The Burning Flowers

Chapter VI

Ilirianna’s heart was pounding as she anxiously made her way down the corridor and towards Abigail’s quarters, wanting to confirm as soon as possible whether she and Ryokumo were caught when Mallicent returned to his bedroom earlier than expected. Nakoma trailed closely on her heels, his features twisted in confusion, for having known her for her entire life, he almost certainly could tell that she was worried about something. However, she didn’t want to confide in him just yet, for she didn’t want to think about his rage when he found out that she told Abi and Ryokumo to go against her father’s orders and infiltrate Mallicent’s room—a rage that would only be worse if the two of them had been caught.

Please let them be safe!

But her prayers fell on deaf ears, for as she was passing by the door to her own quarters, she came to a stop and stared at Captain Rotana Vesh, who was standing just outside. Upon noticing her arrival, the armored man gave a polite bow before making his way toward her.

“My Princess,” he greeted, his tone concealing anything of what he might want from her. “I apologize for the suddenness, but would you please come with me? Lord Malloway would like to have a word with you.”

Her body went cold, but knowing that matters would only grow worse if Vesh caught even a hint of deceit in her eyes, Ilirianna tapped into her mother’s training and shoved her emotions deep inside of herself, instead fixing Vesh with a curious and slightly concerned look.

“Lord Malloway does?” she inquired innocently. “Why? I just departed dinner with him, after all. Has something happened?”

Vesh grimaced and shook his head. “Unfortunately, I do not know all of the details, but two of my men were ordered by Young Mallicent to apprehend Ryokumo Caeli under the accusation that he broke into the young lord’s quarters and attacked him.”

Caeli attacked him?! Damn it all! Ilirianna internally shouted, terror seeping into her body as she realized just what consequences she would now be faced with. It took everything in her power to keep her cool, and the fact that she was able to do so enabled her to notice something odd in what Vesh said. He only mentioned Caeli? No word of Abigail? Did she manage to avoid getting caught then?

“Caeli did what?” Nakoma demanded fiercely, taking a step towards Vesh as he regarded the broad-shouldered captain. “What do you mean?”

“I’m sorry, Master Taurus, but like I said, I am not privy to all of the finer details,” Vesh repeated. “All I know is what Lord Malloway told me before sending me off to retrieve the princess. At the moment, Caeli is being held in the lord’s office and any decision of what to do with him will be made after speaking with you. So if you would…?”

Beckoning for Ilirianna and Nakoma to follow, Rotana Vesh marched down the corridor in the way they had come, with the Master and the princess right on his heels. All throughout the walk, Ilirianna’s mind raced with various possibilities as to how they might be able to salvage the situation, but without knowing the finer details of what took place upon Mallicent’s return to his quarters, she couldn’t even begin to come up with anything solid. She needed to know exactly what Ryokumo did, and once she had the information she needed, she would figure everything out.

And if there’s no feasible way of talking my way out of it, I might have to sever myself from Caeli’s actions. At all costs, I can’t let the Iijis be linked to this incident, for it could spell utter disaster, just as Nakoma warned us it would. But… Ilirianna grit her teeth with frustration. Can I really do such a thing? I’m the one who pushed Caeli to break the rules and take this risk, so could I really live with myself if I let him hang out to dry?

The answer was no.

Ilirianna prided herself on her morals, and she always looked down upon those in the Citadel who only acted in their own self-interests, never taking responsibility for their choices.

Right…Caeli would have listened to Nakoma if not for me, so I have no right to allow him to take the fall. If it comes to it, I will take responsibility and face the consequences myself, but I’ll be damned if I don’t do everything in my power to first talk our way out of it!

With her resolve gathered, Ilirianna was prepared when they arrived at the door to Malloway’s office. Vesh knocked a few times before they were admitted to a small anteroom between the front door and the office proper, where a handful of guards were standing silently and at the ready, bowing their heads toward their captain as he led Ilirianna and Nakoma into the next room over. Ilirianna once again kept a stoic expression, but ever since Abi’s report on the castle guard, she had been unable to look at the men without an internal scoff.

When they entered the office, it was there that they found Lord Malloway, Mallicent, two members of the guard, and Ryokumo himself, standing in between the two armored men with his hands bound in front of him. At such a close distance, Ilirianna could sense the anti-magic charm on the metal cuffs that would prevent Ryokumo from using any magic while wearing them.

