A Call for Brighter Days: Aeriel Trilogy #2

Dai’s funeral was perhaps less elaborate than Subhas Kinoh’s had been, but it was no less crowded.

Shwaan grabbed Kitty by the scruff of her neck and slipped behind a large fig tree. The mafia’s attack on the South Ragah Division Hunter Quarter had made international news. The funeral venue was teeming with reporters.

And the reputation he’d painstakingly cultivated last year – that of an aristocratic blabbermouth – drew the press to him like bees to a honeypot.

Shwaan sighed.

Empathizing with his frustration, Kitty dug her claws into his wrist.

He flipped her over with one hand and seized her paws with the other. If he’d been human, his cuffs would’ve been soaked in blood. As it was, the claw marks disappeared before they’d even had a chance to form. Pulling on the sleeves of his stifling Zainian tunic, he glanced around to make sure no one had noticed their little scuffle.

Closer to the podium, Ruban was speaking quietly with Hema, as some minor politician delivered a drawn-out speech a few feet away. Rinku was crying, her head resting on Faiz’s shoulder. The latter had his arms around her, and was whispering soothingly into her ear.

She’d been crying incessantly since the funeral proceedings began. Which was how Shwaan had ended up on cat duty. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t mind. He liked Kitty. She reminded him of Miranki – fluffy and temperamental.

It’d been a while since he last saw his sister’s pet firebird. It’d been a while since he last saw his sister.

In the periphery of his vision, a camera flashed. Balancing Kitty precariously in his arms, Shwaan turned to flee. This was the problem. Cats and reporters were hard enough to manage individually. Together, they were a nightmare.

“Lord Kwan,” a shrill voice beckoned him, prompting a hiss from Kitty.

Shwaan closed his eyes, tamping down on the urge to unfurl his wings and fly away. In a crematorium full of Hunters, he probably wouldn’t get very far. Pasting on a smile, he turned around. At least Casia Washi wasn’t here. One had to count the small mercies.

“Lord Kwan, what do you think about the increased Aeriel activity in Ragah since Tauheen’s death?” The large-eyed, brown-haired woman stepped forward, holding out her microphone to Shwaan. “Do you believe that, perhaps, shattering the Aeriel hierarchy by killing their queen was a mistake on the part of the Hunter Corps? What’s Zaini’s stance on the recent Aeriel attack on a Hunter Quarter? Are they preparing for a similar escalation of hostilities?”

Still smiling, Shwaan glanced down at the press card around her neck. CXN News. One of Viman Rai’s lackeys, then. He did train them well, Shwaan had to give him that. If he wasn’t the one being put on the spot, he’d appreciate this intrepid pursuit of a story against all odds.

“I – uh – it does seem to be turning into quite the problem, doesn’t it?” Thankfully, no one expected Ashwin Kwan to say anything particularly intelligent or insightful. “I daresay the ambassador will be better equipped to tell you how Zaini plans to collaborate with Vandram to overcome the growing menace of the feather mafia.”

“I’m sure. But, in your opinion, could Tauheen’s death last year have been a reason for this attack–”

“Ashwin! Thank God I found you.” Kitty startled, hissing, as Simani joined them under the fig tree. “Ruban will be taking the podium any minute now. You don’t want to miss his speech, do you?” Without waiting for a response, she slipped an arm through his, offered an apologetic smile to the reporter, and strode off, dragging Shwaan and Kitty in her wake.

By the time Simani came to a stop, they had crossed the podium and reached the other – less crowded – end of the venue. Shwaan could hear Ruban’s somber voice, amplified by the microphone, but the words were indistinct.

Kitty wriggled in his arms and meowed apprehensively.

“I wonder if she knows he died to save her.” Simani’s gaze was fixed on the distant podium as she scratched Kitty under the chin. The cat purred happily in response.

“I wonder if she knows why she’s here.” Shwaan sighed, adjusting her weight in his arms. “I know I don’t.”

“Rinku wanted to bring her. And I told Ruban to bring you because I knew she wouldn’t be in any state to look after Kitty once she got to the venue.”

“Honored to know you think me a capable cat-sitter.”

“You’re good with the children.” She shrugged. “How different can it be?”

“Not very. Do you have her harness?”

Simani flicked open her handbag and handed him the harness and leash. After a bit of scratching and scuffle, Kitty was on the ground, head-butting their legs and sniffing the grass suspiciously. Shwaan wrapped the leash once around his fingers and slipped both hands into his pockets.

“Something on your mind?” he asked, after a few minutes had passed in comfortable silence.

“Yes, actually.” She lit a cigarette and offered him the pack. He shook his head. “Ruban’s been acting a bit…odd, lately. You can’t have failed to notice that.”

Shwaan raised an eyebrow.

Simani huffed. “You and your Zainian wiles. You know perfectly well what I mean. He’s been cagey, secretive. Always has information he shouldn’t have access to, never tells us where he got it. Ever since Subhas died, Ruban’s been different. And I don’t know why. I thought it was just the shock but… It’s more than that. I’ve never seen him like this before.”

