Chapter 21
Xhin strode past the more than twenty-five males very carefully hidden around what appeared to be an abandoned home, sitting just across the property line from the palace. Its owner, an elderly male, sat patiently in a rocking chair overlooking his small patch of land. “Are you sure there’s been no word from Mir’ Ahn?” Xhin asked again.
“Not a word. None at all. But he’ll be here.”
“He should already be here,” Xhin growled.
The old male pinned him with a suspicious stare. “Are you doubting Mir’ Ahn? I’m not. He’s the only one brave enough to even take a stand against the new Sovereign. And here you are questioning him like you have a right to.”
“He’s deserted us, old male! Do you not see that?”
“He’s had to go back to the palace to make it all look right. He’s there right now making them all believe every one of y’all is out there hunting for the people that tried to steal that youngling.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Xhin said angrily as he stalked away, then through the male’s home and down into the basement.
Frustration and desperation rode him hard. He’d followed every single plan Mir’ Ahn had designed. He’d brought his mate into their plans, putting her at risk as well as himself, and for what? For nothing. And now Mir’ Ahn was missing. They’d lost track of him as soon as Zahn chased them down. Mir’ Ahn had ordered the warriors with them to kill Zahn, then told Xhin to take Adnea to safety, and presumably followed right behind Xhin, if what the other warriors said was to be believed. Obviously somewhere along the way he’d changed direction.
“We’ve been here almost an entire day! Where is he? We were to meet here!” Xhin demanded again, snarling ferociously .
“He’ll be here. He’s either been caught and will work his way out of it, or he’s making arrangements to get us off the planet,” the first warrior said.
“I still can’t believe she failed!” the second warrior growled.
“Do not blame my Ehlealah for the fact that their security is more effective than we were led to believe!” Xhin said.
“All she had to do was snatch a little, tiny youngling! How could she fail?!” the second warrior demanded.
“He wasn’t alone! I was attacked! I tried to hold onto the boy, but the female there attacked me! I was injured! She tried to pluck out my eyes! I had to let go and run for my life!”
“Your life? None of our lives are safe, because you let go! You are weak and useless! All you had to do was run while still holding him!” the first warrior yelled.
The female squealed and started bawling again.
“It’s alright, Adnea. He’s just upset. All will be well,” Xhin said.
“He’s so mean. And my eyes hurt,” she wailed, surely sounding more pitiful than the youngling himself could.
“Make her shut up or I’ll pluck them out myself!” the first warrior threatened.
“She’s really hurting though, and she’s scared, as should be you! If you’d done your job any who followed us would be killed! But did you kill the purple warrior? No! In fact, he killed two of our warriors, and would have killed you, too, had his friends not chased you away!” Xhin said.
“She’s fucked this entire operation beyond repair and all she’s worried about is herself! All she had to do is snatch the little bastard and bring him here! If we had him, everyone in that palace would bow to our demands!”
“No! They’d bow to Mir’ Ahn’s demands! We swore loyalty to him, not to you,” Xhin argued. “And we’ll get him! As soon as Mir’ Ahn returns, we’ll regroup and we’ll be successful next time.”
“You think we’ll have another chance? Are you so fucking stupid that you believe that we’ll have another chance?!” the second warrior demanded. “It will be years until we have another chance. They’re likely on the doorstep of this mold-filled, hovel now!”
“It’s not her fault! Two of us died! The youngling was not alone and was defended! Mir’ Ahn is missing! So many things went wrong!”
“Yes, they did. And I for one will not stay here to see what happens next,” the first warrior said. “I’m leaving. I will not wait for palace forces to find me.”
“You can’t honestly believe you can get off this planet? I have no doubt all the airfields are secured, no one gets in or out without every inch of an aircraft checked and double-checked. We can’t leave here,” Xhin said.
“What would you have us do? Just sit here and wait until either the palace finds us, or Mir’ Ahn bothers to come back?”
“Yes,” Xhin said. “He’ll be back. I know he will. We must be patient and he’ll return with a plan to save us all.”
“He’s not coming back, Xhin. We’re on our own. Can’t you see that?” one of the warriors asked.
“No, I don’t see that. There were more than twenty warriors who swore allegiance to Mir’ Ahn! I saw it!”
“We all saw it, but swearing allegiance in the face of sure death is a whole other thing! Where are they now? They’re not sitting in this moldy, dank basement with us! They’re out there, pretending they know nothing about it! And Mir’ Ahn is with them, or he’s left us all to our fates the moment he saw it all fall apart and he’s already made his getaway!”
~~~
Mir’ Ahn stood on top of a packing crate, looking out over the endless darkness surrounding the traders’ vessel he’d managed to barter a last minute ride on. He didn’t even know for sure where the vessel was going, just that it had multiple stops among the space ports spread across the multiverse. Surely he’d find favorable accommodations on one of them while he took the time to determine his next move. Anything was preferable to waiting for vengeance from the royal family after the operation he’d so carefully planned had been blundered by the idiots he’d trusted to make it a success. The moment he’d realized it was hopeless and there was no chance of recovery, he’d run, leaving them behind to deal with the fall out. At some point they’d confess all and his name would be targeted. Possibly his sister as well, since it had been her key he’d stolen to get Xhin’s idiot female into the youngling’s nursery. But neither of those two things mattered to him. He wouldn’t be there to face any kind of punishment, and his sister was as stupid as they came. He still couldn’t believe she swore her allegiance to the royal family and willfully supported their destruction of eons of traditions. He almost hoped she was blamed for his treachery.
