Final chapter in the RRL release. I'll be posting the Epilogue sometime this week.

Chapter 19.

(Arisa)

#

The lockdown of the Islands affected travel between the habitats as well. As a result, tens of thousands of people were trapped within the various habitats of Pharos with no way to return home until the lockdown was lifted

Squadrons of Enforcer drones flew in the sky between the megascrapers.

At street level, numerous armored personnel carriers floated by on lev-fields generated by oversized effect-field emitters.

An armor-suited Enforcer stood at every street corner, resembling an immense gorilla hefting an equally immense rifle.

Maybe the Enforcer Division believed this show of force would reassure the public they were safe. Honestly, it was more a show of intimidation than concern for the public’s wellbeing.

I was caught by the incident while waiting at the mag-lev station for a train to Galatea Academy. Today was the one day I’d planned not to try, and resorted to public transport instead to move about Habitat One. My intention had been to hurry over the Academy and speak with Maya and Rina in person. I wanted to inform them of my guardianship over them.

However, my classes and practical session ran late, and by the time I arrived at the mag-lev station the evening crowd had swelled to stifling proportions.

Then news of an emergency sounded across every possible public address systems.

Five minutes later, the Islands were in lockdown.

The incoming mag-lev arrived at the station, and deposited its passengers but closed its doors to new boarders. It floated away down the track, making room for the next mag-lev due to arrive. As the platform and station were already at crush capacity, I squeezed my way out of it and onto the sidewalk, but with so many people trapped in the habitat pedestrian traffic was at its horrible best.

Somehow I came across a family restaurant that was open until late, and was fortunate to obtain myself a bench window seat before the mounting pedestrian traffic swelled into the establishment and took up the last of the unoccupied seating.

While reading the announcements on my palm-slate, I considered making the walk from here to Galatea Academy. As best I figured the school was about six districts away, so it would take me an hour on foot to arrive there. But as I studied the throng of people on the street outside the restaurant, I chose to reconsider.

There was no chance of getting to the Academy in that flood of human bodies.

My stomach rumbled, and I briefly considered getting up and buying something from the counter, but I was certain to lose my seat. Then I remembered buying a handful of chocolate fruit bars before my practical session, and tossing them into my bag.

I was fishing around for them when my palm-slate rang, and a glance at the screen identified the caller as Lavinia Mason.

I took the earpiece out of the slate’s casing and pushed the bud into my right ear, then quickly answered the call.

It was bad news from the start.

First, Mason delivered the unexpected news of Caprice being spirited away from the Academy by her family. According to the representative of the Steiners who contacted Mason after the event, Caprice Steiner was in their protective custody.

The news both stunned and angered me.

Then I learnt of Caelum’s fight with Klaus Shepherd afil Raynar, a male student who according to Mason had succeeded in pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. The situation was under control, and both young men were cooling their heads in the underground detention cells.

However, when Mason informed me that Simone Alucard had been assaulted by Caprice, I felt oddly relieved. It was something I’d expected to happen sooner rather than later, an inevitable outcome. As the pressure built up between them, something had to give. Nonetheless, it wasn’t news that I could take with a smile. It made my heart sink, and my stomach twist unpleasantly, while confused feelings sweltered in my chest.

While listening to Mason, I munched on a fruit bar, and stared at slow moving throng of people on the sidewalks.

Something has to give, I thought to myself. But what will it be?

The call ended abruptly, cutting off Mason mid-word.

I glanced down at it in surprise that quickly turned to confusion, and then alarm when the message SERVICE DISCONNECTED began to blink on my screen. The emergency icon was still displayed, informing me that I would only be able to make calls to emergency services.

However, my palm-slate wasn’t the only one to suffer a loss of signal.

All around me, people on their palm-slates began complaining either to themselves or their companions as their devices lost communication service.

Thinking it might help, I reset my slate, but when it resumed functioning, the call service was remained unavailable. Then I noticed I could no longer access then Nexus.

My attention was caught by something blinking in the window before me. It was the reflection of a holovid screen. I turned in my seat, and located it floating below the ceiling near the middle of the restaurant dining area, barely visible above the heads of the people standing between the occupied tables. A few moments later another rectangular holovid window winked life, then another, and another, until soon it was possible to see a screen from wherever in the restaurant you either sat or stood.

