Julia's mother took a brief moment after that bold statement that left everyone looking uneasy. “I presume you know what it is the Valkyries do?” Julia bites her lip gently while stewing on this.
Drenar finally speaks up. “Vaguely. Larger than life heroes.” He should be ripping her mother to pieces right now, but he keeps calm in a way that she can almost respect.
Her mother dips her head lightly in response. “The Valkyries have been an established presence for thousands of years. Our organization was created before the events of the Schism Wars of the Dragon Empire, as a stabilizing influence. It was our efforts that led to the dissolution of the corrupted fragments of the empire, and dealt with the Outsiders at that time. At immeasurable cost. Four thousand, two hundred years ago…the first Champion gave her life to protect the well-being of the planet. She slew the invading Outsider controlling the lesser entities, closed the nascent interstellar portals they used to invade…and died. Her name was Gaia.”
The room has grown uncomfortably silent before her mom continues. “Yes, that Gaia you hear mentioned from time to time. People called her a goddess, and I would say that she was just a dragoness determined to protect her world…but in recent years, I'm not so sure. She established the Valkyries as a force for the preservation of good for all Kin. Against all threats to our world, and against factions who threaten to destabilize our fragile peace. And we have done that for over four thousand years. With honor, dignity, and the preservation of good our sole focus."
“Until now.” Julia glances to see Joey looking at her mother with contempt, but this pushback is subtle for her. “Maybe you've lost touch with what matters, Miss DeVerdra. Things aren't very peaceful out there.”
“We are a relatively small organization, Josephine. We number in thousands, not millions. We are not the people to set the course of history, we exist for the preservation of good. We take our vows to defend the ideals of our world seriously. But we are not omnipotent, nor do we desire to lead.” Julia takes note of that, for later. “We defer to the Conclave, and work with SAF in joint ventures to do surgical… corrections…when order and peace are threatened. Dillenger and I have worked together before this, though not to the level of this past week.”
It clicks. She doesn't want it to click, because Levine's kinda awesome and dad material, and she wants to meet this teenage daughter of his, but it clicks. “Oh my Fates, you two are boning!” she shouts in astonishment. Levine has a remarkably muted eyebrow raise, and her mother sighs.
“Why is that the first thing you assume?” her mother asks.
“Because it's true, and it explains how he didn't reveal your identity!" she accuses. This day is just a series of nonstop reveals. But does she want her future stepdad as this guy? He is remarkably calm under fire, and a good teacher. Eh. He still needs my approval. He's got a chance.
“We had coffee. Once.” Levine practically growls his response. He's not happy about being called on it.
“Twice,” her mother corrects, and almost looks amused when he scrunches his face, and narrows his eyes.
“No, it was once.”
“I think you're conveniently losing count, Dillenger. And it was over logistics.”
“It drifted from logistics.”
Drenar is rapidly losing patience. "Okay, focus, you guys. I still need answers, and you two…really kept too many secrets. Now tell me what happened on November 11th.”
This is the moment her mother is dreading in the way she hesitates, before continuing. “I can tell you that our identities are well protected and scoured by both mundane and magical means. Few even within the Conclave are authorized to know who we are. The Valkyries have had very few instances where our identities are leaked deliberately–but accidents still happen.” She offers a stern glance at Malena, who is otherwise unapologetic. “Your mother was, and is a living legend, Drenar. I just wish this part of our life was something that we could share with our families more candidly.
“Per our policies, once your dad met your mom, all records were scrubbed, all electronics erased, and heavy-duty shroud enchantments were required to be on his persona at all times. I don’t know where the lapse was, but we think that somehow, it was tied to information she was in possession of. Your dad found something.”
“Hang on. What?” Drenar looks bewildered by this assertion.
“Your dad was involved in the mage world, too. Not nearly as much as Trisha, granted, but he found something, and they were traveling to a secure site to verify the contents. They were intercepted en route. Whatever he found was important enough they sent a small army to kill him and bury the evidence. They found your mother by sheer luck.” Her mom looks almost as devastated as when her father died.
