Chapter 18

With a goal in mind, Ven walked towards Rendall’s office the next day, he was going to ask him about these crazy programs they had in Nagiri. But the moment he stepped into Rendall’s office, Ven knew something was amiss, Rendall was walking up and down with his hands crossed behind his back. On his face was a scowl as he muttered to himself, he looked towards Ven as he entered and signaled for him to take a seat, while signaling for William to leave them with a wave of his hand.

“Have you seen the news?” asked Rendall.

“No, can’t say I have, did something happen?” asked Ven.

“Only the biggest news of the century! Ravendra has announced plans to get married!” said Rendall.

“What? Why now?” asked Ven with a puzzled look on his face.

“Take a look at this,” said Rendall as he stopped pausing and handed a sheet of paper to Ven.

The sheet of paper he had been given was in fact a photo, a photo of Ravendra helping a lady out of a car. His reaction to what he was looking at made him jump out of his seat in shock.

“This is... It can’t be!” said Ven.

“But it is. The woman Ravendra is with was a citizen of Bangara until recently, she was first noticed by the clerk who was helping her with the transition of moving to Genesis. I am surprised she wasn’t found sooner, she looks exactly like Vasillissa,” said Rendall, “I would know, I’ve seen the sculpture of her in Ravendra’s chamber a million times.”

“This is all very sudden,” said Ven as he sat back down and stared at the photo in his hands.

“It is, and that is what I don’t like. She may look like Ravendra’s dead wife, but we know nothing about her. I’ve called an emergency meeting with the other Honour Guard Knights, it’s in an hour, go do what you want until then,” said Rendall as he dismissed Ven and started pacing again.

Ven nodded and slowly walked out of Rendall’s office, he wandered around in a daze, not really knowing what was going on. Just one thought was stuck in his mind, Vas was alive! Again, and again his mind went back to the last time he had seen her, her crumpled body leaning against a wall, he wasn’t able to save her, his Vas.

What cruel trick of fate was this that he would get to meet her again in this world? NO! He gritted his teeth; this woman wasn’t her! It was just someone who looked like her! No one could replace his Vas! Frustrated he looked at the photo which was still in his hand. That’s when he noticed it, Rendall was right, this woman did look exactly like the sculpture in Ravendra’s room. That sculpture wasn’t what Vas really looked like! But what were the chances there would be a person in this world who looked exactly like an artist’s depiction of Vas? Certainly not very high.

Stopping his mindless walking he turned around and looked in the direction he had been walking from, in the direction of Rendall’s office. The last time he had spoken to Rendall and Lilliana together, Rendall had voiced his concerns about too many coincidences happening in the recent past, that it was suspicious. This just proved Rendall was right to be worried about something big happening in the future, and this fake Vasillissa had just shown up amongst their midst. The problem was that neither The UTF nor the rebels had expected someone like her to appear, which meant she wasn’t working for either group, who exactly was this woman working for? Who was this third party that had joined the game that was happening in Genesis? And more importantly what did they hope to gain?

He was a swordsman and at times a leader in battles. This world was not meant for a man with his skills, Vas was the one who could handle intrigue, if she had been here instead of him, she would have thrived. What would Vas have done if she was here?

“She would have gathered as much information as she possibly could,” thought Ven out loud. “Vikram, you there?”

“I am, this woman isn’t one of us. I am guessing it’s what you wanted to know,” said Vikram.

“I did want to know that, but I also want you to find out everything you can about her, check everywhere. Can you do that for me?” asked Ven.

“Yeah, no problem,” rang Vikram’s voice in Ven’s earpiece.

Ven had been in Rendall’s office several times now, and it wasn’t a small room, but for the first time it felt cramped and tiny. A few people sat in the available chairs, but everyone else stood, he had no idea there were so many people in the Honour Guard. Rendall stood tall behind his desk, he wasn’t the tallest person in the room, but with the authority he emanated at that moment Ven could see why Rendall had been the Knight Captain for so many years.

“Looks like the new guy is finally here,” said a tall woman Ven didn’t know.

“I thought I told you to be here in an hour, you’re late,” said Rendall.

“Sorry, I got lost,” said Ven.