When the words, IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT began to scroll repeatedly across the holovid windows, the noise in the restaurant began to die down as conversations became hushed or ceased altogether. The words scrolled by a number of times, as though whomever was responsible was waiting for the attention of every individual inside the restaurant to be focused on the screens. With a quick glance outside, I saw dozens of holovid windows occupying the space below storefront awnings.

Then the screens fell to black, before showing a stereotypical pressroom, a lectern, and a distinguished looing gentleman with greying hair, dressed in the Enforcer Division uniform befitting a senior officer.

As though waiting for an audience to settle down, his eyes swept left and right over the assembled viewers, and I had the unnerving sensation that for one heartbeat in time his eyes met mine.

In a firm, commanding tone, he addressed the citizens of Pharos.

The more I listened to him, the more my stomach knotted painfully, while around me people began to gasp in disbelief as we all started to fear for the future.

#

(Caelum)

#

In the quiet of the detention cell deep below the Academy, I lay half-seated on the bunk, with my back resting against the metal headrest.

As punishment for my infraction, I was detained until Arisa saw fit to pick me up, and assume custody over me. In addition to being incarcerated, my bracelet had been taken from me. It would be returned upon my release, although that was entirely up to Arisa as well.

I closed my eyes, and bent my neck back.

The bracelet had been taken away, but my link to the Kaiser’s Blessing was unbroken.

When I unlocked the seal on the Skin-Regalia, the Kaiser’s Blessing had implanted a link device into the nape of my neck. That device had spent the day growing into the base of my brain, the cerebellum and possibly beyond into my cerebrum, eventually establishing a link between my mind and the Kaiser’s Blessing.

It was the reason for the headaches I’d endured on and off during the day.

However, I no longer needed the bracelet to summon the Fragment.

For the sake of appearances, I decided to continue relying on the bracelet until my secret was eventually discovered. That would be sooner rather than later, as I had no doubt the Lanfears knew about this feature of the Kaiser’s Blessing.

I wasn’t troubled at the prospect of being discovered.

I was troubled knowing I had a part of the Kaiser’s Blessing inside of me.

Kaleb’s recounting of how the previous Meisters had either died, or failed to fully recover after failing to unlock the final seal, began to weigh heavily on my mind, more so now that I had the implant inside my neck and brain. It was hard not to think of it as a ticking time bomb, and if I was now hardwired to the Kaiser’s Blessing, what did that mean for the ghost in my Fragment?

For now, the ghost was quiet. However, during my fight with Klaus Shepherd, I had struggled against the ghost’s influence. Eventually, the ghost and I had overlapped to some degree, forming the union of two individual sets.

An odd calm had descended upon me, evaporating the ice-cold rage.

Within the intersection of the ghost and I, an unsettling battle sense had been instilled, allowing me to counter everything Shepherd threw at me. It went beyond what I had experienced when I fought Celica in the Vault Chamber. This time, I was clearly in control while allowing myself to be guided by the ghost within the Kaiser’s Blessing.

My thoughts turned to the question of the ghost.

What in high heavens is it?

I opened my eyes, and looked up at the grey-white ceiling of the nondescript detention cell.

The ghost…I wonder if it’s the ghost of those who wielded the Kaiser before me.

I grimaced faintly at the thought, but couldn’t think of any other explanation.

Maybe it’s time I confronted Arisa and got some answers from her.

I heard the sounds of clothes rustling from the cell adjacent to mine.

It was true that I could summon the Kaiser’s Blessing without the use of the bracelet, but I was without the Awareness-field I’d grown accustomed to. I was back to perceiving my surroundings through my five senses. Without the Awareness-field, I’d lost my ability to see around corners…or sense the presence of someone nearby.

“Hey Desanto, still brooding dark and dangerously over there?”

Shepherd called out to me in a light and easy tone from the cell neighboring mine. He too had his bracelet confiscated. I wondered if his Lucifer possessed the same ability as my Kaiser’s Blessing. Was there an interface imbedded in his brain as well?

“What do you want?” I muttered in reply, just loud enough for him to hear me.

“Since it’s just the two of us, I thought I’d come clean. In return, I have a question for you.”

I took a long deep breath. “You’re wondering how I knew about the autonomous tendril you implanted in Haruka and Simone.”

“Yes. I refer to it as the Iago Element.”

I frowned slightly. “In reference to Shakespeare’s Othello?”

“Indeed. Of course, its abilities exceed just being a whisper in the ear. It’s quite the handy little devil. So how did you learn about it?”

