Mark of the Chosen

Chapter Eight

The whispers of Kao's fall from the fast track escaped through the Unknowns, cutting a path right to Mirena. Being at the mercy of the under lords was the worst possible position he could be in. First berated for being "unchanged," and now he faced punishment for failing to complete an assignment.

No longer able to ignore the impromptu news updates spreading through the caverns faster than fire and the smell of sulfur, Mirena had to get answers for herself. Certain that a hearing of any kind would be difficult to hide, she made her way through the dark labyrinth that had become her home, maneuvering the caverns that she knew as well as the back of her hand, in search of a breadcrumb or any signs of a gathering.

Embracing the abundance of shadows, Mirena moved down the hall where sounds echoes, bursts of laughter, and chatter flowed around her in the corridors like water. It sounded like a party, but the goings on in that room would feel nothing like a celebration to Kao. The stifling heat and thickness of the Unknowns didn't slow down her quest to learn of his fate. But she had to be smart and invisible to ensure that the next hearing she attended was not her own.

Mirena slowed her pace and carefully quieted her steps so the mouth of the corridor would not tell the secret of her presence. She slithered past the doorway leading into the cavern of The Shallows, then ducked to one side of the opening. Pressing her back against the wall and waiting for the cavern to tell all, Mirena was able to lean in just enough to catch a glimpse of Kao.

He stood surrounded by elders, under-lords, and other high ranking leaders of the Unknowns, the faces of his scrutiny that had long hidden in whispers and assumptions.

Garro, joyfully addressed the crowd. He took advantage of the moment by citing Kao's status as "unchanged" as a weakness to the Unknowns and called for his demise.

Mirena's lure to the power he wielded transitioned into aggravation, disdain, and rage. But her voyage to the darker side of the dark side was interrupted as Kao's intensity sliced through the chaos all about him.

"You aim to demean me?" Kao asked Garro, his accuser, taking care not to play into his hands. That would prove a mistake in the midst of elders who would surely vote for his demise over a lesser punishment like a demotion.

"Kao, why would I do such a thing?" Garro asked in a tone heavy with sarcasm and accompanied by a devious smile.

Mirena, sensed the tension and power colliding between the two even from a distance. But Kao's strength quickly magnified by rage as laughter rang through the mock trial. The ridicule left Kao's ears ringing, and it was clear that they had written him off the day he emerged from the pit clearly gifted but confined to a futile human reflection. None of them had reason to doubt his calling, or ignore his proficiency in any task he was given ...until now.

She weighed the severity of Kao's situation, feeling more than just a desire to devour his power. Sadness overwhelmed her as she watched Kao grow impatient with the goings on. Would he lose his rank, the favor he held with some and all that he had worked so hard for? It was no secret that the process was biased and that this moment was all about Kao being torn down. But the Unknowns had a way of going too far. After it stripped away all he had gained, the focus would turn to the only thing left to be ravaged: his existence.

Distracted by her concern for Kao's future, Mirena was far less cognizant of the goings on around her. Suddenly, either by affects and impacts of her ability to allure, by the patrolling under lords' skill, her presence was no longer a secret.

The clutch of a gritty claw wrenched at her, a less than gentle reminder that sneaking into the realms of a hearing not only made her out of place, but also out of order.