Riley Nyt and The Mortal Order

Chapter 13 - Territory

A suffocating blanket of heavy powder rested on jagged ground, rendering the Himalayan Mountains into a heavenly landscape of white and soft blue.

Cassidy burrowed deeper into the dense blankets, her body aching from the past few days of training with Katherine. Her sister was a good teacher, her intelligence had always lain with the workings of weapons and techniques of martial arts. They may have not been raised to hold wicked knives from birth, like the Nyt's and other normal vestral families, but where teachers saw an academic slacker in Katherine, Cassidy had seen how hard her sister had trained. While Grayson and Cassidy had poured over their favourite textbooks at the Academy, Katherine and Riley had sharpened their minds clashing swords and spears in the training dome.

Cassidy got of bed, dragging a blanket around her stiff shoulders. Riley's desk was haphazardly neat. Someone, probably Grayson or Olympia had added little stationary boxes and Riley had only stuffed some letters into them.

She and Cassidy had gone through them the night before and Cassidy reopened the one that had intrigued her the most.

She had never considered Riley and Julien da Silva close friends. They had disapproved of each other's tactics since the second they had formed an alliance in one of their training simulations but when Julien's protistic leg had been crushed in the rock fall caused by Grayson's vesence, Riley had gone back for him. And when he had ignored Riley and got caught in a pyro vesence ambush, Riley had sworn like a sailor and ran through the smoking forest to find him. So, when Riley had planned to go after Cassidy in Normandy by herself, Julien had helped her sneak out of the Academy and when Riley had planned to break Cassidy out of Windstorm Prison, Julien had answered her call, despite everything that had led them there.

The letter was creased, its paper pale and chalky. It had been sent to the Nyt Palace four years ago and no one had touched it, hoping Riley would return to read the messy, scratchy writing of a scowling, green-eyed boy.

Julien had written in short, blunt sentences, stating that he was heading into the realms for private contract work. It wasn't uncommon for the vestral trade industry, new development science covens and spice packs to send in runners, enforcers and businessmen to ensure the trade between the Earth realm and the realms of Sloth, Lust and Greed. In the old history, the Earth realm had been the realm of Avarice but after the Realm War, the vestrals had claimed independence for their realm and settled for the mortal name.

Julien hadn't specified his true purpose in the realms but he had implored Riley to not share this information with Katherine. Cassidy supposed it was because she was Serviant and had the jurisdiction to go search for him, which she certainly would have done had she known where to look. Riley had assumed that he had sent the letter to perhaps ask her for help, which had never been one of his strong suits.

Now Cassidy sat at the desk, running her fingers over the raised ink grooves and wondered if she should tell Katherine. The Mortal Order was priority of missing persons but, Julien had been their friend. More than a friend to Katherine. They couldn't just abandon him, even if they were awfully late to the rescue.

Cassidy scanned the letter again, looking for hints or clues Julien might have hidden in the letter. Maybe she and Riley could go look for him. He didn't want Katherine looking and he would have been furious to be rescued by Grayson, so why not?

There was a sharp rap on the bedroom door before it was flung open and a fuming Alexandria stormed in.

"What did you do to her?" she demanded, her cheeks red and strands of long curly hair had tugged free of her ponytail.

Cassidy rose slowly, "Pardon?"

"Riley," Alexandria stamped her foot and stalked to the low burning fire that Riley must have lit early that morning before leaving to go jogging with her sister – a new morning routine, "No matter what I saw or do, she just smiles or laughs! Barely even snaps back."