pull the barb from his palm.


    But it wasn¡¯t in his palm anymore, it was on his wrist, a trail of fluid shapes etched in what looked to be black ink from the wound down along behind it. The piece of skin was vibrating quickly and seemed to be crawling across the flesh of the prosthetic, continuing to leave a trail of ink behind it.


    Iakedrom yelped, grabbing the animated skin and tearing it from his prosthetic. It resisted only slightly, leaving a small welling of blood where it had been when he tugged it off, and he threw it to the ground violently.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Fosia asked as she returned. ¡°I thought you were just¡­¡±


    She trailed off as he showed her his arm and the marks on it. Her eyes darted from the marks to the skin on the ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± She said quietly.


    Iakedrom nodded. ¡°Esile¡¯s skin was alive.¡±


    ¡°This day just keeps getting worse, doesn¡¯t it,¡± Fosia said.


    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement,¡± Iakedrom agreed. ¡°Call a machinologist, see if they¡¯ve seen anything like this.¡±


    Fosia nodded. ¡°At least you can¡¯t say it¡¯s boring anymore.¡±


    Iakedrom tried to laugh, but it came out sounding more like a grunt. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s a good thing anymore.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Fosia said. ¡°Me neither.¡±


    Iakedrom removed the emergency aid kit from his belt and used one of the cloth bandages to contain the blood oozing from his prosthetic hand. Every office had a small pouch like this one that they took with them when they left the officer¡¯s house. It had a couple cloth bandages and a leather cord for wounds or to stabilize a hurt limb. He¡¯d only had to use it a few times before, and never for his prosthetic.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to Ekivia,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°We can swap notes later tonight if we have time.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Fosia said, and she returned to her desk.


    Iakedrom went to the room where he¡¯d deposited Ekivia earlier and opened the door. She was standing in the corner of the room opposite the door and turned to look at him when he entered.


    He gestured to the chair at the table. ¡°Have a seat.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather stand if you don¡¯t mind,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°What happened to your hand?¡±


    Iakedrom glanced down at it. Blood was already showing a little through the cloth. ¡°I¡¯ve just had a rather unpleasant experience and I don¡¯t find myself very trusting, so I¡¯ll ask again nicely. Please sit down.¡±


    Ekivia met his eyes and looked like she was going to defy him again, but nodded and sat down. Iakedrom stood across the table from her and met her eyes. His mind was a jumble of thoughts and he was having a hard time turning any of them into questions. He kept returning to a line of questions that were not the kind he would normally ask, though this was not a normal situation either. He was tired and confused and just wanted to get some rest, but there was one thing he wanted to know first.


    ¡°I have known you for almost twenty years,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°A long time. After all that time, I thought we¡¯d developed some level of trust. Was I wrong to believe that? Were you pretending all this time? After what happened today I can only guess that was all a farce, though I never took you for an actress.¡±


    Ekivia never looked away from him, and he thought he saw a little color enter her eyes but couldn¡¯t tell which emotion it was. ¡°You weren¡¯t wrong. I do trust you.¡±


    ¡°Really,¡± Iakedrom said flatly. ¡°This is a strange way to show it.¡±


    ¡°Just because you trust someone doesn¡¯t mean you trust them with everything,¡± Ekivia said, her eyes reddening. ¡°Besides, your job is to be suspicious of me. You expect me to believe you ever trusted me?¡±


    The barb stung as she said it. She was right, he wasn¡¯t supposed to trust her. He¡¯d gotten too relaxed with her, too friendly after so long with no issues. His trips out to her house had become more and more casual recently.


    That had been a mistake.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Iakedrom said, eyes reddening to match the anger in Ekivia¡¯s. As they did the entire room tinted the color, and it made her eyes appear uncolored. That was one of the effects of sharing the same emotion as someone else. The tint in your own eyes could make theirs look different. ¡°I should not have trusted you. I won¡¯t make the mistake again.¡±


    As he said it he saw her expression soften a little, though in his anger he couldn¡¯t be sure why. Emotion sight only told you so much about the thoughts of another person. He tried not to compromise his perception by getting overly emotional in a situation like this, but today had been hard.


    Ekivia opened her mouth to say something, but Iakedrom cut her off. ¡°Come with me. We¡¯ll get started with the real questions in the morning.¡±


    She closed her mouth and he led her out of the room by the rope that tied her hands together. They went upstairs and he put her in one of the cells up there. They were roughly half the size of the interrogation rooms, about two by three meters, with a narrow bed along one wall. When she was inside he untied her hands and closed the door.


    Then he went to the next cell over and lay down on the bed there, too exhausted to find another place to sleep.


    **********


    After traveling for some time, somewhere around an hour Nevets guessed, Mada finally stopped, for which Nevets was grateful. His lungs heaved, trying to consume as much air as possible and his entire body shook with exhaustion from their swift escape on foot. He put his hands on his knees, head bowed for a moment, before looking up at Mada. The AI was also breathing heavily, face tense with the effort of trying to get enough air, though he didn¡¯t seem nearly as bad off as Nevets. It clearly exercised regularly.


    ¡°We close?¡± Nevets asked, breathless.


    Mada gestured in front of himself, though Nevets couldn¡¯t see what he was indicating. The area looked almost like any other part of the forest, with its underbrush and wild grasses growing in patches around the trees and fallen branches. The only identifiable feature in the direction Mada indicated was that there was a large section of the ground between trees that was raised slightly, to about Nevets¡¯s waist from the regular height of the forest floor.


    ¡°What makes this mound of dirt safer than any other part of the forest?¡± Nevets asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you,¡± Mada said, though the AI hesitated, obviously uncomfortable, before approaching the mound. It¡­ no, he began digging in the dirt, plants, and dead branches along one side of the mount. Nevets had to keep reminding himself to use the proper pronoun out of respect for both Ekivia and Mada, even in his mind. It was harder than he thought it would be since he was so used to calling animals it no matter their sex, but he was determined to get it right quickly. He figured it would only take a day or two before calling Mada he became a more natural habit. ¡°Ekivia built this for me to hide in when Iakedrom made his visits, just to be safe.¡±


    He pulled away a large section of forest refuse and revealed that the underside of it all was a solid, door-like network of roots and branches. At Mada¡¯s feet was an opening leading into the mound, and he nodded for Nevets to enter.


    ¡°This is quite far from your home,¡± Nevets said as he stepped down, ducking to avoid brushing his head against the dirty roots that hung around the lip of the entrance.


    Once he was inside he could straighten up, and he looked around in the near darkness. The sun was nearly set, so not much light came from the entrance, but the structure had bioluminescent vines along the ceiling that were beginning to glow softly, so he got a good idea of the space. It wasn¡¯t large, just big enough for a single-person mattress in the dirt to one side, a short bookshelf with a few books in it, a circular table that was about a meter across, and a single chair. Not extravagant, but sufficient for a single occupant to stay in for a few hours at a time. The ceiling was domed, following the shape of the mound, and held up by crisscrossing vines and a sturdy trunk made of thick braided vines in the center of the room. Even with all that the ceiling was checkered with patches of dirt and the wisp roots of small plants outside, so it wasn¡¯t very thick. That made Nevets a little uncomfortable, worried that if someone came around they might hear them talking, but he supposed if they were quiet it probably wouldn¡¯t be an issue. And they could peek outside occasionally to listen for searchers if they felt the need.


    ¡°Ekivia wanted to be sure that no one would stumble on it accidentally if they searched around the house,¡± Mada said, pulling the door back over the entrance and deepening the darkness of the room so he was just a dim silhouette to Nevets. ¡°So we put it way out here. Iakedrom¡¯s visits were pretty regular, always at the same time of day, so I would just leave with enough time so we¡¯d both arrive at our destinations at the same time. And in case anyone did find themselves out this far the doorway faces away from the most likely directions they¡¯d come.¡±


    ¡°Smart,¡± Nevets said, still trying to catch his breath. ¡°And thorough, like always with Kiv.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mada said, and Nevets noticed his voice didn¡¯t come out in a rasping sigh like Nevets¡¯s own.


    An awkward silence passed between them, Mada standing uncomfortably by the door, his eyes glancing from table to bed to shelf but never toward Nevets, and Nevets uncertain if he should take the chair or just stand. He was exhausted after running as far as they could and then walking or jogging the rest of the way, and again he regretted not spending more time in exercise.


    ¡°Do you mind if I go lay down on your bed for a minute?¡± Nevets finally asked.


    ¡°Go right ahead,¡± Mada said, and Nevets shuffled over, lowering himself to the wool-stuffed mattress with a sigh.


    He lay there, eyes closed, hands on his chest until his breathing slowed and he felt like he wasn¡¯t going to die anymore. It occurred to him that they didn¡¯t have any food, which was a shame after all the energy they¡¯d spent getting here, and they probably wouldn¡¯t be getting anything soon either. Maybe Nevets could sneak out to Ekivia¡¯s cellar and bring something back? It would be dangerous since there were bound to be search parties, but they would need something soon.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Mada said, drawing Nevets attention away from their plight. He opened his eyes and turned toward it¡ªhim. He was sitting in the chair. ¡°Where do we start? With your study of me, I mean.¡±


    Nevets nodded turning to stare up at the ceiling. ¡°I¡¯d normally ask Ekivia some questions about your history and look at her notes and tests, but since I can¡¯t do that I guess the best place to start would be with some diagnostic questions. We can get started tonight, but tomorrow we should think about food and where else we could go to escape Iakedrom.¡±


    ¡°Ok,¡± Mada said. ¡°Will you need something to write with? I have a journal on my shelf and a stylus you could use.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the offer, but I have my own,¡± Nevets said, pulling a small notebook and pencil from a pocket in his vest. He never went anywhere without one, since he got ideas all the time and didn¡¯t want to lose them. This particular notebook was fairly new, with only a few pages already taken up by notes. It was about as big as his hand and had a saddle-stitched top spine instead of a side spine like a book. The stylus was only as long as his index finger and made of smooth lead.


    Nevets sat up and opened his notebook to a blank page, then paused. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t have any water to wet the stylus. Would you be willing to lick the tip for me?¡±


    Mada nodded and stepped over, taking the proffered stylus, licking the tip, and handing it back.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Nevets said. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get started. First some basic history. According to Ekivia¡¯s logs, you are nineteen. Did I do the math right?¡±


    ¡°You did,¡± Mada said.


    ¡°Good,¡± Nevets said, making a quick note. ¡°How tall are you?¡±


    ¡°A hundred and seventy-seven centimeters."


    Nevets nodded as he wrote it down. ¡°And what can you tell me about the circumstances of your birth?¡±


    ¡°Ekivia said I was her last project,¡± Mada said, glancing at Nevets out of the corner of his eyes. ¡°I had two siblings, but they were taken and killed by the priests when she lost her license. Someone helped her get the bees with her code in them and brought her an ape mother. They gave the name Egeil, but said it wasn¡¯t theirs.¡±


    Mada paused and Nevets kept writing. When the AI didn¡¯t continue speaking spoke again. ¡°Is that everything you know about it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mada said.


    ¡°Alright then. What can you tell me about your education?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Mada began. ¡°Ekivia says I¡¯m on par with diordna my age. She worked hard to be sure I got as normal an education as possible.¡±


    Nevets nodded as he wrote that down. ¡°I¡¯ll have to test that eventually, but for now this will do. I notice you refer to her as Ekivia. She told me that you¡¯re a son to her, so I expected you to call her mom. Is there a reason you don¡¯t? Is she not a mother to you?¡±


    Mada didn¡¯t answer immediately, tightening his lips and cracking his knuckles. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how that¡¯s relevant,¡± he finally said.


    ¡°You can roughly break down diordna intelligence into three categories,¡± Nevets began. ¡°Raw intelligence, or the ability to process information and solve problems. Emotional intelligence, or the ability to process emotions and apply them to situations. Social intelligence, or the ability to recognize and process social cues and then respond appropriately. Our conversations will test social, the more formal tests later will help me gauge your raw intelligence, and answers to questions like this one as well as your responses to whatever situation we may find ourselves in will help me measure your emotional intelligence. Make sense?¡±


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Mada said. ¡°How am I doing so far?¡±


    ¡°You seem socially uncomfortable, but that¡¯s not a bad thing since you can carry a conversation,¡± Nevets said. ¡°Dytie knows there are plenty of diordna who are uncomfortable in social situations, so that¡¯s not an issue. Your responses seem well thought out, so that¡¯s good too. And we¡¯ll have to see on the emotional side. So, are you ready to answer my question?¡±


    Mada took a deep breath and nodded. ¡°I used to call her mom when I was younger. But as I got older I realized how¡­different we are. We might be shaped the same, but we aren¡¯t made of the same material. After a while, I decided¡­I felt like I couldn¡¯t call her my mother anymore, at least not out loud. Not because of her, but because of me. That doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t care or that I don¡¯t feel like she is most of the time, it just means I struggle to express it where others can hear.¡±


    ¡°Others being¡­Ekivia,¡± Nevets said. ¡°Since she¡¯s been your only contact.¡±


    ¡°I¡­yeah,¡± Mada said, looking down at his hands. ¡°Aside from you now.¡±


    Nevets nodded. It sounded a little strange to him, and watching Mada he got the feeling something was missing, something the AI hadn¡¯t shared. But he decided not to press it. ¡°I think we can be done there for tonight.¡±


    ¡°Already?¡± Mada asked. Though his eyes didn¡¯t change, his voice sounded concerned. ¡°That wasn¡¯t very long.¡±


    ¡°The biolumes aren¡¯t very bright in here,¡± Nevets said. ¡°Trying to see my notes is starting to bother my eyes. And I could use some rest.¡±


    Mada nodded, looking down again. ¡°You can keep the bed. I¡¯ll take the floor.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Nevets asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mada replied. ¡°You¡¯re the guest here after all. And I owe you for getting to me on time.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡­thank you,¡± Nevets said. ¡°I appreciate the courtesy. But if you need to switch partway through the night please wake me up. We need to both have as much energy as possible in the morning.¡±


    Nevets settled down, tossing the pillow to Mada as the AI lay down in the dirt. It was the least he could do under the circumstances. Then he rolled over and closed his eyes.


    ¡°Nevets?¡± Mada said.


    Nevets opened his eyes but didn¡¯t turn toward him. ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Do you think Ekivia is ok?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Nevets said quietly, the room appearing even darker as his eyes started blackening with sorrow sight. ¡°I hope so. She¡¯s stubborn and tougher than she looks at first. I think she¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mada said, and Nevets heard concern in his voice. Even if his eyes didn¡¯t change, this creature seemed to have the same gamut of emotions that a diordna did. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you were dragged into this.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t dragged,¡± Nevets said. ¡°I chose to help you two, and even though things have gotten out of hand I stand by that choice.¡±


    Silence passed between them a moment, then Mada spoke again. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± Nevets asked.


    ¡°For getting to me before the officer,¡± Mada said. ¡°For believing Ekivia and risking yourself for both of us. For giving me a chance.¡±


    ¡°Ekivia is my friend,¡± Nevets said in a whisper. ¡°I can¡¯t say if she¡¯s right to risk so much for you, but she trusted me to do the same. If she is right¡­well, then you¡¯re the closest thing to family she has left, and I won¡¯t let them take that from her.¡±


    Nevets heard Mada shift on the dirt floor. ¡°You are a good na, Nevets. Kiv is lucky to have you as a friend. We both are."


    "I know.¡± Nevets sighed. ¡°It¡¯s just who I am. It can be both a gift and a curse. Time will only tell which, and when it does I hope there is something left of the three of us to enjoy the friendship."


    Silence fell between them, and Nevets shifted on the mattress. It was surprisingly comfortable, so he fell asleep quickly, despite the bruises covering his body.


    The next morning Nevets awoke to Mada gently nudging him. He turned over to look at the Animal Intelligence and found him staring wide-eyed, finger against his mouth in a shushing sign. He¡¯d slept without his mask on and still hadn¡¯t put it back on yet.


    What? Nevets mouthed, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head in confusion.


    In response, Mada pointed upward at the ceiling of the small room.


    Nevets turned his eyes upward, and in the silence, he saw the hairlike roots hanging between structural vines tremble almost rhythmically. He could almost watch as one patch trembled slightly, then another a little further along, then another. A few particles of dirt fell from the trembling roots. And now that he was aware of it he could hear the slight thumping of footsteps above them. His sight turned a nearly blinding, fearful, white.


    And he was certain at that moment that they were going to be found.

 Chapter 5: The Redaeli White General

    Chapter 5: The White General


    Research Log, 1 Year, 17 days (350 days)


    ¡°I designed the Animal Intelligence to grow and learn much like a diordna child would, though I never got to see that happen. Until now. About a year after its birth I can say it¡¯s learning at much the same rate as a diordna child.


    "How do I know this? From my research, there are two early indicators. The first indicator is speech development. As noted in previous logs, its development in this regard runs parallel to diordna children. Today it reached the second early indicator and has begun to walk, again at about the same time as an average diordna child. The time it has taken for it to reach these two achievements leads me to believe that it has the same potential as any diordna. I can only continue to observe and hope that this rate of development continues.¡±


    Iakedrom jolted awake to the sound of someone knocking, sitting upright on the cell bed. Fosia stood in the doorway, leaning casually against the door frame.


    ¡°Morning,¡± she said. ¡°Looks like you had a rough night. What¡¯re you in for?¡±


    ¡°A stabbing,¡± Iakedrom said, holding up the blood crusted bandaged prosthetic. ¡°How late is it?¡±


    ¡°Not,¡± Fosia said. ¡°I just got in, thought you might want to be woken up.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d you know I was up here?¡± Iakedrom asked, groggily.


    ¡°I saw you take Ekivia up here, but then neither of you came down,¡± She said, then a mischievous smile appeared on her face and her eyes turned blue with pleasure sight. ¡°I came to check on you before I went home, and was kinda hoping things had gotten¡­interesting, but you were just asleep. Someone had a hard day and needed a nap.¡±


    Iakedrom rolled his eyes, standing and following Fosia from the cell ¡°Any progress on the Esile thing?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± Fosia said. ¡°The machinologist I talked to about the living skin said he¡¯d never seen anything like that before. He thought I was trying to prank him. Once I convinced him he suggested it could have something to do with the prosthetic, and not the diordna skin.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure,¡± Iakedrom said, mind racing. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how the prosthetic could cause the skin to write on it. It just doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± Fosia said. ¡°The machinologist suggested we could run some experiments, test if something similar happened with the skin from another diordna. He¡¯ll supply the prosthetics, and the craftsman supplied the skin donors.¡±


    Iakedrom¡¯s eyes yellowed, and as he thought about it an even darker thought occurred to him. ¡°Fosia, what do you know about the real Esile¡¯s work?¡±


    ¡°Just the basics,¡± Fosia said. ¡°Mother of isolated organics and modern machinology, creator of the theory of micro-mechanics, and the first diordna to posit that Dytie created animals first then modeled parts of us after their design.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Iakedrom said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. ¡°The real Esile talked a lot about the idea that the biggest difference between diordna and animals is the material we¡¯re made of, not the structures of that material. What if she combined that idea with her theory of isolated organics? She started the first experiments with them before she died, and if she were alive today she would know they worked. What if she also did the opposite?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not suggesting what I think you are,¡± Fosia said, her eyes yellowing to match Iakedrom¡¯s. ¡°That Esile tried, and succeeded in making, isolated mechanics as well.¡±


    Iakedrom nodded. ¡°It would fit her pairing of organics and mechanics functionality.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Fosia said. ¡°But¡­I don¡¯t know, it seems too strange for her to have done.¡±


    ¡°It does unless you consider one other element,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°If the Esile we have in custody now is the real Esile. This Esile could try something like that. What if she survived all these years by using her knowledge of diordna and animal physiology? What if she made isolated mechanics as a pair to isolated organics?¡±


    ¡°That idea is not one I like,¡± Fosia said. ¡°But I¡¯ll pursue that line of questions with her. And I¡¯ll ask the machinologist.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask Ekivia what she thinks,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Since we have a leading genetic engineer here with us, might as well get something useful from her. Though I¡¯m not sure she¡¯ll be that helpful.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot,¡± Fosia said.


    ¡°Any news on the fugitives?¡± Iakedrom asked.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Fosia said. ¡°But, since the sun is finally up the search should get easier. I¡¯m gunna get started with Esile. I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s stubborn or forgetful, but either way, answers are going to be slow coming today.¡±


    ¡°Based on my experience last night I¡¯d say she¡¯s both,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°And even though Kiv probably isn¡¯t forgetful I get the feeling she¡¯s going to be stubborn.¡±


    ¡°Good luck with that,¡± Fosia said.


    ¡°Thanks, you too.¡±


    Iakedrom went to his desk near the back of the room and started making notes. He preferred to write out his interrogation plans beforehand to be sure he had it all clear in his head, then if he missed something while he was in with the suspect he could refer back to his notes after. Fosia, on the other hand, was the kind to just go in and read the flow of the conversation, let it take her to the answers she needed, so she walked past their desks and to Esile¡¯s interrogation room.


    He was almost done with his notes when a hush came over the room, so much so that he could hear the front door close on the far side of the room. He glanced up to see who could bring such a hush across the room.


    Then he leaped to his feet and bowed with the rest of the room.


    A priestess of Dytie had come to visit. She was average height, so a little taller than Fosia, and she wore the orange robes of the priests and priestesses. His face was partially obscured by a mask of sorts, a wooden oval with the hand of Dytie cut out of the center, making it look like their god had grabbed the nawo by the face with its four fingers upward and its thumbs gripping both sides of her face. He couldn¡¯t get a good look at her features from here, but he knew that where her face showed would be painted the colors of emotion in spiraling patterns; black for sorrow, white for fear, yellow for disgust, red for anger, and blue for pleasure. At points those colors would blend, as they often did in the eyes of the diordna, indicating the complexity of the emotional spectrum.


    Their commander, Ailif, approached the priestess respectfully and bowed again. ¡°To what do we owe the honor, your grace?¡±


    ¡°I am Nailil, and have come on orders from the Drol,¡± the priestess said. ¡°Who is in charge of the Ekivia Neitkarf investigation?¡±


    Ailif gestured toward Iakedrom and he raised his right hand by instinct, displaying the prosthetic with its bandage blackened with dried blood. The priestess bowed shallowly in thanks to Ailif then made her way to where Iakedrom stood waiting. He was genuinely in shock at seeing a priest at all, his sight slightly whitened with the emotion, but he was more surprised that one would come for Ekivia and not the Craftsman. He¡¯d think the Drol would be more interested in the high-profile killer¡¯s case, not the usually mellow scientist¡¯s.


    Iakedrom bowed as the priestess approached. ¡°Graceful Nailil, it is an honor, though I can¡¯t see why the Drol would be interested in this particular case.¡±


    ¡°The Drol has his reasons,¡± Nailil said as Iakedrom straightened and met her eyes for the first time. They were devoid of emotion sight, but her expression was that of a storm, like anger brewed beneath the surface. ¡°I am also working on a deadline, and would like to get started immediately.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°She¡¯s in room six today. If you¡¯ll follow me I¡¯ll take you to the room.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Nailil said as they started walking together. ¡°What is your name, investigator?¡±


    ¡°Iakedrom.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, that¡¯s right.¡± The way she said it made Iakedrom feel like she already knew but was being polite in asking. ¡°Investigator Iakedrom, I read your reports from last night. Do you have any updates for me on the case?¡±


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I haven¡¯t had a chance to start the questioning yet this morning.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Nailil said as they reached the door. ¡°You can wait out here.¡±


    ¡°Actually, your grace¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°There are some questions I needed to ask for my other investigation, and I also believe I could be an asset to you as Ekivia and I have already developed some level of rapport. Would it be too much to ask that I join you?¡±


    Nailil looked him over briefly, then nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. Having someone who¡¯s dealt with her directly before will be more than welcome. However, the Drol believes she may have some very sensitive information, so I need you to agree to keep anything we learn between us and Dytie. Am I understood?¡±


    Iakedrom felt an odd wave of relief wash over him and his body relaxed a little, and he nodded. He hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d been so tense, but for some reason, he didn¡¯t much like the idea of leaving Ekivia alone with this priestess.


    He touched the trigger to unbind the door and pressed it open. This time Ekivia was sitting at the table, her hands tied in front of her by a rope.


    The priestess looked at Iakedrom disapprovingly, eyes slightly red. ¡°Rope? You¡¯ve bound her only with rope?¡±


    ¡°Based on past experiences I didn¡¯t think stricter measures were necessary,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°As I mentioned we have a rapport.¡±


    ¡°By past experiences do you mean the time she viciously attacked one of your officers?¡± Nailil asked, not bothering to hide the anger in her voice. ¡°Or how she associates with others who nearly killed another one of your officers?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ well, no,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Those were out-of-character events in my opinion.¡±


    ¡°Out of character they may be,¡± Nailil said. ¡°But that they happened once proves they could happen again. So if you don¡¯t mind I would appreciate it if you would grab the constrictor before we get started.¡±


    Nailil turned away from him and stalked into the room, and Iakedrom opened his mouth to argue but thought better of it. Had he really been about to argue with one of Dytie¡¯s priests? Someone chosen to represent the Drol and by extension to represent Dytie? He shook his head and entered the room, turning immediately to the right as he did so. In the corner beside the door was a waist-high shelf holding a cube-shaped vine box. Unlatching the box, Iakedrom reached in and removed the constrictor, a snake long enough to wrap around both wrists and through holes in the table to hold a prisoner in place. Not only that, but if the prisoner resisted or put too much strain on the creature it would only tighten more. He didn¡¯t like the idea of using one on Ekivia.


    But Ekivia was smart enough not to do that to herself, so he had nothing to worry about.


    Nailil removed the rope and Iakedrom approached Ekivia. The scientist looked up at Iakedrom and he saw a little white in her eyes as he looped the constrictor around her wrists and through the table. He met her eyes and hoped she saw the slight darkening of sorrow in his eyes.


    ¡°Now that that¡¯s taken care of,¡± Nailil said. ¡°Iakedrom, would you like to start or shall I?¡±


    ¡°If I could ask a few questions for our other investigation first that would be helpful,¡± Iakedrom said, meeting Nailil¡¯s gaze. ¡°Just so we can get them out of the way.¡±


    ¡°Go right ahead,¡± Nailil said.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Iakedrom said, bowing and then turning to look at Ekivia. ¡°You¡¯ve studied Esile, I assume?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°All genetic engineers have.¡±


    ¡°She taught that the structures found in animals were also found in diordna,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°And also believed that isolated organics were possible. We¡¯ve proved her right several times over on both accounts.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Ekivia said, confused but cautious looking.


    ¡°How close is the resemblance between animal and diordna would you say?¡± Iakedrom asked.


    Ekivia looked from Iakedrom to the priestess, then back, and answered slowly. ¡°Very similar as far as I can tell. But I¡¯m no machinologist.¡±


    Iakedrom nodded. ¡°In your opinion are the two structures close enough to each other that isolated mechanics could theoretically be possible?¡±


    I¡­¡± Ekivia¡¯s eyes flooded with yellow disgust and her nose flared as she thought about the question. ¡°That is not something I have ever asked myself or anyone else. I don¡¯t see how it could be possible.¡±


    ¡°If animal and diordna structures are the same,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Then could we not possibly find a way to engineer diordna bodies in a similar way to how we engineer animals? And if so then could we not create isolated mechanics?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s possible,¡± Ekivia said, obviously increasingly uncomfortable with the line of questions. ¡°Theoretically? Maybe when you put it that way, but I don¡¯t know as I¡¯m not a machinologist. And you¡¯d have to have a diordna willing to do that kind of thing. It goes so far beyond ethical that I don¡¯t think anyone would be willing to find out.¡±


    Iakedrom glanced at the priestess, who displayed disgust not only in her expression but in her eyes as well. Which was a relief to Iakedrom, as she¡¯d been so brooding and stoic so far. ¡°Thank you for your opinion.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°Can we talk about something else now?¡±


    Nailil raised an eyebrow at Iakedrom as if asking the same question.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°We can move on. I guess the first question we need an answer to is this. Have you been engineering without a license?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Ekivia said, her eyes reddening a little. She seemed genuinely indignant at the implied accusation, though at the same time her answer came a little too fast like she¡¯d rehearsed it in her mind.


    ¡°If that¡¯s true then who made the false door in your house?¡± Iakedorm asked. ¡°You worked with animals in the past, true, but plant work was also covered under your old license.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have to engineer anything,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°Doors can be bought and installed by anyone.¡±


    ¡°Not doors like that,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°It was cultivated specifically to hide its existence. I¡¯ve never seen another like it before.¡±


    ¡°That must mean you have never looked hard enough before,¡± Ekivia said, snidely.


    Iakedrom glared at her. She was deflecting, not answering his questions about the door, dodging and jabbing. He didn¡¯t like it.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    He took a deep breath to calm down.


    ¡°Mind if I ask a question or two?¡± Nailil said.


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Iakedrom said, taking a step back as the priestess approached the table.


    ¡°Tell me, Ekivia,¡± the priestess began ¡°When you called Nevets, inviting him to visit, you said you had something you wanted to tell him but that you wanted to do it in person. What was so important that you had to do it in person?¡±


    Ekivia¡¯s eyes paled and Iakedrom could almost see her mind racing for an answer. ¡°He¡¯s working on a new kind of biolume that would be animal instead of plant, and he wanted my opinion on some of his ideas.¡±


    ¡°He wanted your opinion so you called him?¡± Nailil said. ¡°That sounds a little backward doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°We talked about it before,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°I just hadn¡¯t gotten back to him yet.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Nailil said. ¡°So you admit to engineering without a license.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°Not at all. Reading his work and discussing it is no different than reading a book and discussing it. Theorizing is not engineering.¡±


    ¡°If you weren¡¯t engineering, why would he have to visit you in person to see what you¡¯d come up with?¡± Nailil asked.


    ¡°If Iakedrom is here to interrogate me why would you have to come yourself?¡± Ekivia asked, surprising Iakedrom with her pique. ¡°Some things are easier to explain in person, especially the kind that are drawn.¡±


    Nailil turned to Iakedorm. ¡°Have you found any drawings she might be referencing?¡±


    ¡°Not that I know of,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°But they¡¯re still bringing in her possessions. We can check for that later.¡±


    ¡°And if we don¡¯t find it,¡± Nailil said, trudging back to Ekivia. ¡°What then?¡±


    ¡°Then your crews need better training,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°Because they¡¯re there.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Nailil said. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll come back to that.¡±


    ¡°I have a question,¡± Iakedrom said, stepping forward. ¡°Who is this Mada you and Nevets are trying to protect?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Ekivia said.


    ¡°Really,¡± Iakedrom said flatly. ¡°So when we left your house and you saw that figure in the woods you didn¡¯t call out telling him, by name, to run?¡±


    ¡°You must have heard me wrong,¡± Ekivia said.


    ¡°And when you shouted at Nevets to finish your work,¡± Iakedrom continued. ¡°To finish what you started, that had nothing to do with engineering or that person in the trees at all?¡±


    ¡°No none at all,¡± Ekivia said.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case why would Nevets chase after that figure?¡± Iakedrom asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°I could speculate if you want, but I can¡¯t do more than that.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead and speculate,¡± Nailil said.


    ¡°I suppose,¡± Ekivia continued. ¡°He could have gone to catch the figure, to help your officer.¡±


    ¡°He failed miserably if that¡¯s what he wanted to do,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°And if so, why did he disappear with the figure?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a smart na,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°And has a lot of information in his head. Perhaps he was captured for that information, possibly by Redaeli spies.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s technically possible,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°But you do realize how wild and unlikely that all sounds.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°But you¡¯re the one who asked me to speculate.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± Iaekdorm said. ¡°And what work was it you wanted Nevets to finish exactly?¡±


    ¡°I misspoke,¡± Ekivia said, then paused a moment. ¡°I meant to say his work, not mine. He was rushing into danger, that much was obvious, but I know how important his work is to him. I thought I could help him stay safe if I reminded him of that, but¡­¡±


    She trailed off and looked down as if ashamed, though Iakedrom didn¡¯t notice any shift in her eye color. Eye color didn¡¯t tell you if someone was lying, but it did tell you if their emotions matched their words, and it didn¡¯t look like that was the case here.


    Iakedrom sighed. ¡°I never realized how stubborn you are. It¡¯s not a side of you I ever really saw in the last twenty years, and I don¡¯t think I like it.¡±


    Ekivia didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to pass on your opinions about isolated mechanics to my partner for our other investigation,¡± Iakedrom said. This first set of questions was always to establish a baseline that they could then use to trip the suspect up later, get them to contradict themselves. He¡¯d need a little time to put together some new questions and to tear apart her story so far, then they could start again. ¡°When we get back we¡¯ll have more questions for you. I hope you¡¯ll be more cooperative.¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± Nailil said. ¡°I¡¯m going to keep interrogating her. As I said before, the Drol gave me a deadline.¡±


    Iakedrom hesitated. He didn¡¯t much like the idea of leaving Ekivia with the intense priestess, but what choice did he have? He nodded and stepped out of the room.


    ¡°Close the door and lock it for me,¡± Nailil said. ¡°And tell everyone not to interrupt me.¡±


    He did as he was commanded, and returned to his desk to start tearing her story apart while he waited for Fosia.


    **********


    Ekivia watched the seal vines tighten and noticed a shift in the priestess as soon as Iakedrom left the room, and it wasn¡¯t a shift she liked. The nawo seemed suddenly more intense and cold. More dangerous. She could tell that the interrogation was about to get even harder. So far the questioning hadn¡¯t gone well. Ekivia had expected less than half of the questions they¡¯d asked, and the ones about the origin of the hidden door were not among them. Why would they ask about the door itself and not the room it hid? And on top of that, the priestess seemed to know more than she should, citing Ekivia¡¯s conversation with Nevets, a conversation that was, as far as either of them knew, private. She had no idea how the priestess could have gotten that kind of information, and she didn¡¯t have time to theorize about it just yet, considering the mind space she needed to deal with the questioning.


    Nailil approached the table and stood confidently across from Ekivia. ¡°Look, we both know the questions that need answering, and I¡¯m short on time, so I¡¯m not going to keep asking them over and over. Instead, I¡¯m going to give you this last opportunity to tell me about Mada and Nevets and whatever illegal project you¡¯ve been working on together. Will you take it?¡±


    Ekivia met the nawo¡¯s eyes defiantly, letting her expression be her response. She thought that in cases like this silence would be the best option. She wasn¡¯t going to answer those questions the way this priestess wanted, and she needed to give Nevets and Mada as much time as possible to figure things out from their side.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Nailil said quietly, and something about her tone made Ekivia uncomfortable enough that she shifted unconsciously in her seat.


    The motion caused the constrictor around her wrist to squeeze a little tighter against the table.


    ¡°Last chance,¡± Nailil said, hands at her hips.


    Ekivia rolled her eyes. There wasn¡¯t anything this priestess could¡­


    Nailil drew a cnido and fired a bonelette straight through Ekivia¡¯s forearm.


    There was a moment of silent shock before pain exploded from the wound. Ekivia gritted her teeth against the pain, he throat scratching as she half shouted, half grunted in pain. Life-oil dripped from the wound onto her leg before rolling off and onto the floor where it began crawling into the woven floor branches.


    She glared up at the nawo, teeth clenched, her vision tinted red with anger. The priestess stared back a moment, reading her eyes.


    ¡°I will have my answers by the end of the day,¡± Nailil said. Then she bent down and pressed her thumb into the wound on Ekivia¡¯s arm. Ekivia grunted in pain they were so close that their noses nearly touched and Ekivia could smell the priestess¡¯s breath. "There is a limited amount of pain a body can endure before the mind breaks."


    **********


    Something heavy stepped onto the edge of the domed dirt roof, shaking the hair roots and making the ceiling branches creak quietly under the weight. Nevets¡¯s eyes paled even further, nearly blinding him in the dim light. He and Mada were standing silently, staring upward to watch the roots.


    Dytie protect us, Nevets thought as the creature took a second step, further toward the center of the room, and the ceiling branches creaked even louder. He thought he could see the branches bowing under the weight. That was no Tracker. The canine mounts were smaller creations that could barely hold a single rider and were almost as light on their feet as one of the felines. No, this was something else. Something designed for war. Perhaps the Rebmevon garrison was returning from their patrols and passing overhead?


    The creature took another step and as its foot came down almost directly above him Nevets knew how wrong his guess had been.


    A talon punched through the ceiling between branches, sending rocks and dirt showering down on Nevets¡¯s head. As it stepped with the other foot, placing all its weight on that one leg, the ceiling groaned under the weight so loudly that Nevets was sure they could hear it above. The downward pressure forced two more talons through the ceiling, snapping branches. The next footstep fell heavily as the creature tried to get its footing above them and the claws of that second foot punched through as well. Three long, thick toes facing forward, one backward. This mount was a massive bird. It was a mount designed for war, though not one designed for the Drol¡¯s armies.


    No, this mount was one used by their enemies. A Redaeli war bird.


    The ceiling suddenly jolted under the weight of the creature as ceiling branches started breaking, one after the other. The beast would plummet through in mere moments and the two of them stood almost directly beneath the creature.


    Nevets leaped forward, shoving Mada with all his might as the ceiling finally gave way and light flooded in from above. Mada stumbled backward, arms flailing as he tripped, landing on his back across the small room where the ceiling wasn¡¯t collapsing. Nevets tried to use the momentum of his shove to follow Mada to safety, but dirt and rocks and a net of branches and roots pummeled him from above.


    Then everything fell still, morning sunlight lighting the dust that filled the air so thickly it was as blinding as being overwhelmed by every emotion at once. Light still passed through somehow, but shapes were so obscured they couldn¡¯t see anything anyway.


    Except for the silhouette of a massive bird as it stood back up in the hole it had made, tucking its wings into its sides, its long neck rising up and out of the dust, long, spearlike beak scraping the edge of the destroyed ceiling as it rose. Even blinking dust and fear from his eyes Nevets saw enough to know what kind of mount it was.


    Lancer. He¡¯d seen drawings of them, though never one in real life. This was one of their enemy¡¯s most important mounts. The creatures were extremely fast in a straight line, faster even the Drolian Panths. Flightless, they still used their wings to balance at high speeds and to keep their head up as they leaned forward to spear enemy soldiers on the ground or off mounts. The beak was long enough that it could probably spear three or four diordna before needing to shake the corpses free, and Nevets didn¡¯t doubt that it was hard enough to accomplish just that. And if a soldier managed to avoid the beak the claws were just as deadly. Anyone in front of this beast would die a swift and painful death, speared either by its beak or its deadly sharp claws. Nevets and Mada were lucky that neither beak nor claw had pierced them in the collapse.


    Coughing, Mada stood and reached down to help Nevets to his feet. As he stood he saw a second silhouette through the cloud of dust, a short diordna in Redaeli raising a stone-tipped spear. He breathed in to speak but before he could the figure threw the spear. It dug into Nevets¡¯s thigh just above the midpoint, and his leg buckled in pain, forcing him to one knee and drawing a shout of pain from his throat. Oil oozed from the wound out both sides of his leg, where the spear had entered and then again where half the stone tip had exited.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Mada shouted. ¡°We surrender!¡±


    The figure dashed through the dust, closing the distance between them in an eye blink, knife in one hand to strike at Mada. The figure was short, even shorter than Nevets, which made them more than a head shorter than Mada, and he caught a glimpse through the opening in her wooden helmet of what looked to be a delicate feminine face with an expression that was anything but delicate, and an aggressive looking pattern painted from the top of her eyelids back across her head in colors he couldn¡¯t identify through the dust, its shapes jagged as was the fashion among nawo lately. She was fast, and even with his vision obscured Nevets could tell this figure looked deadly in her armor.


    Redaeli armor always looked so intimidating to Nevets. The materials were the same as Drolian armor, just leather with overlapping wooden scales and panels. But where the Drolian armor was curved and smooth, the Redaeli armor was jagged, with ridges like an alligator¡¯s all over their chest, legs, and back, and wooden shoulder pieces that curved slightly upward at the ends into points. Even their helmets had curved spikes and ridges, making it look as though they had horns.


    Mada took a fighting stance, crouched, elbows close to the body, fists up by his head. Grappling someone in that armor would be unpleasant without protection from the spikes and ridges, but at least Ekivia had taught him to fight. Maybe if Nevets could help they could keep this nawo back long enough to convince her to accept their surrender.


    Am I really thinking that fighting someone will convince them that we surrender? But he didn¡¯t have any better ideas to delay her.


    Nevets tried to stand, to help Mada fight the assailant, but his leg buckled as soon as he tried to put weight on it. Their enemy reached Mada and the AI deflected her knife hand with more skill than Nevets had expected, but the attacker was ready for that. She spun, grabbing the hand Mada had used to deflect the first attack, then she crouched, back to Mada, and pulled the arm hard, standing as she did and hurling Mada over her head using the combined strength of her legs and her upper body, following through to the ground so she ended on one knee to add extra downward force on Mada as he struck the ground.


    Mada thudded to the ground in the sunlight, grunting as he hit and dust puffed around him. It all happened so quickly that Nevets could barely track the attack with his eyes. He doubted Mada could have been prepared to defend against that.


    The figure raised the stone knife over her head with both hands, prepared to plunge it downward into Mada¡¯s maskless face.


    ¡°NO!¡± Nevets shouted, pushing with his good leg to reach her, knowing that he couldn¡¯t. It had happened too quickly, and even if he wasn¡¯t wounded he¡¯d never have been fast enough.


    Then the nawo froze, knife still held overhead. Mada coughed and heaved a breath in, and Nevets forced himself forward on one leg, reaching to snatch the knife from her hand while he had the chance.


    Without looking at him, the nawo released the knife with one hand, caught Nevets¡¯s wrist, then tucked the knife back into her belt scabbard. Nevets couldn¡¯t see the nawo¡¯s face from his position beside her, as she was still looking at Mada, but he saw her shoulders relax, the armor settling lower on them. She did not, however, relax her grip on Nevets wrist, and he could already feel the bruising, the hardening of his skin as it was crushed beneath her grip.


    And still holding Nevets wrist she finally spoke. ¡°I accept your surrender.¡±


    A second soldier dropped into what was left of the room from above, spear in hand and ready for a fight. He was average height, with a narrow face and a prominent nose, his face painted in smooth swirling patterns that didn¡¯t reach his eyes like the ones on the nawo. These soldiers were Redaeli, as Nevets had guessed, confirmed by this new soldier¡¯s copper skin with swirling teal-green patterns from oxidization where his skin was visible beneath the paint.


    The new soldier spotted them and turned his spear toward Nevets.


    ¡°Hold, Treblig,¡± The nawo said. ¡°They¡¯ve surrendered.¡±


    ¡°Yes, general,¡± the na, Treblig, said, obeying though he didn¡¯t take his eyes off Nevets. ¡°Would you like me to handle one of them?¡±


    She nodded toward Nevets. ¡°Grab some rope and tie that one¡¯s hands first, then this one.¡±


    Nevets hadn¡¯t noticed the insignia on their helms that would indicate rank until now. Redaeli had the Mark of Dytie on the back of their helms in a reflection of the mark on the Redael, their leader. The Redael¡¯s wasn¡¯t a true mark like the one on the Drol¡¯s chest, but it had the same shape. The hand of Dytie had all six fingers out on the general¡¯s helm, indicating her rank, though Nevets couldn¡¯t see Treblig¡¯s through the dust as the soldier retrieved the rope from a pack hanging from the Lancer¡¯s saddle.


    When Treblig finally approached the general released Nevets¡¯s wrist and Treblig began binding Nevets¡¯s hands.


    ¡°What¡¯re you going to do with him?¡± Nevets asked, rubbing his wrist and nodding toward Mada even though the general wouldn¡¯t see it, her eyes still fixated on Mada. This general had a powerful grip. Rubbing at his wrist Nevets felt the hard skin where she¡¯d bruised it. She didn¡¯t have a big hand, but she made up for it with grip strength. It seemed everything about her was small but strong.


    ¡°Him?¡± The general asked, still staring down at Mada. Nevets wished he could see her eyes, to gauge her mood, but he thought he heard a smile in her voice. But that didn¡¯t make any sense to him. Either way, this one word sounded much less intense than her previous command to Treblig. ¡°First I¡¯m going to ask him where the entrance to this place is since climbing out of here is going to be hard for you otherwise.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in that wall,¡±¡¯ Mada said, pointing.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± There was a small fluctuation in her voice, one that sounded almost like a laugh. Even though he couldn¡¯t see it, Nevets was sure her eyes would be blue with pleasure. Was she amused by Mada? ¡°Treblig, would you go let some more light in so we can see each other better? I want to get better acquainted with our guests.¡±


    Treblig rushed to do as he was told, but Nevets kept his eyes on the general. There was something odd about the color of her armor, but he couldn¡¯t tell what because of the dust covering every inch of it and the paleness of his own eyes. Still, he thought it was lighter colored than Treblig¡¯s forest green and wood tan armor.


    ¡°You two stand over there for me,¡± the general instructed, pointing so that their backs would be toward the door and she would be facing the light when it came in.


    When Treblig opened the door Nevets immediately knew who this Redaeli general was.


    He hadn¡¯t seen it before because of the grime and darkness, but the armor¡¯s wooden panels and scales were painted white. This alone would have identified her even to a Drolian like Nevets. No soldier wore the color of fear to battle, they wore the color of anger or the colors of their nation. Besides, white would be too easy to spot, too dangerous to the wearer. Sometimes those who committed crimes worthy of death would be sent to the front lines in white, so their death would be useful. Soldiers in white were always the first to die in a battle.


    That¡¯s what they said happened to this general, only she didn¡¯t die. She¡¯d been sent out to die by the Redaeli generals and returned with the head of a Drolian general after killing a hundred soldiers on her own. She¡¯d changed how enemies reacted to seeing soldiers in white on the enemy lines. Once they would have attacked them, fired arrows at the easy targets, performed the execution for their enemies. Now, because of this nawo, they feared those who wore white. Drolian soldiers still tried to kill soldiers in white first, but no longer because they knew they would be easy pickings. Now they did it just in case one of them was the dreaded White General. But the armor wasn¡¯t the only odd thing about her.


    She was a half skin.


    Her skin was a mixture of iron and copper swirling together, the oxidization both teal and orange. Like fear and sorrow in the eyes, the two colors didn¡¯t mix, instead creating intricate swirling patterns. He¡¯d known this would be the case, but the sight was still striking. Half skins were extremely rare, and Nevets hadn¡¯t ever seen one before today. The conflict between the Redaeli and the Drolians was too long running, too painful for both sides for most to even speak with someone from the other side, let alone have a child with them. It confused Nevets, and if this were any other diordna it would have made him angry that someone would betray their nation in such a way. But instead, his fear only deepened, his eyes turning so white he almost couldn¡¯t see through the fear sight.


    Nevets had always pictured her as a tall imposing nawo, striking fear into those who faced her by her size alone. But no, she struck fear into those who faced her with far more substantial traits than size. She struck fear with her reputation and her skill.


    Any Drolian who met the White General in battle expected to die, so why were they still alive?


    She saluted, and Nevets noted that it was directed at Mada. ¡°I am Nagemai, the Redaeli White General. And it is a pleasure to meet you both.¡±

 Chapter 6: Interrogated

    Chapter 6: Interrogated


    "Recall Research Log, 17 years (Day 5,809) Second entry.


    "I had a disturbing realization today. Mada is turning 17 soon, an unremarkable age. By every standard, he is still young, although intelligent for his age. But today I realized that I have no idea how much longer he will live.


    "A part of me says that I shouldn''t be so troubled by the idea. Worrying about what-ifs never helped anyone. I should be content with the time I have with him, and let pods grow where they will. But instead, I can''t sleep because I keep thinking that tomorrow he may not wake up. I¡¯ve checked on him more than once tonight to listen to his breathing.¡±


    Iakedrom left the interrogation room and entered the chaos outside. A group from Ekivia¡¯s house had arrived with more evidence and there were officers carrying books and clothing and numerous other personal items to and from their desks. Despite the bustle of bodies, the room wasn¡¯t loud. Most of the working officers were likely still tired, and they were consumed by their work.


    He meant to write down a note for Fosia telling her Ekivia¡¯s response regarding isolated mechanics, but when Iakedrom reached his desk he found a fat parrot with an abnormally large head sitting on it, waiting for him with a note under its foot.


    I stole this bird from an officer when they brought it in, thought it might be important and that you¡¯d want it right away. It was in Ekivia¡¯s study. Might have some interesting information on it, though hopefully not the sexy kind of interesting. - Fosia


    Iakedrom smiled. He¡¯d only worked with the nawo for a little under ten years now, but they worked well together. The first few years were tough, since they were paired because his last partner was killed. But Fosia has a way of getting close to others, of making them comfortable. Not even Iakedrom could resist.


    Before checking the logs Iakedrom took the salve from his desk and rubbed it on his prosthetic to numb it. It had been itching dully ever since his encounter with Esile, but the salve helped. He was going through it fast, so he¡¯d need to get more before tomorrow.


    Numbing salve applied, he placed his hand on the foot of the parrot and spoke a short command. ¡°Number of entries.¡±


    The bird stiffened as it responded in a scratchy, unnatural voice. ¡°Five thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight.¡±


    That can¡¯t be right. Iakedrom thought. Based on the not quite diordna sound of the voice this bird was an older model, though he hadn¡¯t ever seen one quite like it before. Not even the newest models could remember that many entries. He must have heard wrong.


    ¡°Number of entries.¡±


    ¡°Five thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight,¡± the bird repeated.


    Iakedrom sat back in his chair, staring at the creature. It had to be wrong. He¡¯d have to ask Ekivia about it when he got back in.


    He pressed the foot again. ¡°Recall first entry.¡± Even if it didn¡¯t have seven thousand entries it would at least have one.


    ¡°No entries to recall.¡±


    Again Iakedrom was stunned. That couldn¡¯t be right. It couldn¡¯t have simultaneously seven thousand entries and none. Unless the large number of entries had broken its mind.


    Or¡­ what he¡¯d heard was entry one? A decoy entry to hide what came later. Something so short would allow for a greater number of entries, though still not five thousand.


    ¡°Recall entry three hundred.¡±


    ¡°No entries to recall.¡±


    ¡°Recall entry five thousand five hundred.¡±


    ¡°No entries to recall.¡±


    He sat back again, back thumping against the chair. He had a hard time believing Ekivia would keep a useless bird around. She was too practical for that. The only other explanation was that this was a coded bird, something the public wasn¡¯t supposed to have access to. However, this was Ekivia. She could have made herself one before losing her license, and given her privileged position at work, they might have allowed it. Her last project was supposed to have been one for the Drol¡¯s army after all, and they couldn¡¯t afford to let secrets about her work find their way to Redaeli spies. But if that was the case why hadn¡¯t she returned the bird? Why hadn¡¯t it been destroyed with all her other work?


