Free Jonathan Moeller - The Ghosts 09 - Ghost in the Surge by Jonathan Moeller

Sicarion from killing him twice,” said Caina. 
    “No,” said Halfdan, “but consider. The Moroaica did not send her servants after you out of spite. She sent them to stop you.”
    “She fears you,” said Corvalis. “She was inside your head for nearly a year. She knows you…and she knows that you can stop her.”
    “I could command you, but I won’t,” said Halfdan. “I trust your judgment. But the end is coming, Caina. We can stop the war with New Kyre. And if Talekhris is right, we can finally stop the Moroaica, put an end to all the evil she has worked over the millennia.”
    Caina bowed her head. She had seen Jadriga’s rage firsthand, the bottomless fury of the creature that had once been Malifae. Jadriga would stop at nothing to destroy those she blamed for the suffering of mankind. She would declare war upon the gods themselves, and her failure might burn the world to ash. 
    But Caina thought of the butchered slaves in Nisias Druzen’s mansion, the men and women and children killed to get at her.
    Yet if Caina did nothing, the war would continue and kill far more men and women and children. 
    And if the Moroaica finished her great work, the entire world would burn.
    “Very well,” said Caina. “You’re right, both of you. I will come with you to New Kyre.”
    “Good,” said Halfdan with a smile. He got to his feet. “I will need to meet with the captain of our ship, a smuggler named Maltaer…”
    “Maltaer?” said Caina.
    “You know him?”
    “Aye, I met him in Rasadda, years ago,” said Caina. “Though he shouldn’t recognize me. I was wearing my mask and shadow-cloak at the time.”
    Halfdan nodded. “Both Lord Titus and the Speaker of the Assembly trusted him enough to keep his mouth shut. Though he was paid enough to do it.” He glanced out the window. “It is earlier than I thought. Let us have some of Zorgi’s fine fare, and then I will find Maltaer and tell him to prepare for our departure. I would prefer to take Corvalis with me, if you don’t mind. The alleys of Marsis’s dockside district are a dangerous place.” 
    Corvalis snorted. “Have I no say in the matter?” 
    Halfdan laughed. “Since your heart plainly belongs to her, no.”
    “It’s fine,” said Caina to Corvalis. “Go with him. I will stay here and keep watch for Talekhris and Harkus. I know them both on sight.” 
    “And if Sicarion and Ranarius come for you while we’re gone?” said Corvalis.
    “Then I will run very fast,” said Caina. “And far enough that no one else dies on my account…”
    “Those deaths in Mornu,” said Halfdan, “were not your fault.”
    Caina scowled. “They died because of me. Ranarius killed them to get at me.”
    “He did,” said Halfdan, “but their blood is on his hands, not yours. You’ve seen deaths before.”
    “I know,” said Caina. “But…not like this. Never people killed simply to get at me. To turn them into bait for me.” She raked a hand through her hair. “This has never been about me.”
    “If you make enough enemies,” said Halfdan, “sooner or later they make the fight about you. And you, my dear, have saved so many lives and defeated so many foes that you have acquired some powerful enemies.”
    Caina nodded. 
    “And the best way to avenge those deaths,” said Halfdan, “is to make sure Sicarion and Ranarius pay for what they have done.”
    “You’re right,” said Caina. She paced to the window. “But those people, Halfdan…they weren’t enemies of the Empire, or slaves, or soldiers. They just got in the way. And Ranarius killed them for it.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You’re right. The Moroaica and the others. They have to be stopped. The war has to be stopped.”
    Again she wanted desperately to go to Malarae, to go home. Last year she had wondered if she had been a Ghost nightfighter for too long, if it wasn’t time to step back. Now she knew it in her bones. She wanted to return to Malarae, to