Ariock folded his arms, ignoring the pitted dents from fallout. His armor was battered from a recent tussle with nuclear missiles. Too bad his faceplate was broken. His lack of a helmet might seal his doom if the Twins hid a secret super-weapon.

At least there was a row of soldiers between him and the super-geniuses.

They looked disarmingly weak.

Ariock narrowed his eyes and wondered if the Twins were here in order to win accolades from trillions of adoring fans. Did they plan to bring victory to the Torth Empire? Or did they truly want to do penance for all the lives which their insanity gas had wrecked?

“Hold up,” a gruff voice called.

Garrett made his way through the crowd, leaning on his silver staff. He had been taking a sleep break, so his armor looked fresh.

“Are we sure these, uh, supplicants are really who they claim to be?” Garrett said. “I wouldn’t put it past the Torth Empire to send decoys.”

One of the Twins frowned at Garrett, as if he could not quite believe the reception he was getting. That was the entitled look of a pampered Torth.

“Let me just…” Garrett blinked out of existence.

Ariock looked around, and gawked in shock when he saw that his great-grandfather had appeared between the Twins.

Within their telepathy ranges.

What an idiot! Why allow unaffiliated super-geniuses to read his mind? What if the Torth Empire was waiting for one of the heroes to get within targeting range?

Ariock began to spread his awareness, to shield Garrett, but the old man moved too swiftly. He infused his old body with superhuman speed and returned to Ariock’s side.

“Yup.” Garrett skidded to a halt, hair windblown, wide-eyed and chastened. “They’re super-geniuses.”

Ariock huffed at his recklessness. Someone smarter than Garrett ought to decide what risks were worth taking.

Garrett shot him a look full of wounded pride. “Hey now. Since the boy isn’t here, someone had to make sure—”

He interrupted himself as the night air crackled with sparks of lightning.

Soldiers readied their blaster gloves, glancing around with unease. This might be some sort of surprise attack.

The Lady of Sorrow coalesced amidst a web of lightning. She looked like Judgment personified, floating high above the Twins, hair lifted on tendrils of excess power. She raised her arms.

Ariock sent his own awareness into the air between the Twins and everyone else. He solidified air into a forceful pyramid of pressure.

Evenjos’s lightning superbolt slammed into his barrier. The impact caused soldiers to jump. The Twins and their companion looked rattled. Lightning parted and zigzagged down the sides of Ariock’s invisible pyramid of protection, then fizzled out.

Evenjos whirled to glare at Ariock with glowing eyes.

“No,” Ariock told her.

“They invented insanity gas,” Evenjos said, her voice strong enough to be heard across the spaceport. “They invented the gaseous inhibitor.” Her gaze was godlike and merciless. “They are responsible for the deaths of millions.”

Soldiers muttered in solidarity. Many whispered that such villains deserved death. Every soldier had at least one friend or family member who was re-enslaved because of Ariock’s folly. They blamed the insanity gas.

“They are children.” Evenjos’s tone dripped with disparagement as she glared at the Twins below her. “But they can slay us, Ariock.”

Perhaps.

One of the Twins looked impartially curious. The other one, though? The terror and guilt on his face looked like genuine emotions.

“They came to us,” Ariock said. “Unarmed.”

He hoped they were unarmed, anyway. The soldiers had supposedly searched their hoverchairs and bodies.

“The risks are too great.” Evenjos’s tone was as final as death. “If they were ordinary Torth, we could give them a chance. But a mistake with these two?” Her voice held implications. “It would be the end.”

The end of freedom. The end of hope. Ariock understood.

He felt as if judgmental ghosts perched on his shoulders, agreeing with Evenjos. Jinishta. And Orla.

Well, they could pipe down. He wasn’t going to kill disabled children without a qualm. He wanted to at least hear what the Twins had to say for themselves.

If only Thomas were here.

“Pardon me.” Kessa stepped out of the crowd. She looked regal in a brocaded outfit. “I believe that you all entrusted me with the duty of judging penitents and supplicants from the Torth Empire?”

