Igo couldn’t hide the frustration from showing on his face. Despite all arrangements being made in advance, it had still taken him and Nomak a good hour to clear all the security checkpoints at the terminal. It made it worse knowing that the delay was caused because of him and his subordinate. However, he could not shake the feeling that the humans were unreasonable. That they had delayed him and the Esk’ra on purpose, but he couldn’t think of any reason for them to do.

As personal guards of the Asai, it was their duty to always be prepared and armed. The shock batons they carried were self-explanatory and were just routinely marked by the customs agents. The ceremonial Kala wood daggers had evoked some snickering by the humans and had caused an outburst from himself and Nomak. It should have been something Igo should have expected, the humans didn’t care about the most dominant and widespread religion among the elves. But it was the first time he was ever subjected to such demeaning scrutiny. If he was honest with himself, it was also the first time he wasn’t travelling with the Asai.

The customs agents had made a show of searching the two elves and had done all they could to find a reason to delay them. Sadly, there was a lot they could use in that regard. The most obvious one were the unregistered guns that Igo and Nomak had on them. Once that was dealt with, they made an issue about the vibro-blades strapped to their backs. This type of weapon was strictly forbidden on the home planet and Igo had to admit it was an oversight on his part. However, all of that was solved through the right amount of money discretely exchanging hands.

But then, the agents had the audacity to demand and search the Esk’ra. It was the one thing Igo was not going to allow. What followed was shouting on both sides and things were about to escalate into a fight. It was prevented by the timely arrival of the abomination and its two guards from the GS. It both pained and angered Igo to see that a sapling would disfigure herself and discard her proud heritage. And it took him a lot of effort to swallow his pride and allow the abomination help.       

Begrudgingly he had to admit that the creature had its use. In just a couple of minutes, she had resolved the matter. Igo noticed that the girl was doing all she could not to look at the Esk’ra, as it was required of her. She might have broken away from the faith, but at least she had the decency to know her place.  

“Equal rights, my ass.” He could hear Nomak’s insistent murmur. “They still treat us like third-class citizens.” 

Igo wanted to agree, but his position would not allow such a thing. The separation of religion and state was all good on theory, but in practice, it was a different matter altogether. As commander of the guard, he had to prevent such behaviour.

“That is enough.” The man said, keeping his voice as level as he could. “You can disgrace yourself, but do not allow your anger to disgrace the Esk’ra.”

Although the woman was sitting between them inside the car, the two guards had made a point of almost ignoring her existence. Lo’tul was just the eye of the Asai, forbidden to speak by her vows. That did not mean she would not report their conduct to the Speaker, and Igo had made enough mistakes today as it was. A single word from her and he could be marked in the annals as a heretic instead of a Neth’ra. The commander was already walking on thin ice by appointing himself to the position in the first place.

He had allowed small freedoms to his subordinate because of the sacrifice they were about to make. Of course, Igo had glossed over what exactly the title of Neth’ra entitled. That was something that only those at the top were privy to know.

“Forgiveness blessed one,” Nomak lowered his head. “But to have an abomination serve as our guide is surely an offence to Lo’tul…”

“I said enough, guard Nomak,” Igo said in a stern voice.

He glanced over at the two humans and the girl who were sitting across them. The two elves had been speaking in the ancient language of the faith, but that did not mean some words could not be understood. Or, as was the case of the humans, guess the meaning based on the tone of his and Nomak’s voices. There were also many among the flock who had damned themselves, yet they had read the holy texts. If this girl was one such as they, she would have understood the slight. He observed the girl for a moment, but there was nothing in her that would indicate she understood a word they had said.

The Esk’ra tapped Igo’s shoulder and made several gestures in the sign language they used to communicate. The commander had learned the basics but had never had the opportunity to actually use it in practice. Following the dextrous movements of Lo’tul was proving difficult. Most of what the Eye of the Asai said was chastisement directed at both him and the youth, and their behaviour. But there was also a question. One Igo was supposed to communicate to their escort, one he did not want to ask.

“The blessed one demands an answer from you, thara.” Igo addressed the girl, taking small pride at seeing her flinch at the use of the insulting term.

“There is no need for the blessed to demand, I shall speak freely and willingly, honourable one.” The girl lowered her head and covered her eyes for a moment in the sign of the Goddess.

“Why have you mutilated yourself?” Igo spoke, biting back the venom in his tone.

The girl stood silent and looked at him in confusion. The commander saw Lo’tul clench her fist and knew he had overstepped. He had some freedom interpreting the signs, but there was a limit to how much would he could blame on ignorance and how much would be forgiven.