Drenar sits down to process this. “My dad was involved the whole time? Fates, Kiera, it was hard enough figuring out Mom is a dragon and I’m half, same as Evan! What was he doing?”
“His job. He was an engineer who was good at data recovery.” This part Julia knew was true, and how he occasionally talked to Drenar and the others about his job as a forensic investigator for the police. Apparently, he did just that but with magical technology, too. “We had been working on several unrelated matters–we thought the Talons were up to something, so he was taking a look at an encrypted drive that was acquired by a previous raid by the Valkyries–one that SAF had tried very strongly to take over the investigation.”
Julia sees where the dots are connecting. It’s not going places she wants it to go, and there’s a gnawing dread the fact that the Conclave could be involved, is unnerving. Drenar sits there, looking shocked, eyes wide like he usually does when someone decides to wreck his entire life in a fell swoop. Her mother continues after that brief pause.
“I don’t know how his identity was leaked. But no less than forty armed men, a few dragons, and several vehicles gave chase to them on that day. Except, they failed to account for one thing. Your mother is a legend of impeccable grace. And she made them pay for their arrogance by sending them all to their graves, a few at a time.”
“Looks like I was right on that account.” Even with that validation, it didn't bring any warmth to Drenar's face.
“They engaged in the vehicle, then on foot. It did not end well for the mercs.” Kiera doesn't have to say it, but Julia knows Trisha likely slaughtered them to a man as if she were a max-level hero taking out level-one NPC’s. “By that point, they were running through a ravine in the hills. She'd injured her wing in the attack, and kept Eddard safe. Until the mercs command team jumped in.”
“Do we know who they were?”
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"Trisha killed four out of five of them. She was...not gentle in their demise. But there was one who was a cut above them. An armored soldier, an ogre of a man, wielding heavy weaponry…and an axe so bloodstained, it's acquired its unique magical abilities.”
“Drenar…we've seen him.” Julia's eyes narrow when she remembers seeing one man on the screen, at the promenade. “An armored soldier, decked out in armor that looks like a mechanized suit.”
Drenar looks stunned at this, then snaps his fingers. “Nick. The guy you were talking about. The one you said we should run from. Davos Renshrak. Does he carry an axe?”
“Yes, he does. And he has used it to great effect.” Nick's gaze drifts over to Joey, who looks like she’s trembling slightly. Whatever this man did, was more than enough to warrant his removal from the face of the earth, she decides.
“That hulking killer that snapped a man's neck on live TV. He's working for the Talons, Nick! Val had to be lying!” Drenar states aloud.
“No, Drenar. That man has taken a paycheck from more than just the Talons. He could have been paid by anyone to take her out, for the right price,” Nick counters. “But, a splinter of the Conclave…that is bold.”
“It was. Trisha managed to wound that bastard, but he was winning a battle of attrition after she’d been wounded, and fighting for a significant duration. Even Luminari couldn’t easily get past his armor.” Kiera is clenching her jaw, as if hesitant on what to say next. “Drenar…your dad was a mage of a little skill…and he defended her.”
“And died defending her. Didn’t he?” His shoulders slump a little, and his gaze lowers to the table. She closes her eyes and lets out the lightest wisp of breath. This is not easy for her mother, either.
“Eddard Rashalda overtaxed his body, shielding her. He suffered a lethal case of mana burn. That was his last dying act. Deflecting the axe blow that should have killed her. Davos took off her arm, instead. And she still nearly died from it. She stabbed him right in the chest past a section of compromised armor, and Davos managed to stagger to the safety of a one-time teleportal pad. None of his men survived that encounter.” Drenar clenches his fist at this, incensed at this bad news. “Our imminent presence kept him from finishing the job, and fled. How that man survived such a critical injury is beyond me.