He looked down at the long, rough cloak he wore over his uniform, hastily purchased from the stall of one of the market vendors awake and cooking over his open fire before dawn, for the breakfast crowd that would hopefully stop to spend their money at his stall after the suns came up. Though he still had his uniform, his boots had been hastily cast aside and his bare feet were now wearing thonged sandals. No protection at all, but he’d had no choice other than getting rid of any indication that he was part of the Cruestaci military. The old man bartering for the cloak and sandals hadn’t seemed to care. All he’d wanted was money. They’d quickly made a deal and he’d promised to dispose of the boots in his fire as soon as he was finished cooking. Shaking his head at what he’d been reduced to, he stepped down and looked around the dozens and dozens more crates packed into the hold with him. Surely there was something more than a roughly made cloak and a pair of sandals in one of them. He’d never get any respect or cooperation dressed like a peasant with no more than the clothes on his back. These people were traders with no true place to call home. They just traveled from one planet to another selling and trading goods before moving on to the next place. There was no telling what he’d find packed away for resale in these crates. “Might as well start with this one,” he said dejectedly, forcing the top off the closest crate and beginning to dig through its contents.
~~~
Mirilla opened her door and looked both ways up and down the servants’ hallway. When no one was there, she hurried down the hallway to the linen closet used by all the servants when they needed fresh linens for their own beds, and once inside she felt along the length of shelved wall until a slight seam beneath her fingertips let her know she’d found what she was looking for. She pressed at the seam until it popped open, giving her access to a slender handle. She pulled the handle and the wall eased away from a stone framework behind it. Mirilla stepped through the opening in the framework and paused only long enough to pull the shelved wall closed to conceal her use of the secret exit.
The one thing that came along with being Head of Staff for so many years was the knowledge of the locations of all the secret exits of the palace. No matter where you were, there was an emergency exit nearby. It was just that most weren’t aware they existed. She did, though, and this one would get her out of the building without being seen, so she could confront her brother. Fifteen minutes later she was stepping through the gates of the barracks in search of her brother. She kept the hood of the cape she wore pulled down over her head and face.
“Can I help you, female?” the guard at the gate asked.
“I’m looking for Mir’ Ahn. Is he here?” she asked.
“Who are you?”
Mirilla stumbled over her words, she was flustered at finding out her brother was gone. “I, um, I’ve been sent from the palace.”
“For what reason?” the guard pressed.
“They want to question him,” Mirilla said,her voice a little less confident .
The guard shook his head. “We’d like that opportunity as well,” the guard said.
“Do you have any idea where he’s gone?” Mirilla asked.
“No. But I’m sure that he’s hunting those who attacked the Sire’s family.”
“Oh! Well, that’s good, then, right? He’ll be back.”
“We believe so.”
“When did he leave?” she asked, hoping that maybe the guard was right.
“You ask a lot of questions for one who hasn’t identified themselves yet.”
“I’m Mirilla,” she said.
“That means nothing to me. What is your purpose in the palace?”
“I’m a maid. I don’t suppose I could have access to his room,” she said.
“Are you aware of what has taken place in the palace? We are high alert and limiting access to all areas.”
“Yes, I am aware. I just thought to leave a message in his room in case he returned.”
“He will return. Mir’ Ahn and those with him. We know they are hunting the traitors who attacked our Sire.”
“Do you know that?”
“They are Cruestaci warriors. There is no other excuse for their absence from the palace.”
“I hope you’re right,” Mirilla said.
“What other reason could there be?”
“I don’t know. I was just asked to deliver a message for him.”
“What is it?” the warrior asked.
“I’m sorry?” she asked.
“The message. What is it?”
“Um, that he report to Sire Zha Quin’s residence at once.”
The warrior nodded. “I’ll give him the message when he returns.”
“Thank you. ”
“You should go back to the palace,” the warrior said, not even looking at her anymore as he stared straight ahead.
“What will you do if he doesn’t return?” she asked.
The warrior pinned her with a cold stare. “Then we will be tasked with expelling the traitor from our ranks. If you are a friend of his, you will not want to be here then, either.”
“I hope that doesn’t happen. But I can’t imagine he’s been gone for this long when so many have searched for him and there has been no trace.”
The warrior didn’t verbally reply, but he nodded knowingly.
