“I have seen them in action. For a time, I was one of them. Then I joined an opposition group. We fought the Talons without much success. They acquired Chancellor ships and weapons after the Earth civil war. Lord Vaun, there is no one on Huryo to oppose them. Their scouts have seen the proof. They will arrive at any time.

  “They will suppress the villages, kill the Lords and their families, and establish their own style of justice. That’s just the beginning. You are in danger. Everyone in the peninsula is in danger.”

  He felt the temperature rise. He didn’t need to look around to know the guards, secretary, and hapless deputy were terrified. Lord Vaun, on the other hand, maintained a steady visage.

  “A dire warning, Ryllen Jee. Yet, one question remains. Why warn me of the danger?”

  “It’s a simple exchange. I want to live a quiet life. I can’t do that if the Talons rule the peninsula. Contact Quanteel. Warn them. I know high-tech weapons are not allowed on Huryo, but if an exception was made, Hokkaido could provide them quickly. You’d have an arsenal in every village within the week. The Talons have no stomach for a fair fight. They’ll stay away.”

  “But you said they might arrive any day.”

  “Yes. Which is why you need to act quickly. You will be the hero. Quanteel will never know this intel came from me. All I ask in exchange is that I be left alone to live in peace. This will save thousands of lives. Maybe I can begin a path toward redemption.”

  “Your story does concern me, but I require physical evidence. What can you produce?”

  Here we go. It all comes down to this.

  I know I’m correct. I have to be. Nothing else makes sense.

  “Lord Vaun, the Talons have heard every word we have said since I entered this room. In fact, they have heard every word said here since the scout visited you. They possess high-level Chancellor surveillance tech. A product of Special Services. I suspect the devices were planted wherever the scout visited. They are small and translucent. They can be pressed against any surface and adapt a perfect camouflage.”

  For the first time, Lord Vaun reacted with genuine fear.

  “What?! Why would you warn us if you know they are listening!”

  “I never would have been granted access any other way. Now you have to act quickly, Lord Vaun. Time is …”

  “How do we find them? If they are camouflaged …”

  “By hand, of course. They could be on any surface. You’ll know you’ve found one if the surface texture suddenly changes.”

  Vaun turned to his secretary.

  “Any surface the scout might have touched. What is your memory?”

  The woman, Misa, stepped forward. She pointed at the guests.

  “The pillows, Lord Vaun. He was there. We should start there.”

  Ryllen wanted his timorex. Had they reached the top of the hour? What of Mee? Did he lose his spine?

  No matter. The search was under way. The secretary ordered Ryllen and the deputy off the pillows and to stand back. The guards from the rear moved in close enough to feel their breath.

  She grabbed the first one and ran her hand across the top then the bottom. Ryllen knew he was right, but he doubted they’d be so clumsy as to plant the surveillance there. No, they’d go for a permanent location. A swipe of the hand while entering or exiting.

  The door? Its frame? Maybe.

  The secretary glared at Ryllen when she found nothing on either.

  “It would have been a quick gesture on any close surface,” Ryllen said. He nudged his eyes toward the rear.

  She never started in that direction. Instead, shouts echoed from the balcony.

  It must be the top of the hour.

  Amid the consternation, he heard the word “fire.”

  Thank you, Mee. Now, where is my ride? I know you heard me!

  Ryllen contemplated having been wrong about the entire matter. What if there was no surveillance? None of Ham Cortez’s “toys” from his time in Special Services. Ryllen envisioned his deceit being uncovered, taking a spear to the chest, and dying yet again.

  Or worse, awakening to find himself in a pond.

  Lord Vaun clambered to his feet with considerable effort.

  “What is happening outside? Report!”

  The outer door slid open. A new guard rushed inside.

  “Fires in the marsh, Lord Vaun. Three. We’re in no danger at the moment, but the fires … they exploded out of nothing. The flames are spreading, but we are dispatching help.”

  Ryllen didn’t want to lose control of the moment.

