Pride x Familiar (53 page)

A fragment of a transmission from the convoy of
vehicles headed for the Vault.

They’d entered via the underground service
tunnel that connected the Vault to a subterranean military staging
area. It was a means of access that didn’t require the command
codes stored in the black box network. But the doors within the
large tunnel had been sealed shut, so the convoy had been forced to
blow holes in them in order to get through.

Their last transmission had lasted only seconds
but it was clear they had met an untimely end.

I read a follow up communication – a directive
from Alucard ordering the next group of vehicles to hold position
at the head of the tunnel, yet still within the staging area.

I had a bad feeling she was considering throwing
in the towel, and would allow Crescent to get whatever they were
after.

Then a message arrived on a holovid bubble
floating near my head.

AVIENDA ON STATION.

I blinked and felt a chill run through my
body.

She did it! Alucard convinced the Avenir Pride
to weigh in on the situation.

But by the gods how had she convinced them to
deploy
her
?

The Avenir Prides’ most prized possession…in the
hands of a child.

The only child to have shown the required level
of compatibility with the Artifact.

The Seer-Khan Warlord, Avienda.

I instructed the holocam drones to search for it
within the confines of Habitat Three.

It took long seconds, many long seconds, but in
the end one drone spotted
something
standing on the rooftop
of an Aztec style building, a design prevalent within Pharos.

A bipedal machine, skeletal in places, while
wearing thick armor in others. It had chevron link chains
connecting its limbs to a spine-like structure. Wing-like vanes
formed a skirt around its hips and back, connected to the spine of
the main body by more of the same chevron link chains. At its back,
six wing-vanes hung away from its body like the giant leaves of a
palm tree. They were the six wing-vanes unique to a Seer-Khan, the
second most powerful Warlord type in existence.

Only a Rho-Khan was stronger, uniquely
identified by seven wing-vanes rather than six.

But to have Avienda standing here in a populated
habitat sent cold wave after wave running through my body.

I didn’t know if it was from excitement or
extreme terror.

I pictured the worst case scenario – a habitat
in flames.

No, I was definitely getting chills of
terror.

If Avienda were to engage that starship in
combat, the habitat was as good as history.

I prayed the Warlord was there as a
deterrent.

The holocam zoomed in on the pilot, clad in a
black and white outfit that clearly highlighted she was a teenage
girl. A short teenage girl at that, though I did notice her breasts
were well developed. Her legs were encased in armor that connected
to the thighs of the skeletal, armored Warlord.

A helmet-like visor covered half her face, but
not her maniacal grin as she turned to face the holocam spying on
her.

She made the shape of a gun with her left hand,
aiming her index finger at the holocam.

She mouthed the word ‘bang’, and the picture
crashed into snow as the device stopped functioning.

On a second holocam I saw it blow up into a
shower of super-heated fragments that lazily rained down upon a
district block.

My vision of the habitat in flames resurfaced
with a vengeance.

I tapped my palm-slate in a hurry and called the
habitat command center.

“Evacuate Habitat One. Command authorization,
Alesso one nine seven two. Pass phrase, summer rain.”

I listened to the man on the other end of the
line, and nodded subconsciously.

“That is correct. This is a red five alert.
Highest probable danger. Evacuate all civilians and non-essential
personnel from the habitat.”

I swallowed as I gave the next order.

“Then lock it down.”

I had the rank to call for such a directive. I
was Special Interventions’ second-in-command.

Once everyone was out, the quatre-steel shutters
would come down at the exit and entrance to the tunnels that
connected Habitat Three with the rest of the Island asteroid.

I ended the call, and it didn’t take long for
calls from other division commanders to come in, each one
undoubtedly demanding an explanation for my actions.

But one message flashed up on my holovid message
bubble.

DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO. I HAVE MY HANDS FULL ON
MY END.

I swallowed again as I read Alucard’s words.

Do what I need to do?

