Chapter Twenty-Five

[REL POV]

I stared, eyes wide, as a Syldran ship uncloaked above Lucdra. The moment I lost contact with Elara, I knew something was wrong, but an Abysstouched vessel? This was too bold of them. [Lynir, get us in the air. If the Abysstouched are going to…attack…]

[Is that Elara?!] Lynir exclaimed, having spotted the faint streak of blue and black falling from the port docking bay, surrounded by crackling electricity. Seconds later, a streak of black dove after her and utter fury exploded throughout the city. Dark, inky power enveloped both of them, another person exploding into pieces.

What… I rushed through the streets of the Syldrari Sector the moment I spotted the ship’s weapon platforms pivoting. [Lynir, shields! Everyone else, get us in the air—once we’ve caught them, head North.]

“Good evening, people of Lucdra. We are Clan Thref’syn and we have taken over this vessel. On board, we have captured members of an Abysswalker clan and the human-Syldrari hybrids who have been a blight on this planet.

“If you want them, you will have to follow our instructions.”

The night sky lit up with a prism of lights as several orbiting ships fired on the Abysswalker vessel, and the human city’s defense platforms joined the barrage

When the light faded and the smoke cleared, the ship was unscathed, an unfamiliar barrier writhing around it.

“Call us when you’re willing to talk. We’ll be waiting.”

“Elara, wake up!” The familiar voice of the cultist drifted to my ears as the cloud of shadows neared the ground. The Y’serdyn’s presence seemed to sense me, and in an instant his power vanished to reveal him and Elara. “I’ve healed her, but she lost a lot of blood. We need to get her somewhere safe before this conflict escalates further. I will explain myself once—”

Another explosion above drowned out his words, pulling our eyes upward. One of Citomy’s ships had entered the atmosphere, and was attempting to destroy the cultist ship. I looked to the Y’serdyn, hesitant to trust him. His appearance, his power…they were suspicious at best. A descendant of the Abyss Father, perhaps? …this isn’t the time for that.

“We’re undocking. Carry her, and follow me,” I ordered sharply, tracking him as he did so. “We will relocate north of here and proceed dependent on what happens with…them. Tell me what happened to her.”

The Y’serdyn swiftly collected Elara in his arms and hurried after me. “I was preparing to have her shuttled back to the surface when someone attacked her. They struggled, and both fell from the ship. I refused to let her die…and so I risked myself. My clan isn’t aware of our working relationship.”

“Then this development,” I glanced upward, “happened after?”

[Rel, are you clear?] Lynir questioned.

[Yes, I have Elara and the Y’serdyn with me. I’m taking them to the sanctuary. Do you need me to transport them?]

Lynir sighed in relief. [Please. Citomy is charging resonance weaponry. We need to get out.]

“We don’t have time to walk.” I pivoted and placed a hand on the Y’serdyn’s shoulder. “We’re teleporting so the crew can disengage locks. Citomy is bringing out resonance weaponry.”

The Y’serdyn nodded, and I teleported us. Once there, I instructed the Y’serdyn to place Elara on the closest bed, then sat on the edge myself. [You’re clear, Lynir.]

“Do you think your clan turned on you?” I asked as everything around us rumbled, and distant banging signaled the locks to the Lucdra sectors disengaging.

The Y’serdyn frowned, remaining silent, his gaze unfocused. “No… I am still in contact with my other ships. My aide is trying to contact me. May she have permission to…?”

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

“If she makes a wrong move—kill her,” I stated.

“Thank you.” The Y’serdyn nodded.

Within moments, green light filled the room and a cloaked woman with red hair appeared. “My lord! Are you and the Del-irorr alright?”

“I will be fine. Elara requires treatment.” The Y’serdyn glanced at me questioningly. “Where is your medical bay?”

“Help will come here,” I stated.

“Of course…” he nodded, then looked to his aide. “Do we know what happened?”

“My lord, the pirates of Clan Thref’syn and Clan R’selkti both invaded your corvette and are fighting for control of it. We have reason to believe there are more agents throughout the fleet.”

Fleet…? I eyed them warily. No clan of ‘cultists’ I had heard of had a fleet. Most had a single cityship to their name.

“Then engage sweeping protocols,” the Y’serdyn ordered, his voice frigid. “Not only did they interrupt Elara’s execution orders, they put her life at risk. Get what information out of them you can, then kill them. I will be remaining on the surface for a time to coordinate with Rel and Jysel. We need to plan our next moves, and quickly.”

