Free Sword of Dreams (The Reforged Trilogy) by Erica Lindquist, Aron Christensen Page A

hysterical testimony was full of low resolution rude gestures, but the audio was clear enough. Her husband had run off with an Arcadian – "A bird-back slut!" – that she was convinced was a Nihilist. The husband turned up two days later, floating face-down in one of Giadeen's huge violet lakes. Someone had remotely emptied his accounts, using his codes. They found his Arcadian mistress a week after that, dead from a chem overdose.
    But in spite of the widow's adamant accusations, the Giadeen police found no evidence of Nihilist involvement. The fairy appeared to have been working alone. After rereading the report for any overlooked details, Coldhand found no reason to doubt their conclusion and moved on.
    There were other stories of Nihilists appearing throughout the galaxy – some substantiated by other witnesses – but none with any more evidence than the Giadeen case. Coldhand pulled up the four most likely reports side-by-side on his monitor: a pair of self-proclaimed Nihilists giving death sermons on Glaw, an Arcadian looking for converts on Koji, and a series of brutal murders on the Devros moon, Frast.
    In most cases, the local authorities had caught the culprit, only to have each one kill themself before questioning. On Frast, another bounty hunter found the Nihilist and cornered him in front of a crowded restaurant. Fifty-eight witnesses confirmed a short, brutal fight between the hunter and a tall human in a dirty red robe.
    An Emberguard?
    Coldhand swiped a bead of sweat from his forehead before it could drip down into his eye. The other bounty hunter had been no match for his opponent and was still laid up in a Frast hospital, recovering from multiple deep lacerations and a major concussion. Of the Emberguard, there had been no further sign.
    Logan checked the clock. It was getting late again. He sat back in the chair, making the leather creak. Each of the incidents was suspiciously public. The first three gave their speeches on street corners, in the middle of parks or even on the steps of Union of Light churches. The Emberguard on Frast had never made the slightest attempt to conceal his crimes, usually killing in plain sight and dropping the discarded bodies in front of busy public centers.
    Even back on Stray, when the Nihilists were at their strongest, they never acted so openly. Gavriel gave his sermons, but never let his subordinates so blatantly criminalize themselves. The abduction of Kessa's baby was done quickly and quietly. Gavriel kept his people under careful control.
    Coldhand closed away the details of the four reports. They were useless. These Nihilists had to be acting on their own, outside Gavriel's authority and influence, if he was still alive. They still believed in the old bastard's teachings, but without his guidance, could not fly straight.
    That did not mean they were dead ends… Coldhand read over the planets again: Glaw, Koji and Frast. He kicked his feet up onto the desk and frowned up at the shadowed ceiling.
    Glaw was being extensively mined. A pulsar only a few systems over swept the planet with frequent radiation bursts. The colonists lived far underground in an expansive network of caves and tunnels. It was an easy place to hide and was a popular smugglers' stop.
    The CWA always sought out new planets to venaform, to feed and settle their ever-growing populace. Koji was the most recent planet to become a full member of the Alliance. Thousands of ships came and went from Koji every day, carrying colonists and the multitude of supplies needed to sustain the young world.
    The two planets did not seem to have much in common. What about Frast, the innermost moon of Devros 2? Like Hyzaar, oceans covered most of Devros 2 and made dry land a rare commodity. Starports were too large to put on such expensive real estate. Most ships landed on the nearby moon. Passengers and cargo moved down to the planet on the hourly shuttles.
    Coldhand closed his eyes. They were sandy and dry from