The Mantis Synchronicity - Book Five - 17. Chapter 17 - Gilnik

“Bring me Abernathy!” The Demifae commander, Gilnik, was furious. “How dare he go out on his own without our authorization? He knows we’ve been working in hiding since the fall of the Messiahs and their tower! Who does he think he is?”

Gilnik was with two other members of the Demifae leadership, and they were both silent while he raged on. “I want to murder Shift filth again too, but now is not the time. We are on the rise behind the scenes, and Abernathy has focused unwanted attention on us. The Messiahs were hunted down and slaughtered in their beds; is he hoping the same thing will happen to us? We are the salvation of the human race, but we need to wait for the opportune timing. Abernathy has potentially started things in motion before we were prepared. His brash actions need a response. He must be punished for what he’s done.” Gilnik glared at the other two leaders. “And I want those three mantis glands.”

News had spread fast through all of Teshon City that a trio of Shifts had been brutally murdered after the demonstration and the march through the Spritehood the day before. Their three headless corpses were brought to Shifton and laid to rest with honor. The inhabitants of the neighborhood were incensed.

Many people assumed a rogue Messiah had returned to enact vengeance, but a few folks thought it might be the Demifae, and Gilnik did not like being the subject of conversation. He would much prefer that people forget about the Demifae so they could go about their business secretly. Gilnik knew there needed to be subtlety to how Demifae proceeded in the future, and this blatant display of violence would not stand.

“Go find Abernathy,” he growled.