Canis Major scheduled a briefing session at dawn.
Two of his four battalions had not yet arrived even though the sun was clearly visible on the horizon. These missions were under Crux Chevalier's authority. They were the most dangerous and included the most soldiers. Therefore, they were most likely to be newsworthy.
Every moment Canis waited was a moment wasted. He decided to start without his lieutenant-general.
"You there, go first!" Canis commanded the leader of the First Battalion. "Give me an update on your progress."
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. There is no news to report. We've explored upstream and downstream in great depth, and the surrounding forest as well. I'm sure you are aware the original tunnel has not reopened, and there has been no sign of any others."
Canis had an urge to slit a throat or two to express his disapproval. But that was what his mother would do. Instead, he looked to the sky. He hoped the fading morning stars could hear his request for patience and self-control.
"How about you?" Canis asked the Second Battalion. "Any word from Pyxis?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. . ." Canis's ears were piqued. "But they had no additional advice or further instruction that would be of aid to us."
Was this the best they could do? Their incompetence was inexcusable, and he had a feeling that he was about to endure more of it.
At long last, Crux's phalanx surfaced from the rough. The soldiers landed, two at a time, and lined up behind the two other battalions. The Gray Coats marched over in their fairy state a few moments later and assumed their position at the back.
Crux was the last to arrive. Without caution or care, he swooped to a landing right beside Canis. The blast of air accompanying him required Canis to widen his stance to correct his balance.
"Nice of you to finally join us," Canis hissed in response. After a rough estimate, Canis realized the group was short in numbers. "Where are the others?"
Crux stood tall and pressed out his armored chest. "They are pursuing a small cluster of natives north."
Canis straightened his posture too, reaffirming his place as number one in command. "Other news?"
"Mikala Jokura is dead," Crux informed him, "but killing her was more of a challenge than we had anticipated. Arrows came down upon us as soon as we entered her room. We couldn't overpower the well-hidden assailants, so I ordered a Gray Coat to dress like a doctor. Mrs. Jokura was poisoned."
"Casualties?"
"Three Reds, six Grays. Ten others were injured."
"And the other Jokuras?" Canis asked.
"They've abandoned their homes and haven't returned. We are still in the process of questioning friends and neighbors."
Canis sighed loudly through his nose. "That's it? That's all we've accomplished in the six days since our arrival? We've killed one insane woman? Did you extract any information from her first?"
"No. Once there were casualties, it became a mission of retribution."
The prince and the lieutenant-general both turned toward the buzz of the Fourth Battalion approaching. It appeared they had two prisoners with them.
Crux cracked his knuckles.
At Canis Major's feet, the Crown Champion commander dropped two bound and gagged adolescent fairy natives—a girl and a boy. "We were able to catch only two, Your Majesty. Two of their companions evaded capture."
"Good work," Canis said. "I applaud your diligence. I will likely reward your success with a promotion."
The commander lowered to one knee and bowed his head.
"Have they revealed anything of interest?" Canis asked him.
He rose to his feet. "No, but we haven't been particularly persuasive. We wanted to bring them to you without delay."
"Wise decision." Canis looked up. "Crux?"
Crux pulled out his hunting knife, the one most useful for interrogations. He kept it either rusty or bloody at all times, and the teeth of the serrated edge were large enough to see from a distance.
Tears were already falling from the prisoners' dirt-stained faces. As they twitched and thrashed, the rope coiled around them was strangling the flight out of their moth-colored wings. There was already cosmetic damage; their wings would be forever ugly. If they continued to struggle, they would be eroding away their own wing function.
The great Canis Major would choose death over living with mangled and flightless wings. He was amazed that his prisoners didn't seem to respect flight with the same reverence.
Canis squatted and peered into the boy's fearful brown eyes. "What is your name, and what clan are you from?"
Crux Chevalier grabbed the boy by his hair and roughly cut the gag from his mouth. Then he propped the blade against the boy's upper lip, just below his nose.
The shaking boy glanced at the girl. She warned him not to talk with a quick shake of her head.
Crux pressed his blade into the boy's lip, enough to draw blood. "Do you think your mate is in charge here?" He moved the blade to the boy's throat.
"She's . . . not my mate. She's my sister."
Crux's eyes roamed over her and lingered around her exposed belly button. "She's very pretty."
Crux prowled closer to her. The girl shrieked, her body recoiling in her brother's direction, as if that would somehow stop the Brute.
"Not yet." Canis stayed the lieutenant-general with his hand up. "We don't want to hurt either of you, but I asked for your clan and your name. Don't make me ask a second time, or I will allow my associate here to do whatever he sees fit." Canis looked into the eyes of the deranged beast beside him. "And trust me, he has no boundaries."