    He placed the bird on his shoulder, then grabbed ink and a quill from one of the shelves on his desk. He needed to organize his thoughts and come up with some¡­


    A cnido¡¯s crack interrupted his thoughts and he turned to see where it had come from.


    All eyes were on the door to Ekivia¡¯s interrogation room.


    **********


    Ekivia clenched her teeth, breath leaving her throat in growls. Despite her efforts, she couldn''t resist squirming in pain, causing the constrictor to tighten so much that even skin not directly pressed by the snake was beginning to harden with bruises. The skin on the back of her hand wrinkled from the pressure.


    Severe though the bruising was, she barely felt it beneath the pain in her forearm.


    Nailil stood across the table, watching her. She''d been slowly peeling Ekivia¡¯s forearm skin back around the bonelette hole, covering both her hands and Ekivia¡¯s arm in oil and exposing the slick iron muscle beneath. Just looking at the spot made Ekivia dizzy.


    Through the red tint of anger, Ekivia met her emotionless eyes. Nailil watched her closely, glaring though her eyes were clear of emotion. Ekivia clung to her anger desperately, knowing it was the one tool she had to protect Nevets and Mada against this attack.


    ¡°Iakedrom and his partner are wrapping up another investigation," Nailil said. "I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve read about it. It seems that a hundred and thirty years ago the Craftsman created the first cnido, paving the way for other isolated organics as Esile predicted were possible. That twisted mind broke the limits of animal shape and paved the way for prosthetics like Iakedrom¡¯s. Ironic that he would bring that very person in.¡±


    Nailil stepped around the table, and Ekivia flinched involuntarily, a small amount of fear drawing her eye color slightly toward pink. She was so focused on maintaining her anger she barely heard what he was saying.


    "Until yesterday we didn¡¯t know that the inventor and the Craftsman were the same. Shortly after the inventor was drafted the killer surfaced, ripping na and nawo apart, using their pieces to craft objects, twisting the metal into unnatural forms, and eating the unused bits. Honestly, your story sounds eerily similar to me. A genius mind turned corrupt. Unless you help me see otherwise I may begin to believe you are the same."


    Ekivia swallowed, tasting swarf upon hearing the gruesome description. But she held her tongue. Sighing in frustration, Nailil gripped a flap of her skin and twisted, drawing a gasp and another growl of pain from Ekivia. When she let go the skin held the curled shape for a moment longer than it should have, losing flexibility from the pressure, hardening like a bruise.


    Grunting, Ekivia pulled away from the pain, then stifled another shout of pain as the constrictor tightened further around her already aching wrists. There was a soft popping sound, and pain shot up Ekivia¡¯s arm. She didn¡¯t know if the sound was the joint or the bruise-hard skin breaking under the pressure. Her anger began slipping from her and she latched back onto it.


    They¡¯re trying to take Mada. They¡¯re trying to take my family from me. I will not let them.


    The anger in her eyes deepened to overflowing and red tears began crawling down her cheeks, catching oxidized skin and leaving an almost blood-like trail. Her anger rekindled she turned to glare at Nailil. Their eyes met, only inches apart now. But what she saw in the priestess¡¯s eyes was not red reflecting her own, but a pure purple, the color a combination of Ekivia¡¯s own emotion and the one Nailil felt.Stolen novel; please report.


    Ekivia¡¯s anger fled her to be replaced with blinding white fear-sight.


    Nailil¡¯s eyes were blue with pleasure sight.


    Then the door burst open and Iakedrom entered the room.


    **********


    Iakedrom took in the scene in an instant. Oil sprayed on the floor branches at his feet, a bonelette burrowed into the wood. Nailil stooping, eyes level with Ekivia¡¯s. Ekivia¡¯s eyes paled, streaks of anger still running down her cheeks. Oil on the priestess¡¯s hands, Ekivia¡¯s arm around the bonelette hole, and on the scientist¡¯s leg where the wound had dripped.


    This was no longer an interrogation.


    ¡°Nailil,¡± Iakedrom almost shouted, eyes turning a disgusted yellow. The priestess¡¯s head snapped around and he could see the pleasure in her eyes. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡±


    ¡°Whatever is necessary,¡± Nailil said. ¡°I told you I don¡¯t have time for this to take days. I only have hours.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t how we do things,¡± Iakedorm said, his mind reeling. This wasn¡¯t how they interrogated anyone, not even enemy spies. Torture only got you inaccurate information, especially if you only had one suspect. They¡¯d tell you whatever you wanted to hear. And besides that, this was a priestess of Dytie, such acts were¡­ not something they should engage in.


    ¡°It is how we do things when necessary,¡± Nailil said. ¡°I have direct orders from the Drol himself to do whatever I feel is necessary, and this is necessary.¡±


    ¡°Is it necessary to enjoy it?¡± Iakedorm asked.


    The priestess glared at him and took a deep breath, the emotion in her eyes softening and growing more transparent. ¡°It is not. I¡¯m going to take a break to collect myself. You have until I return to get answers from her. Otherwise, I will continue what I was doing.¡±


    Iakedrom followed her to the door, then spoke to her quietly before she left. ¡°I will get some answers. Just don¡¯t interrupt me.¡±


    ¡°Who are you to give me commands?¡± Nailil asked, eyes turning purple, the pleasure not entirely gone as she grew angry. ¡°I will interrupt if I see fit.¡±


    Iakedrom glared at the priestess. ¡°You¡¯ve already compromised the validity of any information she could have given us by resorting to torture. Any answer you get from her is suspect from now on. Our only hope is that she still trusts me, and if you interrupt when she¡¯s having a conversation with someone she trusts she will stop talking.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bold way to speak to a priestess of Dytie,¡± Nailil said, but Iakedrom didn¡¯t back down. What she¡¯d done was wrong, regardless of status. ¡°But you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll give you some time, but if you don¡¯t get anything in the next half hour I¡¯ll have to step back in. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Iakedrom said.


    ¡°Yes, what?¡± Nailil asked.


    ¡°Yes, holiness,¡± Iakedrom said, though holy was not what he would have called the nawo anymore.


    The priestess nodded, closed the door behind her, and Iakedrom turned back to face Ekivia. He took a deep breath and they stood in silence for a moment, then he took the rope he¡¯d left in the constrictor¡¯s box and approached Ekivia. He tied the rope around her wrists and ankles before stroking the constrictor around a portion of the body that was under the table where the prisoner couldn¡¯t reach it, and the snake relaxed, falling limply into his hands. He heard Ekivia sigh softly, and her entire body seemed to slump in her chair as he took the constrictor back to its box in the corner and closed the lid.


    Then he took his emergency aid kit from his belt and returned to Ekivia¡¯s side. He took a small but very sharp obsidian knife from the kit and Ekivia flinched away from him.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°But this flap of skin is almost all the way torn off. If I leave it it will just die in the wound and soil it as the cells oxidize. I promise I¡¯ll be as careful as I can.¡±


    Ekivia nodded, and he delicately gripped the skin with his prosthetic thumb and forefinger. Just touching it made his hand flinch, thinking about what Esile had done to him earlier, but he pushed through. Better to use the animal flesh for this kind of thing anyway, instead of having to touch it with his real fingers.


    He brought the knife up carefully and cut the thin line of skin attaching the section to her arm and shivered as he pulled it away and placed it on the table beside them. He then reached into his bag for a bandage, but he¡¯d used them for his prosthetic the day before, so he unwrapped the arm starting at the band around his hand and moving upward to his elbow where it was tied, revealing the cut in his palm and the marks up the forearm.


    ¡°What happened there?¡± Ekivia asked, nodding toward his prosthetic.


    ¡°An incident with another prisoner,¡± Iakedrom said, beginning to warp her arm carefully, trying to be sure to line up the cleaner parts of the bandage with the wound. ¡°I got careless, and they got me in the hand with a small barb.¡±


    ¡°Can you feel enough through the prosthetic for it to hurt?¡± Ekivia asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Though I have a salve from the machinologist that helps numb pain or itching, so it¡¯s not bad right now.¡±


    ¡°What about the ink? How¡¯d that get there?¡±


    ¡°When I know I¡¯ll be sure to tell you,¡± Iakedrom said as he finished bandaging her arm. ¡°Sorry, there¡¯s nothing I can do for the bruising on your wrists. You¡¯ll just have to wait for them to heal and soften again.¡±


    ¡°Thanks anyway,¡± Ekivia said, and she sat back in her chair.


    ¡°You know the kinds of answers we want,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Tell us what you were meeting with Nevets about and who Mada is.¡±


    Ekivia sat up straighter, expression defiant.


    ¡°Please,¡± Iakedrom said, genuinely concerned for the nawo. Even after the betrayal, he felt yesterday he considered this nawo a kind of friend. ¡°If you give me nothing then Nailil will come back in here and continue to torture you until you give us some kind of answer. I don¡¯t want that.¡±


    Her jaw tightened and she gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head.


    Stubborn nawo. Iakedrom thought. He¡¯d have to try a different method then.


    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s talk about this bird,¡± Iakedrom said, taking the parrot from his shoulder. ¡°It is quite remarkable.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s broken,¡± Ekivia said, showing no sign that she was lying, though the fear already in her eyes from her recent torture experience might have been masking the truth. ¡°What¡¯s remarkable about a broken bird?¡±


    Iakedrom placed a finger on the bird¡¯s foot and spoke. ¡°Number of entries.¡±


    ¡°Five thousand eight hundred and twenty eight.¡±


    He spoke again. ¡°Recall entry five hundred.¡±


    ¡°Nothing to recall.¡±


    Ekivia shrugged at him. ¡°See, I told you it was broken.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I believe you. You always struck me as the kind who got rid of unnecessary things. I find it hard to believe that you would keep a broken bird.¡±


    ¡°And where did you get that idea?¡± Ekivia said, finally relaxing into her chair, her eyes nearly clear of fear.


    ¡°I¡¯ve spent a fair amount of time in your home over the last two decades,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°And in all that time you¡¯ve never once bought a frivolous household item. Everything you own is functional. You barely have enough furniture to seat ten diordna in the entire place. Most of your rooms are almost empty. You¡¯re a minimalist, and extremely practical. So why keep something you won¡¯t and can¡¯t use?¡±


    ¡°No reason,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°I just haven¡¯t gotten around to disposing of the creature yet. And I was hoping to recover a couple of the logs on it. It was a journal after all. Has sentimental value.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Iakedrom said, picking the bird up and allowing it to pitch on his prosthetic. The skin was still pretty numb from the salve, but he could almost feel the little toes poking the skin. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t believe you. As far as I can tell, this parrot isn¡¯t available to anyone but yourself, meaning it¡¯s likely one of your own design. And I know that someone like you, with your background in engineering and bird work, would know about coded parrots. I believe this bird is coded, and that you¡¯re hiding something irreplaceable.¡±


    Ekivia shrugged, but he saw her eyes flick to the parrot nervously as he said irreplaceable. ¡°I can¡¯t change what you believe.¡±


    ¡°I think you can,¡± Iakedrom said, and he reached over with his metal hand and grabbed the parrot around the neck. ¡°The way I see it, you can let me destroy this and prove that the information in its memory is mundane, or you can stop me and prove that it¡¯s irreplaceable and important. So which is it going to be?¡±


    Ekivia¡¯s eyes darted involuntarily from Iakedrom¡¯s face and the parrot in his hands, expression uncontrolled, eyes fear-filled.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you ten seconds to decide,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°If you don¡¯t give me some answers by the end of those ten seconds then I will destroy more than seven thousand irreplaceable memories. One.¡±


    Iakedrom counted. ¡°Two.¡° Not too quickly. ¡°Three.¡± Not too slowly. ¡°Four.¡± watching Ekivia¡¯s expression closely. ¡°Five.¡± Her brow furrowed. ¡°Six.¡± Her fists and jaw clenched. ¡°Seven.¡± She took a deep breath. ¡°Eight.¡± And Iakedrom knew he had her.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Ekivia said, slumping in her chair. Iakerdom could see in her eyes that her mind was racing for some way out of this situation that didn¡¯t involve revealing too much. ¡°Put the bird on the table.¡±


    Iakedrom complied. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just share one memory with me from this bird? Just anything. I¡¯ll take it to the priestess as a sign of your cooperation and get her to allow me to run things from here on out. It¡¯ll be better for both of us this way.¡±


    Ekivia met his eyes, looking back and forth between them as though she were trying to read the truth behind his words. He was being honest, and he hoped she would see that.


    She nodded, and Iakedrom put a finger on the parrot¡¯s foot for her.


    ¡°Recall research log, day 5,809, second entry.¡±

 Chapter 7: Marked

    Chapter 7: Marked


    Research Log, 17 years (Day 5,809). Second entry. (Cont.)


    "I never wanted to be a mother. I avoided it to avoid times like this. Children occupy a large mind space, filling it with fears and concerns that didn''t exist before. I should have known my actions would lead me here but I was so caught up in the discovery of it all that I never thought that I was creating a child, that I was creating a son.


    "But he is my son, as strange as it is for me to say that. The son I never wanted, and the son I never want to lose."


    Iakedrom stared at the bird in silence, uncertain how to respond. He never expected to find something like that in the parrot¡¯s memories. On top of that, Ekivia¡¯s command had been one any parrot would recognize and respond to with no code he could identify. Why had it responded to her and not him?


    When he looked up at Ekivia she had the glazed look of someone deep in thought, staring blankly in the bioluminescent light. Iakedrom was certain she''d chosen that log because it gave only a single, vague, answer. Mada was her son, though something was different about him that concerned her. He needed more.


    Iakedrom opened his mouth to speak but Ekivia interrupted, unaware that she¡¯d done so.


    ¡°Mada is my son.¡± She almost whispered the words. ¡°And if he is found they will take him from me. I will not allow that to happen.¡±


    Iakedrom took hold of the thread she was offering. ¡°Why would they take him from you?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not like other diordna,¡± Ekivia said, meeting Iakedrom¡¯s eyes. He saw in her expression the stubbornness she¡¯d displayed before, but he felt he was finally starting to understand it.


    ¡°Is he a half-skin?¡± Iakedrom asked.


    ¡°Something like that,¡± Ekivia said.


    So not a half-skin, but something similar? What did that even mean? ¡°If he¡¯s a half skin that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Normal diordna might not like it, but there are no laws that would take him away from you. Half-skins can get along alright despite the prejudice they sometimes face.¡±


    Ekivia didn¡¯t respond, her lips turning down slightly, her eyes darkening with sorrow.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the father?¡± Iakedrom asked. ¡°Is it Nevets?¡±


    Ekivia barked a short laugh, shaking her head. ¡°No, no. He didn¡¯t know Mada existed until yesterday, same as you.¡±


    Of course. Iakedrom thought. If this kid was a half skin then Nevets couldn¡¯t be the father.


    ¡°Who is it then?¡± Iakedrom asked.


    ¡°There is no father,¡± Ekivia said, defiantly refusing to answer the question with something meaningful. Iakedrom sighed and settled back into his chair.


    ¡°Is that enough to call off Nailil?¡± Ekivia asked, hopeful.


    ¡°I think at least for a while,¡± Iakedrom said, placing the bird on his shoulder. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Ekivia nodded. ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s a priestess of Dytie? Torture seems like the tool of a tyrant, not the tool of a benevolent god and his chosen servants.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Iakedrom said, though he had to agree with her sentiment. ¡°This information will delay her a little, but she says she¡¯s on a deadline and this won¡¯t be enough to satisfy her for long.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± Ekivia said, and Iakedrom left the room.


    His mind was troubled by her words as he stepped through the door. The Dytie he knew was merciful and kind, not vengeful and destructive. But he¡¯d had dealings with Nailil before, since she was the Drol¡¯s emissary to their officer¡¯s house, charged with collecting important information and relaying it to the Drol. Still, her actions today disturbed Iakedrom greatly.


    On top of that, the only reason he could think that Ekivia would fear that Mada would be taken from her was if he were a full-skinned Redaeli. He¡¯d be taken as a spy, interrogated and tortured, and possibly executed. Maybe he was a fugitive? But why would Ekivia be harboring a Redaeli fugitive? And why would she think of him as a son? He¡¯d have to share what he¡¯d learned with Fosia and Nailil to get their thoughts. Maybe they could figure more out together.


    Suddenly Iakedrom noticed something strange. Nailil hadn¡¯t approached him to get answers when he left the room. Instead, she watched him along with the other officers nearby. Fosia approached, her eyes yellow with disgust that matched the eyes of the others around him.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked Fosia as she approached.


    In response, she pointed at his prosthetic.


    The bit of metal from Ekivia''s arm, which he thought he''d dropped on the interrogation table, was crawling up his prosthetic, etching inky black marks into it. He jumped, started by the sight, and shook his arm in an unsuccessful attempt at dislodging it. Finally, Fosia leaped toward him, grabbing the animated skin, ripping it from his shoulder, and throwing it on the ground with a shudder.


    It lay still where it fell, covered in Ekivia¡¯s oil, a few spots of blood from Iakedrom¡¯s prosthetic, and what appeared to be some kind of ink.


    **********


    Nevets stared at Nagemai, the Redaeli White, completely shocked at the cordial introduction. Mada looked at him with an expression that took a moment for Nevets to process because the eye color was constant¡ªouter ring of white, inner ring of pink, and a black dot at the center like many other albino animals¡ªbut looking closer he saw the furrowed brow and the wider eyes of fear, looking to him for a cue on what to do next.


    ¡°Treblig, go fetch a machinologist,¡± Nagemai said, and she stooped beside Nevets.


    ¡°You sure you¡¯ll be alright with the two of them?¡± Treblig asked.


    ¡°Absolutely,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Besides, I¡¯d like a moment alone to get to know them better.¡±


    Treblig nodded, his spiked helm bobbing in an almost bow, then he left through the door.


    ¡°Now,¡± Nagemai said, turning back to Nevets and Mada. ¡°We¡¯ll have a machinologist here in a moment to take care of you. But we should do something to slow the oil.¡±


    Nevets nodded, and she took the long end of the rope that tied his hands together and cut it with her stone knife. Then she used the length of rope to tie a tourniquet high on his thigh above the spear wound. Nevets flinched as she pulled it tight, pinching some of his skin in the folds of his pants. He was sure it would leave a narrow raised bruise.


    ¡°Lay on your side so the spear can rest against the ground,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°It¡¯ll help keep it still so it doesn¡¯t do any more damage.¡±


    Nevets did as instructed, turning as Nagemai slowly lowered the spear, keeping it from pivoting suddenly downward and tearing the wound open further. Finally, he settled in the dirt so his wounded leg was against the ground and the spear lay out in front of him. He hadn¡¯t realized he was getting dizzy until he lay down and the dizziness started to fade.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Nevets said warily. He didn¡¯t know yet what to make of this nawo.


    A silence fell between them, Mada sitting near Nevet¡¯s feet, Nagemai sitting in the dirt in front of them, watching expectantly for a short time before speaking again. ¡°I gave you my name, but you haven¡¯t yet given me yours.¡±


    Nevets stared at her, eyes filled with fear, mind racing, but unwilling to respond. The more information they gave her the worse off they¡¯d be, right? He didn¡¯t feel safe telling her anything, let alone something private like their names.


    ¡°I see,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Well, if you won¡¯t introduce yourselves I won¡¯t force you. But I will say this much. My army is heading to Rebmevon, and from there we have orders to proceed to your capital. However, I decided to make a detour south to this forest to pay a visit to someone who lives near here. Are either of you familiar with Ekivia Neitkarf?¡±


    Nevets mouth fell open and he subconsciously looked at Mada who had a similar expression on his face.


    ¡°Ah, I can see that you do,¡± Nagemai said, smiling at them. Then she turned and looked at Mada. ¡°I assume you are hers?¡±


    ¡°I am my own,¡± Mada said, voice shaking though somehow sounding more determined because of the courage it must have taken to speak.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I misspoke,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t do it again. Let me correct myself. I assume you were her last project before she lost her license?¡±


    Again they didn¡¯t respond, though Nevets was beginning to feel as though that didn¡¯t matter. She seemed to know almost everything already, though he didn¡¯t know how she could.


    ¡°I understand you don¡¯t trust me,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I did just attack you and tie you up, and on top of that I¡¯m redaeli and our nations are at war. So you may not believe me yet when I say that I intend no harm to Ekivia or anyone she trusts enough to share her final creation with, and I promise to do everything within my power to protect you.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s true then let us go,¡± Nevets said. ¡°Taking us into a war zone can only put us in danger.¡±


    ¡°In any other case that might be true,¡± Nagemai said, and she looked at Mada again. ¡°But yours is unique. There is a reason no one has yet created an AI like you. Some would kill to keep your creation a secret.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous,¡± Nevets said as Treblig returned with a machinologist. ¡°The only danger is that he would not be accepted as diordna.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°But we can discuss that later. For now, let¡¯s get you patched up.¡±


    She gestured for the machinologist to start her work. The nawo wore a uniform matching the colors of Trebligs armor, dark forest green and clear wood tan. Most war machinologists had to wear little or no armor to do their work, as the bulky wooden plates often impeded their movements. It meant they were vulnerable to attack, but they were kept at the back and protected by the rest of the army.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    She removed a leather pouch from her machinologists bag and handed it to Nevets. ¡°Drink some of this.¡±


    He took the pouch and sniffed it, looking at the machinologist and then Nagemai suspiciously.


    ¡°If I wanted you dead I would have done it myself,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°It¡¯ll help with the pain.¡±


    Nevets nodded reluctantly and took a drink. The liquid inside came from engineered plants that could produce chemicals to do a variety of things, from numbing pain to knocking someone out to killing.


    Once he swallowed the machinologist took the pouch and handed him a rolled piece of leather. ¡°Bite down on this. I have to remove the spear as soon as possible, and the anesthesia won¡¯t take effect for several minutes yet.¡±


    Nevets nodded, taking the leather and putting it between his teeth.


    ¡°Ready?¡± The machinologist asked.


    Nevets took a deep breath, but before he could respond or prepare himself the machinologist yanked the spear from his thigh. He screamed through the leather, teeth clenching so tightly his jaw popped and he heard the leather groaning and grinding as his teeth cut through several layers. His head swam with pain and even though he was laying on his side he felt like he was on his feet and falling.


    Then, he passed out.


    When he regained consciousness he was on a bird, wrists tied to the saddle horn, legs tied to the side of the saddle, and someone¡¯s arms wrapped around him to hold the reins. He tried to turn and look at the driver but his head swam at the motion and he felt like he would fall from the saddle. The driver, feeling him begin to sway, pressed their arms together around him, stabilizing him in the seat.


    ¡°Careful,¡± Nagemai¡¯s voice said from behind him. ¡°Try not to move too much.¡±


    Nevets leaned forward against the saddle horn, closing his eyes to stop the spinning of the world. It didn¡¯t work. ¡°How long has it been?¡±


    ¡°A couple of hours,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I wanted to let you rest before we moved, but we¡¯re in enemy territory and can¡¯t stop yet. But you should get a chance to rest soon. We should be close to...¡±


    Suddenly Nevets jolted, not from the pain of his leg bouncing against the bird¡¯s side as it walked, but from a sudden realization. ¡°Where¡¯s¡­ the AI?!?¡± He nearly shouted the question, trying to look around and again growing nauseous. He¡¯d nearly said Mada¡¯s name, but wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to give away that information still. The less this general knew about them the better, right?


    ¡°I¡¯m right here,¡± Mada said from somewhere behind the bird.


    Slowly Nevets turned to look back, craning carefully to look around Nagemai. A rope led from the back of the saddle to Mada¡¯s wrists and he walked along behind the mount. Nagemai didn¡¯t push the creature, seeming to allow Mada to make the pace.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Nevets asked though he couldn¡¯t see any obvious signs that Mada had been harmed.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Mada said, then he mumbled under his breath. ¡°I¡¯d rather be called something else though.¡±


    ¡°What was that?¡± Nagemai asked.


    Mada¡¯s shoulders slumped and he looked like he was trying to shrink and hide, but he responded a little louder. ¡°I¡¯d like to be called something other than an animal.¡±


    Nevets felt his mouth fall open. It was something he should have thought about before. They were trying to present Mada as equal to diordna, and yet he¡¯d continued to call him an animal. The term AI came from books and theories mostly, but looking at Mada at that moment, Nevets felt that the term wasn¡¯t accurate.


    ¡°If I had your name I would use that,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°But until then, how should I refer to you when speaking?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Mada began, then licked his lips. ¡°I think organic diordna would be a more accurate term.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to use the term.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t think to ask about that sooner,¡± Nevets said.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Mada said. ¡°It isn¡¯t something I had to think about with Ekivia, so the idea is new to me too.¡±


    ¡°Well I like the term,¡± Nevets said, turning to look forward again. Keeping his neck craned around was not only uncomfortable, but with the motion of the mount, it was starting to make him nauseous again. ¡°I think it¡¯s probably more accurate.¡±


    Mada just nodded and looked back at the lancer¡¯s feet as they walked.


    ¡°I would prefer to use your names,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°It would make things a whole lot easier on all of us.¡±


    Nevets grimaced. She was right, but that didn¡¯t mean he wanted to tell her anything.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to tell me I can try guessing,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°At least for you, Mr. scientist. I¡¯ve been thinking about anyone I know of that has any tie to Ekivia and I think I¡¯ve figured out who you are. Nevets Sirrah.¡±


    Nevets stiffened and he hoped Nagemai hadn¡¯t felt it with her arms wrapped around him to hold the reigns. He heard her take a breath to continue speaking, but Treblig approached on his battering bird. It was a little smaller than the Lancer, but the Batterer had a short beak that it used like a hammer the size of a na¡¯s chest. It could beat soldiers and mounts into the dirt with it, or break down doors in a city invasion. Lancers were great at the start of a battle to run down enemies early on, but the Batterer was a weapon for mid-battle.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± Treblig said to Nagemai. ¡°There were several officers and their mounts at the house, but they¡¯ve all been subdued.¡±


    ¡°I wish we¡¯d known about the officers,¡± Nagemai asked, and her tone made Nevets feel like the comment was meant for him. ¡°How many enemies? Any casualties?¡±


    ¡°Of ours, there are three dead, two wounded,¡± Treblig said. ¡°There were eight of them and five mounts. All captured, though some wounded.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want Ekivia to be killed by accident. Any sign of her?¡±


    ¡°We tried getting the soldiers to give us names or tell us where she was,¡± Treblig said. ¡°But they¡¯re being as caged as these two.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Line them up outside the house. I¡¯ll interrogate them myself.¡±


    Something in her voice made Nevets feel cold, and his vision paled. The way she usually spoke was so calm and amiable, but when she said she¡¯d interrogate the captives her voice took on a cold hard tone.


    They continued their ride for a short time, maybe another quarter hour, before arriving back at Ekivia¡¯s house. If Nagemai had been accurate with her time estimate when Nevets had awoken then the trip from Mada¡¯s hiding place to here had taken nearly three times as long as when he and Mada had gone out. Nevets supposed with an army all moving together, walking to conserve energy for an upcoming battle and to avoid rushing into a trap, they couldn¡¯t move nearly as quickly as two desperate fugitives running through the forest.


    When they arrived at the house it was much as it had been when they¡¯d left the day before, with officers outside the house and a couple of Pursuers waiting for their riders, boxes strapped to their backs, and a few on the ground around them, Redaeli soldiers holding their reigns. There were also a couple of Trackers, canine mounts that were about half the size of a Pursuer and designed for a single rider. They weren¡¯t as fast as the Pursuers but they had strong noses that allowed them to track down fugitives, and despite their slower running speed, they were still faster than the average diordna. The two here were both mottled grey and black, with drooping ears and lips designed to direct smells toward their nose and isolate them from distracting smells in the surrounding area.


    The other difference about the scene before him was a strange reflection of the scene before he¡¯d left. Officers knelt near the front door, hands tied behind their backs, with soldiers guarding them.


    Nagemai waved Treblig over and he approached, taking her reigns. Then, with a soft tongue click from Nagemai as a command, the bird settled into the dirt, sitting with its feet beneath its body and making it easier for Nagemai to dismount safely. A moment later Treblig clicked his tongue and dismounted his, tying the reigns of the Lancer to those of the Batterer.


    ¡°Is this every diordna in the house?¡± Nagemai asked Treblig as she dismounted.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Treblig said. ¡°We¡¯ve searched the surrounding area as well, and there¡¯s no one else here.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± Nagemai said, turning back to look at Nevets. ¡°Are any of them Ekivia? I¡¯ve never actually seen her myself, so I¡¯ll need some help identifying her.¡±


    Nevets looked over the officers. There were eight of them, five nawo, three na. None of them were Ekivia, but Nevets wasn¡¯t going to tell Nagemai that. He met the general¡¯s eyes, face impassive.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to get the answer the hard way.¡± Nagemai turned away, whispered something to Treblig, and approached one of the na officers, standing in front of the officers so she was facing away from the Nevets and toward the house. Treblig approached and stood behind the officer, and for some reason, he was watching Nevets instead of Nagemai or the officer.


    The White General drew her spear.


    ¡°Where is Ekivia Neitkarf?¡± She asked.


    The na glared at her, eyes pink with fear and anger.


    Nagemai abruptly stabbed the na through the eye, shattering it. He died almost instantly, the spear piercing his brain, emotion sight and oil spraying from his face then along the spear shaft and down his cheek. Nagemai yanked the spear back and the na fell forward, settling face down in the dirt. Nevets eyes turned a light, fearful, disgusted yellow.


    Then she stepped to stand in front of a nawo. ¡°Where is Ekivia.¡±


    Like the officer before her, this one glared up at Nagemai, though Nevets thought her eyes were a little more fearful, a lighter pink than the officer before her.


    Nagemai looked to Treblig, then pulled the still dripping spear, hesitated a moment, then rammed it through the officer¡¯s eye in the same way as the first, drilling the spear into her brain then yanking it back and letting the corpse thump into the dirt.


    She stepped to the next nawo. ¡°Where is Ekivia?¡±


    There was almost no anger in the officer¡¯s eyes, but she didn¡¯t respond. Nevets stomach started to churn even before Nagemai speared this one¡¯s eye, and as the third corpse fell he tasted slag.


    He closed his eyes against the scene.


    ¡°Where is Ekivia?¡± A brief silence. The cracking of a shattering eye was followed by the wet ripping sound of the spear being yanked from the officer¡¯s skull. The thump of the body in the dirt.


    ¡°Where is Ekivia?¡±


    This time Nevets heard the officer breathing heavily as if trying to resist great pain. Then there was the shout of a na that sounded like it was coming from behind clenched teeth, just before the sound of his eye shattering silenced him and Nevets heard his body hit the dirt as well.


    Someone¡¯s breath rattled with fear, the next officer who Nevets knew to be a na. He imagined white tears rolling down the officer¡¯s face as he was overcome with fear and Nagemai stabbing him through the pale eye, spilling the rest of the fear and killing the officer.


    But the sound of cracking eye never came.


    ¡°She¡¯s in the officer¡¯s house on the southeast side of the city,¡± the na¡¯s trembling voice answered.


    Relief washed over Nevets and he opened his eyes. Nagemai stepped to the next officer, leaving the one who¡¯d spoken alive.


    ¡°Is that true?¡± She asked the nawo, and the officer nodded. She stepped to the final officer, also a nawo. ¡°Is that true?¡± The officer nodded. ¡°Wonderful. You three get to live. If you¡¯re lying to me then I will change my mind.¡±


    Nagemai turned around and came back to the Lancer. ¡°Nevets, do you know the officer¡¯s house they¡¯re referring to?¡±


    He nodded absently, and she smiled at him warmly. ¡°Wonderful. Then you¡¯ll be reunited with Ekivia before too long.¡±


    Nagemai climbed into the saddle, taking the reigns from Treblig, who¡¯d untied them, and wrapped her arms around Nevets again. Nevets cringed, pulling away from her arms where they touched his, trying to shrink in the saddle as he tried to swallow the slag that rose in his throat.


    ¡°Monster,¡± Nevets said just loud enough for Nagemai to hear, not looking back at her.


    She spoke softly, almost kindly, from her place behind him. ¡°Given the chance would you not kill me as well?¡±


    ¡°That would be to protect my diordna,¡± Nevets said through clenched teeth. ¡°Not cold-eyed and merciless like what you just did.¡±


    ¡°And if I let them go what would happen then?¡± She asked.


    Nevets didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°Few soldiers fight without some ¡®good¡¯ reason. To protect, to avenge, to champion truth. But even fewer forgive the same motives in their enemies. It¡¯s part of why we keep trying to destroy each other. We can¡¯t stand to admit that we are all the same.¡±


    Nevets didn¡¯t respond. Though he couldn¡¯t help but admit to himself that she wasn¡¯t wrong, he didn¡¯t have to admit the same to her.


    Nagemai clicked her tongue and the Lancer stood, and the army continued their march toward Rebmevon, dead officers left to drain the life oil into the dirt, surviving officers taken by soldiers as prisoners.


    Despite his disgust, Nevets found some consolation in the thought that they at least had a way to rescue Ekivia from Iakedrom now. Though he wished the means had come in any other way.

 Chapter 8: A Dark Connection

    Chapter 8: A Dark Connection


    ¡°Research Log, 12 Years, 4 Months, 7 Days (Day 4,262)


    ¡°Mada asked me today if I, as his creator, was his god. I told him that I was more an unnatural mother than a god. True I created him, and I suppose Dytie could have created diordna using similar means if he wanted, but I never imagined the birth of my species quite like Mada¡¯s. He seemed to accept that answer, though he still seemed thoughtful. He''ll come to some understanding of his own on the topic, he does that more and more lately.


    "I, on the other hand, am not satisfied with the answer I gave. His question is more difficult the more I consider it. Traditionally, ideas of god are associated with the creation of the diordna, at least for those who know enough about our composition to realize that we couldn''t just happen. Diordna aren''t animals, we are something more, something unique.


    But so is Mada, in his own way. And if he is equally intelligent to diordna does that mean he is one of us, differentiated only by the material components of his body? It¡¯s a common belief that only Dytie could create diordna kind, but if Mada is equal to us then have I not created a new diordna? And what impact will introducing him to society have on our understanding of Dytie? What would that do to the world as we know it?¡±


    ¡°What¡­¡± Nailil began, and Iakedrom looked up to meet her eyes. There was no more pleasure in them or they¡¯d look green through Iakedrom¡¯s disgust. Instead, the disgust yellow in her eyes was intensified by that in his own. ¡°What just happened.¡±


    Iakedrom swallowed, tasting slag at the back of his throat. ¡°We haven¡¯t quite figured that out yet. Did you happen to read Fosia¡¯s notes, or did you just look at the ones about Ekivia?¡±


    Nailil shook her head. ¡°Just the ones about Ekivia. Though I did glance at the other.¡±


    ¡°Then it appears we have some things we need to discuss,¡± Iakedrom said. What he wanted to do was turn right back around and start grilling Ekivia, but he restrained himself. They needed to pause, to think, to plan.


    Nailil led the two of them to the House Commander¡¯s office, snapping at her to leave so they could speak. It said a lot about Ailif¡¯s discipline that she obeyed immediately, almost as though she¡¯d expected the command. The three of them sat around Ailif¡¯s desk.


    ¡°Let¡¯s be quick about this,¡± Nailil said. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time.¡±


    Iakedrom nodded. ¡°Just before you arrived we saw a similar thing happen with our other investigation. I went in to ask Esile some questions and she attacked me with a hardened piece of her own skin. The same thing happened as you just saw.¡±


    ¡°Esile?¡± Nailil asked. ¡°Is that the name she gave you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Iakedrom said.


    ¡°She seems to believe that she is the Esile,¡± Fosia said. ¡°And I have to say I¡¯m starting to believe her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Nailil said. ¡°She died generations ago.¡±


    ¡°We thought she did,¡± Fosia said. ¡°But she looks almost exactly like the scientist, and there are other things.¡±


    Nailil rolled her eyes. ¡°She¡¯s getting in your head. There¡¯s no way the real Esile could still be alive.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been looking into that,¡± Fosia said. ¡°I haven¡¯t had a chance to tell Iakedrom this yet, but I just spoke to the machinologist again about diordna life span. He said there are records of diordna living a long time and then dying of old age, but he admits he¡¯s never seen it himself. In fifty years as a machinologist, he¡¯s only ever seen diordna die at the hands of another diordna. On top of that, he found a theory by Esile that suggested isolated organics could greatly extend the lifespan of diordna by making it possible to repair and heal what were once fatal wounds. If Esile figured that out maybe she could be alive still.¡±


    ¡°Not possible,¡± Nailil said, her voice firm with confidence. ¡°The machinologist must have been exaggerating.¡±


    Iakedrom wasn¡¯t so certain, and looking at Fosia he saw that she wasn¡¯t either. She was starting to believe this Esile was the Esile, and that she¡¯d succeeded in proving her theory. For all they knew, she¡¯d proven her others too. If this was Esile then she could have been instrumental in creating Iakedrom¡¯s prosthetic, not just in a theoretical way but in a hands-on way in recent generations. The irony of that thought disturbed Iakedrom.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Iakedrom said, getting them back to the topic at hand. ¡°Two of Esile¡¯s most important hypotheses was on the similarities between animal and diordna structures and the possibility of isolated organics.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Nailil said.


    ¡°Near the end of her life she spoke about another hypothesis that¡¯s related to the two,¡± Fosia said. ¡°She thought it was possible to create isolated mechanics. Living pieces of diordna, but not a part of anyone.¡±


    Nailil¡¯s face scrunched up in disgust to match the color in all their eyes. ¡°And you think that¡¯s what we just saw? Isolated mechanics?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t think of any other possibility,¡± Iakedrom said.


    Nailil looked back and forth between the two of them in disbelief. ¡°You actually believe this.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Iakedrom and Fosia said simultaneously. ¡°Unless you have a better explanation, I can think of nothing else that would cause a piece of skin to crawl up my arm.¡±


    ¡°It could be a miracle of Dytie,¡± Nailil said. ¡°If so, then we should be trying to discern the meaning behind it.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Iaekdrom said. ¡°I think the first step is to find out what connection Ekivia has with Esile. Even if Esile figured out isolated organics, I can¡¯t figure out how Ekivia would have come across it too.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t important,¡± Nailil said. ¡°I told you I don¡¯t have much time with Ekivia. I need answers before tonight, we can¡¯t afford distractions.¡±


    ¡°I believe the two are related,¡± Iakedrom said.


    Nailil met his eyes. ¡°Did she say something to you that you haven¡¯t told me yet?¡±


    Iakedrom hesitated. He wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to share what Ekivia had told him, but this was a priestess. He nodded. ¡°She talked about Mada, one of the fugitives, like a son and hinted that there is something about him that is unique. She believes this unique thing would lead to him being taken from her, or possibly killed. She claimed he didn¡¯t have a father. Given what just happened I think he might have been an experiment in isolated organics. His name does mean ¡®the first¡¯ after all.¡±


    ¡°You think she made an entire diordna using isolated organics,¡± Nailil said flatly. ¡°A theory from a dead scientist who may still be alive generations after she was believed dead, and if so is completely insane today. Based on the meaning of a fugitive¡¯s name.¡±


    ¡°And on two pieces of skin animating and writing on my prosthetic after being separated from the rest of the body,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I know it sounds unlikely, but I think it¡¯s an important line of inquiry that could lead to more information about Mada.¡±


    Nailil sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m hearing this. But you might be right.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to be the one that asks the questions,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°She¡¯s more open with me than she¡¯s been with you. I think I can get her to talk more.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Nailil said. ¡°But are you willing to do what needs to be done? Or will I have to take over?¡±


    Iakedrom¡¯s vision paled a little. He knew what Nailil was really asking. Would he be able to harm Ekivia if necessary? He wasn¡¯t sure he could.


    However¡­ she had kept a lot back from him. And the animation of her skin connected her to someone who had harmed him greatly in the past. Someone who¡¯d taken his arm and his previous partner. She¡¯d pretended to trust him, pretended to be close to him, pretended to enjoy his company. She¡¯d even attacked him and his officers. Thinking about it shifted Iakedrom¡¯s sight toward red.


    But he still respected Ekivia and didn¡¯t want to see her come to harm. And if he allowed Nailil to have her way he expected the scientist would come to great harm. If it came to it, would he harm her a little to protect her from greater harm?


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe extreme measures will be necessary,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°She¡¯s cooperating with me, it¡¯ll just take a little more time.¡±


    ¡°I told you I don¡¯t have time,¡± Nailil said. ¡°You have until mid-afternoon, and then I take over.¡±


    Iakedrom met her eyes, but he didn¡¯t argue. How could he with a priestess of Dytie?


    They left the office, and Ailif went in behind them as they did.


    ¡°Fosia, see if Esile has any connection to Ekivia for me,¡± Iakedrom said as they walked toward the interrogation rooms.


    ¡°Good idea,¡± Fosia said. ¡°You think they were working together?¡±


    ¡°I sincerely hope not,¡± Iakedrom said, but the thought brought disgust back into his eyes and the pit of his stomach. He shook his head, not looking forward to what he had to do next.


    Looking around the floor he didn¡¯t see the skin where it had fallen, though officers avoided the place as they moved around the room, giving it a wide berth on all sides.


    He turned to an officer whose desk was near Ekivia¡¯s interrogation room. ¡°Do you know where the piece of skin went?¡±


    The yellow-eyed officer nodded, swallowing uncomfortably. ¡°It¡¯s in a bag on your desk. Vela said we should keep it for evidence.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Iakedorm said, and he retrieved it quickly before returning to the interrogation room. As he considered what he might need to do his chest tightened, eyes filling with disgust and sorrow.


    **********


    When Iakedrom reentered the room his eyes were a sickly yellowish-brown color that Ekivia couldn¡¯t quite identify. There was disgust in it, but it was muddied by¡­ sorrow and maybe a little anger? She wasn¡¯t sure what that indicated, but his expression made him look like he was trying to hide pain behind a wood mask of stoicism.


    His expression wasn¡¯t the only thing that had changed about him. His prosthetic was covered in unfamiliar black patterns that ran from his wrist to his shoulder. They looked almost like some sort of language, though not one Ekivia recognized. She wondered what they meant, and how they¡¯d been applied to the prosthetic so quickly.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    He was accompanied by Nailil, which made Ekivia uncomfortable, though she was comforted slightly by Iakedrom¡¯s presence. They entered slowly, Iakedrom hesitating slightly and Nailil, surprisingly, taking his lead instead of the other way around.


    Since the last round of questions Ekivia had made a decision. She was certain Nailil would step in and continue to hurt her if given the chance, and eventually she knew that would break her. So instead she¡¯d decided to delay as much as possible, only giving out tidbits. She would stretch this process out as long as she could to give Nevets as much time as he needed to write his preliminary findings. From there, things would get rocky, but at least there would be credible scientific documentation to protect Mada while they continued to further prove his intelligence.


    ¡°You removed the constrictor,¡± Nailil said to Iakedrom.


    ¡°I told you,¡± Iakedrom replied, obviously impatient with the priestess. ¡°It wasn¡¯t necessary. Now if you don¡¯t mind I¡¯d like to get started.¡±


    Nailil glared at him with red eyes, but backed down, going to stand stiffly, arms crossed, by the wall opposite Ekivia.


    Iakedrom turned and met her eyes. In that brief time between entering the room and his brief discussion with the priestess, his eyes had nearly entirely cleared. Ekivia had known diordna who could subdue their emotions quickly, but this was¡­ impressive, though not entirely unexpected from someone in his line of work.


    ¡°What is your relationship to Esile (last name?),¡± Iakedrom asked.


    Ekivia scrunched her face up in confusion. Where had that question come from? ¡°I¡¯m one of her descendants. Through my father.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not saying much,¡± Iakedrom said.


    Esile had a reputation for promiscuity. Some studies suggested that as much as forty percent of Drolians were descended from Esile, though Ekivia thought those numbers were inflated. She suspected it was closer to fifteen or twenty percent of the population at most. Still, one in five was no small number.


    ¡°Have you had any recent interactions with her?¡± Iakedrom continued.


    Ekivia¡¯s confusion deepened, and she shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not¡­ I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re asking.¡±


    ¡°Let me clear things up a little,¡± Iakedrom said, and he placed a small pouch on the table in front of her, untied it, and dumped something out onto the table.


    It was the piece of skin he¡¯d removed from her arm.


    She recoiled in disgust, eyes yellowing, lips curling. She tasted sulfur and slag and swallowed to keep it down.


    Then Iakedrom touched the piece of skin with his prosthetic and it latched on.


    Ekivia¡¯s eyes widened in horror as the skin crawled up his arm, following the path of the black marks, darkening them where it passed, and drawing pinpricks of blood occasionally. She watched the animal skin twitch, Iakedrom¡¯s face contort in discomfort, and the yellow in her eyes paled. When the piece of skin reached his shoulder it fell, and in the complete silence of the room, Ekivia heard the soft sound of its almost imperceptible impact on the ground.


    ¡°That¡­¡± Ekivia swallowed slag. ¡°That¡¯s not my skin.¡±


    ¡°I assure you it is,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°When I removed it earlier it stuck to my prosthetic and wrote these symbols. Do you know what they mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen them before,¡± Ekivia said, her hands beginning to shake in their restraints. She had no idea what was happening, but she didn¡¯t like it one bit.


    ¡°Then how did your skin do this?¡± Iakedrom pressed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Nailil sighed from her place by the wall. ¡°This isn¡¯t going anywhere. She¡¯s too stubborn. Let me¡ª¡°


    ¡°No,¡± Iakedrom cut her off. ¡°I¡¯m not done yet.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Nailil said. ¡°Then hurry it up.¡±


    Ekivia saw the tension in Iakedrom¡¯s body as he turned back to her, his demeanor changed, his expression more aggressive though she couldn¡¯t see it clearly as he was looking at the priestess. And the comfort she¡¯d felt at having him here instead of being alone with Nailil began to fade.


    Iakedrom turned back to Ekivia, looking her face over intensely for a moment before speaking. She saw anger slowly growing in his expression, a frustration. The eye color was dark, red blended with black. Together they were usually associated with a sense of betrayal, but his expression looked more conflicted than that. She thought she saw betrayal in the lines of his forehead, but she also thought she saw¡­ a plea?


    ¡°This is the second time this has happened to me,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°The first was done by a nawo claiming to be Esile, your ancestor.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°She died a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what we thought too,¡± Iakedrom said, eyes intense. ¡°But this nawo believes she¡¯s the Esile. And honestly, the more we look into it the more possible it seems.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible,¡± Ekivia said, shaking her head.


    ¡°Maybe not,¡± Iakedrom shrugged. ¡°But that¡¯s less important. You¡¯re familiar with Esile¡¯s theories of isolation and animal diordna relations?¡±


    Ekivia nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±


    She¡¯d read extensively about her ancestor¡¯s work, it was required if you wanted to be an animal engineer. And if you wanted to be a machinologist too. The nawo was a genius, one of the greatest minds ever to be born to diordna kind. If she was still alive Ekivia would have loved to meet her. Her mind would be a blessing to Drolians unlike any other. But she¡¯d died so long ago none of that mattered.


    ¡°Good,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Then you know she theorized both isolated organics as well as isolated mechanics.¡±


    Ekivia¡¯s eyes widened again. She wasn¡¯t a machinologist, so she only knew the basics of diordna physiology. But the theory seemed to be a good explanation for what she¡¯d just seen.


    ¡°Now tell me,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°How could two unconnected diordna cause the same impossible thing to happen with my prosthetic? Something that has only one logical explanation that is rooted in a theory thought to be wild speculation. And the two events occurred when in contact with skin from someone claiming to be the greatest mind we¡¯ve ever known, and when in contact with skin from you, possibly the greatest mind of our generation.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know how it could have happened with one of us,¡± Ekivia said, exasperated. She was so caught up she barely registered the compliment, though she¡¯d heard the sentiment before from others and didn¡¯t deny that it was possible. ¡°Let alone two. You¡¯re asking the wrong diordna. Why don¡¯t you go check with this Esile?¡±


    Iakedrom glared at Ekivia. She seemed so damn genuine in her confusion, it made him want to believe her, but he couldn¡¯t allow himself to. He placed both hands on the table, supporting his weight. He looked like he was trying to make some kind of decision.


    Nailil sighed, and Iakedrom glared at the priestess.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked, speaking more harshly than Ekivia had ever heard anyone speak to a priest or priestess. She appreciated the sentiment in this case.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk outside for a minute,¡± Nailil said.


    Iakedrom pushed himself up and followed Nailil from the room.


    **********


    ¡°This isn¡¯t going anywhere,¡± Nailil said when the door closed behind them. ¡°You said you could get her to cooperate.¡±


    ¡°And I can,¡± Iakedrom snapped, eyes red, fists clenched involuntarily. ¡°I told you. It will just take time.¡±


    ¡°Which we don¡¯t have,¡± Nailil said. ¡°I told you I¡¯m on a deadline.¡±


    ¡°Do you want honest answers or do you want convenient answers?¡± Iakedorm said back. ¡°Because your way gets convenient answers that are false as often as they¡¯re true.¡±


    ¡°I want any answers,¡± Nailil said. ¡°She knows something, even if she¡¯s playing dumb right now. I can¡¯t see any way this could happen twice and the two suspects not be connected.¡±


    ¡°Me neither,¡± Iakedrom said.


    ¡°Good,¡± Nailil said. ¡°Because if you didn¡¯t agree I¡¯d think you were an idiot. So, we¡¯re going back in there and the only question I have is this. Will you be the one that does what¡¯s necessary to get our answers, or will I?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do what I have to,¡± Iakedrom said. He couldn¡¯t let Nailil continue to torture Ekivia. The priestess would go too far, but if he didn¡¯t take any steps in that direction she¡¯d take over. ¡°I¡¯ll get the answers we need.¡±


    And truth be told, he wanted those answers as well. He wanted to know why she¡¯d lied, he wanted an excuse to trust her again. He didn¡¯t think he ever really could, twenty years of lies didn¡¯t vanish with one answer, but knowing the truth would help the feeling of betrayal that still bothered him.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Nailil huffed. ¡°She¡¯s playing dumb, refusing to connect the pieces we¡¯ve presented. Make the connections so she can¡¯t keep hiding from them, then get the answers.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± Iakedrom said. He didn¡¯t like being bossed around on his own investigation like this, but Nailil was a priestess, a representative of both the Drol and Dytie himself. Even if her actions were detestable, her attitude abrasive, she still represented their god. That meant what she did wasn¡¯t so bad, right? She wouldn¡¯t do something against god and the Drol¡¯s will, would she?


