Zeff had never met Field Marshal Sanko before, but he knew the woman as soon as he saw her. She had that inexpressible something about her, a kind of invisible aura that every servant who stood at the top of the world seemed to possess. He'd felt the same thing when he met each of Sermung, Jackson, and Lamont. The Crystal Titan, the Star of the West, and Iceheart.
And now, the Gargoyle, too.
Axiolis had explained it to him once. These were people who had acquired such immense synchronization with their reapers that it made their passive soul defenses begin to feel oppressive to the less powerful people around them. It was a kind of gravitational pull created by the sheer strength of their souls.
Zeff didn't know very much about Sanko, but that wasn't especially surprising. Promotions within the Vanguard tended to work that way. As servants moved up through the ranks, their identities became increasingly concealed so as to protect any uninvolved family members or friends from Abolish. Naturally, the promotion from captain general to field marshal was the most dramatic, which was why none of the field marshals had last names. Sanko was undoubtedly not the woman's birth name, either, and given her age--likely pushing two hundred years, if not more--there would not be many people left alive who knew what her original name was.
But it was easy enough to see why she was called the Gargoyle. She wore a gray mask with a grotesque devil's face on it, bearing stubby horns at the top and long fangs around the open mouth. It hid everything but her pale lips and large eyes, which were so darkly blue that they almost looked purple.
If she had hair, it was concealed beneath the hood of her uniquely black overcoat, which she chose to drape over her shoulders like a cape rather than wear properly. Beyond that, however, her uniform was no different than the average member of the Vanguard's ground forces--simple brown-on-white camo.
All-in-all, one could be forgiven for assuming she was a man. Only the subtle curves in her uniform offered any real visual clues.
"Octavia Redwater," the woman said in two voices.
And her audience of Rainlords shifted uncomfortably as they realized that she was already using pan-rozum.
Octavia kept composure well enough. "How've you been, you old crone?"
Sanko responded with quite a long pause, perhaps not appreciating the Red Lady's attempt at affection. But she did answer the question eventually. "We have been fine."
'Why are you using pan-rozum already?' said Wendy, apparently unafraid of asking the question everyone was thinking.
"Merely a precaution," said Sanko. "For the unlikely case in which you intended to ambush us upon arrival. Do not take offense." It sounded more like an order than an apology.
Wendy wasn't through asking questions. 'Why have you come alone? Shouldn't you have a security escort with you?'
"We did not come to fight. And we will not be staying long. We must return to Korgum as soon as matters here are settled." She started walking for the airfield office's exit, and the Rainlords made way for her, soon falling in behind.
"Ah," said Octavia, "we were hoping to conduct a quick meeting before going to the Keep."
"Nonsense," said Sanko. "We understand the situation well enough."
"Yes, but--"
"Explain what you will on the way."
Zeff certainly had no complaints about the woman's attitude. After being told to wait all day long, the sudden forward momentum was most welcome.
They led Sanko to one of the two limousines waiting to carry them to their next destination, which was apparently going to be the Keep now. Octavia, Rayen, and Zeff joined her. Evangelina Stroud, Socorro Garza, and Santos Zabat took the other limo, but their three reapers stayed to listen in.
Octavia and Rayen began offering a quick outline of all the forces they currently had in Rheinhal, but Sanko didn't seem very interested.
Instead, Sanko's gaze lingered on Zeff. "You have a familiar face."
Zeff raised an eyebrow. "Do I?"
"Would you happen to be this Zeff I've heard of?"
'How did you know?' said Axiolis.
"Elroy family resemblance. But we are confused. It was our understanding that you had been captured."
"I was released. For what reason, I don't know."
"Ah. That bodes well for negotiations, then."
Zeff wasn't so sure he agreed. He hadn't given it much thought before, but it certainly did seem strange that he had been let go.
"I knew a man named Agam Elroy rather well," said Sanko, and the sudden change in pronouns did not escape Zeff's notice. "Was he an uncle of yours, perhaps?"
