Pride x Familiar (66 page)

Jaxon asked, “Want something to drink?”

“Water, please.”

“Okay dokay.”

I sat down in one of the living room’s sofas, a
crescent shaped three-seater, and looked about. One living room
wall was glass from floor to ceiling. A sliding door led out to an
expansive balcony looking out into the habitat.

The whole apartment felt too big for just one
person.

“Jaxon, do you live here alone?”

“Yep.”

What? With space at a premium in some habitats,
he had an apartment this size all to himself.

He added, “I have a sister, but she went to live
in the academy dorms this year.”

I frowned inwardly.

I knew he wasn’t an only child, which was the
reason I’d come to see him today. But I didn’t know he had a
sister.

He brought me a tall glass of chilled water. He
even dropped a straw in it, and a thin slice of lemon. Then he sat
down on the sofa opposite me.

I regarded him. “You have a sister?”

“She’s a Familiar. She awoke last year. However,
she has no interest in Fragments and they have no interest in her.
Nonetheless she was transferred to Phelan Academy in Island Two.
She moved into their dorms because she had no intention of making
the hard slog from here to there.”

“Why Phelan? Why not Arcala Academy here in
Island One?”

“Her friends awoke as Aventis and went to attend
Phelan.”

“Oh…how convenient…or inconvenient?”

Jaxon shrugged lightly. “They’re not bad girls.
My sister’s in good hands. Besides, there are quite a number of
Familiars at Phelan Academy. She’ll make other friends.”

I sipped the water. Damn, it really was chilled.
The glass was frosted.

After taking another sip, I asked, “Didn’t you
transfer from Phelan?”

“I did.”

“What’s it like…?”

“More Familiars attend Phelan than Galatea. You
could say it’s less lonely, less cold. Galatea’s less
forgiving.”

I almost frowned at him. Well, he was right in
that regard. Galatea was a rather cold place for us Familiars.

I sipped some more water. “What about your
parents? Where are they?”

“Didn’t you check my file before coming
here?”

“Your file is classified.”

“Ah…I see….” He sagged back into the sofa. “My
parents are Familiars. They work out
there
in the Nebula.
They do work for the Aventis. Special work. That’s all I’ll
say.”

“Are they members of Artemis and Paladin?”

He nodded shallowly. “I was trained by them in
hand-to-hand combat for many, many years. Then half a year ago they
were sent into the Nebula. I have no idea why or for what purpose,
though it probably has something to do with Crescent.” He cocked
his head to a side. “Is that what you came to discuss?”

“No.”

“You’re wondering about my brother, aren’t
you?”

I sipped the water again, then set the glass
down on the coffee table that stood at my feet. “Yes, I came to ask
you about Rylan Deneve.”

Jaxon sighed faintly. “I was wondering when you
would ask about him….”

That day when Crimson Crescent invaded Galatea
Academy and caused so much strife, Jaxon and I encountered four of
their members in the high-school library. The fight didn’t go my
way, but Jaxon held his own against two of Crescent’s Familiars,
while I struggled against just one of them. In the end, we could do
nothing to stop Crimson Crescent’s network hacker. In the end, the
difference between them and us – or rather, between myself and them
– was simply too great to overcome.

When the fight ended, I was shocked to learn one
of the two Familiars he fought against was his brother.

He sagged even further into the sofa. “Rylan is
my elder brother by three years. He’s better than I am in every
way, yet I never felt envious of him. If anything, he helped
motivate me. I really looked up to him.”

“How did he end up with Crescent?”

“I don’t know. He left the Family two years ago.
Said he was going to find the Artifact, the Kaiser’s Blessing on
his own. That Artifact has been in our family for generations, at
least, that’s what I was told. It was lost around thirty years ago.
I don’t know how, but somehow it ended up in the Lanfear’s
possession.” He rubbed his eyes. “What’s really strange is that it
was locked down. It wasn’t bonded to anyone. It was just completely
locked down so the researchers mistook it for a Fragment rather
than an Artifact.”

