Ruban tuned out as Ashwin explained to his sister the purpose of their visit. His eyes drifted over the fine, painstaking artwork that littered the walls and columns of the throne room. They were almost alive – throbbing with vitality – the murals and the thread-work moving in their eternal dance on every available surface. It was hard to believe that the inhuman, bloodthirsty creatures he Hunted for a living could create something so beautiful, so breathtaking.
“I see,” Safaa’s cool voice drew Ruban’s attention from his existential musings back to the situation at hand. “So you want to know what Tauheen has been up to over the past few years.”
“Exactly,” said Ashwin, folding his wings and throwing himself into one of the seats vacated by Safaa’s courtiers. He seemed to dislike standing with quite a passion. “That way, we can give the humans a reason to go after her with everything they’ve got, if we can prove that she’s been trying to compromise their political and administrative systems through blackmail and coercion. It wouldn’t be easy to overpower her forces on our own; she still commands most of the Exiles, if not all. But if we can get the various mortal governments to put up a concerted front against her, our chances improve exponentially. Or at least that’s what Ruban says anyway,” he smirked.
Turning her penetrating eyes on him, Safaa murmured, “Is that so, Mr. Kinoh?”
Ruban shrugged. “It’s the best plan I could come up with at such short notice.”
“And it’s a good one. However, I haven’t been to earth in centuries. My knowledge of earthly affairs – even those pertaining to our beloved mother – leaves something to be desired.”
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“Ashwin – ah, I mean Shwaan – says you maintain some sort of a spy network planet-side.”
Unexpectedly, Safaa laughed. Ruban thought a recording of the sound would sell for good money to music companies back on earth. “Ashwin seems to have told you quite a lot indeed, Mr. Kinoh. Discretion was never my brother’s strong suit. But this is a bit much, even for him.”
“I’m right here, you know,” the prince drawled, the eye-roll evident in his tone.
Safaa sighed, ignoring her brother. “Alright then, Mr. Kinoh. Since you seem to know so much already, I might as well tell you the rest, if you think it’ll help you stop my mother. You must understand, we cannot allow her to develop that formula. If she does, it shall be the end of us all – of Vaan and of earth.”
Ruban nodded. There wasn’t much he could say to that. He couldn’t honestly say he gave a damn about what happened to Vaan. But it was true that earth stood to lose as much, if not more, if Tauheen got what she wanted. And if accepting the help of the Queen of Vaan was the only way to stop her, well, Ruban had made worse bargains in his life.
Safaa took a deep breath. “On the banks of the river Shona to the south of your country, there is a city called Ibanborah.”
“Yes, of course. The capital of Ibanta. That’s the southernmost state of Vandram.”
Safaa nodded, a nostalgic little smile on her lips. “It was nothing more than a marsh when last I was on earth.” She shook her head once, as if forcing the memory from her mind. “Anyway, this city. Ibanborah. Tauheen has been spending a lot of time in its vicinity…for the last eight years or so. My spies followed her to the city but couldn’t determine her exact location beyond that point. She’s careful, and her followers are ever vigilant. Still, there has to be something there, for her to keep returning to the city time and again. Mother was never really one for sentimentality. She’s harbouring something there, something that’s important to her.”
“And if we can find it…” muttered Ruban.
“You can have your evidence,” said Safaa. “And I can have my satisfaction.”