    ¡°If you don¡¯t get answers soon I¡¯m taking over,¡± Nailil said.


    ¡°You said I could do it my way until mid-afternoon,¡± Iakedorm said, glaring at the priestess. He¡¯d always respected the servants of Dytie, but this nawo was making respect difficult.


    ¡°I know what I said,¡± Nailil said, matching his tone and glare with her own. ¡°But if she maintains this stubborn streak I¡¯m stepping in sooner or we¡¯ll get nothing out of her before night.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I¡¯ll be harder on her.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Nailil said. ¡°And while you¡¯re at it, you should consider how you speak to a priestess. It makes one question your loyalty. Keep this up and you might find yourself in the same position as Ekivia.¡±


    Iakedrom hesitated briefly but nodded. He wasn¡¯t just toeing a line anymore, he was stepping right across it with his brashness. The only reason she put up with him was probably that she knew his record and he¡¯d already gotten more out of Ekivia than she had. Still, she was right. He needed to direct his anger and frustration to its source, not around him. He didn¡¯t like what Nailil had done, and he didn¡¯t like her superior attitude, but he wasn¡¯t actually that angry at her. He was really angry at Ekivia and himself for being taken in by her. He had to remember that.


    They reentered the interrogation room, and Nailil took her place near the wall, giving Iakedrom a significant look. One slip and she¡¯d take over and pick up right where she¡¯d left off with Ekivia.


    Instead of just standing across the table from Ekivia, he began to pace. ¡°You seem confused so I¡¯m going to get straight to the point.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Ekivia said, exasperation clear in her voice.


    ¡°Is Mada an experiment?¡± Iakedrom asked, watching her expression as he rounded the table toward her. ¡°One that incorporates Esile¡¯s principles of isolation?¡±


    Ekivia¡¯s eyes paled, though she was clearly trying to suppress the fear sight. She didn¡¯t answer, squeezing her lips together tightly.


    Iakedrom glanced at Nailil, and she raised her eyebrows at him as if asking if she needed to step in. He shook his head and stepped around beside Ekivia.


    ¡°Silence isn¡¯t good enough,¡± Iakedrom said, reminding himself of his anger and letting it come into his voice. ¡°It could just be you avoiding giving anything away, but it could also be confirmation that Mada is an experiment in isolation theory, one that a priestess of Dytie might find blasphemous. But I need you to tell me which it is.¡±


    Ekivia remained stiff in her seat, fists clenched side by side on the table, lips tight, jaw flexing.


    Nailil met Iakedrom¡¯s eyes again, and she took a step toward the table, and he thought he saw Ekivia tense even more than she already was. He held his hand up, closed his eyes briefly, then nodded and opened them.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help you if you won¡¯t help me,¡± He said, leaning down beside Ekivia on the side with the bonellet wound. As he considered what he was about to do his eyes yellowed, and he hesitated. Was he really about to do this? Did he have a choice? He clenched one fist, the one Ekivia couldn¡¯t see, trying to steady his hands and swallow the disgust. He recalled her betrayal, he recalled the lies and remembered her attack on his companions. He thought of their other suspect and how these two were connected and it reminded him that he¡¯d lost his arm to that Esile. If these two were working together that could be partially Ekivia¡¯s fault. He could see no other reason for the two to be connected except that they must have been working together. But more importantly, if that was true, he¡¯d lost his previous partner to their secrets.


    As his anger grew he became more certain. Partly because he needed to be for his own sake as well as Eivia¡¯s. The two of them must have succeeded in proving that isolated mechanics were possible, and they¡¯d killed numerous diordna to do it. Mada was the result of that, he had to be. A diordna made by manipulating the parts of dead diordna, researching them to be something else. That made Ekivia a second Craftsman, and perhaps worse. She may not have done the killing, but at her bidding, the first Craftsman had killed and crafted and sent her materials for her experiments. No wonder she¡¯d lost her license to engineer.


    It all made sense.


    ¡°We¡¯re on a time crunch,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°So we don¡¯t have time to do this the normal way. But I will have answers. This is your last chance to give them willingly.¡±


    Ekivia turned toward him, anger in her eyes right until she met his. He was seeing red, and when she saw the anger reflected in his eyes, deep and burning, she knew what was coming and her eyes paled with fear.


    But she held her silence.


    So Iakedrom reached forward, hesitated one last time his mind racing to find a different way forward, then he drove his thumb into Ekivia¡¯s wound.

 Chapter 9: The Verd Army Arrives

    Chapter 9: The Verd Army Arrives


    ¡°Research Log, 12 Years, 4 Months, 7 Days (Day 4,262) Cont.


    ¡°Not yet an adult, he has me asking if I am a god. Before now I would have laughed at the idea.


    "But how different am I to Dytie when comparing Mada to the first diordna? And when he created that first diordna did he feel as I do toward Mada?


    ¡°Would Dytie consider me and Mada a threat to him? I can¡¯t imagine that he would. However, others may see what I¡¯ve done and think it blasphemy.


    ¡°And that could put us both in great danger.¡±


    By mid-afternoon, the pain in Nevets leg had subsided, though every once in a while the bird would step on an uneven patch or over a fallen tree and send a jolting pain from his wound. They¡¯d traveled in almost complete silence, which made sense to Nevets as the army wouldn¡¯t want to be caught because of carelessness. The only sound he¡¯d heard since leaving Ekivia¡¯s was the sound of messenger birds flapping their way back and forth from Nagemai, delivering reports at regular intervals. Normally messenger birds would speak their messages, but again for stealth purposes, these ones bore small parchment scrolls.


    So when Nagemai started speaking he was so startled he nearly fell off the side of the saddle, but her arms around his torso kept him upright.


    ¡°I was going to tell you before that I¡¯ve read your most recent book,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°At least I think it was your most recent. The one on whether or not isolated organics can feel simple emotions like some animals do, or if they¡¯re basically emotionless and mindless. It was very good.¡±


    Nevets grunted. It was his most recent work, though he didn¡¯t feel inclined to tell her that.


    ¡°I like how you made it accessible to anyone,¡± She continued. ¡°Professionals in your field or someone like me. There was one question I had that didn¡¯t get answered though.¡±


    She paused, and Nevets tried to think what question she was talking about. His book covered a lot of ground, but he knew there were holes. Their understanding of isolated organics was still young, and they were bound to discover more and more as they continued to study the creations. He himself had questions about the topic still, and he¡¯d spent several years compiling information and sorting through research. However, he didn¡¯t expect one of those questions from a diordna not in the engineering field. He suspected her question would be much simpler.


    ¡°You concluded they don¡¯t feel or think like animals can,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°But do you know how Mada was designed? If I¡¯m not mistaken, his arms and legs look identical to organic prosthetics. Sure, they don¡¯t have their own small internal organs tucked into the shoulder or somewhere, they used the organs in the chest cavity, but still. How different is Mada from one big isolated organic creation? And for that matter how different are any of them?¡±


    The question was interesting, though with a huge flaw that Nevets felt that need to correct. ¡°The shapes of normal animals are ones that appear in nature, just with slight alterations. Isolated organics don¡¯t appear in their form anywhere, including prosthetics. Nowhere in nature is there a limb without a body. That¡¯s the real difference. Mada is not an isolated organic creation, but a new animal, based on old ones.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Nagemai said, and Nevets thought he could hear a smile in her voice. ¡°So you know for a fact that it is impossible for isolated organics to think and feel, and that Ekivia didn¡¯t use isolation to make Mada?¡±


    As soon as she said the name Nevets knew he¡¯d messed up. How had he let that slip?


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Nevets said, sight tinting the world a slightly dark red, his voice turning hard and cold to indicate he was done talking about it.


    ¡°Well, I hope we can both find out soon,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Maybe Ekivia will have some answers. Do you know how she managed to make Mada after losing her license? It¡¯s basically impossible to get materials for that kind of thing without one.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Nevets said.


    ¡°Well, allow me to enlighten you with a little help from Mada,¡± Nagemai said, and he felt her twist to look back at the animal diordna. ¡°Mada, have you know the name Egeil?¡±


    Nevets didn¡¯t recognize the name, but he looked over his shoulder, curious to see what Mada would say. The boy¡­ no he was too old to be just a boy now. Maybe Nevets would start thinking of him simply as a na? Treating him that way and speaking of him that way could help influence the subconscious minds of those who read what he would write about Mada.


    The na had a look of complete shock on his face, except for the color in his eyes that is. ¡°How do you know that name? I didn¡¯t think anyone knew about that.¡±


    Nagemai turned to look at Nevets briefly, a big smile spread across her face, then she turned back to Mada. ¡°How do you think I know the name?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Mada said, then licked his lips. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. No one else knew. It doesn¡¯t even look like she told Nevets yet.¡±


    ¡°Who is Egeil?¡± Nevets asked, looking between the general and Mada.


    ¡°Egeil is the one who supplied Ekivia with what she needed to finish making Mada,¡± Nagemai said.


    Nevets looked to Mada for confirmation, and he nodded, expression still one of shock.


    ¡°That would mean¡­¡± Nevets began.


    ¡°Exactly what you think it does,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°And I hope you believe me when I say that my purpose here today is the same as it was back then.¡±


    ¡°The one who brought the message wasn¡¯t a half-skin,¡± Mada said.


    ¡°True,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°But the one who sent it was.¡±


    Nevets looked between them. This was a secret that Ekivia had kept for two decades. For this stranger to know it could mean two things, either she¡¯d sent the message as she implied, or she¡¯d found the diordna who had and learned of its contents.


    ¡°There¡¯s more than one way you could have gotten that name,¡± Nevets said, mostly to snap Mada out of his stupor. ¡°We¡¯ve seen how you ask questions.¡±


    ¡°I understand you don¡¯t trust me yet. That¡¯s alright. I will eventually tell you everything, but I¡¯d like Ekivia to hear it too. And on top of that we¡¯re almost there,¡± Nagemai said, nodding ahead of them. ¡°For now, just know that I have a strong interest in ensuring your safety and that of Ekivia.¡±


    Nevets turned, looking ahead again, his mind a tangled mess. It was all too coincidental that she knew so much that she shouldn¡¯t and that she¡¯d come when she did. On top of that, Iakedrom had arrived the same day. There were layers to all this that Nevets couldn¡¯t see, but those layers had put them all in incredible danger. He wondered if Ekivia had more answers, or if she would be just as lost in his place.


    The trees began to thin, and a short time later Nevets could see Rebmevon in the distance beyond the edge of the forest. The city was a beautiful sight to behold, especially as it was late spring. Most of the newer buildings had a layer of lush green leaves covering the outside that rippled and swayed in the wind, and at the tops of each, branches reached toward the sun and swayed. There were structures ranging from single-story buildings near the outer edge to ten-story buildings near the center of the city. Probably three-quarters of them were grown where they stood, but it was easy to spot the older stone or brick buildings between the larger planted ones. These older buildings were much smaller, no more than 5 stories at the tallest, any taller and the arches couldn¡¯t support the weight of the building. Despite their lack of height and vibrant color, the contrast between the old and new created a beauty that struck Nevets as it never had before. This was his home. It was beautiful.


    And it was about to be destroyed.


    ¡°Dytie have mercy,¡± Nevets whispered, eyes swirling with fear and sorrow, tinting the world with a spinning black and white that made him dizzy. Maybe the battalion would return in time to save his home. He didn¡¯t think so.


    "Dytie is not a merciful God," Nagemai said from her place on the saddle behind him. He¡¯d been so caught up in the vision of his city that he¡¯d nearly forgotten she was there, despite her arms being wrapped around him. "He is a cruel one."


    "No," Nevets responded, jaw tightening. "Diordna like you are the cruel ones."


    "I won''t deny that,¡± Nagemai said, and Nevets thought he heard¡­regret in her voice. Sorrow. ¡°But it is Dytie who placed us in a position where cruelty is the best option."


    Nevets turned to look at the nawo and was surprised to see just how sorrow black her eyes were. Diordna emotion-sight was usually fairly transparent, depending on the intensity of the emotion. So it surprised Nevets that Nagemai¡¯s eyes were so black that she would nearly be blinded by it, and droplets of sorrow rolled down her cheeks. She was genuinely sorrowful for what was about to come.


    It made Nevets almost want to trust her.


    ¡°With your authority, you could end the cruelty,¡± Nevets said. ¡°If you wanted to. Blaming Dytie does nothing to improve the world.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± Nagemai said, closing her eyes and shaking her head. ¡°But I don¡¯t blame him to exonerate myself. I accept my part, and I am truly sorry it is necessary for now. But I did not create a cruel world, I simply must be cruel to survive in the world that was given us by a cruel god."


    Nevets was stunned. Never before had he heard such disrespect for their god. It made him angry.


    ¡°We fight because of your false Chosen,¡± Nevets spat.


    ¡°The Redaeli say the same thing about your Chosen,¡± Nagemai said calmly. ¡°Is it not possible that neither Chosen is false? Or that both are?¡±


    That made Nevets pause. Nagemai seemed to really think that was a possibility. Dytie would not choose two and then pit their peoples against each other. It was illogical. Chaotic. ¡°Dytie is not a God of chaos, but of order.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°But did you know there were once three nations? Also, claiming to be led by the one Chosen of Dytie? The Egeilen were destroyed. It should have been a great victory to the Drol and Redael, one to be lauded and recorded in our histories. Instead, it has been forgotten by almost all diordna kind.¡±


    Nevets hadn¡¯t heard that before, but he didn¡¯t miss that the name of this third nation was Egeilen, for Egeil. The title of this supposed third Chosen was also the name they¡¯d been discussing mere minutes before.


    If Nagemai was telling the truth it would raise numerous questions about the Chosen. But it was an unverifiable statement. All he had was the word of a Redaeli general who now claimed to be connected to this forgotten third nation and threw around the title of their supposed Chosen to get what she wanted. Granted, that same general showed more compassion for her enemies than any of his own people would toward the Redaeli.


    ¡°How could you know something forgotten by all but yourself?¡± Nevets asked.


    ¡°Because I was there,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I¡¯ve been alive far longer than almost anyone, aside from the Chosen.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Nevets was formulating a response, but one of Nagemai¡¯s captains approached, riding up beside them on a Lancer like Nagemai¡¯s.


    ¡°General,¡± He said, saluting by pressing his palm to his forehead and bowing slightly. ¡°Should we start making camp here?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°We attack in half an hour. Spread the word.¡±


    ¡°So soon?¡± The captain said. ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the day, and we¡¯ve been marching since this morning. Your soldiers could use the rest and an attack in the morning will be harder to see coming.¡±


    ¡°It will be too late by morning,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Carry my command.¡±


    ¡°Yes, General.¡± The captain saluted again, then rode off to do as he was told.


    ¡°Treblig!¡± Nagemai called, and her right hand came riding up on his Betterer. He¡¯d been giving them space and keeping others at a distance from the general¡¯s mount the whole ride at Nagemai¡¯s request. It was obvious to Nevets now that it was so they could talk in private.


    ¡°Yes, Nagemai,¡± Treblig said with a salute.


    ¡°Take a team and the surviving officer,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Find the officer¡¯s house that¡¯s holding Ekivia and bring her to me unharmed. I¡¯ll give your squad a head start.¡±


    ¡°Yes General,¡± Treblig said and he too rode off to do as he was told.


    As Nagemai began sending message birds to her commanding officers Nevets turned back to o look at the city. He was trying to decide how much he believed her. She seemed so earnest, but the things she said were so outlandish.


    About a quarter of an hour later Treblig and his team rode past them and out of the trees toward the city. They¡¯d surely be seen, but with all of them mounted that might not matter.


    A short time later the rest of the army started moving.


    "May Dytie grant these diordna rest from this cruel world,¡± Nagemai said as they began their march. ¡°Perhaps that is his greatest mercy."


    "If you believe that," Nevets said. "Then why do you fight? Why not choose to die?"


    "Because I know why I fight,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°And it isn¡¯t for the glory of a Chosen. I have felt joy and peace and hope before. If my life is taken from me I will accept that mercy, but until then I will fight for the hope that peace can be a permanent state for all diordna kind, and not a temporary one. I fight for the glory, the joy, the peace, and the hope of every diordna."


    Nevets looked back at the nawo, seated atop her bird, head high, face resolute despite the sorrow in her eyes. He felt that he saw in her the years and battles she''d lived through, each one hard-fought, each one driving her toward the general who could bypass border defenses and pierce the heart of her enemy.


    Nagemai saw him watching her and took a bird from one of the perches that rigged her saddle, then held it toward Nevets. ¡°A gift.¡±


    Nevets cocked his head, confused as he took the bird.


    ¡°It¡¯s a parrot for you to continue your work with Mada,¡± She said. ¡°I believe he is what you say, and I would like to see a third nation on this land again. Perhaps Mada will be a new kind of Chosen, the first of his kind, one that doesn¡¯t need to perpetuate these wars.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Nevets hesitated. What could he say to that? ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing I want to say before this battle starts,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I want you to know that I believe life and death can both be mercies at the right time. Know that if I didn''t wish to extend the first to my nation I would not bring the second to yours. Maybe someday there will be a place for all three of our kind to live as diordna together instead of fighting all the time. But for now, this is the best I can do.¡±


    Nevets met her eyes a moment, and she met his, and he thought she was being honest with him. Then she nodded as if she knew the conclusion he¡¯d come to and gave the command for her bird to start moving. They rode near the back of her army, though not quite with the support staff.


    Before they reached the city buildings began to burn. The flames reflected in Nevets¡¯s glass eyes, his vision blurred and swirling black and white. There was another beauty in the flames, one of contrast like the young and old buildings, the green and brown before. It was a contrast of motion, the leaves in the breeze and the flames making their own wind. Something about the sight reminded him of what Nagemai had asked back at Ekivia¡¯s place, although he didn¡¯t know why it did.


    Would you not do the same to me given the chance?


    In that moment he knew he would do the same.


    And the more he got to know this enemy, the more he saw how similar they were, the more he wanted his answer to change.


    **********


    Fosia leaned back in her chair at her desk, watching the interrogation room lazily as she waited for Iakedrom to come out. Her most recent round with Esile hadn¡¯t gone much better than the previous ones. She claimed to only know who Ekivia was, but not to know her personally. She was very interested in the claim that Ekivia¡¯s skin had done the same as her own to Iakedrom¡¯s prosthetic, but Fosia couldn¡¯t get anything out of her about the process or how Ekivia might have done it too. Her best hope was that Iakedrom had had better luck with Ekivia.


    A calling bird squawked from Iakedrom¡¯s desk, and she looked at it. It could be someone calling about their investigations, some expert or other maybe. That would be useful, but she didn¡¯t really feel like getting up just yet. Talking to Esile was exhausting.


    The bird stopped its squawking and almost at the same time Iakedrom and Nailil left the interrogation room. His hands were slick with brown-black life oil, and his expression was twisted with anger and disgust. As soon as the door closed behind him he seemed to deflate, his legs and hands beginning to shake, and he walked unsteadily to his desk and sank into his chair with Nailil close behind.


    Fosia stood and grabbed her emergency kit from the cubby on her desk and approached him.


    ¡°You alright?¡± Fosia said, handing him a cloth to clean up the oil on his hands.


    Iakedorm took the cloth and shook his head, his eyes a sickly blend of disgust and sorrow.


    ¡°I take it things didn¡¯t go so well in there,¡± Fosia said.


    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement,¡± Nailil said, eyes and tone red with anger. ¡°I should have taken over as soon as I got here instead of letting you handle things.¡±


    Iakedrom glared up at the priestess, but he didn¡¯t reply. Instead, he looked to Fosia. ¡°Did Esile say anything about working with Ekivia?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Fosia said. ¡°She claims to know who Ekivia is, but not to know her personally. I have no idea if she¡¯s lying or not though.¡±


    Iakedrom nodded, and he swallowed so hard she could see it happen, and his face twisted in a disgusted expression. He turned and grabbed the waste basket beside the desk, resting it on his lap only a moment before his body heaved and he vomited. Oil and water and slag swirled with chunks of iron-pod, fruit, and even a little meat. Not all diordna liked meat, and they didn¡¯t really need to eat it as plant and pod matter gave them all the materials their body needed for energy and self-repair, but it wasn¡¯t bad for them either. Fosia liked having some herself, on occasion, though not as often as Iakedrom.


    Nailil glared at Iakedrom. ¡°What a waste of time. I¡¯m taking over. You obviously don¡¯t have what it takes to get the answers we need.¡±


    Iakedrom glared back at her, but just as he was about to respond his body heaved again and his words were buried in slag. Nailil¡¯s eyes yellowed with disgust and she left the two of them to go speak with the house commander, who¡¯d just come through the front door.


    Fosia felt her mouth curl, her nose wrinkle, her eyes yellowing as the tangy scent of slag reached her nose. It smelled a little like burning diordna, only blended with something else she couldn¡¯t quite put words to, almost like the scent of plant decay.


    ¡°Damn Ekivia,¡± Iakedorm whispered under his breath.


    ¡°She¡¯s a stubborn one,¡± Fosia said. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t get any more answers from her this time.¡±


    ¡°None,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Says she doesn¡¯t know Esile at all, but there¡¯s a lot she isn¡¯t telling us. I can¡¯t tell what¡¯s truth and lie anymore. Seems she and Esile are a pair that way.¡±


    ¡°So what exactly happened in there?¡± Fosia asked. She had her suspicions, but she didn¡¯t want to jump to any conclusions either.


    ¡°Ekivia didn¡¯t cooperate,¡± Iakedorm said. ¡°Obviously. Nailil was going to take charge, which would have meant more torture. I tried not to let it happen but she was insistent. I¡­decided that if I did it instead then I could be sure it wasn¡¯t as bad. It was the only thing I could think to do to¡­¡±


    Iakedrom trailed off as someone came through the back entrance to the building, towing a prisoner behind them.


    ¡°Is that Elyk?¡± Fosia asked.


    ¡°It is,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Looks like things are finally moving forward.¡±


    Elyk was a quiet officer, but they knew him from the search team sent to Ekivia¡¯s place. He glanced around, almost looking nervous, as he approached Iakedrom¡¯s desk. Fosia looked at the prisoner and was surprised to see a Verd.


    ¡°Is that Mada?¡± Iakedrom asked, setting the garbage bin he¡¯d thrown up into down where the officer and prisoner wouldn¡¯t see it.


    ¡°It¡­¡± Elyk began.


    ¡°I am,¡± the Verd said, raising his chin proudly. ¡°Where¡¯s Ekivia?¡±


    Iakedrom ignored him, looking to Fosia instead. ¡°No wonder she didn¡¯t want to tell us who Mada was.¡±


    Fosia nodded. ¡°Treachery is definitely something worth hiding. And if she¡¯s a spy that would explain why she¡¯s so good at lying. Why didn¡¯t you call ahead and tell us? Iakedrom could have used this information sooner. And what about Nevets?¡±


    ¡°We¡­¡± Elyk began, then swallowed. ¡°We haven¡¯t caught Nevets yet, but we thought it would be best to show you M-Mada instead of calling to tell you.¡±


    ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Iakedrom asked. ¡°You seem off.¡±


    Elyk shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just tired is all.¡±


    He didn¡¯t meet their eyes as he spoke, it seemed as though he was looking for someone else in the room.


    Iakedrom¡¯s bird squawked and all their eyes turned toward it.


    ¡°Can you answer that?¡± Iakedrom asked, waving for Nailil to join him as he stood and took the rope leash tied to Mada¡¯s wrists. ¡°I want to get back in with Ekivia now that we have Mada here. I think he could provide some good leverage.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Fosia said. ¡°But you¡¯ll owe me for playing secretary.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Iakedrom said, smiling. He seemed in better spirits already, which Fosia was glad to see. They were making progress, despite the bad round of questioning he¡¯d just had with Ekivia.


    Fosia pressed her finger horizontally across the calling bird¡¯s chest and it stepped up onto it, then she took the creature to her own desk and sat down, placing it in front of her. She didn¡¯t want to be close to the slag scent at Iakedrom¡¯s desk while she spoke.


    Nailil joined Iakedrom partway to the interrogation room as she put a finger on the bird¡¯s foot and answered the call.


    "Iakedrom? Sir... please answer?" The na¡¯s voice shook frantically as he spoke.


    ¡°I hear you,¡± Fosia said, brow furrowing at the tone. ¡°Is something wrong? Did you find Nevets?¡±


    ¡°Thank Dytie,¡± the na breathed. ¡°I couldn¡¯t reach the commander and I didn¡¯t know who else to call¡­¡±


    He sounded like he was weeping.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, just calm down and tell me your name,¡± Fosia said. The more she heard the tremble in his voice the more concerned she became, and if he didn¡¯t calm down he¡¯d never say anything useful. ¡°Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m officer Kered,¡± the na said. ¡°I¡¯m still at Ekivia¡¯s place.¡±


    ¡°Alright Kered,¡± Fosia said. All the officers were trained in this kind of conversation, trained to calm distraught diordna. Generally, they had these conversations with regular citizens, not officers. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    "The others were killed.¡± The officer said, speaking more calmly, though obviously with effort. ¡°Our mounts were taken. I hid in the secret room or I¡¯d be dead too. Dytie have mercy.¡±


    Fosia stood and lifted the bird off the desk, beginning to move toward the Iakedrom and Nailil. The officers nearby had paused to look toward her, and Nailil was staring at her, eyes slowly widening as though she knew what Kered would say before he spoke the words. "Explain to me what happened. Who killed the others? Nevets?"


    ¡°A damned Verd army!" The bird shouted, and other officers in the room looked up at her. "They came hours ago but I had no way to reach you until now."


    Fosia froze in her tracks. ¡°That can¡¯t be right... how would they¡ª¡±


    "I don¡¯t know but they did!¡± Silence spread outward through the room from where Fosia stood as more and more officers took notice of her conversation.


    "Calm down." She said, as much for the fear-filled eyes in the room as for the survivor. "Find someplace safe and I''ll contact you when I have orders."


    Iakedrom was rushing to the interrogation room now, dragging Mada with him, but Nailil stayed behind and Fosia thought she heard the priestess whisper something, though in the moment she barely noticed the words. ¡°They¡¯re early.¡±


    "Have they started their attack?¡± Kered said, desperation clear in the mimicked tone of the calling bird. ¡°Was I too slow?"


    "They haven¡¯t. You got to us in time. Good work Kered." She lifted her finger from the calling bird and met the commander¡¯s eyes across the room. She¡¯d heard enough to know what had to be done.


    The entire world was in a pale white haze, and she saw the same in the eyes around her. The room was silent for the first time in days.


    ¡°They could be here any minute,¡± commander Vinek shouted to the room. ¡°Arm yourselves, and¡ª¡°


    Mada interrupted her with a shrill whistle and all eyes turned toward him.


    A deafening bang rattled the building as the front doors crashed inward, colliding with the commander and throwing oil into the air as it smashed her into the gourd.


    A massive black battering bird, its beak as big as a diordna¡¯s chest, reared its head back to allow Verd soldiers past it and into the officer¡¯s house. The Verd army had arrived, and Fosia had a strange thought. She¡¯d lied to Kered earlier.


    He had been too late.

 Midlogue: Yelis

    Midlogue: Yelis


    One thousand years ago


    Yelis stood in line with the other soldiers. They¡¯d placed her near the front so she¡¯d be one of the first to die. Not because they knew who she really was, but simply because she¡¯d gotten careless. She¡¯d grown attached to her most recent persona, and when that persona learned too much and lived too long Maharba had to step in.


    For almost three generations she¡¯d been playing the role of Esile, a brilliant Drolian scientist. Before that, she¡¯d been a Redaeli scientist. Before that, she¡¯d been Egeilen. But always she pressured them toward recreating humanity. It was her entire purpose now.


    She had no one left. When she took this form she¡¯d done so to try and find any surviving humans and lead them to safety, but she never found any. She knew of a few hidden places beneath the ground that might still be safe, where they could run and hide while they figured something more permanent out, so she made a virus that would transmit from her to other diordna by touch. That virus would leave a message that would only appear to humans who resisted diordna.


    She figured any human who killed a diordna would need the metal to make tools, so they¡¯d come in contact with dismembered diordna parts. The virus inserted a program into the diordna cells that would write a message on the human¡¯s arms. One that would tell them where the safe places to hide were.


    She spread her virus in all three nations for a couple generations, but nothing ever came of it. She couldn¡¯t actually check the underground vaults to see if anyone escaped into them as each of them were near large diordna population centers. So all she could do was hope.


    But hope without its manifestation for too long will degrade.


    She¡¯d lived five lives: human, diordna in search of humanity, Egeilen, Redaeli, Drolite. Between each of the diordna lives she changed her name and spent a generation consuming the metals that would slowly change her skin to match her next life. But this would be her last life. She held on to it too long, and now she would pay the price.


    ¡°Ready!¡± Her commander called, and her grip tightened around her spear.


    She hated using the primitive stone weapons, but anything more advanced needed metal parts, and that would never work in this society. Sure, a metal spear or sword or ax would cut better, but it would also be made from corpses. She¡¯d been a diordna long enough that it made even her a little uncomfortable to consider, though not so uncomfortable that she wouldn¡¯t trade her spear for something sharper.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°CHARGE!¡± The commander yelled, and the entire army started running into the woods where their enemy hid.


    The distance between the armies felt like an eternity, but when they finally clashed with the enemy she wished that the distance had been wider. She rammed her spear into a diordna then yanked it out as her enemy fell, spraying oil from the tip of the weapon as she did so. Other soldiers flinched as oil droplets sprayed through the air, landing on their faces. They spat and wiped the oil from their lips when it landed there, but Yelis didn¡¯t feel anything when the droplets landed on her.


    It wasn¡¯t blood, after all.


    She dodged around a tree to avoid an enemy attack, then leaped back out and stabbed them in the stomach. But as the dying diordna fell, Yelis¡¯s weapon was caught in his crumpling form. She tried to yank it free, but another enemy rushed her with a club, forcing her to release the weapon and scramble backward. She tripped over a dying soldier, landing on her back in the dirt. The soldier with the club loomed over her, but he was no longer what concerned her.


    The soldier she¡¯d stumbled over had their hand covered in spark powder, and as she watched they snapped their fingers beside their open head wound, igniting the powder and then the oil oozing from the wound.


    The soldier above her swung downward with their club even as the dying diordna exploded. Yelis was thrown through the air by the explosion only a short distance before her head slammed into a tree and she was knocked unconscious...


    ...Esile slowly regained consciousness.


    No, that name wasn¡¯t quite right, but it was close. She couldn¡¯t remember where she was or what she¡¯d been doing. The only thing she knew was that Esile was almost her name. She sat up and her head swam. Around her lay broken soldiers.


    Was she one of them?


    No. She could never be one of those monsters. They were the enemy. And yet¡­ and yet she felt a need to be close to them, to touch them so she could give them¡­ something.


    She stumbled to her feet, looking around at the carnage. Trees smoldered, lighting the scene. She¡¯d thought it was daytime, but no. The light all came from the fires. Aside from the breathing sound of flame the entire area was silent. This battle was over, and everyone involved was dead. The thought made Esile smile.


    She liked that they were dead. She hoped she¡¯d killed some of them herself.


    Her eyes settled on a dead diordna, their body almost entirely intact, and she smiled again. It was a good find. She felt like in the past she used to make things from metal, though she couldn¡¯t remember what or when. Maybe doing it again would help her remember what she¡¯d forgotten?


    Even though she¡¯d forgotten almost everything when she looked at that body she knew she could make something nice out of that metal.


    And she knew she¡¯d enjoy it.

 Chapter 10: An Unlikely Guardian

    Chapter 10: An Unlikely Guardian


    "Research Log, Year 4, Month 6, Day 4 (Day 1,624)


    "Earlier today I looked away for a moment and Mada was gone. This kind of stress is why I never wanted to be a parent. I found him walking out into the forest alone. When I ran out to get him, he thought it was some kind of game. It wasn¡¯t until I caught him and he saw my eyes that he realized I was angry. If we lived in the city someone would have seen him for certain, but then again that¡¯s part of why I lived so far away. I didn¡¯t want to have to interact with people in a city, it just so happened that gave us an advantage now.


    ¡°I brought him inside and asked what he thought he was doing. He said he just wanted to go to his own house in the forest, the one we built for when Iakedrom visited. He thought it was a safe place, and wanted to know why I was mad. I told him I was afraid he would get hurt. I don¡¯t think he understood. He seems to think the hiding is some kind of game we play with Iakerdom, and I¡¯m to blame for that. Treating it like a game was the only way I could get him to cooperate at first, but now that he¡¯s asleep and I¡¯ve calmed down I¡¯ve had time to think. I need to explain to him, though I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll fully understand until he¡¯s older. Still, I think he¡¯s smart enough to understand danger if I present it well.¡±


    Iakedrom felt a sharp tug on the rope leash tied to Mada, then it fell slack. The Verd whistled shrilly and Iakedrom wanted to cover his ears against the sound. A loud crash shook the building and Iakedrom turned toward the sound.


    His prisoner¡¯s hands were free, and a battering bird filled the entrance to the officer¡¯s house. Iakedrom only saw briefly the gruesome work of the beast. A battering bird could crush the skull of a Pursuer. When used against diordna that same beak only left mangled corpses.


    But the escaping prisoner was more important than the death at the entrance of the building.


    The verd drew a hidden knife from somewhere near his waist and lunged for Iakedrom. Iakedrom dodged to the side, slapping the knife hand away, taking a small cut on his prosthetic as he did so. One advantage of losing your good arm was that now if it got hurt or broken, it could just be replaced.


    Iakedrom danced back as the verd continued his attack, slashing back and forth, attempting to stab him, but Iakedrom managed to keep his distance. The room had exploded in a cacophony of shouts and cnido shots. Bonelettes and arrows thumped into desks and walls, sending bits of wood into the air when they did. And when they struck the defending officers or the attacking soldiers they sprayed oil into the air and across the floor.


    Suddenly, Iakedrom¡¯s back thumped against the interrogation room door, and he had nowhere left to dodge. The verd ¡°prisoner¡± leaped toward him, trying to take advantage of the situation. Iakedrom had trained for this kind of situation, so he knew what to do.


    The stone knife came toward him like the tip of a spear. Iakedrom slapped the verds knife hand to the side with one hand, then swept his prosthetic hand around, further knocking the attack to the side before pivoting. He needed to grab the wrist and yank the verd further off balance, but his prosthetic hand was too slow, and the soldier too fast.


    The verd drew his hand away from Iakedrom¡¯s attempted grab, then swung it back in a slash, forcing Iakedrom to leap back, parallel to the wall. Iakedrom was ready for the next stab. He knew how fast his prosthetic would react, and he knew he could time it better with the next attack.


    But the attack didn¡¯t come. Instead, the verd opened the interrogation room door and stepped inside. Iakedrom tried to reach it before the door closed, but failed, and the vines tightened to hold the door in place. The vines couldn¡¯t be locked into their rigid state from the inside, but Iakedrom worried what the verd might do to Ekivia in the extended moment it would take him to reach her.


    He drew his cnido and yanked the door open so hard he heard the vines crack under the strain because they didn¡¯t have time to relax fully. The verd was saying something as he cut Ekivia¡¯s bonds, but Iakedrom was seeing red and so focused on the soldier that he didn¡¯t hear what was being said.


    Iakedrom rushed into the room, and the verd turned to meet his attack. Iakedrom latched onto the na¡¯s wrist before he could raise the knife, then put his other hand against his enemy¡¯s throat and continued forward, Ekivia leaping out of their way as he drove the na into the back wall. He beat the na¡¯s hand and head against the wall over and over, breaking the plaster and exposing the wall-branch beneath.


    ¡°Ekivia, Go!¡± The na shouted through gasps.


    No, Iakedrom thought. He couldn¡¯t let her escape. Not now that he was finally going to get answers. He knew who Mada was, and he knew Ekivia was a traitor. That meant he could finally craft his questions effectively enough to get answers.


    He roared in the face of his enemy as he pulled forward and threw the na over his hip, slamming him into the ground. Floor and na crunched, and the verd dropped his knife. Before he could recover, Iakedrom grabbed the weapon, lifted it over his head, and plunged it into the verds neck. Oil burst from the wound, wetting Iakedrom¡¯s hands again, some of it spraying onto his face as he yanked the knife out. The verd writhed on the ground, grabbing at his neck and gurgling through the oil that flooded out of his mouth.


    Still gripping the knife, Iakedrom leaped to his feet and met Ekivia¡¯s eyes. She stood in the doorway, eyes wide, fear-sight causing them to look pink through Iakedrom¡¯s anger. Her face and head were covered in fresh paint, which Iakedrom had only just noticed. It wasn¡¯t patterned paint like she generally wore but instead looked like the verd had dumped it over her head and let it run down her face and neck. Through his anger, he couldn¡¯t be sure of the color, but he thought it was green.


    He stepped over the dying verd, and his motion seemed to snap Ekivia out of her stupor. She stepped backward, but Iakedrom was on her in a moment, grabbing her wrist with an oily hand.


    ¡°You have a lot to answer for,¡± Iakedrom growled. ¡°If you dare try to take advantage of this attack and escape I won¡¯t hesitate to cripple you and drag you to someplace where I can get answers.¡±


    Ekivia stared at him slack-jawed but seemed to understand.


    ¡°We¡¯ll duck behind that desk,¡± Iakedrom said, indicating the one closest to the interrogation room. ¡°Then when I give the signal we make a break for the stable door out the back.¡±


    Ekivia nodded.


    Iakedrom took a deep breath, peeking out at the room. Near the entrance, bodies littered the floor. There were maybe fifteen officers left, of the thirty or forty that had been in today. They hid behind overturned desks, firing bonelets at the invaders. They wouldn¡¯t hold much longer.


    ¡°Go,¡± Iakedrom said, and he tugged Ekivia¡¯s arm. They leaped for the desk, settling behind it as an arrow thudded into the ground nearby, sending up chips of wood and plaster.


    Iakedrom rifled through the cubbies of this desk until he found a rope, then proceeded to tie Ekivia¡¯s hands in front of her. He wanted her on a leash. Then he looked toward his desk, worried he¡¯d see Fosia¡¯s body beside it, but she was nowhere to be seen, dead or alive. Instead, Nailil was crouched behind the desk. Iakedrom signaled to her, trying to communicate that he needed his bag. After a brief pause, Nailil grabbed the bag, belt, and cnido from Iakedrom¡¯s desk, then dashed across the room using desks as cover as she did so.


    ¡°I told you we needed to get our answers quickly,¡± She said, eyes red, then handed him his possessions. ¡°If you¡¯d let me take care of it we wouldn¡¯t be here now.¡±


    Iakedrom glared back at her. ¡°How about we get out of here alive, then we can start blaming each other. Unless your holiness has a better idea?¡±


    Nailil glared at him but nodded.


    Iakedrom put his cnido belt on, then reached into the bag and retrieved a living pouch with a thin bone needle on one side, a stomach to feed his prosthetic. He stabbed the bone needle into his arm near the shoulder, and slowly squeezed the contents into the arm to ¡°feed¡± it. Without regular injections the arm would grow weak and die. It had an opening in the armpit, like a mouth for breathing, but it couldn¡¯t eat with it.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Fosia?¡± Iakedrom asked as he continued the slow injection.


    ¡°She went to get your other prisoner,¡± Nailil said, then she flinched at the sound of a bonelette burrowing into the desk behind them. ¡°Since the two seem connected, she thought you¡¯d want both.¡±


    Iakedrom nodded, noticing that the door to Esile¡¯s interrogation room was open. ¡°She was right. On my signal, we make a break for the back of the room. Follow my lead, keep your profile low, and try to keep a desk between you and the entrance if you can.¡±


    The three of them adjusted the crouch, preparing to run. Iakedrom peaked around the desk to get a look at the situation.


    The first row of desks was a mess of shattered wood and metal, oil spilling from officers and soldiers alike, leaving patterns dripping down the walls and across the floor. Thankfully the battering bird looked about ready to drop, blood coloring its black feathers, giving them a nearly indiscernible crimson sheen. For now, the officers held firm, firing from the cover of unbroken desks. They had the superior position.


    It wouldn¡¯t last long. Not against an army.


    Iakedrom took a deep breath and listened to the fighting. They were three rows of desks from the back exit, then they had to cross a space two rows wide where they would have no cover. It wasn¡¯t really that far, but it would still be dangerous. His chest tightened only briefly, then he spotted Fosia in the doorway to the interrogation room. She met his eyes and nodded. They could do this.


    ¡°Go.¡±


    The three of them ran in a crouch toward the back of the room, bonelets and arrows burrowing into walls, desks, soldiers, officers. Shouts rang through the room, accented with the sharp clap of cnido fire. Fosia and Esile joined them as they passed, just before the last row of desks, which the five of them crouched behind. They faced the wide space between their final cover and the doorway to safety. Iakedrom prayed that Dytie would protect them across that gap.


    ¡°Hey, Iak,¡± Fosia said from the next desk over. ¡°Are you sure this is the best exit for us?¡±


    ¡°Of course it is,¡± Nailil said, completely missing the irony in Fosia¡¯s voice. ¡°What other escape is there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Iakedrom said, feigning thoughtfulness. He always appreciated how Fosia could make light of a difficult situation. He was sure she wouldn¡¯t disappoint even now. ¡°Any ideas Fosia?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Fosia said, grinning. ¡°The front door is wide open.¡±


    Iakedrom almost laughed out loud. Dytie, he was glad to have a partner who could find humor in a situation like this. It was what he needed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good idea,¡± Iakedrom said, grinning back at her. ¡°But then we¡¯d have to walk all the way across the room. This door is closer.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Fosia said. ¡°We can use this one I guess. But you owe me.¡±


    ¡°Deal,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Ready?¡±


    The others nodded, except Nailil, who rolled her eyes.


    Iakedrom pointed to Esile. ¡°If you try anything I will immediately kill you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d expect nothing less from you,¡± The nawo said.


    ¡°GO!¡±


    They ran once more, Iakedrom and Ekivia in front, then Nailil, followed by Fosia and Esile. Iakedrom reached the door and yanked on the trigger branch, breaking it off before shoving through the door. The vines began to loosen but crunched loudly as he pushed through before they could soften enough. He took cover against the wall beside the door with Ekivia.


    And as Nailil stepped through the opening an arrow punched into her back with a loud thump. She collapsed in the doorway in a heap, then stirred, trying to pull herself out of the line of fire.


    Fosia and Esile nearly tripped over the priestess but managed to keep their feet and take cover opposite Iakedrom and Ekivia, several arrows following them through while others thumped against the wall behind them.


    Iakedrom didn¡¯t immediately pull Nailil to safety, hesitating partially out of fear that he¡¯d be shot if he did. But the other part of him felt she¡¯d gotten what she deserved.


    Then she stirred again, oil oozing from the wound in her back and soaking into the dirt of the stables. Iakedrom crouched and pulled her out of the entrance, exposing as little of himself as he could.


    Iakedrom looked at the wound then the priestess¡¯s face. The arrow was in deep, but it wasn¡¯t until he saw her eyes that he knew she was already dying. Her eyes were slowly changing, draining of all emotion sight, but she was still conscious.


    ¡°They shouldn¡¯t be here,¡± Nailil said, voice slurred, oil on her lips, still laying face down though her face was turned toward Iakedrom. ¡°We should have had more time.¡±


    ¡°Who shouldn¡¯t be here?¡± Iakedrom asked though he thought he knew who.


    ¡°What?¡± Nailil asked, eyes turning upward toward him, confused. ¡°No. No one.¡±


    Her face slackened, eyes completely devoid of color, making the glass and fluid completely clear. Even when diordna fell unconscious their eyes had color. It was only in death that they cleared.


    Deathsight.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Iakedrom said to the others, and they left the body, escaping through the stables.


    **********


    Nevets couldn¡¯t avoid seeing the death and destruction around him. It was his city, and he felt he had to hold a vigil for it, as much as it pained him. They were in the back portion of the army, just ahead of the machinologists and the pack mounts carrying supplies for the entire army. Since they weren¡¯t near the front Nevets didn¡¯t have to watch the worst of the fighting and killing, but there were always stragglers.


    This section of the army was charged with cleaning up those stragglers. There weren¡¯t many though, most of the Drolites in this part of the city had enough warning to escape ahead of the army. Still, a few hadn¡¯t made it. Most of them were already dead, their corpses lay in the streets, their life oil soaking into the dirt.


    Better for Nagemai¡¯s army that the oil soak into the dirt than that it ignite.


    Nagemai directed her soldiers from the mount behind Nevets, sending teams into specific buildings to flush out any stragglers and to burn other buildings. Often, as the buildings burned Drolites tried to escape and were cut down as they did so. Nagemai had a system for which ones to burn and which to search, Nevets could see that. There was a pattern. He just didn¡¯t know its purpose.


    He was about to ask, to start a conversation so he wouldn¡¯t be so fixated on the dead around him, but Treblig returned and took his attention instead. He didn¡¯t have his mount, and he was ragged. Obviously, the mission to retrieve Ekivia had been a dangerous one. Nevets held out hope that despite the difficulty they¡¯d managed to bring her back.


    Treblig approached on foot and saluted. ¡°Nagemai.¡±


    ¡°Welcome back Treblig,¡± Nagemai said, stopping the mount. ¡°Did you find Ekivia?¡±


    ¡°We did,¡± Treblig said, and Nevets felt his heart swell with hope, eyes turning a light blue. Then they returned to black as Treblig continued. ¡°The investigator with the prosthetic escaped with her. We tried to follow them but the fighting was too intense.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure it was her?¡± Nevets asked. He wanted it to be because that meant she was alive, but none of the group had ever seen her before.


    Treblig nodded. ¡°Certain. We sent a soldier in with the officer we captured so they could identify her for us. They marked her with green paint, so she was unmistakable.¡±


    Nevets sighed in relief. He didn¡¯t know if he could really trust these verds, but he held to the hope they gave him. Besides, he couldn¡¯t think of a good reason for them to lie about this, so for now he chose to believe that Ekivia was alright.


    ¡°Hopefully she keeps the paint on her head,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Send a message to the captains that if they see anyone that matches her description that they are to capture her, not kill her.¡±


    ¡°Already done,¡± Treblig said.


    Nagemai smiled. ¡°Always one step ahead. Good work Treblig.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Treblig said. Nevets caught a casual tone to his voice and realized that these two weren¡¯t just commander and soldier, they were friends.


    ¡°Would you get our guests some food?¡± Nagemai requested. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯re hungry.¡±


    ¡°Yes general,¡± Treblig said with a smart salute, and he left.


    Nevets¡¯s eyes wandered as he waited, settling on a burning building and the soldiers waiting outside it. He watched several Drolites stumble out, escaping the flames to be killed by the soldiers.


    ¡°It really is terrible,¡± Nagemai said from behind Nevets. It always startled him a little when she spoke so close to him. ¡°What we do in war. I¡¯ve seen far more than my fair share of atrocities. I¡¯ve done more than I wish I had.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you stop it?¡± Nevets said though he didn¡¯t take his eyes off the burning building. ¡°You¡¯re the one commanding the soldiers to perform these horrors. You can stop.¡±


    ¡°I wish that were true,¡± Nagemai said in a near whisper. ¡°There were times I¡¯ve tried. But the Redael and Drol never let me. I¡¯ve had to fight to survive.¡±


    ¡°Considering recent events I guess I understand that a little,¡± Nevets admitted, begrudgingly. Sometimes fighting was the only choice. But war? That was different. Or it should be at least.


    It occurred to Nevets that it wasn¡¯t Nagemai that could end the atrocities, it was Drol Maharba and Redael Selraef that could. And for generations they hadn¡¯t.


    The thought disturbed him more than he wanted to admit.


    ¡°You know,¡± Nagemai said, contemplative. ¡°The more I spend time with you the more I like you. I¡¯m sure the feeling isn¡¯t mutual, but I don¡¯t mind so much. I can see why Ekivia chose you as her partner. You have an open mind, even when faced with an enemy. It¡¯s an admirable trait that too few diordna share.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± Nevets said.


    A Drolite, iron-skinned like Nevets himself, stood inside the building as it burned around her. He could see the anger on her face in the flickering flames, yellow tongues of fire reflected on pink eyes, and he shared some of that anger though it was overwhelmed by his sorrow. This nawo would be dead as soon as she left the building. He knew it. She knew it. The soldiers knew it.


    The nawo held a long branch, torn from the wall and burning at the end. It wasn¡¯t much of a weapon, but it was better than nothing. She approached the doorway with slow resolve. Nevets was so taken by her expression that he almost didn¡¯t see the cut on her side that darkened her clothing with oil. But once he saw it he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off it.


    The nawo touched her makeshift torch against the wound as she stepped from the building, igniting the oil.


    ¡°DOWN!!¡± Nagemai shouted, and soldiers leaped away from the now burning nawo, trying to find cover.


    Nevets was exposed on top of the lancer bird, and there was nothing he could do to take cover. He saw the swelling of the nawo¡¯s skin in slow motion, though he knew it really only took a few eye blinks and he braced himself for the explosion.


    Nagemai wrapped her arms around Nevets and yanked him sideways off the lancer, tugging the reigns down with them and forcing the bird to lower its head and spread its wings. The creature blocked Nevets direct view of the explosion, but he saw the flash of light, smelled the burning oil and metal, heard the lions roar, watched the flaming pieces of diordna flesh, muscle, and shrapnel bone shining as it flew through the air around them. Soldiers screamed and the bird cried out in pain as pieces of bone ripped through or burrowed into them.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    This was why armies had cleanup crews, to prevent dying diordna from blowing themselves up. But they¡¯d gotten careless.


    Nevets and Nagemai slammed into the ground, knocking the air from Nevets¡¯s in a sharp pained breath. He gasped and rolled on the ground, barely aware of his surroundings anymore. There was only one thing on his mind.


    Had Mada reached cover?


    Nevets rolled over, craning his neck from his position lying in the dirt as he tried to find Mada. His vision swam, but he spotted the AI nearby, laying in the dirt like Nevets was. Nevets tried to stand, but his wounded leg gave out and the wound began to ooze again, darkening his bandage with oil.


    ¡°Mada,¡± Nevets said, weakly. He took a breath and tried to speak louder. ¡°Mada, are you alright.¡±


    The AI rolled over and pushed himself to his hands and knees, awkwardly because of the ropes tying his wrists together. ¡°I think so. You?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know,¡± Nevets said honestly, and he looked himself over. He was shocked to find marks along his right arm and side where shrapnel had scratched him.


