Pallas took the body from Lathan, holding the woman against his chest.
Graydon didn’t understand the flash of anger and disgust in the other man’s face. Especially when compared to the gentle way he handled her.
"Lathan will remain with you. You'll have need of him," Pallas said.
"And where will you be?"
A void of black yawned beneath Pallas's feet. "I have business to take care of."
The rift swallowed Pallas and the woman, leaving no evidence of their passage.
"Will he be alright?" Graydon asked Lathan.
The wanderer's face remained calm as he moved over to help Solal and Devon lay out the children. "He will grieve. And then he will kill."
Graydon glanced at the spot where Pallas had just been. "How very Tuann."
Lathan's smile was soft. "Yes."
There was a commotion as his oshota found a boy lying on the ground, just returning to consciousness. A general who looked confused as he took in the semi-destroyed state of the room.
"What happened?" the boy asked.
Raider whipped up his rifle, aiming it at the youth’s head. Graydon's oshota unsheathed their en-blades to point them at the boy.
Elena threw herself between them and the general, her hands held out placatingly. "Don't hurt him. He's with me."
"Not you too," Raider groaned, his rifle lowering slightly.
Elena looked puzzled for a moment before her face brightened. "Auntie is working with them, isn’t she?"
The general held still, aware that his continued existence hinged on Elena’s actions.
Smart. Maybe he could be of some use after all.
Graydon prowled toward him, stopping just out of reach. "You’re in luck. I’m going to offer you a choice. I suggest you consider it carefully."
The general’s gaze lifted to Graydon’s, a question in them.
"You may come with us—or stay here."
If he chose the second, he would die before the words finished leaving his mouth. Graydon wouldn’t risk leaving behind a liability. He was already being magnanimous enough in offering him this opportunity. One that was only possible due to the vow Kira had made to Aeron.
Emotion chased across the boy's features before defeat settled over his face. "You might as well just kill me. I can’t leave or else they’ll punish my family line. If I stay, my fate will be worse than death when they learn of the exalted one’s demise."
Elena looked stricken at that response.
On the other hand, Raider seemed considering. "There is a solution to that dilemma. It’s a bit out of the box though."
Graydon raised his eyebrows at the human.
Raider offered him a shrug. "We fake his death—Kira style."
Elena clapped her hands excitedly. "That’s it. If we take some of his DNA and fabricate it, it should be enough. Especially if we blow this place up on our way out. They’ll assume his body got caught in the blast."
Raider gave his child a careful look, his expression turning dark as Elena walked over to Graydon to reach into Kira’s battle suit. "Why is your plan so specific?"
"Auntie taught me what to do," Elena answered, withdrawing a tiny device from Kira’s pocket.
