Page 100 of Only Cold Depths
Two hours had passed since the mercenary attack on the Collier estate. The wounded were being tended to, as were the dead, and we had all gathered in Aldrich’s library to figure out what to do next. Well, everyone else had gathered here to figure out what to do next. I already knew exactly what I was going to do: find and rescue Kyrion.
I’d already sent Daichi all the information about the attack, and I was hoping he could figure out where Esmina and Pollux were headed. Hehadto figure it out.
I had to find Kyrion before it was too late.
Zane looked over at me, and I glared right back at him. It was his blasted fault I hadn’t been able to save Kyrion. Zane quirked an eyebrow as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.
A soft chime rang out.
Everyone glanced around, and Verona raised her tablet. “It’s mine. We’ve just received a video-chat request—from Leland.”
Verona swiped her finger across the screen, and a hologram of Leland popped up and flickered in the air.
“Hello, Verona, Aldrich,” he said in a smug tone. “In case you haven’t guessed, I’m contacting you to formally tender my resignation.”
Aldrich stepped forward, his hands clenching into fists. “Why did you lower the shield? Why did you betray House Collier?”
“Betray House Collier?” Leland sniffed. “I didn’t betray you, Aldrich. I simply got tired of swallowing the table scraps of power you deigned to dole out. I should have been running my own House instead of toiling away as your chief of staff. Iwouldhave been running my own House, if not for Urston Armas’s mistakes. That idiot cost me everything.”
Asterin jerked forward, her body tense. “What do you know about my father?”
Leland sniffed again. “I know he was a grand fool, just as you are, my dear.”
Asterin started to ask another question, but Verona laid a hand on her daughter’s arm and shook her head.
Leland looked at Aldrich again. “Consider this my last duty as your chief of staff. Who knows? Perhaps our paths will cross again someday. But in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy a much-needed vacation funded by my new friends.”
Leland grinned, then disappeared. For a moment, the hologram went dark, but then another familiar face appeared: Esmina.
“Greetings to House Collier. I hope you all enjoyed my little surprise party,” she purred. “I certainly did, watching the House of Collier take such a great fall. It reminded me of old times.”
Aldrich’s fists clenched a little tighter. “What do you want?”
“I have Kyrion Caldaren, and if you want him back, you will follow my instructions exactly,” Esmina continued. “Bring one hundred million credits on unmarked currency cards to the designated location at sunset. Otherwise, I’ll start cutting off pieces of Kyrion and delivering them to you.”
The hologram flickered, and Kyrion appeared. His head was slumped down, and he was clearly unconscious, but his body was propped upright, and his chest was encased in some sort of stone that anchored him to a wall. Given the oily sludge coating the bond, I hadn’t been able to sense if the mercenaries were hurting Kyrion, and seeing that he was more or less okay unwound a tiny knot of tension in my chest.
Still, I couldn’t help but wonderwhythe mercenaries had kidnapped him. Esmina had plenty of credits, power, and influence as the head of Serpens Corp, and she had no financial need to ransom Kyrion back to anyone. What was this really about?
Esmina held up a finger. “One more thing. Vesper Quill has something I want—the solution to fix a powerful new weapon. Vesper will bring that solution to me, or Kyrion dies. Vesper will come alone. If I see any Hammers or House Collier guards, Kyrion dies. Basically, if any of you do anything I don’t like, Kyrion dies.”
I could hear what she wasn’t saying: Kyrion was going to die anyway, even if we all did exactly what she said.
“But let’s go back to the beginning. I’ve made my demands absolutely clear, so let’s hope there are no messy mistakes on your end and that history doesn’t repeat itself,” Esmina said. “The ransom site has been geotagged in this message. If I were you, I’d get busy. See you soon, Vesper.”
She grinned at the camera, then slashed her hand across her throat. The feed cut off, and the hologram winked out.
Aldrich spun around to me. “What weapon is she talking about?”
I sighed, but the time for hiding the truth was over. Esmina had made sure of that. “When I was working at Kent Corp, I designed a new hand cannon, but Rowena Kent secretly turned my idea over to the Techwave.”
“So what?” Siya asked. “Every corporation, Imperium and Erzton alike, is always designing new weapons.”
“The Techwave scientists modified my original design, and they’ve created a new hand cannon that is strong enough to cut through defensive energy shields. But the true value of the weapon is that it can wound—kill—even the most powerful psions, Arrows and Hammers alike.”
A stunned silence dropped over the room.
Aldrich raked a hand through his hair. “Our spies had heard the rumors, but we were hoping they weren’t true.”
