War for Orion: Ghosts from the Past (22 page)

"It sounds like you're accusing me of
something again Donnchadh," Adira snarled.

"Just a honest question," He shot her a
smile. "I want to make sure I have this information correct."

"He was on vacation when somebody shot him,"
she said. "Somebody wanted him killed, like there are individuals
who want me killed, as you may know. We are important figures in
Orion and certain individuals take it upon themselves to rid Orion
of races like us to gain things."

Donnchadh shrugged. "Thought you might know
more about it. Like where his body may have disappeared to, for a
start."

"His body wasn't recovered. The people who
killed him are accused of taking it."

"Are you sure about that, Queen?" Donnchadh
started to grin.

"Yes I'm sure about that! There is only video
of him being shot in the head, but we recovered no body from the
scene and video after the shot was destroyed," She shot back.

"You didn't send Armino to kill him and leave
the body behind did you?"

She moved closer to his cell. "How dare you
accuse me of sending Armino to kill my husband!"

"You haven't seen his body since?" Donnchadh
prodded.

Adira turned to walk away. She had heard
enough from Donnchadh. If she stayed here any longer, she felt like
she'd run the risk of killing him before he got to Themis.

"You might not want to leave yet," Donnchadh
called after her. "I still have more."

"And why not?" She flung around. "You have
done nothing but mock me since I've come to see you. You obviously
aren't going to tell me what I want to know without being
tortured."

"Don't you want to know where his body went?"
he asked, a grin creeping up the sides of his black face. "Of
course you do, he was your husband after all."

"If you know where it is, then why are you
asking if I know where it is?"

"I wanted to see for myself if you really
didn't know," he grinned.

"I'm done playing your foolish games,
Donnchadh. You can tell it to the judges on Themis when they give
you your sentence."

"Kirill leads the Deimos Brotherhood," Adira
froze mid-step. "Aren't you going to ask any questions about him? I
mean, you haven't seen the guy in quite some time."

"You're a liar," she replied. "Kirill is
dead."

"How do you think the Deimos Brotherhood
became so powerful?" he asked. "Think of all the contacts that the
he knew before you had him killed. How else could one organization
become so powerful in so short a time?"

"The man you think is Kirill, is a
fraud."

Donnchadh shook his head. "I said the same
thing. They showed me the DNA testing though, it was a one-hundred
percent match," Donnchadh saw Adira start to tremble. "What's
wrong? Scared Kirill has come back from the dead and is going to
have his revenge?"

"I have no doubt he will enact his revenge,"
she said. "But I also know he has fed you lies. That's what he
does."

"Lies?" he asked. "You tried to have him
killed. You sent Jahdiel to a Black Hole to die. Don't talk to me
about lies."

"Donnchadh," she said calmly. "Listen to me.
I
did
send Jahdiel to the Black Hole, but
only
because she was plotting to have me killed, or so I thought."

"What changed your mind?"

"Kirill set her up. He was plotting to have
me killed so he could take my spot on the Throne. What would happen
if you had successfully killed me yesterday?"

"Kirill could place someone else on the
Throne in your place or take it for himself if he chose."

"Don't you see Donnchadh? He set you up from
the very beginning," she told him. "He knew you'd be easy to fool
and that you'd be more useful alive than dead, so he played you
like a puppet from the moment he walked into that room."

"How do you know he was plotting to have you
killed? Did you have as much proof as you had on Jahdiel?"

She crossed her arms. "No. I had more to go
on than speculation and breadcrumbs that time. I created a humanoid
that could change appearances to be anyone previously seen in
person. I had him become someone Kirill knew and he told that
man
everything."

"There is no such humanoid with capabilities
like that!"

"Oh, but there is and I have the whole
conversation recorded if you'd like to hear it. Do you know what he
planned to do, or still plans if he hasn't changed which I doubt he
has, with Orion once he takes the Throne?"

"No. He hasn't divulged me in the
details."

"He wants to exterminate any races that he
thinks don't belong," she revealed. "That would include
you
,
Donnchadh. Any race that is inferior to the human race, will be
wiped out. A pure Galaxy is what he calls it."

"No. No. No," he pleaded. "He saved me after
Armino left me to die! Kirill let me live! He's not a monster!"

She shook her head. "He let you live because
he knew he could use your knowledge and your skills to eventually
kill me and take the Throne."

"You're lying," He fell to his knees. "You're
lying to me."

"You were the best opportunity he saw of
fulfilling his dreams of removing me from the Throne. He knew he
couldn't rush things this time and was willing to wait for the
right opportunity to come along, and it did. You
.
"

"How could I be such a fool?" Donnchadh
mumbled. "I betrayed you and killed one of my closest friends for a
man who is just going to kill me in the end. I'm so sorry. He
tricked me, I don't know how, but he did."

"You're weak. That's how he did it. He knew
he could turn you after one quick gaze," she said emotionless. "You
knew what he did before you ever knew his true identity. You, of
all races, should've known that he was a lying serpent that preys
on the innocent."

Donnchadh wept on his knees in the musty
chambers.

"We have both made mistakes Donnchadh, mine
was sending Jahdiel to her death, but I have admitted to that.
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret that decision,"
she told him. "You won't be judged kindly, but you can admit to
your mistakes before you die and make peace with yourself. Either
way, you're going to die. You will be sent to death, but you still
might have helped Kirill just enough to fulfill his plan of mass
extermination."

