Chapter Nine
Neith
"I looked into it when Neith mentioned that she had handed it to HID," Ty starts, distracting me from Ransom.
"Oh?" Reed asks, his eyebrows rising in curiosity.
Ty nods, "Yeah, and as suspected, there is absolutely no evidence of Neith handing in a flash drive. Curiously enough, the report does say that they got a piece of paper with written notes on it or something, but it says that it was of no consequence, and as it was handwritten, it couldn't be used against Dimitri."
I frown, "A note? Seriously?"
Ty nods, "Yeah, I thought it was ridiculous, too. I would bet that as soon as the flash drive was given to Richard, he deleted everything on it and then destroyed it as well."
I nod, "Absolutely. I'm not surprised at all that it disappeared, or rather, wasn't even logged. I knew as soon as I asked what was happening with it, and they told me not to worry about it, that something wasn't right."
Ty grimaces, "Dimitri definitely has people at HID working for him. I'm hoping that as the investigation into them progresses, we'll be able to determine the reason why Dimitri had people at HID working for him."
"I was thinking about that," Raiden surprises me by saying.
The thought hadn't even vaguely occurred to me.
"You have?" Griff says.
Raiden nods, "Yeah. So, we now know that he is working with the blue fucker who is responsible for trying to create the hybrids. We also know that HID is giving any supernaturals to this mysterious supernatural that Neith heard them talking about when they thought that they had killed her."
"Right," Ty nods in agreement.
"So isn't it possible that Dimitri is the supernatural that they are giving other supes to, and then Dimitri is giving them to the blue fucker to do his experiments on. HID has been in his pocket for a long time, and I think that it makes sense."
We all nod in agreement. It does make sense, and it will hopefully mean that when we bring Dimitri in, we will hopefully be able to get him to talk and tell us who the blue fucker is and, more importantly, where he is. I don't think I'm the only one who thinks that the blue fucker needs to be killed, not just brought in and put in one of the supernatural prisons. Not only is he responsible for the hybrids and the horrific things that they endure before they inevitably die, but he is also responsible for the war in Trieneliea and the subsequent shut down of the realm.
Actually, scratch that. Death would be far too easy for him. It would be a kindness to have a quick and easy death after the suffering that he has caused. I say we make him suffer.
Reed
"C an you strip a supernatural of their magic? Is it painful?" Neith asks in the silence that follows Raiden's theory.
We all just turn to look at her in question. I have no idea where that question came from, but I have quickly learned that if you wait for a moment, she will realize that she's started a conversation halfway through and back track so that we can understand what she's talking about.
"Erm, what?" Ty asks. "Why?"
Neith rolls her eyes, "Shit, sorry. I was thinking that the blue fucker needs to die when we find him, but then I thought, no, that's not good enough for all of the suffering that has been caused and the number of lives that have been lost because of him. He doesn't get the easy way out; he doesn't get to just die. So obviously, I then started thinking about the best ways to hurt him, really hurt him. I know some good techniques for certain supernaturals, actually a lot of supernaturals, but none of them are really enough."
"Erm," Ty starts to say, looking shocked at the bloodthirsty way that Neith is so casually talking.
A quick glance at the others, though, and without mincing my words, they are all looking at her with heat in their gazes and like she hung the fucking moon.
It's hot, I won't pretend it isn't, she's bloodthirsty and I love it.
Neith is oblivious to any of the reactions that we are having and instead carries on explaining, "I mean, they'll hurt, and they will leave lasting mental and emotional trauma if the person lives to experience that, but I still feel like that isn't enough. So it occurred to me that a supernatural who obviously uses their own magic a lot and is trying to create supernatural hybrids would be devastated if they became human. Also, that would mean that I could hurt him more easily, and we wouldn't have to worry about him being a threat."
Silence.
Griff is the one to answer her, "Yes, actually there is. I don't think it has been used since we came over to the Earth Realm, but it was used in Trieneliea for their worst criminals and also, of course if they needed information, but the supe was proving to be immune to the torture techniques that they were using. It's quite involved and requires several steps, but it is possible."
