A Call for Brighter Days: Aeriel Trilogy #2

“That they’re not.” Banki chuckled. “Still…erratic, moody bastards they might be, but there’s no easier way to kill an Aeriel than with another Aeriel. We were doing well enough before. But we’ve Hunted more Aeriels in the last six months than in the last ten years. No more scavenging for us. If the government had any sense, they’d get rid of the Hunter Corps and hire us instead.”

“The pay is terrible.” Ruban shook his head. “Trust me, you’re better off.”

“So I’ve heard. You’re welcome to switch sides. Janak did, and look where he is now. Besides, you’ve got quite the reputation. We’d be honored to work with the man who killed Tauheen. The pay’s good.” He leered. “The benefits are better.”

“Is that why Janak is looking for Reivaa?” Ruban raised an eyebrow. “For the ‘benefits’?”

Banki stiffened. “What’re you–”

“Don’t bother.” Ruban held up a hand. “We know he’s looking for her. Has been, for a while now. The question is, does he want to kill her or recruit her?”

A few seconds passed in silence, and Ruban wondered if he was going to get a response. Then, Banki sighed, pressing the heels of his shackled hands to his eyes. “If he finds out I told you… That I spoke to Hunters about–”

“He won’t.” Simani directed a baffled gaze at Ruban, but her tone remained steady and reassuring. “Every word spoken in this room is confidential. None of this will be repeated at the trial, or on any other public platform. This information is for our investigation, and that’s all it’ll be used for.”

After a few more seconds of hesitation, Banki relented. Ruban supposed the fear of being torn apart by vengeful Aeriels overshadowed any punishment Janak Nath might mete out for tattling to the Hunters.

“Janak wants revenge.” Banki swallowed, looking away. “He wants to make Reivaa pay for what she did to him. And he’ll stop at nothing until he’s got his hands on her.

“He was always a little obsessed with her. But she went underground after her escape. No one saw hide nor hair of her for over ten years. All the leads dried up eventually.” He shrugged. “And there’s only so far you can chase a ghost. But ever since the rumors of her re-emergence started gaining steam last year, Janak’s been like a man possessed. I’ve never seen him like this before; none of us have.”

“Revenge?” Ruban repeated, his mind racing. “For what?”

“For the humiliation, of course. Janak and his partner were discharged from the Hunter Corps after Reivaa escaped. Although it was Subhas Kinoh who deferred the execution, which gave her the chance to flee.

“But the politicians needed a scapegoat. And Kinoh’s wife died two days after Reivaa’s flight. Besides, he was popular within the Corps and had the sympathy of the media. So the axe fell on Janak and his partner, as they’d been overseeing Reivaa’s security detail on the night she escaped. They were both dismissed from the Corps and lambasted by the media.” Banki smirked. “Can’t blame the man for holding a grudge. Who wouldn’t?”

Simani frowned. “This partner–”

“Dead. Killed himself within a month of the dismissal. You can look it up if you like. His name was Ashfaq Dishari.” Absentmindedly, Banki picked at the shackles that bound him to the chair. “After his death, Janak left Ragah for the heartlands and eventually joined the feather mafia. If the government wouldn’t have him, he could use those Hunting skills to make some actual money for once in his life.”

Ruban nodded. “And I suppose the gangs weren’t complaining.”

“They lapped him up. They’d never had a member actually trained in Hunting before. There’s a reason we scavenge more than we Hunt. Hunting, for the mafia, has always been a matter of trial and error. Only, every error costs a life, if not more. Any gang having the slightest edge there is miles ahead of all the rest. Look at how fast Qawirsin has grown. And once we find Reivaa,” he smirked. “It’ll only get better.”

Simani’s brows drew together, her expression mystified. “But Reivaa is dead.”

Banki laughed. “And who fed you that piece of bullshit? There’s only one Aeriel in the world with two crimson markings on its wings. Like the ones the X-classes have, with one extra on each wing. Reivaa’s the only Aeriel ever seen with markings like those. Even Tauheen had three, not two.”

“She was, I know. But she died last year at Zikyang forest.”

Banki looked from Simani to Ruban, then back again. Finally, he cracked a smile, his shoulders losing some of their rigidity. “Nice try! You’re real good, you are! I’d have believed you too, if I hadn’t seen her with my own two eyes less than a fortnight ago. And I wasn’t alone, either.”

Before either of the Hunters could respond, Banki exhaled sharply and continued. “Those wings… Kind of hard to miss, aren’t they? Harder to forget once you’ve seen ’em. By God, I’ve known Janak for more than a decade, and I’d never seen him more excited than the day he first heard she was back.

“We didn’t believe it initially, of course. No one did. Those sorts of rumors come and go. But the sightings never stopped, and the reports kept trickling in. We sent our boys to lure her out.” He shrugged. “But she’s good. Killed all but one of them with a fire shell. And the one that escaped died of his injuries within the week. Not that that’s a surprise. They say she was the queen’s right hand, way back before the Rebellion. Probably why she was able to put one over on the Hunters and escape.”

“But you say you saw her,” Simani prompted, setting her empty teacup down carefully.

“I did. As did many others. And not just once. After all, there’s no mistaking those markings on the wings. She’s been seen on and off since Tauheen re-emerged last year. And the sightings have become more frequent since the mafia started working with Aeriels. Guess she isn’t too happy about that.” He licked his lips. “Well, she’s going to be far less happy once Janak gets his hands on her. Never thought I’d feel sorry for an Aeriel, but there you have it. You don’t want to get on the wrong side of Janak Nath if you value your life and sanity.”

“And how does Janak plan to entrap Reivaa?” Ruban asked, his throat tight.

Banki grinned toothily, his expression dark. “I’ve no idea. He didn’t say.”