Only regarding her team member for a moment, the princess turned toward where Lord Malloway was sitting behind a large and well-crafted oak desk, an exhausted look on his face as he stared back at her. Large floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined the left and right walls, with the room being lit by the firelamps that were placed on the wall behind Malloway, casting a dim-red glow over the windowless office. Mallicent stood on his father’s left side, looking utterly livid as he awaited the beginning of the conversation.

“Lord Malloway,” Ilirianna began, deciding she would happily be the one to start the discussion. “What is the meaning of this? Why do you have a member of my royal team bound and captured?”

Malloway sighed as he first glanced up at his son then over at Ryokumo, who was grinning cheerfully despite the situation he found himself in. “Listen, Princess, I do wish we wouldn’t have to have this conversation but these accusations are not something I can simply overlook. Did Captain Vesh inform you of what Caeli did?”

“Yes, he told me that Caeli broke into your son’s room before attacking him,” she confirmed. “However, that is not something Caeli would do, so I would love to see evidence of these accusations. Do you have proof that my team member did such a thing?” She fixed the lord with a stern glare, knowing that she needed to control the conversation if she wanted it to go in her favor. “Well?”

“Mallicent,” Malloway grunted. “Go ahead. Tell the princess what you told me.”

The boy snorted. “Of course, Father.” He then stepped forward and glared at Ryokumo before sticking his finger out and forcefully pointing at him. “When I arrived at my quarters after dinner, I found the security charm on my door deactivated! I then rushed inside and found my desk, which was also protected by a charm, to be wide-open and my possessions to be gone! Because there was no way the perpetrator could have yet escaped, I knew they must be distorted somewhere, and before I could find them, I was struck in the face by a perkari charm and knocked unconscious! Upon coming to, the guards that found me saw the balcony doors open!” Telling his story like it was the most damning thing possible, Mallicent then smiled a shit-eating grin. “Caeli is a wind mage, correct? Such a heist would not be challenging to him, would it?”

Ilirianna frowned, waiting for Mallicent to provide actual concrete evidence, so when he went quiet and smirked like he had proved his point, the princess internally grinned a smile far more smug than his. “Clarify please, Lord Mallicent. Did you actually see Caeli?”

“W-well, I did not,” the boy stuttered. “But he was snooping around my room not two days ago, and seemed quite insistent on being let in! I would not put it past him to—”

“So you saw nothing,” she interrupted sharply. “You have ordered a member of the royal team to be forcefully cuffed and dragged up here when all you have to go on is that the affinity of the thief could, possibly, maybe, be the same as Caeli’s? Did I get all that?”

“Y-you—”

“That is correct, Princess,” Ryokumo chimed in with a casual chuckle. “I even have an alibi, at that. During the time that Mallicent claims I robbed his room, I was actually playing a card game with Abi while we awaited Nigreos and Album’s return. Abi had just departed when these guards arrived to drag me out.”

Mallicent turned a furious glare toward the wind mage. “Abigail could have been there with you for all I know!”

“Another question, if you don’t mind” Ilirianna quickly cut in. “What is it you claim Caeli stole? And were you able to find the stolen item, or items, either on his person or in his quarters? Hmm?”

Mallicent’s lips drew tight, more than confirming that he had been unable to recover whatever Ryokumo found.

My best guess is that Abi has it then, and if they stole something, it means they were actually able to get ahold of some clues that will be beneficial to the investigation, she thought with excitement. And Mallicent lacks proof, which means I have plenty of room to maneuver! It’s not as hopeless as I had feared!

“He stole some important and confidential documents relating to one of my research projects,” Mallicent finally stammered. “And while we could not locate anything on him, I—”

“So this accusation is baseless,” Ilirianna snapped, waving her hand with disinterest. “If that is the case, then Lord Malloway, would be so kind as to release my team member this instant? I hope you realize how this appears—so swiftly taking a royal team member into custody with such lucking evidence?”

Lord Malloway narrowed his eyes, and Ilirianna could tell that he didn’t fully believe her, but just like Ilirianna couldn’t act against Malloway without evidence of wrongdoing, neither could Malloway act against her without undeniable evidence that Ryokumo Caeli had been in that room. The Lord of Hiriech may very well suspect her, but his hands were tied, and he knew that well.

“My apologies, Princess,” he finally said. “It was my foolish son who ordered his capture, and I had believed him to be more intelligent than he clearly is. It was a simple misunderstanding.”

“But Father?!”’

“Be silent, Boy! Captain Vesh, release him.”

Vesh nodded firmly. “At once, My Lord.”

