Aydin had opened the cooker, and was stirring the vegetable stew within, but even the familiar smell failed to soothe Vihaan.

  Five

  D

  erfis was a fucking shithole. Jaziel was not going to change his opinion, in spite of the clean streets, the tall skyscrapers, and the polite and well-dressed people. A place where the people worshipped the Stirthen, and left out offerings for them on the Night wasn’t exactly a good place. That the offerings were real, live human beings was the sickest part of it all. State sanctioned human sacrifice, and people actually vied to be part of it.

  The lobby where they waited for the witness they were here to question showed no signs of belonging to a pack of human sacrificers. It was large, and the sofa on which they sat was comfortable. The walls were one way glass that afforded them a magnificent view of the cityscape. The desk behind which a robot sat was gleaming metal.

  “Why a robot?” Aydin murmured, his gaze abstracted.

  “The rate at which they kill off their people, maybe there aren’t enough humans left,” Jaziel muttered, not bothering to keep the bite from his voice.

  Aydin gave him a considering glance, part amused and part assessing. “We’re here to do a job,” he said. “I had to pull a lot of strings to get us here. Let’s keep our prejudices inside our heads and not create an international incident, all right?”

  Jaziel could feel his cheeks burn. He knew that Aydin’s father had been instrumental in getting them there. Honestly speaking, part of his gripe was because of that. He knew as much about Caden as everyone else in the team. None of it had been from Aydin who liked to pretend that his father didn’t exist. But some of the things were public record, and though they never discussed it, they all knew what Caden had done. Considering all that, it was surprising Aydin turned out to be the man he was.

  “I won’t mess up, boss,” he muttered. “Just don’t expect me to be happy about what you had to do to get us here.”

  Aydin gave him an exasperated glance. “It’s one dinner with my father,” he said. “The way you all talk, I might have sold myself to the Stirthen.”

  “The man beat you bloody, broke your bones, actually killed your mother!” Jaziel couldn’t help the way his words came out in a hiss.

  All the bastard had got was a year in prison, and they had to let him go because he had too many friends in places that mattered. Sure, they called it a suspended sentence, but Jaziel couldn’t look at it that way. The only punishment if any that he had got was that he couldn’t come near Aydin again. Even the permission to send him messages had been granted after Aydin had joined the force and even then, he couldn’t send them directly.

  A pang of guilt stabbed him as he saw the stricken look on Aydin’s face, though that lasted only a moment, before it was smoothed away by a carefully neutral expression.

  Right. Shouldn’t have mentioned his mother.

  “Don’t worry,” Aydin said softly as he sat back. “Vihaan will be with me.”

  Not the commander. Vihaan. Yet, Jaziel was not going to call him out on it. He was too relieved for one, as if a weight was removed from him.

  “Good.”

  He knew that Aydin had known the commander in the Academy. It was good that the commander was looking out for him. After all it was for his sister that Aydin was going to all this trouble. From what Zendaya had said, it was evident that she had meant a lot to Aydin too. Was that what made the difference? What made Aydin a good man rather than an embittered one? That he had had people in the academy who had cared about him? Jaziel still had friends he had made at the academy, and they had impacted him in ways he was still figuring out. It stood to reason the same was true for Aydin. After all, the academy had been more their home than their parents’ houses till they became adults.

  He shifted in his seat, impatient for this to be over. Being here was making him feel on edge, as if there was something underneath his skin that he couldn’t get out. This was a flimsy lead at best. Even if this person knew something, Tatum hadn’t died in Derfis. Travel between Derfis and Hisham was not difficult, but there would have been records. They had found no evidence of anyone having come over from Derfis for the last few months who didn’t have reason to be in Hisham.

  He glanced at Aydin. He sat still, almost statue-still except for the rise and fall of his chest. There was a very faint frown on his face, and his gaze was still a bit unfocussed, as if he was deep in thought.

  “Aydin, Jaziel,” the robot spoke, the mechanical voice causing goosebumps to break out over Jaziel’s body. At least it was speaking Common instead of Derivian. “You may proceed inside.”

