“In my many years, I’ve learned to be more wary of those who come with smiles, who take an interest—they’re the ones you’ll trust enough to turn your back to.”

—Gramag Alfarid, last leader of the ancient Kimigoth Enclave

 

Suddenly, another hover-bed detached. “High Scholar Fawndar, may I request that you cede the floor?”

The Fevolian nodded and floated back up to her cradle. The detached hover-bed floated down to Zaina’s level, revealing a familiar face reading off a vis-screen.

“I, High Scholar Tu’Lest Velan, Scholar Suprema of Law, having been ceded the floor, would like to announce that the investigation’s analysis of the surveillance footage regarding these two individuals has finally been completed. According to every angle of footage possible, they’ve concluded—ahem.” She cleared her throat. “They’ve concluded that neither individual’s involvement is possible. Neither left their homes for any period of time, much less any that would coincide with the believed time of death for High Scholar Nash. In light of these facts, it is recommended that both individuals be released immediately.”

Zaina’s mentor crossed her arms. “Finally.”

High Scholar Vae detached from his cradle. “No—I won’t have it! You know what this means!”

High Scholar Velan turned to face him and said, “You’re out of line, High Scholar Vae.”

“No, you fools are out of your minds! Can’t you see? There’s a third heretic—a hidden servant of the darkness amid our ranks! These two won’t oust one of their own; the Order is infected—it’s being overrun by heretics as we sit by and welcome them in with open arms! Here, two enemies of the Order stand before us—both having sworn an oath, willing or otherwise, to destroy us, and bearing proof of it on their bodies! You would grant them freedom to move among us, to coordinate our downfall? The Order of Riiva has stayed strong for eons without allowing in these corrupted souls, these foul enemies of Riiva. Now they are here, and there is discord among us and blood on our floors! This is madness!”

High Scholar Fawndar detached from her cradle. “High Scholar Vae, that is enough.”

Elest Vae waved her off. “Throw your lot in with the heretics—but leave the Order of Riiva to be free of these blights, this—infestation! This girl, whether she knows it or not, is working for the Eldritch! They will bring about the end of the Order of Riiva!”

In a louder, more serious voice, High Scholar Fawndar replied, “Hold your tongue and keep with your station. One more interruption and I’ll have you removed. You’ll come to appreciate Former Scholar Suprema Nash’s patience if you try mine.”

Elest grumbled and reattached his hover-bed to the antler-tree. High Scholar Fawndar also floated back up and locked her hover-bed in place.

High Scholar Velan continued, “It is recommended we release these individuals, but this is not good news, indeed—High Scholar Vae does raise a good point, though it was raised poorly. If these two are innocent, that means there is a third heretic on Kaado—one who has no compulsion about killing even the highest strata among us; one whose identity is unknown; and one whose plan in some way involves the Eldritch’s orb.”

Murmurs once more flew about until High Scholar Fawndar said, “Silence.”

With a grim expression, High Scholar Velan said, “Our investigation will remain diligent. Based on the testimony from Zaina that we analyzed, it seems the Eldritch is capable of possessing individuals—perhaps someone wandered in who should never have been there.” She shot a glare toward Zaina. “If either of you were involved in the corruption of one of our own in any way, know that it will be discovered.”

Zaina’s mentor shook her head. “Why don’t you just pull the footage from the safekeeping chamber?”

High Scholar Velan scoffed and replied, “That would’ve been our first action, if there was any footage to review. The Eldritch’s orb emits an odd signal as a result of a specific particle’s decay, native only to the orb—a signal that prevents our feeds from getting through. Or perhaps it is simply the Eldritch’s magick at work.”

The woman continued her line of questioning. “Have you considered taking the damn thing and throwing it into a star? Preferably one far away?”

“All of our options are being considered,” the High Scholar said, “and none of them will be shared with you, to whom we have no responsibility to divulge such matters.”

