> Goddess of the Night,

> Lady of Justice,

> I have heard your call,

> I will smite the unbeliever.

> Iah wills it!

>

> —Hymn to Iah, author unknown

Sariel

Someone was shaking me and shouting in my ear. Consciousness returned in a rush. I opened my eyes.

“Stop shaking me!” I said to Seraph.

I got up. We were inside a helicopter, which was strange because I didn’t remember getting on it. Seraph was even paler than normal, and his voice was hoarse. I was going to ask what happened when I caught sight of Uriel.

“Oh, no,” I said.

Uriel was lying on the helicopter’s floor, curled up in a fetal position. His body was encased in crystallized anima just like Asteria after she had saved the city.

“Do you remember what happened?” asked Seraph.

“No. Do you?”

Seraph shook his head. “But when I woke up I had this stuck in my chest. It didn’t leave a wound.”

He showed me Asteria’s knife. This wasn’t making sense.

“Asteria told us to fly away on the helicopter,” I said.

“That’s the last thing I remember,” said Seraph.

“Me, too,” I said.

We were on the helicopter, just like ordered. That was good.

Uriel was unconscious and in a healing trance. That was not good, not good at all.

“We’re headed to the nearest town for refueling. You get Uriel to the hospital, and I’ll get some answers,” said Seraph.

“No, you’ll take care of Uriel. I’ll go find out what happened. I’m better at getting answers,” I said.

Seraph nodded. I knew he wanted to go back to Asteria, but that would be foolish. All the signs pointed to the three of us being in trouble.

I didn’t want to admit it even to myself but…

We’d probably been “eaten” by the Iah spawn. Asteria must have saved us, but where was she now?

***

Uriel was breathing normally inside the crystal. Seraph told me that I’d been like that, too. The crystal simply melted away on its own, then he woke me up. I wondered why Seraph had woken up first, then I remembered the legendary artifact that Asteria had given Seraph. Had the Sidereal Protector healed him?

As for me, I felt fine.

Well, not exactly “fine,” but I felt healthy. I had a horrible sinking feeling in my gut that things had gone badly wrong, but physically I was all right.

The nearest town that had a decent hospital with modern facilities was twenty minutes away. I spent the time counting Uriel’s breaths. Eighteen breaths per minute. He should be okay.

When the lights of Aarlborg appeared in the distance, I sprang to my feet and said, “Finally!”

“Emergency medical personnel are standing by at the landing area, sirs,” said the pilot.

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“What’s the word from headquarters?” I asked.

“Same as before, sir.”

In other words, nothing. Then again, radio wasn’t a secure means of communication. Hopefully, someone would be in Aarlborg to explain what the hell had happened.

“Refuel and get ready for immediate takeoff,” said Seraph.

“Yes, sir.”

We didn’t wait for the helicopter blade to stop spinning before we exited. Orderlies in white uniforms lifted Uriel onto a stretcher, and Seraph followed them to the local hospital.

“I’ll call you when I have information,” I said to Seraph.

He nodded. He said, “Stay calm.”

Calm? I’m calm. I’m so very fucking calm!

I ran towards the nearest military office, shoving aside everyone who wasn't fast enough to get out of my way. I burst into the local Kraej military captain’s office and commandeered his phone.

“Out. Emergency situation,” I said.

They were smart enough to leave immediately without any more prompting. I dialed my office number so fast I almost broke the phone.

“Gitte, what in the bloody hell is going on?” I said the moment my secretary answered.

“Sir, I’ll transfer you to President Kraej’s office,” said Gitte. She didn’t waste any breath to ask if I was alright or anything. That’s why I picked her out of everyone else in the secretarial pool. She’s always been a real no-nonsense woman who thinks on her feet.

“Commander Sariel, this is Dierke Kraej,” said a voice on the phone.

By the goddess! Gitte had reached the president himself. I could count on the fingers of one hand the times when I’d seen him in person. I’d spoken to him exactly once when I was promoted to S-class.

“President Kraej,” I said.

“Where are you right now?”

“Sir, I’m at Captain Harald’s office at Aarlborg.”

“Stay there. No one was aware that anything had happened until your pilot radioed in an hour ago to say that he was bringing the three of you to the hospital at Aarlborg,” said Kraej. “My men are investigating right now.”

“But our orders-”

“Were fake. It seems that Alfred was the one who issued an order changing your mission. He also took command of the staff at the vacation house.”

Alfred? The famous Lifer who was Dierk Kraej’s right-hand man? What could his motive be? “Sir, what about the people who were guests there?”

“The staff said the girl and the others were taken away by Alfred and half a dozen soldiers in a Kraej military helicopter.”

If headquarters didn’t know about it, then both the soldiers and helicopter must be fakes. “Where are they now?”

“One of my men will call you within the hour,” said President Kraej.

He must have handed the phone to someone else because the next voice identified himself as Ivan.

“We’re tracking them right now,” said Ivan.

“How?”

“The submarine crew planted tracking devices on Israfel’s uniform and Oren’s shoes. Unfortunately, the devices have a limited range. We’ve narrowed down their probable destination, and it’s only a matter of time until we locate them.”

I wanted to curse. It had been two hours since we’d last seen Asteria. Every minute was vital. I dreaded to think of the danger she was in.

Ivan didn’t have much more to say. I hung up very carefully. This phone line was now the most important piece of equipment in the world to me.

“Captain!” I called.

A man came inside the office and said, “Sir, I’m Captain Harald.”

“Captain, this is an emergency situation. I was just on the phone with President Kraej. I’ll be using your office for the next hour, but I need another phone.”

I wanted to keep the captain’s phone line clear for when Ivan called again. Harald’s secretary brought in another phone, which she used to call the hospital for me. I waved her off when Seraph was on the line.

“Tell me about Uriel first,” I said.

“The same as Asteria after the shield. They can’t do anything but monitor him. His condition seems stable,” said Seraph.

“Alright. I got through to President Kraej himself. I can’t talk about it on the phone,” I said.

“I’ll be there,” said Seraph.

While I was waiting, the captain’s secretary supplied me with two trays of sandwiches and bottles of water. Smart woman. I was parched so I drank some water. I ate because I might need the energy later, not because I was hungry.

“Where is she?” were the first words out of Seraph’s mouth when he entered the office.

“We don’t know yet,” I said. I filled him with what little information I’d managed to get.

“Did they say what condition she was in?” asked Seraph. He spoke in a slow, measured tone. I knew he was forcing himself to stay calm. His pupils were dilated, making his golden eyes glow brighter from the contrast.

“The staff weren’t there. They just saw the helicopter flying away. When they went to check, Asteria and the others were gone.”

Seraph started pacing back and forth in the small office.

“Don’t wear yourself out. We might need to fight later, so sit down and eat some of this,” I said.

Much of a soldier’s time was spent waiting for the action to start, but that didn’t make it any more bearable. An eternity seemed to pass before the phone rang.

“Hello, Ivan here. We have their location. Vice-President Magnus Kraej is on his way with soldiers and medical staff. His group is nearer than you, so they’ll arrive first. They’ll radio your pilot with orders if needed.”

“Understood.” I memorized the coordinates. Seraph and I ran for the helicopter as soon as the call ended.

I don’t know exactly what happened on the island, but one thing’s for sure. I’m going to kill whoever dared to lay a hand on my friends.

“They’re dead, whoever they are,” I said. I cracked my knuckles.