"I'm not entirely sure that making him human will get approved as it is quite extreme, and we have now been in the Earth Realm for long enough that we have softened somewhat, but it is something that I will keep in mind," Ty starts getting over his shock. "I agree with you that he deserves worse than the escape that death would afford him and that keeping him alive is risky. However, we do have cells that dampen magic to the point of causing the supernatural to have almost none. He would also be kept in complete isolation."
I nod, "Okay, well, that's certainly better than what I was thinking. I was thinking along the same lines as a human prison, and that's far too good for him."
Ty nods, "Supernatural prisons have a lot more security in place. They have to because the prisoners are all manner of supernaturals who are capable of all sorts of things. They are not easy or pleasant places to be."
"Good," she replies.
"Well, now that Neith's bloodthirsty nature is appeased," Van starts with a smile, earning a grin from her in return. His expression becomes serious, "Can you tell us anything about the Choosing?"
Ty's expression becomes severe, "I can't tell you what the trials will involve. That changes for every Choosing, and it depends on the teams involved. I can tell you that it will take place in two weeks. You will be staying in the castle in the pocket realm where the Choosing always takes place. The Draconian Team will be staying there as well. Neith will have her own separate set of rooms. The rooms, the castle, and the temple are not broadcast to the supes, only the trials themselves are shown. However, there have been tasks in the past that have started on the grounds of the castle, and the contestants haven't realized straight away."
"So we need to be really fucking careful," I say, not liking that we could be filmed and not realize it.
Ty nods, "Yes, but if you feel with your magic before you start a conversation, you will be able to pick up the signs of the broadcast spell, so it's not that difficult to figure it out, so long as you remember the spell and they never film in your rooms or in the castle itself, only on the grounds, and wherever you get portaled to for your trials."
"We're going to get portaled?" I ask.
Ty nods, "Yeah. So, the pocket realm that it is held in, is actually quite big, but not all of the trials are likely to take place there. There is a good chance that you will get portaled to another realm for a trial. Because the realm is so big it is sometimes easier to use the portal to travel as well."
"So it's only going to be us and the Draconian Team, that's it?" Neith asks.
Ty shakes his head this time, "No, there are staff there that will help with looking after you and equipping you with certain things for the trials. They are your guides to the realm as well, and they all have homes and families in the realm. It needs to be taken care of when there isn't a Choosing."
"Okay, I'm good with that," she replies. "It's actually reassuring, in a strange way."
Ty nods, "They are the overseers, and they know a lot about the trials. Their species have been looking over the trials for as long as they have existed."
"Not all of the trials will be done together, right?" Doc asks.
"No, Neith will do some by herself. Some will be done with the Draconian Team, and some will be done with your team. In the past, the teams themselves have done tasks without the person that they're competing to have on the team as well. However, it doesn't happen every time. Sometimes, you will know what is being asked of you, but sometimes, you will have to work it out for yourselves. The Choosing lasts for seven days, and the trials last for five. The sixth day is a day for you all to rest and recover before the scroll names the team, and the seventh day is the naming. Your walk to the temple, which is completely separate from the castle, will be filmed, but the broadcast will stop when you enter the doors; it will restart when you come out and announce the winning team."
"What happens to the team that loses?" Griff asks.
"They go back to their normal lives," Ty says with a shrug. "In the case of the Draconian Team though, and considering that they have called a Choosing involving someone that they believe to be a human, knowing that it could mean Neith's death, along with the other things that have been reported about them, they will be immediately put under investigation, and then we will go from there."
"What about the team that wins? What exactly does winning mean?" Neith asks.
"The winning team gets a magical bond that bonds them for life. They are gifted extra magic, and they become incredibly sought after. That is what we know for certain. Warrior Teams aren't exactly vocal about what they are capable of after they have been through a Choosing," Ty explains.
"How did Kyrous train them then? Surely he would need to know what it is like to be a part of a Warrior Team before being able to train them?" River asks.
I expect the question to throw Ty, we haven't managed to speak to him since he told us about the Choosing other than to say that we were on the way home. After hearing that he was Kyrous' second in command, it makes sense to ask him any questions that we have because it stands to reason that Ty knew him the best. I watch Ty's reaction closely, and sadness tightens his expression.
