The Mantis Corruption - Book Three - 19. Chapter 19 - Lahari, S’Kay, Gawa, & Ijeron

“No,” argued S’Kay, “I don’t want to add anyone new, especially someone who’s not a Bio-Shift.” She ruffled the feather-like protrusions all over her body.

“Tualu chose Tisa, just like he chose Lahari,” Gawa retorted, and the marblesque patterns on her skin shifted with an excited energy.

“Why does his opinion count for so much?” S’Kay asked.

“Listen,” Lahari interjected, “he is just as key to what we are doing as the rest of us, and since he doesn’t talk, the rare times that he does communicate with us are important. I don’t know why he brought us a Shift who looks like a human, as opposed to another Bio-Shift, but maybe there’s a reason.”

Lahari continued. “Tisa is also older than all of us, so maybe that has something to do with it. Ijeron, you have a new target that you’d like to present. Tell us about it.” She waved for a young man with skin like liquid mercury to step up and share his information.

“Why?” S’Kay barked before Ijeron could say a word. “Why do we need someone old and normal-looking?”

Gawa was annoyed. “What’s your problem, S’Kay?”

The bird-woman replied flatly, “I don’t like humans.”

“Tisa’s not a human!” Lahari implored. “She’s a Shift, and that means she can do something; she has some power that can kill Messiahs, just like each of us. She told us about that pack of hunters she slaughtered, and I’ve already shared with you all about the Bio-Shift who Tisa used to live with. I think few people could be as sympathetic to us and our cause.”

Gawa asked S’Kay, “Why are you so opposed to letting Tisa join us? What’s the harm in adding someone, especially now? We’ve slain so many Messiahs in this city that we’ve disrupted their stranglehold on the population.” She looked around at the others. “The Messiahs still don’t know who we are, as far as we know, and we’ve become a force to be reckoned with. Diversification can only make us stronger.”

“I don’t trust anyone normal-looking,” S’Kay responded. “She can’t possibly know what it’s like to be one of our kind. I worry that she might expose us.”

“You mean betray us, right?” Ijeron asked, finally adding his thoughts to the discussion. “You inherently think she’s an enemy, just because she’s not a Bio-Shift, but who would she betray or expose us to? It’s not like she’s in cahoots with the Messiahs or Demifea; at the very least, she’s one of our allies.”

“I just mean that if we are going to be taking on different types of missions,” S’Kay explained, “I worry that something will go wrong, and it will affect all of us. Our stealth attacks on the different groups of Messiahs around the city have been an overwhelming success. I guess I’m just worried about change and what it will bring.”

S’Kay sighed. “I guess I’m always going to be resistant to adding new members. You all had to convince me about Yxida and Khano.” She turned to the young man with skin like metal. “And even you, Ijeron. I’m sorry,” she added, “but anyway, tell us about the next potential target you’ve found.”

Gawa interjected, “Don’t you see the benefit of adding different people to what we’re doing?”

“I understand,” S’Kay replied. “It just feels weird, and I don’t like it.” She crossed her arms and furrowed her brow.

“Go ahead, Ijeron,” Lahari said.

He began sharing his information. “A contingent of Messiahs has fled the city and taken up residence to the south in the Lesser Lighthouse. The report I heard from Brokenpointe stated that a large family was in charge of maintaining the light, and they were all murdered. The Messiahs have set up some sort of barricade blocking access to the minor peninsula where the lighthouse sits.”

“What do we need a non-Bio-Shift for?” S’Kay asked in an irritated voice.

Gawa huffed. “We don’t know yet.”

“Yeah, and there are a lot of Messiahs holed up in the lighthouse,” Ijeron added.

“I stayed in Brokenpointe once,” Lahari reminisced. Then she added, “Killed some people while I was there, too.”

The others looked at her.

She looked right back at them with her yellow eyes.

For a moment, no one spoke.

“You’re not going to tell us anymore about that?” Gawa asked.

“I don’t need to explain my past, and it doesn’t pertain to Ijeron’s mission. Suffice it to say, they were not good people. What else do we know about the lighthouse?”