“We attended to your mother, and barely got her stabilized. We had to act fast, because Trish was able to save the data, even as she was at risk of bleeding to death. The rest was a cover story to ensure that the enemy presumed that they both died, and were no longer on their radar. Your mother was in a medical coma for two years, a secondary impact of a toxin he coated on his axe. Another year in therapy at a secure site, that even the rest of the Valkyries didn’t know about. And I had to protect that secret, even though it pained me every single day that I had to do it.”
Drenar slumps down in his seat, and leans his head on Julia’s shoulder. This is too much for him, and he stays like that for a good minute. No one dares to speak, and he looks hollowed out again. “How? How is that man still alive?"
“Because Trisha couldn’t dare move against him in the open. Not until we knew who funded him, and gave cover to his activities. He’s a genocidist for hire, Drenar. And he has very select clients who were more than willing to obscure his location, and presence, for years. And those who protected him…are very dangerous if their underlings prefer to turn the business end of a pistol on themselves rather than give up information. We had to play the long game until we could find out who the source was. Otherwise, they would have come after her, until she was dead.”
Drenar is finally shaken out of his apathy, a gentle sway of his head, eyes lacking that spark of energy he always seemed to have. “This whole time…I thought my mom was the target. And they were just after my dad. They must have done this in a hurry, because if they knew about my mother, they would have wiped out all of us.” He sounds distant, too. “This is why you couldn’t show my dad’s body. Because everyone had to believe the cover story. Because someone stood to lose a lot, if this information was ever cracked wide open.”
Her mother winces, and her whole posture droops just the slightest amount. “I know this is not what you wanted to hear, Drenar. This is not a story I ever wanted to have to tell you, because I wanted to kill the men that did this, and they chose to end their own lives rather than give up the names of those who hired and supplied them. The only reason your mother is still alive, was a single warning on her phone, ninety seconds before the attack.”
Everyone leans in, and Drenar is instantly at attention. “Someone warned her? Who?”
“Take a guess.” Her mother looks like she’s going to rip her teeth through the soft tissue of her lip.
There's about three seconds of dead silence before the answer dawns on Julia. Only one person would have the gall to do something like this, if it furthered his interests. One man who seems to know everything. She slams her hand on the table.
“That bastard!”
“That could describe a lot of unsavory people we've met lately,” Joey said with remarkable restraint. “Spoilers, a couple of them are now dead.”
“King.” Drenar looks about as warm as the grave right about now. Joey goes ashen white. “This explains so much about how he knew about the Valkyrian dagger, and how he knew about me. And his endgame strategy.”
“But he's on team villain! What the hell is going on?” Joey gasps.
“King playing everyone against everyone. Are we sure Val is the biggest threat here?” James does raise an astute point. “Or worse, someone inside the Conclave isn’t helping Val achieve her world domination plan?”
“We won’t know until we find him.” Drenar sucks in a deep breath through his teeth. “Kiera, if mom’s not dead, then why the hell did she not come home the second you thought things were going screwy?”
“Because she’s been busy being covert, Drenar. Trying to find the monsters who pulled this off, same as me. We’ve had to play this one very close to the chest, because we are still uncertain where the leak on your father’s identity came from. I couldn’t rule out one of our own. She is very active behind dangerous enemy lines. People working with the Talons, at present. Some of that might be related to what King is interested in, but I don’t know the connection yet.”
Drenar doesn't buy it. He's quivering in fury. “Kiera, you're telling me, now that we’ve been in a crisis that you’ve been aware of for four days, she didn’t come rushing home?! Or did you just not tell her, because you knew what she’d do, if she received word that her kids were in danger?!” Drenar is practically shaking at this, and she decides it’s time to let him vent. Her mother sits there silently, looking expressionless, and Drenar throws up his hands. “Thanks, guys. Really. This discussion is not over, Kiera.” He rises from the table, fists clenched. “Julia, do you mind following me out for a few minutes? I need some air.”
She springs up in an instant. This is too much to take in, and she’s been clenching her fingers into the table hard enough she could leave indent marks. “Yeah, you know what, that sounds like a fantastic idea.”
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