“Thank you for keeping us safe,” she said, then turned and walked away, leaving the warrior to face what she already knew… Mir’ Ahn was not coming back. He’d deserted his warriors, his post and her when he found out that his plans had failed. He didn’t even have the courage to remain and face those he’d betrayed. He simply ran, leaving everything and everyone behind. “And in the dust of his departure, he leaves me looking as though I was complicit.” She felt like a vice was wrapped around her heart. It had to have been him. He was the only one who knew that she had gone to the royal residence with the intent of befriending the Sirena. It wouldn’t be a great stretch to imagine that he had watched her coming and going and figured out that she was using an alternate entrance. That along with him having access to her room, and her passkey going missing from it while she was in the cleansing chamber, tied the whole thing up nicely.
She hurried back to the palace, sneaking in the same way she’d gotten out, and thankfully wasn’t seen by anyone at all. Mirilla sat calmly in her favorite chair, the one that was overstuffed and sat in the corner where she often spent her spare time, reading and drawing. She spent all night thinking over the conclusions she’d come to, and each time, she came to the same realization. Mir’ Ahn had betrayed her. And no one was going to do a thing for her but her. She’d be a fool to simply wait until whoever was sent to bring her to the Sire again came for her. And a bigger fool if she thought he’d even consider the fact that his Steward of the palace was responsible for the attack. The only way to prove her innocence was to find Mir’ Ahn. Once she found him, she’d contact the Consortium and the palace, and let them both know. But she wouldn’t wait around to see him brought to justice. She wanted no part of any of them anymore. The only one who even considered the possibility of her innocence was Eula, well, and perhaps the Sirena as well, surprisingly. It was almost dawn when she gathered every bit of money she’d managed to save over the years. It wasn’t much, because most of her pay was in credits, but there was some, enough to make a getaway if she had to. But that little bit of money coupled with the credits on her band were enough to hold her over while she searched for Mir’ Ahn. Assuring herself that she was doing the right thing by not telling anyone a single thing about leaving or why, she changed into clothes that she rarely wore; clothes that were not associated with the palace or her employment at all. She removed the spare passkey from her neck, and laid it on top of the uniform she’d left folded neatly on her bed. Then she opened her door, planning to get out of the palace the way she had before, using the secret exit in the linen closet then through the kitchen to the back door. But there was a problem when she opened the door; namely the large, charcoal-skinned male with the many piercings and tattoos.
“Oh!” she exclaimed taking a step back. “You startled me.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t expect you to be at my door.”
“Neither did I. But here I am.”
“Well, I’ll be happy to help you in any way I can. What is it that you need?” she asked, trying to smile at him pleasantly.
Ba Re’s smile was almost instant. “You’re lying.”
Mirilla dropped all pretense of pretending to be of service to anyone. It was the last thing she felt like doing at this point in time anyway. “You’re right. I just want to be left alone.”
“You weren’t lying when you said you had no idea who or how someone attacked the Sire’s youngling.”
“No, I wasn’t. But no one cared about that, nor did they even notice. ”
“I noticed,” he said, tapping the side of his nose.
“You scented it?” she asked.
“Yes. I thought that maybe you didn’t give off a scent of a lie, so I came to find out. You do. Which means you were telling the truth before.”
Mirilla sighed. “Doesn’t matter. No one believes me.”
“I do.”
Mirilla raised her gaze to his. “I don’t even know your name.”
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
He grinned again. “Another lie.”
“Please, just go and leave me alone.”
His gaze traveled up and down her clothes, obviously no longer the uniform she’d worn since he’d first arrived. His focus landed on the credit band she wore. “You can’t use that. They’ll track you with it.”
Slowly she shifted her arm to place her wrist behind her back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He lifted his own arm and unfastened the credit band he wore. He held it out to her.
“What is that?” Mirilla asked.
“Credit band. No one will be trying to track mine if you go missing. They will be trying to track yours. Leave it here, take mine.”
Mirilla looked up at him with a shocked expression on her face. “Why?” she finally stammered.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. Your male didn’t defend you.”
“And?”
“It was wrong.”
“I agree, but how does that end with you standing here?”
“Let’s just say that I’m a lot more concerned with what’s right or wrong than I used to be, even if the duty that’s expected of you doesn’t align.”
“But you don’t even know me.”
“No, but I tell my female everything. ”
“I don’t understand.”
“She thinks you’re innocent. She was angry on your behalf. That’s enough for me. So, here. Go prove it.”
“I’m not sure I can.”
“Then stay here and wait to see what happens.”
Mirilla stood there for several moments, trying to make sense of this completely unexpected turn of events and the very confusing male before her. Finally she just took the band from his hand, where he still held it out to her. She tossed her own band over toward her uniform lying on her bed, and slipped his onto her wrist. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Just don’t make me regret this.”
“I’ll try,” she said.
Ba Re’ turned and walked away.
“What is your name?” she asked.
“Why?”
“Because I’d like to know who showed me the only kindness in this entire situation.”
“Ba Re’.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you, Ba Re’.”
“You need to hurry before the sun comes up.” He walked to the end of the service hall and stood there to be sure no one interrupted her while she was making her getaway. He only looked over his shoulder once when he heard the door of the linen closet close. He smiled briefly, before he forced the scowl back to his face and headed back to his quarters to tell Elisha what he’d done. She’d be proud of him.