Ghosts of Lyarra (22 page)

—
Alexandria, Egypt

Aen appeared in the hotel suite and immediately began to pack his things. It had been a long night, and Palla had finally broken as the dawn began to rise. In her last moments of life, she spilled all her deep secrets like her blood which poured from her dying body. He hadn’t wanted her to die like that, but Aen had to know what she was hiding at all costs. But now that he had that information, he had more questions than
answers.

Since the beginning, Aen had focused on a female figure that was behind the coup because that was the manner of the Imperial hierarchy. But Palla had continued to refer to her true master as a he, and seeing as that didn’t follow the leadership caste of the Temple he had tested her mettle and pushed her to the brink. Despite the pain, the male connotation continued and Palla feared retribution from her master more than she feared wrath from Aen. And in the end, she turned on her handler in the Temple as she died. Aen now had names and a portion of the plan itself, but still didn’t know who the true mastermind in the shadows
was.

It was this time that he took notice that his companion was not in the suite, nor had she been all night. Iana had taken to her new freedom like a new addict to a drug; she was obsessed with enjoying life and partying the nights away with both tourists and humans alike. Aen was slightly concerned that on the night he had killed a Lyarran and left the body to be discovered as a message to her handlers, the one he sought to protect was nowhere in
sight.

“Locate Iana.” Aen ordered to the AI that he knew was always
listening.

“
She is leaving a nearby hotel and appears to be making her way back to us now
.” Caretaker announced. “
Heart rate and hormone levels are both heightened; it appears she has either been involved in a rigorous sexual encounter or has partaken in one or more of the recreational drugs that go with the local club
scene
.”

“Warm the shuttle engines.” Aen whispered, still processing the facts just given. “The longer we stay here the more danger she will be
in.”

“
As you wish
.” Caretaker replied as he began the cycle of the engine warm up. “
Might I add that the next traitor you find, you not make a statement with the body? The local law enforcement has already been discovered and a special task force that was behind us in Tokyo is en-route to the scene; as is Terra Sol Council Sara Foster and Council Lyxia of the Dark Light. It appears you got everyone’s attention with this
act
.”

“Everything is being done for a reason.” Aen replied to the chastising. “At least everything I am doing is. Whether or not word of Palla’s death makes it back to her masters makes little difference, but her death was very useful indeed. But in light of what she told me, I am afraid we will have to slow our timetable down until I can make sense of what I
learned.”

He heard the elevator door open and someone staggering down the hall towards them. It appeared that the party girl had finally remembered where she was supposed to be at long last. Instead of continuing with his conversation, Aen waited as the door knob rustled and the card lock beeped when Iana fell into the room as the door swung open. For a second she remained still, then she slowly lifted her head to see Aen standing above
her.

“Busted!” she
giggled.

“
I am reading blood alcohol levels at 1.2%; I believe or dear Empress is drunk
.” Caretaker
observed.

“Tattletale!” she hissed at the AI’s voice. “Is it wrong for me to be having
fun?”

Aen simply looked down at her with neither judgement nor emotion. It was natural for someone who had been under guard and watchful eye her entire life to let loose once removed from scrutiny. In a sense, she was like a teenage girl trying to find herself; and as Aen couldn’t remember his past life, he was not in the position to cast judgement or punishment on
her.

“We’re leaving.” He said to his drunken ward. “Get your shit and let’s go. You can sleep it off on the way back to
Tibet.”

“You can’t boss me around!” she muttered defiantly as she tried to stand, but fell down to her knees giggling. “I’m a fucking princess; I mean an
Empress!”

“You are drunk.” He answered, helping her to her feet. “And in this state you are a
liability.”

“I didn’t ask you to save me!” she spat at him. “I didn’t ask to be anything. They just expected me be this glorious leader and I tried so hard to do them proud.” Iana started sobbing; the alcohol letting loose thousands of years of repressed emotion at once. “And when I get a chance to let loose, all I get from you is a blank
stare.”

She pointed her finger and poked him in the chest. “And who are you to judge me?” she babbled. “You have no right to judge anyone; you don’t even know who the hell you
are!”

Aen winced at that comment; not expecting this kind of backlash from her in the least. It was a slap in the face a hundred times more hurtful than any blade that ever pierced his skin. The woman he sought to protect had lashed out at him; as he knew she might at some point; but not in his wildest dreams did he figure she would hate him like this. His face showed the pain of her words, and in response Iana’s changed from angry to
apologetic.

“I didn’t mean….” She started to say, but her body shut down from the effects of the drinks and days accumulation of partying; Iana passed out in his
arms.

“
The shuttle is primed
.” Caretaker cut in to alleviate the silence. “
But I am afraid the authorities have cast a no fly order on the city. If we attempt to leave, they will find us for
sure
.”

“Our shuttle isn’t the only way to get home.” Aen said as he gently wiped the drool from Iana’s face. “The only reason to use it was for her; but since she will be out for a while I will take care of the travel arrangements. Besides, all it can do to her is make the hangover that much worse when she wakes
up.”

—

“So begins the shit show!” Wilson mumbled to himself as he watched Council Foster’s shuttle descend on the street. He had tried hard to put aside the insult of someone looking over his shoulder as he tried to solve these random acts of violence since being notified that the Lyarran Council demanded to be a part of the investigation, but to no avail. Here he was; knee deep in some kind of psychopath’s rampage; and now he had to babysit not one, but two dignitaries, while trying to catch a killer. The thud of the ship landing drew him forward to greet them as the ramp at the rear of the vessel lowered, but what he saw blew him
away!

