Chapter Ten

Ten

"Marriel, read that back to me, please," Noel asked her aide, and the small jin sitting across from her desk shifted her wings impatiently. The lights within the park were glistening in the rain. It was long past normal work hours, but the news outlets needed a press release. The two bodies coming through the portal had been noticed, and if she didn't give the news something soon, they would begin to invent.

"Yes, madam." Marriel tucked her tablet stylus into a fold of her ribbon shirt. "General Han and his aide returned to us today, their bodies showing signs of stress indicative of mistreatment. Portal authority is running tests to determine whether death was caused by neglect or intentional. Our contacts at the Earth-side portal are working to discover who is responsible, with the intent to bring them to justice. There was a large gift of Earth flowers, which will be returned to the families of the deceased after a year of display and study."

Marriel's voice quavered at the end, and for a moment, Noel simply stared out the window at the glistening lights, tired.

"Madam?" the jin prompted, and Noel waved a hand for her assistant to bring her the tablet. The want to add that the promise of justice came from the same people who'd killed them was high, but that was opinion and she knew better—until opinion became fact. Renee had promised to find and give her the humans who had done this to her people. She had her doubts the small human would. And Mikail was still missing.

Noel's hand clenched, and she forced it to relax. When all the rings were tossed, it was her fault Han and Raphael had died. No matter that they had volunteered. No matter that their deaths were a foregone assumption. She should have pushed harder for their recovery.

The soft scratch on her office door brought both their heads up, and Noel straightened, annoyed when it was immediately pushed open. "Who—" she began when a mer so dark as to be almost black strode in, the jangle from his piercings loud in the late-night building. Behind him was a cloaked figure smelling of tea, her hood down and wings confidently draped behind her back.

Sidriel. Pulse hammering, Noel stood and gestured for her aide to do the same.

"Come with me, please," the dark mer said pleasantly as he held a hand out for the tablet, and Marriel looked at Noel for direction.

"That will be all for now, Marriel," Noel said, and the jin went with him.

Noel stood at her desk as Sidriel sat, hood up until the door shut behind them. "I'll send for some tea."

"No need. I won't be here long." The slight figure lowered her hood. "I'm here to tidy your press release."

"Tidy it?" Noel glanced at her chair, reluctant to sit. The desk was power, and she had none at the moment.

Foot bones popping in amusement, Sidriel gestured for her to take the adjacent chair. It felt too close, and Noel came out from behind her desk, wings tight to her back as she gingerly sat down. "I see General Han and his aide died in the wilds of Earth," Sidriel said lightly.

Noel's wing hem curled. "Tests indicate that his and Raphael's wounds were given over a substantial period of time—"

"Han died assisting his aide, alone in the wild areas of Earth. Both their creation sparks were lost. They never encountered humans," Sidriel said, her wings rising.

Oh. Noel looked at her door, fear a sharp pain. Marriel wasn't going to come back. Ever.

"There was no taint of abuse other than the usual moldering." Sidriel massaged her arthritic hands. "It is unfortunate that Earth-side bacteria necessitated an immediate cremation. If Mikail is found, I expect you to keep it quiet," Sidriel added. "Not parade his body through the portal in an organically draped coffin containing enough flowers to buy a continent."

Noel's eyes nictitated in a long blink. "Yes, Madam Sidriel." Marriel. The med techs. Puck help me—August? How far would the cover-up go? But Sidriel wouldn't be talking to her if her life was forfeit as well, and Noel forced her wing hem to uncurl.

"I appreciate your report," Sidriel said. "And your honesty. And while true, what happened will cause unreasonable and unneeded fear. Counterproductive in the long flight."

"They are predators," Noel said, nervous at Sidriel's presence. "Renee has promised me the identity of the humans who did this. Our people were tortured until death, then dissected, studied to learn how to kill us."

Sidriel lifted a wing in a shrug. "We will accept their lie of apology as well as their promise of justice and move forward. The Piers were predators until we tamed them. So calm, mild, and pliable now. Their ability to direct spark energy into healing is useful, and so they remain. Humans are no different." She hesitated. "Your environmentalist. August? He knows what happened to Han and his aide. Perhaps it is time to bring him home. He can work from here."

Worry flicked through her, and she looked at the door where Marriel had left. Not August. He is too valuable to lose in the name of keeping lies. "Yes, Madam Sidriel. But I need him there," Noel blurted, wanting to keep him safe. "He speaks the language better than anyone, and he's beginning to recognize lies in their body language. That's something that creation sparks can't give us."

Sidriel's eyes nictitated and Noel bowed her head, her pulse racing at the audacity of having asked for something. She was a theorist, a builder. A fool who sent thirty-four people to their deaths, she reminded herself. Wing-torn, what if Sidriel decides I'm not important?

"You will bring him home," Sidriel said. "I'm not concerned that he witnessed the truth. You will tell him you wish to keep it quiet, and he will. My issue is that he's too good at his job. I want a pair of breeding piscys across the portal, and he has thwarted all my attempts."

There was nothing she wanted more than August working in the tower, but now? With him knowing something Sidriel wanted quiet? "Madam Sidriel, if they escape—"

Sidriel's wing knuckles rose high as she stood and stretched, cowing Noel. "You will make sure they do. If they survive to breed, we will know in short order what can live on our world. If they do not, we will know what killed them a millennium ago. But not until August is home. Otherwise he will find an effective way to curtail them and we can't claim ignorance." She turned as her aide came back in. Marriel wasn't with him, and Noel clamped her wings to stop their quiver.