I exhaled loudly. “The Kaiser’s Blessing told me.”

“Really now?” He clicked his tongue. “How vexing….”

I shook my head slowly. Was that all he had to say?

What I told him was the truth. The Kaiser’s Blessing had informed me of the Lucifer’s ability to implant a tiny part of itself in the brain of a human host and thereby influence them. Its method of influencing the host was different to the influence a Familiar could exert on an Aventis. It wasn’t limited to the Aventis, and could be used on Regulars and Familiars. I learnt all this at the end of our fight, when Weinberg interfered just as I felt I was getting the upper hand on Shepherd. The Kaiser’s Blessing had suddenly provided the revelation, as though it was remembering something it had simply ‘forgotten’.

Shepherd sighed audibly. “Well, you can rest easy now. I instructed my Lucifer to dispose of them. The process is quite harmless. The Iago Element will break down and eventually be flushed out of the host’s body.”

I cocked my head slightly toward the wall. “Why did you do it?”

“There wasn’t any need for it anymore.”

“No, why did you do it in the first place? Why Influence Haruka and Simone?”

I heard his bunk creak a little, probably from him changing his posture upon it.

“I told you, didn’t I? I needed Amiella’s help to separate you from Steiner. Nothing more and nothing less. I wasn’t certain if it would work, but it was worth a shot.”

He shifted on his bunk some more.

“I was transferred here to Galatea Academy to safeguard Caprice Steiner. To watch over her and keep her safe. With you at her side, my time with her was limited. However, for the past year there was little sign of danger toward her, so I was content to sit back and observe her from a distance. That changed when Crimson Crescent invaded the Academy and she took part in that ridiculous attempt to protect it. The Steiner Family instructed me to approach her, and work my way into her confidence. Essentially, to push you out of the picture.”

“Because they don’t believe I can protect her.” I felt myself frown. “Then tell me, who are you protecting her from?”

Shepherd snorted. “You really don’t know? Are you telling me you know nothing of her circumstances? Don’t you know anything about her family history?”

I swallowed down the bitter taste of truth to his words. “Caprice doesn’t talk much.”

“If you were truly interested in her, if you really meant to stand by her side, if you she was a special person to you—then you would have found the means to learn the truth about her.”

I clenched my jaw and averted my eyes to the opposite side of the cell. “I was waiting for her to tell me…I figured one day she would tell me on her own….”

“That’s just an excuse,” he retorted. “An excuse to do nothing. As I said, you really don’t belong at her side.”

I clenched my jaw, wishing I had my bracelet so I could summon a barrier-field around a fist and punch a hole through the cell wall. “And you claim you do?”

“It’s not whether I do or don’t. I was given a task, and I intend to carry it out.”

“Is that all she is to you?”

“Are you asking whether I have feelings for her?” He was quiet for a long while. “I can’t say. I find her…intriguing.”

He was silent for a good deal longer, forcing me to prompt him along. “What about Simone? Why did you influence her?”

Shepherd exhaled long and low. “I needed the Countess to keep quiet after she discovered my recruiting of Haruka Amiella to my cause.”

I sat up a little higher against the metal bedhead.

I wasn’t oblivious to the truth, especially after it had been hammered into me these last two days: Simone and Caprice had their differences, and I was the reason behind them. I wasn’t in a position to deny that any longer. When I learnt of Caprice injuring Simone, I believed with a sinking feeling it was my fault those two had come to blows, and that’s why I was puzzled by Shepherd’s decision to silence Simone.

“Why would you want to keep her quiet?” I asked him. “Why didn’t you recruit her to your cause as well?”

“Who said that I didn’t?”

I turned to face the wall between his cell and mine. “What did you say?”

Shepherd laughed, sounding weary. “You probably won’t believe me, but the truth is I never touched her body, only her mind. I read that description of her cleavage from a forum thread on the Girls of Galatea site. There was a heated discussion on which girl had the best-shaped breasts and most appealing cleavage. Someone claimed to have seen the Countess’s charms. I had no idea whether their description was accurate or not, so I was shocked when you blew your fuses all in one go.” He cleared his throat, and asked in a serious tone, “Are her breasts really like mountains of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with chocolate chip powder?”

I felt the flames of anger rekindled. “You expect me to give you an answer?”

“Does that mean you don’t know?”

“Ask me again and I’ll punch through this wall and strangle you.”

“Hmm…so it must be true.”

“Shepherd, your days are numbered.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that before from other angry boyfriends.”

