Worlds Apart

Chapter 40

R E D • T H R E A D

Daisha leaned back in her chair, the thin metal prodding her back. Although Kav was a goldmine of information, she couldn't trust him. Aside from being suspicious, he was also downright irritating.

She bit back a scowl as the man shot her another grating smirk and sipped his tea. The drink looked so watery from across the table she wouldn't be surprised if it was just water and unboiled tea leaves in there. At the very least, she was grateful he hadn't bothered bringing her a cup.

"Legate Kav!" An old man ambled up to them, dressed entirely in black with neon blue leather shoes. "May the Gods bring you discord on this fine day, my son."

Kav returned the greeting sagely and enquired about the man's son. They were seated outside a small café in the centre of town, not far from where Daisha had been interrogated. How these people slept in such a vicinity of violence, she would never understand. The weather was still gloomy and the temperature had dropped again, leading to a thick scarf being wrapped around her neck. It smelled vaguely of detergent and dust.

"As I was saying," Kav continued, bowing his head to the departing old man, "both the creation and fall of Nemssà were pivotal points in our history, and more than anything, they show us why it is so important that groups like us exist."

At this, Daisha raised her eyebrows.

"Order cannot exist with chaos, my dear," he said sagely. "You need upheaval. You need anarchy. You need us to keep the balance."

She found the statement extremely ironic, not to mention paradoxical, but decided arguing with him on religious dogma would not help her.

"I haven't seen any Marked here," Daisha said casually.

Kav's hand, which was leisurely stirring his tea, stopped. "Ah," he said, voice delicate. "Well, Marked are quite rare, I don't know if you've noticed. And a little too...sophisticated to mingle with the likes of us. We don't get many Marked devotees."

Daisha hummed. "May I ask how long you've been here?"

"Fifteen years, give or take. It's difficult to keep track of time out here."

"What about your leader? Was he the first such leader?"

Kav's face lost some of his good humour. "I'll let that slide since you're an outsider, but such a question is heresy. Our supreme leader Asah is the first and only of his kind."

"My apologies," Daisha said, without missing a beat. "When did people learn about him? Form this sect?"

Kav laughed, a high-pitched, grating sound. "This sect has existed for time immemorial, my dear. We just discover and re-discover the truth. In its current form, it has been decades."

"Why did he go to the Province of Olli?"

"A message from an old friend. It said there were people there ready to convert, but needed the final push."

"What was he like as a person?"

"A real troublemaker," Kav said, admiration shining in his eyes. "Chaos incarnate, but he had patience in spades when it came to teaching his disciples."

"What about your relationship with him? I'm assuming you knew him well during those fifteen years?"

"I did. He was a wonderful man and an even better friend. Lived in his own little world sometimes."

Daisha's gaze sharpened. "Was he Unmarked, too?"

"Yes, yes. His focus was always the spiritual, however, so such categories made little sense to him. Had there been none, that would be more chaotic, would it not?"

"What about you, Kav?" she asked, finally deciding to stop beating around the bush. "What do you think about such categories?"

"They...exist. We must learn to live with them while we cannot break them. I've found that ignoring these divisions does not help."

He eyed her then, as if expecting her to press further but Daisha dropped the subject, pursuing a new line of questioning. She'd got what she needed.

They talked for about an hour or so, Daisha making shorthand notes in a notepad ever so often. But she listened idly, picking out what she needed from his words, from between his words. He could sugarcoat it as much as he wanted but it was clear he and their leader had had their differences. It was a motive.

And wasn't Kav the one who benefitted the most from his death? He was in control now, had the power to implement his views through their huge network of followers throughout the country. The Bullets, in her honest opinion, gained nothing from the Cha-in's leader being dead.

Was someone framing them?

A forged message to visit—the leader goes—gets targeted by Guardians and arrested, brought to their base?—or perhaps simply lured further in—and then hit by a Bullet attack. At the wrong place at the wrong time. Or the right time, for whoever brought him there.

Was he naive enough to fall for such a trick? Or the perpetrator was clever enough to be credible in their lure regardless.

It felt familiar.

A message from someone they knew and trusted so they go without question, only to be targeted by someone else entirely. Except this was covered up better, maybe even purposefully. There was bound to be tensions between the Bullets and the Cha-in for this. She had to believe it was intentional.

How far would one go for their beliefs? In chaos and in justice?

Daisha didn't like who her investigation was pointing at.