  “Warning fires,” he told Vaun. “The Talons have an agent inside D’haan. I’m sorry. I was too late.”

  Lord Vaun shouted. “Secure my home. I want a full gauntlet. Open the armory. Raise the alarm to every deputy. Misa, secure my children.” A guard raced outside. More shouts followed. Misa threw opened the side door and raced for the children. Lord Vaun fumed.

  “You. Ryllen Jee. You will tell me everything you know about the Talons. I want to know their …”

  The impact of a crossbow against this walled fortress might have gone unnoticed, but for the small explosion that accompanied it. Mee hit the target – right outside this chamber, the bit of good luck Ryllen ascribed to every successful infiltration.

  “They’re shooting at us!” A man shouted. “Defenses ready!”

  Len the deputy reached for a weapon he did not have.

  “Lord, we should evacuate. The lift. Quickly.”

  “No, no. They would see me. I will be safe in my home. Will I be safer here, Ryllen?”

  How quick these assholes fall apart.

  “Yes, Lord Vaun. I agree. I know their tactics. I can help with the defense, but … if they enter the house, I don’t have a blade to fight.”

  “You,” he said to the last guard standing behind Ryllen. “Hand him your crawler and guard the door.”

  It was easier than Ryllen expected, but it was also happening so fast. Maybe too fast. If his ride didn’t appear soon, the Huryans would see through him. Ryllen was an artist with a blade, and he’d seen ample combat hand-to-hand. But resisting a small army of lunatics avenging their village Lord? That was going to hurt.

  Vaun started toward the side door, but Ryllen, blade in hand, warned him back.

  “You’re safest here.”

  “I need to see after my children.”

  “No. If the house is overrun, and you’re with them, the Talons won’t think about leaving them alive.”

  Maybe it was something in Ryllen’s eyes that gave him up. Maybe the instructions were too forward-looking. Or maybe it was the shine of the blade in his hand. Regardless, his spell appeared to break.

  “You said the Talons intend to kill the lords and their families anyway. You want me to stay here because … it’s you. You are their agent. You planned this.”

  Well, shit.

  35

  R YLLEN ALLOWED INSTINCTS born on the battlefield to guide the moment. It was four to one, but better. Two knives. One crossbow. Ryllen visualized each step and launched into a survival dance.

  He whirled around and lunged for Len the deputy. The fool who thought he’d earn a perk from the big boss never saw Ryllen coming.

  His blade swung true and hit the mark. Mee was right: It didn’t take much if you hit the carotid. Len bled without hope as Ryllen carried the ballet to the next stage, throwing the dying man into the guard who only a moment ago handed over the fatal knife.

  The bloodied Huryan crashed into the guard, who stumbled. Ryllen fell upon them like an animal, plunging the blade into the guard’s neck, pushing away Len, and grabbing the crossbow. He flipped over on his butt and aimed.

  Lord Vaun rushed toward the open doorway, the last guard providing cover. As if he ever had a chance.

  A crossbow was not as joyful as a blast rifle in Ryllen’s opinion, but it did have a kick. He liked that.

  The Lord’s last protector took a spear in the stomach and fell like a stone. Vaun screeched en route to safety deeper in the house.

  Ryllen didn’t need to keep going. If he pursued the man, the trap would close quickly when the deputies learned what he did. Still …

  For both of us, Mee.

  He snapped up, advanced the next spear, and rushed into the threshold. The fat man almost rounded the corner.

  Almost.

  The spear took Vaun below the ribs. He screamed like an old woman and crashed out of sight.

  It should have been satisfying, but Ryllen knew the hard work had not begun. The deputies were busy protecting a Lord they already lost. He had one knife and six spears. It wasn’t nearly enough, but he’d have to make do.

  He approached the outer door as shadows flew past and the hurly-burly of a fake attack turned from chaos into reasonable order.

  The gauntlet, as Lord Vaun ordered.

  Cudfrucker. I thought I was right about them. Why aren’t they here?

  He had imagined the moment. Scramjet Horn coming to his rescue. The open hands of his Talon brothers and sisters, welcoming their Colonel back into the fold.