  A door opened to their right, and there was no hesitation in Aydin’s steps as he made his way towards it. Jaziel was aware his own steps were lagging, mainly because this whole thing felt strange as fuck. What if there was a Stirthen inside? Usually, Stirthens couldn’t come to the world of the living, except on one night every year. They could still be summoned, though, and there had been recorded instances of them being attracted to strong magic sources.

  He couldn’t leave Aydin to do this alone, however. If there was any danger, the least he could do was to help. Jaziel found himself murmuring a prayer to the moon under his breath. He was not religious, but there were some things that stayed with him from his days with his parents, after the academy.

  The room they had entered was bare, with the same type of glass encasing one wall, and gleaming metal on all other sides. A woman stood in the middle of it, tall, and straight, with green hair and amber eyes.

  “Yaretzi?” Aydin asked, in Common.

  She inclined her head. “I understand you’re a law enforcement officer from Hisham,” she said. “May I know what this is about?”

  “Tatum,” Aydin said, and Jaziel could only admire his control at how steady his gaze and voice both were. “She was murdered. I understand she was a friend of yours.”

  Yaretzi stared at him as if he was insane. “That’s impossible!” she said. “Tatum’s not dead. I would know if she were. We. . . we exchanged soulstones while we were together.”

  “May I see it?” Aydin asked even as Jaziel fought to control his shock. No wonder Tatum had been so cut up over the break up. It was almost unheard of for a couple to break up after that stage.

  Yaretzi put her hand inside her pocket and drew out a small box. Aydin conjured a desk and she placed the box on it. A long needle appeared in her hand, and she pricked her fingertip with it, dropping the blood on to the box. It opened, and Jaziel gasped, unable to help it.

  “Well,” Aydin said, his voice dry. “That is anti-climactic.”

  The box was empty.

  Six

  A

  ydin felt like a fool. For one moment, he had allowed himself to hope that Tatum might still be alive. In spite of the evidence of his own senses, of every test that proved her identity, he had still hoped. After all, no one could look into his eyes and lie, and he had seen in her eyes that Yaretzi was telling the truth. If a soulstone said Tatum wasn’t dead, perhaps they were wrong in their identification. Yaretzi’s expression on seeing the empty box, however, proved that they weren’t. The woman simply had never checked the stone’s whereabouts.

  “I don’t understand!” Yaretzi’s voice shook. “How can it be gone? It was here. No one could have taken it!”

  She was telling the truth; her shock was genuine, as was her puzzlement. Her eyes never moved from his, though they were brimming over. Almost without thinking Aydin conjured a chair before Yaretzi slumped to the ground. Jaziel’s hand steadied the chair as she fell on to it heavily. Aydin released his hold on her, and her eyes shifted away, to close, the tears spilling over.

  “I’m sorry,” Jaziel said, his voice softening in sympathy. Yaretzi opened her eyes to throw him a grateful glance, and Aydin saw see her calm down, the magic of Jaziel’s brown eyes working steadily. “We know this is a shock, and we won’t take much of your time. We just need to know a few things about Tatum and anyone she might have had a problem with at work, or any irate neighbours.”

  “Please,” Aydin added, and Yaretzi’s head turned to his, and her eyes were caught in his gaze again.

  She shook her head, almost a jerk rather than a smooth motion, her eyes on Aydin’s, his magic holding her in thrall. “I . . . I can’t think of anything. She was . . . everyone loved her here, and when we lived together, we got on with all our neighbours . . . just . . . I don’t . . . after we broke up, and she moved, I don’t know . . . I don’t know much about anything after that . . .”

  She was shaking as was her voice, and Jaziel placed a hand on the back of her chair, his thumb brushing her shoulder. The effect was immediate and palpable. Her breathing slowed, and so did the trembling, and Aydin released his hold.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, turning her amber eyes on Jaziel.

  “Any time,” Jaziel said, softly.