"I understand you have been asked to take part in an Earth-side interview to introduce us to the general population?" Sidriel asked as her aide handed her Marriel's tablet and retreated a step, waiting. "It's about time. Keep it positive." Sidriel scrolled, presumably reading the press release. "I will arrange for you to do the same here. I'm sure August will come home to assist you, and when he does, don't let him return. He could say something in their language. Perhaps relate a story of how he and the Renee human met. Mers and jins working together to pave the way to new relations. Our people need to remain open to this despite the tragedy."

"Yes, Madam Sidriel." Noel stood, head bowed as Sidriel went to the window to look down upon the park. August might return home to tell everyone how beautiful Earth was, but lying about Han and Raphael would not lift wing with him. Even if she told him to lie, he would tell the truth—and Sidriel would have him killed. What am I going to do?

"We can time your interviews here with the release of chipatos," Sidriel was saying, her back to her. "They are marvelous, and there have been no adverse reactions?"

"No, madam." Potato chips, Noel thought, not liking the lies. They grew and grew like piscy nests in a cupboard.

"Be happy, Noel." Sidriel's wings furled as she turned. "The portal is open! This is what we have been waiting our entire lives for. History will be marked from this." She gestured to encompass the world. "And you and August will always be a part of it."

Sure August wouldn't cleave to Sidriel's version of the truth, Noel dipped her wings in agreement, her eyes going to the tablet on her desk. The modified press release had already been sent, and the hide of her wings pricked at what history would call her. Lies; they were lies. But they were sanctioned by the portal authority, and to say otherwise would mean her death. I'm sorry, Marriel…

"You are doing well," Sidriel said as she moved to the hall. Her assistant opened the door, and the faint sound of the fountain at the base of the tower's lobby trickled in—it was so silent. Sidriel had cleared the building. "In thanks, I'm giving you the services of my assistant, Danail, from here on out."

Because you have eliminated Marriel, Noel thought, her hand shaking. "Thank you, Madam Sidriel," she whispered. He was a spy, taking dictation and bringing her a cup of hot tea.

"Your latest report was thorough, but there's one lack," Sidriel said, and Noel cringed, wondering how she could make herself useful enough to survive and distant enough to do the same. "You failed to communicate if there's any indication of humans possessing the ability to use creation energy."

"We haven't seen any sign of it," Noel said, but she hadn't asked August, and she wasn't sure she would now. The wrong answer might mean his death. "But we've been there in numbers for only a short span, and the only people who spend any length of time among us are Renee and Will. If anything, creation energy seems to have difficulty on Earth. It takes more time than usual for the sparks to begin to translate their words, if ever. I was there this afternoon and I had to work hard to catch even the conversation flow."

"I see." It was cold and unconvincing, and Noel lifted her wing knuckles in a false show of confidence. "You will find a way to resolve this question."

"Madam Sidriel—"

"Your environmentalist may be going native and withholding information."

Noel stifled a worried click. "August enjoys their company, madam."

"Another reason he can't be allowed to stay." Sidriel stood in the threshold to the hall, clearly eager to leave. "I need an unvarnished opinion. Bring him home. Take his place."

"Me?" Noel blurted, shooting a glance at Danail when he shifted his wings in a not-so-subtle reminder. Puck's piss bucket… "Madam—"

"Your work here is done, and only beginning there," the old jin continued, as if it was a great honor. "You are to search their holo archives for any sign of the missing sixteen creation sparks that came before us. General Han's and his aide's are missing, too." She hesitated. "And Mikail's. Even one returned spark would be useful. We could do a portal-based lottery," she added, her wings lifting in a show of excitement. "That always brings morale up."

"M-madam…" Noel stammered.

"You are welcome for the opportunity," Sidriel interrupted, head down as she moved to the door, assisted by Danail. "Your environmentalist was never meant to go. He will be safer here. When his interview responsibilities are done, take his place as the Earth side's main contact. It will be easier for you there to keep a wing within the air currents for any sign of them using creation energy. History says it is wild in them, that they can snap as we can, alter perceptions as did the Nix, and heal as do the Piers to extend life. If there's any indication of truth to this, tell me immediately so we may shift our slow, pleasant conquest rooted in contentment and shared wealth to fast and brutal. I will not lose Earth again."

"Yes, madam." Noel bowed her head, not sure she should believe Sidriel's claim that August would be exempt from her need-to-know purge. Not if he started spouting the truth in the streets. Noel's wing hem shook as the door clicked shut, leaving her alone for the time being, but Danail would be back. Aide or assassin? she thought, wondering if, in the end, it made a difference.

Worried, she went to the window, head bowed and wings clamped about her. One thing, though, was very clear. Sidriel's request wasn't intended to pull August from an unsafe position. It was to put both of them into more dangerous ones, where August could be fed the information that would have him work unknowingly toward the Earth's demise…and her own life could end with whatever story the old jin wanted if she stepped out of line. Sidriel would be free to write the history that served her best, and no one would be there to say differently.

But then again, Noel thought as she stood at the window and looked out upon their ruined world, the rain beating an ever-present song of doom, the telling of history is how worlds are won and lost.

And the old jin would have the Earth. Even to the loss of their own.