    Then the pain from those wounds hit him hard. He cried out involuntarily. Mada scrambled over to him, hands still tied, dragging his leash with him.


    ¡°What do I do,¡± Mada said, voice panicked. ¡°What do I do.¡±


    Nagemai coughed nearby, stumbling to her feet. ¡°Tie off the arm near the shoulder, then put pressure on the worst of the wounds. I¡¯ll get a machinologist.¡±


    Mada followed her instructions as she ran off and Nevets tried to cooperate, but the pain made him pull away involuntarily more than once. Nevets clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, trying to bear the pain as best he could.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Mada began, then swallowed loudly. ¡°I can¡¯t put pressure on the worst of the wounds. There¡¯s a piece of her bone sticking out and I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll only make it worse if I push it in. I think I need to pull it out.¡±


    Eyes still closed, Nevets nodded. ¡°Be quick about it if you can.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try, but with all the oil it¡¯s going to be slippery.¡±


    ¡°Just do your best,¡± Nevets said through clenched teeth.


    ¡°Ok,¡± Mada said.


    Nevets breathed deeply, trying to calm himself and prepare for the pain of having a piece of bone shrapnel pulled from his arm. Nevets felt Mada press his arm against his side to stabilize it and to prevent Nevets from pulling away when he touched the wound. Then he decided he wanted to be able to brace himself for the moment Mada began pulling the shrapnel out, so he opened his eyes and watched.


    Mada reached out, shaking the leash so it trailed out away from Nevets, then twisting his wrists so that he could grab the shrapnel without the second hand getting in the way. As Mada¡¯s fingers drew close to the shrapnel sticking from his forearm Nevets clenched his fist so hard it hurt.


    As soon as Mada touched the piece of bone, pain shot through Nevets body, but he held himself still through sheer force of will. Despite all the oil Mada got a good grip on the shrapnel almost immediately and slowly drew it out of the wound. Then he tossed the shrapnel into the dirt with a shake of his hand.


    Once it was out, the pain subsided a little and Mada put pressure on the wound.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Nevets said.


    ¡°You can thank me by surviving,¡± Mada replied.


    Nevets tried to smile but flinched as he did so. ¡°No guarantees. You¡¯ve got a good grip. I was worried you would accidentally push it in deeper.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mada said slowly. ¡°The shrapnel¡­ stuck to my skin for some reason.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Nevets said, perking up a little. ¡°Has that ever happened before? Could that have something to do with how you were made? Why would Ekivia include something like that in the code?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she would intentionally,¡± Mada said. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because she used parts of prosthetic code when she made me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good guess,¡± Nevets said. ¡°Prosthetics need to bond with the diordna body to receive signals to move. Could be a similar thing here. That¡¯s a good observation.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Mada said.


    Nagemai returned with a machinologist, who looked askance at Mada before kneeling beside him to inspect Nevets¡¯s wounds. After a moment of close inspection, she reached into her bag and removed several bandages, then she wrapped most of the wounds.


    Then she took a bone needle and some gut from her bag. ¡°This will hurt.¡± She warned.


    Nevets nodded his understanding, then took in a sharp pained breath through his teeth as she began stitching the wound Mada had removed the shrapnel from.


    When she was done with that she reached back into her bag and removed some claw pinchers. They were a new kind of isolated organic, made after crab pinchers. It had a small joint near the top of the arm that made the claw open and close when it was moved. Then she removed a small hollowed-out bone that was wide enough for the narrow claw to fit inside, and about as long as a finger from its tip to the first knuckle.


    ¡°Does it understand commands?¡± the machinologist asked Nagemai in reference to Mada.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask him?¡±


    The machinologist looked confused for a moment but looked toward Mada.


    ¡°I understand commands,¡± Mada said, then he took a deep breath as if preparing to do something difficult. ¡°But I respond better to requests.¡±


    The machinologists eyes widened. ¡°Alright then. Hold this wound open so I can get the tube in. I need to remove the shrapnel before I wrap the wound.¡±


    Despite his bravado about responding better to requests, Mada complied. Though Nevets didn¡¯t miss the sheepish look on his face as he did so. That emotion was a very diordna one. Mada might not like it if Nevets put that kind of thing in his reports, but it would also show that he experiences the full range of diordna emotion.


    Nevets took in another pained breath as the machinologist inserted the bone tube. Then she spoke to Mada. ¡°Let go.¡±


    Mada did so, and the wound contracted around the tube. Then the machinologist slowly lowered the pinchers into the tube. Nevets felt the motion of the shrapnel inside the wound as a slight poking sensation, though it wasn¡¯t as painful as he¡¯d worried it would be.


    ¡°Damn it,¡± the machinologist cursed under her breath, eyes reddening.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong,¡± Nagemai asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t get a good grip,¡± the machinologist said, frustrated. ¡°And I should be working on our wounded, not our enemies wounded.¡±


    ¡°You should be working on who I tell you to,¡± Nagemai said, tone firm, dangerous.


    ¡°I¡­¡± the machinologist blinked in shock at the response. ¡°Sorry, sir. I¡¯ll get back to it.¡±


    ¡°Um,¡± Mada began, and the three of them looked at him. ¡°I might be able to help.¡±


    The machinologist looked to Nagemai again. ¡°Can it really?¡±


    ¡°Not it, him,¡± Nagemai corrected. ¡°And if he says he can then I trust him.¡±


    The machinologist nodded and hesitantly handed the pinchers to Mada. ¡°Let¡¯s see it then, him.¡±


    ¡°Mada,¡± Mada said, and Nagemai grinned. So much for keeping his name a secret. ¡°Call me Mada. And I don¡¯t need the pinchers.¡±


    ¡°The wound won¡¯t fit two fingers,¡± the machinologist said. ¡°It will tear it too much.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need two fingers,¡± Mada said. ¡°Take the tube out.¡±


    The machinologist looked to Nagemai again, and she nodded. The machinologist slowly removed the bone tube, drawing a grunt of pain from Nevets.


    Once it was out Mada slowly inserted his pinky into the wound. It was about as wide as the tube, so the pain was familiar. Then he felt the prick of the shrapnel at the bottom as Mada¡¯s finger touched it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if this will actually work,¡± Mada said, nervously.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± Nagemai said.


    Mada smiled at her, then he slowly removed his pinky. And as it cleared the wound Nevets saw the piece of shrapnel gripping the tip of his finger.


    The machinologist gaped, unable to comprehend what she¡¯d just seen.


    ¡°We think it¡¯s because some of his code was based on prosthetic technology,¡± Nevets said.


    ¡°That would make sense,¡± the machinologist said quietly. ¡°I don¡¯t know why we never tried something like this sooner.¡±


    Nagemai was grinning. ¡°Are you going to finish bandaging our guest or are you going to just keep staring?¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry sir,¡± the machinologist said, reaching for her needle and gut. ¡°I¡¯ll finish up.¡±


    It only took a few moments for her to stitch and bandage the rest of the wounds. Then she stood to leave.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have something to say?¡± Nagemai said to the machinologist.


    The nawo turned to look at her commander, confused.


    ¡°This na here did you a service,¡± Nagemai said, indicating Mada. ¡°I think he deserves your thanks.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry sir,¡± the machinologist said. The idea obviously hadn¡¯t even occurred to her until Nagemai suggested it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize to me,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Apologize to him.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s¡ª¡°


    Nagemai cut the machinologist off. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, he¡¯s as diordna as you and I. He¡¯s not animal until proven diordna, he¡¯s diordna until proven animal. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± The machinologist said, then turned to Mada grudgingly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. And¡­ thank you for your help. You did well.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Mada said, glaring at the dirt.


    ¡°You know,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°There are quite a few soldiers with shrapnel that might need to be removed. I bet, if you requested it of him, Mada would be willing to help you out.¡±


    Nevets perked up at the suggestion. It was clever. If Mada helped the machinologist heal the soldiers, they¡¯d be exposed to him and might start to see him favorably for his service. It was a step in the right direction.


    ¡°That would speed things up quite a bit,¡± the machinologist said, but she didn¡¯t make the request of Mada.


    ¡°Well,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to command it. You have to make the request of him.¡±


    ¡°I, um, are you sure?¡± the machinologist asked, confused.


    ¡°Absolutely,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°He is to be treated as my guest and an equal.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± The machinologist still seemed confused, but she turned to look at Mada. ¡°Would you be willing to help me remove shrapnel from the other soldiers?¡±


    ¡°I would,¡± Mada said.


    ¡°Alright then,¡± The machinologist said, grabbing the lead on his rope. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°One moment,¡± Nagemai said, stopping them. ¡°I think if he¡¯s going to be helping you out he¡¯ll need the use of both hands.¡± And with that, she cut Mada¡¯s bonds. ¡°I trust you won¡¯t run off.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving him behind,¡± Mada said, nodding toward Nevets. ¡°And you¡¯ve been good to us. I think we¡¯re in good hands.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± She smiled, then she spoke to the machinologists. ¡°You are to refer to him as Mada or him, never it, and correct any soldier who does otherwise. I also want every soldier to thank him directly for his service. If any are unwilling send them to me.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± the machinologist said uncomfortably, then the two of them left.


    ¡°I hate to admit it,¡± Nevets said. ¡°But I think he¡¯s right. You didn¡¯t have to bring a machinologist. You didn¡¯t have to risk soldiers to find Ekivia. I don¡¯t know why or how long it will last, but thank you for helping us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve come to that conclusion,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you my reasons once we get out of here. Too many interruptions and prying ears when we¡¯re in active combat. But for now, know that I think it would be a great loss if anything were to happen to you two.¡±


    Nevets nodded, awkwardly. It was strange to receive that kind of assurance from someone who should be his enemy. Someone who, less than a full day ago, had thrown a spear through his thigh. But she was protecting him. He¡¯d have been in full view of the explosion without her. He didn¡¯t know what to make of this relationship.


    As he puzzled over the situation, Treblig returned with a leather bag.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± He asked Nagemai. ¡°I heard the explosion, but I didn¡¯t realize it was right here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Nagemai said, and she nodded toward Nevets. ¡°But he¡¯s going to need pods to help his healing.¡±


    Treblig stepped forward and opened the pouch in front of Nevets.


    ¡°Go ahead and untie him,¡± Nagemai said, and she stood. ¡°He¡¯ll need his hands to eat, and I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be going anywhere.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Treblig said, and he untied Nevets bonds.


    ¡°If he needs anything else be sure to get it for him,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I have to go receive some reports.¡±


    Treblig nodded his understanding, then settled down in the dirt beside Nevets.


    ¡°Do you mind if I join you?¡± Treblig said.


    Nevets shrugged. It looked like there was enough for them both, and he figured Treblig was supposed to keep an eye on him, so either way he¡¯d be nearby.


    Treblig withdrew a copper pod from the bag and held it out to Nevets. Nevets took it and tried to peel it open with his bare hands, but he couldn¡¯t get a grip on it. He tried biting it, but the skin was thick and tough, the outside of the pod smooth and round so his teeth just kept sliding off.


    ¡°Want a hand?¡± Treblig offered.


    Nevets grimaced, but nodded and held the copper pod out. ¡°These things are harder skinned than I¡¯m used to.¡±


    Treblig took the pod and drew his stone knife, then he pushed the tip of the blade into the navel of the pod. Oil dripped from the hole as Treblig pressed his thumbs into it and pulled the entire thing apart, then he handed the pieces back to Nevets.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Nevets said, taking the pieces. He raised half of the pod to his mouth and scraped at the inside of the skin with his teeth, pulling the soft insides and some of the oil into his mouth.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Nevets groaned through the mouthful, eyes yellowing with disgust. ¡°You Verds have terrible taste in pods.¡±


    "I¡¯m sure you know what they say about taste," Treblig said around a mouthful. "It¡¯s only in the mouth of the taster.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard that before,¡± Nevets said, swallowing forcefully. ¡°But I guess it must be true or you¡¯d never eat this stuff.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it if you need to,¡± Treblig said. ¡°Nagemai says that on longer campaigns she¡¯s had to eat your iron fruit and that it doesn¡¯t taste so bad eventually.¡±


    Nevets grunted. He didn¡¯t want to be with this army long enough to find out if that was true or not.


    He took another bite, grimacing. Treblig watched him, grinning, eyes turning blue.


    Nagemai returned from taking reports, and she seemed to be in a good mood for some reason.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Treblig asked, standing as she approached.


    ¡°Remember how I said there would be reinforcements in the morning?¡± Nagemai said, and Treblig nodded. ¡°I just got a report from a long-range scout that they¡¯ll be right on time.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s good about that?¡± Nevets asked.


    ¡°It means that I¡¯m more prepared than they are,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡±


    They made their way further into the city, and as they did the number of soldiers around them increased. Nevets spotted soldiers looking out of windows in almost every building by the time they entered one themselves. Just ahead of the building they entered, he saw teams moving debris, barricading some of the streets, and clearing others.


    The building they¡¯d chosen was a ten-story apartment building with 30-centimeter-thick bamboo walls. It was even still living, though not growing any taller. Its only growth now was on the outside of the building, covering the entire thing in a vibrant carpet of leaves that undulated with the gentle breeze in the city.


    While the outside was allowed to grow wherever it pleased the inside was quite different. Branches of bamboo only grew where allowed, intertwined to make a much flatter surface than the exposed trunks would, with bioluminescent vines woven in among them all through the structure.


    The stairs ways in each corner were a wide rectangular shaft, with a wall of bamboo at the center that had branches growing outward at stair-step intervals, while other branches grew inward at the same interval. The two were woven together, then reinforced with plasters and lit by bioluminescent vines. At each floor there was a wide flat landing made the same way, the branches from the hallway growing into the stairwell, the ones from the stairwell growing out, the two woven together into a sturdy structure. Nevets read that it had taken a lot of time and work to get the bamboo branch strength correct since bamboo didn¡¯t have strong branches when grown in the wild. It was part of why they¡¯d used trees in the early days of living architecture. But once they figured out how to get the bamboo to grow strong enough branches they could grow a building like this in a year instead of ten.


    And Nagemai made them climb 7 of the ten floors.


    When they finally stopped their climb Nevets¡¯ body was somehow burning and numb simultaneously beneath the bandages. Mada and Treblig practically carried him to a room that had been an apartment that morning. Now Nagemai had maps laid out across the table grown into the floor and she stood over them, making notes while messenger birds flew in through the window.


    ¡°You two will share one of the bedrooms with Treblig,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Go ahead and make yourself comfortable.¡±


    Treblig nodded and started leading them in the direction of the two bedrooms on one side of the apartment.


    "You knew you''d get stopped partway through the city," Nevets said, pausing before they entered the room.


    "Of course I did," Nagemai said. "A city this size has a large police force, and I doubted we could make it all the way here undetected. Even if we did it wouldn¡¯t take long for a counter-attack to be organized."


    ¡°It¡¯s more than that,¡± Nevets said. ¡°You didn¡¯t just guess they¡¯d come, you knew. I¡¯ve been thinking about how you¡¯ve been burning buildings and not others. You were preparing places like this building that you could use as a base all across the city, while also creating just enough debris to make barricades. And on top of that, if my guess is right, you¡¯ve made a corridor through this city that you can escape through. None of the streets here are straight, but downstairs, just ahead of this building, it¡¯s starting to look straight. And you couldn¡¯t have done that if you didn¡¯t know the direction your enemies would be coming from, otherwise they¡¯d be able to use the corridor you made.¡±


    Nagemai smiled. ¡°I guess the reports of your intelligence aren¡¯t exaggerated. You figured all that out just by seeing a small portion of the city?¡±


    Nevets nodded.


    ¡°Impressive,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I knew which way the army would attack because I knew the orders I was given by Selraef, and they mentioned using that direction as an escape. So I knew it wouldn¡¯t be safe.¡±


    ¡°How could you know that,¡± Nevets repeated.


    Nagemai sighed, then she spoke softly. ¡°I¡¯ve been betrayed by her more than once. For now, that¡¯s all I¡¯ll say.¡±


    Nevets looked around uncomfortably. Had she really just said that her ruler, the Redael, had betrayed her more than once? In front of Treblig? The soldier didn¡¯t seem affected by his general accusing his ruler of betrayal. In fact, he looked like he¡¯d expected her to say as much.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Nagemai asked. ¡°Are your bandages alright?¡±


    ¡°As good as I could hope,¡± Nevets said. ¡°I think the climb aggravated some of them, but I think I¡¯ll be ok.¡±


    ¡°Treblig, could you get the machinologist again?¡± Nagemai asked.


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Treblig said, carefully shifting Nevets so Mada was the only one supporting him.


    ¡°And grab some water from the grooms,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I¡¯m sure Mada is thirsty.¡±


    Treblig nodded and left the room.


    A messenger bird flew through the window and landed on the table beside Nagemai, speaking its coded message. When it was done she lifted her hand and the bird flew back out the window. After briefly marking her map, she removed it from the table and walked it to one of the runners waiting just outside the room.


    ¡°You should probably eat a little more,¡± Nagemai noted as she reentered the room. ¡°Here, let me help you to a chair.¡±


    She did so, helping Mada walk Nevets to a chair near the window looking out over the city. They were just east of the city center, so it was one of the denser areas, with towering bamboo buildings arraigned around and sometimes on top of old stone ones, though those were being slowly replaced.


    Mada unslung the bag of food from his shoulder and held it open for Nevets. He bent gingerly and grabbed a small copper-pod. Even the smell was terrible and tangy, but he knew his body needed the food if he was going to heal well. Besides, it would be childish to reject the food just because it tasted strange. Feeding them was another thing that Nagemai didn''t have to do, but did anyway. It made Nevets uncomfortable to rely so much on her.


    "You could have left me behind," Nevets said quietly. "Let me burn or just killed me. Instead, you slowed your army movements."


    "True," Nagemai said, leaning over a table and comparing two maps of the city, one from before their attack and one marking the changes they¡¯d made and troop positions.


    "Why?"


    "You weren''t really a hindrance," Nagemai said. "I learned a long time ago that most things that slow you down really just give you time to do things right. As long as it isn''t too slow that is. You were my reference for how long it would take my entire army to move to this position. Since we entered the city I¡¯ve been adjusting the army¡¯s speed to match yours to prepare for this eventuality."


    Nevets couldn''t decide if that was a load of slag or not. Nagemai seemed genuine enough, but Nevets felt like there was something she wasn¡¯t saying.


    "There''s more to it than that," Mada said.


    "Be sure to include perceptive in your report on Mada," Nagemai said to Nevets, still not looking at them as she worked. "I already decided not to kill you two. I''m not changing my mind unless you give me a really good reason to do so."


    ¡°And?¡± Mada asked.


    Nagemai smiled at him. ¡°And then there¡¯s you. Honestly, I couldn¡¯t care less about taking this city or this region. But you are worth having on my side, and I¡¯m not going to jeopardize our relationship even if it would be convenient for me.¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s the second time I¡¯ll have to thank you then,¡± Mada said. ¡°Since I wouldn¡¯t exist without you, Egeil.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°But I¡¯d prefer if you didn¡¯t use that name for me, especially not here. There are those that would kill me for it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Mada said, eyes turning downward in embarrassment.


    ¡°No need to be,¡± Nagemai said. Then she just stared at Mada for a moment.


    When he finally looked up he seemed shocked and looked down again. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I was just thinking that it¡¯s remarkable how emotive your face is, even though your eyes don¡¯t change color,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°It¡¯s easy for us to forget that there¡¯s more to emotional expression than the color of our eyes. And there is a color change. Like just now, your ears turned red. I¡¯m guessing that was embarrassment from your expression and movement. Those kinds of cues are important to identifying the specifics of diordna emotion, but so often we miss the nuance of other¡¯s emotions because we think we can see it all in their eyes.¡±


    Nevets hadn¡¯t noticed the red ears, but as she spoke she saw them redden again and Mada looked down, shifting his weight nervously at the scrutiny. She was right. Nevets would have to include these details in his report.


    As he had that thought he stood. He needed to work on his report, and Nagemai had provided him with a parrot to keep notes on so he had no excuses. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to get to work.¡±


    Nagemai nodded. ¡°If you need anything just let me or Treblig know.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± Nevets said, and he was a little surprised to realize that he trusted her to provide for them. A big change from when they first met the previous day.


    Mada grabbed the bag of food and helped him walk across the room, but as they were entering the room Nagemai spoke.


    ¡°We¡¯ll find Ekivia,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°And I¡¯ll get you all out of this safely.¡±


    Nevets looked back at the general, hunched over the table. That moment reminded him just how short she was, and yet she had a greater presence, a confidence in the way she stood and spoke and acted. He¡¯d expected a woman as tall or taller than Ekivia, height to match the reputation of the White General. But it wasn¡¯t her physical size that got her that reputation. It was this power of her presence that had.


    His eyes were drawn to her armor, white paint covered in dust and drying oil, chipped where shrapnel had struck it earlier. It looked like there might be a small piece of glistening iron bone embedded in it. That should have been disgusting, but at that moment it carried a meaning that filled Nevets with gratitude instead. To him, it was a symbol of what Nagemai had already done to protect him.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Nevets said.


    And as he entered the bedroom to begin his work he knew that she would continue to protect them.

 Chapter 11: First Doubts

    Chapter 11: First Doubts


    "Research Log, Year 9, Month 6, Day 20 (Day 2,943)


    ¡°I¡¯m beginning a new phase in Mada¡¯s education, though maybe I should have begun sooner. One day, if all goes to plan, Mada will be revealed to the world and integrated into diordna society. I can¡¯t keep him hidden forever, and eventually, I will be sent to war. I have to prepare him for the day that he will have to take care of himself. In order to prepare him for that day I¡¯ve devised two plans, one social and one combative.


    ¡°If¡­ WHEN he¡¯s accepted as diordna these skills will be of great use to him. And when he¡¯s drafted like the rest of us I intend to have him prepared as best I can for anything he might encounter.¡±


    Ekivia stumbled slightly as Iakedrom pushed her and the other prisoner into the tenth-floor apartment. They¡¯d run through the city, trying to stay ahead of the attacking army, but had been unable to do so. Earlier they¡¯d ducked into a building, and luckily it wasn¡¯t one that was burned down. Seemed that the army was burning and searching buildings in a pattern, one Iakedrom identified surprisingly quickly. Ekivia was a little embarrassed that she hadn¡¯t seen it as quickly.


    Once the army started to condense they snuck closer to their line. Iakedrom said that the officers in the city must have stalled the invasion, forcing the army to bunker down. They couldn¡¯t be sure, but it seemed like their best bet to try and sneak past the enemy line to reach safety on the other side of the city. This building was close to the line, only a couple blocks from the back of the army.


    Fosia closed the door behind them, leaving a crack that she watched the hall through.


    Ekivia looked around the room. It was pretty standard for the area. This apartment was a 3 LDK, meaning it had three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a combined living and dining area. Two of the bedrooms were to either side of the entrance, making a short hallway that led to the living and dining area at the back, and the third bedroom was just off the main living space. It was a nice space, one Ekivia wouldn¡¯t have minded except for the lack of an office for her books and research. She would have needed to spend quite a bit to convert the third bedroom, and she didn¡¯t think it would fit all her books. It even had a small deck at the very back of the apartment, and the door was open, letting in a light breeze. It was a door made entirely of vines so that when the branch was triggered the entire thing could peel back on itself instead of swinging into the room. They were more expensive, but Ekivia always liked them.


    The room seemed almost like a painting of someone¡¯s home, only without the family who lived there. There was a snack on the kitchen counter, ironpod with a knife still in it. Someone left a book open on a chair near the deck door, and two more chairs sat near the table that was grown into the floor with enough distance between it and the deck door that someone could sit back from the table without running into it.


    She could hear a news bird in the other room, repeating a warning about the attack and encouraging residents to move west as quickly as possible. The birds were basically the same as calling birds, working on the same basic principles except that they only received signals instead of transmitting their own back, and they all received the same signal from one source. Ekivia¡¯s work on calling birds had a lot of crossover with these. Its message was the same they¡¯d heard coming from several other rooms on the way up, and Ekivia was glad they found an empty apartment instead of one with a dead family leaking their life into the floor-branches.


    ¡°Sit down over there,¡± Iakedrom said, pointing to the floor near the table. ¡°And don¡¯t move.¡±


    Ekivia and the other prisoner did as they were ordered.


    ¡°Think we¡¯ll be ok here?¡± Fosia asked Iakedrom.


    ¡°I hope so,¡± He replied. ¡°I¡¯ll watch the street from the balcony.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine,¡± The other prisoner said. ¡°They won¡¯t burn this one.¡±


    She spoke almost like a child with a secret.


    Ekivia waited for an explanation for her confidence, but none came. According to the pattern they¡¯d identified, this building shouldn¡¯t be burned, but that could always change. This strange prisoner¡¯s confidence didn¡¯t really help calm Ekivia¡¯s nerves.


    Iakedrom approached the balcony door, looking out for a moment. He seemed distracted, not really looking at anything in particular, eyes unfocused as he walked by them to reach the deck. He only stood watch for a moment before he turned back toward Ekivia.


    ¡°Keep an eye out, but don¡¯t be seen,¡± He said. ¡°We don¡¯t want to be surprised.¡±


    She nodded uncertainly and stepped out onto the balcony.


    ¡°You too,¡± he said to the other prisoner who complied, smiling wickedly at the officer as she passed him.


    Iakedrom took the ends of their ropes and tied them together around the table¡¯s single leg sprouting from the floor of the apartment. Reminding them with a look not to try and escape, he went to speak with his partner at the door.


    ¡°I¡¯m Es¡­¡± The other prisoner began, then her eyes widened and filled with pleasure as though something important had just occurred to her. ¡°Yelis.¡±


    She smiled widely, awkwardly reaching out to shake hands even though they were both tied at the wrists. Something about her at that moment seemed familiar to Ekivia, though she couldn¡¯t quite identify what.


    Ekivia met her eyes then glanced at her outstretched hands, not wanting to return the greeting. This nawo was a criminal after all. Technically Ekivia was too, but this nawo was a real criminal. She met Yelis¡¯ eyes again and realized the na hadn¡¯t noticed the turmoil she¡¯d caused with something as simple as a handshake.


    She looked somehow familiar to Ekivia, though she couldn¡¯t quite identify why. She was tall, like Ekivia herself. Her nose was large but attractive, and her eyes had sharp corners that the nawo accented with her face paints. Beneath the paint, the nawo¡¯s skin was iron like Ekivias, though there were fewer red swirls than most Drolites and Ekivia wondered what made this nawo different.


    One of her hands was bandaged, and Ekivia saw a little oil had soaked through the cloth. It would need to be changed, as would Ekivia¡¯s arm bandage, but that would have to wait until they made it to safety.


    Ekivia reached out with her bound hands and took the nawo¡¯s unhurt hand awkwardly in hers. ¡°Ekivia.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know who you are,¡± Yelis said. ¡°I just wanted to shake your hand. You¡¯re quite brilliant you know.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯ve heard.¡±


    The nawo laughed genuinely, although Ekivia had meant it more as a dismissal than a joke. ¡°What happened to your arm?¡±


    Ekivia glanced down at the bandage around the bonelet wound. ¡°Nailil shot me.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Nailil?¡± Yelis asked.


    ¡°The priestess who died at the Officer¡¯s House,¡± Ekivia said.


    ¡°Well, serves her right then,¡± Yelis said.


    The statement made Ekivia uncomfortable. The Priestess was a representative of Dytie and so deserved respect from them, but Ekivia felt the same way, which made her even more uncomfortable.


    ¡°I got the feeling that Fosia and Iakedrom wanted to do the same to me a few times,¡± Yelis continued with a chuckle. ¡°Look at this.¡±


    She held her hands up toward Ekivia so she could see the wounded one. There was a little dried blood on her fingertips.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Ekivia asked, nodding toward Iakedrom of Fosia. ¡°Did they do this to you?¡±


    Yelis laughed. ¡°More like I did it to them. The blood is from Iakedrom¡¯s prosthetic. I stabbed it, though not very deeply. The only weapon I could reach was my own skin, so it wasn¡¯t very effective.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ekivia asked, feeling a chill run through her.


    ¡°I, uh¡­¡± Yelis began but seemed to change her mind. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. So why¡¯d he arrest you? Iakedrom only deals with the interesting ones after all. Was it something to do with that Mada guy he mentioned?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s... I was...¡± Ekivia stumbled over her words. ¡°I was doing some research that someone didn¡¯t want me doing.¡±


    ¡°Same here,¡± Yelis said. ¡°As I said, we¡¯re the interesting ones. Some new invention?¡±


    ¡°Something like that,¡± Ekivia said, uncomfortable with the questions. ¡°What were you brought in for?¡±


    ¡°I was doing some research too,¡± Yelis said. ¡°Did you know that you can scoop up a patch of dirt almost anywhere, as far as we can tell anyway, and there will be annam in it? It¡¯s not noticeable really, but it¡¯s there.¡±


    ¡°I did not,¡± Ekivia said. Annam was what they called the living metal that wasn¡¯t diordna.


    ¡°Well you can,¡± Yelis said. ¡°The annam collects things in the dirt, then clumps together to make pods. But by then they¡¯re different, a single structure like diordna cells instead of smaller, almost insect-like structures crawling around individually.¡±


    ¡°So you were studying annam cells?¡± Ekivia asked. ¡°What about that got you arrested?¡±


    ¡°Well, they didn¡¯t like the direction I was taking the research.¡± Yelis hesitated before continuing. ¡°Something about them grabbed my attention. I thought they seem like tiny diordna, and I wanted to do a comparison of the two, see what I could learn. If we could figure out how and why they act so strangely maybe we could figure out how to make our own cells act differently too like we do with animal cells.¡±


    A shiver ran down Ekivia¡¯s spine, fear coloring her sight involuntarily as she remembered her skin acting on its own.


    ¡°It was you.¡± The words came out as little more than a released breath.


    ¡°What was me?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one calling herself Esile,¡± Ekivia said.


    ¡°Well¡­ I was,¡± Yelis said. ¡°But it¡¯s not my real name. Yelis is my real name.¡±


    ¡°Then my skin,¡± Ekivia said, nodding toward her wounded arm. ¡°You made it move on its own.¡±


    ¡°Your skin moved on its own?¡± Yelis asked. ¡°When? How?¡±


    ¡°After Iakedrom removed a piece of it from my wound,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°He left the room, and when he came back his prosthetic had those black marks. My skin made them. I saw it crawl up his arm by itself. You made it do that.¡±


    ¡°Not that I know of,¡± Yelis said. ¡°I¡¯m still way earlier on in my research. If what you say is true then someone beat me to an incredible discovery, which is a little disappointing.¡±


    Yelis¡¯ eyes were tinged with sorrow-sight as she spoke. It was a feeling Ekivia was too familiar with. ¡°I... am sorry. I know what that feels like. I¡¯ve had a couple ideas pulled out from under me before. Nothing this big, but I can imagine.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Yelis said. ¡°So how did they find out you were doing something they didn¡¯t like?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°I called a friend of mine to help me out, and the day he arrived to start the work Iakedrom arrived too.¡±


    ¡°So your friend turned you in?¡± Yelis said.


    ¡°No,¡± Ekivia said immediately. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t. I don¡¯t know how¡­¡±


    Ekivia trailed off as the news bird¡¯s announcement caught her ears again and she looked toward the sound. Something disturbing occurred to her.


    ¡°What?¡± Yelis said, following her gaze and then looking back at her, confused.


    ¡°How much do you know about news birds and calling birds?¡± Ekivia asked.


    ¡°Not nearly as much as you I¡¯m sure,¡± Yelis said with a smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t invent one of them.¡±


    ¡°They work on the same principles,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°When I was just getting started in genetic engineering I helped a little with the invention of the news birds, and then built on that with the calling birds. But the core of how they work is the same. Technically the calling birds are just news birds that can both transmit and receive, and that only do so from one bird to another instead of one to many.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yelis said, thoughtful. ¡°So¡­¡±


    ¡°So someone must have listened in on my conversation with Nevets,¡± Ekivia said, eyes paling a little at the thought. ¡°They must have some secondary receiving bird that relayed my conversation with Nevets.¡±


    ¡°Is that possible?¡± Yelis asked.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°I think so,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°And if I had to guess who it was I would say Nailil or some other priest was the one who listened in.¡±


    Yelis eyes widened. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s a good thing I never had a calling bird. Or anyone to call.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ekivia said, thoughtfully. This was a huge breach of trust between Drol Maharba, his priests, and the citizens. Ekivia wondered if Iakedrom knew about this or not, but from her experience with him, she didn¡¯t think he¡¯d like it.


    ¡°Well, when we get out of this maybe I¡¯ll get a calling bird so we can chat,¡± Yelis said.


    ¡°I think I might like that,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°If we get out of this.¡±


    ¡°Oh we will,¡± Yelis said, then she smiled. ¡°You know, when I recognized you in the officer¡¯s house I hoped we could maybe be friends. Both of us students of life in its many forms, both of us prisoners of the same na. You seem like a really decent diordna.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Ekivia said awkwardly. ¡°You seem pretty decent yourself.¡±


    Yelis smiled. ¡°How about this, when I escape I promise I¡¯ll come back to get you.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate it,¡± Ekivia said, laughing. ¡°But I¡¯m not sure how you¡¯re going to get down from here alive, let alone without being caught by Iakedrom or the Verds.¡±


    ¡°The Verds won¡¯t be a problem,¡± Yelis said. ¡°As I said earlier, they aren¡¯t interested in this building.¡±


    ¡°Right. I forgot.¡± This nawo was friendly, but maybe not quite sane.


    A distant explosion reminded Ekivia she was supposed to be on watch. The army below seemed to have increased its pace, moving quickly to collect in buildings a few blocks further along, completely ignoring this building and the others around it. A second explosion rumbled across the city from beyond the Verd army.


    ¡°Looks like the fighting is starting for real now,¡± Yelis said, and Ekivia nodded. Apparently, this strange nawo was right. They might just be ignored. Maybe she wasn¡¯t so crazy after all?


    Yelis stood, and as she did Ekivia realized why she was so familiar. She looked a lot like Ekivia herself.


    **********


    ¡°Something¡¯s bothering you,¡± Fosia said as Iakedrom approached her.


    It wasn¡¯t a question, and Iakedorm was comforted to know the beginning of this conversation wouldn¡¯t be awkward because she knew him well enough to read his mood.


    Iakedrom looked up at his partner and nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well, what is it then?¡± She asked without looking away from the hall.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just one thing,¡± Iakedrom said, keeping his voice low so the prisoners wouldn¡¯t hear.


    ¡°Start with just one,¡± Fosia said. ¡°That¡¯s usually best. We can deal with the others later.¡±


    Iakedrom smiled. ¡°Alright. It looks like Ekvia is a traitor. After all these years I thought I knew her well. I liked her. She seemed like a good diordna. But in the last few days, I¡¯ve seen a side of her that¡¯s so unlike my previous experience I don¡¯t know how to process it.¡±


    ¡°It is a lot to take in,¡± Fosia said. ¡°I was starting to like her too, though I haven¡¯t spent as much time with her as you have. We don¡¯t have all the answers yet though, so maybe we¡¯ll learn something that will reconcile the two images of her that we¡¯ve seen.¡±


    ¡°I hope so,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Because I¡¯d hate to be completely wrong about her.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± Fosia said. ¡°What¡¯s the other thing?¡±


    Iakedrom sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be disrespectful or¡ª¡°


    ¡°Don¡¯t hedge,¡± Fosia said, her tone telling him she was rolling her eyes. ¡°Just get on with it.¡±


    ¡°I think the Drol knew the attack was coming,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°And that¡¯s why Nailil was in such a hurry.¡±


    Fosia nodded slowly. ¡°I think you might be right.¡±


    ¡°So if the Drol knew there would be an attack why didn¡¯t he do something to stop it?¡± Iakedrom asked. ¡°Why not warn the city, or prepare the officers, or prepare a counterattack? Why let so many die that could be saved by early warning?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s Dytie¡¯s Chosen,¡± Fosia said. ¡°I¡¯m sure he has his reasons.¡±


    Iakedrom knew her well enough to know she wasn¡¯t convinced.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to tell myself the same thing,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°But then I remember the last thing Nailil said, that they were early. She had to mean the army.¡±


    Fosia nodded. ¡°So they knew about the attack, but they were wrong about the timing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°But to get here the army had to travel in Drolite territory for almost a week without being seen. To go unseen for so long they would need help.¡±


    ¡°What about Ekivia?¡± Fosia said. ¡°Mada was Redaeli. She could have been passing information through him to the army.¡±


    ¡°I think she was,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°But this is bigger than just her. She would know the region, but not the military details. The diordna helping them would have to be powerful enough that their orders would be followed all across this region so that they could clear a path for this army. So why would the Drol help an enemy force murder so many of his own citizens?¡±


    Fosia shot him a glance. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say that kind of thing about Drol Maharba.¡±


    ¡°Does it bother you more that I said it,¡± Iakedrom asked. ¡°Or that our leader might be helping our enemies?¡±


    ¡°I...¡± Fosia began. ¡°I don¡¯t know yet.¡±


    ¡°I trust you to keep this between us for now,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°You know I¡¯m loyal. I just see puzzles everywhere.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Fosia said. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it between us.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I honestly hope to find a reason to dismiss all this...¡±


    An explosion rumbled like thunder from several streets over, drawing Iakedrom¡¯s eyes to the balcony. Ekivia sat at one edge, looking down at the street below.


    Esile stood staring directly at Iakedrom, tied hands held up to her brow, saluting him with a stone knife. Iakedrom felt at his belt. The knife loop was empty.


    ¡°Thanks, Iak,¡± Esile said with a grin.


    Then she leaped off the balcony.


    Iakedrom drew his cnido, but Yelis vanished beneath the edge of the balcony before he could fire a single bonellet. The rope tightened and Iakedrom dashed forward.


    Ekivia cried out in shock as Yelis plummeted, the rope yanking her back toward the table. She tumbled across the floor, bouncing until she hit the table leg where Iakedrom had looped their ropes. The speed of her tumble whipped her around the leg, barely slowing her motion, and she was pulled back toward the balcony.


    Leaping over the table Iakedrom dove toward Ekivia, grabbing her around the waist with both arms only to be dragged out the balcony door with her.


    Suddenly the rope slackened, and rather than following Yelis over the edge, the two of them slammed into the vine railing, cracking it slightly with the force of their momentum.


    Releasing Ekivia, Iakedrom stumbled to his feet and looked over the edge. The severed end of Yelis¡¯ rope dangled just above the balcony two floors down.


    ¡°Should I go after her?¡± Fosia asked from the door.


    Iakedrom slammed his fist against the railing. ¡°No. Better one in the hand than two on the wind. It¡¯s too risky with the verds here, and I think the Drol¡¯s priorities are clear. Ekivia take precedence. We¡¯ll stay hidden until tonight, then we sneak past the enemy line.¡±


    **********


    Iakedrom¡¯s voice floated to Ekivia from the other room where he spoke with someone via calling bird. Night was falling, and the bioluminescent vines and leaves on the outside of buildings began glowing as the sun dipped below the horizon.


    Her mind drifted to thoughts of Mada and Nevets. The Redaeli soldier that had painted her head in the officer¡¯s house, the one that Iakedrom had killed, told her that they were safe. That the soldier even knew their names meant they hadn¡¯t just been mowed down by the approaching army, she could take comfort in that much at least. But she still didn¡¯t know what had happened to them or if she would ever be reunited with them.


    Ekivia shook her head, trying not to think about that. Her thoughts had drifted toward images of Nevets and Mada more than once today but she refused to let them take hold of her. She would not give up on them. She would hold onto hope that she would see them again.


    She needed to distract herself.


    "What exactly is your relationship?" She asked Fosia, tasting the awkwardness of the question as she asked it.


    "I''m Iakedrom''s partner," Fosia said.


    The agent didn¡¯t offer anything more, forcing Ekivia to keep the conversation going with another question. "How long have you been working with him?"


    "Close to 10 years," She said.


    "Do you like him?" All these questions left Ekivia feeling like she was interrogating Fosia, which was ironic.


    Fosia eyed her.


    "I mean as a partner," Ekivia clarified.


    "I knew what you meant," Fosia said. "He''s smart and very few could experience what he has and still be good afterward. There''s no one I respect more."


    The compliment surprised Ekivia, though only a little. Her own experience with Iakedrom these last few days had been decidedly negative, but to hear him praised reminded her of her experiences with him in the last ten years. They¡¯d very nearly been friends until this whole fiasco.


    ¡°When he isn¡¯t torturing people you mean?¡± Ekivia asked, not bothering to disguise the vitriol in her voice.


    ¡°No,¡± Fosia said. ¡°Even then. It wasn¡¯t his choice to do that to you. He tried to convince Nailil to let him do it a better way, but she wouldn¡¯t listen.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember seeing any disgust in his eyes when he was doing it?¡±


    ¡°You also didn¡¯t see him vomit as soon as he left the room,¡± Fosia said, glaring at Ekivia. ¡°He does what he thinks is right. He¡¯s not perfect, but he is good. Maybe take a moment to consider what would have happened if Nailil had continued to torture you, then judge Iakedrom.¡±


    As uncomfortable as it made Ekivia, she had to admit that things would have been worse under Nailil¡¯s hand. They were both a little heated, but Ekivia didn¡¯t want to let the conversation die just yet, she still needed the distraction, so she changed the topic.


    "How did he lose his arm?"


    Again Fosia just stared at Ekivia, eyes still a little red, obviously uncertain if she wanted to continue their conversation.


    "It was blown off," Iakedrom said from the doorway. Ekivia''s eyes jumped to look at the na as he joined them. "Have you been following the news about the Craftsman?"


    "Yes," Ekivia said, and she shivered. ¡°The killer who made household items of victims.¡±


    Iakedrom nodded. "I was assigned to catch the Craftsman some time ago. We got close to one time, or we thought we did, but she rigged a corpse to explode. My last partner was killed by the explosion. I saw what was happening soon enough to almost reach safety but I was partially exposed. A burning piece of shrapnel embedded in my arm and I had to tie it off with my belt to keep the flames from reaching my chest through my veins. Then I ducked behind a door, closed it on my arm, and waited for the explosion."


    Ekivia stared at the na, eyes slowly growing paler with each detail. She¡¯d expected something more mundane like¡­ well anything else.


    ¡°The Crafstman is a nawo?¡± Ekivia asked, speaking the only question she could think of.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Iakedrom said, scratching at the bandages covering his prosthetic. ¡°We caught her just before we discovered your elicit activities, and the fact that she¡¯s a woman is the least insane part. But before I tell you more I need an answer to a question.¡±


    It was not a request, and Ekivia''s mind raced to guess the question. She assumed it would have to do with Mada, or maybe the marks on Iakedrom''s arm. He¡¯d decided to continue his interrogation.


    "What is the longest a diordna can live?"


    Her mind froze. The answers she''d been preparing to give fled her and she struggled to find words to answer the question while simultaneously trying to determine why he asked so she didn¡¯t give too much away.


    "Well?" Iakedrom prompted.


    ¡°I think the oldest I know of was about 180,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°Aside from the Drol of course.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask about the oldest diordna you know of,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I asked you how long you believe a diordna can live.¡±


    Ekivia met his eyes, still unable to see where these questions might be going.


    "I believe Dytie made us infinitely more complex than we may ever know," She said. "Esile Thaed showed us that, even if some of her research would be considered unethical today. I do think that eventually maybe we¡¯ll live a lot longer, but for now, between 150 and 200 years is the best that can be expected. What does any of this have to do with your arm?"


    ¡°I¡¯m getting to that,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I just got off a call with another machinologist. I¡¯ve contacted several, both here in the city and in others, and they all agreed on one strange fact.¡±


    ¡°Dytie,¡± Fosia cursed. ¡°That can¡¯t be right can it?¡±


    Iakedrom nodded. ¡°They all agreed that they have never actually seen a diordna die of anything other than being killed by an accident, themselves, or another diordna. The only records of diordna dying of old age are from generations ago.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be right,¡± Ekivia said, glancing between the other two. ¡°There has to be¡­¡±


    Iakedrom shook his head. ¡°There isn¡¯t any record in the last four generations, even in the capitol. I wonder if even those records are true, but that¡¯s a topic for another day. Back to what this has to do with me losing my arm. The Craftsman claimed to be Esile.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not¡­¡± Ekivia trailed off. If what Iakedrom said was true then maybe it was possible. Then something more disturbing occurred to her.


    ¡°After what I¡¯ve learned I¡¯m inclined to believe her,¡± Iakedrom said.


    Ekivia¡¯s mind raced as she thought about what that would mean. If Esile was still alive, six generations after she was supposed to have died, then the records of death from old age might be fake, and that would mean someone with a lot of power didn¡¯t want diordna to know how long they could live. Iakedrom must have come to the same conclusions. The implications on a grand scale were disturbing, but the smaller scale implication was actually amusing to Ekivia.


    ¡°If that¡¯s true,¡± Ekivia said, allowing herself a small smile. ¡°Then the nawo who took your arm is also the one who replaced it.¡±


    Iakedrom smiled back. ¡°That is correct. Ironic, don¡¯t you think? Not only did she change the world, but she changed my life personally, first by killing my partner and taking my arm, and then by her research restoring my arm. I find myself stuck between gratitude and anger.¡±


    Ekivia just stared at him. This couldn¡¯t all be true, could it? It seemed so outlandish, she wanted to dismiss it. But then she saw the look on Fosia¡¯s face, and she knew this wasn¡¯t a joke.


    ¡°I was just talking to the Esile and I didn¡¯t even know it,¡± Ekivia said, in awe. Then her eyes paled and she waved out the window. ¡°She was the Craftsman.¡±


    Iakedrom nodded. ¡°As unethical in her methods as ever. So, as her defendant, if you could advance our society in a similar way to Esile, how would you do it? How far would you go if you were on the trail to something as big?¡±


    Ekivia paused before answering, still trying to process everything. She couldn¡¯t reconcile the nawo she¡¯d just met with the killer she¡¯d read about, and on top of that, this felt to her like the question he was building to. It was all starting to overwhelm her, but she couldn¡¯t allow it. She just needed a minute to figure things out.


    He''d led her here for a reason that she couldn¡¯t begin to guess, not while she was so off balance from what she¡¯d just learned. She¡¯d created Mada to advance society, to make diordna safer by replacing soldiers with something more disposable. But he¡¯d become irreplaceable, and her goals had changed with her heart. If she had the chance she wanted to change the hearts of every diordna in the same way. Maybe then they could end the wars and just live.


    She closed her eyes and sighed. She waited in silence for a moment, listening to the soft roaring of flames several streets away before replying.


    ¡°If I could advance diordna kind in any direction it would be toward understanding each other on a new level, and toward an end to hurting each other to try and prove that we understand the world better than those around us.¡±


    "And how would you do that?" Iakedrom asked.


    "I¡¯m an engineer,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°I would do the only thing I know how. I would create something to make diordna-kind question their relative positions and do everything in my power to keep them from denying the truth behind those questions. The truth that we are not so superior to each other as we think."


    Iakedrom opened his mouth, but Ekivia cut him off before he spoke. "If we get out of this alive I¡¯ll tell you how I¡¯ve already begun to do that."


    ¡°I will hold you to that,¡± Iakedrom said, meeting her eyes. "Now let¡¯s get to a safer part of the city."

 Chapter 12: Reunion

    Chapter 12: Reunion


    "Research Log, Year 9, Month 6, Day 20 (Day 2,943) Cont.


    ¡°Today we had the first of many social role-play situations I¡¯ve written to help him prepare for interaction with diordna other than me. We did a simple visit from a friend, and honestly, he struggled. He was awkward, quiet, outwardly nervous, fidgety, and stammered almost any time he tried to say something. I¡¯m not too concerned, as we have a long time before he¡¯ll need to use these social skills in the real world, but I have to admit I expected him to do better. When we have a normal conversation he¡¯s confident and articulate, but these new situations I¡¯ve devised will stretch him.¡±


    The soft bioluminescence illuminated the room where Mada and Nevets lay. Mada had only recently returned to the room after helping the machinologists remove shrapnel from wounded soldiers for several hours. It wasn¡¯t exactly hard work, but his fingertips were raw and wrapped in bandages.


    Though his own wounds were nothing compared to those of Nevets. Mada felt bad for the na, bundled in bandages instead of skins. He was fast asleep, his bandages dark with drying oil. The Machinologist said the wounds were beginning to congeal. It seemed Nevets would heal, it would just take time. But still, Nevets should never have been caught in all this.


    Mada, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t help but be caught in it. It seemed that he was the center of it all, and that made him extremely uncomfortable. His mind raced with anxiety for himself, for Nevets, for Ekivia. Keeping him up when he wished he could sleep. Nagemai said they were keeping an eye out for Kiv, that they would keep her safe, but Mada had a hard time believing that something wouldn¡¯t go wrong.


    Finally, he gave up on sleep and rose, careful not to disturb Nevets. Two soldiers watched from chairs by the window and three more stood guard at the door. Nagemai had moved to a different apartment earlier to continue her work without disturbing them, so the table was clear now except for meal scraps they¡¯d left on the way to sleep.


    Mada stepped nervously through the door into the hallway, but rather than stop him, the door guards simply followed, leaving Nevets under the watch of the two by the window. The room was dark, though light filtered in through the window. The lights in the apartments could be put out with a trigger branch similar to the kind that opened doors, so they¡¯d put out the lights in the room, but the light vines in the hallway and on the outside of the buildings would glow all night.


    Not knowing where else to go, Mada walked down the hall to the command room where Treblig stood guard. He didn¡¯t really know anyone but the general and her right hand, and he didn¡¯t really feel like being alone with these guards. The soldiers had treated him well enough after what he¡¯d done with the machinologists, but they also regularly called him it and spoke to others about him instead of directly to him. The machinologist, Asyral, tried to correct them but it never stuck.


    Nagemai sat at the map-covered table with her head resting on her folded arms.


    "No one is allowed to see the general," Treblig said quietly as Mada and his guards approached the door.


    That wasn¡¯t a surprise, but still, he¡¯d hoped to spend some time with the only diordna that treated him as an equal. He turned away, disappointed, though he didn¡¯t know where he was going to go next. Maybe he¡¯d just take a walk around the building, get outside for a little if they let him.


    "It''s alright, Treblig," Nagemai said from the table. "He can come in. But just him."


    Mada was surprised but turned back, grateful to have permission to ditch his animal handlers. As he entered the room Nagemai stood and smiled, offering him a chair opposite her at the table. Mada took it, glancing at the table as he did so.


