6. Chapter 6
Josiah
How was this guy the leader?
Where did he come from exactly?
“Ahhh, old friend, it has been far too long,” he said as he eyed Athia. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, hanging off of him like he was a lost lover. He eyed her with a sort of disappointed distaste. “Not the best choice of hosts, but it will have to do.”
“She was convenient,” Athia admitted simply, finally letting go of him and smiling widely at her precious leader. “We have been preparing for you for quite some time!”
I’d never heard Athia sound so enthused.
Usually she was flat and emotionless, unless she was furious or experiencing negative emotions.
I sat there silently as they exchanged pleasantries.
Then it dawned on me, what if Akuma knew Kyril?
I suddenly felt a quick jolt of adrenaline as I wondered if I could fight my way out of here.
Considering how Athia spoke of the guy, I assume she revered him for a good reason.
“Oh… this is my partner, Akuma. He just happened to be the first I decided to wake,” she looked over at me with an annoyed stare.
She bent over toward Kyril with her hand covering her mouth like she had a secret and whispered loudly so I could still hear, “Probably should’ve kept better records of who was where. ”
I sighed in relief. They both took it as a sigh of frustration as they continued to eye me. “I’m trying here,” I said, which Akuma always used to say to Athia when she was annoyed with him.
“Were you not involved in Arion’s takeover?” he asked, clearly intrigued.
Fuck if I knew.
“Not in the capacity either of you were,” I said and hoped that it would suffice for an answer.
“He’s a sidelines guy,” Athia scoffed and rolled her eyes. “It would have been nice to have pretty much anyone else, but he gets things done, I guess.”
“I see,” Kyril noted.
He didn’t seem overly happy with this news, but also didn’t seem pissed like Athia regularly did. I began to make mental notes of everything happening here. What he looked like. Any intel I could gather to pass on to the Council.
“Uh, yeah, just a sidelines guy over here,” I quipped. “I’m learning as I go though.”
“We will make you of… good use,” Kyril replied. “Athia, why don’t you take me to discuss what the current plans are and what is currently being carried out.”
“Of course! I would love to,” she raved. “Akuma, keep doing your job. We will discuss things later,” she gave me a side eye as she ushered Kyril back out of the room.
I stayed in the training facility for a little while longer until I knew for sure that they had gone to her office or wherever it was that they were going.
In all honesty, I didn't really care and just wanted to get some answers at last. I gave quick instructions on what to work on and then I rifted to my office.
I paced purposelessly back and forth between the desk and my door, lost completely in every possibility.
Where would I be able to find Camille?
Was she with my brother?
If she was, where would they be going?
If not Salioes, then where would their journey lead them next?
Then, it suddenly dawned on me. Maybe they were looking for information to defeat Athia.
Remembering back to our last encounter, she seemed well adjusted even in spite of the bond and our separation.
She seemed strong and confident then. She had also been carrying a bow that had me fondly remembering my many visits to Croneatos.
She had to have been there! I just knew it and wondered if she had gone back. So, rather than spending anymore time contemplating all of the potentials, I thought of the village I had stayed in when I was there last and rifted yet again.
I stood outside of the tribal leader’s quarters, a place I had been many times before this moment.
I took in a deep breath of the stale unpleasant air and decided there was no better time than the present to just do this.
I walked through the door with my head held high and came face to face with none other than the leader of Croneatos, Vina.
Like expected, her reflexes were sharp and she was already crouching, dagger drawn.
She hissed, exposing her razor sharp teeth at me.
I held my hands up in surrender and said, “Vina, please, hear me out.”
She snarled an animalistic growl and lunged at me, having every intention of slitting my throat wide open.
I knew better than most that Vina didn't fight to injure, she was fighting to survive by any means necessary and that meant killing me as quickly as she possibly could.
Just before I felt the cold metal of the blade against my throat, I rifted away again, this time right behind her.
“It’s me… Josiah!” I yelled, as she course corrected and began to curl backward onto her one hand, flipping back toward me in a graceful motion.
I had forgotten how agile she was and wondered if I had over simplified my decision to come here unannounced.
If she didn't allow me to speak, I might be dead before I get any information at all.
Her yellow eyes were next to mine, the sharp side of the blade just barely cutting into the flesh of my neck, and she stopped in her tracks as if everything I said had finally registered.
“But… how?” she asked, astonished.
“If I'm being completely honest… I’m really not sure. I should definitely be dead right now.”
“And your mate, what of her?” she queried with an interested look.
My eyes grew wide as I accepted the weight of that question. “You have met Camille then, haven’t you?”
“I have. And I have grown quite fond of her actually,” she admitted. “I take it their mission to her home planet failed then?”
“Unfortunately… yes it did. I, or the one controlling me, definitely wasn’t of any help either. I… almost killed her. They only got away because we were overwhelmed by their rescue crew and the men we had back on Earth were unskilled and untrained.”
“I see,” she responded and grew cautious. “I really hate to be the bearer of more bad news for you, but they didn’t return here after their escape.”
“I assumed they wouldn’t. I probably shouldn’t be here either, but I’m trying to find my brother,” I explained. “I’m hoping if I find him that he can help support Camille in finding a way to destroy the Gilarian. I have some intel for them. He was here with her, wasn’t he?”
Her face suddenly got serious and she seemed very guarded. I had a sneaking suspicion she was hiding something from me. Something she clearly did not want to talk to me about.
“He was.”
“Any idea where they went?” I asked.
“I do, but I won’t disclose that for a multitude of reasons, my friend,” she said unabashed.
“Vina, we are running out of time. If I don’t find them, I’m afraid we won’t succeed in defeating these demons. There is a new player in this game and I’m concerned about him far more than the other.”
“I think it may be a good idea to go to Salioes and attempt to get information from the Council. Unless they found what they were looking for, they’ve probably already moved on to the next thing,” she admitted.
I scratched my head thoughtfully. They came to Croneatos first, which just seemed a bit unusual to me.
“Can you tell me why they came here, of all places?”
“Like this is such a bad place to be?” she eyed me and then grinned. “To learn to fight and control that bond, why else would she come here? It’s not as if we have anything else of use for your kind here.”
My face suddenly grew hot in embarrassment, “I… I didn’t mean it like that! I was… just trying to figure out the thought process. Training makes a lot more sense.”
I stopped again, trying to follow my brother’s train of thought.
I could assume that he had seen something that led him everywhere he had been over the course of my capture.
He never did anything without a cause. But, where would they go after they had been captured on Earth?
I highly doubted they would go back to Salioes.
“When you finally figure it out, make sure you tell them all, I’m glad they are safe,” Vina finally said.
She was rarely emotional, but I could see something behind those eyes. Something sad. Something that made her uncomfortable.
“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you before I go?” I asked her softly.
“It is really not my story to tell… but I wish you peace on your travels,” she whispered and her eyes didn't fully meet mine.
I sighed at her. It must have been bad if she wouldn’t even tell me herself or look at me while she said it.
“Peace, Vina.”
I rifted away from Croneatos without another word and was left with so many more questions than I had found answers.