Page 77 of Red Demon
“A ghost? Were you able to sense this ‘Bria?’ Did she let you see her?”
I hesitated. It was at that moment I remembered what Bria said, where it was safe and where the ghosts were moving. The phrasing was exactly the same as what the ghost girl said at the attack on Nunbiren. I had met Bria. She’d been the one to warn us.
Fuck.
Faruhar must have been close enough that day for Bria to survive.
I could tell Mahakal about the other names in Faruhar’s book, the contradictions. But he wasn’t looking for complexity, to send her to the queen for a fair trial with all the facts. He was looking for a way to find her and kill her.
I kept my face blank. “No, I couldn’t sense Bria at all. I’m not even certain she’s real. I wish I had more to tell you. What little the Red Demon said just doesn’t add up.”
Mahakal crossed his ankle over his knee, stroking his smooth face. “There are some things I cannot share, but I’ll tell you what the empire is confident enough to report. A Chaeten gang attacked Nunbiren. They want retribution for SBO, and they are feeling emboldened as we settle more Chaeten into the bend. These terrorists cut the power. They dropped a modified SBO variant, then later looted the dead wearing stealth cloaks. They also cut power to the North Barrack, so we did not learn of the attack until too late.”
My heart roared in my chest. I couldn’t look at him. Would rebels have burned the bodies? Would Faruhar have time to coordinate with Chaeten thieves while she was in the underground cabin with me? It didn’t make sense. Mahakal was the one who told me that the simplest explanation was most likely correct. This was not simple.
“Didn’t you say the Red Demon was working with Asri rebels in the Bend?” I asked.
His jaw twitched. “The Red Demon is a mercenary. She has no loyalties I can determine. This gang probably offered her a better price.”
“They can’t have offered much. She’s still wearing those leather rags for armor,” I said, before I thought better.
Mahakal leaned back against the wall, his eyes boring into me. “You’re right Jesse, not all the pieces fit. For example, why weren’t you one of the many men, women and children she’s slaughtered without a thought?”
I sighed, throwing up my hands. “No idea. She said I was strange and stubborn. That she respects stubborn.”
A slow smile spread across Mahakal’s face, giving way to a mirthless laugh. “Interesting. You do have a way of turning heads. Even the Red Demon is infatuated with you, it seems.”
My stomach clenched, bristling at the gleam in his eyes. “No… I…” I felt my face flushing, thinking about her smile as she said goodbye.
Fuck, if anything, I was the one with clouded judgment.
Mahakal’s smile bloomed into a smirk. “You’ve given me quite a bit to think about, Jesse.” He turned back to eye the door, then stooped to pick up the sword, the engraved scabbard glittering. “Galen’s inheritance, I imagine. What’s its name?”
“My inheritance now. Istaran.”
Mahakal unsheathed it a few inches. The metal lay still and dark in his hands. “This is now illegal tech. Galen Eirini could justify holding onto it to do his best work, but the days of putting such powerful tech in civilian hands are over. I’ll need to confiscate this to ensure the empire stays safe. I’m terribly sorry.”
A battle raged within me as I met his gaze. “It’s an ancestral sword. It’s been in our family for thousands of years.”
Mahakal laughed out loud. “Your family?”
I scowled. He laughed again, rising to a stand. “Oh how I regret not sending you to be raised with your own. I should have sponsored you the day I met you, ensured you’d been finished in a proper Academy, not raised half-wild.”
He stepped closer, too close, his voice just above a whisper. “Your mind should feed on the fire of the stars our people have conquered. It is we who sail the void, parent galaxies, choose our own names and destinies. We do not choose names for our father’s dead dreams, for ancient primitives. It pains me to see someone like you, so finely coded—” He took another step, raking his eyes down my body. “You’re a stunning, remarkable man Jesse, but what comes out of that feral mouth of yours can be such a turnoff.”
I swallowed. He certainly didn’t look “turned off” to me. “What do you want from me, Major?”
He gave me a rakish smile, lifting my chin. “It’s just as well you refused to join my battalion. I’m gentle with those under my command. But you need someone to teach you a lesson, Jesse. I have no desire to be gentle with you.” He said the last part at a low growl.
I froze as he drew his face closer to mine, my heart beating in my ears at the strength of his grip. He smelled musky, minty—wrong. But I buried my fear. I’d play this out.
I smirked. “Who said I wanted you to be gentle?” I leaned my head into his shoulder to offer a biting kiss, tracing my hand down his chest as he took in a sharp breath, his teeth in my hair as he shivered. He was distracted enough that I could twist Istaran out of its sheath with one fluid motion.
He stepped back, wide-eyed as I held the shining blade to his neck.
“Are you threatening me?” he asked, voice cool.
I pressed in, the glowing blade pulsing in my hand. “I’m teaching you a lesson.”