Zaina’s mentor threw her hands up. “Well, we’re innocent. That’s been proven. So, we can go now, right? I’m sure there’s all sorts of classified things you have to discuss now that you’re back at square one.”

“Yes,” High Scholar Velan replied. “Seeing as you’re not involved in this, there’s no further need for your presence. Before you go, I must warn you—information regarding this investigation is being regulated very carefully. Any leaks to unauthorized persons will result in your imprisonment—and it will be traced back to whoever talks. So don’t. And, if you hear or see anything which might be important regarding any matter of this investigation, as always, come forward immediately.”

“Right on. Don’t wear yourselves out thinking too hard, now,” Zaina’s mentor called out as she walked over to the podium controlling one of the circular lifts.

Zaina followed—her mentor groaned when she stepped on the same platform, but Zaina couldn’t pass up a chance to annoy the woman. The two stone-faced lancer guards from before stepped on, too. Within seconds, they were descending to the floor of the Celestial Sanctuary’s library.

Zaina’s mentor turned to the lancers, pointed to the restraints on Zaina, and said, “Take those fucking things off her. She doesn’t know a cipher from a fang—you don’t need her in cuffs.”

It was a borderline helpful statement, but as Zaina rubbed her aching wrists, she decided instead to take the woman’s words as an insult.

They descended in silence. Then, after leaving the sanctuary Zaina followed her mentor outside, where an atmospheric transport awaited. The lancer guards remained behind.

The only seats inside the ship were in the cockpit, so Zaina strapped in next to her mentor. They flew in silence. Zaina stared out the window, watching the floating islands drift by. No matter what life threw at her, she never wanted to lose her sense of wonder when staring at Kaado’s complex inner workings.

Suddenly, the woman’s voice snapped Zaina out of her reverie.

“See, that’s how it is, kid. Something happens—you’ll always be blamed first. They’ll never fully trust you like they would anyone else. If I could go back and do it all over again, I’d tell myself to quit—make myself a nice heap of rebu in the mercenary guilds and retire early, away from everyone.”

Zaina stared in disbelief. It was the most her mentor had spoken to her since they’d met, and it was nothing more than a selfish rant. “You’re wrong,” Zaina said. “Being a lancer is important—helping people is important. Aren’t you proud of the work you’ve done?”

The woman shook her head. “You don’t know the first thing about me—or the work I’ve done. And you clearly don’t know the first thing about being a lancer, either. Oh, look, we’re here. Let’s go—out.”

The doors popped open, and Zaina stepped out, back home at last. Her hut was repaired—she had to check her personal belongings to make sure their rude awakening didn’t destroy anything, but for now it was a workable shelter again. She turned to face the woman, but she had disappeared without so much as a word.

Zaina frowned. The Order of Riiva wasn’t anything like she expected. She remembered Gir and High Scholar Ardo Nash—they were kind, unlike some others. Drel Ofrans and Elest Vae came to mind. Was it even possible for people like them to reconsider a belief they held so deeply?

And now the High Scholar who had vouched for her was gone—the work of some hidden heretic, waiting to strike again.

And when they do, I’ll get blamed for that, too.

With a heavy, defeated sigh, Zaina’s shoulders sagged. Maybe it was a mistake to come here with the orb. If I hadn’t—well, one person would still be alive. Maybe everything would’ve been better for everyone if I did die back home.

She entered her hut. Luckily, nothing she’d brought from Demelia had been harmed in the attack; if she lost the photograph of her family, she didn’t even want to think about how long she’d cry. After checking on everything, Zaina collapsed on her bed, taking respite in being able to relax. Tomorrow, her lancer training would continue, and she wanted to be well-rested to tackle it head-on.

A knock at the door interrupted her sleep; Zaina opened it and was greeted by Ovela, who had a grin on her face.

“Hey, Zaina! How’s everything going?”

Zaina rubbed the back of her head. “Not great, to be honest. I was about to get some sleep.”

“Sleep? This early?”

