The Alliance - 18. The Neko Curse

Aaron hurried out of the ship, keeping Mateio behind him.

“Stand down! None of my companions will harm you!” he called.

Slowly the guns were lowered, Aaron breathing a little easier. A woman broke through the line of soldiers, kneeling before Aaron.

“Your Majesty, we heard rumours you were dead,” she said.

“I am very much alive, and wish to stay that way,” Aaron smiled weakly. “You and your soldiers are to be commended however. You have defended your homes admirably.”

“Thank you, your Majesty.”

The woman’s eyes flickered between Mateio and Lian, her fingers twitching slightly.

“Do you have news of the invasion?” Aaron asked.

“Of course, sir. We can have reports ready for you at once.”

“What about my daughter? Has anyone seen her?”

“Princess Adara locked herself in the palace library shortly after the aliens left, sir. She gave orders not to be disturbed.”

Aaron frowned. Having Adara in the library was dangerous. There was information inside that Aaron needed to explain to her.

“I will see to my family,” he said.

“Of course sir. I will have a car brought around for you.”

Lian sat uncomfortably beside Mateio, his wings pinned against a hard seat. He had been in cars before, but this car was loud, monstrous. He didn’t like it. Still, Master said Lian needed to stay with him, and Lian wasn’t about to disobey that order.

He stared out the window, taking in this new world, with its tall buildings and wide streets. How did they get the streets so smooth? What made the buildings reach the heights they did?

Slowly they made their way through the city, climbing up a hill to the north of the city. The car came to a stop outside the palace, a scarred building that could house dozens of Lian’s people.

He stepped out of the car after Mateio, taking in the collapsed right corner of the building, the pockmarks in the grounds from battle. There were no bodies to be found, and he was grateful for that. The Daknar had always been squeamish around other people’s blood. Strangely, his own didn’t bother him as much. But then, he’d had plenty of chances to get used to it.

Itumak stepped beside him, a hand resting on the handle of a small gun.

“Stay close to me, okay? I’ll keep you safe. I promise,” the two soul said.

Lian nodded, watching Aaron step toward the building. The elf kicked at a piece of rubble, the stone head of an elf crumbling to dust.

“Always hated that fountain,” Aaron muttered.

“King Aaron!”

An elf ran toward the group, tears staining her worn face.

“Your Majesty, Adara’s gone crazy. She won’t stop talking about some kind of curse!”

Aaron’s face darkened.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

“Heading to a lab outside the city. She wouldn’t say why.”

Aaron turned to Itumak.

“We need to get her,” he said. “This is exactly what I was afraid of. I need to explain this to her.”

Itumak nodded, gently pushing Lian back to the car. The Daknar squeezed himself inside, Mateio pushing in beside him to make room for the elf. He was grateful the Faro was small.

“What is this curse?” Mateio asked as they bounced over a pothole in the road.

“It refers to a disease, a neko disease,” Aaron said. “The kingdom of Astara used it as a weapon in the Neko Rebellion. We also found a way to eradicate it, but I feel Adara didn’t read that far.”

“Do you think she’d be out for revenge because of something that happened over two hundred years ago?” Itumak asked, his ears down.

“She might be. Itumak, I’m sorry. You were never supposed to hear about this. No one was.”

The neko shrugged it off.

“So the government was behind one of the worst plagues in the history of my people. We always suspected it,” he said. “Well, the other nekos did. I didn’t really talk about it. It kinda stopped being my history when I was orphaned.”

He frowned.

“Wait, does this mean… the Red Ghost, his weapon…?”

“It’s real,” Aaron nodded.

“Shit!”

“What’s real?” Mateio asked.

“There’s said to be a weapon of such power it could wipe out the entire elven species,” the elf beside him said. “It’s a sticking point between neko and elven scholars. No one else paid it any mind. Adara wouldn’t… I mean, I’ve only known her for a year, but she never seemed the kind to hold a grudge.”

“We don’t even know where the disease came from. It was around before King Paelius. The only nekos who seemed safe were calico. They were also carriers. They’re shunned to this day because of it,” Aaron said.

“So, when I was told not to play with Miran, that was because of a disease,” Itumak frowned. “How do more people not know of this?”

“The plague was designed to hit fast and hard. And we already had the cure on hand, so when the Rebellion ended, we were able to stop the disease before the nekos could realise what it was. Well, almost.”

Aaron sighed.