    The top map of her stack was one of the continent with small wooden indicators marking a variety of locations.


    ¡°You¡¯re planning how to retreat,¡± Mada said. ¡°Already?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s always a good idea to be prepared if you need to leave quickly,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Do you often wander at night? Are you not tired?¡±


    "No, I am," Mada said, not missing the change in subject. There was something about the plan to retreat that she didn¡¯t want to talk about. ¡°My sleep patterns are normally the same as diordna or any diurnal animal. Just¡­ not tonight I guess.¡±


    "I¡¯m having a bit of trouble sleeping too," Nagemai said with a sigh. "It''s difficult being responsible for so many lives. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever get used to it."


    "Responsible for guarding them or for taking them?" Mada asked without thinking, then he lowered his head, feeling himself try and shrink deeper into the unyielding wood of his chair.


    Nagemai smiled, sorrow and pleasure mixing in her eyes. A strange combination, usually only appearing when someone was feeling nostalgic. This was something else though.


    "Both. Always both. Adding you and Nevets to that list increases the burden."


    ¡±Why would two more change anything?¡± Mada asked, meeting the general''s turbulent gaze. ¡°It seems to me like we¡¯re sand on a rock.¡±


    ¡°I try to remember that all diordna matter to someone, friend and foe alike,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°But you two bring me hope in a way I can¡¯t yet explain, and that makes your lives weighty indeed.¡±


    ¡°What hope is that?¡± Mada asked, genuinely curious.


    ¡°Part of it is that I hope you really are diordna made flesh,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°And if not, then I hope you are better than we are.¡±


    Kiv had said similar things while Mada was growing. He intended to tell the general that Ekivia felt the same, but his throat constricted with fear, the thought of not knowing if she was as alive stopping his voice.


    "That right there," Nagemai said. "That emotion. Was that fear? Sorrow?¡±


    Mada sighed heavily. "Both, yes. You¡¯re getting good at reading my expressions."


    "Thank you," Nagemai said. ¡°I think it¡¯s an important skill to learn, even with diordna. Sometimes we can suppress our eye color if we try hard enough, but our expressions are harder. You¡¯re worried about Ekivia?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Mada said, again surprised at how insightful Nagemai was. ¡°I can¡¯t help but think that she may already be dead.¡±


    ¡°I sincerely hope not,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I believe my soldiers would report if they found her. Most of them would anyway. I know that¡¯s not very comforting, but it¡¯s the best I can offer while still being honest. Perhaps she¡¯s on the opposite side of the city.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Mada said. She was right that her words weren¡¯t exactly comforting, though he did appreciate the honesty. ¡°How did you know about her? About me?¡±


    Nagemai glanced at Treblig in the doorway, then turned and met Mada¡¯s eyes. ¡°One of my spies in the area sent word to me of a promising project many years ago. When the project was shut down I tried to find a way to keep contact, but Ekivia isolated herself, to protect you I¡¯m guessing. I didn¡¯t want to expose you if she had continued her work. So I didn¡¯t exactly know about you, I only hoped. And Dytie often rewards hope.¡±


    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t believe in Dytie,¡± Mada said. ¡°Your conversation with Nevets earlier, about Dytie not being merciful, made me think you had given up belief. I wouldn¡¯t blame you either, after what you must have seen.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t given up belief,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°My belief has just changed. Would you walk with me? I need to move my legs."


    The fact that it was requested rather than demanded showed a level of respect that shocked Mada after dealing with other diordna all day. Even Nevets had been slower to treat him so much like a diordna. It was like she¡¯d been expecting to find an equal in him and so only needed an excuse to see it rather than expecting to see the opposite and needing convincing.


    Mada nodded and followed Nagemai from the room. As they left Treblig fell in behind them, and the general dismissed Mada¡¯s minders, who¡¯d been waiting in the hallway, with a wave. Nagemai led them to the stairs in the corner of the building and began descending.


    ¡°I still believe in Dytie,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°But my experience has made me see that his mercy is applied differently than most think. He allows us to be unmerciful to each other. He allows us to create pain and destruction, and he watches it happen. I do not think he wants it to happen, but I do think that he made us to be autonomous, and so allowing us to be merciless is in a way a mercy. He will not take the gift he has given us, even if we abuse it.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem very merciful to me,¡± Mada mumbled.


    ¡°Then you see what I meant when I spoke with Nevets,¡± Nagemai said.


    Some soldiers passed them going up as they walked down the stairs, and their conversation lapsed briefly into silence.


    ¡°How do you deal with it all?¡± Mada asked quietly as they stepped out onto the fifth floor. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long you¡¯ve been a general, but I can¡¯t imagine living like this can be easy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s harder some days than others,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Eventually every soldier has to decide to either live in pain or live numb. Our instinct is to live numb rather than face the horrors around us."


    She didn¡¯t continue, and the silence made Mada uncomfortable, so he said the safest thing he could think of. ¡°I think I understand."


    Nagemai¡¯s eyes turned a little blue, though her expression didn¡¯t reflect the pleasure. "Do you also understand why I reject that instinct?"


    Mada shook his head, but before Nagemai could respond they entered a room, and her attention turned to her soldiers inside. It was another apartment, nearly identical to the ones upstairs. The primary difference was that these rooms had been cleared out and had mats down for soldiers to sleep on covering the floors in every room. Mada saw no reason for Nagemai to choose this particular room.


    Nagemai crouched beside a soldier that lay with her eyes open, touching the nawo gently on the arm.


    ¡°How¡¯re you holding up?¡± Nagemai asked.


    The soldier stiffened when she recognized Nagemai and tried to rise, but Nagemai shook her head and gently pressed the soldier back down.


    She saluted feebly from her back. ¡°I¡¯m doing alright sir. No complaints.¡± The soldier¡¯s voice was low for a nawo. It had an almost soothing effect on Nevets.


    ¡°No complaints is good,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°As long as that¡¯s the truth. Are you happy?¡±


    ¡°I...¡± The soldier¡¯s salute fell. ¡°I can¡¯t say that I am sir.¡±


    Nagemai smiled a sad, comforting smile. ¡°Do you want to talk to me about it?¡±


    In the bioluminescent light that filtered through the window and doorway, Mada saw the soldier¡¯s eyes fill with black sorrow.


    The soldier barely nodded.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± Nagemai said gently.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right to say,¡± the nawo said.


    ¡°It may not be wrong either,¡± Nagemai replied. ¡°I¡¯ll order you to tell me if it makes you feel better.¡±


    The soldier chuckled. ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to. It¡¯s just... I don¡¯t mean to question you, sir.¡±


    ¡°I question me all the time,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°So it¡¯s nice when someone does it for me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you always say, but still,¡± the nawo said, then took a deep breath before going on. ¡°Is this whole attack just suicide?¡±


    Nagemai¡¯s eyes darkened to match the sorrow-black eyes of the soldier, then she nodded. ¡°It is meant to be, yes. But it has several other purposes as well.¡±


    ¡°What other purposes?¡± The soldier asked.


    ¡°For one, to draw the Drolite armies inward so another one of our armies can advance,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°But there¡¯s also a reason I was sent instead of some other general and her army.¡±


    The soldier nodded, eyes clearing slightly. ¡°Because you¡¯re the best.¡±


    ¡°I am, but that¡¯s not why I was chosen,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you. The Redael doesn¡¯t like me. In short, I was sent here to die. Because she can¡¯t do it herself without an uproar back home she needed the Drol to do it for her. And she¡¯s willing to sacrifice this army to get to me.¡±


    White fear swirled into the soldier¡¯s eyes, dancing with the black sorrow but never mixing. Those two emotions were the only two that didn¡¯t mix. ¡°So we¡¯re all just going to die? If it¡¯s the Redael¡¯s will then it¡¯s Dytie¡¯s will.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Nagemai said, tightening her grip on the nawo¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I can¡¯t save you all, but I promise you this. Even if your Redael abandons you to hell in order to kill me, I will not abandon you. I will find a way to get as many of you out alive.¡±


    The soldier nodded, though she looked confused. Mada understood why. To her, the will of the Redael and the will of Dytie were one and the same. So if the Redael wanted them dead, then Dytie did too. Why would Nagemai resist that?


    Still, the soldier seemed to take comfort in the promise that Nagemai would do all she could to protect them. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Your fellow soldiers will have these same questions,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°You don¡¯t need to defend me against them, but when they ask tell them what I¡¯ve told you. Tell them they are not alone.¡±


    The soldier sat up and saluted. ¡°Yes, sir. I will sir.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Now get some sleep.¡±


    The soldier lay back down, and Nagemai left the room with Mada and Treblig in tow. They walked in silence between rooms, stopping occasionally for Nagemai to speak to those who were awake, before returning to the stairs and climbing down another level. On the floors above the ground floor, there were some sleepers with guards at most windows, but once they reached the bottom there wasn''t a single sleeping soldier.


    Again, Nagemai repeated what she¡¯d been doing, speaking to groups and individuals. Comforting them, hearing their complaints, but most surprising of all telling them the truth about their situation. They should have left the conversations with more fear, Nagemai didn¡¯t pull her punches, but instead, they seemed more resolute. She trusted them with the truth, and they trusted her in return.


    It was probably an hour after they left the room upstairs when they stepped into an empty room on the bottom floor and Nagemai sent a runner to get one of her maps. As much as Mada wanted a distraction from his own thoughts he felt too awkward to try breaking the silence, so he opted instead to watch the window with Treblig. A few soldiers patrolled the street, but with so many watchers at the windows above them, their job was more to be ready to respond to threats than to spot them.


    As they looked out the window Mada considered the question Nagemai had asked him upstairs, and he had to admit he didn¡¯t understand why she decided to feel all the pain. But he hoped eventually he might.


    Movement in the street caught Mada¡¯s eye, and his heart leaped. Three figures crept through the darkness, one of them tied at the wrists. In the low light of hot coals and bioluminescence, he could just make out the officer¡¯s uniform and something strange about the prisoner¡¯s head.


    It appeared to be painted green, but without any pattern at all.


    ¡°That¡¯s Ekivia," Mada shouted and leaped through the window into the rubble-strewn street without thinking as the figures in the dark vanished behind some rubble. The only thing Mada saw in the bioluminescence and the smoldering red coals was the place where Ekivia had been.


    So when he rounded the rubble he ran headlong into a nawo.


    They tumbled, thumping against the ground beside each other. Mada scrambled to his feet in unison with the nawo, but she was a hair faster. A knife flashed in her hand, reflecting the light from the shouldering ruins beside them in an unnatural way. Stone didn¡¯t reflect like that.


    She lunged, and Mada stepped back, raising his arm defensively. His backward motion mostly saved his arm, but the knife still cut a shallow slash across his arm, throwing droplets of blood to sizzle on the shouldering coals beside them.


    The attacker froze at the sound. ¡°You¡¯re not... You...¡±


    She knew what he was. A diordna¡¯s oil would have flared up, not sizzled.


    He rushed the nawo, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her toward himself. He lifted his other arm upward, shoving his bloody forearm into her neck to knock her off her feet. Mada didn¡¯t follow the nawo into the dirt, he didn¡¯t have time to stay and fight. He had to get to Ekivia, so he stepped over her to continue his pursuit of Ekivia.


    The nawo grab Mada by the ankle and he toppled forward, catching himself with his hands.


    The next instant she was on him, pressing her hand firmly against his collarbones, pinning him without choking him. She leaned down and looked closely at his face.


    Instead of striking with her knife, she spoke in a soft, almost gentle, voice. ¡°Are you... Mada?¡±


    He looked at her, confused. ¡°How do you know my name?¡±


    The nawo¡¯s hands began to tremble. ¡°You¡¯re an AI.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± She laughed, leaping to her feet.


    Then she cut her own hand with her knife and reached won to lift Mada from the dirt with the same hand. A chill ran down Mada¡¯s spine as he thought about grabbing the oily hand.


    ¡°Oh come on,¡± the nawo said, reaching down and grabbing his hand in her oily one. Mada could feel the cut, a small flap of skin that had folded back pressed against his palm, and he had to suppress a gag.


    ¡°Wait here,¡± the nawo said. ¡°I¡¯ll go get Kiv for you,¡±


    She dashed off, vanishing behind the corner of a burned-out building.


    Mada stood stunned for a moment, wanting to pursue her, but a strong hand grabbed his shoulder.


    "Combat isn''t just about matching skill, but wit,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Don¡¯t rush into it witless like that or I can¡¯t keep you safe."This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°But¡ª¡°


    ¡°I heard,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°We¡¯ll help you free her, but the farther we follow them the more likely we are to encounter resistance. We have to be quick and smart. You were only one of those.¡±


    ¡°I get it,¡± Mada said impatiently. ¡°Let''s go.¡±


    ¡°Stay behind us,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Grab the first weapon that falls near you, put your back to something, and kill anyone that gets too close."


    Mada nodded, scratching his arm nervously, and followed the general and Treblig in a low run.


    **********


    Ekivia followed Iakedrom and Fosia as they crept across the street. The Redaeli soldiers had collected debris from burned and fallen buildings, making barricades between some of the still-standing buildings, and open paths between others. Then there was a wide section that was more clear of debris than the rest of it, like a road that had been cut through several buildings. It was straight, which couldn¡¯t be said about any of the regular streets in the city, and that made it feel¡­ unnatural. She felt like if it was daytime then she could see all the way to the edge of the city in either direction. And it wasn¡¯t completely cleared of debris yet, so they had some cover even as they crossed that section.


    Once they were across that new street they paused, crouching in the shadows beside a building that was mostly standing, though it had a hole in the side of one of the stairwells halfway to the second floor where someone had exploded. Ekivia wondered if it was the person they¡¯d heard earlier just before Yelis leaped from the balcony. This was roughly the right direction.


    ¡°Why¡¯d we stop?¡± Ekivia whispered.


    Iakedrom held up a finger to silence her, then pointed ahead of them, through the other side of the alley to the next street over which was heaped with debris. A figure stepped out of the shadows. Ekivia couldn¡¯t make out any of the diordna¡¯s features. This area was almost entirely dark as less than half of the bioluminescent vines crawling up the buildings still shone. It was why they picked this particular alley to pass through, the fires had killed enough of the vines that it should be safe.


    The figure clapped a soft pattern in the darkness. Fosia clapped a response and the figure approached slowly until they crouched with them in the shadow of the damaged building.


    It was a nawo in an officer¡¯s uniform, though in the darkness Ekivia couldn¡¯t make out much more about her than that.


    ¡°It¡¯s all clear up ahead,¡± the officer said. ¡°We haven¡¯t moved into the area yet to keep out of bow range, but it¡¯s devoid of enemy patrols.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Let''s go. Stay close to the wall.¡±


    Ekivia rose with the others but hesitated, looking back the way they¡¯d come. If the Redaeli soldiers was to be trusted the Mada and Nevets would be back that way, not ahead of them. But finding them somewhere in that hostile army was most likely to end in her death than success. She decided that when she reached safety with Iakedrom she¡¯d try and trade information about Mada for help getting him back. Under the circumstances, it was the best she could manage.


    The rope around her wrists tightened, forcing her to follow Iakedrom.


    Dytie keep them safe, She prayed silently as she followed her captors.


    A figure leaped from the shadowed doorway of the building they were using as cover, arm swinging downward in an attack. Ekivia didn¡¯t even have time to flinch back, but she tried anyway, tugging the rope tight.


    Then it fell slack.


    The knife hadn¡¯t fallen on Ekivia, nor on Iakedrom. It had cut the rope. Iakedrom turned, dumbly staring at his half of the rope while Ekivia stared dumbly at the silhouette between them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there,¡± Yelis said, grabbing Ekivia¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Get the others,¡± Iakedrom shouted angrily, drawing his cnido.


    Yelis yanked Ekivia through the doorway she¡¯d appeared out of earlier, into the half-destroyed building.


    Yelis slammed the door behind them and held it, a bioluminescent vine beside the door illuminating her broad grin. ¡°Told you I¡¯d be back to get you.¡±


    ¡°Yes you did,¡± Ekivia said, breathless and uncertain. ¡°Your entrance is as dramatic as your exit was.¡±


    ¡°I keep my word,¡± Yelis said. ¡°The stairwell down the hall opens onto the street halfway to the second floor.¡±


    ¡°I saw on our way here,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°Cut me free.¡±


    ¡°I, uh, dropped my knife outside,¡± Yelis said, though Ekivia could see the handle peaking from beneath her shirt.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡ª¡°


    Someone tugged on the door from outside, jerking Yelis¡¯ arms and cutting Ekivia short. Yelis managed to hold on, but only barely.


    Ekivia grabbed the doors handle branch with her tied hands. ¡°What now.¡±


    A cnido clapped in the street, though Ekivia couldn¡¯t figure out why. Bonelettes wouldn¡¯t pierce the door.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Yelis said. ¡°But we can¡¯t go back out this way. We have until someone comes around another way to figure it out.¡±


    **********


    Mada and the others reached the corner of the building, just below the hole in the stairwell, as Ekivia was violently dragged into a building. Two of the officers, Mada guessed Iakedrom was one of them, tugged at the door and the third ran to get help.


    Nagemai dashed forward, footsteps surprisingly quiet, and Mada followed with Treblig. Mada¡¯s boots crunched louder than Treblig or Nagemai¡¯s and he wondered briefly how they could move so quietly and quickly at the same time.


    Iakedrom¡¯s partner looked in their direction, but Nagemai already had her cnido out. She fired a single shot, and the clap drew Iakedrom¡¯s attention from the door. The sound was loud enough that it hurt Mada¡¯s ears, and he worried they may have drawn more than Iakedrom¡¯s attention.


    The bonelette burrowed into the door jam beside Iakedrom¡¯s head, splintering a bioluminescent vine and ending its glow.


    ¡°Slag!¡± Iakedrom cursed in surprise and leaped away from the door.


    His partner grabbed his arm and began dragging him away down the alley, raising her own cnido and firing it back toward Nagemai. Mada flinched and ducked his head, Treblig flattened himself against the wall, and Nagemai spun, shoving Mada against it as well, protecting him with her body. She was shorter than he was, but she put her arm around his head and pulled it down near her chest.


    Iakedrom and his partner stepped into the moonlight at the edge of the building and pointed back toward Mada and the others, shouting something before disappearing around the corner.


    Seven officers ran out from behind rubble and into the alley.


    Mada straightened as Nagemai loosened her grip on his head, and even though he still hunched fearfully he was almost a head taller than her. He looked down at her and was surprised to see sorrow in her eyes as she looked toward the approaching officers.


    She really did feel the weight of those that died by her command, friend and foe.


    ¡°Remember Mada,¡± Nagemai said, stepping away from him. ¡°First weapon at your feet is yours. If we can¡¯t protect you, you¡¯ll have to do it on your own.¡±


    Nagemai held the cnido pointing downward as she approached the officers, her other hand held wardingly in front, Treblig a few steps to her side in a similar posture. It looked like the officers weren¡¯t going to use cnidos in this fight, probably because the noise might draw Nagemai¡¯s soldiers. The silence and the darkness together made Mada feel as though the night held its breath with him, waiting for the fighting to begin.


    Then Nagemai and Treblig reached their enemies, and the held breath burst.


    Nagemai deflected the first na''s spear with her arm, twisting her limb around the shaft to grip it inside her elbow and armpit as it slid past her. Then she pivoted, using the na¡¯s own weapon to throw him off balance before stepping past him. Mada panicked and froze as the officer careened toward him. Nagemai had left the na alive, and now Mada would have to fi¡­


    Nagemai¡¯s twirled the spear so the tip faced backward and rammed it into the stumbling officer¡¯s back without looking. The na stumbled forward then dropped at Mada¡¯s feet, dead, spear sticking straight up as if waiting to be taken by Mada.


    A weapon, down near him like a gift from Nagemai.


    Mada yanked the weapon free and backed against the wall beside the doorway as Nagemai spun and downed another na with shots to the chest and head from her cnido. Beside the general, Treblig wielded his short spear in one hand, a cnido in the other, a nawo already at his feet as he stabbed a second so hard that his spear shattered.


    He dropped the broken weapon in the oil at his feet.


    "Mada!" Nagemai called, drawing his attention as she sent another stumbling officer his way.


    Mada flinched and barely raised his spear in time for it to meet the stomach of a na.


    The na¡¯s eyes widened and he gasped in pain and stumbled, falling to one knee. The spear shaft snapped under the weight of the body, leaving the tip and several inches of wood extending from the na''s gut. He looked down as oil oozed around the wound, then up at Mada who had given it to him. The officer fell forward, reaching for Mada as he did, and the weight of the dying na pulled Mada to the ground. For a brief moment the two of them locked eyes. Mada saw blended anger and confusion, then finally sorrow in the officer¡¯s eyes. It was strange for Mada to see his own emotions reflected back at him by this dying na.


    The officer gurgled, coughing and choking on his own oil as he slowly died. Mada¡¯s oil-smeared hands shook and he felt tears in his eyes, but his mind couldn¡¯t comprehend what was happening, what he was feeling.


    He¡¯d read about combat, about the moment when two na face one another and both know one will die. He''d read about great warriors who slew twenty na without help or hesitation. Books depicted violence alongside glory, relief, exultation. Not¡­


    Emptiness.


    Mada shoved the body aside and glanced up at Nagemai and Treblig, watching their brutality. The whole thing left him feeling cold as bone.


    Unable to listen to the oily gurgling of the dying officer, Mada took the cnido from the na¡¯s belt and fired it three times into his chest.


    The alley fell silent except for the heavy breathing of the oil-stained victors. The officer beside Mada still looked at him, eyes wide in death. Their colors had changed, becoming the murky blend of all emotion called death-sight.


    Suddenly Mada¡¯s entire body began to shake and he felt cold. Every muscle felt restless and exhausted at the same time. His throat tightened and he felt dizzy.


    Nagemai crouched down in front of him, pushing the corpse aside and placing an oily hand on his shoulder. It was meant to be comforting, but Mada flinched as she touched him.


    "That was the first time you''ve ever killed," Nagemai said.


    Mada nodded.


    "I''m sorry."


    "Don''t be," Mada said, then he swallowed. He was salivating, and it tasted like it always did when he was about to vomit. "I''m glad to be alive."


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you are too,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°But how are you feeling other than that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m hurt,¡± Mada said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean physically,¡± Nagemai said.


    Mada shrugged. ¡°I feel alright I guess. My body feels weird, but¡­¡± How did he explain? He had tears on his cheeks, his hands shook, and his stomach turned, but he felt empty. Nothingness wasn¡¯t a feeling, was it? It was like he was an observer only, watching his body react, but not being a part of it. So instead of saying anything more he just shrugged again.


    "I understand,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Remember what I said earlier about choosing to feel. Remember it¡¯s better to hurt than to feel nothing. For now, the numbness will only intensify. Just¡­ try not to let it last too long.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try and remember that,¡± Mada said, nodding and scratching at an itch on his arm. Even as he said it he was forgetting, his mind blanking and seeking distraction.


    He hadn¡¯t really noticed earlier, but he was strangely itchy. His arm and across his shoulders both itched unpleasantly. It was like he¡¯d gotten sweat in a scratch he didn¡¯t know about, which he probably had. With all this fighting he¡¯d likely hurt himself without realizing it. Or maybe his mind just wanted a distraction.


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have asked you to walk with me tonight,¡± Nagemai said, standing and reaching down to help Mada up as well.


    "If you hadn''t I wouldn¡¯t have seen Ekivia," Mada said, taking her oily hand in his own. He must have had a cut on his hand he hadn¡¯t noticed before because it stung slightly. "Let''s go make sure she¡¯s safe."


    **********


    The force pulling against the door vanished and someone, Ekivia thought it sounded like Iakedrom, shouted. Something was happening out there that had drawn attention away from her.


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to get another chance,¡± Yelis said.


    Ekivia nodded and they ran toward the stairwell. As they turned right into the stairwell a disturbing thought occurred to Ekivia and she grabbed Yelis by the hand.


    ¡°Wait! Those shots have to be from Verds. They might be waiting outside the building.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Yelis said, standing a few steps down from the hole in the outside wall. ¡°I know. Mada is with them.¡±


    ¡°He...Wha...¡± Ekivia¡¯s knees shook as she heard his name, threatening to collapse under her. The Verd soldier had told her that Mada was safe, but she wasn¡¯t sure she believed it. ¡°You saw him?¡±


    ¡°I ran into him on my way here,¡± Yelis said. ¡°Thought he was a patrol going after you. But don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t hurt him bad.¡±


    Ekivia nearly gasped, her chest tightening.


    Mada is alive.


    The thought shook her. She hadn¡¯t realized how worried she¡¯d been until that moment. But could she trust this nawo she¡¯d only recently met? She didn¡¯t know if Iakedrom was telling the truth about her or not, but even if he wasn¡¯t she didn¡¯t know anything about this Yelis.


    Ekivia searched the nawo for any clue that she might be telling the truth. In the dim light of smoldering wood and fading bioluminescence, she saw what looked like blood smeared across Yelis¡¯ neck.


    The world turned red.


    ¡°What did you do to my son,¡± Ekivia growled, stepping toward Yelis.


    Yelis held her hands up. ¡°He¡¯s fine, really. He just got a scratch. He...¡±


    She trailed off, eyes widening suddenly. ¡°When you escape meet me at the place marked on his skin.¡± She spoke so quickly that Ekivia barely understood the words.


    Then she leaped through the hole in the building. Ekivia tried to pursue her but barely took two steps when the rope suddenly tightened and then jolted. Ekivia leaned forward against the pull, crouched, and tucked her hands against her stomach to avoid falling backwards down the stairs. Still, she slid back, her feet bouncing as they dropped once, then twice. She twisted around to get better footing and balance and faced her assailants.


    Iakedrom and Fosia.


    The two of them were in the hall straight across from the stairwell entrance, while Ekivia had come from the one perpendicular to it. Despite the pain in her wrists, she pulled against the rope with all her might, leaning back up the stairs and shouting her resistance.


    Her left wrist popped loudly, shooting pain up her arm, the shock of it causing her foot to slip. She bounced down the stairs, unable to resist now that she¡¯d lost her foothold. Desperate, she rolled sideways, trying to get close enough to the inside corner of the hall that she could grab it like a cliff¡¯s edge that would save her from falling down the hallway and into the arms of Iakedrom and Fosia.


    The rope caught the corner, and a moment later she slammed against the wall. She tried to use her hands to grip the corner, but she was too slow and Iakedrom pulled her arms around the corner, scraping them painfully as he did. Ekivia flattened herself, legs scrambling against the floor and wall, trying to resist. She looked down the hall toward Iakedrom and felt as though she were looking over the edge of a cliff, arms and head hanging down, her stomach against the ledge, his weight pulling her down to her death. She pressed her knees into the wall and heaved with all her strength, the anger in her eyes slowly changing to pink as instead of drawing Iakedrom closer to her she slipped further around the corner. She couldn¡¯t hang on much longer.


    Iakedrom would win this fight.


    At least he would have if someone hadn¡¯t thudded to the floor beside her and latched onto her shoulders at that moment.


    **********


    ¡°No!¡± Iakedrom shouted as someone appeared around the corner and grabbed Ekivia¡¯s shoulders.


    The figure was wearing a cloak and Iakedrom didn¡¯t get a good look at them, but one of the sleeves on the cloak was bunched up, exposing a prosthetic arm with a long bloody cut.


    And black marks running up it.


    Iakedrom couldn¡¯t be absolutely certain they were the same marks as the ones on his prosthetic, but his intuition told him that they were.


    He saw the relief on Ekivia¡¯s face, but he would not let her go. Not unless there was no other choice.


    Almost as he had the thought two verds came around the corner, spears at the ready, and gave him no other choice.


    "Go!¡± Iakedrom shouted to Fosia, dropping the rope and drawing his cnido. Iakedrom fired at the Verds, his shot snapping into the stairs behind them, throwing splinters of bone and wood into the air. Fosia drew her own cnido, running backward and firing toward the Verds. Iakedrom didn¡¯t know if either of them had hit their marks, and they didn¡¯t have time to find out. The shorter Verd raised her spear to throw just as Fosia pulled Iakedrom into an outside room with a blackened hole in the wall that would give them an escape.


    ¡°Should we fight?¡± Fosia asked. ¡°Or run?¡±


    ¡°Run,¡± Iakedrom growled. He¡¯d heard the fighting earlier, and the two verds appeared unscathed, though covered in oil. If seven couldn¡¯t kill them then two wouldn¡¯t either.


    They ran to the hole, Iakedrom¡¯s mind racing through what he¡¯d seen. Another marked prosthetic. He wished he¡¯d had time to compare, but they had to match his own. The anger-sight deepened in his eyes, narrowing his vision, and in his rage, he nearly turned back to seek retribution.


    Ekivia had lied to him. She¡¯d deceived him so thoroughly that he¡¯d almost considered her a friend. And when he started uncovering her lies she still managed to make him believe she was innocent. But he knew now. A na with a prosthetic bearing a message. Ver soldiers coming to her rescue.


    She was a traitor and a spy.


    They jumped through the hole in the wall into the heaps of rubble outside and began picking their way back around the building to safety. Ekivia and her friends didn¡¯t pursue them, and Iakedrom prayed silent thanks to Dytie for that.


    As they reached the corner of the building Iakedrom saw more Verds on their way. Their little encounter would trigger a battle tonight, but they were far enough ahead of the enemy that they would be safe.


    "I¡¯m sorry Iak,¡± Fosia said as they ran between the empty corpses of two buildings.


    "Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Iakedrom said, voice harsh. ¡°We learned what we needed to. Now we just have to get to safety and tell the Drol what we''ve discovered.¡±


    "And what exactly is that?" Fosia asked.


    "She used her own son as a messenger to the Verds," Iakedrom said, still fuming at the thought of how completely he¡¯d been taken in by her. He was always so good at reading those he interrogated, and he¡¯d been so certain that he read her right as well. But he obviously hadn¡¯t. Someone who could lie so effectively would be as dangerous as Yelis, though maybe not as mad.


    ¡°What exactly did we learn?¡± Fosia asked. She obviously hadn¡¯t seen what he had.


    Iakedrom held his prosthetic out. "The na who grabbed her had a prosthetic with these same marks on it. I think they¡¯re a way of sending coded messages that can¡¯t be intercepted like messenger birds or calling bird signals. The attack on this city is likely a result of information given to the Verds through messages like this."


    Fosia nodded thoughtfully. ¡°To get this deep into Drolite territory they definitely had help. But how would Ekivia get that kind of information?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Maybe Nevets helped her somehow. But however she did it, we know she¡¯s a traitor. And the next time we see her we can take comfort in the fact that she¡¯ll be executed.¡±


    **********


    As Iakedrom and Fosia disappeared down the hall, Ekivia turned to look at her rescuers. The two who¡¯d come around the corner with their weapons and drove the Iakedrom and Fosia back. One was a solid looking na wearing green painted wood armor. He had a square jaw and redaeli copper skin.


    The other was a shot nawo with features that should have been soft, but her expression was a violent storm as she commanded the first soldier not to pursue. She was a half-skin and wore white armor, which was strange. A soldier in white would be a criminal, and wouldn¡¯t give orders.


    Suddenly she knew who the nawo was. She hadn¡¯t followed politics or wars much in the last fifty years or so, but there wasn¡¯t a drolite alive who hadn¡¯t heard of the redaeli white. Fear rose in her chest and eyes, and her legs scrabbled, bringing her to her feet as she tried to run.


    But strong hands held her firm. The ones that had grabbed her and stopped Iakedrom from dragging her down the hall long enough for the general to reach them. She twisted, breaking their grip on her shoulders.


    ¡°Wait,¡± a familiar voice said. ¡°Kiv, it¡¯s me.¡±


    Ekivia froze, shaking, and turned back to look at the figure. She knew that voice as surely as if it were her own. Slowly she turned to face the figure, nearly as tall as she was, wearing a cloak and mask to obscure his features. He stepped toward her and she stood transfixed as he removed his hood and mask. A face she thought she¡¯d never see again stared back at her. She hadn¡¯t believed the redaeli soldier. She hadn¡¯t believed Yelis.


    But she believed her own eyes.


    Intelligent animal eyes. Pale animal skin and white hair on his chin and head.


    ¡°Mada.¡± Her eyes flooded with sorrow and pleasure-sight, making the glass swirl with black and blue for a moment before the two chemicals mixed. ¡°Oh Dytie, you¡¯re alive.¡±


    Mada just nodded, smiling at her and reaching toward her. She¡¯d only made it a couple of meters in her escape attempt before his voice had stopped, but those meters felt too far now.


    Her hand shook as she reached back toward him, emotion-sight overflowing, deep blue tears running down her cheeks, leaving trails of dark grey and dark orange swirls as they passed over the textures of her face.


    She tried to step toward her son, to clasp his hand and embrace him, but her knees buckled and she fell onto them.


    ¡°My boy,¡± She whispered, trying to rise unsuccessfully.


    In response, Mada closed the distance between them and crouched down, and she saw tears swim in his eyes. She thought she might never see that again, thought she might never see him again when she was taken. That fear only intensified when the Redaeli army arrived.


    Yet here he was.


    Crouching in front of her he put trembling arms around her, and she reached desperately around him, pulling him in tight and weeping into his cloak. She felt his tears fall on her shoulders, though they fell more quietly than her own.


    My Mada is alive. Oh, Dytie my boy¡¯s alive.


    The two of them relaxed into the hug. Ekivia hadn¡¯t realized just how tense she had been, how fearful, and Mada must have been experiencing something similar for she felt the tension melt from him as they embraced. It had only been a couple of days since she last saw him, but she thought she¡¯d never feel this embrace again.


    And in the embrace, she felt safe for the first time since they¡¯d parted.


    ¡°I thought you were dead,¡± She whispered, pulling away from him to look him in the eyes, to confirm that he was real.


    ¡°I thought you were too,¡± Mada said, voice shaking.


    Ekivia laughed through her tears, unable to contain her joy.


    Then a shadow fell across them and she looked up to see the white general standing above them. Despite the half-skin¡¯s height, she cut an intimidating figure in the near darkness.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, but we need to get back to a safer position,¡± the general said, reaching down to help them up. ¡°You two can catch up on the way.¡±


    Mada took her hand and stood, then helped Ekivia up, and the four of them escaped through the hole in the stairwell.

 Chapter 13: Charting the Way Forward

    Chapter 13: Charting the Way Forward


    "Research Log, Year 4, Month 6, Day 4 (Day 1624) Cont.


    ¡°I have to tell him that his older siblings were killed the day I lost my job so that he understands the real danger of leaving the house. He too could be destroyed or taken from me.¡±


    Shouts jolted Nevets awake and he groaned. He hadn¡¯t been that deeply asleep because of the wounds covering one side of his body, but even a shallow sleep gave him some respite from the burning, itching pain. He lay still for a short time, listening to the shouts in the hall, dreading the shock of pain that sitting up would cause him.


    ¡°Mada,¡± He said, voice sluggish. ¡°Are you awake?¡±


    There was no answer. He must be more soundly asleep than Nevets was to not be awoken by the shouting outside, though he supposed this high up the shouts weren¡¯t that loud. It sounded like something was happening in the street below.


    Slowly, carefully, Nevets rolled onto his back, trying not to bump Mada or put too much pressure on his wounded side as he did so. He breathed in sharply as he settled onto his back, pain shooting up from his arm as the movement made the muscles contract. Then he turned his head toward Mada.


    The na wasn¡¯t there.


    Nevets sat bolt upright without thinking, shouting in pain as every wound along his side burned with the motion. The room was empty save for him, and Nagemai was no longer at the table through the door. Gritting his teeth he pushed himself to his feet, then limped out the bedroom door.


    Two guards remained in the room, one at the door, the other looking down on the street from the balcony.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Nevets said to the officer on the balcony. ¡°Do you know where Mada went?¡±


    The officer nodded. ¡°The general took it with her downstairs a short while back.¡±


    ¡°Did they say why?¡± Nevets asked, worried by the shouting down below. ¡°Or when they¡¯d return?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the soldier said. ¡°But considering the commotion downstairs I expect she¡¯ll return soon.¡±


    Almost as if on cue Nagemai came through the door, followed by Mada¡­


    And Ekivia.


    She looked haggard like she hadn¡¯t slept since he last saw her. The paint on her head that had been meticulously patterned before was now covered over by smeared green that left trails down her face, and it was flaking showing what was left of the pattern beneath. Nevets own head paint was flaking as well; neither of them had had the chance to touch up their patterns in the last couple days, let alone see a head dresser. Another day without any paintwork and they¡¯d both be bald.


    Ekivia¡¯s arm was bandaged, and she cradled it against her body, but despite the oil darkening the bandage it seemed she was more concerned with her wrist than the more obvious wound. Her wrists were stiff and slightly cracked from hardened bruises. Nevets knew what that meant; she¡¯d been bound with a constrictor.


    Despite her condition, Nevets eyes turned blue with pleasure. Relief washed over him as the three entered, and his legs felt weak.


    Nevets limped toward Ekivia, and embraced her gingerly. She was gentle, avoiding putting pressure on his right side while still giving him a hug with both arms. She also held her hand awkwardly to avoid smearing oil on him as she did so.


    "I can''t believe you''re alive," Ekivia said as they parted.


    Her eyes were blue, the color deepened by the pleasure in Nevets own eyes.


    "I shouldn''t be," Nevets said, trying to chuckle. "What''re you doing here?"


    "We got caught in the attack," She said as a soldier brought in a cloth and two clay pots , one with water and the other with ash for cleaning the oil from their hands and arms, and Mada, Ekivia, and Nagemai all began scrubbing the oil away. "Your new friends helped me escape, though I still don¡¯t know how you two are still alive."


    ¡°I don¡¯t exactly know myself,¡± Nevets chuckled. ¡°When the army arrived I thought we were dead, but Nagemai¡­ well she was a surprise.¡±


    Ekivia turned toward the general as they washed. ¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t know why you would help us, but thank you.¡±


    ¡°I keep my promises,¡± Nagemai said, voice cold for some reason. Her expression seemed intense to Nevets, but he couldn¡¯t figure out why.


    ¡°To who?¡± Ekivia asked. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine who you might promise to do something like this.¡±


    Nagemai met Ekivia¡¯s eyes, and gestured to the guards without looking.


    ¡°Out. Treblig, watch the door, and don¡¯t let anyone in yet. I want privacy.¡±


    ¡°The captains will want orders,¡± Treblig said. ¡°Fighting has already begun in the streets.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re trained well enough to manage on their own for a little,¡± Nagemai said, standing and drying her hands. ¡°Tell their messengers that I trust their judgement.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Treblig said, and he took his position at the door while the other guards left.


    Nagemai approached Ekivia as she and Mada dried their hands, and finally Nevets realized what was off about her expression. Her eyes had the slightest tint of red, so slight that he almost hadn¡¯t noticed. When emotion sight manifested that way it usually meant that the diordna was trying to control it. Nevets mind raced to try and figure out what might have angered the intense general, but he came up blank.


    ¡°I¡¯m the Egeil,¡± Nagemai said, meeting Ekivia¡¯s eyes with her intense gaze. ¡°But when others are around please call me Nagemai.¡±


    Ekivia¡¯s eyes widened and paled with surprise. ¡°You¡­ but you¡¯re¡­ How could you know that name?¡±


    She looked to Mada for confirmation, but he was distracted again.


    ¡°It¡¯s really her,¡± Nevets said. ¡°At least as far as we can tell. She knew about the note. She told me about it. It cleared up a lot about Mada actually.¡±


    Ekivia looked back at Nagemai, obviously unable to wrap her head around what she was learning just yet. ¡°Why did you help us, then and now?¡±


    ¡°As I said, I keep my promises,¡± Nagemai repeated with a tone of finality as though she wouldn¡¯t elaborate further.


    Nevets looked at her, questioning. She¡¯d promised Mada and Nevets that she¡¯d protect them and Ekivia, but the implication was that she¡¯d been keeping a promise to someone from much further back.


    ¡°Now,¡± Nagemai said eyes turning more red, expression intensifying as she said it. ¡°You three have some explaining to do.¡±


    Nevets eyes paled as her intensity increased. Last time he felt this kind of intensity from her she¡¯d thrown a spear through his leg. He looked to the others nervously and found that Mada was staring absently into the night through the balcony door. It made Nevets wonder what had happened. He wanted to check on him, but Nagemai¡¯s question took precedence.


    ¡°What¡­¡± Nevets began, swallowing nervously. ¡°What did you need explained?¡±


    Nagemai stalked across the room and grabbed Mada by the arm. This drew him from his stupor and he looked at her confused and afraid. He tried to pull away instinctively but Nagemai¡¯s grip was firm. Ekivia stepped forward as if to intervene, but Nagemai glared claws at her and Ekivia stopped immediately despite her height advantage.


    Nagemai pushed Mada¡¯s cloak sleeve up, revealing a series of black marks running up his arm.


    ¡°This,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°You didn¡¯t have these markings earlier. Where did they come from?¡±


    Ekivia gasped, and the three of them looked at her. ¡°I¡¯ve seen those before. But where did you get them?¡±


    "I don¡¯t know," Mada said quietly.


    As he spoke the red in Nagemai¡¯s eyes deepened. "Do not lie to me. I may not be an academic, but I''m no fool. These marks follow a specific numeric pattern that I use with my scouts to indicate locations, though I don¡¯t use this writing system for it. No one uses this system as far as I know. So how do you have markings that are both written in a language and a code you shouldn¡¯t even know about?"


    ¡°You can read that?¡± Ekivia asked, shock obvious in her voice and slightly pale blue eyes.


    ¡°Obviously,¡± Nagemai said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Where do they lead?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Mada said, still distractedly staring at the marks. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen them before.¡±


    ¡°I find that hard to believe,¡± Nagemai said, her voice a dangerous kind of quiet.


    ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth,¡± Ekivia said, and they all turned to look at her again. Her eyes started to turn a pale yellow as disgust crept into them. ¡°I know where they came from, but I don¡¯t know what they mean. Neither of them would have seen them before.¡±


    ¡°Well then,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Enlighten us.¡±


    Ekivia looked to Mada and Nevets as if to ask if she should say anything.


    ¡°You can trust her,¡± Nevets said, a little grudgingly. She had kept her promises, she had treated them well. As much as he didn¡¯t like admitting it, he did trust her.


    ¡°I saw them on Iakedrom¡¯s prosthetic,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°There was another prisoner with me, she claimed to be Esile. She was the one that tried to help me escape just before you all arrived. She¡­ cut a part of her skin off and when Iakedrom touched it the skin marked his arm.¡±


    ¡°Impossible,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Mada was helping remove shrapnel from my soldiers earlier, and though the pieces gripped his skin they never marked him.¡±


    Ekivia¡¯s eyes suddenly paled and she looked as though she¡¯d just realized something important, but she didn¡¯t look away from from Nagemai. ¡°It¡¯s true. I saw it myself. I can prove it.¡±


    ¡°Really,¡± Nagemai said, giving Ekivia a flat stare.


    Nevets didn¡¯t know what to believe. He trusted Ekivia, but maybe she was trying to hide something.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t just Esile¡¯s skin that could do it,¡± Ekivia continued. ¡°Mine did too.¡±


    ¡°Again,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Why two diordna¡¯s skin do it and not a single one of my soldiers.¡±


    ¡°Because none of them are descended from Esile,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°Because this other prisoner was really the Esile who mothered isolated organics. She also posited, and apparently proved, isolated mechanics. She must have put that message in her own body, and then passed it down to her children, and their children.¡±


    ¡°Shall we test that then?¡± Nagemai said, drawing her knife and approaching Ekivia.


    Nevets stepped between the two of them, nearly collapsing on his wounded leg. ¡°She¡¯s been through enough already without you cutting into her.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Nev,¡± Ekivia said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. He grudgingly stepped aside.


    Ekivia held her bandaged arm forward. ¡°I already have a cut on this arm. Take some skin from there.¡±


    Nagemai nodded, then unwound the bandage from Ekivia¡¯s arm, exposing a nasty tear that appeared to go all the way through her arm, leaving two ragged wounds on either side of the forearm. It was crusted with drying oil. It was worse than any one of Nevets¡¯s wounds except for the spear wound in his leg, though since she only had one it would probably heal faster than any of Nevets¡¯s because her body could concentrate its resources on a single wound instead of having to spread resources to other places.


    ¡°How much do we need?¡± Nagemai asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t actually know,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°Last time it was a section about as wide as my thumb.¡±


    Nagemai nodded, then gripped Ekivia¡¯s arm tightly with one hand. She placed the sharp obsidian knife against Ekivia¡¯s arm and with a quick flick she removed a small piece of skin. Oil oozed form the new cut. Nagemai sheathed her knife quickly and rewrapped Ekivia¡¯s arm.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have a Machinologist come take a look at that and your wrist once we¡¯re done here,¡± Nagemai said.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Ekivia said, cradling her arm against her body once more.


    Nagemai nodded, then held up the small piece of skin. ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°Give it to Mada,¡± Ekivia said.


    Nagemai approached the na and held the piece of skin out on her palm. Hesitantly Mada reached forward and took the skin between two fingers.


    ¡°It¡¯s gripping them like the shrapnel,¡± Mada said, then he demonstrated what he meant by separating his fingers so it was hanging from the tip of his pointer finger.


    And that¡¯s when it began to move.


    Mada flinched and shook his hand and Nevets eyes filled with disgust.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shake it off,¡± Nagemai said, and Mada stopped shaking his hand.


    The climbed up his palm, and once it reached his wrist it began following the black patterns exactly, darkening them and leaving the occasional pinprick of blood.


    ¡°Remarkable,¡± Nagemai said quietly, then she looked at Ekivia, the anger fading from her eyes. ¡°Did you include something like this in his code?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Ekivia said simply. ¡°I had no idea this would happen. Iakedrom thinks it was part of the skin, isolated mechanics put there by Esile, though I don¡¯t know how Mada would have come into contact with it.¡±


    ¡°I ran into her,¡± Mada said. ¡°The other prisoner. She cut herself before helping me to my feet. I was so caught up with trying to reach Ekivia that I barely felt the marks being made.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it isn¡¯t the diordna skin at all,¡± Nevets said, trying to find an explanation that made more sense. ¡°It could have something to do with how prosthetics work. The diordna body grips the prosthetic, bonding to it so that the nerve signals transfer. Maybe Kiv used prosthetic code as part of Mada. Esile may have hidden this code in all prosthetics.¡±


    ¡°I did use some prosthetic code,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°But if that was the case then the shrapnel would have marked him as well.¡±


    ¡°Why would Esile want someone with a prosthetic to see these coordinates?¡± Nagemai asked. She¡¯d calmed somewhat and was more thoughtful than angry now. It seemed that being wrong about Ekivia¡¯s story had humbled her.


    ¡°What if she didn¡¯t?¡± Mada asked, and he removed his cloak and shirt, exposing his back and other arm.


    The marks ran in a spiral up one arm, across his shoulders, then down the opposite side.


    ¡°No prosthetic covers so much of a diordna body,¡± Mada said. Nevets made a mental note to include this conversation in his notes on Mada. The boy was showing remarkable insight, contributing on the same level as each of them. It would help bolster their argument that he was their equal. ¡°So unless it repeats the message would only be meant for someone like me.¡±


    Nagemai stared for a moment, then shook her head, looking disturbed as she did so. ¡°It doesn¡¯t repeat. And I don¡¯t think Esile did this.¡±


    ¡°Why would you say that?¡± Nevets asked, confused.


    ¡°Because I recognize one of the coordinates,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°And it isn¡¯t somewhere she would know.¡±


    ¡°How can you be sure?¡± Nevets said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Nagemai said, shutting down further questions.


    ¡°But if she didn¡¯t do it, and I didn¡¯t do it, then who did?¡± Ekvia asked. ¡°No one has had access to Mada since he was born, and I only just encountered Esile.¡±


    ¡°What about the priests?¡± Nevets asked. ¡°They¡¯re the ones that supply the coded bees.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°They were the ones that shut the project down. They wouldn¡¯t do that if they were also trying to send this message.¡±


    "There is another possibility,¡± Treblig said from the doorway. The three of them turned to look at him. Apparently, he¡¯d been listening to the conversation, though Nagemai didn¡¯t seem surprised by this. ¡°There are cases, like with the Chosen, where diordna are marked by Dytie himself. This may be a message from Dytie, buried in you and Esile because the two of you would create¡­ him. A creation equal to diordna.¡±


    Nevets glanced at Mada, uncomfortable. ¡°The question then becomes is it a warning against playing dytie?¡±


    The silence that followed the statement was broken only by the flutter of messenger bird wings as they entered through the window. All eyes in the room centered on Mada and the messages written in his skin.


    ¡°We can¡¯t know unless we find the places indicated,¡± Mada said. ¡°Nagemai knows one already. Could you take us there?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Nagemai said immediately, some of her earlier intensity returning.


    ¡°If Dytie saw fit to send a message regarding Mada, then it is our duty to try and understand that message,¡± Ekivia said.


    Nagemai nodded slowly, then pointed to Mada shoulder. ¡°I think this section here is somewhere north of us. I¡¯ll need a map to pinpoint exactly where though, and then when we leave the city we can go there.¡±


    ¡°Whether or not Dytie sent this message,¡± Nevets began. "If he himself sent it himself and this place proves that, then these marks might be the best proof that Mada is more than just an animal."


    "Treblig," Nagemai continued. "Have my captains called to this room and the maps I tried to sleep on earlier brought. And send for a machinologist."


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Treblig said, and he stepped back out to do as he was told.


    The room fell silent, and Ekivia helped Nevets to a chair near the table and then brought one over for herself. Nagemai stood near the door, turning thoughtful.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Nevets said.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°Mada told me a little about what you two have been through while we were on our way up. How¡¯re you holding up?¡±


    ¡°All things considered I¡¯m doing alright,¡± Nevets said. ¡°I should be dead, so I can¡¯t complain too much.¡± He looked at her arm. ¡°What happened to you?¡±


    ¡°Iakedrom got desperate,¡± Ekivia said, eyes reddening and darkening. ¡°A priestess pushed him to get more out of me than I wanted to tell them, and this was the method they chose. She was in a hurry. I think she knew the army was on its way.¡±


    ¡°If she knew why didn¡¯t they warn anyone?¡± Nevets asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering the same thing,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°It feels like when I lost my research to the priests. Almost no explanations, just secrets and pain.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Nevets nodded thoughtfully. It was disturbing to be sure. He put it out of his mind, not wanting to deal with one more thing at the moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry I got you into this,¡± Ekivia said, looking down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be,¡± Nevets said, putting a hand on her shoulder so she¡¯d look at him. Her eyes were dark with sorrow. ¡°I got myself into it. Besides, if it weren¡¯t for you and Mada I¡¯d probably be a pile of ash and shrapnel somewhere in the city. So really you saved my life.¡±


    "I guess you¡¯re right," Ekivia said with a smile, though it didn¡¯t touch her eyes. "I imagine you haven''t had much time to study him under the circumstances."