I needed a way to shut up the incoming
calls.

Fine. They wanted an explanation, then I would
give it to them.

A picture as they say is worth a thousand
words.

How many words was a holocam data stream
worth?

I instructed a single holocam drone to keep a
covert eye on the ‘loose cannon’ that was Avienda in the hands of
its battle lusting pilot.

I instructed a number of other drones to turn
their holocams on the Warlord, and not to be shy about it.

Then I answered all the calls at once, and
presented the faces questioning me with one holovid window
displaying the scene of young girl happily destroying one holocam
drone after the other.

It didn’t take them long to understand why I’d
ordered the complete evacuation of Habitat One.

But I also knew that by now Crimson Crescent was
well aware of the Warlord stationed on the outskirts of the
habitat.

(Caelum)

Eventually Simone’s strength gave out, and we
slowed to a walk.

Simone’s voice was weak as she walked beside
me.

“Do you think…do you think Melanie
survived?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know. That
explosion was pretty big. It might have collapsed part of the
tunnel.”

I thought I heard the Countess swallow. “Damn
it, Melanie….”

I swallowed too, but had no words to add.

We walked in silence for a little while, until
the Countess softly asked, “Do you still want to see your
sister?”

I hesitated, understanding what she was
implying. Was the price of so much destruction worth it?

Thought of that way, didn’t it make the carnage
thus far my responsibility?

I wasn’t ready to accept that, at least not
yet.

But I wasn’t going to change my mind.

I cleared my throat. “I’ve come this far. I
can’t turn back now. It’s like I said before, I won’t let Melanie’s
sacrifice be in vain.”

I was talking as though Melanie was dead, and
that was clearly wrong.

I whispered an apology to her and to the gods
above.

Simone said, “Celica may not be the sister you
remember.”

“I know that.” I swallowed then added, “But
Melanie said that Celica wanted to see us. And I know she included
you in her words.”

Simone was quiet for a little while. “I can’t
believe Melanie was a member of Crimson Crescent.”

I laughed softly. “I didn’t know her that well.
I can’t say I suspected her.” I thought of what Melanie had told
us. “Simone, do you believe what she said about the super-freighter
explosion?”

Again the Countess was quiet for a little while.
“I heard she was adopted by the Cardwells. I knew that her own
parents died when she was young. However, I didn’t know they were
Familiars, and I certainly was unaware they were aboard the
super-freighter.”

I thought of the death of my parents.

I thought of Caprice telling me her father had
died when she was a child, and her mother had passed away while on
a mission. She didn’t know much about the circumstances of either
incident.

Was there something to all the deaths that
surrounded us Familiars? Was there an insidious, malevolent hand at
play?

I was tied to Arisa by the red string of
fate.

Now I’d learnt I was tied to Melanie as
well.

Simone softly added, “The Cardwells are
extremely wealthy. I doubt they ever denied her much. I guess her
need for revenge was too much to overcome.”

“So you believe her…?”

Simone sighed under her breath.

I glanced at her, and noticed her thoughtful,
pensive expression.

The Countess shook her head ever so slightly. “I
wonder if it’s true, or if she was somehow conditioned to believe
all that. After all, when I asked her about her parents’ journals
she said she’d returned them to Crimson Crescent. I find that odd.
If my parents were precious to me, and if those journals were
precious to my parents—I would never have returned them.” She shook
her head forcefully. “No, I would never have relinquished my
parents’ legacy to anyone.”

I was about to add to that, when I noticed
something that stole my voice.

In the distance ahead, the tunnel changed shape.
We continued onward in silence, but came to a stop where the tunnel
grew into an enormous half-domed chamber. Simone and I looked about
the interior which was illuminated by dozens of light strips
embedded into the curved rock walls. I noticed numerous
perforations dotting the walls and realized they were gun ports. A
half dozen cannons hung from the ceiling high overhead, all
pointing at the chamber’s entrance to the tunnel.

