Chapter 17 (T) - The Shade of Daedalus

  “Uh… The Shade of Daedalus? The heck is that?”

  Zach sighs. “So, you don’t know anything about them. Alright, what do you know about Daedalus?”

  “Daedalus? Uhh… If I remember right, they’re a group of really awful people. Not sure what they do exactly, but I remember hearing they’re behind a lot of disappearances around the world, and that there’s an international effort to get rid of them. Pretty sure Dad’s playing a big part in Marilla’s efforts.”

  Zach looks surprised. “You know Councilor Aranae is leading the- …Right, of course you do. You must have overheard him discussing Daedalus at some point, didn’t you.”

  I grin. “Yep! He usually keeps details about work secret, but sometimes he thinks I’m asleep when I’m not. So, he’s leading something big, then?”

  “Well… Your dad is one of the three councilors in charge of leading Marilla’s anti-Daedalus force. To be specific, he’s in charge of assailing any Daedalus facility our investigations are able to uncover.”

  “Really? He never said anything about that. He’s always complaining about paperwork and stuff.”

  Zach freezes. “...Crap, I wasn’t supposed to say that.” He looks around nervously, before glancing at some glossy black rectangle he pulls out of his pocket. Apparently, whatever’s on this rectangle thingy reassures him, since he visibly relaxes as he puts it back. “Anyway, uh… Don’t go telling anyone who’s in charge of hunting Daedalus. That’s supposed to be kept secret from the public, since they have disguised operatives everywhere. There’s no telling what they’ll overhear.”

  “Uh- Okay?”

  “Seriously. If it was known who’s in charge, they’d have assassins hounding them constantly. They even wear masks whenever they’re working, just to keep their identities unknown.”

  “Okay, I got it. You don’t have to tell me fifteen times, okay?”

  “R-right. Sorry.”

  “So anyway, what’s this ‘Shade of Daedalus’ thing about?”

  Zach sighs again. “Well… For all our efforts- and Gaela, Fierte, and Yarost’s efforts, for that matter… We’re being out-performed.”

  “...What the heck does that mean?”

  “We do our best to locate and shut down Daedalus facilities, and rescue the victims locked up inside, but it’s not common that we actually find them. But from time to time, someone will see a flare being sent up from some random location. When local authorities get to where it was sent from, they find a Daedalus facility. The innocent people who were being held captive are usually relatively unhurt, but there’s rarely a single Daedalus member left alive.”

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  “...So you’re saying is that some mystery group armed to the teeth is running around, and doing a better job fighting these guys than the Knights?”

  “Not just the Knights. This has been happening worldwide for the last few years. And the most insane part is that when the survivors are questioned, they always say the same thing. They never see more than one person, wielding nothing but a sword.”

  “Yeah, right. One guy does better than an entire band of Knights? With my- Er, with ‘him’ leading them? Suuuure.”

  “I’m not joking, Tessa. Now, we don’t know for sure if this is really just one person, but that’s what all the evidence and testimony we’ve found points to. This person appears out of nowhere, slaughters their way through whatever facility they’ve set their sights on, shoots a flare into the sky once they’re done, and vanishes back into the night like some sort of ghost. For a long time, we had no idea of their personality, backstory, motivations, appearance, gender, or anything. That’s why people started calling them ‘the Shade of Daedalus’.”

  “Huh. …So, uh… Why’d you bring all this up, then?”

  “Because last year, the ‘Shade of Daedalus’ showed up during one of my cases.”

  Xander pipes up. “That was the case where Queen Silvath was killed, right?” Zach gives his brother a look that clearly says he wasn’t supposed to reveal that info. Xander closes his mouth and tries to sink into the couch cushions. It doesn’t work.

  Zach looks back over at me. “Anyway… The Shade played a pretty big role in that case, and I managed to get a good look at him.”

  Finally, things slot into place in my head. “Wait… They didn’t look like Jay, did they?”

  Zach’s eyes widen. “The man you met said his name was Jay?”

  “Yeah, he did.”

  “That’s the name I was told too… This can’t be a coincidence.”

  Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. Instead of getting up, Zach just yells, “Come in!” The front door opens, and to my complete surprise, the princess of Gaela strides into the living room.

  Zach looks almost as surprised as I do. “R-Regina?! W-what brings you here?!”

  “A report arrived from Stormhall not long ago. I felt you ought to be informed.”

  “A report? What did it- Wait, was there another- ?”

  “That’s right. A flare was sighted two nights ago, originating near Mariville, not long before that beast attacked.”

  “So… The Shade has struck again, has he?”

  “Given Councillor Aldritch’s condition, Councillor Aranae has been assigned to lead the investigation team, and has departed several minutes ago.”

  “I see. Thank you for informing me.”

  The princess glances at me and Xander and nods to us, before turning back around and exiting without another word. Xander and I only remember to breathe once the front door closes behind her.

  After a moment’s silence, Zach gets to his feet. “Well, I should probably get going. Your dad doesn’t know the first thing about detective work.”

  I smirk. “Better get there fast then, before he lights evidence on fire!”

  Zach laughs. “He’d better not! Anyway, I’m off. Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone, okay?”

  I grin at him as Xander tries to sink into the cushions again. Zach smiles back at us, and walks out the door.