“Don’t let it happen again, now find a corner and pay attention,” said Rendall. “Same goes for the rest of you, I am not going to repeat myself. By now, all of you must have heard the news about Ravendra meeting that Bangaran woman and planning to marry her. I have no idea who she is, or which hole she climbed out of, so that’s what we need to find out. Bill, you and your team will be taking point on this, I need to know everything there is to know about her, doesn’t matter how insignificant you think it is.”

“How soon would you like a report?” asked Bill, in the crowd Ven couldn’t really see who had spoken.

“The sooner the better,” said Rendall, “I’ll need someone to be her security detail, any volunteers?”

“My team just got back from the mission you had us on, I won’t say no to something quiet and simple,” said the tall woman who had announced Ven’s entry earlier on.

“Done, double the security around Ravendra as well. The rest of you keep your ears to the ground, use all the contacts you have, find out what they know. Something suspicious is in the works, I know it, I can feel it in my bones. A woman who looks exactly like Vasillissa shows up suddenly in our midst, I don’t like it, something is happening behind the scenes. The sooner we find out what it is, the sooner we can defuse it,” said Rendall, “Now Ravendra hasn’t announced a date for the wedding yet, but he will want to get married soon. I’ll run interference and try to buy as much time as I can, but be assured of this, at most we have a couple of months ahead of us, so slacking and taking things easy is a luxury we can’t afford. Are there any questions?”

“Do we know if she is gifted?” asked a petite woman sitting in a chair.

“Her documentation from Bangara says she is giftless, but I don’t trust that report, it could easily have been forged, we will run the test again to make sure. So, the short answer is we don’t know. Anything else?” asked Rendall.

“If we find evidence of her being a threat to His Majesty or she tries to make a move to assassinate His Majesty, do we kill her?” asked Bill.

“That is something I would like to avoid, knock her out and detain her, but don’t kill her. I have no idea how Ravendra would react if another Vasillissa died in front of him. If there is nothing else, this is as good an opportunity as any other, Ven get over here,” said Rendall as he gestured for Ven to stand next to him. “This is Knight Ven, for the few of you who haven’t yet guessed, he is the newest member of our order, it’s not the ideal time for a new member, but Ravendra decided it so take care of him and show him the ropes.”

“Show him the ropes? We don’t have time for that Knight Captain, can’t you just give him a simple job while we take care of this matter with this Vasillissa lookalike,” said the petite woman in the chair.

“That’s actually a good idea. Ven, I want you to babysit a woman in Lilliana’s entourage, her name is Audrey. She’s been complaining to Lilliana that a stalker has been following her around. Even without a gift, it should be something you’re capable of handling with just some intimidation,” said Rendall with a mischievous smile.

“If the stalker does have a gift, use someone in your team to help you take him out,” said the tall woman.

“My team?” asked Ven.

“Ah yes, with things being so erratic the past few days I forgot to mention that. Each Knight in the Honour Guard can have a group of people answering directly to them, normally Knights choose people they have worked with over the years in the UTF, but you didn’t really join us the conventional way. If any of you here have recommendations of people that would suit Knight Ven, send their name and designation to William,” said Rendall. “You’re dismissed for now. Ven stay back, I need to discuss something with you.”

“Come on Knight Captain, you can’t do that. Protocol must be followed, even in times like these. He must learn how to function in the Honour Guard, otherwise if something happens, he will be in the way and probably makes thing worse than they are,” said Bill.

“Are you volunteering to take him under your wing?” asked the petite woman.

“If no one else will, yes, I’ll be his mentor,” said Bill with an irritated tone.

“No, you’re not. You have your assignment, but you are right protocol must be followed even in these circumstances. Barbra, congratulations, you’re taking care of the new guy,” said Rendall with a smile.

“Knight Captain, you can’t!” said the petite woman loudly as she stood up.

“I can and you will follow your orders Knight Barbra, do I make myself clear?” asked Rendall.

“Yes, Knight Captain,” said Barbra as she turned red.

“Excellent, everyone besides you two are dismissed for now,” said Rendall as he pointed at Barbra and Ven.

Ven continued to stand quietly next to Rendall as the room emptied. Several knights openly stared at him as they left the room, some had looks of pity while others had a smug smile. He didn’t really understand why he was getting such extremely different looks but decided to stay quiet and wait it out.

