14
(Tharnday)
“Saraca,” came the familiar voice over the PCS unit. The image of the woman in her purple cloak with the gold abári fringe was one of comfort and hope to many. For Cyanus, it was no different.
“Good morning, Abári,” Cyanus began. “We have a couple of situations here that I would like your thoughts on.”
“Go ahead, Cyanus,” Saraca Krijo replied.
“Firstly, Kinokei came to me last evening with concerns about some of her ingredients that had gone missing. Apparently, the ingredients for Petal Bed Plus. Are you aware of this mixture?”
“Used for date rape, I seem to remember,” Saraca replied. “This is concerning, for sure. I seem to remember there being a club that your young people like to attend?”
“Yes, the Blast 2,” Cyanus said.
“Amusing name,” Saraca said with a hint of a smile.
“Yes… It’s on the site of the old Mestari club,” he said wincing in case it might be triggering. He remembered all too well rescuing the future abári from a cell many stories beneath that club. The Uugli had burned out the building at the end of the night destroying much incriminating evidence.
“That is in the past,” Saraca replied evenly. “But you wouldn’t have contacted me unless you were concerned that this Petal Bed Plus might be used on your young ladies.”
“You are correct. I wondered if you might have some advice for us – how do I handle this and keep our ladies safe, while not restricting them too much?”
“There’s the old standard bits of advice – about not letting anyone near their drinks or not having any refreshments there at all… Make sure they’re accompanied a bit better than usual. Have them implement a buddy system. They stay with their buddies at all times,” Saraca suggested.
“I can send extras as well – keeping an eye on the refreshments and senses on the leya, things like that.”
“I think you’re doing as well as can be expected. It is worrying, though – are the Balan in your area active right now?” she asked.
“Actually, that reminds me that I haven’t actually talked to you since we were called in for thoughts on one of the warehouses near the quay. It’s one that was used by the Uugli – probably after our little mess with them,” Cyanus said. He went into the details of the weird things about that battle.
He continued. “So, we seem to have an active, but weak, Balan cell here. But these two strong shazes are what have had us mystified. I’ve had Ory check into new students in Kri’enden. Apparently, there is a new teacher and student pair there, both going by the name of Shadow. We suspect that these things might be connected.
“In our research, we have learned that the Balan have a Death Edict out on this ‘Zilan’ and his student - but if they are the two who were here, the Towani cell were completely powerless to apprehend these two before they jumped to Joton. The student is a teenage girl – weren’t you missing such a person?”
“We had a teenage girl go missing from our hospital last year. Very strong in the leya, but completely untrained. Did you manage to get any video of them?” Saraca asked.
“Hang on. It was very difficult, Ory said. These two were tightly cloaked, hard to see. But Ory managed to use this filter he created to get past dampeners. Saraca, keep an eye on this boy – he’s going to be someone great one day!” Cyanus said.
“He sounds special,” Saraca agreed.
“Here’s the video clip. I’ll show you the clip both before and after the Ory filter is applied,” Cyanus said. He played the first one. “As you can see, the two cloaked individuals are barely visible, but not recognizable. It is like they have a cloud over them, that you wouldn’t detect unless you were looking directly at them.”
“Here is what the clip looks like when it’s been filtered,” Cyanus said as he played the edited clip.
“That’s Iyva!” Saraca said instantly. “Yes. That’s our missing student. I’m glad to know she’s alive and well.”
“How about the other?”
“He is vaguely familiar – like someone I’ve seen in a dream… but I can’t place him. So, this is the one they call Zilan?” she asked. “I have heard the name mentioned in some of the Neví and Balan chatter. They aren’t too pleased with him.”
“I’ve heard some say he’s the most dangerous man they’ve ever encountered,” Cyanus said. “But our evidence on him is only circumstantial. We know the Balan have issued a Death Edict on Zilan. We know they fought a lop-sided battle here where their target behaved in a non-threatening fashion. Then, a student/trainer team turn up in Joton using the name Shadow. They might be Zilan and Iyva, but they might not be.”
“I would argue that the coincidence is too strong. We could be wrong, but my instincts tell me that you have footage of Zilan as well as Iyva and that they are now in Joton. Thing is, if we are right, it means that Iyva also had a Death Edict issued against her. She’s just a girl!” Saraca said.
