CHAPTER 13
It was just as the note suggested. The humans were meeting in secret, far from prying eyes. It was difficult to hear much of the conversation but Aeria had the proof she needed. Just as she suspected, the warning was correct. The human girls really weren’t who everyone thought they were. As Aeria watched the transport vehicle fly away, she tried to decide what to do. How many times had the humans slipped past security to engage in these secret meetings? How long had they been conspiring against the council? Her father was such a fool to trust them.
She missed most of the conversation but from what she gathered, the humans were in contact with a cloaked stranger; most likely the same person that was behind the rebellion. The real question was whether or not this information would persuade her father to take appropriate action. She had her doubts.
As the three remaining humans put out the fire, and started to leave, Aeria decided she would deal with them later. Kira and her sister were more important, so she made her move to chase after the vehicle. They would never see her, just as Aithos and the sisters hadn’t seen her follow them. Sure there were a few close calls, but she was certain she still remained undetected. Dashing out of the trees she ran after the transport with lighting fast speed. She had to be careful not to be spotted but she couldn’t let them get to the transport building without her either.
There was no telling what role the human girls were playing in the rebellion’s plans but she couldn’t risk letting them escape. How far Aithos’s treachery went was unclear, but he couldn’t be trusted to hand the humans over. She would have to take things into her own hands.
Aeria ran, always keeping as much distance between her and the vehicle as she could until they entered the woods. Once there she moved in closer, ensuring that she wouldn’t lose sight of them. She regretted having to harm her own men, but the guards outside of the transport building would need to be taken out if she was to succeed. There was no time to explain Aithos’s treachery and she couldn’t risk having them come to his aid.
As the vehicle came to a stop outside of the transport building, Aeria stopped to watch the encounter. Aithos had smuggled the humans through the first time, so having extra passengers this time required some explanation, but the guards didn’t give much of a fuss. After only a few seconds they waved them through, and returned to their posts.
Now was the time to strike. Dashing out of the trees with blinding speed, Aeria dispatched both guards before either had time to react. Luckily they went down quietly so she remained undetected.
Sneaking through the entrance, she made her way to the transport chamber, hiding in the shadows. As she entered the corridor, she spied Aithos leaving the chamber to initiate the transport sequence, which presented an ideal situation to dispatch him without the humans knowing. She waited a moment before following after him. Neither of the girls were paying any attention, so slipping past them was easy.
Making her way to the control room, Aeria arrived just as Aithos was activating the console. If her plan was to go off without a hitch then she needed to knock him out without being detected, so she waited for the ideal moment when his guard was down. He worked at the controls for a few moments until he paused, putting his hand up to his mouth and yawning.
There it is! Without delay she dashed into the chamber and drove her elbow into his back, just between the shoulders, sending him flying across the room into the chamber wall. With a loud crash his body collapsed against the floor and did not move. She walked over to him to check his pulse and was pleased to find that he was still quite alive. It would do no good to kill him before the council could interrogate him about the meeting and his involvement with the rebellion. He would be out for a good while, giving her time to alert Thanatos once she was back on Tython.
Smirking at her handiwork, she turned and went back to the control console. Aithos had already completed most of the system checks, so finishing the sequence took no time at all. The building roared to life as the timer for the transport sequence started counting down. Aeria quickly made her way out of the room and headed back to the transport chamber. The time had come to reveal herself.
Entering the room, the two girls turned to look at her. Clearly expecting Aithos instead of her, both of them looked quite surprised as she entered.