'Hello, who is this?' said the voice.
'Feliciana?'
'Yes. Raiden, is that you?'
'It's me,' he replied. 'Are you okay?'
'I miss you,' her tiny voice burbled but was drowned out by another.
'Stop being so sentimental child,' Incursio snarled. There was the sound of the communicator being snatched from Feliciana's hand, the sound of a thud as she was pushed to the wooden floor below. Raiden held the communicator so hard that Aldric feared it would become permanently attached to his hand.
'Leave her alone,' Raiden said threateningly, 'If you hurt her I swear I'll kill you myself!'
'Will you? I don't think she's in any pain at all,' there was sarcasm in his voice, 'In fact she sleeps most of the time, lost in her little dream world, like children are.'
'Who do you think you are?' whispered Raiden, his voice sticking halfway up his throat.
'I am Jagophite Incursio,' he growled with pride.
'He was being rhetorical,' Aldric bellowed but Raiden pulled the communicator away from him.
'And who, may I ask, is this?' said Incursio.
'I'm your worst nightmare!' said Raiden.
'Oh, how cliché,' he laughed, 'You read a lot of stories don't you? Just like your precious little baby cousin?'
'Wait 'til I get my hands on you, my sword through your stinking head!'
'How rude of you,' he continued to laugh, 'I haven't even done anything to you yet.' The signal was lost. Raiden slouched to the floor, his back to the wall.
'You know,' he said, 'I really hate K's dad. I never wanted to come here, never planned on going to Atarikka in the first place either. I could've avoided all of this if I had just...' he trailed off. Aldric didn't like it when people didn't finish what they were saying. It just made them look like they had something to hide.
'What will the lords do to you?' he asked.
'Dunno,' Raiden replied with in a tone that gave the impression that he didn't care. 'Suppose they'll question me a bit more.'
'Why? What do they think you've done?'
'Nothing, it's just I used to be a pirate of sorts,' said Raiden regretfully. 'My so-called father was on the run and he thought it a good idea to take me with him. That's how I got caught up in it all. The Iccolsion Lords hate pirates and anyone affiliated with them.'
'Pirates aren't all bad,' said Aldric.
'The ones my dad affiliated with were,' Raiden explained. 'Wasn't his fault though. We got away in the end. Then we went on to travel the stars with Winori and Dora.'
'You travelled with my mother?' At least he was getting a bit more information out of him but they were also wasting time. 'Okay, this is all good, but how do we get you out without the guards seeing?' said Aldric.
'Now you're talking,' Raiden gave him a look as if to ask where he had been hiding all this time. Aldric shrugged to himself, trying not to contemplate the dishonour of his actions.
'We could distract them,' Aldric suggested. 'I wonder why they haven't come to get us yet.'
'Because they know how long it takes to make a connection,' Raiden said, rolling his eyes, 'They gave us one Iccolsion hour. It's standard procedure.'
'And how do you know that?'
'Did you notice the building work on the way in?' Raiden asked, ignoring Aldric's accusatory comment. 'I expect the walls are beginning to thin down. If we can breathe on them, maybe we can use the heat from our breath to melt the wall enough so that we can smash it and crawl through.'
Raiden plummeted downwards and began tapping away at the walls before coming to a stop in the far corner of the room. He began breathing heavily upon the bricks but Aldric knew it was pointless and refused to help. After wandering the room, something caught his attention.
'We could always climb out the window,' he said smugly as he examined the tiny square window. Raiden stopped breathing and tilted his head to look over to where Aldric was. He looked down at the solid bricks and back up at the window as if deciphering which route to pursue.
'Of course,' said Raiden, rising to his feet. 'What the hell am I doing down here? They must've been even stupider than you to put a window in here.'
'I'm not stupid,' said Aldric. 'Who was the one who just suggested the window when you were busy breathing all over the wall like a prat?' Raiden stared at him blankly. 'That's right,' said Aldric proudly, swooping his nose high. 'Me.'
'Whatever,' was all Raiden could say before he scampered over to the window. 'I'm not sure we can fit your big head through here. Sorry but I'm just going to have to leave without you.' Raiden reached up for the ledge and heaved himself up. He pushed open the window and dived through it. Aldric took one last glance around the room before scrambling out.
They were in an alleyway. The snow was unspoilt and Aldric felt like an intruder.
'What do we do?' Aldric asked as he noticed that both ends of the alley were fenced up with jagged crystal blue gates. Raiden looked unfazed and clutched the bars but Aldric was frustrated. He ran with all the speed and energy he could muster up and charged into the gate. He collided with them and collapsed into a heap. Raiden smiled.
'Wait, I heard them crack, you weakened them.' He lifted up his foot. 'Just a few hard kicks and I'll have this thing down.'
'No,' said Aldric, gathering himself together. 'That wasn't the gate. That cracking sound was me.' He rubbed his bruising arms, knowing that he would soon feel the full effects of the collision.
'They really should board up that window,' a voice echoed behind them. 'Well, go get them. They won't have got far.'
There were hurried footsteps and Aldric knew that they were about to be discovered. Raiden began pulling at the rock solid bars but it was no use. Aldric clasped two of the bars tightly and pushed himself up. The tops were sharp and he had to take great care in climbing over. Raiden watched in awe and followed Aldric's lead. He too began climbing though he was much slower. Still, he landed safely on the other side, just as two guards arrived. A man and a woman. The man was scrawny but he looked like he would be quick on his feet and the woman was short and dumpy but looked like she could restrain anyone if she had to.