Although she sounded humble, as always, she aimed a challenging look towards Evenjos, Garrett, and Ariock.

Evenjos looked affronted.

Garrett looked incredulous.

Ariock, however, took a step away from the clearing where the Twins waited. He would not snatch away Kessa’s authority. He publicly supported her role. Besides, Ariock had actually glimpsed Kessa’s mind during the one telepathy class he’d shown up for, so he knew that she was far more comfortable with mind reading than he would ever be.

“Will you allow me to do my job?” Kessa asked politely.

Ariock nodded.

“No one goes within their range,” Garrett ordered.

Kessa clicked her fingers in annoyance. “Obviously.”

“All right.” Garrett stepped back, and beckoned to Evenjos. “Go ahead, Kessa.” He narrowed his eyes at the three supplicants. “If their answers are a problem? Then we’ll decide what to do with them.”

The boy Twin looked nervous. So did the standing supplicant.

The girl Twin continued to look impassive.

Kessa turned to the captain of the soldiers. “Make sure the supplicants remain safe. Their slaves were treated kindly. I believe that is a sign of goodwill. Do not harm them unless I ask you do so, please.”

The captain relayed commands to his troops. Soon a ring of armed soldiers stood at attention, blocking the supplicants from harm. Ariock was tall enough to see over the heads of the armed guards, but no one else was. There would be no faraway snipers.

Evenjos flew down and landed next to Garrett. She continued to glare at the Twins as if their existence offended her. Ariock suspected that she would restrain herself, if only to impress Garrett. She did seem to love the old man, in her weird, twisted way.

Ariock remained tense. He would create a barrier shield at a moment’s notice.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Torth supplicants.” Kessa’s voice carried in air that had gone still and silent. “Thank you for bringing your slaves to liberty.”

The three Torth focused on Kessa.

“We have questions,” Kessa went on, “before we can welcome you to Freedomland.”

The boy Twin offered an encouraging nod.

“First,” Kessa said, “I want to know why you took so long to show up.”

It was a weighty question. Ariock scrutinized the Twins, and he saw Evenjos do the same. No doubt she was ready to kill them for a wrong answer.

“It wasn’t easy,” the boy Twin said, “to escape the Torth Empire.” Unlike most penitents, he spoke with ease. His voice carried, perhaps amplified by power from Garrett. “I know the Conqueror—Thomas—made it look easy. But we aren’t him.”

Kessa’s gaze flicked to the other Twin, and to the woman who stood between the two. Neither spoke.

“We had to evade warships,” the boy Twin went on. “The whole Empire was hunting us, with all their resources. We dared not use temporal streams unless the Torth Majority got distracted. We had to be opportunistic and wait for the right moments.”

Ariock recalled Thomas saying something similar about his escape from New GoodLife WaterGarden City.

“That’s plausible.” Garrett sounded begrudging. “But you took an awfully long time.”

The boy Twin nodded in acknowledgment. “I dared not come here without my partner.” He aimed a fond look of warmth towards the girl Twin. “She needed time to escape on her own.”

The pallid girl Twin didn’t so much as glance at him. Her misaligned features were icy.

“If I’d showed up here without her,” the boy Twin said, “news would have hit the Megacosm. And that would make it impossible for my partner to escape. The Torth would have killed her rather than take the risk that she might flee.”

Ariock considered that, and inwardly admitted that it was likely. The Torth Majority had threatened all of their super-geniuses. They had aimed nuclear warheads at their secluded labs.

“We expected to meet Thomas once we got here.” The boy Twin searched the crowd, no doubt seeking a boy in a hoverchair. The artificial cerulean color of his eyes glowed in contrast against his dark skin. “Is he okay?”

Everyone knew that Thomas would have been the first in line to greet his long-anticipated brethren. Thomas was the only hero who could properly evaluate super-geniuses. His absence was a big gaping hole.