Melanie hadn’t been lying.

The half dome chamber was a killing field.

In order to cross the chamber floor, Crimson
Crescent needed to shut down the security protecting it. For this
reason they broke into the black box section of the network. With
whatever lay inside, Crescent had gained control of the school and
deactivated the cannons inside the chamber. They probably
deactivated the security measures built into the tunnel as well,
allowing us to arrive here unchallenged.

Stepping cautiously into the half-domed chamber,
I turned my attention on the far wall.

A doorway stood there. It was open, and shaped
like an isosceles trapezoid. Whatever lay beyond it was bathed in
darkness, despite the tunnel and chamber lighting. But my attention
was drawn to the silhouette of a person standing at the edge of the
open doorway. They were dwarfed by its scale. A heartbeat later
that person turned around to face us.

Although she stood at a distance, my improved
eyesight allowed me to see her face clearly.

Beside me, Simone stiffened and then drew away a
little, but I held her right hand firmly in my left.

I wasn’t going to let her go because I needed
her probably as much as she needed me.

Her presence provided the stable foundation for
my state of mind.

The sensation of her warm hand in mine reassured
me this was not a dream or nightmare, but horrid reality.

We walked closer and closer to the young woman
standing by the enormous doorway.

We came to a stop when she raised a hand to us.
By then, perhaps a dozen feet separated us from her.

She looked as I remembered her, on the day I saw
her lying on the cold metal table in a freezing mortuary.

Except she wasn’t dead.

She was alive, and standing before me.

I had often thought of what I’d say to her, if
we ever met again in the afterlife.

But now I was at a loss.

I had no opening words for the woman that looked
every bit like my sister.

To my relief, she was first to break the silence
between us.

“You’ve grown, and filled out too,” she said,
looking me up and down with a satisfied smile on her face.

I swallowed and gave her a pained smile.

These were her first words to me?

I shook my head inwardly.

I studied her from head to toe, just as she had
studied me.

She was dressed in black – no surprises there –
but her skinsuit was extremely
skintight
. I mean, it looked
painted onto her body. I remembered the times I’d thought my sister
was hot, but seeing her dressed like some modern day ninja
scattered my thoughts a little. She wore nothing else, clad in the
skinsuit that came complete with the heeled boots on her feet.

I had to swallow to clear my throat and my
thoughts. “Are you…are you Celica?”

“Of course I am.” She smiled warmly. “Don’t you
recognize your own sister?”

“I thought you were dead.”

Celica winced and glanced down for a heartbeat.
“I was. I was as good as dead. If not for Crescent I would be
dead.”

I frowned at her. “What do you mean by that? I
was told your death was faked. I was told you were working for
Special Interventions—”

“Told by whom?” she asked bluntly, though her
face betrayed amusement.

Simone spoke up, her voice surprisingly steady.
“He was told by me.”

“You?” Celica definitely looked amused. “Simone
Alucard Raynar. I see you’re every bit as impressive as Silia. You
finally managed to catch Caelum’s attention.”

Simone’s hand trembled in mine. “Well, not
entirely….”

“Oh? Facing some stiff competition, are we?”

Simone gasped loudly. “No, no! I’ll definitely
win. I’ll beat those girls. They’re no match for me!”

Celica was quiet for a moment before bursting
into short laughter. “That’s a good answer.”

I stared at the both of them in turn.

How could Celica be so relaxed?

Had Simone forgotten the destruction we’d left
behind?

I took a half step forward. “Celica, tell me the
truth. Are you working for Special Interventions? Did you
infiltrate Crimson Crescent on their orders?”

I watched my sister grow from amused to angry in
a heartbeat.

The dark look she gave me was one I’d never seen
on her before.

Celica’s eyes were like sharp razors cutting
into me. “Is that what you truly think? Is that what you were
told?”

She turned her gaze on Simone, and I felt the
Countess’s hand tremble in mine.