The guards beside Ryokumo immediately did as they were told, removing the handcuffs around his wrists and allowing him to stand beside Nakoma as Ilirianna and Malloway handled the rest of the discussion.

“Now all of that being said, this is a concerning incident,” Ilirianna began. “Very few would have been able to break into Mallicent’s quarters, and they would have had to have known that he was in possession of something of interest. My Lord, do you know anybody that would have been aware that these documents were kept in Mallicent’s desk?”

Malloway begrudgingly shook his head. “Unfortunately, I do not. This particular project is a very confidential one, and only a handful of people even know it exists, with almost all of those who do already knowing the details contained in those documents. It’s an unsettling development, truly. Not to mention, I find it strange…” The Lord grimaced. “Mallicent says he recalls taking a perkari spell directly to the face, but there wasn’t a single wound on him, as if the perpetrator healed him before leaving. Why would they do that when killing him would have been more beneficial?”

Ah, Abigail… You and Ryokumo really do have a lot of explaining to do…

“That is strange, yes,” Ilirianna agreed. “Perhaps they thought that killing the son of a lord would cause too much of a commotion in the castle. They were clearly trying to sneak in during our dinner, so stealth was obviously of great importance to them. Your son leaving early may well have forced them to attack, but what’s clear to me is that there is a traitor in Aquesen, for I doubt anybody could have snuck in from outside the castle.”

Malloway nodded solemnly. “I fear that is the case, yes…”

“Then I would like you to keep me posted on this matter,” she requested. “And if you need any assistance, Master Taurus will be here to help, as will my team and I.”

The Lord once again narrowed his eyes, as if making one final attempt to try and read into her words, but regardless of how he felt, he had no choice but to agree and excuse them, allowing Ilirianna, Nakoma, and Ryokumo to depart the office and head back out into the hallway. As they were leaving, Ilirianna glanced back to see Mallicent pouting, his eyes never shifting from Ryokumo, so even though the conversation went clearly in her favor, she knew that the young wind mage would have to watch his back, for she wouldn’t put it past the boy to try something more drastic.

This situation just took a turn, that’s for sure, she remarked. And now…

Glancing sidelong at Nakoma, she could see his features contorted in rage, telling her that he certainly knew Ryokumo had done as Mallicent accused him of doing, so even though they succeeded in a certain way, it would now be time to conduct heavy damage control.

***

Not wanting to have the conversation more than once, Ilirianna immediately sent Ryokumo to go collect the rest of the team and bring them to her quarters so they could talk, and since Nakoma clearly suspected only Ryokumo of being involved, the Master of Fire kept quiet as the two of them awaited everybody’s arrival. All the while, Ilirianna was once again forced to try and gather her thoughts to prepare for yet another dangerous conversation, for as much as she loved Nakoma as if he were her uncle, she also knew that when he got angry, he could be as terrifying as her mother.

And he is pissed off beyond belief!

When the door opened, Ryokumo came in with Nigreos, Album, and Abi behind him. Judging from the nervous expressions of the Noctalus, they had already been filled in on what took place that night and probably by Abigail. But as she was steadily learning was typical of him, where Ryokumo’s teammates looked anxious and afraid, he was grinning like he was on top of the world, which would surely only enrage Nakoma all the more. As expected, the Master of Fire didn’t wait, for the second the door was closed and they could sense that nobody was out in the hallway, he took a step forward and glared at Ryokumo.

“Was it you, Caeli?” he demanded softly. “Did you do as Mallicent accuses you of doing?”

There wasn’t a scrap of hesitation in his eyes as Ryokumo flashed the Master another smile and nodded. “That I did, Master Taurus, and you will never believe what it was we—”

Ryokumo was stopped mid-sentence as Nakoma violently lurched forward and grabbed him by the collar of his silk robe, dragging him forward so that their faces were inches away from each other. Ilirianna had to internally give Ryokumo credit for the fact that his proud smile still didn’t waver.

“Wipe that smug ass grin off your face!” Nakoma roared. “Do you understand what you have done? Not only did you disobey a direct order from a Master, a princess, and the King of Ijiria himself, but you attacked the son of a lord and nearly got your ass caught in the process! Everything you have done is so illegal that I could have you arrested right this very second!”

“Master Taurus, hold on a second!” Abi quickly protested.

To Ilirianna’s surprise, she felt the nature mage momentarily draw her magic, as if prepared to attack Nakoma in defense of her teammate. Like on the day they arrived, it was only for a second, like she did so only out of instinct than anything, but it was still long enough that Nakoma and everybody else in the room would have sensed it.