“I take it you have your suspicions.” Kitty meowed and pawed at Shwaan’s leg. He reached down and scratched her obligingly behind the ears. “You wouldn’t be telling me all this if you didn’t have a theory.”

“It’s just a theory. And I’m not good with theories. Facts – those I can work with.” She shook her head as if to clear it. “So I want you to confirm it. Or not. But either way, I need answers, Ashwin.”

He smiled, straightening. “It’s flattering that you think I’d have them.”

“You still want to play the dumb aristocrat with me?” She rolled her eyes. “I was the one who helped you leak the SifCo footage to CXN, remember? You aren’t as stupid as you’d like us to believe. I’ve known that for a while now. And at this point, you’re my best bet.”

“What is it, then? This theory of yours? Let’s have it.”

“I think…” She flushed; bit her lip. “Well, to be honest, I think he’s in contact with Aeriels.”

As Shwaan’s second eyebrow joined the first, she looked away, her color deepening. “Or at least one Aeriel. Look, I know it sounds ridiculous. But if you knew what I do, you’d agree that it’s the only possibility that makes any sense.”

“And what do you know?”

Simani frowned, cleared her throat. “I don’t know if I should be telling you this. But I don’t know who else to talk to. I don’t want to cast aspersions, but–”

In the distance, Ruban’s voice rose as his speech came to a close. Simani’s gaze flicked over to the podium, then back again.

“But you’re his friend, right? And you’re not connected to the Hunter Corps or the IAW in any way. If it’s safe to talk to anyone about this – if anyone can help me, help him – it’s you.”

The urge to fly away was stronger than ever, now. Shwaan dug his feet into the earth and inhaled deeply. He didn’t need to breathe, but somehow, it always grounded him. Allowed him to partake in a vulnerability he’d never truly experience.

“What do you want from me, Simani?”

“I want you to tell me I’m wrong.” She took a drag of her cigarette and blew smoke into the air. “And if you can’t, then I want you to tell me what the hell is going on with my partner?”

“I don’t–”

“Have you seen him…I don’t know…meeting with Aeriels? Talking about them? Talking to them?”

“Talking to Aeriels?” Shwaan laughed. “Next thing I know, you’ll be accusing him of having an affair with one. What’s the matter, really? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on; what’s made you think any of this.”

A minute passed in silence as Simani smoked the last of her cigarette. “During the attack…” She tossed the cigarette butt to the ground and stubbed it out with her foot. “At the Quarter…”

“Yes?” He prompted, as Kitty pounced on Simani’s boot.

“One of the Aeriels attacking us was talking to Ruban. Threatening him.”

“That’s kind of what Aeriels do, isn’t it? Hardly seems incriminating to me.”

“I didn’t hear all of it. There was too much mayhem.” She threw up her hands. “Fighting. Killing. General destruction. But, the Aeriel said something, and I just… I can’t get it out of my head.” Her hands clenched into fists. “It accused the Hunter Corps of working with Aeriels. Said the IAW is collaborating with them.”

“With Aeriels? The IAW?” Shwaan allowed himself a smile. “Well, clearly it was lying. There’s no way that can be true.”

Simani nodded. “A month ago, I would’ve been sure of it. But after what happened out in those fields–”

“What do you mean?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Hell, I wouldn’t have believed me, if I hadn’t seen it for myself. But there was this Aeriel that the mafia was supposed to be Hunting. And God knows how Ruban came to know about that. The information didn’t come from the IAW; I checked with them.” She shook her head. “Anyway, we planned an ambush. This was just after the attack in North Ragah. More than two hundred people were dead. And we thought, maybe if we could capture some of them…”

“You did. Ruban told me you arrested two members of the Qawirsin that night.”

“Yes. But we wouldn’t have, without help. If it weren’t for that Aeriel, the one that the Qawirsin were supposed to be Hunting, I would’ve died that night. It was helping us. I don’t know why, but it was. And the thing is, Ruban didn’t seem surprised by that at all. If anything, he seemed to be expecting it.”

“Simani.” Shwaan held out his hands. “I know Ruban can be a bit…weird, at times. But you’re probably overthinking this.”

“I thought so, too. I wanted to believe it. But then, that Aeriel showed up at the Quarter and killed Dai–”

“The one that was helping you?”

The speeches had finally ended, and people were drifting away from the podium, spreading across the venue in clusters of five and six.

She shook her head. “No. Another one. The one which accused the IAW of working with Aeriels. It fled before the backup arrived, else we’d have had our answers by now. But it was there during the ambush, too. And it said something about…someone called Maya.”

Shwaan flinched.

Simani’s eyes lit up. “Do you know who that is? Or what?”

“No. I just–”

“Ashwin, please.” She took his hands in hers, her eyes pleading. “I know you’re loyal to Ruban. But I’m doing this for him. I want what is best for him, too. If you know anything, just…” She waved at Faiz and Rinku, who were approaching them from the other side of the venue. “Just let me know. Because if somebody else finds out about it before us, it could destroy him. It could destroy everything.”