The name was only vaguely familiar, but Axiolis had him covered.
'Agam was an uncle to Zeff's grandfather.'
That seemed to surprise her. "Really now? Oh my, how embarrassing. I suppose that is what I get for attempting to connect with the younger generations."
'Don't feel bad,' said Ax. 'I'm sure I knew Agam even before you did. He was a charming fellow.'
"That he was." Sanko's nostalgia and sentiment seemed to die there, however.
Fortunately, it made little difference, as they were nearly there. Their two vehicles pulled up in front of the closed gate and parked. Everyone exited.
Zeff looked up and saw that Xavier Lawrence was just then joining Parson Miles atop the gate. Doubtless, their reapers had sensed the Gargoyle's presence.
Zeff had to muster every modicum of restraint he had left. It probably would not go over very well if he immediately started attacking them in front of Sanko.
"Captain General Miles!" Sanko called out. "And General Lawrence! What manner of welcome is this?! Open the gate!"
Parson leaned over the wall with his arms folded. "I'd rather not do that! Sorry!"
"You know why we have come, do you not?!"
"Yes, indeed!"
"And yet you still test our patience! You have five seconds to start explaining yourselves before we arrest you for insubordination!"
"Now just hold on!" After a moment, Parson leapt off the gate. His legs vanished as he neared the pavement, letting the pants of his airman's uniform flap wildly while his descent slowed within a rising gust of wind. His socks and shoes popped off of his missing feet and flew up past his head, and when his freshly reappeared legs touched the ground, he was barefoot. One of the falling shoes smacked his shoulder as Overra melted out of his body.
However, there was a reason Parson had chosen to vanish his legs instead of his arms. The man carried a box with him. "Before you go getting all intimidating and whatnot," said Parson, "I hope we can have an honest conversation."
"Honest?" Zeff growled. He could feel his fist shaking involuntarily and had to consciously relax it.
"Ah, Zeff!" said Parson. "It is good to see you again, my old friend, though the circumstances are disappointing. As are you." The man's expression turned suddenly grave. "In your youth, you demonstrated such potential. I'd hoped to foster greatness in you, but since I've been away, it seems you've grown content with being the willful stooge of more conniving men."
Zeff was almost as confused as he was angry. "What the hell are you talking about?"
'And Axiolis, too,' added Overra. 'Such complacency in the face of wrongdoing is very unbecoming of someone as old as you.'
'I see the two of you haven't lost your gift for spouting complete nonsense,' said Ax.
Sanko intervened. "Make your point, Miles. Before we make ours."
"Okay, well, first of all, the attempt to apprehend the Elroys was motivated by a suspicion that they were harboring a fugitive."
"Gema Elroy," said Sanko. "We are aware. That is far from sufficient cause for the unlawful capture of this man's other children."
Parson began rifling through his box. "Of course. I won't do you the disrespect of assuming you don't already know the details of what transpired after Zeff was questioned by General Lawrence up there." He retrieved a string-bound folder and offered it to Sanko. "But I don't think you know the whole story."
Sanko took the folder, and Zeff watched her silently flip through its contents.
"Project Blacksong," said Parson.
And the Gargoyle stopped flipping briefly, then continued.
"Those reports all confirm it. Gema Elroy sabotaged Blacksong. I'm sure you understand what that means, ma'am."
'Sabotage?' said Ax. 'Lawrence told us that Gema had killed an Intarian diplomat, so what are you saying now?'
'I am afraid that information is classified,' said Overra.
Sanko started handing papers off to Zeff. "And now it isn't."
Parson almost jumped. "Ah--! Um! Ma'am--those documents! They're not really meant for other--!"
"Oops," Sanko said flatly.
Parson just stared with wide eyes.
Overra remained calm, however. 'I suppose that's one way to negotiate. Fine, then. An Intarian diplomat WAS killed, but we have not confirmed who was responsible. Gema Elroy is a suspect, but she and her reaper are primarily wanted because they are traitors.'