“Miss Abigail,” Nakoma growled, his crimson eyes shifting away from Ryokumo and toward Abi. “Did you just draw your magic on me?”

“I-I, well, I…”

“Enough,” Ilirianna snapped, cutting in before the situation could deteriorate any more than it already was. “Release him, Master Taurus. I’m the one who ordered Caeli and Abigail to break into the room and I’m the one who failed to keep Mallicent in the dining hall long enough for them to finish. They were acting on my orders and thus, they have done nothing wrong. So let him go.”

Despite internally panicking a bit, Ilirianna stated the truth and watched as Nakoma’s expression turned from anger toward Ryokumo and Abi to utter shock as he stared back at her.

“Princess? You did what?” he uttered.

Once again managing to keep calm, she merely shrugged. “Given Album’s report regarding that voice she heard the other day, as well as our complete lack of progress, I decided the risk was worth it, so when Caeli and Abi were not invited to dinner, I told them to take advantage of it.”

“B-but Princess…” Finally releasing Ryokumo, Nakoma stepped back from the wind mage and shook his head. “You know what your father said! You know the current state of this country, so how could you—?”

“Because something is very wrong in this castle,” she replied sharply, immediately regretting her harsh tone but also knowing it was necessary in the moment. “Even setting aside the strange nature of the combustions, the fact that Abigail’s sense has given such an appalling reading of the castle guard worries me. Then take the secret project Mallicent’s working on into account, as well as the voice Album heard, and I fear we are handling something more dangerous than my father and the Masters initially believed. This is more than just a mysterious fire magic phenomenon. Therefore, as the princess, I decided a risk was worth it. Now…” Turning away from Nakoma, she then faced Ryokumo and Abi. “What did the two of you find in that desk?”

“W-well…” Abi grimaced, reaching down into the pocket of her uniform coat to produce some folded parchment. “We aren’t really certain, but luckily Mallicent didn’t think I was an accomplice, so they didn’t search me yet. Here you go.”

Taking the parchment from Abigail, Ilirianna unfolded it and began to read through what she now realized were observation notes. It was quickly apparent that the subject it referenced was related to the voice Album heard, and the final note regarding the young light mage was disturbing, but Ilirianna was happy to now have some idea surrounding the project.

Handing them off to Nakoma, Ilirianna turned back to the team. “That is concerning. Were you able to identify the subject? Did he have it in his room, or…?”

“Ah, you see, that part had some complications,” Ryokumo chimed in, his grin turning guilty.

“Complications? What complications?” she bitterly inquired, fearing what he was about to say.

The wind mage chuckled. “Well, you see, the subject it referenced was this creepy little eyeball being kept in a vial that I stuffed into my pocket and, upon protoing off the balcony, must have fallen out at some point. Currently, I have no idea where the hell it is.”

Placing her face in her hands in exasperation, Ilirianna sighed. “Fantastic. So it’s just somewhere in the castle?”

“Probably,” Ryokumo admitted. “Or at least out in the courtyard below the bedroom, but since the guards scooped me up almost immediately, I was not able to go check.”

“And did this eyeball thing see you?” the princess demanded. “Is there any way it could sell you out to the doctor?”

This time, it was Abi who answered. “I would hope not. It did see us, but from the sound of those notes, it’s only spoken to Album so far, so I’m hoping it won’t turn us over.”

“Lovely.” Beginning to pace around the room, Ilirianna attempted to take all of the new information in and process it, hoping that some conclusion could be drawn. “Well, what worries me is that there wasn’t a single mention of the combustions. Instead, it just talked about the subject, so unless that thing is what causes the explosions, it’s now not impossible that whatever project is being conducted is separate.” She scoffed. “And if that is the case, then what the hell have we stumbled into?”

“And you never heard it talk to you, Abi, Ryokumo?” Album asked softly.

Ryokumo shook his head. “Not a damn word. It just stared at us, though not like we gave it much time to do anything else. Mallicent showed up just moments after I unlocked that drawer.”

“It is bizarre though,” Nigreos commented. “Even these notes say that it’s only spoken to Album, so why Album? It said she might be what it seeks, and Mallicent’s notes reference a host, so could she be a candidate for a host?”

Album glanced away nervously. “I hope not. That’s…unnerving.”

“Honestly, we can’t be sure of anything,” the princess muttered. “And I don’t like the fact that we lost the stupid thing, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. Was there anything else in that room that you missed?”

“Not that we know of, no,” Abi confirmed. “We opened both drawers in the desk, as well as every other visible compartment in the rooms. The only thing we could have missed would have been well-hidden, but since we were caught, there’s no way we can get back in to check.”

