"Good morning, Sun," Cage greeted with a wide, friendly smile.
"Morning," she returned, joining them at the table they were sitting at.
Commander Mercer poured her a cup of hot tea, which she accepted gratefully. She decided she would talk to Mercer privately. It was possible he would just think she was crazy, and she would rather not have an audience for that. She didn't know how much he actually knew about what she could do and tried to remember how much she had spoken about it to her instructors in the past. Whatever information Mercer had on her would have come from them.
"We'll take a look at the farms outside of the village today," Mercer told them, the others nodding.
Footsteps on the stairs had them all turning to see Seph making his way down. He was running his hand through his bed hair.
"Getting an early start, are we?" Seph asked, stifling a yawn.
Having the middle shift for watch was probably the worst one; she felt for him there.
"There's no urgency; we have time for breakfast," Cage said.
They all headed to the kitchen to see what they could scrounge up, which mostly consisted of canned and dried food, given all the perishables were gone. They had brought some rations with them but preferred to save them for travel.
After breakfast, Sun was hoping to catch a moment alone with Commander Mercer, but when he divided them up and she was with Cage and Seph, she internally cringed. And not entirely because it was Seph.
"Before we set out, could I talk to you for a second?" Sun asked the Commander. "Privately."
Mercer looked to Cage and the boys. "Go out and get the horses ready."
They left, and Mercer looked at her expectantly. She took a breath to steel herself for his questions and probable disbelief.
"I found the bodies of the villagers," she said.
His brow furrowed, but he urged her to go on.
"They're on the other side, in the Traverse."
The furrow in his brow deepened, but he didn't accuse her of lying or being crazy.
"I understand your abilities centre around the Traverse," he said. "But your dossier is a bit light on details."
"Kalys doesn't want me to talk about them," she said. "And even before he told me not to, I didn't really explain much. It made a lot of people...uncomfortable."
Or at times outright hostile. Some instructors saw the use; others saw her as stomping all over their beliefs. While the Traverse was generally accepted, what it looked like, who went there, what else resided there, and its purpose were still up for debate in a lot of places with a lot of people. Granted, she didn't have all the answers, but she knew more about that place than most.
"Explain it to me—what you saw, how you found them."
"When I sleep, I can't dream; I just end up in the Traverse. When I fell asleep last night, there were just... bodies everywhere. Normally it's... ghosts, I guess. They're moving and talking. Last night they were just... empty and lying there. Physical things aren't supposed to be in the Traverse; everything is just made of energy. I don't understand how they could have gotten there."
"Do you know how to bring them back?"
She shook her head, relieved he believed her. "Maybe if I could figure out how they got there in the first place... But, when I touched a couple of them, they just turned to dust."
"I suppose that would make bringing them back intact impossible."
Mercer appeared to fade into thought for a few moments; this was an unprecedented situation. She doubted even someone with his extensive career in the Revenants knew how to approach this. Spending almost half her life in the Traverse certainly hadn't given her any insight into this problem.
"I don't suppose you found any sign of Harker," he said.
She shook her head. "Sorry. I'll keep looking tonight."
"You only enter the Traverse when you sleep?"
This time she nodded. She could see into it in the reflections of water, but even then it depended on light and angles.
"Is this why you asked about your assignment here yesterday?" He asked, realisation hitting.
She nodded. "I wasn't sure then, though; it was just a feeling."
Mercer realised that would mean they knew. Perdition knew this had something to do with the Traverse the entire time and had neglected to tell him. Though there was the slight possibility of it all being a coincidence... He was torn between giving them the benefit of the doubt and his extensive career seeing firsthand the kind of manipulations they were capable of when they felt it necessary.
"All right, I think we need to speak to the other Division working on this," he sighed out.
"Which Division is it?"
"The ninth," he replied. "I'm not sure exactly where they are, but I have a general idea of where they set up base. We'll go ahead with our search of the farmsteads to be thorough. I'll have Cage scout for the Ninth members, and the rest of us will stick together while he's gone."
She nodded, following him outside. The rain was now a drizzle, and the others were standing in it with the horses. There were only four; someone would have to double up.
"Change of plans," Mercer told them. "Cage, I need you to track down the Ninth. I think they might have information we could use. They should be a few miles southwest of here."
"On it," he said.
She thought he would climb onto one of the horses and ride off. Instead he turned around and leaped into the air, transforming into a bird—some kind of falcon from the look of it—and flew off. He hadn't mentioned anything about what his ability was yesterday.
"Can he turn into anything?" Cullen asked the Commander. "Or only that bird?"
"Any animal," Mercer replied. "It could take some time before he finds them and returns. For now we'll continue our search of the outlying farms. Stay close, everyone."
Sun had never ridden a horse before, and so she was the last to climb up, paying close attention to how the others did it. She thought she had been successful in hiding her inexperience until Mercer brought his horse to her side, a kind smile on his face.
"Never ridden a horse before?" It came out more as a statement than question.
"Damn, is it that obvious?"
"A little bit."
He told her what to do, gave a few pointers, and a couple of tricks to help minimise the pain she'd be feeling later. It was a little embarrassing to be the only one of them that needed it, but she was grateful Cullen and Seph kept their mouths shut. Maybe in Seph's case that had a lot to do with her brother's reaction to their fight.
