Page 10 of I Married Amreth

“What about Maeve?” I asked, suddenly struck by a thought. “She and Helio really came through for Malaya and Kronos. Technically, they aren’t Enforcers anymore.”

The approving smile that stretched his beak indicated he always meant for us to get to this point. I almost asked him why he hadn’t stated as much right from the start, but I suspected he was toeing a fine line as to what he could say or the suggestions he could do.

Although he was technically merely a matchmaking agent, Kayog Voln possessed an extremely high security clearance. In theory, it was due to his marriage to one of the top-ranking ambassadors of the United Planets Organization. But like Maeve and Helio—who were officially bounty hunters but unofficially secret agents for the Enforcers—I was increasingly suspecting that the Temern also performed covert missions for the UPO.

“Technically, you are correct,” he replied in a non-committal fashion. “The main reason Maeve resigned her position within the Enforcer was so that she could take on the type of cases thatwould be deemed too small by them. That said, while I do not doubt she would be eager to assist you, both her and her mate are already working on an important mission. But that shouldn’t stop you from reaching out. Whatever they can do, they will.”

He didn’t have to go into further details for me to understand his underlying meaning.

“I will make sure to contact them at once,” I grumbled. “I need to see all the files available on the attack, and especially the recording. Do we even know who the attackers were?”

The strangest expression fleeted over his features. He hesitated for a second before appearing to settle on the answer he wanted to give me.

“I do not have the files. After all, I am just a matrimonial agent. You, on the other hand, are a Hell Lord. Surely, you have access to far more things than I do?”

I snorted and smiled. “Correct,” I conceded.

As a high-ranking Warden, I indeed had access to a lot of things. But in this specific instance, I would have to stretch the limit of my clearance and get creative in pushing those boundaries further in order to get the answers I sought.

“Find her, Amreth. Ciara was truly eager to meet you. She has a beautiful soul.”

“Iwillfind her and bring her home. Thank you, Kayog.”

He smiled then ended the communication. I immediately contacted Maeve. Thanks to the fantastic work she did helping prove Malaya’s innocence, I also collaborated with her, sharing my own testimony and information about the unlawful sentencing the corrupt judge had done.

The speed with which Maeve responded hinted that she had been waiting for my call.

“Hello, Amreth,” Maeve said in a gentle voice. “It is unfortunate that we should speak again under such circumstances.”

“Greetings, Maeve. It is good to see you seem to be faring well. The circumstances are indeed unfortunate, but I dare hope you can be of some assistance.”

She pursed her lips in a way that indicated she was carefully choosing her words before answering. “As you may be aware, my mate and I are currently working on a very sensitive mission that we cannot stray from. However, I will assist in what little capacity I can.”

“I’ll take anything I can get. Right now, I have nothing, not even the species of the attackers.”

She nodded, a slight frown creasing her brow. “This is a very unusual situation. Our biggest asset is the fact that all the members of the Interstellar Doctors Organization who go on field missions are required to receive an organic tracker implant. It helps with rescue efforts if anything happens to them while on some godforsaken planet.”

I instantly perked up, my heart soaring with hope. But a single look at her face dampened my blossoming excitement. Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.

“The good news is that we were able to follow her to the edge of the Northern Quadrant before we lost the signal,” she said apologetically.

“Lost the signal?” I echoed. “Did they detect the tracker and block it?”

She shook her head. “We do not have any communication satellites or relays in that area. It is the Dead Zone before entering the Eastern Quadrant.”

My eyes widened with shock and disbelief. “Are you saying that the pirates are Sectarians?!” I exclaimed.

Her frown deepened, and she shrugged in a way that expressed uncertainty. “In truth, we don’t know. Some facts seem to be pointing in that direction, but we don’t have enoughconcrete evidence to confirm it. And that’s why the Enforcers are so adamant about figuring out their identity.”

“Exactly!” I said as if it was self-evident. “What better way to identify them other than finding her?”

“Because wherever they dropped her isn’t where they ultimately headed afterwards,” Maeve explained. “You see, the ship that we managed to capture on the surveillance cameras of the Gladius doesn’t belong to any species from our Quadrant, at least none that we know of. The cameras on board also kept glitching, preventing us from performing any type of facial or species recognition. Even the bio scanners faltered.”

“So they deliberately sabotaged our technology,” I replied.

She nodded. “But they didn’t damage anything. They only disrupted them for the duration of the raid, which confirms they wanted to hide their identity.”

“But what of the guards? I understand they fought the pirates. Surely they saw them and could give some kind of description,” I challenged.

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