  It was stupid. Naïve.

  Worse, it was arrogant. Ryllen hated arrogant men.

  The way he saw it, there were two ways out of this:

  Kill as many as dared fight him, collect their crossbows along the way, and continue to drop bodies until someone took him down with a lucky shot. Or, he could jump. Fifteen feet into a marsh wouldn’t break any bones if he landed well. Even then, he’d still have to fight his way out of this town. Retreating to the Hannah Lux was not an option.

  Deep breath, dumbass. Time to go.

  Two shadows coalesced in the threshold, staring him down. One was the broad-shouldered man who greeted him at the lift. The other, apparently his twin brother. The moment was one of those that seemed to last forever but likely ate up two, perhaps three seconds. The guards saw the bodies, their eyes focused on a new target.

  Three crossbows prepared to engage. Ryllen did not like his odds.

  Then it happened.

  Thunder and sunshine all at once. A full-throated announcement of a wormhole aperture.

  The first twin turned toward the brilliant light. The other took a spear to the chest and grunted before he fell. Ryllen made his move but not fast enough. He heard the twang of another crossbow and felt his ribs crack as a spear burrowed into the side of his chest.

  He looked down. Less than an inch of the steel rod was visible.

  The broad-shouldered guard, standing over his dead twin, advanced the next spear and aimed the kill shot.

  Again? Now?

  Spotlights showered the poitnois as a long bronze spaceship – not the Scramjet Ryllen expected – positioned to within a few feet of the house. Its bulwark opened, revealing armored men with blast rifles. They unleashed their hell upon the Huryans.

  The last guard who threatened Ryllen got off a shot, but only after he was shredded in laser fire. The spear impacted far away.

  The ship took aim at the gauntlet on the ground below, leveling the deputies with precision fire. Ryllen stumbled to the balcony’s edge and scanned the carnage. The marsh walk connecting D’haan to the villagers’ homes burned. In the distance, there were many shouts. Up close, the guns fell silent.

  Ryllen dropped the crossbow. His head was spinning.

  Inside, children screamed for their father.

  The ship moved closer, as if preparing to dock with the poitnois. Three dark-skinned men in a shimmering armor unfamiliar to Ryllen jumped across the balcony rails. Two entered the house while one stood silent a few feet from Ryllen, who did not recognize the face.

  These were not the Twenty Talons.

  Who?

  The answer stepped into the light of the open bulwark.

  He was a mustachioed, smartly-dressed man adorned in a fashionable ocean blue trench coat with white lining and a yellow insignia on his breast pocket. He cupped white-gloved hands at his waist and planted his legs apart. He filled the door with a commanding air of refinement, curated among the elite of Haansu. He bowed his head with the ease that came with Hokki familiarity.

  Is it? No. Can’t be.

  He couldn’t register what he saw.

  “Hello, Ryllen. We came when we heard. You did fine work in there. You crafted a magnificent story and bought precious cargo: Time. We were confident you would decipher the clues. If we had known your precise location, we wouldn’t have taken extreme measures.”

  He remembered the voice. Smooth, like not a care in the world. Absolute certainty. The last place he heard it: Ronin Swallows. He was nineteen. His Green Sun team was prepared to kill immos and their smugglers. He couldn’t see Kai in the darkness.

  It went wrong. It was an ambush. All dead.

  Then Ryllen returned from the abyss for the first time.

  A man stood above him, aiming his gun. He spoke:

  “I admire your goals, but you’ve gone about it all wrong. The Lagos is changing, and you misguided bastards are in the way. Goodbye.”

  Ryllen saw a flash. A hot bolt drilled a hole in his skull.

  Seven years ago, but might as well have been last night.

  “You? You killed him. You killed Kai.”

  “I am Shin Wain. The thirteenth on your original kill list. I never murdered the man you loved. I did, however, kill you. I stood above you in Ronin Swallows as you woke and shot you in the head because I knew you would rise again. I set history into motion.”