Ilirianna shook her head. “Nor would I want you to. I suppose that means that any further evidence would require breaking into the lab or contacting the doctor, two things that are going to be near impossible now that Lord Malloway knows somebody’s trying to get information on this project. We might be at another standstill…” She furrowed her brow, swiftly coming to a new conclusion. “We lay low for the moment and do as we were initially ordered to. We’ll observe, but that being said, because Mallicent was healed after being attacked, I think Malloway’s going to suspect your involvement, Abi.”

The nature mage’s lips tightened. “You think so?”

“I do. Which is why we need to get these notes out of the castle as soon as possible.” Ilirianna glanced back at Nakoma, who briefly glanced up at nodded before returning to his analysis of the parchments. “Tomorrow morning, Abigail and Nigreos will transport these to Master Rana down in the city. I want her opinion on the matter.”

“Wait, hold on a moment,” Nigreos said. “I agree that we should give Master Rana the notes, but should Abi really join me? If they’re suspicious of her, won’t they take notice if she suddenly leaves the castle the next day?”

Ilirianna nodded. “Probably, yes. But given her sense, should anybody suspicious track you, she’ll notice. And with that in mind, I also want her to use her ability on the city guard to try and see if the problem only exists in Aquesen, or if the entire Hiriech military has been compromised. Are you okay with that, Abi?”

She was clearly apprehensive, but Ilirianna was already familiar with the girl well enough to know that she would do as asked, so she wasn’t surprised in the least when Abigail gave her the affirmative.

***

Toying with the canister containing the subject’s eye, Doctor Uma Miyon laughed softly to himself as he regarded the little eyeball, which had gone back to sleep as it so often did whenever he picked it up. He had long since determined that the subject had little interest in him, as well as in the rest of the team, but that didn’t bother him whatsoever. He was simply fascinated by its very existence, and one way or the other, he intended to discover what ancient secrets it contained.

And we’ve just recently had a breakthrough. The main body talks to us on occasion, but the pieces we’ve studied have never once made contact. I was truly under the impression that it couldn’t, but Mallicent says it spoke to Album Luz, so clearly it’s just being defiant.

He considered himself lucky that he had gotten to the vial before anybody else had, as it would have been disastrous for anybody outside of the project to get ahold of it. Though, Uma was a tad disappointed, for he had hoped that the other piece of the subject that he used to lead him to the eye would have taken him to the culprit. Instead, it seemed the thief was incompetent, for it was merely resting in the northern courtyard’s grass, awaiting him.

No, it’s not a problem. There’s no doubt that Ryokumo Caeli was there given what Album must have told him, and when I stick this eyeball back into the main body, perhaps it will finally cooperate and tell us what it saw.

Arriving at the metal door of his laboratory, Uma reached into the pocket of his white lab coat and produced a thin metal gauntlet with blue lines running all across the surface like veins. As always, he slid it over his right hand then placed it against the door, allowing the contained mana within to interact with the security magic. Once completed, he stalked into the interior of the pale white room, lit as it always was by the fire magic lamps attached to the walls. The fact that they were currently flickering told him that somebody was already inside the lab, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who it was.

Marching past the shelves of equipment, Uma approached the door on the opposite side of the lab, the deactivated charm confirming that others were already present, and when he entered the Subject Room, he found not only the individual he had expected, but also a second person who would have normally returned to her quarters by that time.

The young woman’s name was Leiolai Sartella and she was an associate of his that had been assigned to work on the project with him simply so that she could keep an eye on him. She was no older than twenty and was nowhere near intelligent enough to understand all the scientific intricacies of his research, but she acted as if she were steps above him in all categories. Her short boyish haircut, thin features, and narrow blue eyes gave her a fierce look, and though he wasn’t afraid of her, he knew that her enemies should be, for her magic was far more twisted and disgusting than most. At the moment, she was sitting at the desk against the left wall, clacking away on the computer that was currently hooked up to a variety of wires and tubes that connected to the wall.

On the opposite side of the room from Leiolai, Mallicent Malloway was standing just at the base of the massive, ten-foot tall and cylindrical container in the far right corner—a container whose contents would have terrified anybody who didn’t know what it was. Floating within the yellow liquid was a body, with oozy black skin that appeared like oil and an almost ethereal form. It was mostly humanoid, though it had a gaping hole where its left eye would have been, and there were two fingers missing from its right hand. It was currently asleep—or at least pretending to be asleep, and was being kept alive by the numerous wires sticking out of the container—wires that were the opposite ends of the ones hooked up to the computer.

