Chapter Thirteen
Dahlia sent Nel back to his post, confident he’d be able to make his own way by now. She set off for the meeting hall herself as Traedon went to locate Borreal. As she walked the path in the moonlight her mind flickered through all the scenarios, each one worse than the last.
Once again it seemed all the captains had been requested, roughly a third were present. Horan was among them. Dahlia forced herself not to go to the opposite end of the room from him but she did instinctively tighten her shield. She didn’t need any sort of encore from the last time she’d run into him.
Ravin walked in a few moments behind her but he didn’t seem to take particular note of her presence, just made a general sweep of the room then slouched against the wall to one side. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. Once again it seemed that he’d been clothed for bed when he’d been summoned. His low, lightweight pants did more to emphasize his body than conceal it. His powerful chest and abdomen were fully on displayed. There really wasn’t any part of him that wasn’t corded with muscle, she mused. His eyes drooped and he hung his head as though disinterested but she could tell he was alert, taking in the atmosphere of the room.
Dahlia focused, keeping the shield guarding her own thoughts and emotions tightly in place while allowing her mind to scan the room for surface level emotions. She found nothing of interest, everyone seemed as unsure as she was.
Within ten minutes everyone had arrived. The message from the previous summons added to the urgency of this one. Last to enter were Borreal, Traedon, and Mazaran. Mazaran mounted the platform and began to speak.
“Captains, I must inform you that we have another traitor in our midst. Whether by force or freewill a ranked member of the research team is gone and casualties have been sustained. One guard stationed outside the secondary entrance to the research center is dead and another severely wounded. The wounded member was able to rouse himself after the attack to raise the alarm so we have a team from special forces sweeping the barracks and surrounding areas looking for the research member and a possible captor. A second team has secured all possible exits.”
Dahlia scanned the crowd again but couldn’t sense anything through the shock pervading the room.
“I trust both teams’ discretion but there is no way to keep this quiet as we did with the previous attack. You will all explain to your members the situation, both this attack and the previous. Then double your guards. I think we can expect to see further action from our enemy.”
“Research members are reviewing everything the missing member was working on that could be related to the journal we recovered,” Mazaran continued. “They will discuss it with Captain Borreal. Nothing will be held back. We cannot take any further action until the enemy’s purpose is discovered. We cannot effectively defend unless we know where they might strike. The interest in research along with other details Captain Borreal has uncovered point to a threat in that direction. So the only step besides a general increase in the guards is to place members of the research team under surveillance and protection for the indefinite future.”
He paused and let the situation sink in. “Would anyone like to add something?”
There was silence for a moment then Horan stepped forward “Captain Mazaran may I ask, the guard that survived, did he witness anything about his attacker?”
Mazaran acknowledged the question with a nod. “No, it seems he was attacked first. We believe the attacker neglected to deliver a fatal strike because he was distracted by the second guard then fled, fearing discovery.”
Horan stepped back.
Mazaran spoke again, “Captains, you are dismissed except Captain Borreal, Captain DeMorra, and Captain Jahwei. If you could please remain.”
The other captains left along with Traedon as Borreal motioned for him to wait outside. Mazaran addressed Jahwei first. As the leader of the special forces, his team was currently searching for the attacker.
“Captain Jahwei, when your team has finished please have them trade off shifts patrolling the perimeter. If someone tries to escape that way I’d like to know as soon as possible.”
Jahwei bowed and left.
“Captain DeMorra, you know the man who is likely involved in this and, I am told, came in contact with some of his work. Dr. Ahriman. Would you be able to locate him based on the psychic pattern?”
Dahlia bowed her head, “Captain Mazaran, were he unguarded I would be confident in my ability to locate him. But I do not expect he is unguarded nor do I expect he is unprepared. The trap left in the prisoner’s mind may have been set to merely wound me or he may have underestimated my abilities but there is no doubt that it was placed there so if someone were to discover the concealment then the traitor’s mind would be destroyed and the person probing his mind would be injured. He is expecting psychic warfare.”
Mazaran nodded, “Very well. Will you reset your previous trap in case the new attacker is still in one of the barracks?”
“Yes, I will make a more durable one now that can identify more than one individual.”
“Thank you Captain DeMorra, your efforts on our behalf are valued.”
Dahlia recognized it as a dismissal, bowed her head, and left.
Traedon was waiting outside the door, “He asked you to stay behind?”
“Yes, the same trap I set that branded Macada will need to be placed again.”
“Isn’t that risky? If they know the first trap was sprung...”
“I’ll be fine, Traedon. Turn your mind to aiding Captain Borreal and we will all rest easier.”
Traedon nodded. Despite their relationship she was still his superior officer. Anything else he said, no matter where his concern stemmed from, would be seen as disrespectful by any other party watching. She wanted to reassure him but didn’t want to risk being observed. Instead she placed a hand on his shoulder and met his eyes.
“I appreciate your concern,” was the most she could say.
He nodded, then she left him to walk back to her room. She’d need a good amount of rest before attempting this.