Saving Hibreon Ch. 05

"Confession," Wy automatically corrected.

Lost replied with an irritated, "Pfft. Yeah, I say that, Wy."

Kytia smiled and asked, "What do you want to tell us? And if you're finally admitting that you turned all my white tank tops pink, I already know it was you."

Lost presented the innocent wide eyes she used when she wasn't ready to cop to something she'd done. "Nuh-uh, I do not that." Then she firmed her expression and asked, "You let me spek, or nai?"

"Of course," Kytia said. After spending a few seconds in Lost's sternest glare, Kytia apologized. "Sorry, sweetie. I'm listening."

Lost confessed, "We got ghosts. A lot ghosts. I broke Hibreon, but I gonna fix. 'Kay?"

Kytia dropped her smile. "What the fuck?"

"We got ghosts—" Lost began again.

Kytia snapped, "Yeah, I got that part. Explain it!"

Lost told her story in rapid-fire ylf'nim, while Araquies quietly translated it all for Wy. As the tale unfolded, Wy felt goose bumps prickle, and the hair on his arms and neck stood up. Dead people were supposed to go to the Sacred Empire or to the Infernal Tempest. They weren't supposed to stick around and creep him out.

Kytia's head swiveled from Lost, to Wy, to Araquies, and back. "Gods. Fucking. Damn it! How are we supposed to fix this?!"

Her shoulders scrunched up high, and Lost said, "I know not that, yet."

Araquies tried to lend some peace. "Please, let us all be calm. When an Oracle speaks, their divine words may, initially, be misunderstood. Sometimes, we must take their words away to contemplate the message in them."

"I think the message is pretty damn clear," Kytia said. "Hibreon is fucked."

"Fooked," Lost agreed. Then she quietly added, "And I like pink."

Wy said, "We'll figure this out, okay?" Then he couldn't help himself. The idea of spirits crowding around gave him the willies. "A-are there ghosts in here, with us, right now?"

Lost scanned the interior of the shuttle and shrugged again. "Na'i."

Wy was relieved when Commander Lem announced, "We're almost there. If you want to suit up, now's the time to do it."

Kytia and Lost moved to the back to put their armor on. Wy didn't want to put his mechanical suit on unless he absolutely had to. While his mates changed, he took the opportunity to speak with Araquies alone.

Wy took a copy of the Ay'niki data crystal from his pocket and slipped it to the Eloua. Araquies blinked and asked, "What is this?"

Wy leaned in and answered in a hushed tone. "The blue-skins were experimenting on the elves. There's a lot of science in here that I don't understand. Your people are genetic engineers, and way better at it than the Ay'niki, I'd imagine. You can get this to your doctors, figure out what they're doing to Kytia's people. Whatever they're doing, it can't be good. They need to be stopped."

A slight ripple of pale orange interrupted Araquies' aqua glow, and he shook his head. "We had assumed some epiphany in your most recent discussion with your mates. And yet, here you are, again withholding information from them." He closed his long fingers over the device and said, "But we will do as you ask."

Wy felt the heat of embarrassment, but he couldn't talk to Kytia about the alien experiments. She'd been tampered with, and though it left her with the ability to regenerate, it also left her with a feeling of unease about her own body. Kytia believed there was only one Ay'niki scientist that took ylf'nim apart, and that being was dead. If she knew about what Wy thought he saw in the blue-skins' files, it would crush her.

There were no immediate signs of Ay'niki activity in the mountains. So, the pilot set the shuttle down as close to the village as he could. From there, they hiked on foot towards Fjallheim. When they neared the outskirts, they came upon a grisly display of Ay'niki remains. Bent and shattered pieces of alien armor were propped up, and their skulls were stacked on poles. The whole mess had an eerie glow in the setting sun, for it had been spattered with a bioluminescent paint. It was a macabre warning to anyone approaching the Norrhim.

Kytia whispered, "What the fuck is this, Wy?" He assumed the question was rhetorical and didn't answer.

Lost simply commented, "Ew."

As dire as the warning markers were, Wy took it for a good sign. It meant his people had fought the invaders and won. Wyfrost was in the lead. He moved loud and deliberate, eventually calling out his presence in his native tongue. He anticipated a return call, but no one answered him. The only sound were the crickets and the crunch of their own boots.

Someone should have answered him, and Wy's excitement turned to dread. He broke into a run, calling out again and again. He heard Kytia mutter, "Oh shit." Then she was right behind him and catching up to run alongside.

Fjallheim was deserted. A few of the homes had been burned, but they were still standing. Even the longhouse was intact. The elf quarter had taken the most damage, many of their buildings been taken right down to the foundations. It was clear there had been a battle, but if the Norrhim and mages had won, they should have been there. If the Ay'niki had killed or enslaved the whole village, then who could have made the warnings?

Wy was so shaken and confused that he barely noticed when Lost, Araquies, and Lem caught up with him. Then Lost took his hand and tucked her fingers in between his. Araquies voiced Wy's own thoughts. "There must be someone who can tell us what happened here."

Kytia shouted from the doorway of the longhouse. "Wy, I think they just... left."

Wy kept Lost's hand in his, grateful for her comfort. They joined Kytia who had apparently been opening doors and peeking inside buildings. She pointed into the longhouse to make her point. "Look," she said. "There's nothing here. No clothes, no valuables, no art, nothing. Could they have gone somewhere? Is there a place your people might think is safer than here?"

Lost looked up at Wy and asked, "Boonker?"

He frowned at her and shook his head. "What?"

She pointed at the ground and emphatically spoke. "Boonker!"

Araquies helped with, "Bunker. The Oracle is suggesting that your people may have had a vault underground where they could shelter from the invasion."

"No," Wy said, but it did give him an idea. "If they left, I think I know where they could be."

His companions collected around him, and Wy explained. "There's a hunting camp on the coast just passed the arctic circle. We send hunting parties there in the summer." He smiled as his idea began to solidify. "The Ay'niki hate the cold. When Dar'Vem took Mila and I, he couldn't wait to get off the ice."

Lem groaned and gave a preemptive shiver. He said, "It just so happens that the Sil and the Eloua also hate the cold."

Wy smirked, "Well, you're going to have to get over it, if you want access to Lost's ship."

"North!" Lost announced while extending her arm and index finger to point the way.

Kytia took Lost's arm and swiveled her direction from east to north. She quipped, "Stellar navigation, huh?"

"Yeah," Lost answered. Then she marched in a northward way.

Wy called after her, "Lost, if you want to get to Luma sometime in the near future, we should head back to the shuttle."

Lost stopped in her tracks and turned on her heel. Her finger still authoritatively in the air, she continued to march. This time, it was back the way they'd come.