Was the boy Twin genuinely concerned? Or was he feigning it in order to lull the Conqueror’s friends into trusting him? Super-geniuses had the mental tools to fool anyone.

Kessa must share these worries, because her beak was tight. “Why are you the only one speaking?” she demanded.

“Oh.” The boy Twin gestured to his partner. “Serette was born without a tongue.”

Ariock blinked at the girl Twin. He had not expected that.

Kessa scrutinized the girl from afar. Her brow ridges knitted with sympathy. “She has a name? Serette?”

The girl Twin nodded.

“We all chose names,” the boy Twin said cheerfully. He swung his legs like a child. “I’m Mondoyo.” He gestured to the standing woman. “This is Zai.”

Zai bowed her head in supplication.

“Zai can speak,” Mondoyo said.

“I can speak.” Zai’s voice was a hoarse whisper. She sounded like a typical penitent, although she wore a form-fitting bodysuit instead of rags and a slave collar. She had striking features, including a white streak in her hair.

Ariock felt uneasy about her. Zai must have removed her ocular implants, because her eyes were purple, like his own. Her former rank was obfuscated. Still, Ariock had fought and killed enough military ranks to notice her powerful stance and strong physique. She had bodily enhancements. He would have bet on it.

“Zai,” Ariock said. “Are you a Servant of All?”

He expected her to deny it. Torth champions never got a chance to be enslaved as penitents. Servants of All went straight to the Mirror Prison, where they languished in dungeon cells until Thomas got a chance to zombify them.

“…Yes.”

Her reply was barely audible.

Ariock’s eyes widened.

Troops stirred, checking their weapons. This was a military concern.

“She doesn’t belong among penitents.” Garrett’s voice was a low growl. “We have to kill her.”

Ariock held up his hand, signaling a stop to the brewing violence. He was curious about Zai. A renegade Servant of All? Was that even possible?

“Zai is on the inhibitor.” The boy Twin, Mondoyo, spoke in a voice that was loud despite his childish timbre. “She took the risk of coming here, helpless, and on bended knee, to beg for a chance to help you slay Torth.” His cerulean gaze fixed on the heroes, especially Ariock. “I thought that’s what you wanted?”

Ariock swallowed. This was, indeed, the sort of warrior he had daydreamed about, back when Thomas had first mentioned Servants of All as allies.

But…

“Zai,” Ariock said. “What if I commanded you to shoot a Torth Servant of All in the back of the head? What if it was someone you knew?”

Zai’s raspy voice was strong with emotion. “I am here because I want the freedom to make my own decisions.” She clenched her fists; a human gesture. “Mondoyo showed me what freedom is. It is plain to me that no Torth have this freedom. I will do anything to have it. I will die for it, or kill for it. I will be your slave for it.”

Strong words.

Zai’s voice had a firm authority, even though it was broken and weak from disuse.

Ariock allowed himself to imagine going into battle with this renegade by his side. Unlike his usual warriors, Zai would actually be a match for enemy champions. She likely had powers which shani warriors lacked.

And if she truly valued freedom? She would be ruthless against the Torth.

“I would like to know more about why you decided to rebel against your empire, Zai,” Kessa broke in. She shot Ariock a look, and he offered a shrug in apology. He shouldn’t have taken over the questioning.

Zai hesitated.

“Why did you go renegade?” Kessa prompted.

Zai spoke in a low, husky voice. “I was chosen to guard the boy Twin. I was proud to be elected for such an important duty. But a part of me, in here,” she touched her breast, “knew that I had not made the decision. I had never made a decision in my life.”

Ariock remembered the Swift Killer. Hadn’t she also chafed at serving the Majority? It seemed this Servant, Zai, had a similar outlook.

“When Mondoyo offered me a chance to break away from the Majority,” Zai went on, “I sneered. But only because everyone else would have sneered. You understand?”

Ariock supposed that he might understand. Telepathy facilitated peer pressure. He remembered his one lesson with telepathy gas, and he hoped he would never have to endure the stuff in a group ever again.