"I died when Armino left me in those
tunnels," he replied. "I haven't been the same since then."

"You will get a proper trial on Themis like I
have promised, and I can also promise you that you will most likely
die a slow death."

Donnchadh shook his head. "I deserve nothing
less. I have committed the worst crimes possible."

Adira shook her head in disgust and turned
around to leave him alone in the dungeons. When she reached the end
she saw the guard standing and alert at the field. She walked past
him without saying a word and she saw the magenta field go back on
in the corner of her eyes as she briskly made her way back to her
chambers.

Anlon woke up to the pilot calling his name
on the ship's comm system. He got out of the bed and groggily
walked down the stairs to the cockpit.

"What is it?" He asked the pilot.

"You're back on Gaea," he pointed. "You're
home."

Anlon looked out of the window and saw his
house a couple of hundred yards away. "We're in my yard! Why are we
in my yard?"

"You wanted to come back without anyone
knowing right?" He asked, pretending to be confused.

"Yes, but what are races going to say when
they see one of the Queen's ship's in my yard!" Anlon
exclaimed.

"Well, luckily for you, no one is going to
say anything. They can't see the ship," he winked. "It's the
Queen's advanced stealth field system, no one even knows we entered
the airspace."

"Oh," Anlon said, feeling dumb. "Guess I'll
grab my stuff and head out."

Anlon went up to the bunker and grabbed his
belongings before exiting the ship. Once the ramp closed, Anlon
couldn't see the ship that was right in front of him. He entered
the house, set his stuff on the couch, and left to get in his
truck. Moran would most likely be waiting for him and he didn't
want to keep him any longer than he had to. When he arrived, he
immediately went to the fifty-second floor and saw that room two
forty-seven wasn't hidden from his view like it had been the first
time. He didn't bother knocking and walked right in the room.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you how to knock?"
A voice came from around the corner.

"Figured you'd be waiting for me to get
back."

Moran appeared from around the corner. "You
were right. Now tell me what the Queen has planned for you."

"She wants me to find the Deimos Brotherhood
and tell her where they're located."

"I know this may sound dumb to you since you
know the answer, but isn't that something that she can do easily
herself? She has plenty of useful resources, like the GSOU, at hand
that we don't."

Anlon shook his head. "She's been trying, but
she thinks that there is someone on the inside sending out warnings
to the enemy. Fake intel keeps getting relayed back to her and she
has been led on nothing but false trails."

"Okay. I can see how that makes some sense.
I've gone out on several pointless missions," Moran agreed. "Is she
going to help you at all, since this isn't happening to the best of
anyone's knowledge?"

"No. Well, yes," He corrected himself. "But
only if I
really
need it. I told her you have stuff ready
for me and she said try to utilize all of that before I ask her for
any help."

"Figured she already knew I was helping you
in some type of way," he muttered. "That's fine, I have more than
enough stuff for you. You won't have to contact her for
anything."

"She also said someone she knows is going to
help me and that I can trust them. She didn't tell me who, just
said I'd know when the time came."

"Even better," Moran smiled. "If she says you
can trust them, you can trust them. And you better believe that
they'll be able to help you out on your mission. Only person I know
that she trusted was your Dad and she was spot on with that."

"After talking to her, she said she just
wants me to scout," Anlon sounded disappointed. "I'm not allowed to
go after any of the races."

"Of course she did," Moran chuckled. "You
didn't think you were going to take these guys on alone, did
you?"

"At first I did," Anlon smiled. "But I see
things much differently now."

"She finally talked some sense into you!"
Moran joked. "Does she have any leads on where they may be?"

"No," Anlon shook his head. "But I do."

"You do?" Moran raised his eyebrows. "What do
you have?"

"I know who they are, which means I can
search them on the database."

Moran took in a deep breath and let it out.
"That could work, but we both know how good the Deimos Brotherhood
is at concealing identities and locations. It'll also be risky and
you could get in a lot of trouble if you get caught."

"That's fine," he shrugged. "Adira said she'd
get me out of trouble if I happen to get caught in there, or in any
other sticky situations later."

"You don't want to get caught. You don't want
her to help you at all. Even the slightest bit of help could tip of
the Deimos Brotherhood you're working for her."

"I know. I know. Do you think you could help
me with getting in?"

"We'll work on that right after training
tomorrow."

"There's still a little bit more that she
sent me out to do," Anlon said.

"Sounds like you covered most of it. Find
them and report their location. What else is there?"

"This has nothing to do with finding the
Deimos Brotherhood," Anlon said.

"What does it have to do with then?" Moran
raised his eyebrows.

"Her daughter."

His jaw dropped a little bit. "Her daughter?
The one that supposedly died?"

"Except she didn't die," Anlon nodded. "My
Dad took her daughter and hid her somewhere. There is a clue here
that she wants me to retrieve because she is afraid to leave the
Palace after the attempt on her life."

"She entrusted you with something very
important Anlon. You need to find this clue immediately after we
break into the database. I have a feeling these two things are
linked in some type of unseen way."

"How?" Anlon asked.

"It's just a feeling I get every once and
awhile. Finding that clue is just as important as, if not more
important, than finding the Deimos Brotherhood, that I can promise
you."

"I'll retrieve it right after I break into
the database. I'll go there immediately after and I'll train while
I wait for further response from the Queen."

"By the way, I'm starting to think that your
training will have to be cut short."