He looked away for a while.

When he looked back at me, Jaxon had an odd
expression on his face.

It was somewhere between envy and gratitude.

“I should thank Desanto.”

This time I gave into a frown. “Why?”

“Something he did while bonded to the Kaiser’s
Blessing unlocked part of its systemry. I think it was during that
incident at the amusement park that was all over the cynet. If he
hadn’t unlocked it, no one would have known it was the Kaiser’s
Blessing.”

I looked down at the glass on the table.
“Perhaps….”

Jaxon leaned forward. “Who is Caelum
Desanto?”

I blinked. “So you’re curious as well.”

Jaxon nodded slowly.

I narrowed my eyes. “This wouldn’t have anything
to do with Caprice Steiner.”

“It might…have a lot to do with her.”

“Oh, how so?”

“Well, as Sun Tzu once said, ‘Know thy enemy and
know thy self; in a hundred battles you will never be
defeated’.”

“I see. So you perceive Caelum Desanto as your
enemy.”

“At the very least my rival.”

Did that make me a little jealous? Yes, it did,
but I quashed it quickly. It wasn’t an ember I would allow to spark
to a flame.

I swallowed discretely. “Why Caprice
Steiner?”

He was quiet for a little while. “I just like
her. I’ve always liked her, ever since I first met her nine years
ago.”

That surprised me and it showed on my face.

Jaxon smiled. “You don’t know this but Caprice’s
mother knew my parents quite well. And that’s how I met her. But
after a while her mother stopped bringing Caprice around to my
family’s home in Island One, Habitat Two. I don’t know what
happened between my family and her, and unfortunately my parents
have never given me an explanation. Maybe there was a difference of
opinion. After all, my parents are loyal to the Raynar Pride, and
we now know that Caprice’s mother defected to Crimson
Crescent.”

I glimpsed the shadow of shrug across his
shoulders.

His reasoning was sound, though it was still
speculation.

I felt that too much of what we knew was very
well nothing more than speculation. That made me uneasy and unsure
of where any of us stood in the grand scheme of things.

I looked around me at the living room interior.
“Then this apartment isn’t your home…?”

“No, it isn’t. I moved here a year ago. It was
all arranged by my parents and the Raynars.”

He leaned forward a little more.

“But Caprice aside, I really want to know who…or
what…is Caelum Desanto.”

“What do you mean by
what
?”

“I told you didn’t I. He unlocked my Artifact,
something nobody else had been able to do since it came into the
Lanfear’s possession. I understand his predecessor took six months
to manifest both shield-blades. But the Kaiser remained locked. It
wasn’t until Desanto came along that its extra functions and its
identity
were revealed.” He smiled enigmatically. “Doesn’t
that make you a little bit curious?”

I sat back and regarded him as he studied me in
mysterious silence.

Then I gave him a single nod.

“Yes, it does make me curious.”

#

(Haruka)

School Week Five. Monday morning.

Classes resumed in the fourth week of the school
year, after Galatea was closed down during the third week of the
school first semester.

The week went by and there was no sign of
Caelum.

I overhead some of the senior high-school girls
talking about Melanie Cardwell.

She had vanished during the time Crimson
Crescent had invaded the academy.

There was a rumor going around that she was
kidnapped by Crimson Crescent. But there was also a rumor being
spread that Melanie had joined Crimson Crescent because she was a
Familiar like them.

I didn’t know what to say when asked what I
thought.

Alistair advised me not to say anything.

Siobhan told me to play dumb.

I decided to play innocent.

But I overheard rumors surrounding Caelum as
well. I heard talk that he was in league with Crimson Crescent.
Other rumors said he’d been arrested as a spy for Crescent and was
being held in a secret detention facility. When I was asked for my
opinion, I stuck to the story Severin Kell had given me: because he
was only a Familiar, Caelum was injured by the high gravity and had
to be transferred to a medical facility that could treat his
injuries.

However, regardless of what Severin Kell told me
to say, I made my decision to ask someone who might know the
truth.