They rode out of the village at a pace that didn't feel all that much faster than walking. They could see a few farmhouses dotted in the distance, and they looked just as empty as the rest of the village from here.
Sun felt none of them really expected to find anything out there.
They stopped at the nearest house first, leaving the horses tethered outside. It was just a small home, the fields barren for the winter. There was a barn, but like the rest of the area, everything was dead silent, no animals meandering about or making noise from within.
Inside the dim house they let in a bit more light by opening shutters and curtains. There was a layer of dust over everything, but unlike the the inn no food had been left out. From the smell throughout the place, though, whatever they had in storage was long past its prime.
"Feels empty," Mercer said. "But we'll check to be sure."
They split up to do just that; with the creaky floorboards, it was easy for everyone to keep track of each other. They searched every inch of the house, every cupboard, wardrobe, and under the beds. Sun found herself in a child's room, going by the small bed with the colourful homemade quilt and the few toys scattered about. She would not want to see what was on the other side of the divide.
Having found nothing, she rejoined the others in the kitchen. They had all come up empty. Not even a hint as to what might have happened to the occupants. But given what she'd seen last night, she had an idea.
With that, they moved on to the next house, then the next, then the next...
-
Kalys stood in the centre of Sun's room, his nightly walks having brought him here for the fourth night in a row. The fourth night since she had left. The first time he'd wound up here had been quite by accident. His nightly walks were something of a meditative exercise, and he had just found himself there with no thought to it.
At mealtimes, he found himself... missing her. He had expected as much when he learnt she was going to be sent out on assignment. But he hadn't expected how much. Her presence in the manor was a gentle hum he was constantly aware of, even if mostly in his periphery.
He had felt the distance grow between them after the way he had dealt with the boys she'd fought with. A reactivated wariness, despite how she'd tried to act as she normally did around him. But there was definitely less sass and a bit more pleasantness. He didn't want her walking on eggshells around him, even if it did make her more pleasant.
He looked at her bed, the blankets crisp and all made up. She hadn't slept in it for quite some time. The staff knew she slept in the cellar, but they didn't know why. Even Mika hadn't been made privy to the reason.
There had been no reports to arrive from the group sent out, but they likely had only just made it to their destination if the weather had been fair.
Though he was not one to second-guess or ruminate on his decisions, letting her go certainly had him rethinking the idea. People were disappearing. Vanishing into thin air. Sun could so easily become one of them. Perhaps he should have pulled her from the Revenants. He hadn't been able to stop Perdition from sending her out there, only have a more competent Commander assigned to it. If she weren't in the Revenants, they'd have no power over her.
But she would see it as him trying to assert more of his own control over her. Perhaps that was just a price he would have to pay to keep her safe.
He sat on the edge of the bed, catching the faintest whiff of her scent. Something floral with just a hint of gunpowder. She did spend a fair amount of time working on her guns or just cleaning them. And while she had been recovering from her stint in the lake, he had spent a lot of time in this room, around her.
On the bedside table sat the flowery ribbon she wore fairly often. He took it in hand, getting lost in flowers and thought. It was old, well-loved, and when he raised it to his nose, he caught even more of her scent in it, the soaps and lotions she used, and underneath that something uniquely her.
Though he spent all day almost every day around his Division members, their presence was tolerated. In her presence he found himself... content. A contentment he'd felt around no other. While he enjoyed his grandfather's company, it didn't produce the same kind of emotional reaction. Even being with his father hadn't elicited the same peace and contentment she did. And the fire she ignited in him... It made him uncomfortable, yet he couldn't get enough of it.
He clenched his fists hard enough to leave nail marks, forcing her from his thoughts. Thoughts of Sun often drove him to distraction these days; it was infuriating. All she did was exist in his presence, and it was enough.
More alluring women than Sun had thrown themselves at him, had had their families offer marriage, and he barely remembered their faces. Why did this slip of a girl—his own flesh and blood—tangle him in knots like no other ever had?
In the early days, when he still tried to deny his attraction to her, he tried to justify it. She was his sister; their situation was unconventional; they were still getting to know each other, and she had the Raven's Eye; she needed the attention and consideration.
She didn't need it so much as he wanted to lavish it upon her.
He stalked from her room, pocketing the ribbon. He had hoped distance from her might help the deviant feelings she stirred. He was wrong.
He left the manor, easily finding his way to the Gilded Lily. The house of ill repute was something he had visited in his youth, but it had been a few years since he was last there.
The Gilded Lily was his preferred establishment. The girls were clean, the rooms tasteful, and the employees were discrete. It even had a private entrance predominantly for men of his status. When he ducked through the thick black curtains, a woman was standing there waiting for him.
"Lord Illusen," she greeted, giving a curtsey. "It's been a while. I'm afraid Eline no longer works here."
"That's fine. I'm looking for something different."
"Do tell," she smiled pleasantly.
"Black hair, pale skin, blue eyes, petite..."
If the woman knew he was practically describing his sister, she gave nothing away. Of course, no one living had the same eyes Sun did, so he would have to settle for blue.
"I think we can manage that," Madam Matilde gestured for him to precede her through the only other door in the room.
If spending time with Sun didn't alleviate the desire for her, and neither did distance, then perhaps this was a way to release it.