“Ven, relax and sit down, Barbra is on our side, she knows everything just like you. I am getting more and more certain there are spies in the UTF. It’s not something I want to voice out in the open, I don’t want the Knights to doubt the people that work with them, that kind of distrust will lead to our downfall before the enemy even makes a move. So, both of you keep this information to yourself.”

“Later today, you’re going to get a list of potential candidates from William, it will mostly contain names which are recommended by your fellow Knights. Ignore it. If you’re going to get someone to work for you, look outside the UTF and I thought I told you to get armed, you’re essentially walking around naked right now!” said Rendall with irritation.

“Master Aaron said he will get me a sword as soon the 3D printer was done making one. As for the armour, he said it would take a little longer, but he would call me as soon as it was ready,” said Ven. “You want me to find people outside the UTF, that means they will be giftless just like me.”

“There are people with gifts who aren’t in the UTF,” said Rendall. “Everyone gifted in the Kingdom is registered with us, as a Knight you have access to that list, Barbra will show you how to access it, check the list and find people you can use who aren’t in the UTF.”

“How much of this can I tell my team?” asked Barbra.

“If possible, nothing. I know you trust them with your life but until we know more, we need to be careful,” said Rendall.

“I don’t like it, but I understand,” said Barbra as she folded her arms.

Ven sat in front of a computer and looked at the list of names on the screen, how were there so many gifted in the world? And how was he supposed to go through this list and find people he could use, irritated with the task ahead of him he turned around to look at Barbra.

“Is there any way to make this easier? There is like a thousand names here,” said Ven.

“What have you done so far?” asked Barbra as she pushed her bangs away from her eyes and looked up from her phone.

“Nothing, I am stuck, I don’t know what to do,” said Ven.

“Move over and let me show you how it’s done,” said Barbra as she grabbed a chair and pulled the keyboard towards herself, “Now, first of all we need to sort this list of people. We’re looking for people who will listen to you instead of having their own opinions, which means we need young people. They lack experience, but they are easily impressionable and will work extra hard to prove their worth.”

“Sounds like you’ve done this before,” said Ven.

“Every Knight in the Honor Guard is constantly looking for new talent to boost their ranks. Naturally the most competition is for the graduates of the more prestigious academies. You’re looking for people at an odd time, since there aren’t any fresh graduates right now,” said Barbra with a loud sigh.

“So, what do we do?” asked Ven.

“We have three groups of people we can try. People who joined UTF as regular recruits, those who were rejected by UTF and those who haven’t graduated yet,” said Barbra as she changed the preferences in the list.

“Rejects?” asked Ven with an unconvinced look.

“Back in the day I was rejected from joining the UTF, and look at me now,” said Barbra with a smile, “I’ll tell you about it another day, for now you have at least these twenty odd names to look through.”

“Wow, thanks!” said Ven as he looked at the much shorter list.

“You’re welcome. Contact and recruit them on your own, I’ve got other responsibilities I need to tend to. Oh yeah, I already got your number from the Knight Captain so here’s mine,” said Barbra as she pulled out her phone and sent Ven a short message, “Contact me once you’ve recruited a couple of them.”

After Barbra left Ven started to go through the list and started deleting the names of those he felt he couldn’t use until he was left with two names, Nikita and Brutus. Satisfied with the result he got up and started pacing.

He liked pacing, it helped get the restlessness out of him and let him think clearly. The idea of getting his own team filled him with nostalgia, Frank, Pratabh, him and Vas, they were a great team. This new team would never be as good as that team, but it would be nice to work in a group again, he wouldn’t have to shoulder everything alone. But what exactly was he doing, was he making this team to protect Audrey or kill her? Which side was he on? He was furious with Ravendra for the things he had done over the years, but did it justify killing a girl who had done nothing wrong? He needed time to figure out what he wanted to do.

“Maybe I should meet them in person,” thought Ven as he picked up his phone from the table.

“Yes sir?” asked Frank.

“We’re going to be making a couple of trips around the city, can you bring the car to the main entrance?” asked Ven.

“I’ll be there in five minutes, sir,” said Frank.

Yup its a double post this week! Hope you guys enjoy it :)

Stay safe out there!

Anderoth