  Aydin tried not to look at her eyes now that he didn’t need to. It had been hard. They reminded him too much of another pair of eyes, and a voice that had called him Blue. He swallowed, pushing inconvenient memories to the back of his mind. He had to focus on the present, on the witness they had.

  “Is there anyone you can direct us to, after your broke up?” he asked. “Any colleagues who may know something?”

  “There’s Adyil. He used to work here, before he got transferred to Terreen, in the same office as Tatum. She left a few months after that, but if there’s anything, he should know.” Her eyes were back on his without prompting. At least, she understood the necessity for that.

  “Is there anyone who had access to that box?” he asked. “Other than you and Tatum?”

  She shook her head, bewildered. “I usually carry it with me, except when I’m sleeping, but no one could have taken it. It was coded to my blood, my magic. It’s impossible for anyone to have stolen it.”

  “Still, is there anyone who could have entered your apartment?” Aydin kept his gaze focussed on her. Jaziel was no longer using his magic, but Yaretzi seemed to have regained her composure somewhat. She was still pale, but not shaking.

  “A few neighbours, but I’ve known them all for years,” She still looked puzzled, and he saw the confusion on Jaziel’s face too. He didn’t understand what Aydin was getting at.

  “Does Adyil have access to your place?” It was a shot in the dark, almost a gut instinct.

  She hesitated, and he saw the lie spring to the tip of her tongue, but his gaze seemed to have changed her mind. “Yes,” she said, her voice barely audible now. “We . . . we had an affair for a time after I broke up with Tatum. He has a key to my place. I never asked for it back, but he couldn’t have taken the stone. He didn’t know of it. Even if he did, he couldn’t have opened it. I told you it was keyed to my blood and my magic.”

  “Thank you for answering our questions,” he said. “You’ve been very helpful.”

  “Are you going to find them?” she asked. “Whoever it was that killed her?”

  “That’s the plan,” Aydin said. “My name’s Aydin. Your people have my–”

  Her eyes had widened and she was on her feet. “You’re Aydin?” Disbelief coloured her voice. “She always spoke about you, you and her brother. She said you were a brother too, though you didn’t share the same blood or beliefs. I just . . . I never thought I’d meet you like this.”

  Aydin gave her a small smile before leaving the room, not knowing how to respond.

  Are we going to find this Adyil? Jaziel asked through a mindlink.

  Aydin nodded as he moved towards the robot again. They’re linked, the theft and the murder. He replied the same way. Someone didn’t want Yaretzi to know. A soulstone would have conveyed Tatum’s distress and pulled Yaretzi to her side. Someone was trying to prevent that.

  To ensure no one interfered. Jaziel nodded. Someone really wanted her dead.

  That was what bothered Aydin most of all. Who could have hated Tatum that much? To go to this extent to make certain she would be killed? That spoke of a powerful motive, and yet, nothing they had seen today indicated anyone with such motive. Considering she had been living in Derfis for so long, it seemed impossible that someone in Hisham had wanted her dead.

  “We would like to speak to the employees at your office in Tereem,” he said to the robot. “Anyone who might have worked with Tatum.”

  “Beksor used to be her immediate supervisor,” the robot replied. “I will schedule an appointment for tomorrow.”

  “What about Adyil?” Jaziel asked. “We understand he knew her while she was here as well?”

  “Adyil was involved in an accident two weeks ago, and is in a coma,” the robot said. “No visitors are permitted.”

  “If you can answer one more question.” Aydin said, just wanting confirmation of his vague theory. “What colour eyes does Adyil have?”

  “Pale yellow,” came the reply.

  The confirmation of his suspicions really didn’t comfort Aydin all that much.

  Seven

  V

  ihaan slumped on the couch, wishing he could drink. His hands twitched and he could feel the taste and the burn of alcohol in his mouth. He swallowed, and closed his eyes. He had given Aydin his word. He wouldn’t break it. Not for anything.

  It had been his first day back at work after Tatum’s death, and it was disastrous. He couldn’t focus, he kept wanting a drink and he nearly had a breakdown. In the end Ailani had told him to go home. He tried to calm himself down. He shouldn’t rely on Aydin so much. He was a grown man. He should be able to take care of himself.

