Monday, March 21, 2022 Ella’s childhood home, Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, United States

Ella felt energized after the weekend. And hungover.

Her mother had come in from the hospital tired and angry, having spent hours in surgery only to have the patient die later that day from COVID. They had lied about vaccination and had a fake card. So now her mother was in quarantine instead and was stuck in the bedroom.

Her father came home and was elated to see Ella. He told them about the classes he had been teaching and paper he had been writing. And how his old agent from the UK had reached out to see if he was interested in getting back into acting. The question is whether he should take a sabbatical to do it or not had been preoccupying him.

Harish was excited for college next year. To her credit, his current girlfriend wasn’t happy to hear how excited he was to head to UCLA next fall.

Despite it all, her parents had made a big production of how they hadn’t seen their dear daughter since New Years and cracked open some fancy bottles of wine they had been saving up. Her mother only grumbling a bit over the FaceTime they had to set up so she could participate despite the self quarantine.

Even Harish’s girlfriend’s plaintive cries of “Harreeee!” stopped getting on Ella’s nerves.

It was nice to bask in ’normal’ concerns and hope.

And when, that night, she had escaped back to Charlie’s, such escape secured with lots of promises to visit more often, Charlie had insisted on more drinking, which was seemed like a good idea at the time.

It wasn’t.

Aqrabuamelu compound, Flushing, Queens, New York, United States

As if Zaidu could smell weakness, he put them through a grueling run and then swimming with gear in Flushing Bay. It was cold and windy, but he had previously cut holes in the ice and had them swim from hole to hole in the winter, so it felt luxurious in comparison.

Well, until he started trying to shoot them with bright orange rubber bullets every so often. Ella was going to murder him. She could feel a welt forming on her back from where he had gotten her.

Then he had them put on scuba gear and go find his rubber bullets. Davcina and Etana had the lowest number of bullets recovered from the murky water, and ended up having to do fireman carries of the others on the way back.

Bastard.

When they got back, they took overly long lukewarm showers, and Ella requested to speak to Arcsa.

“I need to recover the Imperial Regalia.”

She sat across from Arcsa in his office. Bahu sat next to her. A bureaucrats office, it was loaded with journals and paper and two large computer monitors that steamed news and financial data and sundry other things.

And, in the corner of one screen, a number - 157,233 - the number of Aqrabuamelu in the world. Last time Ella had been in here, it had been a few numbers higher.

Arcsa had his professorial look in its full glory. shoulder length gray-black hair slicked back, silver spectacles, and an olive corduroy jacket with actual suede elbow patches.

Bahu, on the other hand, was in full military dress. Apparently she was a US Army Officer as her ‘day job.’

“I haven’t got much time before I have to get back to Fort Hamilton,” Bahu said. “But when I heard your request, I came right over.”

“Right now we know where three of the items are: the crown is on Ekerri’s head. He has the scepter as well. The bracelet is on that island that appeared off the coast of Africa. The dagger and the orb are unknown.”

Arcsa said, “One of those two is in South America.”

“How do you know?”

“Do you think all this paper is for show? That I like combing through the news all day in this dreary office? I keep my eyes open because the Thousand Kingdoms are opening up, magic is returning to the world. It will blow wide open eventually and nobody knows what that will mean.”

“Which is exactly my point. I need to position myself as the arbiter of change here. It will let me oppose Ekerri and leverage the biggest wildcard here. Humanity will react violently.” Ella said it, and took on the responsibility of what she had been thinking, “I want to, no, I need to find another way. For us to coexist. And to do that, I need power.”

They looked at one another. “I had people looking for the other items to deny them to Ekerri at least. I was going to look into unmaking them. I am more than a little reluctant to give them to anyone else.”

“Ekerri’s regalia each had a unique purpose. When Ekerri locked away magic, he used what he had and channeled the magic needed through these items. He placed them around the world to make it work. That is what we know.” Bahu added.

“Then how do you know South America?”

“We have been following your friend, Donna. She has gone to Chile several times, to a lithium mine in Atacama…. Here.” Arcsa pulled up a map and zoomed in.

“We think she has been meeting with Kothin. But we have very few assets down there and have been treading cautiously.”

“So the orb or dagger is in Chile maybe. What is going on with the bracelet? Since the UN locked down access, there has been a news blackout.”

“That we know plenty about. Bahu?”

“The UN Joint Task Force is just an excuse for each country to try and stake its claim. It started as a maritime grab for parts of the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean but the discovery by the news crew of the bracelet has led to a gold rush.”

She said this from rote, a briefing she had already given in her role at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

“China has lost two Jiaolong squads, France two, one COM FST and one Foreign Legion. India one SG squad. UK and US are both just watching right now.”

And then her posture changed, it was subtle but what she said was off-script from the briefing. “The Manticore must be hungry though. And probably in a foul mood.” She smirked. “All that Kevlar to chew through.”

Ella sat and tried to process what she had heard. “The Manticore? Human head, lion body, porcupine tail?”

“Scorpion tail!” Bahu laughed. “It was one of Ekerri’s creations after us. Unmanageable bitch, he kept it caged up most of the time. Damn near bit my hand off.” She shook her hand in remembered pain. “I loved that kitty. Hated me though.”

“So he found a use for it after all,” mused Arcsa.

“So how do I get the bracelet?”

Arcsa and Bahu looked at her.

And then broke out laughing. And not just a little laugh, but the belly-busting, run-out-of-breath, gasping type.

“Eleanor.” Bahu said trying to get serious. And then started laughing again.

Ella felt a bit cross. How was she to know? “Fine. Then South America.”

Her annoyance at being laughed at must have come out since Arcsa jumped in, “Eleanor, the Manticore is almost unkillable. It was a threat to everything, Ekerri himself. Those units Bahu just mentioned, those are the elite of the elite. And despite what she was told, I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t gnawing on the bones of a Delta Force operative or two that the US won’t admit it sent. When our other soldiers report in, we will know.”

Bahu managed to catch her breath, “The more troops they send to die, the more convinced they are of the value of what is in there. DIA analysts think it is all traps and the glimpses of the Manticore have been misdirection. Other country’s analysts think it is a genetically engineered killer or AI drone and this is all a test by one of their rivals. Those are the more reasonable guesses.”

“The truth is far more out there though,” said Ella to the agreement of the other two.

“So… Chile?”

“Chile,” they both agreed.