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Maya knew she had a worried look on her face. She tried to cover it up, but Sister Nayala didn't miss it. Neither did Shaine.
"Maya, do not fear, revenants themselves are hardly dangerous, they just stir up all of the other types of undead. The biggest fear is not getting to them in time." Maya could tell Shaine was trying to make his voice sound as soothing as possible.
He was still grinning. "Based on these reports, it doesn't look like this one has had much time to form an army. Once I get there and destroy it there shouldn't be too many other creatures to destroy. Kelland will be undead-free in no time!" Shaine's voice raised at the end as it usually did when he got excited. Nayala had a half-smile on her face, as she usually did when Shaine's over-enthusiasm amused her.
One of the things Maya found so attractive about Shaine was his confidence. Even so, she didn't want to face any undead, with or without him. She wasn't sure how she was going to get out of this, though.
"S-so, you want me to go to Kelland with Shaine?" Maya asked Nayala, inwardly willing the woman to say "no".
Nayala's half-smile went away then and she faced Maya. "No, Maya, you will not travel to Kelland. I have another task for you."
"Oh. Oh, I see." Maya lowered her head. She didn't know why she felt so dejected. She had wanted the woman to say no, hadn't she?
Shaine turned his attention to Maya and saw her crestfallen expression. "Don't worry, Maya." He moved over in front of her and gently grabbed her by her upper arms. Now she raised her head and was looking directly into his eyes.
"I'll take this one, and you can have the next revenant. I promise!" He nodded one sharp nod and let her go, then turned back toward the map. Again, Maya could see that Shaine misunderstood her. He thought she was upset because she wasn't going with him to destroy an undead.
Really, she was upset because she wasn't going with him, period.
Nayala had watched the exchange and now took charge again. "Maya wait in here. Shaine, you'll need to be off. Follow me out." She then started walking outside onto her terrace. Shaine followed her without a backward glance at Maya, who was left alone with the map and the pins and notes.
Outside in the sunlight, Nayala became serious. "Shaine, you'll once again be working with the young Holy Brother you traveled to Baradia with." She braced herself for an explosion. It came just as she expected.
"WHAT?! You cannot be serious, Sister! I don't need some preening, pompous Holy Brother underfoot while I have work to do! I can destroy a simple revenant without his or anyone's help." Shaine's face was twisted up into a sour grimace. Nayala always wanted to laugh when Shaine was upset and started making faces. She managed to hold it of, though.
"I agree, but this time it is not up to us. The Kelland have went straight to the Order of Nine on this. So as not to appear partial, they have ordered a joint mission with the dragon-besting heroes of both Orders.
Shaine could hear the emphasis she put on the word "heroes". He knew Nayala's feelings about what she considered his mistakes during that night. He didn't want to start an argument and possibly be taken off this mission so he kept quiet.
She spoke again. "You'll be meeting him and a Kelland Regulatory Agent at the Holy Cathedral soon, so you'd best get moving."
Shaine's head snapped up. "I'm to go inside the Holy Cathedral?" This was big. This would be a first. He would be the first Soryan ever inside the Cathedral of Aeremon. At least the first one that was actually invited. His smile broadened then. His place in the history texts was now assured!
Of course, Nayala was already there to stem the flow of his thoughts of glory.
"Shaine!" she spoke harshly to break him out of the daydream he was beginning. Shaine refocused his attention on Nayala.
"Shaine, you are representing the Soryan Order. Do NOTHING to offend them. Observe their rules. I need you to make a good showing of partnering with the Holy Order."
Shaine was a bit insulted that Nayala felt she had to go over an entire scroll's worth of rules with him like he was a child. "Sister, if you're so worried about me, why was I chosen for this?"
Nayala turned her back and walked a few steps. She looked over her shoulder at him. "Truthfully, I wouldn't have chosen you for an undertaking of such import. Of course you can destroy a revenant, but this requires some diplomacy, which you have shown to be lacking in the past year."
Shaine grimaced again, about to speak to defend himself, but she kept talking. "The Holy Order will never allow any Soryan who fought in the war to enter that Cathedral, so I could not go. Besides, the Order of Nine specifically asked for you and Anton. They are looking to see an end to this frozen war of silence between us. Certainly the violence is long past, but the people are splitting down the middle between the Soryans and the Holy Order."
Nayala turned back around to face him. "They need these showings to make the nation whole again. Do not tarnish our efforts."
The gravity of the situation was sinking in. Shaine would almost rather not go now. He didn't want to deal with diplomacy and rules. That's why he wanted to be a Wanderer. He just wanted to have adventure and fun. Why was this always so difficult to achieve?
Shaine nodded deeply to Nayala. "I assure you, Sister, I will behave in a manner that is worthy of you and the Order."
Nayala smiled, a bit ruefully. "Good. Make sure to afford the Kelland the same respect. Now you should be off, their Agent may have already arrived at the Cathedral."