Instead of some highly and ornamentally dressed politician on board, there was a bronze clad warrior with a plethora of Ifierin to guard her. She was striking to behold, and for the first time since he saw his wife on their wedding day he was in awe of a woman. He doubted she needed a single one of those guards. Her eyes scanned the scene, locked on him as she marched off the ship and right up to
him.

“You are the Wilson?” she asked in fragmented
English.

“I am Lieutenant Avery Wilson.” He replied with a slight bow of respect to her. “It is a pleasure to have you
join….”

“Save it!” she interrupted. “Show me the body first, then I want to see everything
else.”

Wilson could tell she was a woman of few words; born of action rather than politics. She was driven to find out why one of her own had died, but he feared once she saw the remains, that her gung ho attitude will die down a
bit.

“Follow me.” He waved her and her entourage to follow. He led them into a temporary tent set up to keep the stasis pod from the prying eyes of onlookers; he was trying like hell to prevent as much of this from getting out to the public as possible. He stopped at the middle of the room as the group circled around the black metal coffin and he drew back the pressurized lid, a hiss escaped when the seal was
broken.

Even the battle hardened ship commander gasped at the sight of the beaten and broken body; gone was any trace of the bronze skin as blackened bruises and clotting blue blood covered most of the exposed skin. Her fingers were broken and twisted; arms as well, with shards of bone piercing the surface. Her face was swollen and black with her eyes still leaking blood from the corners of the swollen shut lids. The skull was fractured in multiple places as her brown hair was matted with blue blood. This woman had been in a one sided fight and paid the price for being the weaker
combatant.

“Why would someone do something like this?” Lyxia wondered out loud. “What would possess someone to beat a creature this
bad?”

“If you ask me, it looks like she was being held and tortured for information.” Wilson added. “In the old days on Earth, this is what we called persuasive
interrogation.”

“So you are saying that this was done by a human?” she asked; her eyes tearing through his flesh and into his soul with a fierceness he had never
seen.

“No, whatever did this was definitely not human.” He answered; hoping she would stop glaring at him. “She was a powerful creature; more than capable of fighting an entire gang of humans on her own and coming out on top. There are no wounds that suggest punching, kicking, or any weapon strikes; other than the wound made by the sword that finally ended her life. In a minute I will show you where we found her and then where we figure all this went down; and then it will make sense that we are dealing with something completely
unknown.”

“Have you identified her?” Sara spoke up from the back. He hadn’t even seen her get off the shuttle as Lyxia had commanded all his attention
immediately.

“No Council, we haven’t.” he answered; finally tearing his eyes off the Paxyn Commander. “We ran her face through all our visitor files and came up
empty.”

“Visitor files?” Lyxia asked
Sara.

“All non-Earth beings entering the system are photographed and logged into the mainframe; makes identifying them for any reason, easier in the event of any type of trouble.” Sara said
unapologetically.

“You are spying on your guests to your
world?”

“Monitoring to ensure the safety of our planet.” Sara replied. “After the Husk, security and the well -being of the human race became our priority. As the commander of a ship of thousands, you of all people can appreciate ensuring the safety of those under your watch. I assure you, there is no intent to spy actively on tourists to
Earth.”

“I trust you, Sara Foster.” She smiled. “Though you are full of
surprises.”

“I was hoping that you could shed some light on who she is.” Wilson spoke up to draw the attention back to the matter at hand. “And once you did, tell me exactly what she was doing here and how she got on the planet without being
seen.”

But an answer never came, the Lyarran Councillor just stared right through him then went back to studying the body. Wilson watched as she reached in and pulled at the clothing of the body; exposing the neck and upper chest area to reveal the bottom end of what used to be a customary tattoo marking, that from what he had seen, started at the left eye and ran down onto the collar
bone.

“It has been removed from her face.” She said softly. “And altered to look like it flowed a different
way.”

Then she pulled back the matted hair, letting the strands fall from her fingers before brushing the hair to reveal human looking ears. This drew a curious look from Lyxia, who then glanced over to one of her guards. The two exchanged a look as she let the hair fall
again.

“She was not here as a visitor,” Lyxia began; drawing a sharp breath. “A quick inspection tells me that she had undergone alterations to appear more
human.”

“A spy?” Wilson asked
forcefully.

“Maybe.” She replied. “But by the way the scars have healed on her ears tells me she has been here longer than our initial involvement with the Husk
conflict.”

Again, Lyxia reached into the stasis pod, but this time she grabbed the left hand and studied the thumb and the three fingers. She looked each of them over closely; her blue orbed eyes narrowing to near slits before stopping on the third finger and opening wide. There at the base of the finger was a scar, but a scar that was carved in the skin in a specific design; a straight line with a curved one crossing at the top and snaking down to the joint. Once again, she shot a glance to her entourage; one of which stepped forward and removed his helmet. He looked closer, muttered a word in their language, which Wilson didn’t understand, and spat on the
ground.

“Forgotten.” She
whispered.

“Enlighten me Council.” Avery
pleaded.

“The elite assassins of the Guild.” She replied with a cold and hate filled look. “Misfits and psychopaths too reckless and evil to be Ifierin that are snatched up by the Temple priestess’ and made into killing machines with no honor or
code.”