Aria and Sotir stood before Alban Hohl.

Alban, with his stern features and aura of red-blue, delivered a message: Scaldigir had a reaper on the hunt.

Sotir held up a finger. “May Aria and I have a few minutes to talk?”

“Take all the time you like. I’ll head back to the bridge.” Alban stowed his tablet and turned to go.

“No, please wait.” Sotir touched Alban’s arm. “I...might need your help.”

Alban narrowed his eyes but stopped and waited.

Sotir grabbed Aria’s arm and took her into the corner. They faced the wall and lowered their voices.

“Is Pan going to die?” Aria asked.

“I have no idea, but this is the big thing involving young arcanes. That’s the new danger – a reaper. Pan might be a target for the reaper, or at least, she’s one of the people who will be involved in catching the reaper. She can question murder victims after all.” Sotir rubbed the back of his neck. “I should have looked further. I shouldn’t have listened to her.”

“What do you mean? What was the result of the first vision?” Aria watched Sotir, with narrow eyes.

Sotir sighed. “Pan’s decision had to do with me. She saw an unfortunate child’s ghost – the product of two arcanes. She felt she had to choose a life without me. That was her big life-changing choice.” Sotir bowed his head. “I made it worse. I tried to keep her. I told her about our future together, and she was bothered to hear that I even looked. She was right. I went much too far.”

Aria said quietly, “You need to give her up.”

Sotir’s aura went grey.

Aria drew a deep breath. She would find the right words to help Sotir later. For now, she needed to keep Pan alive. Their little argument would be a moot point if she didn’t. She thought about all the ways she might have helped if she found herself on Scaldigir. Perhaps, she could have served as a lie detector.

“So, this is why they want us to report…they want to test us,” Aria said.

“Exactly.”

Aria slumped. “This is bad.”

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“It really is.”

“Not that I have anything to worry about,” Aria added.

“Except Pan.”

“If she gets scared enough or angry, she might make a mistake.” Aria glanced at the room.

Gavain and Alban watched them. Their auras reached as if ready to snatch stray words.

“Aria?” Sotir whispered. “Do you think you would be alright on your own while we wait for the records? I don’t think they will ask too much more of you, and I’ve done what I can.”

“I would be alright.” Despite her words, Aria didn’t like what she heard or saw.

Sotir’s aura swirled, with a shade of deep blue. He left the corner and approached Alban. “Would it be possible for you to take me out in a shuttle? If we get closer to Scaldigir or even just sit in an empty part of space, I might be able to get a read on the reaper situation.”

“I’ll ask the Captain. You might have a chance to execute this plan of yours. Though, the Soffigen won’t like it. If we send even a shuttle away, that’ll look suspicious.” Alban’s blue hues took over. “If it’s a lack of distraction you’re after, I think we might be able to do that here.”

“Well, I want to get closer, but if I can’t, a lack of distraction might help.” Sotir’s aura betrayed three hues: yellow, blue, and pink.

Aria saw it again. That affection. Sotir would have a hard time quitting Pan.

Alban gestured for Sotir to follow. “Come with me. We’ll see what we can do.”

With narrowed eyes, Aria tried to catch Sotir’s, but his aura gradually grew in intensity and blocked off Aria’s view of his features.

A mere five minutes after the records came in, Sotir returned. He hadn’t been allowed to leave the Ischyros, but Alban set him up in some lonely cargo bay, empty except for some unused crates. There, Sotir worked.

“Well?” Aria asked.

Sotir shook his head. “I didn’t get much. Nothing definitive. I just see Pan in darkness with Ruair, Uda, Hagen, Lita, and Merit. They’re trying to prove the reaper’s identity. Other than that, I get nothing.”

Aria bit her lower lip. “That’s good enough. Now, we just have to send the information to Scaldigir.”

Sotir nodded. “I already did. It’s traveling ahead of us. The Captain let me send it as soon as the negotiations concluded.”

Gavain strolled over. His aura played, stretching for Aria and Sotir both. “You see your friend, Pan, and several others in darkness? Is it a place or more of a metaphorical state of mind?”

Sotir smiled a little. His aura betrayed some of its normal yellow. “I may see things in a dreamy haze, but the things I see are real places and people. If I see them in darkness, then at some point, they will be someplace dark. It’s not meant to be poetic...no matter how much we would like it to be.”

Aria tapped a finger against her lips. “What place do we know that’s dark?”

“It might not be a place at all,” Sotir said. “My vision may just show night, although, I have to admit, I see rocks or a cliffside.” Sotir knit his brow. His aura went a bit white as he strove to see further.

Gavain raised his fist and began to tick off places on his fingers. “Ombor Caves. Carboncino Mine. Gesso Mountain.”

Sotir just shrugged. “I’ve never been to any of those places.”

“With the exception of the caves, neither have I,” Gavain admitted, with a shrug of his own. “Aria?”

“I’ve been to the mountain. None of the others.” Aria shook her head. “I hope Pan will be okay. How long till we get home?”

Gavain stiffened. “We won’t go too far, till we’ve studied the records. Then, we have a fueling stop, and I think the ship has one more pressing matter to attend to before it ferries us home.”

“Much too long,” Sotir said.