“It is very difficult to answer that, honourable one.” The girl spoke softly. “I made a choice, which would benefit me.”

It was a diplomatic answer since it went along with some of the core teachings of the faith. Igo was aware that there was no right answer. She could have demanded it was the right thing to do and earn the ire of the Esk’ra. Or she could have claimed it was a mistake, which would have turned her into an outcast and revealed her to be an idiot. He wanted to push the girl further, make her admit her sin, but Igo felt the tips of Lo’tul’s fingers press against the back of his hand. It was the end of the conversation and they continued their ride in silence.

 

 

It took them an hour and a half to reach the GS Building. They were smuggled inside like thieves through an underground parking and herded inside a service lift. He understood that it was something necessary as their visit was a secret one. However, this only further fuelled Igo’s anger. If it was up to the commander, he would be storming the building and tearing through every room until he found what they were looking for. But Igo was not a blind fanatic, and as it were, there were two main reasons that kept him in check.

The first one was, that he was simply not sure he could take out the two human guards that were escorting them. True, Igo’s training was one of the best and he excelled at it, but the two men were clearly former soldiers and quite competent at that. He could see it in the way they walked and stood.

The second reason was that there was still a slim chance that the Rath’ar’s agents were wrong and there was no suitable candidate here. It was also the only hope he had that his life would not end the moment they returned to the temple. It was the one thing he really wanted to occur and lamented. If there was no candidate, it would mean that the other team had to find one or they would have failed the Asai. But if the candidate was here, it was Igo’s task to make sure none of the humans lived long enough to tell who the next Speaker was. 

Such thoughts occupied his mind as the lift took them to their destination. It did not take as long as he had thought. Knowing the humans and their arrogance, it was most likely that the person in charge would be staying on the top floor. Instead, the lift stopped somewhere in the middle of the building. Two more guards greeted them as the doors opened and indicated this was their stop.

For the first time, Igo felt worried. He could have used Nomak to take the initial assault of the two that had escorted them so far. It would have given him a chance to kill them. But with four, it was impossible. Unless... The elf sneaked a look at Lo’tul. The woman was a skilled assassin, he reminded himself. He and his companion were simply her shields.

The floor they had stopped on looked more like the corridor of a hotel instead of an office building. Thick carpet covered the floor and artificial stone decorated the walls. Dim yellow lights dotted the ceiling every ten steps and gave the impression that they were supposed to keep quiet. Igo found it odd that he could not hear a single sound coming from any of the doors that they passed by.

“These are the guest apartments, honoured one.” The abomination said softly. “They are empty at the moment. However, should you so desire, one can be prepared to accommodate you?”

“Not necessary,” Igo answered crudely unwilling to admit that the girl was very talented at her job.

“You will be meeting Mr Regis in the apartment at the end of the corridor.” She had anticipated his next question.

“No doubt that is supposed to be considered an honour,” Nomak interjected in the language of the faith.

“Stay your tongue.” Igo snapped at the younger man. “The man is to be respected. He is one of the largest benefactors of the Temples in the capital.”

“I was not aware…”

“Because you are not supposed to be.” The commander said with finality.

What he failed to add was that this was a considerable problem. Martell Regis was a respected figure among the higher echelons of the faith and removing him would cause quite the problem. Igo looked at the Esk’ra, but the woman was the same as always – an enigma. He had hoped that she would offer some insight or give him a command, but her hands stood still.

Before he knew it, they were ushered through the double door at the end of the hallway and into a large room. Paintings, busts and bookshelves lined the walls and the expensive carpet muffled their footsteps. In the middle of the room was a large coffee table surrounded by two wide sofas on its sides and two armchairs at the ends.

To Igo’s surprise, the sofas were occupied as well as on the chairs. On the left sat an older human with a woman with a cybernetic eye clinging to his arm. The man’s coat-like dress marked him as a medical professional, while the woman was covered by an extravagant gown that was far too revealing for a meeting with the Rath’ar. 

Opposite them was another couple, younger and strange. The man was young, in his mid-twenties, if Igo could trust his judgment. A variety of piercings covered his soft face and his blond hair resembled a bird’s nest. His clothes screamed disrespect; a torn red slim-fitting t-shirt and white pants with far too many buckles to be comfortable to wear. Unlike the others who were looking at the new arrivals, the youth seemed more interested in the contents of his glass.

The woman next to him was similarly young and clearly wasn’t worried that she wore a tracksuit and that sweat covered her forehead. However, Igo was surprised to see that there was a chrome-coloured limiter wrapped around her neck. It took all his will to restrain himself from reaching for the gun at his hip.  