  Ryllen didn’t care about the spear in his chest. He wanted to leap the balcony rail, though he doubted the armored goliath at his side would allow it. What happened after he killed this asshole didn’t matter.

  “History? What? What is happening?”

  “I knew you would cross the divide with the Splinter. I knew you would fight the Swarm and discover an ally to help you return home. I was told to serve the future by assuring you fulfilled it. People died because the future demanded it. Ryllen, the future will call upon you again. I want you to join us. My man here will help you across. We’ll take care of your injury.”

  “Wait. What? I’m not going with you. If you let me on that ship, I’ll slash your cudfrucking throat.”

  “No. You won’t.”

  “Why not?”

  Blast rifles reverberating from inside the poitnois shattered the moment. Cries of victims went silent.

  “Witnesses are dangerous,” Shin Wain said. “Even the little ones. You know this. You fought the Swarm.”

  “I’ll kill you, Shin Wain. I don’t care what happens after.”

  “You will not kill me for two simple reasons. One, I am prepared to hand over the man responsible not only for the death of Kai Durin but for all the pain in your life these many torrid years. Do with him as you please. Two, I will take you to Amayas Knight. Not to kill him, but to learn. It’s time you knew the truth. The Alliance. The Splinters. The Origin. None of it is what you’ve been led to believe. When you have learned, you will find peace and purpose, Ryllen. We need a man with your experience. Come.”

  “Never.”

  Shin groaned.

  “Does my man have to kill you before he brings you onboard?”

  Ryllen didn’t have to think long. The spear would claim him soon enough. It wasn’t much of a choice.

  Exogenesis

  The Taron Estate, Pinchon

  Meolin 10, Standard Year 5364

  Two years before the wedding

  B ONJU HINTED AT A COMING conflict in the timeline, but he waited until the day Ya-Li received distressing news to pile on with his own. Ya-Li climbed from the pool after his longest swim in months – he needed to work through the rage – and found Bonju pacing inside the usual halo. His counterpart from the Swarm universe wore a militaristic uniform.

  “Is that …?” He asked Bonju.

  “Yes. I am a scientific liaison to the Swarm Civilian Corps. I don’t pride myself on the association. If I offer consultation at their whim, I maintain my estate and continue my plans without interference.”

  “Why don’t you flee Hokkaido? Your work is too important.”

  “For now, it must be here. Our prefect has not been attacked since we signed the mutual support treaty. If conditions deteriorate, I’ll consider my options. Given what I have learned, I am thankful to have stayed amid this needless barbarism.”

  “What’s happened?”

  “A search has ended, with unsettling results.”

  Bonju started his explanation with an admission: He hid these details from Ya-Li for months, uncertain where they might lead.

  “I discovered an anomaly within my Splinter. It was communicating with another of its kind, Ya-Li.”

  “As if they were sentient?”

  “That is a dangerous word and often misinterpreted. Only three humans understand the relationship between the Splinters and the Origin, but we never thought of them as alive in the truest sense.”

  “Then maybe you don’t understand them as you assumed.”

  Bonju bristled. Ya-Li rarely felt impatience in his counterpart, but a challenge to Bonju’s intellect produced a consistent response.

  “A fair observation, Ya-Li.” He sighed. “Perhaps one day, when you travel to the Origin, you will uncover what the three of us missed. To my larger point: My Splinter discovered another one where it shouldn’t be. On my Hokkaido, in the war zone. It has been here for years. Months ago, I tracked it to a young soldier fighting the Swarm. He has a unique relationship to his Splinter, something I cannot define. He has no counterpart. For this reason, he crossed the divide through the Splinter itself. He should not have been able to do this, without specialized knowledge from the Origin.”

  “Then how did he succeed?”

  “He can’t explain it, but he wants to return home.”

  “The Splinter won’t cooperate?”

  “He hasn’t been able to reverse the process because he doesn’t know how. Also, he refuses to leave without the young man he loves. A man who is like him. Unique among the Nine, and a protégé of Amayas Knight.”