"At once, Sister!" Shaine then began singing a light-hearted tune, he ran to the edge of the terrace, jumped, and kept on climbing higher into the sky. Nayala looked after him, but within moments he became a small speck in the sunlight, then he was gone.
With Shaine off to his purpose, Nayala now walked back into her offices, where Maya was still waiting. Looking extremely uncomfortable. Nayala observed her anxious stance and worried expression. She shook her head.
What is to be done with this girl?, she thought.
Nayala knew about Maya's past. This young girl was trying very hard, but the truth was Maya was probably never meant to be a Soryan. They had taken her in because she was a child in need, but she had never shown any true aptitude for the magic, no real direction. Nayala was afraid she would fall through the cracks.
She could see the young girl was lost in thought, and had not realized Nayala had returned. The older Soryan cleared her throat.
Maya jumped, then quickly lowered her head. "Sister. You have a task for me?" Nayala thought Maya looked as if she were about to be beheaded.
"Yes, Maya. First, though, I would caution you about Shaine." Nayala saw Maya's eyes widen when she mentioned Shaine.
"Well, w-what do you mean, Sister?" Now Nayala could not help but throw back her head and laugh at the girl's earnest expression.
Still laughing, she spoke. "What I mean, Maya, is that Shaine is not at a place right now where he can give you what you want."
Maya looked confused. "I don't understand, Sister?"
Nayala smiled. "Some boys such as Shaine aren't ready for anything emotionally deep at this time in their lives. They would rather be off swinging swords at dragons or facing the undead in battle. Unless you share that outlook you'll not find much common ground with him."
Maya sighed and appeared deflated. "I know. I'm not good enough for him."
Nayala crossed the room to stand in front of the girl. She placed her hands on Maya's shoulders. "That is not what I'm saying at all."
"Although, Shaine will not truly see you until you get better at the magic. I can help you do that, and you can help me with something I need."
Maya looked doubtful. "But Sister, what could I possibly help you with?"
"Well, you won't be exactly helping me..."
As Nayala kept talking, Maya thought that for a day that started out so well, things were beginning to really go downhill fast.
***
At that time, in Kelland, darkness was falling. The two moons would not even be partially showing tonight, so even darker than usual. Regulatory Agent Commander Balke couldn't see this, as he was deep inside of a bunker used by the Agency to coordinate the activities and assignments of the over 7,000 Agents in the country.
Still, he could see from his clock that the sun would be going down, and they were looking at another dark night in Kelland.
He wondered who would be taken tonight? How many missing persons reports would he receive in the morning? How many murder reports? Although the crimes didn't always happen at night, the vast majority certainly did.
Why was this happening to them? Why now?
No attacker was ever seen. No missing people ever found. It had taken far too long for the government to admit that this might be something outside of their ability to handle. Even longer for someone to come forward and suggest that they should contact the Il'Dorani.
The Kelland knew full well that magic existed. Knew that there were forces their science could not fully explain, but for whatever reason, even though most of the rest of the entire world relied on supernatural powers, for some reason these things never happened here.
Balke felt violated. It truly felt like Kelland had been violated with, well, magic. Most Kelland wanted no part of it, and certainly didn't want to ask for help from Il'Doran, but too many people had died and disappeared now.
The time for pride was long past.
Agents under his command moved back and forth, up and down the three level bunker. Balke sat at his station in the center level, staring at the giant screen in front of him as his subordinates moved around, working at their respective tasks. The screen had all the missing and dead reports of the past few months.
The missing were color coded yellow, and the dead were coded in red. There was much more yellow on the board. At night the screen filled with red as people died, and during the day it filled up with yellow as the missing persons reports were filed.
A shadow fell on him and Balke realized Rodgers, his second-in-command was standing above him.
Balke didn't speak but just raised his eyebrows.
Rodgers, thin, balding and unshaven, looked a mess in his rumpled blue Agency uniform. The collar was not buttoned and there were food stains on the jacket. There had been a lot of overtime lately.
"Sir, the first reports are coming in. People being killed. No assailants seen." Rodgers voice was flat with defeat.
Damn, Balke thought. He wanted to hit something, but what? People were being torn limb from limb, eviscerated in full view of witnesses but no one ever saw any attackers. There wasn't so much as a sketch of a suspect. And the people who disappeared were just...gone.
"Hold tight." Balke said. "Heather should be back soon with the Il'Dorani. Then we should se an end to this."
Rodgers scoffed. "Which ones is she bringing? The singers or the Holy men?"
"Enough. Go make sure the detail is ready when they get here." Rodgers saluted, then turned and moved off. Of course no one wanted help from Il'Doran, but it was needed, and it was done. No point making the situation even worse. Balke made a note to keep Rodgers and other ill-tempered Agents away from the Il'Dorani when they got here.
He kept watching the screen. The latest reports were being added as they came in. Since there was literally nothing he or any of them could do, Balke continued to just sit there and watch the screen fill up with more red.
Click to read Chapter 13 - Missionaries |
