Save The Darkness

In that area lurked the pirates--groups of criminals too low for even the syndicate to deal with officially. They hid in the wreckage of Tartarus and would raid any ships that drifted too close.

Before this week, our informants within the pirate clans gave us reliable information on their movements, Mao thought. But apparently our information is in error.

He sighed.

He traced the ripples in the sand idly with the tip of his cane, mulling the idea over. He closed his eyes, only to open them again when he heard a disturbance in the house.

Mao rose to his feet as fast as the weight of eighty years wold allow and steadily made his way out of the garden to the receiving chamber. He anticipated seeing Toriares and Kienan, fresh from their mission to neutralize Merrin arrive for debriefing.

What he saw instead was two women throwing angry glances at his red-armored guards. One of them, the taller of the pair, was in one of the guard's face. Her hair was colored a wholly inappropriate color of blue and her eyes betrayed the kind of dumb arrogance that Mao had seen in thousands of bullies in his time.

The other woman, dressed in the same black white and blue uniform as the other, seemed more concerned with restraining her comrade instead of challenging the guards.

"What is going on here?" Mao demanded, smacking the tip of his cane on the floor. Everyone turned to face him. "What are you doing in my home?"

"Mao Xai Jan," the blue-haired woman said, bowing to him. "We've come a long way to speak with you. It's about the attacks on your ships. My name is Pirate Red; this is my sister, Kilana. I think we can help each other."

* * *

Kienan and Toriares had barely had time to rest before they were called to Mao's house four hours after he met with Pirate Red. Kienan had changed into his white silk suit, very similar to Toriares' but for their choice of tie color. Silhouette accompanied them, but frowned as she crossed into the receiving room. Kienan turned to say something to her, but she put up her hand.

"I know," she said. "I remember. I'll wait here." She sighed and sat on a nearby bench, adjusting her dark blue skirt. She spent a lot of time waiting when they met with their superiors. The Blue Dragons had maintained many traditions, but one of the most maddening for her was their refusal to admit women into the higher levels of power--not as courtesans, as assassins, as anything.

Just another wall, she thought gruffly. This wasn't helping her feel any closer to Kienan, especially as he'd barely said three words to her since they docked. And those walls he threw up around himself seemed to be bouncing the echoes of Toriares' words back at her.

The thing that bothered her most was the way he had told her. Like it was a matter of fact. She couldn't believe that of Kienan, even after seeing what he had done. Kienan had rescued her from the streets, cared for her even when she didn't know her own name.