Zeff was busy skimming through the report in his hands. It mentioned some kind of information leak. The word 'Blacksong' was indeed mention multiple times. The text didn't go into detail, but Zeff had seen reports such as this before. The vague language. An overabundance of codenames. These reports were from the Covert Intelligence Division.
Spies. Ramira would have been excited. Zeff, however, was not. There were few things worse than having to deal with people who lied for a living.
'What is this Project Blacksong?' said Axiolis.
"It does not matter," said Sanko, eyeing Parson and Overra. "The point is moot. Even if Gema Elroy were attempting to destroy the whole of Intar, that would still not give you the right to detain her family members for more than a single day of questioning. And as we understand, you held Zeff for much longer than that and are in fact still holding his son."
"Well, yes, but--"
"Unless you have further evidence that proves the other Elroys were conspiring with Gema in her sabotage, then you are obligated to release Zeff's son now and stand down."
'Well, you see--'
"And as we do not currently have the time to conduct an investigation into your unit ourselves, you and all of your men will leave for Jesbol immediately and report to Field Marshal Jackson for a mandatory evaluation. If you do not comply with these orders--"
"Wait!" Parson nearly dropped his box. "You can't just--!"
"Do not test us, Miles. Patience and mercy have never been our strongest points. If you have conclusive evidence, then present it now."
Parson rifled through his box another time while Overra picked up the conversation for him.
'Believe it or not, we aren't trying to annoy you,' she said. 'We DO have the evidence you're looking for, but we also wanted to establish a more precise sense of what is at stake here. Hopefully, you understand that much now, yes?'
The Gargoyle might as well have been made of actual stone, for all the response she gave.
'And... well, the evidence involves some photographs... which I'm sure Parson will find... any second now.' She tossed a few glances at her servant. 'They depict the Elroys in various places, you see. And I'm sure you'll understand once--'
"Got 'em!" Parson pulled out another folder. "Sorry about that. It seems it was misfiled." He threw a look up at the General still atop the gate. "Lawrence can be such a dolt, sometimes." He offered the folder to Sanko, but she didn't take it just yet.
"If these photographs are so damning, then why were we not informed of their existence earlier? Over the telephone, for instance. Did you not think to save us the trip here?"
"Ah, well, I apologize for that. It was an unfortunate miscommunication. And you know how these things are. With so much going on--so many moving parts. Sometimes the right hand forgets to tell the left hand that it has been conducting covert surveillance on suspected traitors." He gave the woman a big smile.
It didn't seem to do much for her. She snatched the folder away from him, though, and started thumbing through the pictures.
Parson pointed one out to her. "This here--we suspect this is Gema Elroy crossing the border into Sair. A mere twelve hours after the information leak took place, I might add."
"This photo does not even show her face," Sanko observed. "It could be anyone. You call this conclusive evi--?" The sentence was cut short as she stopped on a different photo. She flipped it over, perhaps to inspect the timestamp.
'Is something wrong?' asked Axiolis.
Sanko held the photo up for Zeff to see.
It was a shot of Juliana Salazar leaving the Elroy's home. Zeff and Mariana were standing on the porch, watching the woman go.
"Explain your relationship with this person," said Sanko.
'She was the commanding officer of Zeff's wife, Mariana, before they got married. Why?'
"Because this woman is a known traitor."
Zeff exchanged looks with Ax and the other Rainlords. After everything that had happened, Salazar's visit had been the furthest thing from his mind.
"This is your home in this picture?" Sanko asked.
"It was," Zeff said through gritted teeth. "Until the Vanguard attacked it without warning or cause. I have yet to return there to see if it is still standing."
'I'm sure someone told you,' said Axiolis. 'That was the attack that resulted in the death of Zeff's wife.'
Parson blinked. "What? Mariana is dead?"
"Yes," Zeff said lowly. "Did you not know the extent of your crime?"
"I'm very sorry to hear that, Zeff. I had no idea."
"You're not sorry, Parson. Not yet."