'The innocent don't run away,' the man sneered, his crooked teeth poking out in front of his wafer lips. 'Because they don't have anything to worry about, do they?'
'This isn't going to look good on your record,' said the woman plainly, her button-like eyes focused on Raiden. He raised his eyebrows as if he didn't care and she shook her head before turning to Aldric. 'You can go.' Aldric glanced to Raiden who gave a sharp nod as if to say he could look after himself. Aldric trawled off to meet with the others who were still waiting impatiently at the front gates. K saw him first.
'What's happened?' She called as he approached. Aldric shrugged and quickened his pace.
'I'm not sure,' he told her, 'but I think Raiden's in trouble.' He explained what had happened and about the call they had made and Incursio's reply. He didn't know what they were going to do. He didn't know if there was anything they could do.
***
Raiden stared at Lady Neret witheringly. She returned his glare with one of disgust.
'You're a lawbreaker,' she said it as if it were an undeniable fact. 'I know your kind.' Raiden smirked and slouched into his seat. 'You can't keep me here,' he said.
Lady Neret pursed her lips before taking her own seat, behind a high glassy desk. 'Your records were checked upon your entering,' she said officially. 'We know what you are.'
He raised an eyebrow. 'I'm not like that.'
Lady Neret frowned at him as he spoke. 'I think we're done.'
'Not quite,' was the harsh reply. 'I have but one last thing to say.' She stood up, strode around the desk and stopped by Raiden's side. 'If you don't leave this world before sunrise, then-'
'Then what,' said Raiden. 'You going to come after me? Your stupid system can't touch me.'
'Don't be foolish Strelle-Briate,' she sneered. 'You are in no place to judge our way of life, our political system. How dare you?' He returned her a look of disinterest but she continued nevertheless. 'We don't want your sort around here.'
'Can I use a bit of paper please,' Raiden asked. She looked down at him, momentarily confused by his quick change in manner.
'What for?' she asked suspiciously.
'I want to write a memo,' he replied.
Lady Neret sighed and walked out, replaced by the two guards from before. Raiden gave them a grin but they stared through him. Lady Neret returned with a sheet of crisp paper with an elegant logo scrawled in the left corner. She placed it on the table in front of him.
'Get on with it,' she said impatiently, returning to her own cushioned chair.
Outside the establishment, the others were listening to everything that Aldric had to say.
'Poor Feliciana,' Evie cried. 'Oh, I hope Jaireth is alright too, and December. I hope she's coping.' K hesitantly put her hand on Evie's shoulder.
'Don't be so negative,' said Raiden, making everyone jump. 'I, because I am so brilliant, have persuaded the Iccolsions to go to a conference with the Etchagons. So just relax alright.'
'Where did you come from?' Cozmo laughed.
'Generally speaking, philosophically, or scientifically?'
'Don't be smart. Tell us what happened in there?'
'They let you go?' Aldric asked him.
'I can be quite charming when I want to be,' Raiden grinned. 'They have nothing against me.'
Back at the tavern, Cozmo and Selwyn kindly bought food for everybody – a slab of slow-fried fish and a small portion of Jork imported straight from Atarikka. It was not quite the same as the fresh Jork that grew on Bancroft Farm, and it was not a large meal either, but, even though he left the fish on the side of his plate, it felt like a magnificent feast to Aldric who had not even eaten breakfast.
'I suppose everything is going to be sorted out,' said Cozmo, 'now that the Lords are taking action. You'll be able to go home soon.'
K was quiet. She looked up from her plate several times to exchange nervous glances with Aldric, for he was also being much quieter than normal.
'What's going to happen after the conference?' he asked.
'Hopefully the Etchagons will take responsibility and retrieve the Jagophites,' Selwyn answered, looking into space. 'That would be the right thing for them to do.'
'No it wouldn't, they'll be glad to be rid of some of them, won't they?' said Aldric. 'I can't see why they would want to help. Last time the Jagophites invaded, the Etchagons threatened to destroy Atarikka.'
'But that was years ago,' said Evie. 'People help each other. It's what we do. You should know that, you're always babbling on about honour. Wouldn't that be the honourable thing to do, or don't you trust anybody but yourself? You just keep us all out the way, launch in by yourself, like you did with that Ripto. Saying it's honourable, saying that you have to do everything yourself, that's kind of selfish don't you think? You just end up causing so much more trouble than we-'
'Whoa,' said Raiden. 'Slow down, where is that all coming from?'
Aldric slouched back in his seat whilst Evie stormed off to take a bit of time out. He wasn't angry though her words hurt. They were all scared and he had expected someone to start shouting. He had half-expected that he would be the first one to crack.
Raiden stood up, his chair scraping behind him. He declared that he was going to see if Evie was alright and was gone. Selwyn and Cozmo stood up to take the plates and cutlery away. Aldric and K were left alone.
'I do miss home,' K whispered, looking down into her lap.
'Me too,' Aldric mumbled. 'Do you remember that den I built, the one by the river?'
'Course I do.'
'That one was the best,' he said. 'I'm going to go back to it when this is all over. Maybe I'll put a rope swing on that tree, you know the one I mean, the one with the purple blossoms.'
'That would be nice,' K answered, looking up. 'I did like that other den though, the tree house. Until you burnt it down that is.'
'That was an accident,' Aldric defended himself. 'I wouldn't have ever. I built it with my father. I never did it on purpose.'
'Don't forget,' she replied. 'I helped to build it too.'
'Yeah,' whispered Aldric sadly. 'I know you did.'