The Sinistrati by E. V. Emmons
Author:E. V. Emmons [Emmons, E. V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-29T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter Twenty-Three
Remnants of lifelong nightmares and antidotes swam in Aresâs head. He was a boy again, walking the scorching sands of Acama, blisters forming on his bare feet. A massive sand wall roared toward the dig city where he and his mother lived. He limped toward their tent as fast as he could move, but the sand swallowed the camp whole before he could save them. He fell to his knees and wept, and the wall took on a familiar and unwelcome face.
âRanse!â He bellowed and sat upright. His rivalâs name left a bitter residue in the back of his throat. He winced under the bright light above him, and when the acrid smell of disinfectant filled his nose, he tasted bile.
Veles lowered the info pad heâd been reading and clacked his tongue. âI must say, Iâm quite disappointed, old friendâIâve sat here, dutifully, for hours and you call his name?â
Ares sighed. âIâm in no mood for your jesting, Veles.â
âNot to worry, the man gives me nightmares as well,â he teased. âItâll stay our little secret, I promise.â
âWhereâs the agent?â Ares demanded. âFarsicâI need to speak with him.â
âI would imagine heâs undergoing debriefing.â
âHow did I get here?â
âThe agent contacted your shipâ¦informed them of your medical emergencyâall the while attempting to treat you himself. Poor lad, I think he feared weâd execute him if you died.â
âYou probably would have.â
âProbably,â Veles conceded. âAdmiral Vilks made haste and saw to it you were returned to Messio and fortunately for you, I was the one who intercepted his communique. I had my personal physician treat you. If I understand correctly, you ran afoul of the slave broker, Dorgis Nil?â
âHow do you know this?â
âVilks informed me that you sought to challenge himâand I must say, your ruse worked splendidly.â
âAs usual, I suspect you know more about this than you rightfully should.â
âNot at all, old friend. The results of your efforts have been all over the news net.â
âI beg your pardon?â Ares snapped.
Veles tapped at his info pad with a flourish of fingers and turned the display to face Ares. The newsreel played clips of various aerial battles over Faine and the liberation of countless slaves from the Fainish camps.
âCongratulations, youâve managed to instigate an all-out war between the Ethosi and the Fainish slave trade. Both sides are suffering immeasurable casualties. In one fell stroke, you set two enemies of the Archontate against each other. Bravo,â Veles said, applauding softly. âI may need to start keeping an eye on you, my friend.â
Bile burned its way up Aresâs gullet and back down again. âAnd what of Ranse?â
âThis latest coup of yours eclipsed his accusationsâand in seeing the clever scenario you arranged, the others are more confident than ever that youâve always held the Archontateâs best interests at heart.
âRanseâs proxy and the Treguna incident, I assure you, are ancient history. In factâand you didnât hear this from me, but you are to be tapped to launch several campaigns, designed to break the Ethosi once and for all. Weâll drive them into such fits of desperation that theyâll play right into our hands.
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