    ¡°Not in the way I expected to,¡± Nevets said. ¡°But, the circumstances have given me a lot of data on how he reacts to stress, social situations, and the need to think quickly on his feet. I¡¯ve seen him in a variety of emotional states and watched him keep up with all kinds of conversations that go beyond what a child would be able to do. I will want to do more of the mundane kind of assessments, but what I¡¯ve seen tells me that he thinks quickly, and is a creative problem solver. I have enough material for at least one or two convincing articles I think.¡±


    Pleasure flooded into Ekivia¡¯s eyes as he spoke, and by the time he finished she had a wide grin spread across her face. ¡°He¡¯s the real thing. I¡¯m certain of it.¡±


    ¡°I believe he is,¡± Nevets said. He¡¯d had some doubts when this all started, but they were all but gone now. ¡°Though he is acting strange. What happened?¡±


    Ekivia looked toward Mada, and the pleasure drained a little from her face and eyes. He was still staring out the balcony door into the night blanketed city. ¡°He killed a diordna. Once things settled down he became¡­ distant like that. Even as he told me about what you two have experienced he seemed distracted.¡±


    Nevets nodded. ¡°This could be good. It shows compassion.¡±


    Ekivia¡¯s smile broadened, and he allowed himself to smile with her. It felt strange to feel genuine pleasure in the midst of the chaos, but he was grateful to have a reason to smile.


    However, it wasn¡¯t as simple as Mada showing compassion. Nevets¡¯s mind turning the situation over and over. This did possibly show that Mada felt compassion for diordna, which would go a long way toward building sympathy among the population, and Nevets believed that was the likely truth. Still, he would need to watch how Mada processed the death to be sure, not for himself but for others who might question; he just needed to be sure he had enough to show the doubters.


    Ekivia leaned in and carefully put her around Nevets so she wouldn¡¯t hurt him. ¡°Thank you,¡± She said quietly.


    Nevets leaned into the hug gently, and he felt as though the plain in his body subsided a little at her touch.


    **********


    Nagemai watched Ekivia and Nevets as they spoke, noting the comfort they shared between them, the ease and openness that she hadn¡¯t felt with another diordna in¡­ several generations. It was a good reminder that the world wasn¡¯t entirely broken. More than just that, she thought that if Ekivia could face this world with her secret with Nevets help, then maybe Nagemai could share hers with a close friend too.


    As if on cue with her thoughts, Treblig returned bearing the maps she¡¯d requested. His return interrupted the gentle scene of the two friends leaning on each other. They looked like they really needed to rest, but Nagemai needed them to be a part of the coming conversation, not least because she felt they could contribute greatly. But that wasn¡¯t the real reason she wanted them to stay.


    She needed to know if she could trust them enough to tell them the whole truth.


    Treblig arraigned the maps on the table where Ekivia and Nevets sat. They stirred as she approached, moving as if to stand.


    ¡°Let me help you move your chairs,¡± Nagemai said, and together with Ekivia they helped Nevets stand.


    ¡°We¡¯ll just get out of your way,¡± Ekivia said.


    ¡°No,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I want you to hear some of what I have to tell my captains. You need to know the situation we¡¯re in and I need my captains to see you.¡±


    Ekivia nodded uncomfortably, and they moved to the side of the room, settling back into their chairs as the captains began to arrive.


    Nagemai returned to the table and hunched over the maps. They were stacked in order of importance, with the continent map at the bottom, neighboring regions in the middle, and the local map on top. She¡¯d studied them so often that she didn¡¯t actually need to look at them, but she wanted to double check one.


    The captains around her conversed quietly, and she listened with half an ear as they questioned each other about their guests. Many of them had heard of Mada and the others, but not actually had a chance to see them.


    Nagemai flipped through the corners of the maps to find one in particular, then pulled it out, placing it on top. Using the marks along the edges marking longitude and latitude she traced her fingers to the place indicated by the marks on Mada¡¯s arm.


    It was almost exactly where she thought it would be.


    In the Mahkram region, possibly the most fertile region on the entire continent when it came to growing metal pods, there was a large field of boulders that stuck out of the ground like bubbles on water. It always reminded her of a forest, only instead of trees there were rocks. Nagemai had spent a surprising amount of time in that region back before she became the Egeil. Priests would bring the corpses of dead diordna from all three nations to a pit on the far side of the field of boulders. That pit was always full nearly to the top, but somehow never spilled over.


    She¡¯d never learned what really went on there or why that was where they brought the corpses, but maybe, with Mada¡¯s help, they would finally get some answers.


    Once she confirmed that, she began looking over the other maps, and as she did so she became discouraged. Not because she didn¡¯t think they¡¯d make it out, but because she didn¡¯t think she could afford to stop at the field of boulders to investigate. It was too far north and would force them to cut across more dangerous areas on their retreat. She didn¡¯t like it, but she was going to have to send the others without her. She¡¯d leave a messenger bird with them so they could tell her what they found. And besides, they might need her to translate more of the old language if they came across it.


    When she looked up from her maps most of the captains had arrived, and their presence seemed to be making Mada uncomfortable, which was better than the distracted state he¡¯d been in earlier. She¡¯d need to talk to him again when they got a chance, try and help him if she could. She knew all too well what he was going through, though despite her efforts to continue to feel, at some point anything can become normal, commonplace, unimpactful.


    The last of her captains arrived, and Treblig took his place by the door.


    Nagemai clapped her hands once to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Let¡¯s get started.¡±


    The room fell silent as everyone turned toward her and formed a circle around the table. There were ten captains total, one for roughly every thousand of her soldiers. That balance would no longer be exact after their losses here today, but it was still close. The city police force hadn¡¯t had a chance to put up much defense until shortly before they stopped their push into the city, so most of their casualties came just before dusk, with a few others here and there throughout the day.


    ¡°You¡¯ve all done very well up to this point,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°We have done something that I¡¯ve never seen done before.¡±


    The captains thumped their fists against their chests, celebrating the praise.


    ¡°However,¡± Nagemai continued. ¡°The hardest part is ahead of us, not behind us.¡±


    ¡°Fighting on both sides,¡± Captain Nivek said.


    As far as most of the captains knew, he was just the captain of a group of reinforcements they¡¯d picked up on the way here. That was true, but he was also not Redaeli. He was Egeilen, though his skin wasn¡¯t aluminum. He had a paler copper skin. Most modern Egeilen had copper or iron skin now, though there were a few that had aluminum skin. When the Egeilen nation fell those who survived were incorporated into the other nations. Between breeding and eating a copper or iron rich diet their skin had changed to match that of the other nations. Only a few families remained with pure aluminum skin, hidden in the final Egeilen city.


    ¡°We can handle it,¡± Nivek continued.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you can,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°But that¡¯s not what we¡¯re going to do. The next part, the hard part, is going to be escaping without losing half our army.¡±


    More than one captain looked confused, and several of them put their hands forward, palm down in a request to speak.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Nivek said, confused. Nagemai smiled. He was playing a role for her, a role they¡¯d discussed a week ago when Nivek arrived with his reinforcements. ¡°Our orders¡­¡±


    ¡°Were to die here,¡± Nagemai said coldly. ¡°And even though the orders didn¡¯t say that directly you are all smart enough to know that that was the most likely end to this mission.¡±


    ¡°Still,¡± Keminna said, red showing in her eyes. ¡°Running now isn¡¯t the Redael¡¯s order. We can¡¯t just go home before we finish what we were sent here to do.¡±


    ¡°You want to die here?¡± Nagemai asked, matching Keminna¡¯s angry tone. ¡°I have done all that I needed to do here. And I will not subject myself or the rest of this army to death no matter what the Redael says.¡±


    ¡°If we were just going to run as soon as we got here and disobey our orders why didn¡¯t you just refuse from the beginning?¡± Keminna asked.


    Nagemai met Keminna¡¯s gaze in an intense look. ¡°Do you really want the answer to that question?¡±


    The intensity in Nagemia¡¯s voice made Kimenna pause momentarily, but then she nodded.


    ¡°Then listen well,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°The Redael has betrayed me more often than she hasn¡¯t, and today she has betrayed all of you and our entire army. I have not fallen to her past betrayals and I will not fall to this one, nor will I drag anyone else into it with me.¡±


    The captains looked shocked that she would speak so frankly about the treachery of their ruler. Kimenna looked especially afraid of what Nagemai had just said. Nagemai knew that feeling. When she first learned the truth of their rulers she¡¯d felt similarly. Everything she thought she knew crumbled beneath her and she wanted to scramble to hold it all together. She didn¡¯t want to believe, but she wasn¡¯t given a choice. The difference here was that these captains had a choice. Believing her would mean the collapse of a different part of themselves, but disbelieving would mean the collapse of another. She¡¯d worked hard to build their trust in her, and that could all crumble here.


    ¡°Now, let me illustrate more clearly what I mean,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°If you want to live then we need to discuss our escape. The groundwork for this has already been laid. The corridors we¡¯ve been preparing at each stage of the attack were all set up to give us an efficient and quick escape route.¡±


    With that Nagemai hunched over the table and prepared to begin outlining her plan.


    Kimenna cleared her throat and put her hand forward, drawing Nagemai¡¯s attention. She didn¡¯t like that the captain was taking so much time in the conversation, but she also put her in that position because Nagemai knew she would voice the things others might be too afraid to voice, and that gave Nagemai more opportunities to build trust with them, either by admitting when she was wrong or by revealing the truth when other generals wouldn¡¯t.


    Nagemai nodded for Kimenna to speak.


    ¡°Do you think we should be discussing this with the iron skins here?¡± Kimenna asked.


    Nagemai smiled slightly. She¡¯d been hoping someone would bring that up. She turned toward the scientists and Mada. ¡°That¡¯s a wonderful question. Why should we trust you?¡±


    They all three looked at her with their mouths open in confusion. Nagemai could see the question in their expression. Only a few minutes ago she had asked them to stay, and now she was doubting them? But they were smart. They¡¯d say the right thing.


    ¡°Mada?¡± Nagemai finally said, as it appeared the other two weren¡¯t going to speak. ¡°Care to give us an answer?¡±


    The na looked at her briefly, then he took a deep breath before speaking, voice trembling slightly.


    ¡°If I stay and am taken by drolite authorities I will likely be killed,¡± He began. ¡°Ekivia considers herself to be my mother, and I agree with her. She will not sacrifice me to them by returning. Nevets has joined us in this endeavor and has made himself a criminal.¡± Mada¡¯s voice grew more confident as he continued speaking, and Nagemai smiled a little as she watched it happen. ¡°They would at least be imprisoned if they returned, if not dressed in white and sent to be killed. Nagemai and this army are our best option for survival. As long as that remains true you have nothing to fear from us.¡±


    "That''s good enough for me," Nagemai said.


    ¡°You believe what it said?¡± Kimenna said. ¡°It could be a spy, designed to infiltrate us and manipulate your curiosity. It¡­¡±


    Ekivia stepped forward suddenly. ¡°He is a diordna!¡± She shouted at the captain.


    Instantly Kimenna had her knife out.


    ¡°Hold!¡± Nagemai shouted. Kimenna looked to her, then put the knife away though her eyes remained angry. ¡°He is not an it, and I expect you to respect that. Understood?¡±


    She didn¡¯t just look at Kimenna, she glanced around at the other captains to be certain they all knew she wasn¡¯t just speaking to Kimenna. Most of them had been too busy with their own commands to spend much time with Mada, but they should have at least heard her command that he be treated as an equal.


    Slowly they all nodded, and Kimenna didn''t argue further, although she kept a close eye on the three of outsiders as Ekivia returned to her seat. That was probably a good thing, again demonstrating to Nagemai why she chose the nawo in the first place. She accepted Nagemai¡¯s authority while remaining curious and cautious when necessary.


    ¡°Now,¡± Nagemai began again. ¡°With that all taken care of, let¡¯s talk maps. You¡¯ve all seen the battle map before, but I want to point a few things out for you.¡±


    She pointed to the estimated number of soldiers behind them, and the estimated number of officers ahead of them. Then she indicated the estimated number of enemy combatants encountered in the first half of the city. As she did this she watched her captains. Slowly, realization dawned on them.


    ¡°They knew we were coming,¡± Kimenna whispered. ¡°How did they know we were coming?¡±


    Nagemai met her eyes and spoke almost as quietly as Kimenna. ¡°They knew because we were sent here to die.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Kimenna said, expression increasingly disturbed. ¡°The Redael¡­ We¡­ This attack was all about surprise. How could they¡­?¡± Her eyes drifted to the map, then widened. ¡°You knew they would be ready for us.¡±


    Nagemai nodded solemnly.


    ¡°How?¡± Kimenna asked.


    One of Nagemai¡¯s older captains chuckled a little, and Nagemai allowed herself a smile.


    ¡°Does one of you want to answer that question for Kimenna?¡± Nagemai said.


    Immediately one of the other captains put their hand forward, and Nagemai nodded to her.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how,¡± She said, doing a comically gruff imitation of Nagemai¡¯s voice. ¡°It just matters that we¡¯re prepared.¡±


    "Except for the problem in your throat I couldn''t have said it better myself. See a machinologist after this.¡± Kimenna shook her head in disbelief as the other captains laughed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I know the Redael better than I should,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°Now, I haven¡¯t explicitly discussed my plans for escape, but as I said earlier, the corridor¡¯s we¡¯ve prepared through the city make more sense I¡¯m sure. But that¡¯s just a base line. We have the layout, now I need your help to be sure we use it to its full potential. We will be retreating north, across this river, then work our way eastward through this region. We¡¯ll stop once we cross the river to reassess and make adjustments. What will it take to get us that far? Mada?¡±


    Again, Mada looked surprised to be called upon for his opinion, but his response came faster this time. ¡°The main obstacles to escape are obviously enemy soldiers and debris. If we can deal with both simultaneously then that should make our retreat easier.¡±


    ¡°Very true,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°We already have soldiers working on that, clearing debris and using it as barricades in front and behind our current position. How much can your soldiers get done in the next hour?¡±


    The captains all reported on the progress of their crews, giving percentage estimates on how clear the corridor would be in an hour. Overall it didn¡¯t seem too bad with most of the captains reporting that it would be between fifty and seventy-five percent cleared.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Nagemai said once they were done. ¡°If your crews reach sixty percent cleared have them help the ones around them. I know I said an hour before, but if we can be ready in half that we should try. Keep me updated, but only with runners. I only want birds traveling from me and Treblig. Any questions?¡±


    The captains all shook their heads.


    ¡°Get to it then.¡±


    **********


    Iakedrom entered the Officer''s House at the far west of the city almost an hour after they lost Ekivia. His eyes were deep red, covering the entire room in a bloody haze. He tried to walk normally, but he stepped harder and faster than normal, drawing the attention of officers around the room. Everyone was busy either speaking with another officer, relaying messages from commanders, or speaking on a calling bird.


    Reinforcements were already arriving to drive the Verd invasion out. How they had come so quickly Iakedrom didn¡¯t know, but their late arrival only added to his anger. If they¡¯d just been here before he might not have lost his prisoner. He glared at the room, angry at everyone he saw.


    He needed to be alone. He needed to calm down.


    He turned toward the side of the room with interrogation rooms, glaring at Fosia as she began to follow him. He ripped the door open with enough force that he nearly ripped the trigger branch and handle off, then he slammed it with a loud thump. It nearly bounced open, but the seal vines just caught the doorframe and pulled the door back into place, though he was sure he¡¯d damaged the hinge vines with his violence.


    ¡°Damn it,¡± He growled as he began pacing the room.


    He couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d let himself be so thoroughly tricked by Ekivia. The whole trip here he¡¯d been stewing it over and over in his mind, sifting through every conversation, every lie, every moment he should have caught her. It wasn¡¯t just that he¡¯d wanted to believe her, that he wanted to trust her. That was true, but even with those he trusted he usually had an instinct for when they ere hiding or twisting the truth.


    Not this time.


    He knew she¡¯d been hiding things, that was obvious. In a way she¡¯d been honest about hiding things actually. But the things she confirmed and denied, he should have seen the holes in them. Even now he struggled to believe it. No one had ever so thoroughly misled him. He prided himself on that.


    ¡°Damn it,¡± He repeated. ¡°Damn it!


    He punched the interrogation table, cracking the corner and drawing oil from his knuckles. The pain only made him angrier, and he started punching the table over and over in his frustration. The corner snapped off and clattered to the floor and Iakedrom fell still, breathing heavily, the red in his eyes slowly dissipating. He didn¡¯t know why but5 sometimes the only thing that could get the anger out was its physical expression.


    "Sir," Fosia said from the door. ¡°Feeling better?¡±


    Iakedrom looked up at her and shrugged. ¡°A little. How long were you standing there?¡±


    ¡°I came in while you were killing the table,¡± Fosia said. ¡°Good job with that by the way. I don¡¯t think it will ever cross you again.¡±


    ¡°No I don¡¯t suppose it will,¡± Iakedrom said, smiling a little as he calmed and began picking up her humor. It always amazed him that she could find humor at times like this.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s good,¡± Fosia continued. She reached up and took the calling bird from her shoulder and held it toward Iakedrom. ¡°You can report it to the Drol. Some good news will help soften the bad news.¡±


    Iakedrom finally laughed as she held the bird out toward her. The commitment to the joke was fantastic. Just enough to break him out of the angry fog he¡¯d been in.


    She smiled with him, but she didn¡¯t put the bird back on her shoulder. Instead she lifted it slightly as though to say ¡°take it.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Seriously?¡±


    Fosia nodded. ¡°Yup. One of the officers mentioned Nailil. Apparently the Drol got impatient waiting for her report. I told them that Nailil died in the attack and he asked to speak to you.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s a good thing,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I do need to report. Has the Drol been listening to this whole conversation?¡±


    Fosia laughed. ¡°Ha, I wish. Don¡¯t worry, I crossed the birds toes before I came in. He didn¡¯t even get to hear you cursing, which is a real shame.¡±


    Iakedrom took the bird and held it perched on his finger.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get you a wrap for your hand,¡± Fosia said. ¡°Your knuckles are going to be really stiff with the pummeling you just gave them. But maybe the hard bruising will help you if you need to punch any more tables.¡±


    Iakedrom sighed and shooed her as she left, then he brought the bird up so he could meet its eyes and uncrossed the birds feet.


    ¡°Drol Maharba,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to make you wait.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you could finally make time for me,¡± Maharba said, and even through the bird his scorn was obvious. ¡°Are you alone?¡±


    ¡°Yes my Drol,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I should not have made you wait.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been doing a lot of that,¡± Maharba said. ¡°Nailil told me you kept delaying the investigation.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to do so,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I was simply doing what I felt was the most effective in this particular case.¡±


    ¡°And did it work?¡± Maharba asked. ¡°Did you get the information we needed?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure my methods were the reason.¡±


    ¡°Either way,¡± Maharba said. ¡°I suppose the fact that you got it at all under these¡­ stressful circumstances validates the trust I put in you all those years ago when I asked my priests to assign you to keep an eye on Ekivia.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t realize you¡¯d done that,¡± Iakedrom said.


    ¡°Yes, well I don¡¯t really advertise when I do those kinds of things,¡± Maharba said. ¡°Now tell me, was the wait worth it? What did you learn?¡±


    Iakedrom took another deep breath before speaking. This wasn¡¯t going to just be a report, there were things Iakedrom needed to learn from Maharba as well. Like weather or not he really knew the attack was coming as Iakedrom had discussed with Fosia, and how Nailil could have known about it.


    ¡±First off I believe Ekivia was working with the Verds,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°And that she may have fed them some information to help them with this recent attack. She may have passed some information to them, though I¡¯m not sure the method she would have used. However I believe there are others with more than just information that helped them as well.¡± Iakedrom paused to see if Maharba would take the bait.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Maharba asked, and Iakedrom thought he heard a note of scorn in the question.


    ¡°It seems to me that someone with great influence would have needed to help as well,¡± Iaekdrom said. ¡°Otherwise the army would never have gotten this deep into our territory undetected. I plan to continue to investigate¡­¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Maharba said, interrupting Iakedrom. ¡°I will do my own investigating.¡±


    Iakedrom let out a nervous breath. It couldn¡¯t be Maharba himself, right? Iakedrom¡¯s gutt suggested that was possible when it shouldn¡¯t be.


    No. Iakedrom forced himself to dismiss the thought, at least for now. ¡°Yes my Dorl. I did identify some of her collaborators, however. A scientist named Nevets Sirrah, and someone named Mada though I don¡¯t know much more about him than that one name. Ekivia expressed some¡­ motherly feelings toward the na, though I can¡¯t be sure those were genuine given the number of lies she told.¡±


    ¡°And how did we not catch these communications?¡± Maharba asked.


    ¡°I have a theory, though I haven¡¯t figured out the entirety of how it worked,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°We were interrogating the Craftsman at the same time, and it appears that she is Esile.¡±


    ¡°The scientist?¡± Maharba asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Iakedrom said.


    ¡°Not possible.¡±


    ¡°I thought the same,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°But for now it¡¯s the best explanation we have for who she is.¡±


    The bird squawked a sigh. ¡°And what does this have to do with Ekivia?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a descendant of Esile,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°And in the course of both interrogations my prosthetic came in contact with portions of their skin. When that happened the skin animated and wrote a coded message on my arm, though we haven¡¯t been able to discover it¡¯s meaning. We think that this might have something to do with their method of keeping the messages secret, by encoding them into the body of diordna then passing them on to someone with a prosthetic. This theory is further supported by the fact that I saw what I believe to be Mada¡¯s arms, and they were marked in a similar way to my prosthetic. I think he may be a kind of mule, possibly a half skin who could allow himself to be imprisoned and then released by the traitors in power here, and the recipient of information in Verd territory.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite the elaborate scheme,¡± Maharba said. ¡°There have to be easier ways around detection.¡±


    ¡°I agree, but it¡¯s the only explanation we have that fits all the pieces together.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Maharba said. ¡°I¡¯ll want a copy of that message on your prosthetic. Is there anything more?¡±


    Iakedrom hesitated a moment before deciding to ask a risky question. ¡°My Drol, I have to ask. Did you know this attack was coming?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Maharba said. Too quickly.


    Iakedrom¡¯s chest tightened and his eyes paled.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done good work.¡± Maharba said. ¡°As always. I¡¯m glad you made it out alive.¡±


    ¡°Thank you my D-drol.¡± Iakedorm choked slightly on the title. Maharba had known.


    Iakedrom closed his eyes and took a calming breath.


    "Go get some rest," Maharba said. "And if you learn anything more about her experiments or the marks I want to know immediately."


    ¡°Of course my Drol,¡± Iakedrom said.


    ¡°And Iakedrom,¡± Maharba continued. ¡°If you manage to catch Ekivia or anyone working with her be sure they¡¯re sent to the front. I like the poetry of dressing her in white and having the Verds kill her after she betrayed us to them.¡±


    "Yes, my Drol."


    The bird relaxed on Iakedrom¡¯s finger as Maharba ended the call.


    The conversation had left Iakedrom disturbed and confused. He had more questions now than he¡¯d had before, but he had no way of getting answers from the Drol. That left Ekivia as his only source of information. Glancing down at his bandaged prosthetic he knew what he had to do. He already knew what Ekivia had done, and he suspected that the Drol¡¯s interest in her might have been more to hide the truth than to reveal it. Now that he knew all that there was one other important thing he needed to know.


    Why had they betrayed their own?

 Chapter 14: Retreat

    Chapter 14: Retreat


    ¡°Research Log, Year 4, Month 6, Day 5 (Day 1,625)


    ¡°Explaining death to Mada was difficult and took far longer than I wanted, but when he finally understood he started to cry. He said he understood why I didn¡¯t want him to leave the house without me, and that he was sorry. I told him it was a alright, and that he didn¡¯t need to feel bad about it. He said he wasn¡¯t crying about yesterday, he was crying because he thought that every time I left the house I might die too, and he didn¡¯t want me to.


    ¡°That¡¯s when I realized that he didn¡¯t understand the difference between us.¡±


    Nevets had made a mistake.


    One of the trainings every diordna experienced when learning to fight was meditation. The theory, supported by the words of Dytie, was that the body could be strengthened or prepared through a kind of cognitive manipulation. Nevets had never been very good at it, but he¡¯d seen how the mind could overcome the limitation of the body.


    His mistake was meditating too long.


    He¡¯d been so caught up in it that he hadn¡¯t started the journey downstairs until many of the soldiers had already left. Nevets had insisted that Ekivia and Mada go on ahead instead of waiting around for him. Now he regretted that. He tried to move quickly but wasn¡¯t really able to do so.


    The stab wound in his leg ached and oil was beginning to seep through the bandage. The shrapnel wounds along his side and arm burned with every movement, and he was certain they¡¯d pulled open as well with his efforts. He should have started much sooner, but he¡¯d been overconfident after climbing all those stairs yesterday without nearly as much pain. He realized now that was because of the support of Mada and Treblig.


    A couple soldiers squeezed past him on the stairs, careful not to push him, but also obviously in a hurry. Once they were past Nevets heard another set of steps coming down the stairs above him, so he stepped out of the stairwell and onto the fifth floor. He leaned against the wall, slumping a little and grunting in pain as he took weight off his wounded leg.


    A moment later Nagemai appeared in the stairwell.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± She asked.


    Nevets hadn¡¯t realized she¡¯d come back up. She must have come up a different stairwell.


    ¡°I will be,¡± Nevets said, though he wasn¡¯t actually sure.


    "I¡¯ve put your parrot with my mount so there¡¯s no need to worry about that,¡± The general said. ¡°And the stairs on the other side of the building should have less traffic.¡±


    "If you wish you may stay behind," Nagemai said. ¡°We can find a place to leave you once we¡¯re out of the city. I could give you one of the mounts we¡¯ve taken and you could ride back here to have your wounds treated.¡±


    "No," Nevets said, shaking his head. ¡°If Ekivia is going with you then so am I.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be moving at a difficult pace until we cross the river," Nagemai said. ¡°With your wounds that will be painful.¡±


    "I understand," Nevets said. ¡°But if I stay behind who will write a convincing paper about Mada¡¯s diordnality?¡±


    "So you believe he is?¡± Nagemai asked with an odd, almost pleading, tone. ¡°Diordna I mean. You believe he is one of us despite knowing how he was made?"


    "I do," Nevets said. ¡°And I¡¯d like to collect enough evidence to prove that to everyone else.¡±


    Nagemai nodded. "Do you think what you write will be enough?"


    Nevets laughed. ¡°Of course not, but it is an essential first step.¡±


    A pained smile wrinkled Nagemai¡¯s cheeks. ¡°I hope that should you need help in your endeavor I will be able to provide it.¡±


    Nevets blinked, suddenly feeling a sense of how surreal all of this was. He was having an almost casual conversation with the white general, an enemy to his kind and yet a protector of him and his friends.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Nevets said. ¡°For all you¡¯ve done for us. I don¡¯t think I could do half as much for an enemy.¡±


    Nagemai smiled one of her genuine, friendly smiles. ¡°Who says we¡¯re enemies?¡±


    ¡°Everyone,¡± Nevets said. ¡°Look out the window. You¡¯re at war with my kind.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we all diordna?¡± Nagemai asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t I as much drolian as I am redaeli?¡±


    ¡°You know what I mean,¡± Nevets said, a little frustrated at all the questions. She had a way of making him take a new perspective on his own thoughts. It was like she enjoyed creating cognitive dissonance in those around her.


    ¡°I wish I weren¡¯t at war with anyone,¡± Nagemai said, quietly thoughtful as more soldiers rushed down the stairs behind her.


    ¡°So we are enemies,¡± Nevets said, feeling a sense of victory that manifested in his eyes as pleasuresight.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you feel that way.¡±


    As quickly as the blue had entered his eyes it faded. ¡°It¡¯s not a feeling, it¡¯s a fact. We are at war. That makes us enemies.¡±


    ¡°I suppose it might,¡± Nagemai said, nodding. ¡°But I wish it didn¡¯t have to. I wish I had a way to stop all the fighting, a way to make it so no mother or father or child would have to die or kill. In all my years, and they are many, I¡¯ve never been able to figure a way out of the killing. That is my greatest failure. But You three give me hope. Mada gives me hope. He is something I thought I¡¯d never see, and seeing him gives me hope that I will see peace, something else I thought I¡¯d never see. Even if that doesn¡¯t happen, I hope you will be able to see me as a friend eventually.¡±


    ¡°I hope the same,¡± Nevets said, and a sense of relief washed over him as he did. He looked down in shame that he didn¡¯t yet trust her despite all she¡¯d done to prove her trustworthiness, and his eyes darkened with sorrow that matched hers.


    "You should probably keep moving,¡± Nagemai said. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him another smile, though a sadder one this time. ¡°When I get back downstairs I¡¯ll send Treblig and Ekivia up to help you."


    "Thank you," Nevets said and began his slow limp down the hall toward the opposite staircase.


    It took half as long to cross the building as it had to climb down one floor, and the pain throughout his body was also greatly reduced, but still present with each step. He used his uninjured arm to support himself against the wall as he walked, taking frequent short breaks to breathe and stop the pain even for a moment.


    During one of his breaks, he heard shouts from the floors below coming through an open window in a nearby room and up the stairwell. He strained to try and understand something of what they said, but he couldn¡¯t decipher anything in the dim noises that reached his ears. The only thing he could tell was that they were urgent. Taking a deep breath he heaved himself away from the wall and continued toward the stairs.


    He heard a THUNK from a room as he passed, but when he looked through the door he didn¡¯t see what could have made the noise. A moment later he heard another one. Then another, and another. It started to sound like hail pounding against the side of the building. Then as abruptly as it began, it stopped. When he passed the doorway to the last room before the stairs he looked in and saw what had made the noise.


    Arrows burned where they¡¯d thumped into the floor, and flames danced in the window that they¡¯d passed through as the outside of the building began to catch fire.


    ¡°Oh, Dytie,¡± Nevets cursed.


    He increased his limping speed, taking larger, more pained steps. The terrifying crackle and roar of flames burning live plants soon drown out the shouts coming from below. Then as he reached the stairs, leg bandage soaked through with oil, he heard something even more terrible.


    The distant, low thump of someone exploding in a nearby building.


    **********


    Ekivia took the stairs two at a time with Treblig by her side. They¡¯d only barely entered the building when the rain of fire came from across the debris and lit the entire side of the building, and every other building the Redaeli soldiers were using, almost instantly. Mada wanted to come help bring Nevets down, but Ekivia wouldn¡¯t have it. He¡¯d be safer with Nagemai, which was a strange thought considering who Nagemai was.


    She took Mada¡¯s water pouch to possibly help with the fires and ran into the building with Treblig.


    Nagemai had told them which stairwell he was going to use to come down and what floor he¡¯d started on. Ekivia had hoped he¡¯d be partway down already, but with each successive floor her eyes turned paler. Her breath came in great gulps the further upward they climbed but she refused to slow down. Finally, they found him just as he entered the stairwell. He¡¯d barely made it down the hall in the time it took them to climb six floors, and they had to get him all the way down the stairs.


    A relieved smile washed over Nevets¡¯s expression as he saw them coming up to meet him. He looked bad. His eyes swirled black and white with the fear and pain of his situation, and his bandages were dark with oil. Looking at him she knew that his pain would only increase if they were going to get him out of the building safely.


    ¡°Catch your breath a moment,¡± Treblig said, and he stooped beside Nevets.


    Ekivia leaned against the wall, chest heaving. ¡°We can¡¯t¡­ wait long.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Treblig said. ¡°But we have to do something about his leg at the very least.¡±


    Ekivia nodded and decided she could afford to sit momentarily while he worked.


    Treblig untied the bandage and unwound it partway, then rewrapped it tighter. Nevets flinched as Treblig tugged the two sides of the bandage in his hand and tied them off.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little tight,¡± Nevets said. ¡°It might be hard for me to use like that.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but you won¡¯t need to use it,¡± Treblig said. ¡°I¡¯ll be your leg on that side and you can put as much weight on me as you need. We¡¯ll get you out of here.¡±


    Nevets nodded and Ekivia stood, breath still not fully caught. Treblig tucked himself under Nevets arm on the side with all the wounds and Nevets flinched with the contact. But there was nothing for it. They¡¯d have to hurt him to get him down fast enough. Better alive and in pain than dead and painless.


    Treblig and Ekivia were both quite a bit taller than Nevets, so he had to reach up to support himself on them, wrapping his elbow around the back of their necks while they reached around his back with one arm and grabbed his hand with the other.


    Ekivia tucked herself under his other arm, took a deep breath, and they started down the stairs.


    They moved as quickly as they could, though not quickly enough for Ekivia¡¯s liking. Linked as they were the turns in the stairwell were difficult and slow, but they tried to make up time when they were on the straight stairs. With each step, Nevets groaned or grunted in pain from the not-so-slight bounce. She wanted to slow down even a little for his sake, but with each step downward the low growl of flames grew louder and Ekivia thought it was getting warmer already too.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Two floors down, smoke began rising through the stairwell to meet them. It came slowly at first, but before they could reach the third floor down Ekivia was coughing and struggling to breathe from the smoke as well as the exertion.


    ¡°Step out here,¡± Treblig shouted between coughs, and Ekivia gratefully turned with him out of the stairwell.


    The hallway was still smokey, but much less than the stairwell. Ekivia and Treblig ducked out from under Nevets¡¯s arms and the three of them leaned against the wall facing away from the stairs so they weren¡¯t breathing the smoke directly.


    An explosion rumbled from somewhere nearby, making Ekivia more nervous than she already was. It wasn¡¯t just direct fire that would cause a diordna to explode. If their temperature rose too much they could too, though it had to get very hot for that to happen.


    Ekivia looked back at the stairs, dreading going back into the smoke. The smoke was lit from below by an orange light.


    ¡°Should we try a different staircase?¡± Ekivia asked, almost shouting over the sound of the fire.


    Treblig shook his head as he ducked back under Nevets¡¯s arm. ¡°No time. We have to his it here.¡±


    Ekivia started tucking herself under Nevets¡¯s other arm, but he pulled his arm away.


    ¡°You get out of here,¡± Nevets said. ¡°I¡¯ll¡ª¡°


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Ekivia shouted at him, grabbing his arm forcefully and putting it around her neck. ¡°I am not leaving you behind.¡±


    Nevets didn¡¯t resist further, but when Ekivia tried to start walking Treblig stopped them.


    ¡°Give me the water,¡± he said, ducking from under Nevets¡¯s arm and removing his green military coat.


    Ekivia had forgotten they had water, but she quickly untied the string at her waist and handed the pouch to Treblig. He took only a moment to dump the contents on Nevets¡¯s bandages, then he draped the coat over Nevets and Ekivia, and tucked himself back under Nevets¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Hopefully that keeps the flames from his wounds,¡± Trebig said. ¡°When we get to the fire we¡¯ll have to carry him.¡±


    Ekivia nodded her understanding, and they re-entered the stairwell. She and Treblig covered their mouth and nose with their free arm sleeve, but Nevets was unable to do so and began coughing almost immediately.


    They made it to the first turn when they heard a crash below them and the stairs shook and shifted beneath them.


    ¡°Go back, go back!¡± Treblig shouted and they clumsily turned around Nevets in the stairwell.


    Ekivia and Treblig stooped and tucked themselves under Nevets¡¯s armpits then stood up, lifting him off his feet. Nevets shouted in pain and then began coughing violently, but Ekivia couldn¡¯t spare a thought for his pain right now.


    As they reached the landing Ekivia felt several of the floor branches crunch under her heels. Looking back she saw the flames climbing the stairs behind them, far faster than she¡¯d anticipated before. It was weakening the landing beneath their feet. They had to get away from the stairs before¡­


    Nevets jolted with a grunt as he stepped down on the landing and it cracked beneath his foot. Ekivia felt him try to catch himself with his bad leg, but as he tried to put weight on it his foot punched through the landing. Smoke gushed from the hole as he sank up to his knee, his arm around Ekivia¡¯s neck pulling her down violently. She coughed violently, pulling her head out from under Nevets¡¯s arm to get her face out of the smoke.


    He sunk deeper without her support.


    She grabbed his arm, still coughing. Treblig pulled from the other side, trying to keep him from sinking further while Ekivia got a good grip. Nevets gripped her hand with more strength than she expected, and she grabbed his arm with her other hand and heaved upward. The landing cracked beneath her feet under the pressure, and she immediately let go of Nevets arm to avoid forcing herself down onto the floor with him. But she was too slow.


    The floor branches completely gave way beneath her and she plummeted into the smoke and flames beneath.


    **********


    Treblig watched in horror as Ekivia vanished into the smoke and flames beneath them.


    ¡°KIV!¡± Nevets shouted, reaching to catch her far too slowly. She was already gone.


    Treblig pulled, and Nevets came free. Ekivia¡¯s actions had weakened the landing, allowing his leg to pull free easily. Treblig helped the scientist stumble to his feet.


    ¡°We have to get down to her,¡± Nevets said.


    Treblig nodded. They¡¯d have to get down, period. Once they managed that it would be a miracle if they could get to her before she exploded. ¡°We climb down the outside of the building.¡±


    Nevets¡¯s eyes paled, but he nodded agreement and followed Treblig to the nearest apartment along the outside edge of the building. Several arrows burned where they¡¯d landed in the kitchen after coming through the open window earlier, but luckily the floors were plastered and painted here, so the wood beneath wasn¡¯t directly exposed. The apartment was the same layout as the ones above, with two bedrooms to one side, and a combination kitchen, dining, and living room that they¡¯d entered into.


    Treblig went directly to the balcony door and tugged the trigger and the vines loosened around the frame, allowing it to swing open. The door and balcony bristled with still burning arrows, their smoke rising to obscure their vision of the outside. Treblig rushed to one of the bedrooms and retrieved a blanket. It was thin, as it was summer and the region was never very cool, but it would have to do. Threw it over the flaming arrows on the balcony and stomped the fire out.


    ¡°The vines on the outside of the building will be weak,¡± Treblig siad. ¡°If you fall try and grab one below, but most importantly, keep your feet beneath you. It¡¯s better to break a leg than to fall on your back and break it instead.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Nevets said, eyes still pale.


    Treblig¡¯s own eyes were a little pale as well, though he wasn¡¯t as worried about himself as about Nevets. Treblig would be fine climbing down the outside of a building, but the scientist was struggling to stand. Still, they didn¡¯t have many other options at the moment.


    ¡°Try and follow my lead,¡± Treblig said. ¡°Though not directly. We don¡¯t want both of our weights on the same vines. I¡¯ll shout if I notice any particularly weakened holds, but other than that just try to be quick. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    With that Treblig climbed over the side railing of the balcony and grabbed the now charred vines. They were bald, their leaves having been burned off. Above them the flames still burned, dropping ashen bits of plant down on them as they climbed downward, but the fires on the outside of the buildings bottom few floors were mostly out, and Treblig saw several crews throwing water around the still burning sections.


    He looked to the side, hopeful that they were working on the area where Ekvia had fallen, but it didn¡¯t look like they were. The fires were particularly violent and hot in that corner, a mere thirty or forty feet from where they were climbing down. The army didn¡¯t have enough water to spare for a section like that, where their efforts would be met with failure. So they focused on the sections they could save in the hopes that they could keep the building from collapsing on top of the army long enough for them to escape.


    Treblig reached the second floor and climbed onto the balcony so he would have better footing to try and help Nevets climb down. The na was doing surprisingly well, though now that he was watching Treblig saw Nevets nearly fall several times in his haste.


    Treblig reached up toward the na as he drew closer. ¡°Careful, I got you. Just keep coming the way you are and you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Nevets didn¡¯t look down, but Treblig saw him nod in acknowledgement.


    Treblig touched his leg, not putting any pressure or grabbing, just petting Nevets know he was there as support if needed. The na¡¯s entire body was shaking, either with nerves or exertion Treblig couldn¡¯t tell. Nevets shifted, trembling hand seeking a new handhold. He grabbed a vine, then moved the foot Treblig was prepared to support, then the opposite hand.


    And the branching vine Nevets had his foot pressed into broke.


    His lower half dropped, but he held tightly with his hand, body bouncing slightly as it thumped against the side of the building.


    Treblig pressed his hand into Nevets¡¯s back to support him and be ready to catch him if his hands lose their hold. ¡°Hang on, I got you.¡±


    Almost before the words left his mouth the vines in Nevets¡¯s hands broke. Immediately Trebligs hand closed on Nevets¡¯s shirt and his other hand shot out, grabbing the front of the shirt. The weight of the scientist nearly pulled Treblig over the twisted vine balcony railing, but he bent his knees, lowering his center of gravity and catching his waist on the top of the railing.


    Nevets dangled helplessly below, Treblig¡¯s grip forcing his arms into an awkward upward position as the shirt began slowly sliding off his body.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to let go with one hand so I can get you closer to the ground,¡± Treblig called down to Nevets.


    The na looked up at him, eyes still pale, but he nodded and Treblig saw in his expression something other than terror. Determination. Perhaps this na wasn¡¯t so mild as he usually seemed.


    ¡°Just make sure you land on your feet,¡± Treblig said.


    Then he released the front of Nevets¡¯s shirt and grabbed the railing with his now free hand. Slowly, carefully, he lifted one leg over the railing and stepped on the balcony lip, then he did the same with the other. Then taking a deep breath he began lowering Nevets, transferring the na¡¯s weight entirely to his arms. The strain tugged at his joints and chest, and he grunted with the effort. If he lowered Nevets too quickly the shirt could tear and he¡¯d fall, so he endured the stretching pain until he was reaching as far downward as he could, and he let go.


    **********


    Nevets fell six feet to the street below, his legs buckling beneath him as he hit the ground. He grunted in pain, but immediately pushed himself back to his feet. He had to get to Kiv. She could be hurt, unable to escape the fire on her own.


    He ran. Despite the pain, despite the stiffness, despite the severe limp, he ran. Treblig called after him, but he ignored the shouts. Smoke poured from the side of the building where part of the wall had collapsed from the fire, and Nevets hesitated only a moment before he all but leaped through the opening.


    Smoke immediately assaulted his senses and he stumbled backward a little, not managing to get more than a foot inside at first. The pale smoky fear in his eyes and grey smoke in front of him and left him nearly blind, but between billows of smoke and flame, he saw her. She was crouched in the corner of the stairway furthest from the hole in the wall, back to the hottest of the flames, her shirt just starting to catch fire. It was the safest place in the stairwell, the collapsing landing from above having smothered some of the flames temporarily. But it wouldn¡¯t stay safe for long. She seemed to be tying something on her arm, using her teeth and one hand to pull it tight. the collapsing landing above having smothered the fire directly beneath her.


    The central support of the stairs, a foot thick wall of bamboo bisecting the stairwell from which stair branches reached out and intertwined with others that grew from the outer walls of the well, was charred and frail at the bottom, and it looked ready to collapse at any moment. When the bottom gave out the entire thing would collapse under its own weight, as the stairs above were probably weakened enough that they wouldn¡¯t be able to hold it up. Nevets pushed forward, stepping carefully to avoid debris as branches from the stairs rained down from above. Despite his best efforts, he was struck several times by the debris but refused to let that stop him.


    Then the bottom of the stairwell core finally gave out.


    The entire thing dropped three feet with a loud crunch, sending even more debris tumbling down from above as the stairs were torn in half by the sudden shift. Again Nevets found himself stumbling back, further away from Ekivia. A flash of heat washed over him, and his entire body prickled with burns. It was dangerously hot in here, and his entire body hurt in a new way. He¡¯d only ever heard of people getting burned like this, never experienced it himself. But he didn¡¯t have time to worry about that now, he¡­


    The core slumped and twisted, blocking his path to her, so he turned to go around it.


    He was grateful that she¡¯d found a relatively safe place to stand for the time being, but the flames weren¡¯t the only danger. Sure the most obvious danger was their clothes or bandages catching fire and then their wounds igniting, but there was another danger. They would also explode if their internal body temperature got too high. They had to get out safely before that could happen.


    Thankfully, as he pushed forward, limbs feeling stiff around the joints, the pain from the burns began to subside. He knew what was happening. The skin was hardening and dying from the heat, burned to numbness, becoming inflexible and tightening around his limbs as it happened. He knew this was something he could never fully recover from, but he didn¡¯t care at the moment. He cared about one thing.


    And they didn¡¯t have much time if they were going to get out alive.


    Nevets moved to the center of the stairwell where the core had stood moments before.


    ¡°Ekivia!¡± He shouted over the roaring of the flames.


    She turned from her corner, eyes black and white with pain and fear, the back of her shirt now being consumed by flames. She saw him, their eyes meeting only briefly before her glance shot down to his wounded leg. He knew what he would see, but looked anyway.


    His bandages burned, the oil that had soaked through was far too volatile to be in this environment. He hadn¡¯t even felt it because the heat had burned the senses from his skin. He should have thought about that before coming in here. He¡¯d endangered them both by coming to get her, he¡­


    He looked up, expecting Ekivia to be tucking herself deeper into her corner for protection from the explosion they both knew was coming. But she wasn¡¯t.


    She was trying to climb over debris through the flames to reach him. They met each other¡¯s eyes for what he was certain would be the last time.


    Then his leg exploded.


    The force of the explosion threw him from the building, spinning him end over end even after he hit the ground. He bounced several times then skidded through the dirt of the street before coming to a stop.


    He blinked, trying to clear his spinning vision. He turned his head, screaming in pain as he did, but he had to see. When he finally found the building he saw a silhouette stand up in the smoke. Ekivia had been blown against the wall by the explosion, but she¡¯d survived. She¡¯d¡­


    The entire corner collapsed on top of her as he watched.


    His screams ripped and tore at his throat as he tried to pull himself toward the building, pushing with the only leg he had. The movements caused his skin to crack around his joints where it had hardened. But she could still be alive under the rubble. She had to be.


    Soldiers rushed forward around him with buckets of water, throwing them on the pile. They could still save her. They¡­


    The pile exploded.


    Nevets scream turned from one of pain to one of sorrow, his eyes turning a deep black and overflowing with sorrow-sight tears. He shouted Ekivia¡¯s name as the sobs came, and his voice cracked as though something in his throat had broken. He tasted oil in his mouth and the deep sobbing breath that followed hurt.


    A figure approached him, but he couldn¡¯t tell who through the darkness of his sorrow. They held a large water-soaked saddle blanket and tossed it over him. A loud hiss filled Nevets ears as the soaked blanket settled on him. He could feel his skin twisting and warping where the blanket made contact, and he tried to scream in pain once more but no sound escaped his throat.


    The pain jolted through him for only a moment, and then finally he fell unconscious.

 Midlogue: Sesom

    Midlogue: Sesom


    Fifteen hundred years ago.


    Egeil Sesom followed the stone tunnel beneath a lake, bioluminescent vines lighting his path and water dripping ominously from the ceiling in several places along the long path. But it wasn¡¯t the water that worried him, it was the council that awaited at the end of the tunnel.


    The Council of the Ancients. The six of them were the only ones who remembered what the world should have been like. The only ones who had been there almost 6,000 years ago. The only ones who remembered humanity.


    And today Sesom would suggest they bring them back.


    He reached the end of the tunnel and pushed the heavy metal door open, and entered the Library of Life. It wasn¡¯t a traditional library with book-laden shelves running around it. Instead, the shelves held endless cubbies with vials of fluid in them, storing not only the DNA of every creature ever to live on this world as far back as any of the Ancients remembered but the mind of Ardnax, one of the more unfortunate of their group. Instead of moving freely above ground, interacting and ruling the diordna nations, three of their friends had sacrificed themselves to become the minds of the vaults.


    They¡¯d all sacrificed part of themselves to become who they were now. Their bodies, their old lives, though truth be told there wasn¡¯t much left to hold onto by the end. Sesom could barely remember what it felt like to be human anymore and wondered if the others felt the same. It almost felt as though his body had always been aluminum skinned, pale silver, untarnished by white oxidation, the clearness of his skin setting him apart from the rest of his nation, the aluminum Egeilen diordna. He¡¯d been a woman back then, but when entering his new body decided to make a complete change. He would not be the same person anymore and decided to keep as little of his past self as possible. He would be born completely and utterly anew.


    Near the entrance was a waist-high console with a triangular black glass top that could project images and texts from the library, and at the console sat Maharba and Selraef, the other two rulers of the world. Only four Ancients could meet at once since there were always two trapped in their vaults underground, their minds managing machines that kept the world alive. Ardnax would transmit the conversation to the other vaults through underground transmission lines connecting them, then share the votes of the absent two with the group, though they couldn¡¯t do the same with the rulers. Not without an antenna above ground.


    ¡°Look who¡¯s here,¡± Ardnax¡¯s voice said. It seemed to come from everywhere at once, though somehow it wasn¡¯t loud or harsh. It was as if he were speaking right beside you in a normal voice, but from every side of you at once.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time you got here,¡± Drol Maharba said. He was the shortest of them, though when it came to the Ancients that didn¡¯t mean much. Compared to the entire robot population of the world they were all very tall. His skin was iron grey, like those of his nation, though it bore none of the rust color that marbled the rest of the population. Unlike the rest of the diordna, the ancients didn¡¯t decay. If they did it would cause all sorts of problems, and if the population didn¡¯t that would also cause problems.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get started so we can get back,¡± Maharba continued. ¡°Selraef and I have a big battle coming up, and we should be available to make sure everything goes smoothly.¡±


    Sesom nodded and took his seat at the unoccupied edge of the console.


    ¡°Sesom and Selraef,¡± Ardnax¡¯s voice said. ¡°I believe you two were the only ones that had something to bring to the council? Sesom, would you like to go first?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to start,¡± Selraef said.


    Sesom breathed a sigh of relief. Truth be told he wanted a little more time to collect his thoughts before he made his proposal. He¡¯d never get a unanimous vote, but depending on how well he presented it he thought they¡¯d vote in his favor.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Selraef said. Copper skinned like the rest of her nation, though again without the green tinge of rust, she was the most intimidating to Sesom. Strong-willed, decisive, and unyielding, she was the closest thing to a leader the Ancients had, despite their efforts to divide up the power evenly among them. ¡°My genetic engineers have developed an interesting theory that I think is worth pursuing. A long-distance communications network, using neuron-like structures that can be buried, like telephone wires, to connect cities and individuals. It¡¯s still in the theoretical phase, and they haven¡¯t figured out what the receivers will look like, but with a little encouragement I think it could work.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a good idea to me,¡± Maharba said. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure it¡¯ll work. They¡¯d need an oxygenated blood supply as well as some way to feed and hydrate it. I don¡¯t see how it could work.¡±


    ¡°If it won¡¯t work then there¡¯s no harm in trying,¡± Sesom said.


