Two-Thirds Blue

Chapter Eighteen: Star-Crossed Blades

Back in the ruins, Gozack spread out Dax's notes on the stone dais. "I've had some time to read these carefully," he said. "He kept extensive logs of his progress while undercover in the Resistance."

Dusk, Rade, and Syk sat around him, watching closely, but Onyx hung back with a blank stare. Dusk could tell that she was listening, but deep in thought.

"The rozkod language isn't particularly poetic– it's not meant for detailed writing like this– but there's enough here for me to understand. Everything is dated, too, so I can get a clear timeline of events. He does reference some things I'm unfamiliar with, though, so tell me if I'm missing anything important." He shuffled through the papers and took a moment to think before beginning. "His name was Sandek. He killed Dax this past winter, ten months prior."

"Onyx and Eclipse found the body," Syk said. "They showed us his breastplate with a massive hole through it. That's how we knew something was wrong."

Gozack nodded. "Sandek was sent to the Resistance specifically because Dusk was there. His notes are vague about why Dusk is so important, but I'll get to that later. It seems Sandek was the only one with the transformation ability, or at least one of very few, because Delrox was interested in several other locations, but he simply sent forces to attack them."

"Dax– or Sandek, I mean– he mentioned Stalreach," Rade said.

"Right. I assume Stalreach is one of them. Names don't translate in the rozkod language, so I don't know exactly where else they were looking."

"If he didn't use names in his notes, how do you know he was talking about me?" Dusk asked.

"He referred to you as 'red boy,' and Onyx is 'red girl.'"

Rade shrugged. "That's not inaccurate."

"Originally, his task was just to watch Dusk and make sure he didn't go anywhere. But then a soldier told him that they'd seen two strangers nearby, and specifically, one of them had differently colored eyes. He wasn't certain it was the right person, but he realized he had an opportunity to get both of you in one place. He started moving troops near the Resistance in preparation. Then Dusk saw one of the camps, and he decided to make it work for him. He sent the three of you after Onyx and Eclipse. Then he waited to try anything until he knew for sure that you'd found the ones he wanted."

"I wonder if we ever really fooled him," Syk said. "It was tense for a while there. We didn't know what Dax wanted, and we didn't know whether he could tell we were lying to him."

"It looks like he felt the same way," Gozack nodded. "There's a few whole pages of just him trying to figure out everything you told him. Reasoning out every possibility. The fact that you kept him guessing is likely all that kept you alive for this long."

"So what made him decide it was time to make his move?" Syk asked.

"It was a gamble," Gozack explained. "He knew you'd at least met Eclipse. So he figured that it wouldn't be long before he was found out, or you all decided to just run away. Whether or not Onyx ever showed up, it would still be worth it to capture Dusk and wipe out the Resistance. And if he could capture Eclipse, he could hold her in exchange for Onyx."

"Man." Rade shook his head and leaned back. "He was smarter than I gave him credit for."

"What was he supposed to do once he had us?" Dusk asked. "Just hang onto us? Take us somewhere?"

"It's hard to say for sure, but he was doing this for Delrox. He knew Delrox wanted you for something. And that leads me to my question– what exactly happened to you?"

"You mean... during that fight at the village?" Dusk said.

"Yes. And then, more recently, when Syk and Onyx argued over Sandek."