Reunification by Timothy L. Cerepaka Read Free Book Online Page A

said. “I have spent six years searching for mine sister
and ye are telling me that I should not see her? She-elf, ye do not
know my sister or I. Kiriah would be overjoyed to see me again.
This I know with the certainty of the sun.”
    “ You're right,” said
Lanresia, her speaking snake's eyes glowing. “I don't know you or
your sister very well; however, I do know that trying to get
involved with her is the quickest path to death. As you almost
found out yourself when that assassin bot tried to kill
you.”
    “ But why?” I said. I
threw the blankets off my legs and tried to stand up again, but my
legs were still too weak to support me, so I simply stayed where I
was. “Ye have yet to explain that to me. And if ye continue to
speak vaguely, I shall draw upon the power of the Old Gods and
teach ye how to speak plainly, she-elf.”
    That threat of mine did not mean much,
because I truly could not draw upon the power of the Old Gods. I
said it only to frighten Lanresia, who probably did not know of my
bluff.
    Lanresia held up her hands, as if to calm
me. “Don't get angry. There's a good reason for all of this, I can
assure you. We are not holding you down here for no reason.”
    “ 'We'?” I repeated. “So
there are more of ye? How many more?”
    “ I can't disclose the
exact number to you yet,” said Lanresia without hesitation. “We're
not sure if we can trust you with that information. Still, I will
do my best to answer your questions as honestly as I
can.”
    I snorted at that. “Oh? I doubt it. I
imagine if I asked ye what the position of the sun in the sky was
right now, ye would say ye could not trust me with that
information.”
    “ We're running a very
delicate operation right here,” said Lanresia, tapping her foot,
which I recognize as an elvish movement that most elves used to
show their frustration. “Very delicate. I'm sorry you can't handle
the fact that we won't just disclose all of our secrets to random
strangers like you, especially strangers who aren't even native
Xeeonites in the first place.”
    “ What can ye tell
me, then?” I said. “No, wait. Do not answer that. I want to speak
with your leader, whoever he or she is, not with a simple peon like
yourself.”
    “ The Head is currently
too busy to talk to you at the moment,” said Lanresia. “Besides,
speaking with guests is my main job in the organization. We have a
very strict hierarchy here; no one ever does anyone else's job for
them except in extreme or unusual circumstances.”
    “ 'Tis seems like an
unusual circumstance to I,” I replied. “But very well. I know when
I cannot win, so I shall instead ask what organization this
is.”
    “ Now that is information
I can share with you,” said Lanresia. She gestured at the tiny room
in which we stood. “You are currently inside the headquarters of
the secret organization known as the Foundation.”
    “ The Foundation?” I
repeated. “What kind of foundation is it? And how come I have never
heard of it?”
    “ You've probably never
heard of it because very, very few people outside of our circle
have,” said Lanresia. “We've worked hard to keep it that way, for
we answer to a much higher power.”
    “ King Waran-Una?” I
asked. “The Old Gods? Who?”
    “ That is another thing
you don't need to know,” said Lanresia. “At least not yet. All I
can tell you is that we are working hard at uncovering the lies and
deception of Xacron-Ah, although that we do many other things as
well.”
    “ Xacron-Ah? I remember
that name,” I said. I patted my body quickly and was relieved to
feel the envelope with three pictures were still in my pockets.
“That is the name of the man who was in that picture with my
sister.”
    “ We know,” said
Lanresia. “We've been keeping a careful eye on your sister ever
since she first appeared in this city. And we think she is working
with him, though what their ultimate end game for this city is,
even we don't know for sure.”
    “