“Somehow, a neko fanatic, the so called Red Ghost, found a way to take the disease and turn its target to elves. He was killed before he could unleash it. We’ve had people studying it since, trying to develop a vaccine, but nothing’s worked.”

“I won’t let her use that weapon,” Mateio said quietly. “I can’t. It would kill you Aaron.”

“I know.”

The car screeched to a stop in front of a white building, seemingly one of the only undamaged buildings in the city. Itmuk wondered grimly if the gods had a sense of humour. If the lab had been destroyed, maybe they wouldn’t be in this position.

“Arisa, stay out here,” Aaron said.

The elf nodded.

“Lian, you too. This is dangerous already and you’ll only make things worse,” Itumak added.

The neko could see the pain in the Daknar’s eyes, but he couldn’t help it. Having one of the planet’s invaders present would certainly escalate the situation.

Itumak and Aaron raced from the car, Itumak taking point at the entrance of the lab. They made their way through a maze of hallways, Itumak following signs for government projects.

Kicking a door open, Itumak swept a large room, finding Adara sitting in a wheelchair with a canister in her hands.

“Adara!”

Aaron pushed past Itumak.

“Don’t come any closer or I’ll open this,” Adara said coldly.

The elf froze.

“Adara, don’t do this. Let the past be the past,” he said.

“And what about you Itumak? Did he tell you what they did? My own father, hiding secrets from the world, from his people.”

Adara let out a bitter laugh.

“They call you the people’s king. But they don’t know what you are. Murderers. All of you, the entire elf species.”

“The curse is over Adara. Unleashing a new one will not change what happened,” Itumak said gently.

“So, what now? Are you going to kill me Itumak? Silence the one person who would do something about the elves?”

Itumak frowned, lowering his gun. He couldn’t shoot her.

“You realise they’ve had their hand in the line of succession for centuries. Always plotting, getting the person chosen who would best fit their interests,” Adara added, looking down at the canister.

“You’re right.”

Itumak’s head whipped around. Arisa was walking toward them slowly, rubbing her face.

“Damn, I hate crying over women,” the elf laughed weakly.

“What are you doing here?” Adara demanded.

“Helping you. You know, there are days I hate being an elf. Who the fuck needs two hundred years to lose friends and family?”

Arisa stepped up to Adara, kneeling beside her. Hesitantly, Adara took the elf’s hand, squeezing it tightly

“I say we open it together,” Arisa said.

“Why?” Adara asked suspiciously.

“Why not? I’m done, my light is out. Do you really think I want to outlive the second lover in my life? Claire was bad enough.”

“So you’re going to kill your entire race?” Itumak demanded. “Murder my brother, your king?”

Arisa turned her head, fixing a cold glare upon the neko.

“I will do my duty to the kingdom. I hope you are prepared to do yours.”

Itumak’s heart nearly stopped as Arisa set a hand on the canister. This was it, this was really happening.

Arisa leaned forward, kissing Adara gently. The two embraced, Arisa placing her head between Itumak and Adara.

Blocking the neko’s view of him…

His gun was rising, Itumak hyper focused. This was happening. He could not miss.

“Itumak! No!”

The gun fired.

Arisa fell to the ground slowly, dragging Adara with her. The canister rolled out of their hands, coming to a stop feet away.

And time seemed to freeze.

He dropped to his knees, staring blankly at the corpses. Adara, gone. The neko he had raised, had taught, had loved, taken from the world by his best friend.

Feet pounded around him, a flurry of activity filling the room. Aaron was oblivious to it all, locked inside his mind. He didn’t know how long he sat there, didn’t care.

But he had to care. He had to act. Aaron couldn’t sit here, he needed to be the king his people needed.

A blanket was set over his shoulder, a gentle voice coaxing him from his haze.

Itumak’s voice.

“Get away from me!” Aaron snarled, shoving the neko back.

How dare he touch him? His daughter’s murderer.

And like that, the spell was broken. He noticed. Everything. Soldiers cleaning blood from the floor, the lightbulb in the ceiling buzzing, the canister in Itumak’s hands. Mateio staring at him from the entrance of the room.

“You killed her,” Aaron choked out.

“I did what I had to do.”

He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t handle seeing the neko. Or the fox who had started all of this.

“Leave. Both of you.” the king of Astara said coldly.

Itumak nodded.

“I’m taking the weapon with us. Mateio and I will dispose of it so no one will die for it ever again.”

“I don’t care. Go. Now.”

The neko walked past him, gently ushering Mateio from the lab. They would leave Aaron to his grief.