A single look at the man in the armchair told him that such an action would be a mistake. The human’s face was stern and hard as a rock. His suit had the same colour as his short black hair and he was the only one who looked to be dressed accordingly for the meeting, which marked him as Martell Regis. Igo had to admit he was surprised by how young the man looked. If he had to take a guess, the human was in his early thirties at best. Which made Igo question the reliability of his information, that the man had been donating to the Temple for over four decades.

It did not take long for the commander of the guards of the Asai to notice that all of the four humans were at the peak of their physical condition. But the oddities did not end there. They had similar skin tone, identical pale blue eyes and despite it all, an identical readiness to act, no matter how many attempts they made to look relaxed. From years of experience, he could tell that the six people in the room were far more lethal than any of the guards that he had seen or that might be hiding nearby.

Quickly Igo came to what should have been an obvious conclusion. He had been wrong. The older man was Martell Regis and the woman next to him was his mistress. The younger couple was most likely his daughter and son. Which would make the man at the head of the table his older son and most likely current executive of GS Security.

“The blessed Lo’tul and her honoured guards, Mr Regis.” The elf girl said in a business-like voice. “Is there something else you and your guests would need?”

“Thank you Viin. That would be all.” Igo’s theory was confirmed as soon as the man in the suit spoke.

As soon as she was dismissed, their guide bowed lightly and left the room. But not before Igo could see the confusion written on her face. With a single gesture, the man ordered the guards to leave as well, ensuring the opening Igo would need if the worst came to pass.

“It’s been a bloody long time! Pour me a glass, will you?” A lyrical voice spoke from behind him.

Igo turned as the Esk’ra shoved her way past him and Nomak and dropped into the free chair by the table. He couldn’t comprehend what was happening, the woman, who was the eyes of the Asai, one of the most pure and adamant followers of the faith, had broken her vows.

“Uh-um.” The young man on the sofa cleared his throat. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” He pointed at the two guards.

“Right, right. Cylin, be a dear and do your thing,” Lo’tul waved a hand and removed her mask placing it on the table.

The commander could not see her face the way she was sitting with her back to them and he was not sure he wanted to. Whatever was happening felt like a bad dream or drug-induced haze. Igo wanted to move, to say something, but he felt as if trapped in the body of a stranger.

“I am NOT your attack dog.” The young human woman snorted at the Esk’ra.

“Really now…” Lo’tul stood from the chair. “It would have made it so much faster…”

Igo froze and tears ran down his cheek while numbness spread like a wave through his body as the blessed one turned to face him. He couldn’t believe his eyes, before him stood a woman with skin the colour of newly grown blue spruce. The bark growths on her cheekbones were made of pure amethyst and two irises the colour of frozen water surrounded by black pits stared into him. He had seen this image every day of his life, he had it engraved in the locket he carried on his neck. Lo’tul didn’t look like the Goddess. She was the Goddess.

Faster than he could believe a person could move, she crossed the space between the chair and Nomak. With a single swift motion of her hands, she broke the man’s neck. Igo blinked, wanting to confirm that his eyes were playing tricks on him. But when he opened them, the Goddess was standing in front of him. Her hand gently caressed his cheek.

“Why?” He managed to utter the word.

“My poor Igo, your devotion knows no limit.” She spoke gently to him. “Sadly, so did your stupidity. I gave you so many chances to change your foolish nature, to renounce the idiotic idea of the purists. I had great plans for you. To make you one of the twenty.”

The elf swallowed hard as the words settled inside his mind like burning coals. He heard the sadness and disappointment in his Goddess’ voice.

“I gave you a last chance on the ship. It was I who placed the words in the Asai’s mouth. It was I who wanted to see if you could change. Instead, you chose the path of the Neth’ra.” The last was said in disgust and made him weep. “We killed the Neth’ra a long time ago.” She almost hissed.

“Let me share a secret with you, Igo.” The Goddess pressed her lips against his ear. “I never wanted to be your god. It was a mistake, I never corrected.”

“Could you hurry up, Inney?” Igo heard the man in the suit asked.

With the corner of his eye, he saw that the human had the same eyes as the divine being who held him. His Goddess moved a step back and smiled. He was wrong. All of them had the same eyes.

“I really wanted to share so much more with you. But as you can see my friends are eager to speak with me.” Gently she kissed his forehead. “So much wasted potential. It’s just sad.”

The last thing Igo felt was that kiss followed by the sharp pain of his spine shattering as the Goddess twisted his neck.