    ¡°I disagree,¡± Ardnax said, and Selraef¡¯s eyes reddened slightly with anger sight. She did not like being contradicted, especially by the vault mind beneath her own territory and whom she considered to be her partner. Each vault was monitored by one of them; Mahkram the recycler by Maharba, Ardnax the keeper of DNA by Selraef, and Yiskey the record keeper by Sesom. ¡°To make that work your engineers would have to come dangerously close to recreating human DNA.¡±


    Sesom glanced around at the others, trying to gauge their reactions. Selraef seemed as unconcerned as ever, though Maharba¡¯s face scrunched up in concern. Ardnax¡¯s warnings on these kinds of things were not to be ignored, as he was the mind that ran the machinery that could produce new sets of DNA. Originally he¡¯d been used to repopulate the plants and animals of a decimated continent by creating early forms of life, then producing a specific type of virus that could inject and replace DNA in plant and animal cells to create new forms of life. But once that was done and he was no longer needed they¡¯d found a new purpose for him. Early generations of diordna didn¡¯t like using metal to make tools as they needed it to eat so their bodies could replace the decaying cellular nanobots that made up their bodies and to provide the materials needed to sexually reproduce, so to get around that they¡¯d decided to ¡°leak¡± knowledge about DNA into the world and allow them to write new sequences and create their own form of biotechnology. That resistance to using metal had transformed over the years, to the point that now the thought of using metal for tools was entirely disgusting to the diordna, like a chair made from human bones would have been ten thousand years ago.


    Early on they decided to use nanobots instead of factory production, to allow for a more natural lifecycle for the diordna. Once they developed the plans, Mahkram, now the recycling vault, manufactured his own parts so he could produce the first generation of diordna and then the diordna would produce subsequent generations themselves. A diordna body was, after all, essentially a nanobot factory, though Mahkram fulfilled a similar purpose on a larger scale, collecting waste for recycling and producing food for the diordna above ground.


    ¡°I understand that concern, but pursuing this course could lead to other discoveries we haven¡¯t considered yet,¡± Selraef said. ¡°You can monitor their code closely, Ardnax, to be sure nothing slips through. If dangerous code is written you can alter it in your production. The engineers won¡¯t know what happened, they¡¯ll just know their code didn¡¯t work and take another path.¡±


    ¡°That could work,¡± Ardnax said. ¡°Though I still think it¡¯s risky.¡±


    ¡°All I¡¯m asking is that we do this on a trial basis,¡± Selraef said. ¡°We can come back in a few years and see where we stand. Does that sound reasonable?¡±


    ¡°Sounds reasonable to me,¡± Maharba said. ¡°And eventually we might be able to have these kinds of meetings without risking exposure by crossing into each other¡¯s territory.¡±


    ¡°Anyone have anything more to add?¡± Ardnax asked. When no one answered she continued. ¡°Very well. Then let''s take a vote. Who¡¯s in favor?¡± The three of them at the table raised their hands. ¡°Mahkram and I vote no, but Yiksey votes yes. Selraef will proceed with caution, and we¡¯ll come back to this in the future.¡±


    A small smile crept up Selraef¡¯s face and her eyes turned slightly blue with pleasure sight. ¡°Thank you for your trust. I won¡¯t abuse it. And I¡¯ll be sure to ¡®leak¡¯ some of the research to your spies so it¡¯s more likely one of us has a genius that can figure it out.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Maharba said.


    All eyes turned toward Sesom.


    ¡°Alright, Sesom you¡¯re up,¡± Ardnax said.


    Sesom took a calming breath before speaking. ¡°We have a problem that I think we¡¯ve been ignoring for too long. We¡¯ve struck a precarious balance to sustain intelligent life, and I believe that balance is too precarious, so vulnerable to toppling. The resources that sustain diordna life are extremely limited, and we¡¯re currently unable to produce or find more. We war with each other to maintain that balance between consumption and reproduction, but the recycling process is imperfect and we lose a little every time someone dies and their oil spills out into the dirt. How much longer can we continue like this? We need to make a change, we need¡­¡±


    ¡°Mahkram says,¡± Ardnax interrupted. ¡°That we can maintain the current population for longer than diordna have lived on this planet. At least double that length. Another 15,000 years or more. In that amount of time surely someone will come up with a solution.¡±Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Not if they don¡¯t know we need one,¡± Sesom said. ¡°I¡¯m not suggesting we tell them everything, but something needs to change. Killing each other generation after generation so we can secretly recycle the corpses into nanobots for the farms is no way to live. What happens when this war escalates beyond our control? It could spell the end of intelligence forever. We can¡¯t risk that. And constantly killing and knowing one day you¡¯ll be killed is no way for anyone to live. We need a better solution. I¡¯m tired of war. I think we need to find a way to make peace. We¡¯re already losing oil every time they blow themselves up. Eventually, it will all be gone.¡±


    Sesom looked at the others, preparing himself for the next step. They seemed to be listening, maybe even agreeing with him. At the very least they weren¡¯t dismissing him outright.


    ¡°Ardnax is already working on a solution to the oil problem,¡± Selraef said, dismissing the argument with a wave. ¡°He says that in less than a generation the whales he¡¯s created will reach a high enough population that they can be harvested without problems, then all Mahkram has to do is make a small change to the nanobot code and all diordna kind will be able to use a different type of oil.¡±


    Sesom looked to Maharba, who nodded in confirmation. They hadn¡¯t told him they were doing that, though he supposed he hadn¡¯t told them everything he¡¯d been doing either. ¡°Be that as it may, there¡¯s still the problem of loss every time we recycle a body.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you aren¡¯t waiting for suggestions on how to deal with that problem,¡± Maharba said. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°My solution is related to what Selraef brought up earlier about the recent advances in technology,¡± Sesom continued. ¡°I think we need to reproduce humans.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Ardnax said. ¡°Yiksey is staying quiet, but Mahkram agrees with me.¡±


    ¡°As do I,¡± Maharba said, obviously shocked by the suggestion. The only one that didn¡¯t seem fazed was Selraef. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous. I know it¡¯s been a long time, but have you forgotten what happened? Diordna and humanity nearly destroyed each other completely. Two species competing for the same space and resources will always destroy each other, and the result will either be the death of one of them, or mutual destruction. And we came dangerously close to mutual destruction last time. You really want to go there again?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that the problem was resource competition,¡± Sesom said. ¡°It was hate. We all became diordna before the wars. Every diordna at that time was human, just with a different body. There were problems, but things worked for a while.¡±


    ¡°Worked for a while?¡± Ardnax said. ¡°They made us slaves because they were afraid of us.¡±


    ¡°I know that,¡± Sesom said. ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten, no matter what Maharba thinks. But we can do better than they did. Make humans, treat them as equals instead of inferior. The intelligent population can grow without the risk of collapsing when something goes even a little wrong. We can stop fighting and start living, and we can allow the rest of diordnakind to do the same. Humans and diordna don¡¯t use all the same resources. We¡¯d be able to divide them up, reduce the diordna population to a more sustainable size, and balance it with a new human population. We lose nothing in terms of economic potential and increase our ability to survive and develop into a greater, more advanced society. If we can stabilize ourselves we could even develop technology that would allow us to leave the continent and find more resources for both humans and diordna. And we don¡¯t risk what happened with the humans before, the population reduced to just the six of us, or worse, zero.¡±


    Maharba scoffed. ¡°You¡¯re dreaming. It¡¯s a pretty vision, but unrealistic. Nothing ever works out so cleanly as that.


    ¡°I understand that,¡± Sesom said. ¡°But we¡¯ll be here to guide it all. We¡¯ve done it so far, with only a few major problems. But we can do better for this world than we have. And we should do better.¡±


    ¡°You make a compelling argument,¡± Selraef said.


    ¡°You agree with him?¡± Ardnax said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that,¡± Selraef said. ¡°I just said it was compelling. Good even. Not that I agree with him.¡±


    ¡°How do the other two feel about this?¡± Sesom asked, hopeful. He didn¡¯t think Ardnax would agree to this, but Mahkram might. And he¡¯d already gotten Yiksey¡¯s support. Selraef could be a second vote, she seemed open to the idea. Sesom himself, a third or fourth. He would want one more to be safe. Maharba or Ardnax.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a terrible idea,¡± Ardnax said. ¡°As I said with Selraef¡¯s proposal, it¡¯s too dangerous. Mahkram says she¡¯s thinking, though she thinks your plan is unnecessary. Yiksey remains quiet.¡±


    It was about what Sesom had expected, and he found himself praying that they¡¯d agree. He didn¡¯t know if he even believed in a god, but he found himself praying to the god of the diordna, Dytie. I guess I¡¯ve picked some things up from them. It can¡¯t hurt anyway.


    ¡°Does anyone have any more to say on the matter?¡± Ardnax asked. Selraef and Maharba shook their heads.


    ¡°Let me just say one last thing,¡± Sesom said. ¡°I think it¡¯s time we stopped fearing the mistakes of the past and started doing things differently. It¡¯s inhumane to keep forcing our nations to kill each other. The problems of the past were a product of an imbalance of power, nothing more. We can do better. We must do better. We must allow our nations to progress instead of suppressing their desire to create new and exciting things. If we allow them to, they can bring us to a better future. And if diordnakind dies then our greatness can live on in the new humans we have birthed, as the ones before us live on in us. Please. Try this with me. For ourselves and diordnakind.¡±


    Sesom fell silent, meeting the eyes of the others who had them. Selraef still looked contemplative, and to Sesom¡¯s surprise so did Maharba. Maybe he had won them over? He sincerely hoped he¡¯d said the right things to convince them, as he didn¡¯t know what more he could say to do so.


    ¡°Let¡¯s vote then,¡± Ardnax said. ¡°Those for?¡±


    Sesom raised his hand, looking to the others hopefully.


    Neither of them raised their hands, and Sesom¡¯s heart sank, his eyes blackening a little with sorrow sight.


    ¡°Mahkram and I also vote against it,¡± Ardnax said. ¡°Yiksey is for. Four to two against the proposal.¡±


    Sesom¡¯s shoulders slumped. The vote was nearly unanimous against him. Despite his preparations, his careful planning and writing to be sure he had the right words, he¡¯d failed.


    ¡°I guess I didn¡¯t honestly expect you to agree with me.¡±


    ¡°Shall we end things there then?¡± Maharba said. ¡°As I said, I have some things to take care of above ground.¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± Selraef said. ¡°There was one more thing I wanted to say.¡± They looked at him, curious. ¡°I have to confess that I knew Sesom would bring this up. I received reports from some of my spies recently that you¡¯ve been¡­ encouraging research that gets dangerously close to what you just suggested.¡±


    ¡°Is that true?¡± Ardnax asked.


    Sesom nodded. ¡°I thought I¡¯d lay some groundwork for this plan. And if I¡¯m not mistaken, Selraef has been doing something similar with hers before bringing it to the council.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s different,¡± Maharba said. ¡°Her plan isn¡¯t nearly as dangerous as yours.¡±


    Sesom clenched his fists in frustration. Unfortunately, that was true.


    ¡°What do you intend to do then?¡± Ardnax asked. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve voted against it you¡¯ll have to find a way to walk your engineers back.¡±


    ¡°I will do what I feel is best, as always,¡± Sesom said. He didn¡¯t say that might mean going against the wishes of the council. He¡¯d made plans for that possibility, including plans to protect Yiksey should the others turn against them and try to stop them. If things went bad she could transfer her mind to an abandoned vault Sesom had found. They already had copies of her records stored there, it was just waiting for her mind. ¡°And allow the rest of you the same courtesy.¡±


    ¡°If you take things any farther we will have to oppose you,¡± Selraef said. ¡°I would hate to see you truly become our enemy.¡±


    ¡°If we treat each other as enemies everywhere but in here, and ignore each other¡¯s council, then what is the difference between what we are and enemies?¡± Sesom said, more frustration entering his voice than he wanted. ¡°It would be a stretch to call us friends after all these years.¡±


    ¡°Mahkram wants to know why you proposed this now?¡± Ardnax asked. ¡°This is a concern you could have brought much sooner, or later when, as you believe, things got dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Why not now?¡± Sesom said. ¡°Our scientists will figure it out on their own eventually. We all know there is a limit to what we can achieve if we continue this way. Sending our best and worst to die together just to allow new generations to live only slows our progress as a people. Why not break those limitations with me? Why not set our people free?¡±


    ¡°We cannot do so safely,¡± Ardnax said. ¡°That¡¯s why.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something that concerns me,¡± Selraef said. ¡°You think that what you¡¯ve just proposed is best for us all, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sesom said. ¡°If I didn¡¯t then I wouldn¡¯t have brought the idea to you in the first place.¡±


    ¡°So when you say that you¡¯ll do what you think is best and allow us the same courtesy, what you mean is that you will continue on this course?¡±


    Sesom met Selraef¡¯s eyes, glaring at her. He didn¡¯t intend to just abandon what he thought was good and necessary.


    ¡°The council decided against this,¡± Ardnax said. ¡°You would oppose all five of us? If one of us does that then what¡¯s the point in having the council in the first place?¡±


    ¡°If we can¡¯t make decisions for our own nations, what¡¯s the point in having them?¡± Sesom said in return, standing to go.


    ¡°You won¡¯t change your mind?¡± Selraef asked.


    ¡°Will any of you?¡± Sesom replied, pausing. ¡°Even if you can¡¯t see that this is right, I have to do it. If I don¡¯t I may never forgive myself for not trying.¡±


    Selraef sighed, standing. ¡°Then I guess we¡¯ll do what we think is necessary.¡±


    Sesom nodded and turned toward the door, taking two steps before a hand fell on his shoulder, stopping him. A searing pain shot through his body as something pierced his back once, twice, three times, the third one punching right through his spine. His entire bottom half went numb and he collapsed.


    Sesom turned to face his attacker from the cold metal ground, life oil leaking out around him. He saw it more than he felt it, though one of the stabs was above the point where his spine was severed. Selraef stood over him, stone knife dripping with dark near black oil.


    ¡°What¡¯re you doing!?¡± Maharba shouted, leaping to his feet and knocking his chair to the ground. Sesom barely registered the words as he struggled to focus, gasping in pain, trying desperately to fight the oncoming death.


    ¡°What I feel is right,¡± Selraef said. ¡°Just as Sesom agreed we should do. If he makes a human it puts everyone at risk. We all know this is for the best.¡±


    Maharba didn¡¯t respond.


    Sesom prayed silently for help, though he wasn¡¯t sure what kind of help he expected. After all, his prayer from moments ago went unanswered, so why would this one be any different? He was dying, and the only living beings that knew where he was were standing over him.


    ¡°Ardnax,¡± Selraef said, though Sesom was having a hard time focusing on the words. ¡°Don¡¯t tell the others yet.¡±


    ¡°Too late,¡± Ardnax said, his voice fading as if it were moving farther away. Sesom¡¯s mind was slipping away. ¡°As always I¡¯m transmitting a description of events in real-time.¡±


    Selraef huffed angrily, and Sesom vaguely felt them move him, his head swimming with pain and oil loss. He would die, but maybe he could survive long enough to¡­ what? Get a message to someone? The Egeilen would be done without him. The war was thought to be a holy war, the ruler chosen by Dytie against those who claimed that title falsely. What would happen when their ¡°Chosen¡± vanished, proving that he was not supported by their god?


    ¡°Yiksey isn¡¯t responding,¡± Ardnax said, but it was so quiet to Sesom that he didn¡¯t know to celebrate her escape.


    Sesom had to survive long enough to spare them destruction somehow. Under the right circumstances, a diordna body could survive nearly anything, though the technology was held only by the Ancients. Unfortunately, Sesom didn¡¯t have any of the equipment he needed to survive. Still, these most ancient of bodies were superior to the rest of diordnakind. Not only did they not decay, but they could reallocate resources, shifting metal muscle nanobots to other parts of the body if he could focus strongly enough on the process. The body as a whole would resist the change without his equipment, but he could extend his life a little. Hopefully, it would be enough.


    Sesom briefly saw the stars overhead as he was dragged from the underground tunnel before he fell unconscious.

 Chapter 15: Buried in the Rubble

    Chapter 15: Buried in the Rubble


    ¡°Research Log, Year 4, Month 6, Day 5 (Day 1,625) Cont.


    ¡°I reassured him that I was safe because of that difference, and explained that he wasn''t born how I was. One of us is flesh and bone like animals and the other is metal. One of us was born through technological means, the other through sexual reproduction. Animals are not machines, even if sometimes the two can look similar. I explained that the main difference between him and I is in our basic building blocks. That part honestly went over his little head, but I showed him the difference in our skin and he seemed to start understanding. I told him that others like me wouldn¡¯t understand him, and that they would take him from me and kill him like they did his siblings.


    ¡°That made him cry again.


    ¡°When he calmed down he then asked me if there were any others like him that weren¡¯t dead and I had to tell him no. He¡¯s been in his room, crying, ever since. I can¡¯t say I blame him, in his place I¡¯d feel the same way. And I do to some extent feel that pain, knowing he¡¯ll be alone for most of his life, knowing that there¡¯s nothing I can do right now to help that pain.


    I intend to change that someday, though he¡¯ll far older before I can even try to make him a family of his own.¡±


    Yelis, The craftsman thought to herself, and the name sent a pleasant shiver through her.


    Yelis walked through the street, combing the area with her eyes, searching for any scraps she could use. Most of her tools were taken by Iakedrom when he raided her apartment so she¡¯d have to rebuild. That Iakedrom had done that to her was beyond frustrating. She felt like she was finally making some progress. She felt like she was on the edge of remembering something from before she lost her name.


    But she supposed she also had to thank him for that.


    Yelis, she repeated in her mind again with a grin.


    She couldn¡¯t get over how good it felt to remember her real name. If Iakedrom hadn¡¯t caught her and she hadn¡¯t encountered Ekivia she may have never remembered it.


    Yelis, she thought as she stooped, sighing as she tossed aside a hand and dug a little into the rubble of a building. That hand was the biggest piece she¡¯d found so far, but she needed a full body to make the tools she needed.


    She rose, still considering the events of the last several days. What was it about Ekivia that helped her remember her name? Something she¡¯d said sparked that part of her brain, the one that told her there was a memory nearby. It was the feeling she got when she directed diordna and then built them into something new. She¡¯d felt that way a lot since she started doing that, the feeling that something was moving just under the surface of ice on top of the lake of her mind. Sometimes she chipped away at that ice enough to fish the memory out, and her name was one of those. She hadn¡¯t felt a memory so important since she remembered that she had a message in her body that she needed to spread. She¡¯d known she had it in her, but she¡¯d never seen it until recently so she didn¡¯t actually know what it said.


    It was the message written on Iakedrom and Mada.


    That memory had come to her in her first lifetime after losing her name, and nothing so important had come up since. At least not until now. And she needed something to stimulate that part of her mind again. She already had an idea what she wanted to make, now she just needed materials and a safe place to work. The safe place would come later.


    But what better place to find materials than on a battlefield after a battle.


    She paused in the street and looked around briefly. She couldn¡¯t be sure but she felt like this was where she¡¯d run into Mada the night before. Most of the buildings were collapsed, their blackened corpses crumpled in heaps to either side of the central passageway cleared by the Redaeli army.


    A foot peaked up from the rubble of one of the buildings. Yelis hadn¡¯t seen it at first because it was black with ash and she¡¯d dismissed it for part of the building. But upon second glance she was certain. Judging by how much was protruding from the pile and the angle at which it stuck out, she thought there might be at least part of a body attached to it.


    She walked over to investigate. It was at the periphery of the rubble from one of the buildings, likely someone who¡¯d been outside the building when it collapsed and was then swept up by the crumbling debris as it expanded outward. Either that or it was inside and got pushed out by that same flow of crumbling bamboo and ash.


    Yelis stumbled only a little as she climbed over the rubble to reach the leg then began pulling ashen bamboo away from it. As she cleared some of the smaller bits away she noticed that there was a thick wall caught on other debris, making a sort of lean to inside the rubble. It created a pocket, though a small one, just big enough that most of a body would fit. And as she peaked in she grinned. The body was almost entirely intact, except for one missing arm. It was facing down, and she could see that its shirtless back was completely burned stiff. That would make molding the material difficult, but not impossible.


    She cleared a little more of the debris, but didn¡¯t want to destabilize the pocket so she didn¡¯t clear it entirely around the body. Then she braced herself against some bamboo she¡¯d tested earlier and pulled the body from the hole onto the slope of the pile.


    Yes, this one would do nicely despite the missing arm. In order to lift the corpse onto her shoulder she¡¯d have to turn it over so it would bend the right way, so she stooped and rolled it face up. Yelis gasped.


    The shirtless corpse was Ekivia, unmoving eyelids barely open looking at the sky.


    Yelis knew this was a possibility, but she¡¯d hoped¡­ Well if she was honest part of the reason she¡¯d come looking in this particular area was just in case Ekivia or that marvelous creature of hers was left behind.


    Creature is the wrong term, Yelis thought regarding Mada. He tickled at her memory, as though there were an ancient term for his kind that she couldn¡¯t remember. But it had been too many years and she¡¯d taken too many blows to the head for it to surface just yet. She¡¯d need to find him again some day so he could help her remember.


    Yelis considered for a moment. Would it really be that horrible to use Ekivia¡¯s body? It wasn¡¯t really her anymore, and Yelis hadn¡¯t been the one to kill her after all. And she¡¯d been so helpful to Yelis, for that she¡¯d be ever grateful. Maybe Ekivia could continue her service to Yelis, continue to help her remember. Her body wasn¡¯t too burned. Though she had quite a few hard spots across her torso and in places along her remaining limbs from the heat it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as it could have been, and even the skin still looked flexible enough to remove easily. She¡¯d learned a long time ago that it was harder when the skin had already hardened from¡­


    Ekivia¡¯s eyes shifted and met Yelis¡¯s.


    ¡°Dytie,¡± Yelis cursed. ¡°You¡¯re alive!¡±


    Ekivia wheezed a long breath out and Yelis stood staring dumbly.


    Then she lept into action. Ekivia was alive, her helper, her friend. And she needed help. Yelis stooped and grabbed Ekivia¡¯s arm, pulling her up and onto her shoulder. Ekivia made the barest of a pained whine, but obviously didn¡¯t have the strength to do anything more.


    ¡°I got you,¡± Yelis said as she stepped carefully down the rubble slope. ¡°You¡¯ll be ok.¡±


    She ran as quickly as she could with Ekivia over her shoulder, trying not to bounce too much so she wouldn¡¯t accidentally drop her. The surviving officers throughout the city had begun setting up stations all over where they could collect corpses for the priests, but there were also machinologists at these stations that would see to survivors. If Yelis remembered correctly there would be one just around¡­


    As she turned the corner she spotted it. They were set up in a watering station. Those were one of the few buildings on the eastern side of the city left untouched by the Redaeli army. There was good reason not to destroy them, as the army would need water for their mounts as much or more than the regular citizens. There were officers running water from the large cement troughs dug into the ground, others bringing bodies back and laying them out along one side of the street, but Yelis didn¡¯t see anyone else bringing survivors.


    Yelis slowed her approach, praying that none of the officers would recognize her. Not praying to Dytie of course, but praying to¡­ someone. She couldn¡¯t remember. But even if she was recognized it was more important that Ekivia get the help she needed. And besides, she could always escape again if she needed to.


    No one stopped her as she approached, and upon seeing her a discouraged looking machinologist perked up and rushed over, waving Yelis to a spot cleared near the trough that had blankets spread out in the dirt like beds. The machinologist waved toward the well and someone came over with a pail of water. The water carrier drenched the blanket on the ground as Yelis crouched, and with the help of the machinologist she lowered Ekivia from her shoulder onto the now wet blanket.


    As Ekivia¡¯s bare back met the wet blanket it sizzled slightly.


    Ekivia began to yell in pain, arms and legs pressing against the ground as though to try and arch her back, but the burns made that impossible. She tried rolling but the machinologist pressed her shoulders down, keeping her back against the blanket.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± the machinologist said gently. ¡°But we have to do this.¡±


    Yelis knew what was happening to Ekivia¡¯s back though she couldn¡¯t see it because she¡¯d used fire in some of her creations. The metal would be flexing slightly as the temperature changed rapidly, and there could be permanent wrinkles if you didn¡¯t put pressure against it to keep it flat. Which was impossible to do right now. The skin would be numb, but the muscle and tissue beneath would still be attached and the rippling would pull and tear against that. She could only imagine how painful that would be for a living diordna to experience.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s alive,¡± the machinologist said as the sizzling stopped and he began wrapping the stump of Ekivia¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Will she stay that way?¡± Yelis asked


    ¡°I can¡¯t be certain yet,¡± the na said. ¡°But the fact that she didn¡¯t already die means she¡¯ll probably make it.¡±


    Yelis breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground nearby while the na worked, trying to relax a little, but she couldn¡¯t stop bouncing her leg nervously.


    An officer approached the three of them. ¡°Have you gotten her name yet?¡±


    The machinologist shook his head, then he paused the work of carefully bandaging Ekivia¡¯s worst wounds and leaned forward so she could meet the scientists eyes. ¡°Are you able to speak?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Ekivia whispered. Even as close to her as she was, Yelis almost didn¡¯t hear it.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± The machinologist asked.


    ¡°Ekivia.¡± The officer wrote it down.


    ¡°Last name?¡±


    ¡°Neitkarf.¡±


    The machinologist nodded, and shared a significant look with the officer before getting back to his work.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Ekivia Neitkarf,¡± the machinologist said. ¡°I will take care of you. We¡¯ll have you at a hospital in a safe part of the city in no time.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Ekivia whispered.


    The machinologist picked up the iron pod and held it up to Ekivia¡¯s lips again.


    ¡°Why was that officer asking for her name?¡± Yelis asked, a worry growing in the back other mind.


    ¡°An investigator asked us to check all the survivors,¡± the machinologist said. ¡°He thought there were some diordna that might have answers about how the army reached here without being caught by our patrolling armies closer to the border. I never expected we¡¯d actually find one of them though.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Yelis tried to suppress the fear as it rose in her chest and eyes. She stood slowly. She needed to be anywhere but here. The only diordna that would be looking for Ekivia was Iakedrom, and she didn¡¯t what to be around when her arrived.


    But she hesitated, meeting Ekivia¡¯s eyes. She couldn¡¯t leave her here, but in her condition taking her could mean her death.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Ekivia said, holding Yelis¡¯s gaze as she spoke. ¡°But if you have somewhere to go I think this na has everything under control here.¡±


    There was no fear or anger in Ekivia¡¯s eyes. She was giving Yelis permission to protect herself. Never before had she needed that kind of permission from someone. Despite receiving it she still hesitated.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ come check on you when I can,¡± Yelis said, hoping Ekivia would understand what she really meant. She¡¯d be there to help her if she could. She had a debt to this nawo, one that she couldn¡¯t repay. She had no name until Ekivia returned it to her. Maybe some day she¡¯d explain that to her newfound friend.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Yelis said, then took a long breath in, nodded to Ekivia, and walked away.


    **********


    The machinologist walked around Ekivia, checking bandages. Ekivia resisted the desire to turn her head and watch. She could do it if she needed, but it hurt, and on top of that her entire body was wrapped in bandages, making it difficult to move anything. The bandages were soaked in water for now, to help draw out the heat from the burns and make sure her body temperature was well regulated. Once she spent a day or two in water bandages they¡¯d switch to bandages soaked in metal pod oil. They could trap heat, but they also helped accelerate healing. The skin would feed on the oil and she would recover far faster.


    But her burns weren¡¯t the worst of her injuries.


    The stump of her arm was wrapped tightly, and needed to be changed regularly. She¡¯d tied off the limb just above her bicep. Were it not for Iakedrom she might not have thought to do that, but it saved her life. Of course he¡¯d also been a huge part of what put her in danger originally too. She knew Nagemai was at least as responsible, but she resented Iaekdrom more. At least Nagemai had treated her well. The one that should have been her friend treated her as an enemy. The one that should have been her enemy treated her as a friend. And her friend¡­


    She¡¯d tried to reach him so she could smother the fire somehow, ignoring the danger to herself, but she¡¯d been too slow. She¡¯d watched him explode. She didn¡¯t know if it was just his leg or if it had been his entire body, but she suspected the latter. Sure she¡¯d tightened the bandage around his leg, which might have prevented the fire from reaching his chest cavity through the wound, but she¡¯d seen his burns. Even if he survived the initial explosion he was probably dead.


    She closed her eyes against the sorrow as she thought about it.


    The machinologist cleared her throat, and Ekivia opened her eyes, her sight darkly tinted by the sorrow. She tried to turn and look at the machinologist, but stopped immediately because of the pain. The machinologist moved toward Ekivia¡¯s feet a little and leaned in so they could speak facing each other.


    ¡°You seem to be doing well,¡± The machinologist said, giving Ekivia a smile. ¡°The burns don¡¯t seem to be oozing, and the radiant temperature isn¡¯t as bad as I feared it might be. We should be able to switch you to oil bandages soon. Once that happens your recovery will really start. You shouldn¡¯t have too many long term effects from this, though the burn to your back run too deeply into the skin and cover too much area to heal, so it will be permanently hard. The other burns, however, are shallow enough that they should slough off once the skin beneath begins to heal.¡±


    Ekivia gave the barest of nods. At least her neck hadn¡¯t been burned stiff. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°These days we can even replace your arm,¡± the nawo continued.


    ¡°No,¡± Ekivia said as forcefully as she could muster.


    ¡°What?¡± The machinologist said, scrunching her face in confusion.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it replaced,¡± Ekivia said.


    ¡°I suppose we won¡¯t force you,¡± The machinologist said. ¡°But I would recommend it. Prosthetics really are quite good these days.¡±


    ¡°I understand that,¡± Ekivia said, tone bitter. ¡°I don¡¯t want one.¡±


    The machinologist nodded, still visibly confused. ¡°Well, if you change your mind we can do the procedure whenever.¡±


    Ekivia stared at the nawo, and she met her eyes, waiting briefly as though she expected Ekivia to change her mind. She wouldn¡¯t. She knew it was impractical but she refused to do something that would make her look like Iakedrom, not after all he¡¯d done.


    The machinologist sighed, and walked from the room. After she was gone, Ekivia heard footsteps approach her.


    And almost as though conjured from her thoughts, Iakedrom moved into view.


    ¡°Hello Ekivia,¡± Iakedrom said.


    She felt a chill run through her body at the sight of him, and her darkened sight swirled with a small stream of pale fear. Despite it¡¯s lighter color, fear obscured vision as much as sorrow did. The other emotion sights were more transparent, though they did alter their perception of the world around them, no other emotion could truly blind a diordna except these two.


    Ekivia blinked, trying to clear her vision with only marginal success. ¡°Iakedrom.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re alive,¡± Iakedrom said, though as far as Ekivia could tell through the emotion sight he didn¡¯t seem all that concerned or pleased. ¡°There are some things I would like to discuss.¡±


    Ekivia clenched her jaw involuntarily. She wasn¡¯t going to tell this na anything. Even as she thought it more fear pulsed through her. Would he resort to torture again?


    Dytie help me.


    ¡°The verd army is traveling north instead of east,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Ekivia said through clenched teeth. But she had her suspicions. Nagemai had told them that some of the marks on Mada indicated a place in the Mahkram region a couple days to the north. Ekivia suspected Nagemai wanted to go see where the marks would lead.


    ¡°I find that hard to believe,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°You and Mada seemed to be on pretty good terms with that verd soldier that came to rescue you from me.¡±


    ¡°I swear to you in Dytie¡¯s name that I never met them before in my life,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°And that I have never worked with them before their arrival here.¡±


    ¡°Now that is hard for me to believe,¡± Iakedrom said, pacing around the foot of her bed. ¡°Especially considering all that¡¯s happened.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true wether or not you believe it,¡± Ekivia said bitterly. ¡°And no amount of interrogation or torture will change that.¡±


    Iakedom sighed. ¡°Alright then. How about we move to something a little different. What is the message left on my prosthetic? What information did you and Esile pass to the verds?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Ekivia lied. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Esile?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t found her yet,¡± Iakedrom said, glaring. ¡°She¡¯s either dead or in hiding somewhere.¡±


    ¡°What a shame,¡± Ekivia said sarcastically. Strange that she should feel more disgust for this na than she did for an insane nawo. But after her experiences with Yelis she struggled to believe all the stories about the Craftsman. There¡¯s no way they were true. Sure she was strange, but that didn¡¯t make someone a horrible diordna.


    ¡°Do you know where she might be?¡± Iakedrom asked.


    Ekivia sighed. ¡°You¡¯re wasting your time with me, and I think you know it.¡±


    Iakedrom glared again, eyes turning red this time. ¡°I could resort to more aggressive interrogation tactics, but I would rather we avoid that if we can. However, I also need answers, so I will allow you to make the decision. How will this proceed?¡±


    Ekivia glared at him, her own eyes turning red, though a paler shade than his because of the fear mixed in.


    Iakedrom waited a long moment before he spoke again. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll take that as your decision then. I really wish you would choose otherwise.¡±


    He stepped forward, but hesitated. In that instant Ekivia saw something she didn¡¯t expect. He was angry, eyes red, but there was something else mixed in she hadn¡¯t noticed. The red was darker than just anger. There was sorrow in his eyes too. He was being honest when he said he didn¡¯t want to do this.


    ¡°If you really don¡¯t want to do this then don¡¯t,¡± Ekivia said, allowing pleading into her voice. ¡°You are a good na, or at least I thought you were. You can choose not to do this. You can choose to believe me.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think I can,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Everything I¡¯ve seen and heard since bringing you in has led me to believe that you have deceived me for two decades. I cannot be deceived any longer.¡± He lifted his hand and began unwrapping the stump of her right arm. ¡°It¡¯s always the dominant arm that gets hurt.¡±


    ¡°Not anymore,¡± Ekivia said, her voice shaking slightly.


    ¡°Please,¡± Iakedrom whispered. ¡°Neither of us¡ª¡°


    ¡°Iak,¡± Someone said from the doorway. Ekivia thought she recognized the voice as Iaekdrom¡¯s partner, Fosia, but she didn¡¯t turn her head to see. ¡°You¡¯ve got a call.¡±


    Iakedrom didn¡¯t look away from Ekivia¡¯s eyes, and she saw the relief in them. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°The Drol,¡± Fosia said.


    Ekivia and Iakedrom both let out a held breath together. Hers was in relief, but looking at Iakedrom she thought his was not. Something worried him bout speaking with the Drol, though she couldn¡¯t guess what.


    He turned away and stepped out of Ekivia¡¯s line of sight. She heard him speaking in the hallway, but it was too muffled by the walls and the bandages around her ears that she couldn¡¯t understand any of the conversation. It was short though.


    Iakedrom returned and leaned over her again. ¡°The Drol received a report from some spies that managed to insert themselves into the army while it was here. They say the army has turned east at the Tears of Dytie river half a day north of us. But he also says that two or three of their number broke off and continued north. The spies didn¡¯t see who it was, but I have my suspicions. Care to tell me where they might be headed?¡±


    ¡°I told you I don¡¯t know,¡± Ekivia lied again.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°The Drol knows where they¡¯re headed. He managed to interpret the markings by the gift of Dytie. He tells me they¡¯re headed to Mahkram.¡±


    Ekivia took in a breath at hearing the name. It was short, and she hoped Iakedrom hadn¡¯t¡­


    ¡°I see you already knew,¡± Iakedrom said, and Ekivia closed her eyes. Of course he¡¯d noticed. ¡°Once I finish dealing with them I¡¯ll be back to continue our conversation. I don¡¯t know if you remember your promise to show me everything that¡¯s kept on that bird of yours, but I¡¯m going to hold you to that. Oh, and the Drol wanted me to tell you. Once you recover you¡¯re going to be sent to the front in white to be killed at the hands of your allies. So as you consider what not to tell me just remember that when I come back will be your last opportunity to say anything about what you¡¯ve been doing.¡±


    The fear drained from her, leaving only sorrow, as she listened to his footsteps retreat, her hand shaking in her bandages. Could she allow her research to be silenced? Could she allow the truth about Mada to remain hidden? Absolutely not. But the real question was if she could trust Iakedrom to publish it on her behalf. She didn¡¯t know. She¡¯d have to wait and see what happened with Mada when Iakedrom returned.


    She felt certain that Mada was one of the three that left Nagemai¡¯s the army to continue north, and she suspected Treblig was the second. Sorrow fell from her eyes, darkening the bandages on her face as with oil. Iakedrom would move faster than an army could, and if the secrets they were searching for were hidden well enough then Iakedrom would catch them.


    There was nothing she could do to protect her son.


    Dytie, please. Be with Mada, and guard him as I have been unable to do.


    **********


    Drol Maharba rode at full speed toward Mahkram. He was nearly certain that Ekivia had made a human, and he wanted to be nearby in case Iakedrom encountered the thing. Iakedrom¡¯s records of their interrogation and the cryptic way in which she referred to her ¡°son¡± worried him more and more. He thought they¡¯d ended her dangerous dive into creating an AI but it appeared one of her creations had slipped past him.


    Ekivia wasn''t the first to create an AI, but none before were allowed to see what they''d accomplished. Maharba and Selraef were the only two diordna who knew exactly when the discovery was made each time, and in the past they¡¯d acted quickly enough to stop it from getting out. This time they were too slow. Somehow, he still didn¡¯t know how, she¡¯d gotten past their checks despite the close eye they¡¯d kept on her.


    Worse yet, Iakedrom suspected the Redaeli were involved with Ekivia and her work. Selraef knew better. She''d seen firsthand the devastation caused by competing high intelligences. The wars. The loss. Intelligent life would be hard-pressed to survive that again.


    He slowed his mount and raised his hand to the calling bird on his shoulder, speaking the number only he knew.


    "Maharba," The Redaeli ruler said. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to hear from you so soon.¡±


    ¡°Selraef,¡± He said, more anger coloring his voice than he would have liked.


    "Have you dealt with that general I sent you yet?"


    ¡°Not quite,¡± Maharba said. ¡°There were¡­ complications. But I''m not calling about that. I''m calling about your involvement with Ekivia Neitkarf. Apparently, she¡¯s been working on a project without our knowledge. You wouldn¡¯t know anything about that would you?¡±


    ¡°I thought she was retired,¡± Selraef said.


    ¡°She was,¡± Maharba said. ¡°But it seems that she may have made a human. Are you saying you had no knowledge of this?¡±


    ¡°You know it¡¯s impossible to stop every request from my end,¡± Selraef said. ¡°Ardnax hasn¡¯t reported anything suspicious recently though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already grown for as many as twenty years,¡± Maharba said. ¡°And my investigator says she had Redaeli help.¡±


    "I did my part," Selraef said, obviously angry at the accusation. "If this human has been alive that long then the fault is yours for not catching it sooner. Don¡¯t accuse me for your failure. Have you forgotten what happened with Sesom?"


    Maharba sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Of course not. But a Redaeli could be involved. My investigator suspects a specific connection with your white general. Apparently, a highly trained team of her soldiers came to wrest Ekivia away."


    "That¡¯s troubling," Selraef said. "I¡¯ll have my spies look into Nagemai¡¯s connections. Did she get her hands on Ekivia or this human? Are you taking care of things on your end?¡±


    ¡°Only briefly,¡± Maharba said. ¡°And I have my best investigator on the case right now. I expect the human problem will be taken care of by tomorrow. I¡¯m going to meet him near Mahkram in a day or two to be sure.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re on top of at least one of our problems,¡± Selraef said. ¡°What will you do when your investigator sees this human?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have a discussion with him,¡± Maharba said. ¡°And if I don¡¯t like his attitude about it then I¡¯ll send him to the front in white.¡±

 Chapter 16: A True Animal Intelligence

    Chapter 16: A True Animal Intelligence


    "Research Log, Year 9, Month 6, Day 21, (Day 2,944)


    ¡°Today we had our first of many hand-to-hand combat lessons, and Mada took to it quite well. All diordna children begin training at his age to prepare them for the day they will be called to battle by the Drol, no matter their station or profession. As such most drolian citizens are competent fighters. I myself am not the best of fighters, but I know enough that I can teach the basics. I will need to take more lessons eventually to better prepare Mada for the day he is drafted.¡±


    Mada and Nagemai left Nevets behind, dropping him off at a hospital. There was no way he could continue in his condition, and Nagemai¡¯s machinologists didn¡¯t have the tools to help him the way he needed. They¡¯d stopped to wait for nightfall, which none of them liked, but they needed the cover of darkness to go unnoticed. Mada didn¡¯t like seeing Nevets go, but he understood. Nagemai promised they¡¯d find a way to be reunited, but it was better that he heal than that they stay together.


    Even though he understood that he felt like he was losing Nevets. He¡¯d managed to find a new ally in the short na, and already that ally was gone. Ripped away as surely as Ekivia had been. He still had one support still in Nagemai, though he wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about her. Had she not brought her army here in the first place Ekivia would be alive and they would be working on the articles with Nevets that would give Mada the freedom to live in the world as a normal diordna.


    But no, that wasn¡¯t exactly true. Iakedrom was there to take her from him even before Nagemai arrived, and might have taken Nevets and Mada both as well if it weren¡¯t for Nagemai. And the general had even helped them save Ekivia from the investigator. Mada didn¡¯t know how they would have managed that otherwise.


    Nagemai was his last ally for now, and a powerful one at that. She was the piece they needed to back the research done by Ekivia and Nevets. Mada didn¡¯t know how they¡¯d get that research finished and published, but with Nagemai¡¯s help, he believed they could.


    They¡¯d been riding for a few days since leaving the army on a panth stolen from an officer¡¯s house by Nagemai¡¯s army, Nagemai driving it with Mada sitting behind her on the saddle. She wasn¡¯t wearing her regular white because it would be too conspicuous, and Mada was wearing his cloak, mask, and gloves to keep his features hidden in case anyone saw them.


    They hadn¡¯t slowed much on their journey, except to drop Nevets off. Still Mada had gotten to see some things he¡¯d only ever read about. The region was possibly the most fertile anywhere and was historically sometimes under Redaeli control, though the Drolian¡¯s always managed to take it back. They passed quite a few farms along the way, but the most interesting sight was when they saw a farmer out with dousing rods, searching for a new field to plant.


    According to what Mada had read the rods were coated in clumps of annam from metal pods, and when the farmer found fertile ground the two tips of the rods would be drawn together. Then they could seed the area by spreading annam and oil across it. This would then draw out the living annam from the dirt and it would cluster into pods eventually.


    But that had been two days back, and they hadn¡¯t seen anything as interesting since. But Mada would have been grateful for a distraction. The mount had incredible endurance, running for days on end, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for Mada. He was itching to get out of the saddle and stretch his legs.


    ¡°We¡¯re close,¡± Nagemai said as they crested another hill.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it,¡± Mada said with a grunt. ¡°I might not remember how to walk by then though.¡±


    Nagemai laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve been there more than once. The walking isn¡¯t the bad part. The real struggle is when you have to sit down again, and not just in the saddle. The bruises are a real pain in the ass.¡±


    ¡°Did you really just say that?¡± Mada asked, smiling.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it,¡± Nagemai said, and he could hear the smile in her voice though she wasn¡¯t looking back at him.


    When they crested the next hill Mada saw what Nagemai had described to him. A forest of boulders down below. When she¡¯d first described it Mada hadn¡¯t really known what to expect. Boulders as large as small houses dotted the landscape, so thick in some areas that it looked almost like a massive mound of rock. The ¡°forest¡± was less dense near the outer edge, with smaller boulders interspersed between the truly massive ones, the smallest of which looking almost like roots jutting from the ground around large trees. It was early in the night, but that way the moon lit the area made the boulders look almost like an army of mythical creatures, hunched and waiting for something to happen.


    Mada couldn¡¯t imagine how such a place had come to be. It was like something large had pushed the boulders up through the ground so that they looked like bubbles on the surface of water. Woven around the boulders were small streams of water. They appeared to be diverted from a river nearby, though Mada didn¡¯t know if that was intentional or natural.


    Nagemai sighed. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen this place,¡± She mumbled half to herself.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been here before?¡±


    Nagemai nodded. ¡°Long time ago. Before I was made a general.¡±


    ¡°Were you a spy or something?¡± Mada asked. The Redaeli hadn¡¯t held this region in generations as far as he remembered from the histories Ekivia made him read.


    ¡°No,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I was a priest at the time. It was near here that I was offered the title of Egeil.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still not sure what that title means,¡± Mada said.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I¡¯ll show you what it means after we find what we¡¯re looking for.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± Mada said. She¡¯d generally been forthcoming about almost anything they asked her before, so it was strange that she would withhold this. Mada supposed that meant it was either private or extremely delicate information.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Nagemai said as they approached the first of the boulders. ¡°It¡¯s just that it can be dangerous to tell others what it means. I almost never use the title for that reason, but I had to reveal it to you to gain your trust. But once we¡¯re safer I promise I will tell you.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± Mada said, though he didn¡¯t entirely. Still, she hadn¡¯t given him a reason to distrust her. ¡°So what do you think we¡¯re looking for?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say,¡± Nagemai replied, steering the panth over a wide, shallow stream of water and around a particularly large boulder. ¡°I hope we¡¯ll know it when we see it.¡±


    ¡°If Dytie sent the marks then maybe he¡¯ll show us,¡± Mada said. ¡°Or maybe there will be some other kind of marking we¡¯ll recognize.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mada said, then an uncomfortable thought occurred to him. ¡°Do you¡­ Do you think these marks might be a warning against making more of me? A show of Dytie¡¯s disapproval? It seems like we¡¯ve been through a lot, and I feel responsible for it somehow. If Dytie approved then why would all this happen? Why would¡­¡± He took a deep breath, his throat closing with emotion.


    ¡°Why would Ekivia die?¡± Nagemai asked for him. ¡°I think you misunderstand Dytie. He allows us to make our own decisions. If he stepped in every time those decisions would lead to us or others being hurt then would we not just be prisoners in this world? I suppose all of this could be a sign of his disapproval, but it is just as likely not. And by the same token, it is just as likely that those marks are a sign of disapproval as they are a sign of approval, like the marks on the Chosen.¡±


    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t believe in Dytie or the Chosen,¡± Mada said, surprised by her defense of them.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter what I believe,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°It matters what you believe. I¡¯m not going to try and force a belief on you, but I will try and help live well within yours if I can, and living well means not living in pain because of those beliefs. I won¡¯t try to make you a prisoner of my ideas, just as I believe Dytie won¡¯t do to us. And yes I believe in Dytie, though my relationship to him is complicated.¡±


    Mada grew thoughtful, allowing the conversation to die. Nagemai made some good points, but they made him uncomfortable. He didn¡¯t quite know what to do with them.


    His stomach growled, interrupting his thoughts. He had a pack of food over his shoulder, taken from Nagemai¡¯s army when they left. It was running a little low, but would probably last another day or two. Then they¡¯d have to find more food somewhere.


    ¡°We can stop and eat once¡ª¡°


    The loud crack of a cnido silenced her, and an instant later a bonelette shattered against boulder, throwing shards into the air that lightly peppered the side of Mada¡¯s mask with a soft ticking sound. Nagemai spurred the panth and it leaped forward between boulders. Mada swiveled his head around, trying to see who had fired the cnido at them. Between boulders as they flashed by, he saw them. At least three panths ran parallel and behind them.


    And one of the riders had a prosthetic arm.


    The panth sprinted between boulders, tearing the ground with its massive claws and jostling Mada in the saddle. Nagemai steered the animal with expert precision, weaving so closely to rocks that Mada thought his legs would collide with one and he¡¯d be scraped off.


    Mada looked around, trying to keep track of their pursuers. From the brief glimpses he got it seemed that Nagemai was going slightly faster, but not enough to really get ahead of them. She steered their mount deeper into the boulder forest, toward the area where the boulders were larger and closer together. That would provide them greater cover, but it would also make it harder to track their enemies.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The clap of a cnido rang through the air, followed by the sound of a bonelette shattering against stone nearby. Their enemies weren¡¯t firing often, they probably wanted to save ammunition since once it was gone they would have to replace the entire weapon, but Mada didn¡¯t doubt that they would hit one of them eventually.


    The gaps between boulders grew tighter and tighter, and Mada flinched away from them as they passed by.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to try and draw them away,¡± Nagemai said without looking back at Mada. He was glad she didn¡¯t, or they might have plowed straight into a boulder. ¡°You find somewhere to hide until we¡¯re far enough away, then try and find what we came here for.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Mada said, confused. ¡°It¡¯ll be too dangerous for you to stop and let me off. They could catch up. And on top of that I have no idea what we¡¯re actually looking for.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll just have to do your best to find it,¡± Nagemai said. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about me. I won¡¯t be stopping.¡±


    She swerved sharply, nearly throwing Mada from the saddle. The panth squeezed between two large boulders, scraping his shoulder and leg against stone as it did. They burst out into a small open space and Nagemai shoved Mada from the saddle. He bounced as he hit the ground, the wind leaving his lungs. By the time he stumbled to his feet Nagemai had already vanished on the panth.


    Struggling to breathe, Mada stumbled into the shadow under the lip of a large boulder. He didn¡¯t think their pursuers would try and squeeze through the gap Nagemai had taken, it would slow them too much.


    He heard the sound of a cnido again in the darkness and prayed to Dytie that it wasn¡¯t the one that would hit its mark.


    **********


    Iakedrom crouched behind the head of his panth, trying to take cover as his quarry shot back at him. It was dangerous approaching directly from behind like this, but it was also the best way to keep up with someone in a situation. A second shot rang through the night.


    And the bonelette struck Iakedrom in the shoulder just above where his prosthetic attached.


    He twisted in the saddle from the impact, involuntarily jerking the reigns of his mount. The creature turned, catching Iakedrom¡¯s leg on a boulder and scraping him from the saddle. He rolled as he hit, protecting his head with both arms.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± He shouted into the night as his calling bird fluttered down and landed back on his shoulder. ¡°Damn it!¡±


    ¡°I lost track of you Iak,¡± Fosia¡¯s voice said from the bird. ¡°You alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Iakedrom said, standing and beginning to limp after his mount. ¡°I just got scraped off my saddle by a boulder.¡±


    ¡°Want me to swing back and get you?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll find mine,¡± Iakedrom said. It should have stopped once he was no longer holding the reigns, though at the speed they were going it would have taken it longer to do so. ¡°It¡¯s got to be nearby. You just concentrate on catching that panth.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing,¡± Fosia said. ¡°I¡¯ll keep you updated.¡±


    ¡°Good luck,¡± Iakedrom said.