Canis had to stand to reassert his place.
After a heated silence, their interlocked glares dropped, and Crux returned to a crouch beside the boy. "Will this loosen your tongue?"
The boy winced when Crux's blade was back against his throat. "My . . . my . . . sister and I are Kanaloan. We reside north of here, but we go wherever we desire. We don't believe in any borders. I am Pono and this is Luana."
Canis scowled at the unkempt appearance of Pono's sister as he recalled his mother's request . . . for him to choose a bride. "And what is your kind? Are you among the legendary Royal Modifiers?" When the boy cocked his head in what appeared to be genuine confusion, Canis went on to clarify. "Those who can both fly and Modify their fairy size?"
"We can only fly. The 'Royal Modifiers,' as you say, are rare. General Jokura and his son are the only ones I know of."
Canis felt relief surge into his lungs as he inhaled. He might not have to marry a fem-fairy from this primitive jungle clan after all. There was still the matter of Morgan MacRae, but there was the very real possibility she'd get lost—or killed—in the shuffle. Accidents did happen. "Nice to meet you, Pono. I am Prince Canis Major, and this is the Pyxis Royal Army." He gestured to the others. "Do you know why we're here?"
Pono's eyes darted around and zoomed in on his sister's gagged face. "You're looking for Scott MacRae and his family."
"Indeed. How well informed you are! If you know where he is, it would be in your best interest to speak up."
"I believe he is an adviser for the Kāne Army." Pono pressed his lips together in a firm line. "I would tell you how to find him . . . if I knew. They killed my older brother in a needless battle. When I am old enough, I will join the Great Army and avenge his death. But ever since Scott brought his black magic here, we have been unable to locate their base."
Canis began hovering in wide circles with his hands linked behind his back as he tried to recall what his mother had taught him about Magical Mechanics. She had focused on the sorcery tactics required to battle those who were practiced in the art. Although they had strived for mastery themselves, to the best of their knowledge, it wasn't possible.
Long ago, Pyxis had won the battle against Polaris by knowing enough about its inhabitants' magic to work around it. Unfortunately, only those Modifiers who possessed the diamond mark seemed capable of wielding the power. Canis realized they might have to wait for those aligned with Kimo Jokura to reemerge from the tunnel, and there would be no telling when—or even if—that would happen.
Canis stopped circling and returned to the ground. "How would you go about finding the MacRaes?" he asked Pono.
"The MacRae brothers were spotted in the Nohea Marketplace yesterday," the young fairy answered. "One of them was getting cozy with a pretty, wingless fairy not from around here."
Canis was slightly encouraged by this news, but he was appalled as well. Crux's scowl demonstrated that the same thought had crossed his mind, too.
Getting cozy? Cassiopeia had helped the MacRae brothers escape Pyxis, and that was bad enough. A romantic involvement would put her life in danger. Andromeda would not tolerate it—or any repercussion thereof—for an instant.
He tried to shake off the unsettling notion so he could finish the interrogation. "Where is Nohea? Is it protected?"
"Nohea is a merchant village that sprouted up along our southern border, technically on the Kāne side. Everyone is 'peaceably welcome,' in the village doctrine, but we want the area back under Kanaloan control, even if Prince Haipo refuses to go to war over it. I would suggest you post some of your soldiers there. And you could also patrol the area around their tunnels."
Canis's spirits lifted. "Tunnels? There are more of them?"
"Other than the one right here," Pono said, bobbing his head toward the stream, "we expect there are at least three others; one near Nohea, one that goes north through our territory, and one that heads east to the ocean. We wish we knew more about them, too. But they are used so infrequently and in such secrecy that it's a challenge to figure out where they open up or how they work."
"I would still like to know their approximate locations," Canis said, pleased the captive boy was talking so openly. "Furthermore, I assure you, no harm will come to you or your sister if you fulfill my final request. I would like you to take me to your leader. I will bring him gifts, and perhaps we can form an alliance."
Pono looked to his sister again and she nodded this time. "Emperor Ailani has resigned from public life because of his health. His heir, Prince Haipo, is essentially our new leader."
"Thank you, my young friend." Canis rummaged through the pocket of his vest. He pulled out a sack and opened it in front of Pono to reveal the gold and jewels inside. "Here is a token of my gratitude."
He added the sack to a pouch on Pono's belt.
Then he addressed his army: "The Fourth Battalion will accompany me north. The rest of you will continue your searches and report back here at dawn." He glared at Crux. "And don't be late."
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