Kira caught Graydon's arm. "Don't react."
From the looks of things, the forty three had decided to test Graydon. Kira remembered it from her times in the camp. It's what they did on the rare occasion someone new entered the group.
They were learning his limits. What made him tick. What made him angry.
"They won't hurt me."
Though there was that one time they'd broken her arm. And her leg.
"I'm reasonably sure they won't," Kira added.
Graydon gave her a look as if to ask if she was kidding.
Kira shrugged. "They're unpredictable."
"Don't tease the poor man. The Tuann aren't known for their humor." The woman lay on her stomach in the air, her knees bent and her feet kicking lightly behind her. "Of course, we're not going to kill you. We went to a lot of trouble to invite you here."
The woman paused, her smile growing until she was grinning as wide as a jester. "At least we won't kill you today."
"Keep messing with him, Thea. I'll let him do what he wants," Kira threatened.
It was one thing for Kira to stay Graydon's hand. Another to listen to this woman taunt him.
"Don't play with strangers, Thea," someone called from the stands. "You don't want to be contaminated with their madness."
Thea pretended to be horrified, theatrically pressing her hands to her mouth and quailing away from them.
"No wonder you pretend they don't exist," Graydon said to Kira, not taking his eyes off the other woman. "I'd avoid them too."
Thea dropped all pretenses, revealing the cold blooded killer that was inside. "Careful, puppet. We won't kill her, but you're not so safe."
Graydon looked delighted at the threat. "Give me a reason to act. I beg you. Your head is currently only still attached to your body out of consideration for Kira."
The silky tone in his voice had alarm shooting through Kira. It seemed he’d done a very good job of hiding his rage. To the point where she’d thought he’d let slide what Pallas had done.
Instead, he’d been suppressing it. And now it was leaking through. Just itching for a target.
"Enough, Thea," a man rumbled from the shadows gathered at the base of one of five statues guarding the top of the wall. Haldeel warriors all of them. Their implacable expressions conveyed solemnity and expectation. As if they were waiting for those below to prove something to them.
Their presence answered part of the question of where they were. Haldeel territory. The oubliette they were standing in was evidence of that. It was a sacred proving ground that the Haldeel once used for combat and judgment. It had largely fallen out of fashion in the past thousand years or so, to be replaced by the quorum and games like the stratagem.
The oubliettes still existed though. Mostly on planets that had been in the empire for a long time.
Occasionally, challengers still appeared, but it was rare.
A hushed somberness pervaded the space. An almost holy feeling imbuing the atmosphere.
Kira scanned the statue, noting the Haldeel armor it wore. A more ancient version of what she was used to. The distinctive paneled skirt allowed for free range of movement for the eight prehensile appendages that made up the warrior's lower half. A spear-like weapon similar to the trident they used in current times was held in their hands.
As fascinating as the peek into Haldeel history was, it was the man standing at the statue's base that drew Kira's attention.
Her eldest brother. Her personal nemesis. And the man who while not officially recognized as the forty three's leader, certainly acted like he thought he was.
"Hello, Ryan," Kira said, focusing on the place where she knew he was standing. "I take it I have you to thank for involving Elena in my business."
Ten
The silence that answered her question dragged on for what felt like an eternity. The shadows Ryan was using to hide, deep pools of impenetrable black.