Zaina yawned. “I’m really tired. Didn’t sleep too well in those weird cells under the Celestial Sanctuary.”

Ovela’s face drained of color. “Oh, I forgot they blamed you for that—I’m sorry.”

With a wave of her hand, Zaina brushed the thought aside. “Oh, come on. It’s not your fault. Why don’t you come inside?”

Ovela nodded and followed her in.

“Water? Fruit? I’m still figuring out how to cook in here,” Zaina said.

“No, it’s fine. I won’t stay too long. You must be exhausted after everything that’s happened to you. They’ve tried to blame you twice now—and both times, you’ve taken it so well. I know I’d be upset.”

Zaina shrugged. “Apparently, that’s life as a heretic. I’m still getting used to it.”

Ovela frowned. “Well, the stories we hear about heretics, they’re scary. I’m not going to lie, when I first saw you were a heretic, I made my judgments. I didn’t think—well—”

Zaina finished her sentence, though the words didn’t sting any less coming out of her own mouth. “You didn’t think I belonged here.”

Ovela winced. “I was looking for a nicer way to put it, but yeah, more or less. I always thought heretics were evil. That’s what High Scholar Vae always says. But then I met you, and I thought, well, not all heretics can be bad, right? You’re the first person in so long who asked me my name, who didn’t just see me as some attendant to take them where they needed to go. Who saw me as a person. You can never know how much that means. And who knows? If you can change my mind, maybe you can change theirs someday.”

Zaina gave a half-smile, but it faded quickly. “I’m not evil—I mean, I know it’s in me. It’s always there, waiting for me to slip up. But I think, by the choices I make, my actions—I think I can choose something different for myself.”

Ovela smirked. “And what do you want to choose?”

Zaina’s eyes drifted to the sky, even though she couldn’t see it through the ceiling of her hut. “I never really knew what I wanted to do. I always thought I’d take over my Dad’s farm, end up living on Demelia for the rest of my life. But then I got a chance to be something greater, something that was so far out of reach before that I didn’t even know I wanted it. I guess I want to feel like I matter. To know that I helped people and made the galaxy a better place. But, well—I don’t know, ever since I left home, it feels different. It’s like—like I’m still a tiny piece of something so much bigger than me, that it drowns me in it.”

Ovela chuckled and said, “It sounds like you want to be a hero.”

“Yeah, something like that.” Zaina leaned back on her chair, and it reclined. “Maybe it’s vain, or selfish, but I think that’s what I want most. What about you?”

“Huh?”

“What do you want most?”

Ovela’s eyes darted about, her head swaying back and forth while weighing her answer. Then, she said, “I think the thing I want most is—well, if I could be like a lancer again, have all that power back, even for one day, I think I could make a real difference, with what I know now.”

Zaina’s gaze fell to Ovela, who was frowning and staring at the ground. Though Zaina would never say it, she didn’t want to end up like Ovela, full of regrets and wishing for a chance to do it all again. Based on how Zaina’s career as a lancer was going so far, once through was more than enough trouble for a lifetime.

Ovela shook her head. “But, there’s nothing to do but move forward and make the most of any opportunities we happen upon. Right?”

“Right,” Zaina said. “Hey, are you going to be all right getting home? Starlight’s dwindling, and there’s a killer on the loose.”

Ovela waved the concern aside. “I’m not too concerned about it. I doubt they’d go out of their way to attack someone unimportant like me, right?”

Zaina rolled her eyes. “Oh, come now. Don’t say that. You’re plenty important and I won’t hear otherwise.”

A red flush glowed on Ovela’s cheeks as she averted her gaze. “Thank you, Zaina. I’m glad to see you’ve settled back in. I’ll see you again, all right?”

“Sounds good,” Zaina said.

Once Ovela left, Zaina fell asleep quickly. It was refreshing to spend some time with her friend—someone who cared.

The only person in the whole Order of Riiva who cares.