“Yes, my lord.” The woman bowed, disappearing as quick as she’d come.

“If they have infiltrated my fleet, you can assume they have also infiltrated yours. I recommend you task Aldiner with running everyone’s credentials,” the Y’serdyn turned to look at me.

“What does an Abysstouched want with Elara, and this ‘planet?’” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. “I thank you for saving her…but I know what that power was. Why is your fleet here instead of exploring the Fringes?”

“Distress signals called us back. One here…and multiple from Syldra. When we arrived and saw how strange matters had become here, I chose to investigate. Besides, getting to Syldra with a fleet such as mine is unlikely at best.” The Y’serdyn shook his head faintly. “As for Elara, I’m curious. She doesn’t make sense. Even with what we’ve learned from that ‘companion’ of hers.” He paused, frowning. “We should thank them for not breaking free and dooming us all the moment Elara was injured.”

A distressed groan interrupted our conversation and drew our attention to Elara as she shifted, her expression contorted with pain, fear, and anger. The moment I placed my hand on her shoulder, flashes of her nightmares sped through my mind and I recoiled.

“What is it?” the Y’serdyn asked, alarmed.

“She…” I stared at Elara. She and Zafir had both mentioned that her nightmares were getting worse, but never had I considered that her mind might be changing the target of her execution to people she knew.

The Y’serdyn placed a hand on her next and closed his eyes. He flinched, but kept his eyes closed and a hand on her. “I see… Her mind is being cruel to her. Why hasn’t this been addressed?”

“I wasn’t told it had gotten this bad,” I answered with a growl, then turned when I heard a door open. Jysel and Casair hurried over, their concern plain on their faces. “Guard Elara. I have orders to give out.”

Jysel took one look past me and his expression darkened. I patted his shoulder as I walked past. The Y’serdyn saved her life. Be nice while you question him, and be quiet. Elara is not doing well, and it has nothing to do with her injury.

…fine, Jysel answered, strained.

After leaving the sanctuary, I made my way immediately to primary control. There, Lynir and several others looked up with tired smiles.

“Where do you want us to land?” Lynir asked, indicating the footage of clear open fields. “We have room to set down wherever we like.”

“Our diplomats have already explained the situation to the Creshians.” Gretyan, a man with deep purple skin added from his station. “They’ve asked us to ‘hold onto’ Elara until it’s safe to return her to Lucdra. General Crowe has asked that we take her team and some of the Resonance Project staff on board—they don’t want to know what will happen if the survivors are exposed to another Incident.”

“…fine, but destroy all listening devices they come with.” I narrowed my eyes, then shifted to look at Lynir. “We’ll remain in the air for now. There’s every likelihood we’ll need to evacuate this planet. I’ll be speaking with Elara’s ‘rescuer’ about our options.”

“Should I contact Xilen?” Lynir offered, but I quickly shook my head. “Alright, on our own it is. Excellent choice.”

Over the next few hours, I gave out orders to the people I trusted to be against Citomy and the rogue clans. Aldiner set about cataloging and cross-referencing everyone’s identification with surprising seriousness, while Ciheri set to work compiling what we knew about the pirates.

By the time I returned to the sanctuary, it was well into morning and the Y’serdyn had been shown to guarded quarters. Casair was gone, but my troubled brother remained at Elara’s bedside.

“She calms with touch,” Jysel stated without turning around, “but I’m not sure where the boundaries lie. Do you think she’d be angry if we joined her, even if it helped ease her dreams?”

“She’s still…?” I frowned, searching Elara’s face. “Has she shown any sign of waking up?”

“No. The doctor found toxins in her bloodstream—the weapon was poisoned. He thinks it was meant for the Y’serdyn, but something or someone caused the assassin to attack Elara instead.” Jysel bristled. “She’ll be asleep for a while. The doctor gave her sedatives so that she doesn’t wake until the toxins are gone. It will be a few hours at best.”

And her ship? I asked, not wanting to risk being overheard.

Jysel shook his head. Furious. They are being patient. Barely. We don’t have much time. The Y’serdyn is drafting a plan to present to you and I—you’re not going to like it, but I agree with him. It’s going to take something big to get us off this rock without discovery.