  His phone rang, and he answered without even checking who it was. What did it matter? It was a distraction from his own head.

  “How are you doing?” Aydin’s voice came through. “Zendaya told me you left work early.”

  “Not good,” Vihaan said, not bothering to prevaricate. Their powers didn’t work over the phone, but Aydin always knew it when he was lying. “I’ll manage. Did you find out anything?”

  “Dead ends mostly,” Aydin said. “We’ll probably be heading home in a day or two. Think you can hold on till then?”

  “What makes you think I can’t?” Vihaan asked lightly. “I’m an adult. I can’t depend on you for the rest of my life.”

  “You can for as long as you need,” Aydin said. “I’m just concerned. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

  “Isn’t it like three am in Derfis now?” Vihaan asked. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

  “I’m in bed,” Aydin said, completely unruffled. “I’m also checking up on you. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, you know.”

  “You should get some sleep,” Vihaan muttered. “Aydin, you can’t do this forever.”

  “I can, however, do it for as long as you need me,” Aydin said. “Don’t fight it because you think I’m being put to trouble or something.”

  “It feels wrong to demand this of you,” Vihaan whispered. “It’s not that I’m not grateful, but . . . you have a life, Aydin . . . you can’t just keep on holding my hands until I get through this.”

  “Shouldn’t I be the judge of that?” Aydin asked. “I love you, and I’m glad to do this. What part of that don’t you understand?”

  Vihaan lay down on the couch, the phone held against his cheek, tears trickling down. “I love you too.”

  “I’ve ordered food for you. Make sure to eat. Get some sleep too.”

  “Look who’s talking,” Vihaan murmured.

  “I can sleep once I’m back home. Don’t worry about me.”

  A portal opened and a tray appeared on which was a plate of rice and a bowl of gravy which emitted an appetizing aroma. “Food is here,” he said.

  “I’ll leave you to have it in peace,” Aydin said. “Take care, Vihaan. I’ll call you later. Don’t argue. You know you would do the same for me.”

  Vihaan didn’t object. Aydin was right. He would do the same for Aydin. Besides, he needed this. The comfort and company Aydin provided, the affection, the care. He needed all that. And if he was selfish in not wanting to let go of that, of not pushing Aydin away harder, then so be it.

  He got up from the couch and took the tray. He hadn’t even realised he was hungry. Still, he wasn’t sure he would be able to eat. However, he wolfed down the food without tasting it. The spices couldn’t be denied though. He was surprised when the food was over.

  He debated on what to do next and decided to read. He opened the app on his phone and chose the universal library. It had books from all across the universe. He grimaced as he saw the names of familiar and unfamiliar galaxies on the screen. He picked one at random, choosing a planet again at random. Earth. Perfect. He’d never even heard of the planet.

  By the Skies. The title was promising as was the cover. Soon, he was lost in a world of magic and dragons and intrigue.

  I wouldn’t mind living in a world with dragons.

  Earth must truly be a remarkable place. He should get more books from there. His reading was interrupted by his phone ringing and he noticed with a jolt that it had been at least three hours. It was Zendaya calling, and Vihaan sat forward as he answered.

  “Any news?”

  “No,” She sounded apologetic. “I’m sorry, commander, but this is on boss’ orders to remind you to go to bed.”

  Vihaan nearly laughed for the first time since he lost Tatum. “Thank you,” he said. “I think I will.”

  He had no intention of going to sleep without knowing Kareia’s fate, however. He was thankful to the book and its author for so successfully distracting him that he had forgotten his terrible loss and the pain and emptiness inside that were his constant companions.

  Aydin hasn’t called yet.

  He had said he would call later, but it must be nearly six in the morning in Derfis. Aydin had been up at three talking to him, so it was likely he fell asleep. Vihaan turned to the book again. He would need to find out where exactly Earth was. If it wasn’t too far away, perhaps he could pay a visit and see a dragon or so. Everything sounded so fascinating there.

 

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