Dark Omega

CHAPTER 28 - SOLDIER FOR A DAY

A while later, maybe six or seven weeks after Mother's murder, autumn had turned into winter, there was an incident. Haides's estranged brother, Janus, dropped by. They hadn't seen him for a while, so both siblings were surprised when he walked into the apartment.

It wasn't a courtesy call. Janus was all worked up when he arrived, called Eli a fucking whore, a traitor to Akakios, a dishonor to our family's ancestors, and so forth. The day Haides had feared would come, had come. Jan's brotherhood of rebels had egged their new recruit on, calling on him to confront Eli, teach the little slut a lesson—like they had her mother. Time to prove his loyalty. The reason the Khiones hadn't bothered Eli before—they were saving her for a special occasion, for Jan's rite of passage.

It wasn't such a horrible plan, really, but it didn't work out the way the Khiones had planned. Throughout the shouting and name-calling, Eli said nothing, did nothing. Only when Jan was done, did her eyes go black. Literally. No whites, no irises. Solid, black orbs. The temperature in the room dropped sharply. Haides saw frost roses form around his sister's feet. Psychics. There was no other explanation. His sister was an untrained legate. The boy had suspected before. Now he knew. Eli was a witch, like Mother, rest her soul. Which raised all sorts of unpleasant questions about Father, Janus—and Haides. Questions perhaps best left unanswered.

Jan pissed his pants and ran off without looking back. The last thing they saw of their brother—a puddle of piss freezing solid on the nanocrete floor. Haides cherished that memory for a long time. Helped keep his spirits up whenever his mind threatened to wander into dark places.

With Jan out of the picture, Haides again proposed they join Luca and the 57th, and leave Thira behind. Eli hadn't said 'no' the last time he had brought it up, but she hadn't said 'yes' either. Not for real.

Eli looked at Haides for a long time when he was done telling his convoluted story, which included a whole lot of beating around the bush. The boy wondered if he had pushed his sister too far, or that she might revert to lizard-mode. Or worse, get the black-eyes treatment. But then she suddenly smiled and laughed, and said 'yes.'

Since they didn't know when the 57th would move out, brother and sister continued their daily lives. Haides hung around the GIs. Eli spent her days whoring. Or maybe she was engaged in witchcraft. Her brother didn't want to know. They were living on borrowed time—Jan was a coward, but the Khiones might come back in great numbers—and Haides couldn't wait to be away from the ruined city.

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Joaquin, the Colonel, had given orders that the regiment was to keep up the pressure on the insurgents. There was clearly something afoot, and he didn't want to lose the initiative. Under no circumstance was the enemy to be allowed to consolidate their power base and expand their operations. A shoot-at-sight order went out concerning Preacher Ramush and anyone suspected of being part of the Khiones. Haides's brother wasn't on the list. He was secretly disappointed but didn't want to bring it up. Being known as the brother of a wanted rebel wouldn't do the boy any favors right now.

The GIs were unusually tight-lipped, but Haides caught the word heresy whispered on several occasions. One time, he overheard Sarge and Luca murmuring about something called the 'Word of Light.' They shut up as soon as they became aware of the boy's presence.

Haides had a fair grasp of what 'heresy' meant. It had to do with not listening to the church elders, praying to false gods, secretly worshipping The One God, or being in league with the Serpent of the Abyss. Intellectually, he was not able to fully comprehend the implications beyond 'evil' and 'trouble.' What 'Word of Light' might mean, he had no idea. It sounded pleasant enough, but the Shadow was cunning, and sometimes tricked even righteous people, that much Haides knew.