I gave the wall between us a scowl. “What?”

A weary, dispirited sigh drifted around the wall. “Do you know how many guys have accused me of stealing their girls? I mean, all I do is talk to a pretty girl in the corridor or cafeteria, and soon their boyfriends show up demanding I stay away from their girlfriends. It’s like I’m the source of all their relationship problems. Sometimes I regret being blessed with such good looks.”

“Shepherd, I take it back. Your final hours are numbered.”

“Then as my final confession, I will tell you the truth. I didn’t kiss Simone Alucard, and I most certainly haven’t seen her cleavage. I swear it upon the high heavens, and hope to die.”

“This doesn’t mean I forgive you for getting into her head.”

He sighed again. “As I was saying before, of course I recruited her. I gave her mind a little nudge, a little boost of confidence, and left it to her to take the next step.”

Was it true? Was Simone’s attempt at seduction in her tight black dress something Shepherd had influenced her to commit?

Shepherd asked, “If you don’t mind my asking, who confessed first?”

I was not inclined to answer, but then figured he would come to his own conclusions and take credit for my relationship with Simone. “I confessed to her, but she asked me to be her boyfriend.”

“That sounds confusing. However, you should be grateful to me. Because of my efforts, you now have one of the hottest girls attending this Academy for a girlfriend.”

I glared at the wall, picturing Shepherd sitting on his bunk. “Simone isn’t a trophy girlfriend. She’s nothing like that. Am I making myself clear?”

“What is clear is that you’re going to be as hated by the guys at this school as I am. Welcome to the club. You have my sympathies.”

Damn, I miss my bracelet! I really want to punch through this wall.

Instead of striking the wall, I continuing glaring at it while asking, “So why repress her memories. I still don’t get it.”

“Because your girlfriend suspected I had Influenced her friend and confronted me. Using Influence on an Aventis is a big no-no, especially on Academy grounds. However, while I could explain that away, she revealed she knew about my Lucifer Artifact. Big mistake. Because of my clandestine mission here at Galatea Academy, it became necessary for me to repress her memories. I couldn’t afford her telling others about my Lucifer, at least not yet. That said, I was surprised when she admitted it to me.”

He had a point there. If he was able to hide the presence of his Artifact from other Familiars who possessed Artifacts and Fragments of their own, how could Simone have learnt of his Lucifer?

Unless…someone told her.

Shepherd continued after a quiet moment. “Using the Iago Element, I questioned Alucard. She explained she had received word from an unknown source. Her attempts to locate the source had proven fruitless and had dismissed it until she caught me and Amiella together.”

I frowned at the corridor wall visible beyond the cell doors.

Was it Lidia? Was Lidia her unknown source?

The sound of footsteps coming down the corridor interrupted that line of thought, so I shelved it for later.

Sitting up on the bunk, I listened to two sets of footsteps approach us, and for a moment I was filled with dread and seriously contemplated summoning the Kaiser’s Blessing.

A few seconds later, Maya and Rina came into view.

They stopped outside the cells Shepherd and I occupied.

Both girls were dressed in their skintight training suits. Maya’s suit was deep green with black shading. Rina’s suit was black with lavender trimmings. It made them look like children’s show super heroines.

The grim look on Maya’s face renewed the dread within me.

I climbed off the bunk, and approached the cell doors. “Maya…what’s happened? Is it Simone? What about Caprice?”

She held up her left hand while keeping her right hand behind her back. “One question at a time.” She held up a solitary finger. “Firstly, Simone’s fine. I mean, she’s safe and resting in the infirmary. Being a Pureblood her ribs will heal in a matter of hours.”

I reached out and gripped one of the cell door bars. “Was it true? Did Caprice really—?”

“Yes. I saw the footage on playback. Steiner kicked Simone, broke her ribs in the process, and sent her flying through the air. Fortunately, Kaleb Deneve was there to catch her.”

My grip on the bar tightened. Again, I strongly suspected their fight was over me, and yet I had to ask, “Why…?”

Maya looked uncomfortable. “I don’t know. Mason showed us the playback but there was no audio. When I asked why, I was told the matter would be discussed at length later.” She shrugged uneasily. “I tried asking Simone and she clammed up. She just won’t talk about. When I pressed her for an answer, she got rather angry at me and yelled at me to leave.” Maya shook her head and sighed. “Maybe you can get the truth out of her. I can say that it looked like those two were in a heated argument. My gut’s telling me Simone pushed Steiner and brought this on herself. She’s probably feeling responsible for what happened. Simone can be that way. She doesn’t like losing an argument, but forgets that some victories have a price to pay.”