“I wish we knew more about this Zilan. Clearly, he has made some powerful enemies, yet he was here in our midst almost without our knowledge,” Cyanus said. “I don’t know whether to be worried about him or worried for him!”
“From your description of the battle, it sounds like he is very capable – and has done an excellent job of teaching Iyva. She seems to be in safe hands.”
“Only time will tell if she’s in good hands,” Cyanus said with a sigh.
Tasp handed two tiny vials to each of half a dozen young men, most of whom looked eager to be a part. Elíaz did not put his hand out, but the vials were placed in his lap anyway.
“Chef Latássi was able to make these tiny candy drops that you can put on your tongue. It will hold together for several minutes – just long enough to get a good kiss in. The medicine will do the rest,” Tasp instructed.
“How do we avoid being affected?” Breckan asked.
“It won’t kill anyone,” Tasp reassured. “All the same, the antidote is that vial of creeping fire extract. Swallow it before you go. It will last about six hours, so you have plenty of time. However, this stuff is hard to come by, so if your vessel is willing, skip the candy.” He looked at Breckan.
Breckan’s eyes gleamed. It wasn’t hard to guess that he was thinking of the young woman he planned to use.
Tasp shifted his focus to look at Elíaz sternly for a few moments as if daring the young man to challenge him again. Elíaz did not waver and did not give in.
Tasp excused everyone to leave. He turned to leave himself, but hesitated. He approached Elíaz and stood in front of him in challenge. “You still refuse your mission?”
“You know I won’t do it to her,” Elíaz stated.
“You’d better hope that no one else does, then,” Tasp reminded. “I was never planning to touch her anyway. The others, though, I cannot say I know their intentions.” He then left the room, clearly on another mission.
The threat was clear. Perhaps he had even told the others or instructed them to attack D’zani. Elíaz would have to guard her well.
Other Chapters of this set
Acting the Part - chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Building on Promise - Chapter 1
Acting the Part, part 2 - Chapter 10
Spice of Strength - Chapter 1
Maps and Guides
- continents of Alacantis and Kranisis (five maps)
- continent of Almara (five maps)
- countries of Kri'enden and Yezi'im (four maps plus "other places")
- characters, pronunciation and glossary
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Brighid's Blood 2006 and 1200 B.T.C.E. Katja and Rachel are so desperate for love that they cast two love spells one night. But the Guardians do not consider spells "fun", but rather as cries for help from the very depths of your soul. Certainly Katja and Rachel could not have possibly imagined where these spells would take them! |
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Birth of the Neví 829 T.C.E. It is a tumultuous period of Terrenden history. As is all too common, there are those who wish to profit from the misfortune of others. Some of these come together in a new "charitable organization" and step on the toes of the notorious Uugli. Combine this with draconian new measures to combat pollution and Terrenden has a situation ripe for a power struggle. |
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Rebound of Power: 850 T.C.E. Collection of Romance Terrenden is being terrorized by a previously underestimated Neví who, through the mysterious “Curator,” have been controlling elections all over the planet. In this collection, we meet some interesting women. Iyva - a homeless teenager in Irola whose untrained power leaves her close to death; Marc’la - a breeder of prized caballus in Kasago whose heart lives in the past; Zukie - an abused widow whose heart is afraid to try for future happiness; Jenna - an elections assistant manager and masseuse who has a prejudice against A’mara; Kami - a chola student in Varkevand who has been assigned to protect Ardin, a man who has his own reasons to distrust A’mara. |
| COMING SOON | TO AN EBOOK STORE NEAR YOU!!! |
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Acting the Part - 851 T.C.E. Collection of Romance The Neví have infiltrated the Terrenden Freedom Party. Dr. Jarly is on the run and the Curator still dominates the Terrenden stage. Famous actor, Derick Aiden has released his Neví expose film and now the Neví want him dead... In this collection, we meet more interesting women. Kauri - a simple receptionist who doesn’t realize one of her wildest dreams has come true; Tirry - an elections manager who is always the bridesmaid and never the bride; Zara - a chef who has all but given up on finding love for herself; D'zani - who isn’t even looking, but has to chaperone her more vulnerable roommate; Soala - an heiress who is expected to marry, but refuses to marry someone she doesn’t love; Moxara - one whose past griefs have locked away her heart. We also get updates on some of the lovely ladies we met previously. |
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Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
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