"Zeff, I swear to you, the orders were always to take your family alive."
Zeff glowered. "You say that like it makes a difference."
"Doesn't it? No one was supposed to die, Zeff. I would never have ordered--"
"Keep talking, Parson. That seems to be all you are good for anymore."
Oddly enough, that seemed to shut him up, which was perhaps why Overra decided to chime in.
'You're being unreasonable,' she said. 'If Mariana had simply followed her orders, then we could have avoided this whole mess. And she would still be alive, I'm sure.'
Axiolis responded with a hoarse laugh. 'Don't try to goad us, you stupid bitch.'
'I wasn't trying to goad anyone. But it sounds like it wouldn't be very difficult. Have you all inherited Mariana's paranoia now that she's gone?'
That very nearly broke Zeff's composure.
But Octavia stepped forward first, tapping her cane against the pavement. "Have some respect for the deceased, lest you find yourself joining them shortly."
'Ah, the bloodthirsty Redwater clan. Tell me, are those old stories about how you got your name true?'
"Enough," said Sanko, and the ground trembled beneath everyone's feet. "No one says another word unless it is in answer to my questions." She pointed at Overra. "You. Back inside the Keep. Now."
'Why? I've done noth--'
The ground shot up around the reaper, encasing her in a cage molded from pavement before anyone could even blink. And then the whole cage moved, speeding away like a shark's fin atop water. It smashed a hole through the gate and kept going, undeterred until it was out of sight.
Sanko looked to Parson next. "I suggest you join her. And advise her not to return."
Parson smacked his lips as he observed the gaping hole in the gate. Then he just looked at Sanko, bobbed his head a little, and proceeded to do as he was told without another word.
Once he was gone, Sanko turned her attention up toward Lawrence, who was still watching from atop the gate. "Bring me the officers who took these photographs!" she yelled.
Lawrence nodded and disappeared from view.
She turned her attention back to Zeff and Axiolis. "Now. Explain why Salazar was visiting you."
Zeff folded his arms. "She said she was abandoning the Vanguard. She wanted us to join her. We did not appreciate the offer very much and instructed her to leave."
"And you simply let her go?"
'Rather than fight a Vanguardian general in our own home?' said Ax. 'Yes. You'll have to forgive us for prioritizing the safety of our children.'
"I see," said Sanko. "However, a mere day before this photo was taken, Juliana Salazar and several of her subordinates stopped reporting for duty. A large number of important items disappeared along with them, including weapons and classified documents. Their actions have jeopardized many sensitive operations all over the world. So I am sure you can understand my reluctance to trust your word alone."
'If we'd taken Salazar up on her offer, then we would have disappeared with her,' said Ax.
"They would have also avoided a lot of trouble," said Rayen Merlo. "Instead, they chose to stay--for the good of your organization. And look how their loyalty has been rewarded." And when Sanko offered no response, Rayen only seemed to grow angrier. "How do you plan on rectifying this situation?"
Sanko glared at her. "Be silent. Circumstances here are more complicated than you seem to appreciate, and I did not ask for your opinion."
The Lady Merlo scowled. "I do not answer to you, Gargoyle."
"You do today."
Octavia pressed a tiny hand against Rayen's arm. "Calm your blood." But she also spared a look for Sanko. "And you can bark orders all you like, but remember that we are not Vanguard."
"You may not be, but the Elroys are."
'No, we aren't,' said Axiolis. 'Not anymore.'
Sanko stared at him now. "You claim you are not traitors, yet now you tell me you have abandoned your duty?"
"You cannot honestly expect them to stay with you!" said Rayen.
"They are Rainlords first and foremost," said Octavia.
Zeff could feel his brethren crowding in around him, as if preparing to shield him with their very bodies. Rayen and Octavia stood in front, Evangelina and Santos in back, while Socorro circled around to the right.
And they weren't alone, either. Farther away, servants from the five presiding families had gathered to observe. They squatted inside blown-out buildings or stood upon nearby rooftops or hunkered behind manmade barricades, and there was no doubt in Zeff's mind that they would all jump in to lend a hand if the need arose. Not necessarily to protect Zeff, of course, but certainly to protect the respective head of their household.
