"So which one of them attacked SifCo, then?" Ruban asked, pressing two fingers to his forehead with a grimace.
"Now here's the thing," began Vikram, clapping his hands together eagerly. "Based on a detailed study of the available data on all five of the Aeriels and the average intensity and style of their attacks, statistically examined, compared with the intensity of the attack at SifCo, I have arrived at the conclusion that the latter could have been perpetrated by two of the five–"
"Reivaa and Sakeen," said Simani, cutting Vikram off with a wave of her hand. "What he's saying is that the style of attack we saw at SifCo matches theirs, insofar as we have samples to match with. It's not perfect, but it's as close as we can get."
"It couldn't have been Sakeen," Shwaan said, cursing himself for not having thought of this earlier. It had slipped his mind completely. But of course, Sakeen was dead. One of Shehzaa's patrol units had intercepted him trying to sneak into Vaan a couple of decades ago, leading to a minor skirmish on the dimensional border. It was sorted once Shehzaa reached the troubled area and summarily gutted the trespasser.
Still, it had been something of a scandal. Apparently, Safaa had wanted an interrogation and Shehzaa had wanted a day off and it had all gotten rather interesting before Safaa – with her usual finesse – had put a dampener on the whole thing and banned summary executions in all cases other than open warfare.
Still, tiresome sisters aside, he should have connected the name on the list to the incident at the border before handing it to the Hunters. He kicked himself mentally even as Vikram piped up in all his scholarly enthusiasm, "Why not?"
"Ah, um that's because," Shwaan stammered, trying to think of a good excuse. "Umm, well actually, I shouldn't be telling you this. It's top secret information you see, not something I should know myself, strictly speaking." He tried his best to look nervous and out of his depth. At the moment, it wasn't particularly hard.
"What is it?" Ruban prompted impatiently.
"Ah well actually, Sakeen couldn't have attacked SifCo 'cause he's...currently in the custody of the Zainian government. He has been in Zaini for almost twenty years now."
"If he's in a prison in Zaini, why would that be a secret?" Simani asked, frowning.
Shwaan sighed. He could have simply told them, of course, that Sakeen was dead. But the killing of an Aeriel, by Zaini or any other country, would be a matter of public knowledge. There was nothing to be secretive about there. And if a human government did not kill an Aeriel, who else did? Unfortunately, though, this also held true for the imprisonment of Aeriels. Countries competed – if unofficially – to see who could kill or imprison more Aeriels at the end of every year. A powerful Aeriel lodged in a Zainian prison would be a matter of national pride, something they would be eager to show off, not hide. Shwaan coughed. "Not in prison. Not officially, at least. He's being held at...uh...the Royal Laboratory."
"They're experimenting on him," Vikram breathed, his eyes widening with comprehension. "Of course, of course. I see now. Obviously, they wouldn't want to publicise that, I suppose. No more than the IAW wanted to publicise the reinforced sifblade formula. That makes sense. Don't worry, Ashwin, your secret's safe with us. We understand the kind of risk you're taking, trusting us with such sensitive information. But are you sure that Sakeen is out of the picture? No way he could have been involved with this?"
"Positive," said Shwaan, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Then that just leaves Reivaa. Tauheen's second-in-command," Vikram smiled.
"What?" Ruban demanded, leaning forward in his chair to get a closer look at his friend.
Simani nodded. "It's true. All the pre-Rebellion texts call her that, the Queen's second-in-command. Apparently, Reivaa was Tauheen's right hand during her rule, the commander of her army and...one of her most ruthless enforcers. After Tauheen lost the throne, Reivaa went underground with the others. Of the five, she's been the most active over the years, from what we can tell."
"And also the most murderous," Vikram added from the kitchen, where he was helping Shwaan put the dishes away.
"Yes. Apart from Tauheen, she's the most powerful Aeriel in existence. It wouldn't be easy to take her down, if we ever manage to find her in the first place," sighed Simani. "The SifCo attack matches her documented style, although it was perhaps a little less intense than her usual fare. Less destructive. But that may have been because it was only meant as a distraction."
"I'll have to tell uncle to put together a taskforce and begin the search as soon as possible," Ruban murmured, his eyes distant. Turning to his partner, he asked: "What more do we have to go on?"
"Very little, really. Any images of her from the pre-Rebellion era have either been lost or deliberately destroyed, though it's hard to tell which at this point," Vikram said, dropping into the couch beside Ruban and stretching his legs. "Goddamn self-righteous Rebels. What purpose does it serve to destroy artwork anyway? The point is, all we know of her are generic descriptions by historians, most of whom had never actually laid eyes on her, and a couple of survivors' reports from some of her more recent attacks. Not that she's in the habit of leaving very many survivors."
"She's never been captured before?"
Simani shook her head. "Never. She'd have been killed if they'd caught her. Too much of a flight risk. Not the most secure prison on earth could have held her for long."
"Whatdo they say then, these descriptions?"