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Chapter Two

Xaixek

My uncle was placed in a sealed box. I’d never see him again. I stared at the backs of the medics as they hauled him outside.

His throat had been slit nearly to the bone. Who wanted my Uncle Roult dead, and why? Questions jarred my brain, but there were no answers—yet.

If only I’d arrived in the village one day sooner, then I could have been around to save my uncle’s life. I was stripped with partial blame of myself, feeling as if this brutal slaying could have been prevented.

Sometimes, fate had other plans. The will of the universe marched to the beat of its own drum.

After the medic’s left, I stayed behind to scope out the perimeter of the house—both inside and out. My blood boiled with rage, the deeper I dove into the belly of the beast.

There were broken bottles and jars of food everywhere in the kitchen. Uncle’s cot where he slept was turned over.

I gritted my teeth and balled my fists into tight, angry weapons that were much to be feared against a predator. There was going to be hell to pay for whoever was responsible for this murder.

There must have been a struggle, judging by the disarray of the cabin. At least he wasn’t in pain any longer. His suffering was long gone, but the presence of his spirit lingered on in the house. His energy was everywhere. He wanted me to solve this case—I felt that in my bones. He left unfinished business, and that was unlike my uncle who had an outstanding reputation. In this case, he had no choice but to cease business. I vowed to him that I wouldn’t stop until I found his killer, putting the asshole to justice once and for all.

Footsteps shuffled behind me. I quickly spun around, griping the handle of my machete and pulling it out from it’s leather encasement.

King Crencik entered the cabin. He took one look at me and his eyes narrowed scathingly.

“Sheath your weapon at once, Xaixek.”

I pushed the weapon back into the sheath, but slowly and cautiously, giving him a questioning glance. “You have requested my presence to witness this atrocity?”

“This must be hard for you,” Crencik noted and a look of remorse fell over his face.

The King knew me all too well. I didn’t bother hiding my emotions. I couldn’t hide anything from the King even if I wanted too. The King had special powers. He could see right through, just like he was reading me as I stood about in my gloom. I would never wear my heart or my emotions on my sleeve. People took advantage of others like that. I knew that all too well.

He had jet black hair that stopped at his shoulders. His skin was graying just a bit, more so than it had in years past—but it was probably due to aging. He looked at me and opened his mouth, exposing his sharp incisor teeth. The King was intelligent and calculating, but in a way that benefited all. His son, Anik, the Crown Prince, still had not taken the throne even through King Crencik had all but tried to force the role upon his eldest living son. The Crown Prince believed that his time would come to rule, but he seemed to favor having his father hold the title and lend advise instead while he led our army and fought in battles.

“I’m sorry to hear about what happened to your uncle,” Crencik said.

“I, too, am sorry for him,” I said.

The medic and investigations unit was already invading the cabin as they set to work in picking up clues and evidence. Why would they need to so much evidence? The culprit was long gone, neither here nor there. What had been done was already done.

“Roult recently took in a human female,” Crencik mentioned. “She, too, is gone.”

“He told me about the human,” I said, frowning.

“This murder is suspicious…” he trailed off, his eyes still narrowed. “I think no human could’ve done this…yet…”

“Yet?” I tightened my jaw and straightened my posture. “What exactly are you implying?”

“It shouldn’t be any surprise to you that the human females that are being sent to us from Earth have been less willing to adapt themselves to their new environments, thus it is possible that she could’ve had a hand in it. I see that it’s what you’re thinking,” Crencik mentioned, looking at me inquisitively.

“When women are held against their will, they tend to lash out,” I replied, looking at the mess in the podhouse. “Blood is everywhere. There was a fight. I warned Roult about moving so far away from the settlement. He was probably unable to reach help in time and bled out.”

King Crencik sighed. “He wanted to settle on new lands. He thought it would bring him more inspiration for his work. He reminds me of you, in a way. He wasn’t fearful of anything.”

“He’s not fearful and yet he hesitates to kill to save himself and now he is dead,” I said, between clenched teeth.

“Not everyone is a skilled warrior, Xaixek. Even when he fought, he would always come home with dozens of battle wounds hoping they would heal. He was a careful fighter, killing only when necessary.”

“I am no warrior anymore either but in the case of life, death is necessary. He wanted an heir and yet it seems this human female took his throat instead. The air reeks of poison. Blood and poison. She poisoned him. Probably seduced him with her fertile human body to lure him in.”