"Ha..." The sight of their collective body language seemed to make an impression on Sanko. "You Rainlords... you certainly are a curious lot. You asked me to save you from this mess, and yet now you believe you can defeat me?"
"We didn't ask you to save us," said Rayen. "We asked you to do your job. Out of respect for the Vanguard's jurisdiction, though that respect is diminishing rather quickly at the moment. And, perhaps, we also hoped that corruption had not spread to your core."
"Ah."
"Do you not consider yourself responsible for the actions of your men?" asked Octavia.
Sanko fell briefly silent as she looked over her audience another time. "Honorable Rainlords," she said, almost laughing. Whether it was amusement or awe, Zeff could not rightly tell. "Nearly to the point of madness, but honorable nonetheless. Very well. Let us speak terms. What would it take to placate your anger here?"
The six ruling Rainlords exchanged looks with one another.
Octavia was the first to speak up. "This is why we wanted to have a meeting earlier. We have three conditions. First, you must return Francisco Elroy and the reaper Dennex to us. Second, you must also give us Xavier Lawrence and the reaper Dergoz, so that we may ensure they are given a proper trial for their crimes." And perhaps Octavia expected to be interrupted there, because she paused.
But all Sanko said was, "And the third condition?"
"The Vanguard must leave our territory. That means all of Sair west of the Waress Mountains, including Rhein's Keep here."
"Quite demanding, that last one."
Octavia returned a thin smile. "In another age, we would have simply executed all of your men without consulting you."
Sanko breathed a laugh. "Simpler times, to be sure."
Then came silence as the Rainlords responded no further, deciding only to wait as Sanko deliberated. In the intervening period, the watchmen that she ordered out earlier arrived through the hole in the gate. She spoke to them in turns, quietly enough that the Rainlords could not hear what she was saying. She showed them the photographs they had taken, presumably attempting to corroborate as much of Parson's information as she could.
At length, she concluded with the watchmen, took one more opportunity to mull things over on her own, and then returned to speak with the Rainlords.
"I find your demands agreeable," she said. "I am willing to grant you all three of them."
Rayen was the one to say it. "But?"
"But I have one condition of my own," said Sanko. "This matter of potential treason is not something that can simply be overlooked. If not properly addressed, the ripple effects could result in the loss of hundreds, if not thousands, of good Vanguardian soldiers--and by extension, the countless civilian lives that they protect."
"State your condition," said Rayen.
Sanko gave her a look. "You must submit yourselves to a formal investigation by the Vanguard so that these allegations against you may be put to rest."
Zeff saw the shifting postures around him. Already, he could tell that they were going to reject her.
"Once your innocence is confirmed," Sanko went on, "you have my word that all of your conditions will be met."
Rayen shook her head. "After everything your people have put us through, why would we ever believe that such an investigation would be fairly conducted?"
"Because I give you my word that it will be," said Sanko.
"Of course you do," said Octavia. "But even if we presume that you are trustworthy, your people have already proven that they are not."
"Your condition is unacceptable," said Rayen.
Sanko tilted her head. "Can the two of you merely decide that by yourselves? And so quickly? Should you not at least discuss the matter among you? What do the other four say?"
"This is not something which requires debating," said Evangelina Stroud. "You may consider this our resignation as well."
"Indeed," said Socorro Garza. "We have already told you to leave, and you have responded by offering to invade our privacy more than ever before."
"The Ladies have the truth of it," said Santos Zabat. "I stand with them."
And when Zeff didn't add anything, Sanko took notice, indigo eyes lingering on him.
"...Do not ask my opinion," said Zeff. "You would like it even less than theirs."
Sanko exhaled a heavy breath and stiffened. "Well, then," she said, still with two voices. "It appears there is nothing more to say."
Octavia Redwater placed both hands upon her cane. "So it does."