“Mondoyo helped me to realize,” Zai said, “that every path I took was at the urging of my betters and my peers.” She looked regretful. “Choosing to go renegade was the first decision I ever made for just myself.”

She sounded like that meant something to her.

Kessa nodded in appreciation. “Zai,” she said. “What does your name mean? Where does it come from?”

Zai cleared her throat, perhaps trying to make her vocal cords work better. “A slave took care of me when I was young. I would like to honor my caretaker by commemorating his sister’s name.”

She sounded emotionless. Yet her words could have come from a human.

“Well.” Kessa turned to Ariock. “Would you be willing to have Zai evaluated as a possible warrior?”

Ariock understood. Kessa’s authority ended where the military began. She wasn’t going to take responsibility for the threat named Zai. Nor should she.

“Zai,” Ariock called to the former Servant of All. “What powers do you have?” He paused, and dared to ask, “Can you teleport?”

Everyone seemed to hold their breaths.

“Yes.” Zai spoke like a Torth, emotionless. She seemed oblivious to the ripples of unease and excitement that her answer stirred up.

Ariock and Garrett were the only heroes who could teleport. A third person with their rare power could make a huge difference in winning battles. Ghosting and teleportation were enormous advantages.

“What about mind control?” Ariock asked it with wariness. He inwardly wasn’t sure if he could tolerate someone else like that on his side, no matter how loyal she claimed to be.

“I am not aware of any mind control or brainwashing power that I may have,” Zai said.

Ariock hid his relief.

“I can throw wildfire,” Zai said. “And ice.”

Standard powers for a Servant of All. Ariock reimagined his future battles. The Torth would be quite unsettled.

He couldn’t help but shift his gaze to the Twins. Although Zai might be useful, a pair of renegade super-geniuses were something else altogether. He really needed to learn whether or not he could trust the Twins.

“Shashet?” Ariock turned to the nearest Alashani warrior. “Will you please ask Premier Efvaltel to make room for Zai in one of the war fortresses?”

Shashet looked daunted. The shani population would hate having a rekveh in their midst.

Well, that was too bad. The common penitent barracks were not the right place for a renegade Servant of All. Zai was too potentially powerful to be let loose among hordes of disgruntled mind readers. She needed to be among warriors.

Kessa turned to Shashet with a gentle look. “I have met more than a few penitents who genuinely want to redeem themselves,” she said. “I believe that Zai is worthy of a chance.”

Shashet looked skeptical.

“I expect you to keep Zai safe,” Ariock added. “I’ll evaluate her later today.”

That should make the stakes clear.

Shashet gulped. She didn’t dare argue with her messiah, but Ariock could tell that she wanted to.

“If anyone bullies her, I will find out.” Ariock gave Shashet a stern look. “I expect warriors to value a potential renegade Servant as much as I do. I won’t tolerate bullying or threats to Zai.” He waved his hand in dismissal. “Please assign a protective escort for her.”

Shashet bowed and hurried away. No doubt she would spread word and find a place for Zai. Otherwise she would face the wrath of the messiah.

Soon an armed escort of guards invited Zai onto a cargo hovercart.

The renegade, Zai, seemed amazed. As she stepped onto the hovercart, she gazed at Ariock as if he was a miracle-worker. There was no smile, but her violet eyes seemed to brim with gratitude.

Ariock might be able to trust the former Servant of All if only Thomas would evaluate her mind.

Someone smart did need to evaluate Zai, he supposed, and it wouldn’t be Thomas, or Garrett, or Kessa, or any of the higher up military officials. They should not accidentally share military secrets with Zai. It would have to be some third party; preferably one of Kessa’s lieutenants. They would need to use telepathy gas.

And if the lieutenant declared Zai to be trustworthy?

Well, then Ariock would try to integrate her with the rest of his warriors. He would worry about crossing that bridge later.

Zai knelt on the hovercart and prostrated herself towards Ariock. “Thank you, Bringer of Hope.” She raised her gaze to his. “Freedom. There are Torth who yearn for it, too.”