    ¡°You too.¡± The bird shook as the call ended, fluffing its feathers.


    Iakedrom sighed, eyes turning red in frustration. He couldn¡¯t believe he missed that first shot. They managed to catch up by pushing their mounts as hard as they could, replacing them three times on the trip. They got the drop on their enemy. Then he threw away their advantage because he didn¡¯t think they could get closer without being seen, and cnido¡¯s weren¡¯t all that accurate from a distance. He was relying on the new weapon too much lately instead of carrying a bow like he used to. But it was hard to draw back a bow with his strong arm replaced by a weaker prosthetic.


    When this was over he was going to¡­


    He heard a sound in the darkness, not ahead of him where his mount would be, but behind him. It sounded like a boot on stone. He turned, holding his cnido with both hands to keep it steady, and crept toward the sound.


    A silhouette crossed the gap between boulders, continuing deeper into the rock forest away from the direction his officers and their quarry were headed. Iakedrom crept after the figure, stepping carefully so as not to scuff his boots on a rock and give himself away. He saw the figure again momentarily as it turned around a boulder, and he turned to circle around the other direction, hoping he could get the drop on whoever it was. He¡¯d only seen two riders on the panth earlier, so maybe this would be their third companion.


    He nearly forgot the pain in his leg as he circled the boulder quickly. He reached the other side and heard another scuffing sound around the side of a different boulder. Closer this time. He followed, weaving between rocks and doing his best to move swiftly and silently. He heard a clack ahead of him, around the side of a medium sized boulder, and he crept toward it. He expected he would catch the figure any moment now.


    Someone grabbed his shoulders from behind, yanking him backward and throwing him to the ground. As he hit the dirt he nearly lost his grip on the cnido, but managed to keep hold of it despite the jolting pain through his back. The figure leaped toward him to try and pin him, but Iakedrom rolled out of the way and leaped back to his feet.


    He raised the cnido, but the figure was too quick, rushing forward and slapping the weapon aside before Iakedrom could raise it fully. The figure maintained his forward motion, driving his shoulder into Iakedrom¡¯s upper chest, wrapping his arms around Iakedrom¡¯s torso and tackling him.


    Iakedrom had practiced grappling plenty in training, but never before had his life depended on it. His opponent gripped Iakedrom¡¯s prosthetic tightly, preventing him from raising the cnido to attack. He¡¯d instinctively held it in his right hand though since it had been his dominant before. Iakedrom tried to pull free, but the na¡¯s grip was too strong and he was pinning Iakedrom with his entire body weight.


    His opponent forced his arm to bend at the elbow, and Iakedrom resisted as best he could but the prosthetic was weaker than his other arm. He punched at his assailant, but couldn¡¯t get a good strike on him because of the way he was pinned. Iakedrom reached over, trying to use his good arm to free his prosthetic. The na elbowed him in the head with his free arm as he did so, disorienting him. But not so much that Iakedrdom didn¡¯t notice the marks hidden beneath the na¡¯s sleeves as they slid downward.


    He immediately knew who he was up against. The na with two prosthetic arms, marked by Ekivia to pass messages to the verds. Mada.


    Iakedrom reached up, grabbing the mask on his opponents face, pushing his fingers into the eye holes, scratching at the na¡¯s face. Mada shook and twisted his head, shouting and pulling away slightly. The twisting caused the straps on the mask to slip over the top of his head and his hood to fall from his face.


    Iakedrom froze when he saw what Mada truly was.


    And in that moment of distraction the creature pinned Iakedrom¡¯s wrist with one hand and gripped the bent elbow with the other, then pulled up, twisting his prosthetic with enough force to tear it from his body. The pain was dulled as the connection between him and the arm was severed, but it still stung. Blood dripped from the limb in Mada¡¯s hand and it tossed it aside.


    Shocked back to the moment by the pain, Iakedrom twisted violently, taking advantage of the fact that Mada no longer had a solid grip on him. It was too slow to stop Iakedrom¡¯s spin, and he brought his elbow up as he twisted and slammed it into the side of Mada¡¯s head.


    The force of the blow sent Mada to the dirt on once side, and Iakedrom scrambled around to pin the creature. He managed to get on top of Mada, but with only one arm it was difficult to control the fight. He grabbed Mada¡¯s neck, trying to strangle it. He needed to¡­


    A sharp crack echoed off the rocks around them and Iakedrom jerked from the sudden pain in his side.


    His grip slackened a little, but he couldn¡¯t let up now or he¡¯d be dead. He pushed himself upward with one leg to get his entire weight behind his next attack, then drove his other knee into Mada¡¯s stomach. The creature gasped, and Iakedrom grabbed the wrist holding the cnido, forcing it to point off into the air as it squeezed the trigger a second time, sending the bonelette into the night air above them.


    Mada reached across and struck the inside of Iakedrom¡¯s elbow, bending his arm and causing him to fall forward slightly. Then the creature kicked upward, driving his knee into Iakedrom¡¯s back. It made his knee drive deeper into Mada¡¯s stomach, but the creature didn¡¯t seem to care at the moment.


    He grabbed Iakedrom¡¯s neck in a surprisingly strong grip as it came into reach and it pulled him downward. Instinctively, Iakedrom released Mada¡¯s weapon hand to grab tat the one gripping his neck. Even as he did it the logical side of his brain screamed at him that it was a mistake.


    Mada fired a second time into Iakedrom¡¯s side. Then a third.


    Iakedrom shouted and his body shook with pain. He couldn¡¯t maintain the grip and Mada easily pushed him off to the side. His hand went to his side, and he felt the oil oozing from the bonelette wounds there. His breath came in gasps, not unlike Mada¡¯s own as the creature rolled and pushed itself onto hands and knees.


    Black sorrow and white fear replaced the red in Iakedrom¡¯s eyes as he pressed his shaking hand against his wounded side.


    Dytie, please help me.


    He watched through obscured vision as the cnido slipped from Mada¡¯s hand and the creature curled up over his knees, placing his forehead on the ground then circling his arms around his head in the position of prayer. It shook almost as much as Iakedrom himself did, though it hadn¡¯t been nearly as hurt as Iakedrom.


    ¡°Dytie,¡± the creature whispered. ¡°If you truly have been, are, and will be, please help me.¡±


    The shock of the moment nearly made Iakedrom forget his pain. This creature spoke as clearly as any diordna. If he hadn¡¯t seen his face and knew the truth he would have thought it was a diordna.


    Not only did it speak but its prayer echoed Iakedrom¡¯s own.


    It sat there, trembling, whispering its prayer to Dytie even as Iakedrom did the same. Then as though spawned from the darkness of the night a messenger bird fluttered down and landed on one of Mada¡¯s arms. The creature looked up at the bird, clear droplets of water falling from its eyes like emotionless tears.


    Mada slowly stood, expression suddenly resolute. Though the bird didn¡¯t speak any message it seemed as though Mada had understood something from its arrival. It was as though Dytie had heard and answered the prayer of this creature.


    Mada walked away as though it suddenly knew where to go, leaving Iakedrom in the dirt between boulders, oil oozing from his side, mind reeling at what he¡¯d just seen and experienced.


    He finally knew Ekivia¡¯s big secret. Everything he¡¯d learned before indicated that Mada was a diordna, but white hair covered its head and blood colored the pale flesh of its shoulder where its shirt had been torn. Mada is, and had always been, an animal. Iakedrom wanted to hold to his earlier conclusions, but even in his disoriented and pained state he knew that he would have to reconsider everything.


    He remembered rumors from twenty years ago saying that Ekivia had been trying to duplicate diordna in the form of an animal, but they said she¡¯d failed and he¡¯d dismissed the idea. Her research was destroyed, her reputation tarnished, and her license taken.


    But this didn¡¯t look like failure.


    Iakedrom didn¡¯t know how close this creature was to being a true AI, but he did know that it had bested him.


    Iakedrom¡¯s head swam and he felt as though he were standing and perpetually falling over. Still, he had the presence of mind to reach for his calling bird as it fluttered down out of the darkness to land beside him.


    He pressed a finger down on the bird''s foot and spoke the code that would connect him to Fosia.


    ¡°Fosia¡­¡± His voice was weak and raspy, almost a whisper. ¡°Help.¡±


    ¡°Iak?¡± The bird said. ¡°Iak, are you there? Iak!¡±


    She knew where he fell from his mount. He wasn¡¯t in that exact spot, but he was close. He hoped he was close enough that she could find him in this maze of boulders.


    He tried to reply, to give her more details, but he couldn¡¯t get his voice to work.


    Then his eyes closed.

 Chapter 17: Secrets Beneath

    Chapter 17: Secrets Beneath


    "Research Log, 17 Years, 19 Days (Day 5,828)


    "So to close my research logs I¡¯ll say this. I believe I accomplished what I set out to do, and what others have tried before me. I have made a true Animal Intelligence. A true animal diordna. I have given the form and intelligence of diordna kind to an animal, a form and intelligence once reserved by Dytie exclusively for machine.


    ¡°And based on my experience with Mada I believe that Dytie has given him a soul.¡±


    Mada ¡¯s hands shook and his brain felt numb as he walked deeper into the boulder forest. He didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d killed Iakedrom or not. He almost wanted to go check, though he wasn¡¯t sure if it would be to finish the job or to try and help the na.


    He was disturbed by his own brutality. The last time he was in a fight he¡¯d only accidentally killed someone, but this time he¡¯d initiated the fight. He¡¯d seen Iakedrom creeping through the shadows, tailing him, and he couldn¡¯t allow his enemy to get the drop on him. So he¡¯d bated Iakedrom around a rock that had thick shadows, and he waited.


    When the fight started something scary and previously unknown to Mada awoke in him. A violent creature surfaced, fighting desperately to survive. He didn¡¯t even think about trying to negotiate in the moment. He wasn¡¯t sure he thought at all while they fought. His heart still pounded as he thought about it, almost as though he were still fighting.


    He stopped a moment in his wandering through the boulders and leaned against one of them, breathing to try and calm his racing mind and heart. He reached up to remove his mask and wipe the sweat from his face, only to remember that he wasn¡¯t wearing the mask anymore. He¡¯d left it back with Iakedrom¡¯s body. He stopped with his hands held in front of his face, moonlight glistening off the oil covering his gloves.


    Hands shaking he removed the gloves and tossed them aside, then he wiped his forehead. He was feeling dizzy, so he reached into his food pouch and pulled a carrot out. It was just the first thing he grabbed, though it wasn¡¯t really his favorite. He didn¡¯t actually feel like eating despite feeling hungry, but he ate anyway. There was something comforting in the act, and after a moment the dizziness subsided a little along with the shaking in his hands. He looked at his gloves in the dirt but decided to leave them behind and stood.


    Something huffed loudly nearby.


    Mada froze, listening closely to the night. He heard the breath again, a little closer. It was clearly the breath of a mount, coming from the direction he¡¯d come from. It could be Nagemai, but it was as likely that it was one of Iakedrom¡¯s officers. He looked around for a good place to hide and wait to see which it was. He walked swiftly away from the sound.


    Then he heard another breath, somewhere ahead of him, and instantly knew that Nagemai had not returned for him.


    He turned away from the sound, speeding his steps so he was moving as quickly as he could without being too loud. The sounds of sniffing mounts grew closer, closing him in, and he pushed himself between two large boulders, looking desperately for a good place to hide. When he emerged on the other side of the boulders he saw only blank rock faces, shadows being cast across the area, but none of those shadows seemed sufficient to keep him hidden from a pursuer that could see better in the dark than any diordna.


    He sped up, worrying less about the sound, eyes searching desperately around. The breathing drew closer despite his increased speed.


    Dytie, please.


    A sharp chuff came from just on the other side of a boulder beside him. If he didn¡¯t find a place to hide he would be caught.


    Then he saw it. A boulder with a crack running from the ground up to a little over Mada¡¯s head. It was barely wide enough that he could just squeeze through, and he couldn¡¯t tell how deep it went because of the shadows cast by the moon. As he rushed to the boulder looked around to see if there was a better place to hide. As he reached the crack he saw the head of a pursuer appear from behind a boulder.


    He prayed it would be deep enough, removed his bag and held it in one hand, then squeezed sideways into the crack.


    He pressed himself deeper and deeper into the crack, surprised at how deeply it went into the boulder. His chest rubbed against the rough rock, scraping it a little through his shirt, and his cloak caught on the rock behind him, tightening it uncomfortably against his neck.


    Suddenly he stumbled out of the crack, and for a moment he panicked, thinking he would be exposed to the moonlight and his pursuers. But he found himself in pure darkness, unable to see. He felt around blindly, touching the walls of what he could only describe as a small room at the center of the boulder, its walls smooth instead of rough like the entrance. He couldn¡¯t guess what could have smoothed a rock like that other than water.


    He held his eyes wide as if that would help him see in the darkness. He slung his food pack over his shoulder and felt around, trying to find the crack in the side of the room again. His foot caught on something jutting from the ground and he stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.


    Suddenly the room lit up with dim bioluminescence. The floor was vine, with bioluminescent portions woven into the others. The vines climbed partway up the walls of the dome-shaped room, and now that he saw the space he was even more confused by the smoothness of the walls. With the room now lit he easily spotted the vine that had caught his foot. It was pulled up slightly, revealing what looked like a glowing trigger branch beneath. Mada stooped and pulled on the trigger.


    And the floor vines began to shift, twisting around each other and pulling themselves up against the walls to reveal a tunnel beneath the stone.


    Dytie, is this what you wanted me to find?


    The vines settled into place at either side of the entrance, and he stepped carefully down into the tunnel beneath the vine floor and began walking, following the path lit by bioluminescent vines down into the ground. The incline was steep at first but shallowed to a more comfortable angle once he was about twice his height below the boulder room. The entire thing seemed to be cut from stone and smoothed like the room above. It was very obviously not natural, though he couldn¡¯t fathom how water could have been directed by diordna to cut into the stone so precisely as this. The only explanation he could think of was that no diordna had done it.


    This tunnel had to have been carved by Dytie himself.


    Mada continued downward, following the wide curve of the tunnel in what seemed to be a massive left-turning spiral into the depths of the earth. He walked downward for several long minutes, and he thought he was several stories below the surface when the tunnel straightened out ahead of him and he saw its end ahead. It was too dim for him to see well at a distance, but he could make out a door, though it was strangely smooth like the walls and it seemed to almost be reflecting the bioluminescent light from the vines crawling along the walls of the tunnel. When he got closer he saw why.


    The door was made of metal.


    His stomach turned, his legs and hands began shaking, and his head began to swim again as it had after his fight with Iakedrom. He stumbled into the side of the tunnel and used it to support him, closing his eyes to try and stave off the dizziness.


    Someone had made a door out of corpses. It no longer had clear features that would identify it as such, but Mada had heard about the craftsman and seen the descriptions of how he pounded diordna skin into flat reflective sheets and wrapped objects in it. This door looked to have been made the same way. He nearly turned back right then, but he stopped himself. He didn¡¯t come all this way to stop here. After the sacrifices of so many around him, he needed to see this through. Ekivia wouldn¡¯t have given up here.


    For himself and for her memory, he had to know what Dytie wanted to show him.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    The swimming in his head calmed and he took a deep breath, pushing himself away from the wall. He approached the door, paused momentarily with his hand outstretched. He really wished he still had his gloves, but he couldn¡¯t risk going back to grab them now. He just had to stop thinking about it, close his mind to what was happening.


    He pressed his hand to the door, leaning into it and stepping through in one motion.


    The door opened into what seemed to be a single roomed cavern larger than any building he¡¯d ever seen. Only instead of stone everything seemed to be made of metal. Unnaturally steady bright lights shone throughout the cavern, making the entire space seem to be in daylight. He was standing on some sort of ledge raised ledge in the tip third of the space that looked like a net of metal with inch wide diamond shaped gaps between the metal netting, but it didn¡¯t sag or flex under his weight. It was completely stiff, and extended like a bridge several yards out over the room. Railings like polished diordna bone ran along either side of the platform, and at its end was a large box covered in metal and a large glass top like sorrow filled eyes. The metal skin on the box had obvious seams, cut in precise lines and stuck together like seams on clothing, though he couldn¡¯t see any stitching. To either side of this box were stairs that led down the hundred feet to the cavern floor.


    On the floor below he saw what looked to be huge tubs of oil and other diordna body fluids, and in other places corpses lay heaped atop one another. They were organized by skin metal color. At one side of each pile were what looked almost like small swarms of metal birds, though they only had long necks and beaks with no other features. These swarms of reflective metal birds picked and tore at the corpses, then laid the pieces on a long metal table that moved like a river, carrying the bits of diordna down toward a fire at the far end.


    Mada¡¯s legs stiffened, then buckled, and he fell to his hands and knees with a loud clang that echoed across the cavern. His stomach heaved and he watched the vomit pass through the metal net and fall slowly to splash on the floor far below. He wanted to stand, to stop touching the metal, but his head swam and his body shook so badly that he was struggling just to stay on his hands and knees.


    His mind didn¡¯t want to believe what he was seeing, but each time he blinked he saw the same thing. A room made from the dead. Creatures made from metal eating diordna corpses. He looked around again and saw massive crab''s claws the size of pursuers, shifting the dead to make them easier for the carrion birds to reach. Apparently they couldn¡¯t walk. As the claws shifted the pile they completely crushed the chest of a diordna. Mada wasn¡¯t close enough to hear the snapping crunch of bones breaking, but he heard it in his mind. The corpse didn¡¯t leak oil as it was destroyed, none of them did, but that almost made it worse because it meant they were drained dry into the vats he¡¯d seen earlier.


    Dytie had led him to hell.


    His body heaved again and tried to vomit, but his stomach was empty so nothing came up. He had to get out of here. He started crawling back toward the door. It was only a body length away, but with his limbs shaking he could barely lift them. He spit the taste of bile from his mouth, glancing around involuntarily. Then he gagged again. Closing his eyes didn¡¯t help, the images were burned into his mind beyond his ability to expel them.


    There was something strange about this place though, and his mind latched onto the thought as a means of distraction. Hell was supposed to be filled with the screams of the damned, but the only sounds here were the strange noises of the claws and beaks that tore the corpses apart and a low buzzing sound he couldn¡¯t identify that vibrated through the entire cavern. These damned were just corpses, their souls gone from their bodies, no voices left to scream. But if this wasn¡¯t hell then what was it?


    Dytie why would you bring me here?


    Slowly Mada managed to push himself to his feet, using one of the bone railings for support even though the cool touch of it sent a chill through his arm and down his spine.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± A woman¡¯s voice asked. It echoed through the entire chamber, though it wasn¡¯t a shout.


    Mada froze and looked up sharply, glancing in all directions but seeing no one.


    ¡°How did you find this place?¡± The voice asked, echoing again. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. ¡°I get the feeling you weren¡¯t invited here.¡±


    ¡°I was!¡± Mada shouted in the room, still searching for the source of the voice. ¡°Dytie brought me here!¡±


    He pulled his sleeves up to expose the marks and held his hands over his head, hoping the speaker would be able to see them and know what he said was true. Though, it was just as likely that they wouldn¡¯t know what the marks were at all.


    The voice laughed, sending a chill through Mada. It wasn¡¯t a malicious laugh, but it echoed ominously through the cavern, bouncing off metal walls and clashing eerily with itself.


    ¡°That you believe Dytie sent you is evidence that you weren¡¯t invited,¡± The voice said. ¡°And you don¡¯t need to shout. I can hear you just find. How did you even find this place?¡±


    ¡°These marks,¡± Mada said at a normal volume, though it felt strange to speak so quietly when he couldn¡¯t see who he was talking to. ¡°Dytie gave them to me and they led me here.¡±


    ¡°For a human you have a lot of faith in the diordna god,¡± the voice said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me see those tattoos of yours.¡±


    As the voice said this one of the panth sized claws suddenly swung across the cavern at incredible speed before stopping beside the platform where Mada stood. The tips of the claw faced him like a bird might when looking at a bug in the dirt, but he couldn¡¯t see any eyes on it and thankfully it didn¡¯t peck him. If it had he was certain he¡¯d be crushed as surely as that corpse had been earlier.


    He gagged a little at the thought and tried to refocus his mind on the conversation. He finally thought he knew who he was talking to, and he thought this conversation was why Dytie had sent him here. He was speaking with the undertaker of hell.


    ¡°How exactly did Dytie give you these marks?¡± The voice asked, humor and disbelief gone from her tone.


    ¡°The whole story would take some time to tell,¡± Mada said. ¡°But I touched a piece of diordna skin. It came to life and marked me. Then a nawo I was with translated the marks and they led me here.¡±


    ¡°That seems an unlikely story,¡± the voice said. ¡°But those marks do indicate this region. And I don¡¯t think Maharba would have given them to you.¡±


    ¡°Maharba knows about you?¡± Mada asked. It was the first piece of information the voice had let slip.


    ¡°I guess that confirms my expectation,¡± the voice said.


    Mada decided to try and press for more answers since the voice seemed willing to give them. ¡°Is this hell?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± The voice said.


    ¡°If not hell then what is this place,¡± Mada asked.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to know that,¡± the voice said. ¡°And even if I told you I don¡¯t think you¡¯d understand it. Besides, it¡¯s Maharba¡¯s secret to tell.¡±


    Mada sighed and turned away from the claw. ¡°I guess I¡¯m done here then.¡±


    He thought he might be able to get more answers, but he was feeling dizzy again. He needed to leave. He could come back with Nagemai later and get more answers. Maybe she¡¯d have some insight into¡­


    He was suddenly lifted off his feet by the claw. It wrapped around him, gripping him tightly, a little painfully, but not enough to crush him like that corpse before.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± hell¡¯s voice said. ¡°I can¡¯t let you go until Maharba gets here.¡±


    **********


    Maharba arrived at the stone forest a couple hours after he felt the signal from Mahkram. The undertaker couldn¡¯t send more than a vague signal though since they no longer had any antennas above ground. But that he¡¯d received a signal at all told him something had happened. He arrived only to discover that Iakedrom¡¯s team had been unsuccessful in catching the fugitives and Iakedrom himself was unconscious at a hospital in a nearby town. Still, his search parties were doing their job in the area though they hadn¡¯t found Mada yet.


    And Maharba was pretty certain they never would find him.


    The only reason he could think that Mahkram would call him was if someone had entered hell, and since Mada had its coordinates marked onto his body it was a logical conclusion to think that Mada was that someone.


    Maharba squeezed through the crack in the stone and found the tunnel entrance open. He jumped in and ran down the tunnel to the metal door.


    He always felt like he belonged down here more than he did above ground, with his smooth, reflective body and ancient design. But he¡¯d been selected to stay above and Mahkram below. To this day he wondered if he had been the best choice or if she should have been the one up above.


    He threw the door open with more force than he intended, eager to see what Mahkram had to show him on the other side.


    ¡°Well hello Maharba,¡± Mahkram said, her voice filling the room. ¡°You got here fast.¡±


    ¡°I was already on my way when I felt your signal,¡± Maharba said. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve had a visitor?¡±


    ¡°So you knew about it?¡± Mahkram said, and one of her large claws swung around to show Maharba the young adult human it held. ¡°I thought we agreed that making more humans was a bad idea.¡±


    Maharba sighed. ¡°We did. But this one slipped past us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not like you,¡± Mahkram said. ¡°And it¡¯s especially not like Selraef. Are there any more of them?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Maharba said, then he focused his attention on the human. ¡°Mada I presume?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± the human said.


    It opened its mouth to say more, but Maharba wasn¡¯t interested.


    Sighing, he drew his cnido and fired a bonelette through Mada¡¯s left eye.

 Chapter 18: Lies of the Chosen

    Chapter 18: Lies of the Chosen


    "Research Log, Day 1


    ¡°It¡¯s been almost a year and something still feels off about why my project was shut down. I¡¯ve been in hell since then just waiting to be caught continuing the work on my own.


    "On a better note, today I finished the first step of the project. I believe that I have created a being that will become as intelligent and capable as any Diordna. I had to kill the host ape, although I was growing fond of the creature. But I can¡¯t risk anyone finding out and destroying this last hope to finish my work. This log and the creation itself will be the only evidences until I decide to announce what I¡¯ve made. How many engineers get even a glimpse of their ultimate work made flesh? I am lucky to have gotten this far even if it doesn''t turn out as intelligent as I hope. Losing everything was hell, and the last year waiting to see if this final piece of my old life would survive was hell.


    But today I¡¯m holding a piece of heaven born from the flames of my hell."


    The human¡¯s head snapped back and blood sprayed from the eyesocket. The body slumped in Mahkram¡¯s claw and Maharba reached forward and felt the neck for a pulse.


    Mada was dead.


    Certain he wouldn¡¯t need it anymore, Maharba holstered his cnido and wiped the blood from his face. He hadn¡¯t killed a human in generations, but somehow the sight of Mada¡¯s slack face, eye destroyed, blood dripping from the socket, still managed to disturb him.


    ¡°Did you have to do that down here?¡± Mahkram complained. ¡°He already threw up all over.¡±


    ¡°I have someone I need to contact about this,¡± Maharba said, and he turned to leave.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just walk out of here,¡± Mahkram said, anger clear in her voice. ¡°You can¡¯t just¡ª¡°


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Maharba said, interrupting. ¡°We can discuss this once I¡¯ve spoken with my agent.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Mahkram said. ¡°But if you don¡¯t come back I¡¯ll just keep signaling you until you do.¡±


    Maharba rolled his eyes as he exited hell and closed the door behind him to quiet any of the sounds it made, then he walked down the passageway a short way and placed his finger on the foot of his calling bird.


    **********


    When Iakedrom awoke he tried to sit up, but the pain in his side forced him to stay on his back. He was in a bed in what he expected was a hospital. His side and the stump of his arm were both bandaged tightly. Having a prosthetic removed so violently would have left an oily, bloody mess where animal and diordna met because of the way the two bonded. That bond made it possible for him to control and feel sensations with the arm, which he was normally grateful for. Except when it was violently torn from his body.


    "How''re you feeling Iak?" Fosia asked, and he turned his head to look at her.


    She¡¯d found him. Oh Dytie, she¡¯d found him in time.


    "Like I¡¯ve been shot," Iakedrom said, voice weak.


    "That''s good," Fosia said, mouth turning upward in a smile.


    "Why is that good?"


    She grinned. "It means you weren¡¯t shot in the head."


    Iakedrom sighed but smiled with her despite the pain. "How bad is it?"


    ¡°I arrived in time to save your life," She said. "Only one of the shots was still lodged in your side and the other two were mostly surface wounds. You''re lucky."


    "I guess I am." Iakedrom lifted his head, trying to get a look at his wounds, but even that hurt. "Did they find Mada?"


    Fosia shook her head. "We''ve had search teams in the area but there are so many places to hide. We may have to just wait him out."


    ¡°There are¡­ things we need to discuss,¡± Iakedrom said, ¡°About Mada and¡ª¡°


    The calling bird on Fosia¡¯s shoulder stiffened, then spoke. ¡°Iakedrom.¡±


    Fosia placed her hand on the bird¡¯s foot, and Iakedrom spoke. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°This is Maharba. I¡¯m glad to hear you¡¯re alive.¡±


    ¡°As am I,¡± Iakedrom said, then he cringed at the informality of the quip. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I failed you my Drol.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry,¡± Maharaja said. ¡°I¡¯ve taken care of it. That¡¯s why I wanted to speak with you. I wanted to tell you that you can go back to looking for the Craftsman.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Iakedrom asked, concerned for some reason.


    ¡°I mean Mada is dead,¡± Maharba said. ¡°I killed him myself.¡±


    Something seemed odd to Iakedrom, but in his state, he couldn¡¯t identify what. He looked to Fosia questioningly, but she just shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to do that personally.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry,¡± Maharba said. ¡°You¡¯ve done your job, now you just need to recover and get back to what you were doing before. You didn¡¯t happen to see who attacked you, did you?¡±


    Iakedrom hesitated. Something in the Drol¡¯s tone seemed off. It was the feeling he got in an interrogation when someone was lying or manipulating, the one he hadn¡¯t felt when speaking with Ekivia. He thought his instincts were off, but now that he knew what Mada was he wasn¡¯t so sure anymore.


    Maharba wanted to know if Iakedrom knew what Mada was, and Iakedrom didn¡¯t think he would react well to the truth. ¡°I didn¡¯t get a good look at him. I¡¯m guessing you did though. Was I right? Was he a spy for the Redaeli?¡±


    ¡°Traitor,¡± Maharba said. ¡°He was an old acquaintance of Ekivia¡¯s from when she was younger. A half skin, so he could have been either Drolite or Redaeli. It¡¯s times like this that make us distrust half skins so much.¡±


    Maharba was lying. Mada was no half skin. Besides that, Iakedrom had dug deep into her personal history and he¡¯d never come across a half skin friend anywhere in her past. And half skins were too rare and mistrusted to go unnoticed for so long. ¡°Very true, my Drol. I¡¯m glad to hear it¡¯s over.¡±


    ¡°Good work today,¡± Maharba said. ¡°Now get some rest.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I will,¡± Iakedrom said, and he lifted his finger from the bird¡¯s foot.


    Maharba had lied to him, repeatedly. Iakedrom felt more and more disturbed as he thought back on their recent conversations. What else had he lied about?


    ¡°Fosia?¡± Iakedrom called, though not very loudly because he couldn¡¯t.


    She came into the room. ¡°Sorry I was listening, but I didn¡¯t want to be too far if you needed anything.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Do you remember the conversation we had just before Yelis escaped?¡±


    Fosia nodded, looking uncomfortable.


    ¡°The Drol just lied to me,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°I saw Mada, and it wasn¡¯t a half skin.¡±


    ¡°You bated the Drol,¡± Fosia said, then she smiled a little. ¡°I¡¯m impressed you had the guts, considering you spilled some of them earlier.¡±


    Iakedrom nodded. ¡°That¡¯s not all. I think he might do anything to hide Mada¡¯s identity.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Fosia asked.


    ¡°Mada is an animal,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°An AI. Ekivia¡¯s last project wasn¡¯t a failure as we were told.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ news,¡± Fosia said. ¡°How smart is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°We need to ask her that I think. Can you call her for us?¡±


    Fosia nodded and pressed the foot of the calling bird, speaking a code into it that Iakedrom recognized as one belonging to an officer they left behind to keep an eye on Ekivia.


    A moment later he answered. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°This is Fosia. We need to speak to Ekivia, privately.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± The officer said through the bird. There was silence for a moment, then he spoke again. ¡°I¡¯m leaving the room. Go ahead and talk.¡±


    They waited briefly so he could be out of the room, then Iakedrom spoke. ¡°Hello Ekivia.¡±


    ¡°Iakedrom.¡± Even through the bird he could hear the acid in her voice. He didn¡¯t blame her for that, especially now that he had more information. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I know what Mada is.¡±


    The statement was met with a long bloated silence, but Iakedrom was patient. She¡¯d be thinking through how he¡¯d said it. She was smart enough to put together that he really did know what Mada was, or he would have said he know who Mada is.


    "Congratulations," Ekivia said.


    "How intelligent is it?"


    She hesitated before responding. ¡°Why do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°The way I see it, if he¡¯s as intelligent as you or I that would be a great boon to the Drol,¡± Iakedrom said, deciding to tell her a more complete truth. ¡°And it seems that despite that he doesn¡¯t want anyone to know about Mada. He ordered me to kill it without hesitation, and he tried to hide what it was from me. And I don¡¯t like being lied to. So, how intelligent?¡±


    ¡°Intelligent enough that you shouldn¡¯t refer to him as an it,¡± Ekivia said, tone aggressive.


    Iakedrom was taken aback. He hadn¡¯t expected that kind of response. ¡°Alright then. That still doesn¡¯t tell me how intelligent it¡­ sorry, he is. Can you be a little clearer?¡±


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    ¡°I intended him to be as smart as any diordna,¡± Ekivia said. ¡°And I believe I accomplished that goal. He is our equal.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impressive,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Are the notes in that bird of yours all about him?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Ekivia said quietly.


    ¡°I see,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Thank you for telling me this.¡±


    ¡°Did I have a choice?¡± Ekivia asked.


    ¡°Believe it or not, you did,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve been more honest with me than even the Drol, and I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t believe you.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Ekivia stuttered. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°Now get some rest and recover. I hope to talk to you later.¡±


    Fosia lifted her finger from the bird. ¡°This all has quite a few implications, and it opens up a whole new line of questions.¡±


    ¡°No kidding,¡± Iakedrom said.


    ¡°So what do you want to do about it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure there¡¯s much we can do immediately,¡± Iakedrom said. ¡°First, we need to try and repair our rapor with Ekivia. She¡¯ll have some of the answers we¡¯re looking for. Then, once I recover, we need to go find out what Mada was looking for. I believe that, more than anything else, will show us the truth.¡±


    **********


    Maharba finished speaking with Iakedrom and re-entered the recycling plant. He was met with the slight smell of vomit and the sight of the dead human layer out on the steel grate platform, his blood dripping through the holes and down to the floor deep below. Even after all these generations there was something disturbing to him about human death.


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Maharba said. ¡°I just had to make sure no one else saw him above ground.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Mahkram said, obviously displeased, her voice filling the room. ¡°I know we can¡¯t have humans running around. Any idea how he found me?¡±


    ¡°Not in detail, no,¡± Maharba said, sighing. ¡°Apparently someone¡¯s skin tattooed his body.¡±


    ¡°I saw that,¡± Mahkram said. ¡°They¡¯re written in our language.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Maharba said. ¡°But I don¡¯t know who translated it for them. Selraef didn¡¯t know much about him at all, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be any help.¡±


    ¡°Is she ever?¡± Mahkram asked, and Maharba could hear the wry smile in her voice even though he couldn¡¯t see it.


    He wanted to smile at the quip, but his mind was too preoccupied to feel mirth at the moment. ¡°I have to go. I don¡¯t expect anyone else to visit you, but if they do just kill them next time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah,¡± Mahkram said, and Maharba turned to leave. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to clean this mess up?¡±


    Maharba looked back at the dead human. ¡°Flesh burns as well as metal. You take care of it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± Mahkram said. ¡°I already have to deal with impurities without adding extra like this. It¡¯s difficult enough without having to deal with animal guts in the mix.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Maharba said, impatient. He knew she wasn¡¯t lying even though he didn¡¯t understand how any of this really worked. But he still felt put out by the demand. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the body. But anyone else who comes down here is yours to deal with. They¡¯ll be diordna so you shouldn¡¯t have any reason to complain.¡±


    ¡°Yes Drol,¡± Mahkram said sarcastically, all mirth gone from her tone.


    Maharba stepped forward and lifted the bleeding corpse from the platform, then left Mahkram to her solitude beneath the ground. He grumbled to himself as he climbed back up the tunnel, not because the corpse was heavy or anything, just because he was annoyed at the whole situation. None of this should have ever happened. It was as much Selraef¡¯s and Ardnax¡¯s fault, but he was thee one stuck dealing with the fallout.


    When he reached the top of the tunnel he all but threw Mada up into the stone room, then climbed up after and flicked the trigger branch jutting from the side of the opening. As the vines closed he looked at Mada¡¯s body, trying to figure out the best way to get it through the opening in the stone. The vines closed, and the bioluminescence faded, plunging him into darkness. He¡¯d been here often enough that it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. He stooped to pick Mada up.


    Something scraped against the stone outside, drawing his attention. He listened intently, trying to decide if it was someone coming through the crack or simply passing outside. The sound seemed to draw closer. So it was coming in through the crack. He backed away from the sound, stooped, and pointed his cnido in roughly the direction of the entrance.


    Then he waited, one hand prepared to fire the weapon, the other prepared to brush the branch that would light the room up so he could see his enemy.


    **********


    Nagemai stood beside a large boulder with a large crack in it. She¡¯d returned to the boulder forest a couple hours after leaving Mada there to find search parties combing the area. She¡¯d made her way to the center of the forest, as it didn¡¯t look like the searchers had made it that far yet as they were starting from the outside and tightening their net inward.


    And after nearly half an hour of searching she¡¯d found this boulder with a diordna high crack.


    It wasn¡¯t the only cracked boulder she¡¯d seen. It was just the only one around here that looked like it could fit a diordna. It seemed like the best hiding spot she¡¯d found, depending on how deeply it ran into the rock, and she hoped Mada had found it as well.


    She listened intently at the crack for a moment but heard only the night breeze brushing through the boulders.


    She held her spear in one hand and drew her cnido with the other, then turned sideways and sidled into the crack cnido first. Her clothing rasped against the rock as she moved deeper into darkness. It didn¡¯t take long before she could see nothing ahead of her, and only faintly behind. Suddenly the crack widened and she no longer felt stone pressing in around her. She¡¯d stepped into some sort of cavity in the rock, though she couldn¡¯t see anything.


    ¡°Mada?¡± She whispered into the darkness.


    The crack of a cnido assaulted her ears, nearly deafening in the small space. She heard the bonelette shatter against stone behind her and felt the bits of bone pepper the back of her neck. Then vines began to light up with bioluminescence, revealing the small room in the rock. There were two figures crouched against the wall opposite her. One was Drol Maharba, hands holding a cnido forward, recognizable by the mark of Dytie on his chest which was exposed by his open fronted shirt and by the reflective sheen of his unnaturally rust free iron skin.


    The other was Mada, dead, one eye a gory empty socket, oozing blood like red tears of anger.


    Nagemai¡¯s eyes instantly filled with sorrowful rage that matched the dark red of Mada¡¯s tears, and she turned her focus to the one who had killed him.


    Maharba leaped forward and kicked upward, striking her cnido hand to the side. She spun, following her arm and returning his kick with one of her own. Her kick was more accurate, more recently practiced, and she caught just his cnido, breaking it. As she finished her spin she thrust her spear forward.


    Maharba caught her spear in a tight grip before she could get a good thrust, and he yanked, drawing her deeper into the room. The floor was uneven and it flexed slightly beneath her feet, telling her that there was something beneath it, but hundreds of years of combat experience kept her on her feet and gripping the spear. She tried using her momentum to pull him off balance or to regain control of the weapon, but he held firm, digging his heels into the vine.


    They held the spear between them like a solid rope in a tug of war, each of them trying to twist and wrench the weapon away from the other. Nagemai widened her stance to get a more solid footing, kicking Mada¡¯s body.


    Maharba was bigger than her, but he wasn¡¯t stronger.


    Nagemai pivoted, twisting the spear and forcing Maharba to sidestep so the tip wouldn¡¯t point directly at his stomach. The movement put Maharba nearly directly in front of the narrow entrance.


    She fired her cnido at Maharaja¡¯s chest.


    The projectile shattered against the smooth metal, bits of bone flying into the air around the point of impact, and a prick of oil leaked from a small crack in Dytie¡¯s left thumb.


    Maharba twisted the spear and pushed forward, forcing Nagemai to shift her weight and spoiling the aim of the second shot. His motion pushed her back a step and she thumped against the wall of the room.


    ¡°You must be Selraef¡¯s problem general,¡± Maharba said, his eyes colorless and emotionless. ¡°She can¡¯t seem to kill you.¡±


    ¡°She could,¡± Nagemai said, glaring at him through red eyes. ¡°But the Redaeli wouldn¡¯t appreciate her executing a war hero.¡±


    ¡°Did you put yourself in that position on purpose?¡± Maharba asked. ¡°So you could preach against Dytie and his Chosen?¡±


    Nagemai responded by firing her cnido again.


    The Drol, expecting the shot, began to pivot even as she was raising the weapon, so the bonelette glanced off his shoulder and shattered against the rock. His movement forced Nagemai to step toward Mada, her shuffling feet pushing his corpse across the vine floor, her stance narrowing slightly. Maharba pressed his attack, trying to take advantage of her weakened stance.


    But Nagemai was ready and stepped into the attack without releasing the spear. She lifted one foot, pivoted the other for power, and kicked the Drol in the chest, using both her own strength and the Drol¡¯s momentum to do as much damage as she could against his unnaturally tough exterior.


    Maharba twisted slightly at the last moment, avoiding some of the force of the attack but not all of it. He stumbled from the blow and Nagemai twisted her spear hand and by extension Maharba. She forced him back, pressing him into the crack in the rock.


    Her body surged with rage and she pressed the spear forward, shoving him deeper into the crack. Metal scraped against rock as she tried to drive the spearpoint into his body, but he resisted with one hand while squeezing through the narrow gap. She followed him, not caring about the scraping against the back, arms, and chest. Her best hope was that the Drol would get caught.


    But he didn¡¯t, and as he exited the crack Nagemai knew following him through had been a mistake.


    As soon as Maharba was free of the crack he yanked on the spear, drawing Nagemai out and off balance. She tried raising her cnido but Maharba shoved her to the side, releasing the spear, which threw Nagemai further off balance. Maharba kicked upward again, his foot striking her cnido hand again. This time the weapon cracked, blood spraying as its bone frame broke and tore through the skin.


    Nagemai dropped the useless weapon, shaking the blood from her hand, and leaped forward. She kneed the Drol in the chest, and she heard a satisfying crack as the small wound she¡¯d given him earlier expanded. He stumbled backward, and she pressed her attack, slamming the heel of her palm upward under his chin. They fell together, Nagemai on top. As they fell she brought her spear around and drove it downward, aiming for the wound in his chest.


    The spear struck with a satisfying crack, its tip piercing his body, though not deeply.


    Maharba roared in pain and twisted, knocking the spear to the side with his forearm, sending the tip into the dirt. He gripped the shaft with one hand, then rolled toward it, snapping the weapon in two before Nagemai could pull it away. When Maharba reached his feet he felt the half of the spear with the stone tip.


    He lunged with his half of the weapon, oil oozing from the crack in his chest, but Nagemai was ready. She deftly deflected his thrust, then spun past him and struck the back of his head. He stumbled forward, though the strike didn¡¯t leave any noticeable marks. He spun back around to face her, but she was already attacking.


    She thrust her broken spear forward, slamming the splintered end against his chest with all her strength. He cried out again, dropping his part of the spear as he fell to the dirt. She had him.


    He grunted in pain as she knelt on his stomach, half weapon held over her head.


    Suddenly she heard shouts from the searchers coming this way. They must have heard their fighting. She needed to finish this quickly.


    ¡°Sesom says hi,¡± Nagemai said.


    Maharba¡¯s eyes widened in satisfying shock. She plunged the spear downward, but he managed to catch her hands, stopping it from piercing him through the eye. She wanted to leave him in the same state he''d left Mada.


    ¡°How do you know that name,¡± Maharba said through gritted teeth.


    Nagemai grinned wickedly at him. She wouldn¡¯t answer his question but she wanted him to die knowing he had failed to stop Sesom. ¡°You may have killed Mada, but he was only the first. There will be humans on this world again.¡±


    Nagemai leaned forward, driving the spearhead closer to Maharba¡¯s eye. She heard the shouts nearby again, closer this time. She couldn¡¯t let this fight go on any longer. She leaned forward, putting more of her weight down on the spear. She was smaller than Maharba, but her knee in his wound left him weak.


    She saw his surprise turn to fear as he struggled against her. They both knew he was going to die.


    A loud clapping sound broke the silence and pain exploded from Nagemai¡¯s shoulder.


    She leaped off Maharba, away from the officer as they fired another bonelette at her. She cursed under her breath as she ran through the rock forest. If only she¡¯d been a little faster, a little stronger, she would have killed Maharba. But now¡­


    Now she had to change her plans because of what she¡¯d said to Maharba. She''d been carried away in her anger and overconfident in the moment, and those simple words risked everything toppling around her. Selraef was already suspicious of Nagemai because she¡¯d disobeyed direct orders too often and lived far too long. Now She¡¯d have to tread even more carefully. The Chosen now knew that she knew something that was supposed to be forgotten. They would never let that slide.


    She reassessed her situation. Mada and Ekivia were both dead, and Nevets was severely wounded. She wasn¡¯t going to bring him back into this mess, especially not now. She¡¯d have a hard enough time protecting herself, let alone him if it came to that. For his sake, she had to distance herself. She had copies of the marks from Mada¡¯s body and she knew the general area indicated by at least one section. It was near the border between Drolian and Redaeli territory. She could position herself there as if on Selraef¡¯s orders. No one would question her, at least not for a while, and that would give her a chance to scout the region for whatever was hidden there. And once she had those secrets she would declare war on the Chosen.


    They would send their armies against her, but she''d been preparing a plan for that possibility since she''d taken the mantle of Egeil. There were so many ways things could go wrong but she had contingencies she could implement. She had time to adjust her plans, time to send messages, time to prepare. But not much. What she¡¯d said to Maharba put her on a time limit.


    It was time she started to tear her enemies down by exposing their secrets to all diordna kind. And she would rebuild the Egeilen nation from the ashes of war.

 Part 1 Epilogue: Heir

    Epilogue: Heir


    Fifteen hundred years ago.


    Sesom¡¯s eyes snapped open, his mind momentarily panicking at remembered pain before realizing he felt almost nothing anymore. The darkness surrounding him reminded him of his first moments after transferring his consciousness into this body. But unlike back then, this darkness didn¡¯t fade. He was alive for now, though he knew he didn¡¯t have much time left before his body shut down for good.


    Hopefully, he would have enough time to¡­ do something to protect the Egeilen.


    Strange, uneven, masses pressed against him from above. Something simultaneously hard and soft, with patches of slickness. He tried to shift under the weight with little success, his body weak from his ordeal. However, in his attempt to move he learned something about the weight above him. A limp hand pressed against his side. He was in a pile of corpses.


    On his way to be recycled.


    The bodies shifted around him and he slid with them, dropping briefly before stopping against corpses below as they hit the ground. Desperately he tried to pull himself upward, grabbing at bodies with his hands, his feet seeking a solid foothold among the limp forms. More from the shifting of the bodies than from his efforts, his hand broke the surface of the heap and Sesom felt the cool night air.


    Twisting beneath the weight, he pulled himself upward, freeing his head and shoulders from the sea of the dead.


    The cart that dumped him and the corpses stood motionless at the edge of the pile of the dead and a Priestess of Dytie stepped around it. She wore the garb of the priests, a cloak with a mask that had Dytie¡¯s handprint cut out of it, her face painted over beneath that cutout. Their eyes met in the darkness. He knew by the color of the face paint, red, that it wasn¡¯t one of his own, but one of Maharba¡¯s. They were near Mahkram, so that made sense.


    Of all diordna, priests were the least discriminatory against diordna of a different metal. Especially when those diordna were corpses. They were taught to respect all dead as children of Dytie, and besides that, every corpse eventually made its way to Maharba¡¯s lands to be recycled.


    The priestess¡¯ shoulders slumped, and she pulled a spear from the cart driver¡¯s seat. They had the weapon at all times for just such a case as this, when one of the dead wasn¡¯t yet dead.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Sesom croaked, barely able to speak after shifting so much energy and material to extend his life. ¡°Please.¡±


    The priestess didn¡¯t reply as she approached, climbing over corpses to get to Sesom. He glanced from her face to the hand holding the spear, noting that the skin was a blend of copper and iron, giving her the unique grey, copper, green, and red patterns of a half skin.


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    ¡°Please,¡± Sesom repeated. ¡°You can kill me, but first hear me. Please. I¡¯m as good as dead anyway. Grant me a final request.¡±


    The priestess raised her spear above Sesom. ¡°Speak your request.¡±


    Sesom twisted to show the nawo the Mark of Dytie on his shoulder. ¡°I am Egeil Sesom. Without leadership my nation will be destroyed. I know you see death every day but please have compassion on them. I won¡¯t live long enough to return to my people and select an heir. Please, I need to know my people aren¡¯t left to death without leadership. It¡¯s a lot to ask I know, but please¡­¡±


    The priestess lowered her spear hand, and Sesom thought he saw sorrow in her eyes, though it was difficult to tell in the darkness. ¡°What would you have me do? I won¡¯t lie and say all will be well, even though you are dying. I have no way of entering Egeilen land. I have no aluminum in my skin. I¡¯ll be killed as soon as I¡¯m seen.¡±


    ¡°There is a way for you to be safe in my land.¡± Sesom said. ¡°Please be my heir. There is no one else who can.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m no leader of diordna.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t either. I was a merchant.¡± He tried to laugh but felt a crunch in his chest instead and buckled in pain. ¡°Please. If I could I would find another.¡±


    The priestess nodded. ¡°How will they know you sent me?¡±


    Sesom released a relieved sigh. ¡°First go to the southeast. Along the cliffs of the damned there¡¯s a natural harbor with an oasis of sorts nestled against them. It can only be reached by boat. There are six caves, one for each of Dytie¡¯s fingers. Enter at the third finger of the hand. I can¡¯t tell you the exact path to take in that cave, but at the end of a passage there is a fissure in the wall. Put your hand inside until you feel warmth, and it will open a tunnel to you. There is a room at the end of that passage and a table with Dytie¡¯s Mark on its surface. Place your hand in that mark give you one of your own. While your hand is on the table you can choose where to place it. Place the Mark on your shoulder like mine, and show that to my diordna. When they see it they will accept you as my heir.¡±


    The nawo nodded again, though her eyes were pale and fearful.


    ¡°Everything in that room belongs to you now,¡± Sesom said. ¡°And with it the burden of protecting the Egeilen. In that room, I left my notes detailing my plans and work. If you can, finish it for me. Will you do this?¡±


    ¡°I will try,¡± The nawo said softly.


    ¡°That¡¯s all I can ask. My closest advisor is Nayer. Tell him that the other Chosen killed me, and that I¡¯m sorry. Tell him I call AI ¡®humans¡¯ and he¡¯ll know I sent you. He will be a great ally to you.¡±


    ¡°I... think I understand.¡±


    ¡°You will,¡± Sesom said, cringing at a stabbing pain in his side. ¡°One last thing. Without you, my death will be slow and painful. Will you speed the process for me?¡±


    The nawo nodded, raising her spear once more.


    Sesom raised a hand. ¡°May I ask your name before I die?¡±


    ¡°Nagemai.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Nagemai. And I¡¯m sorry my burden falls to you. Please do what I cannot.¡±


    ¡°I will. Go to Dytie in peace,¡± the priestess said.


    Then she drove her spear through Sesom¡¯s chest, and became his heir.


    The End of Animalis Inteligentia Part 1