"Ro was a Berserker, so that gave him a lot of natural combat talent. He also went through the Choosing. He is the only person in the known history of the Choosing to come out of the scroll room without a team," he explains.
"What?" I ask.
"No one knows what happened in the room, there is a silencing spell put on the room, so nothing that happens in there can be told to anyone else, bar a couple of exceptions. All we know is that although he went in with several teams, all of which wanted him on their team despite being terrified of what he was, he came out with no team."
"Wow, that's pretty fucking crazy," Neith mutters, looking impressed and intrigued.
"Yeah, it is," Ty replies with a fond but sad smile.
"Is there anything else that we should know?" Doc asks.
"Can we use our magic?"
Ty nods, "Yes, you can, but I would suggest that you all exercise caution. You don't want the whole supe world to know exactly what you are capable of."
"We had already considered that," Evander replies with a nod.
"What about Neith?" I ask. "Her supernatural side isn't out, hell we don't even know what she is, but she is stronger and faster than she should be, and putting her in this kind of situation is likely to bring her supernatural side out even more. Does she need to pretend that she is human?"
Ty frowns as he thinks about the question, and the rest of us just wait to see what he's going to say. It's a tricky one. On the one hand, we don't want HID to think that she is a supernatural. We also introduced Neith to everyone as our human liaison, and everyone knows that she worked for HID and that, unlike us, they don't employ supernatural liaisons. However, there are ways that we can explain her appearing to be a supernatural now. What we can't explain is how she was dead, and now she's alive and doing the Choosing. Humans don't get to watch the Choosing, but we know that HID are working for supes, most likely Dimitri and the blue fucker. We also know that whoever is the one that is working directly with HID made their interest in Neith known.
Raiden is obviously coming to the same conclusion that I am because he curses, "Shit. If Dimitri isn't the one that is talking with HID and giving the supes to the blue fucker then that means that it's the blue fucker instead that expressed an interest in Neith, and there isn't a chance that it wasn't Dimitri just checking on her to see if she had been released from HID's protection. If he realizes that she's alive, then he's going to be after her again. Let's face it, there is a very small chance that he isn't going to watch the Choosing."
Doc curses, "Shit, you're right. In that case, I hope that it was Dimitri that was working with them for the blue fucker, or even just by himself."
Neith frowns, "If it were Dimitri, surely he would have just gotten HID to give me to him as soon as the interest in what happened died down. I was at HID to keep me safe from him and his retaliation."
Reed
"W hich means that if we're right, then HID may be dealing directly with the blue fucker, or we might be dealing with two separate things. Dimitri could be involved with HID but not connected to the blue fucker," Raiden says. He looks at Neith, concern darkening his expression, "I don't like that it could mean that the blue fucker is the one interested in you." "No, I don't either. I would like to say that Dimitri wouldn't be working with someone like the blue fucker, and there was once a time that I could say that, but now, I am really not sure," Neith replies, her expression darkening like it always does when she talks about Dimitri. Having said that, she does sound far too calm in the situation. "The fucker is very unlikely not to watch the Choosing, right?"
Ty nods, "Right."
"Well then, he's going to know that something is up because I'm not dead, and it was reported to him that I was dead. He may blame HID for not testing that I was actually dead, but he's still going to be suspicious, and his interest is still going to be renewed," Neith points out.
She is being extremely careful about how she words things so that Ty doesn't realize that she was actually killed by HID, and I'm not sure if it's habit or if the voices or her instincts are telling her not to explain to Ty exactly what happened, but as always we will follow her lead and if she isn't mentioning it and telling Ty the whole story then we won't either.
I must admit that knowing Ty was the second in command of Trieneliea's armies is making me see him in an entirely new light.
It's no wonder that he can run SID with such ease. In fact, I wonder if he finds it boring, going from training armies and supernaturals that need to deal with the threats that Trieneliea face to training a police force in a realm that doesn't have the significant threats, or at least not to the same level that Trieneliea did, is quite a difference and I imagine that he may get bored. I think I probably would. Of course, SID agents are now being sent to the other realms a lot more regularly than they have been, so that's probably a bit more exciting and on a similar level to what it was.
One thing is for sure, and that's that he is incredibly good at what he does.