Upon entering, both Leiolai and Mallicent turned his way, the former seeming disinterested and the latter looking frantic.

“Doctor Miyon, did you locate the eye? Or perhaps even my notes?” Mallicent immediately demanded, upon which Uma merely raised a hand to reassure him.

“Yes, I found the eye, Mal,” he stated calmly, staring at the boy over the rim of his glasses. “Unfortunately, it was just laying in the courtyard. More likely than not, the thief dropped it in their frantic flight. While I failed to determine the thief’s identity, I am still relieved. That being said, the notes have eluded me, and I would expect they remain in the hands of the thief.”

Mallicent snorted irritably. “Well, there’s not a doubt in my mind it was Caeli. I don’t know whether the princess put him up to it or if he’s just a nosy bastard to begin with, but it had to be him. Luz peaked his curiosity when the subject talked to her and he broke in to satiate it.”

“Possibly,” Uma agreed, crossing the room to stand at the base of the subject’s container. “But we’ll just have to check and see if our friend here feels the need to do us a solid. Leio, would you mind opening the port?”

Without looking back at him, Leiolai merely snorted. “Sure, but you’ll have to give me a second. I’m still not great at working with your Omaruan tech, you know? I wish you damn magicless wouldn’t make your stuff so complicated.”

Uma narrowed his eyes in irritation. “Quit your whining. Our tech is far from complicated when you compare it to the illogical nonsense that is your magic. Just use your brain for once in your life and you should be fine. I’ve even bookmarked the correct system for you to use. It’s at the top. Just try not to kill the damn thing while you're at it.”

“Shut up. I see it.”

With Leiolai working on the port, Uma and Mallicent turned back to regard the subject.

“I doubt it’ll help us,” the lord’s son muttered bitterly. “It never cooperates to begin with, so why should it do so now?”

Uma shrugged nonchalantly and stuck his hands deep into the pockets of his lab coat. “I don’t expect it to, but you miss every shot you don’t take, right? And besides, whether we confirm it or not, the risk of being wrong is too high. Princess Ilirianna being in the city complicates things a bit, and while we can’t just assassinate the princess, the members of her team aren’t really anything to fear. I’ll speak to Vesh about eliminating this Ryokumo Caeli.”

“Eliminating?” Leiolai commented. “Is that not a little risky? If Caeli is killed in Aquesen, not only will it put Lord Malloway on alert, but there’s no way that Ilirianna doesn't do everything in her power to crush us.”

“Perhaps, but I do not fear the princess,” Uma replied confidently.

“You should. The Iijis are not a family to be messed with, you know?” The young woman shook her head. “Ilirianna, and Taurus for that matter, are the biggest threats to our victory at the moment. There’s not a doubt in my mind that we would fail miserably if we tried to use the Teritus on them given their experience with fire magic, so if we can’t kill them in combat and we can’t blow them to pieces, then we shouldn’t antagonize them at all.” She scoffed. “Anyway, there you go. Port’s ready.”

Uma grinned, reaching into the inner pocket of his lab coat to produce the vial containing the subject’s eye. He then hooked it to a small, circular port on the left side of the container and gave Leiolai the go-ahead. She typed a few things into the computer and when she did, the contents of the vial were sucked into the larger vessel, with the eye sinking into the subject’s body.

“I understand your concerns,” Uma told her, “but could you imagine how happy the Goddess would be with a sacrifice as juicy as the empire’s heir?” He laughed darkly. “The gifts she would bestow upon us for such a thing would be beyond compare, Leio, and if she’s going to be here for the reckoning anyway, we might as well take advantage of that. She’s the next leader of this rotting world, so wouldn’t she be ideal?”

“I…am not disagreeing with that,” Leiolai said after a short pause. “I’m just saying…that you’re asking to get killed by targeting her.”

“Maybe…”

Murmuring that last word, Uma watched as the subject’s eyes flickered open, revealing that the piece he had inserted had finally returned to its proper place. Though, while it didn’t say anything, Uma knew it could hear him, so he straightened up and faced the ancient being with pride and confidence.

“Good evening, Angel,” Uma greeted. “If you’re not busy, I was wondering if you could tell us who it was that broke into Mallicent’s quarters tonight? Would you mind?”

The Angel merely stared at him for a few moments, before a bitter smile twisted its mouth, followed by a telepathic response that only Uma could hear.

Drop dead, you filthy abomination.