The Paragon of Eden

Veena, as upset as she seemed, obliged pretty easily. She walked over to the Paragon and waited for Deelia, and Deelia went along for the sake of banishing the silence. Things needed to move for her to think, and being pointed in a direction was usually a good thing. For now, though, it led her away from Hau. As she followed the other girl, who she realized was just as tall as her and likely the same age, she looked back at Hau. He did not look back at her. His attention was fixed on Neem and Hanin.

After stepping along a raised pathway that led to the platform surrounding the shallow lake, they passed a sweeping curtain and made it to some hall of repeating beautiful arches. There, they walked until they came to a staircase that led to a wide, open room, and this room had many doorways that led to balconies with seats and tables. They had walked quite a distance, and the conversations below were no longer audible. The silence stretched on as they reached the tables.

Deelia felt out of place, here. These people seemed well-dressed, but they were also far too casual for the circumstances. If they were apart from any government, were they above them? Were they some secret third rivalry? Was this simply some gang of old friends?

If she were with Hau, Deelia would have felt much more comfortable wearing her city clothing that complimented his own. The rest of these people seemed dressed for business.

Since it only felt natural, Deelia did the one thing she could and sat down at one of the chairs. To her surprise, Veena sat down across from her. Was she not going to return to the council?

“So,” she began. “You heard my name is Veena, right?”

Deelia nodded. She wasn’t mute, she was just being serious.

“Do you have a name?”

“Deelia,” Deelia said.

“Ok, Deelia. How much did he tell you?”

“Who?”

“Hau. Did he mention us before he brought you here?”

“No…”

“Typical. I shouldn’t even have asked.” She was off-putting and discomforting, interrogating Deelia in her current condition. She was being familiar, and yet she was being hostile. And she knew what was typical of Hau, didn’t she? She knew more about him than Deelia did.

“He isn’t like that,” Deelia said.

“Oh, How long have you known him?”

Deelia shrunk into her seat. “Two or three days…”

“So, he just randomly took in some random girl one day without any reason, kidnapped you, and brought you here. I don’t think you know what that means for your future, do you?”

“He saved me.”

“Alright, that makes more sense. Except it doesn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Just tell me the full story so I can think some more, ok?”

“He saved me from a band of pirates…”

“And? He just strolled in to save the young damsel in distress?”

“No, he was there when I… When the pirates…”

“So he was there when you got there, and then he broke out and took you with him.”

“Yes.”

“Any idea why?”

“Does there have to be? He saved me because he is a good person. I know that.”

“Ha! That’s cute.”

“He did!”

“What about the other prisoners?”

“He tried to save them, I think. He gave the others some keys to escape, and I didn’t see anybody else from my home world.”

“So he just left them to overthrow those pirates and likely establish another, separate group of equally vile pirates.”

“No, he blew the place up in his Paragon.”

“So he didn’t save them!”

“Maybe they got away…”

“Listen to me, Denila, He didn’t save them. He killed everyone in that base, whether they were holding him captive or down there in the cell with him. If there was anyone besides you who had breathed the same air as him in that general area, they are no longer alive. Hau killed them.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“But you saw it happen.”

“He isn’t like that.”

“Why is that.”

“He saved me, and he took me… far away from that place.”

“And you said you know two days’ worth of him?”

“Well…”

“Do you know how long we’ve known him for? I don’t think you need to know exactly. It’s already obvious that it’s been more than two days.”

Deelia hated this. Couldn’t Hau just come and save her again? No, these people were the only obstacles that he could not easily pass over. They were on his level, it seemed. And they hated him, and they would likely team up on him if it came to that. Deelia hated to feel cornered like this. Perhaps Veena was right, though. Perhaps Deelia didn’t know Hau as much as she thought she did. Did she know anyone, really?

The silence didn’t stretch on for too much longer. Footsteps sounded in the great room inside the dull orange walls. Were there other people living in this strange place?

No, it was that same group of people that Hau had come here for. They seemed to be done with the council downstairs, and they were still talking. Deelia saw through the doorway that Hau wasn’t with them.

Veena got out of her seat and went to them. Deelia followed, afraid to prove to be out of place here.

“—seriously need one contingency plan in the same place as another? Neemy’s Judas should be enough by itself.” That came from the man who piloted the monster of flesh, a disheveled figure with large glasses.

“Do you have a better place in mind for the rest of us to be, Sen?” asked Hanin.

“Plenty. We really can’t go wrong with where we decide to further prevent an outbreak.”

“We can’t get more involved than we already are,” said the pilot of the silver Warback. “This whole thing is just turning into a giant mess. Sure, Judas is specialized at protecting, but my Shrike and your Dragon can only do so much with destruction. Even the Oracle or Guardian--.”

“Shhhh!”

“What?”

“Look who’s here.”

“So? Just wipe her memory and--.”

“No, Hau is planning something. We can’t let this go unanswered.”

“Um…” Deelia said.

The others turned to her. They never lost face, even in their most heated arguments. They all rivaled each other in every way. Deelia was a candle to their flames. Still, she had to do something. She wasn’t being kidnapped again without her consent.

“Hau went away,” Sen said. “He’s on duty. It’s not important. He’ll probably come back. He might not. Let’s hope he doesn’t.”

“If he doesn’t,” Hanin began, “It can’t be that he was killed without our means. He is too powerful. It would only mean he is getting away with much more under our noses.”

Why did they all hate him so much? Beyond her pity for Hau, Deelia was also beginning to feel alone among these strange people. And they could also just wipe her memory at any time, they said. She held value, apparently, so they didn’t. Hau wouldn’t have treated her like an object. He was caring to her. Veena had suggested that Hau wouldn’t have saved her, but were any of them any better? Hau was.

“What’s your name, girl?” Hanin asked.

“Deelia.”

“Deelia, I apologize for this inconvenience, but you will not be permitted to leave this place. We don’t know for how long. Let that give you the peace of mind that we have you in our care. You know as much as we do as to what Hau is doing. Maybe more. Veena, find Deelia a place to stay in the Sanctuary. The rest of you are dismissed.”

They all turned their backs and walked away. Even Veena followed suit, though she was likely expecting Deelia to follow.

“Wait,” Deelia said.

Veena turned around, looking condescendingly at Deelia.

“What are you to him?”

Veena laughed. The others paused and looked at her, then at Deelia.

“You thought there was something between me and him?”

“No, I was just--.”

“You don’t think we’re serious about this? I’ll show you how serious we are about how much we hate him.” Veena strode over to Deelia, producing a strange black dagger in her right hand. In a maneuver that looked both skilled and casual at once, she plunged the dagger into Deelia’s chest.

Deelia recoiled, expecting pain, expecting her death. Instead, there was nothing. The dagger had vanished, or maybe it had gone somewhere inside of her, benign yet threatening.

“That dagger won’t hurt you,” Veena said. “It’ll only kill you if you try summoning it. Quickly and painlessly. Try to sell it, try to kill someone you hate, try to trim your nails, you’ll die. The only circumstance where you can summon that dagger and not die, Deelia, is if your intention is entirely to kill Hau. Understand? We are giving you a tool you can use to kill Hau.”

“I can’t--.”

“It’s not a mission,” Neem said, “It’s a statement. You don’t have to ever use it in your life. Just know that we are confident enough that you will make the same decision as us when the time comes.”

“I won’t.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Hanin said. “Deelia, we have never welcomed any guests to this place before. For now, you can consider yourself an Unofficial part of the Angels of Dusk.”

“What’s the point of that?” Veena asked.

“You gave her that dagger. She had a part to play, now, too.”