“The locals have abandoned the area,” Ijeron continued. “No one from Brokenpointe will approach the barricade.”

“You know I’m game,” Gawa said. “When do we take them out? Do we know how many there are?”

“The lighthouse is not very large,” Lahari stated. “I would guess no more than 20 Messiahs.”

Ijeron countered, “My contact said the family that the Messiahs slaughtered was big, five parents and twelve kids. The lighthouse might be bigger inside that it looks, and because of the possibility of many enemies, I don’t think it’s a good idea to have Tualu teleport us into the building. I also predict an unlikelihood of success by using stealth,” he added. “They are patrolling the peninsula and will certainly know we’re coming. We should expect heavy resistance.”

“It is necessary that they die,” Lahari stated, “and we’re going to need the whole team.” She ran her fingers over the black quills on the sides of her face. “How soon can we do it?”

Gawa said, “Khano and Yxida were essential the last time we brought them. They were also enthusiastic about the next time we would need them. I’ll let them know, and I’ll tell Tualu.”

Lahari added, “I think we should clear out the lighthouse tomorrow night.”

“So, what’s the plan exactly?” S’Kay asked. “If we can’t sneak up on the lighthouse, and we think it’s too dangerous for Tualu to bring us straight inside it, how are we supposed to take them out?” She was still hesitant in regard to Tisa joining, but she was united with them all in her feelings about Messiahs.

“Can Tualu bring us to the forest outside of Brokenpointe, and then we can approach the lighthouse from the mainland?” Gawa asked.

Ijeron looked around at the others. “That seems like our only option.”

Less than 24 hours later, the team of six Biological Shifts was gathered in their hidden underground space. Lahari, S’Kay, Gawa, Ijeron, Khano, and Yxida were ready for battle.

Lahari’s spines were extended, and she looked ominous.

The patterns on Gawa’s skin seemed to be radiating from her heartspace.

S’Kay’s feathers rippled as in a breeze.

Ijeron was standing still in anticipation, and his mirrored skin reflected everyone else’s movements. This was only his third mission, and he was anxious.

Khano was huge. He towered over the others. His appearance was similar to a bear. Like the group’s fallen companion, Eroli, Khano’s entire body was covered in thick hair, but his was so dark brown that it was almost black. His eyes were similar to Gawa’s, with no pupils or irises, and they glowed with blue light.

Yxida was the newest recruit to the vigilante group of Biological Shifts, and their last attack was her first time out with them. She was an individual of short stature, standing about four feet tall. She possessed tusks like a boar, very long pointed ears that stood higher than the top of her head, and a pair of curved horns that grew around her unusual ears. The photonova gland in her brain provided her with the ability to manipulate the molecular structure of objects.

The group waited.

Minutes slowly ticked by in tense silence.

“Where is Tualu?” Lahari asked. “Gawa, you told him about tonight, right?”

“Of course, I did,” she replied. “I don’t know where he could be. Since he doesn’t talk, he didn’t indicate to me that he wasn’t going to be joining us. He didn’t give me any kind of sign at all.”

“Without Tualu, we can’t even get close,” Ijeron said. “Is it possible he doesn’t want us to do this?”

S’Kay scoffed. “We decided on tonight. What does he know that we don’t?”

“Maybe it’s not about what he knows,” Gawa retorted. “Maybe it’s something else.”

The six of them grumbled together as the minutes ticked by, and after more than an hour of waiting, they gave up on Tualu. The pre-violence anticipation and tension had slowly dissipated with the lack of activity, and under cover of darkness, the group decided to head back into the city.

“I’m going to Red Raven’s,” Lahari informed the others. “You’re welcome to join me, if you’d like.”

A few minutes later, all of them entered the pub, and they took a seat at a booth in the corner. The place was not crowded, and only a few patrons were seated at the bar.

Then Tualu materialized right next to Gawa.

“Where were you?” S’Kay snapped at him. “I know, I know,” she said before anyone could interject. “I know you’re not going to say anything.”

Tualu’s rectangular mechanical form, without limbs or a head, gave S’Kay no reply.

“Order a round for everyone,” Lahari said to Gawa. “Tonight’s not the night.”★