Simone Alucard Raynar came to mind. I knew of
her interest in Caelum, and I knew he was involved in helping the
Student Council protect the academy, so I reasoned there was a
strong association between the two. However, I didn’t feel
comfortable approaching the Countess, nor did I feel I’d get a
straight answer out of her. To me, and some of the other students,
Simone Alucard was a perfect example of smoke and mirrors. What you
saw was nothing more than a carefully presented illusion.

So I fell upon my second option.

First Semester Week Five. Monday morning.

Before morning homeroom commenced, I gathered my
resolve and approached Caprice Steiner, and asked to speak to her
in confidence.

We met after class in one of the gardens that
bordered the northern courtyard.

I asked her about Caelum.

Caprice told me she didn’t know his whereabouts.
Her Pride hadn’t told her anything about him. For all she knew, he
could have been transferred to a sister academy.

I didn’t believe her.

I fixed a hard stare on her. “Severin Kell told
me the two of you were working with other Familiars to protect this
academy.”

“We were working together. That’s not the case
anymore.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not your concern.”

“Caelum is my friend. I can be concerned, can’t
I?”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss him with
you.”

I grabbed her forcefully by her blazer. “You
knew I wanted to talk about him. Why did you agree if you weren’t
going to tell me anything?”

Caprice’s face remained emotionless.

Just like a machine, an automaton.

No reaction. No feelings.

I frowned. No, her eyes were different. I could
see conflicted emotions behind them.

I swallowed and asked, “What’s going on,
Steiner? You know something about Caelum, don’t you?”

“Even if I did, why would you expect me to tell
you?”

Without warning, Caprice pushed me away with a
strength that overcame my own.

I was surprised by her power, until I realized
I’d been pushed away by an effect-field.

Her right forearm was encased in a silver
gauntlet, and her palm was facing outwards in my direction.

I remembered the sleek armor she wore during the
fight in the cafeteria.

This time, she had summoned only a part of her
Fragment.

Caprice lowered her hand, and the wispy black
mist surrounded her arm and vanished moments later, taking the
gauntlet with it.

Her voice fell to an icy whisper. “My advice to
you…stay away from Caelum Desanto.”

I stared her, and after a few heartbeats I shook
my head. “I can’t do that.”

She snorted angrily though her face was a blank
picture. “You have someone who loves you. Don’t you think you’ve
ignored him for long enough? Isn’t it about time you returned his
feelings properly?”

Now her eyes matched her cold tone.

She turned and began walking away from me, but
stopped a few feet down the garden path.

“Duncan Armand…if you care about him then you
should worry over him, and not Caelum.”

I thought she would resume walking away, yet she
stood there and half turned to face me.

Her voice was low yet it carried, as did the
warning it ferried. “You should keep a close eye on Armand. He may
choose to do something foolish.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What’s that supposed
to mean?”

“His hatred toward Familiars…it’s not unlike the
hatred Caelum once harbored toward Aventis….”

Her voice trailed away, and she turned and began
walking out of the garden.

I didn’t follow her, but my eyes did. I watched
her until she left the garden and walked out of sight.

Her words rang inside my head.

Caelum’s hatred.

Duncan’s hatred.

What did she imply when she said Duncan might do
something foolish?

Worry began to etch itself into my stomach,
causing it to clench uncomfortably.

And yet, I couldn’t deny Caprice was right. I
had someone who loved me, and yet I was worrying over someone
else.

However, Caelum was special to me.

And it wasn’t like I’d explicitly rejected
Caelum in favor of Duncan. Rather, Duncan had forced a choice –
his
choice – on me.

I stood in the quiet of the garden, though I
heard the hundreds of students in the distance.

I heard them making the journey out of the
academy, eager to be free of the place for a couple of days.

Reaching into a skirt pocket, I retrieved my
palm-slate.

I thumbed through the screens, and called up the
number that was listed second under Favorites.

I made the call, and waited for him to pick
up.

“Duncan…can we talk?”