I inhaled deeply, letting some of it out slowly. “Maya, what happened to Caprice? Kaleb said she was taken away by the Steiners. Is that true?”

She gave me single nod. “Yes, it’s true. They took her away in the nick of time.”

The nick of time?

I frowned and asked, “Why take her—?” but stopped when Maya revealed the contents of her right hand. “My bracelet? Why do you have it?”

“Principal Mason asked us to come down and release the two of you.” Reaching out to me, Maya offered me my Kaiser’s bracelet. “We’re all to head up for a briefing.”

“All of us?” I deliberately glanced at the cell to my right with Shepherd in it.

“Yes, all of us, including that devil winged bastard.”

Reaching out between the bars, I took my bracelet from her, snapping it back onto my left wrist while she unlocked the cell doors with a flat keycard she pressed against the locking panel. Undoubtedly the keycard was something Mason had supplied. I was puzzled by why she sent Maya and Rina, and not regular security to release us.

Stepping outside the cell, I was joined by Shepherd in the corridor a few seconds later. Other than us four Familiars, the corridor was empty, but I had the impression it wasn’t just the corridor that was deserted. Something felt distinctly off about the situation.

With my attention on the corridor, I asked, “Maya, what’s going on out there?”

Khayman may have looked somewhat calm, but Rina looked downright nervous, which in turn fueled my growing apprehension.

Shepherd laughed wryly, before grinning brazenly at Maya. “Let me guess, the crap has finally hit the fan.”

Turning slightly, she regarded him sidelong. “That’s right. Because of the current situation in the habitats across Pharos, the Academies have been put on high alert.” She turned and faced me. “Regarding Caprice Steiner, a representative of the Steiner Family contacted Principal Mason, declaring that she was in their protective custody. As to why, I don’t know. I heard from Mason that Arisa Imreh Lanfear has decided not to make any moves against them.”

Shepherd chuckled. “A wise choice.”

I stepped a few inches closer to her. “Arisa knows?”

“Yes. And there’s more. Rina and I are now under her guardianship. Our families and the Sora Pride came to some arrangement with the Lanfears a few days ago, but we weren’t told until now. Nonetheless, Arisa Imreh Lanfear is now our official Guardian.”

That news surprised me, and stole my voice for a little while.

Maya turned her attention on Shepherd, regarding him with hard look. “And we received word regarding your fate.”

He looked thinly puzzled. “My fate? From whom?”

“From the Steiners’ representative. They stated, and I quote, ‘Do with him as you will’, end quote.”

Shepherd leaned toward Maya a couple of inches. “I’m sorry, what does that mean?”

“It means don’t expect them to come and save you.”

It was rather satisfying to see the look of disbelief that washed away all other emotions on his face.

Unfortunately for him, Maya wasn’t done. “As a consequence, Principal Mason has drafted you into the Academy’s ranks of Special Familiars.”

Shepherd blinked quickly, and faintly despaired. “Wait a minute—are you saying I have to follow orders from that woman?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Your duty now is protect Galatea Academy along with the rest of us.”

He appeared lost for words.

I took the opportunity to cut in. “Maya, what do you mean by protect the Academy? Protect it from whom? From Crimson Crescent?”

She took a deep breath, causing her modest yet nicely shaped chest to rise and fall.

“We’re protecting the Academy from the Enforcers.”

It wasn’t what I was expecting to hear, and my mouth fell open.

A few feet to my right, Shepherd laughed softly under his breath. “Sis was right,” he muttered. “They really did it.”

“Did what?” I threw at him, but it was Maya who answered me.

“They declared Martial Law.”

“What?” I stared at her aghast.

Maya’s arms tightened under her breasts. “They’ve declared Martial Law, effectively sidelining the Primogen Council. They’ve declared all Familiars as persons of interest in light of the incident in Island One. It doesn’t matter if they’re Specials or not. In effect, they’re tossing all Familiars into the same guilty bucket. And they’re threatening to occupy the five Aventis Academies of Pharos.”

I swallowed hard as a chill swirled around in my chest. “You mean…?”

Maya pursed her lips for a heartbeat, and then wet them anxiously.

“That’s right. The Enforcers are coming here to Galatea Academy.”

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