The Return of the Gods (Children of the Sun Book 1)

It had taken Kaleth almost half an hour to find the only remaining laptop in the mansion. For some reason, Rayni had thought that hiding it under a pillow on the couch in the living room was a good idea. Kaleth shouldn’t have tried to be considerate and should have just woken her up and asked where the laptop was before he had even started looking.

While he began searching for suspicious apartment buildings in Ghera, Mel mopped up the floor to get rid of the blood Kaleth had somehow managed to ignore completely until then, and went then to explore the house, coming back often to tell Kaleth about the amazing features that he had found. It would be quite amusing if not for the fact that Mel was amazed by absolutely ordinary things—such as electric toothbrushes. It was a bit sad that he’d never seen things like this in person, but Kaleth didn’t want to ruin the Eternal’s mood, so he just smiled or added an explanation when he asked about the things he didn’t understand.

Once Mel found books and told him that he’d never read one, Kaleth tried not to choke on his coffee and pity him. Instead, just recommended the first book in the Sentra Lenohl series. Mostly because it wasn’t too depressing or deep, and it seemed like a lighthearted fantasy adventure would be the kind of book that Mel might enjoy.

“Is this it?” Mel asked when he came back, showing Kaleth the familiar hardcover book that was no doubt the same one he had read many times when he’d been young. That was the only reason the book was even here. His father didn’t see books without deep philosophical pondering as worth reading, much less keeping around.

“Yes,” Kaleth confirmed, about to add that if Mel didn’t like it, Kaleth would just recommend something else. However, before he even opened his mouth, Mel was already reading with a look of wonder on his face. Kaleth smiled to himself and just went back to work without saying anything. He would probably like it anyway. The poor thing had no frame of reference, so even bad books would probably seem good to him.

They spent the next several hours in a companionable silence without either of them realizing how much time had passed. Kaleth was so invested in what he was doing in fact that he hadn’t even noticed it was morning already, not until Mel pointed it out to him.

“This was great!” Mel announced suddenly, closing said book and looking fondly at its cover. Then his smile faded. “I kinda want to go read the second book.”

Kaleth blinked. “You’ve already finished it?” Mel was a fast reader, then. “Well, I’m sure it’s here somewhere. I bought all five of them.”

“Oh, no, I mean it’s almost six o’clock, so I should go make breakfast, right?”

Kaleth blinked in surprise once more. “You can cook?”

“Kinda. I don’t have that much money, so I couldn’t afford to buy cookware, but I’ve watched a lot of cooking shows, so I think I can make something simple. Pancakes are okay for breakfast, right?”

Kaleth raised an eyebrow as Mel pulled out a pan from somewhere and started looking for ingredients. Deciding that it would probably be better if he kept an eye on Mel to make sure he didn’t set the house on fire, he closed the laptop and found an online recipe. He was basically done with the research anyway. He had identified the apartment building, and there was no way to figure out which apartment Nira and Nef were in from here, so there wasn’t much else to do.

After helping Mel find the rest of the ingredients and figure out how to use the stove, Kaleth leaned back on the kitchen table and nursed his third cup of coffee as he watched the Eternal make one pancake after another. He was doing so with a ridiculous amount of skill for someone who had apparently never used any of the standard kitchen utensils. He even managed to successfully flip the pancakes without using a spatula most of the time. Seeing Mel cook in his armor was kind of hilarious, though, so much so that Kaleth had to pretend to cough once to mask his laughter.

“What the hell is—” Rayni started as she walked into the room, rubbing her eyes, but her confusion seemed to disappear as she noticed what Mel had been up to. “Ooh, pancakes!” She wasted no time grabbing five of them along with a plate and a bottle of syrup. She wasn’t wearing the armor anymore, just the jeans and t-shirt from before, which made sense. Kaleth doubted sleeping in the Umbra uniform would be very comfortable.

He rolled his eyes as Rayni sat down at the table behind him, while Mel seemed completely unfazed by Rayni’s bad manners. He even grinned as if he had received some kind of praise for his hard work. Perhaps Rayni’s enthusiasm was praise enough for him, though, Kaleth mused.

“I’m sure she’s very grateful. Rayni is just even more rude when she’s hungry,” Kaleth assured Mel, even though it was unnecessary. He’d mostly wanted to make fun of her.

“Hey!”

Kaleth just smiled at her and drank a bit more coffee in the smuggest way possible. Hearing Rayni’s offended tone always improved his mood. Maybe that was the reason why Rayni pissed off everyone around her regularly. She always seemed disappointed when Kaleth didn’t get annoyed with her.

A few minutes later Kara entered the kitchen, looking well-rested and as serious as always. That was until she focused on Kaleth rather than Mel—then she started glaring.

“You didn’t sleep at all, did you?”

There was no point in lying, so Kaleth just shrugged. “I couldn’t.” Seeing the face she was making, Kaleth knew that the only way to avoid arguing about this was to change the topic completely. “However, I—I mean we—found out where Relioth took Nef and Nira.”

He turned around and picked up the laptop from the table, opening it and showing the screen to Kara. “This is the only apartment building in Ghera that belongs to the government and is comprised of huge apartments. I’ve checked twice. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you the exact apartment number, but I’m sure you’ll manage.”

“Why does it have to belong to the government?” Rayni asked. At least that was what Kaleth thought she’d asked through a mouthful of pancakes.

“Because Relioth would never pay for something with his own money if he could use someone else’s. Especially if that something wasn’t even for him,” Kaleth explained, but even as he said this, he started wondering if he was wrong about this. He put his coffee down and showed the laptop to Mel. “Does this look familiar to you?”

The Eternal put about twenty pancakes on the table before coming over to Kaleth and studying the picture. “Maybe?” he said uncertainly. “Does it have a purple rooftop?”

Kaleth frowned and turned the laptop around to check. His eyebrows went up. “Yes, apparently.” That was a strange choice of color for a rooftop.

“Then yes, it does look familiar,” Mel added with a smile.

“Okay, assuming that you’re right,” said Kara, folding her hands, “what are you going to be doing while we go on a rescue mission?”

Kaleth groaned. He really shouldn’t have implied that he wouldn’t be going with them yet, but there was no going back now. “Relioth is scheduled to speak in front of the Citadel today at one in the afternoon, and I’m going to use this opportunity and shoot him.” He closed the laptop and left it right next to the cup of coffee he didn’t feel like drinking anymore.

Kara’s only reaction was to stare blankly at him, while Rayni started laughing and almost choked on her breakfast. Kaleth shot her an irritated look.

“You’re actually serious about this?” Rayni shook her head and got up. “I thought you’d be the last of us to go crazy. Well, it was nice knowing you, buddy.” She patted Kaleth’s shoulder and then sat down again to continue eating. Kaleth let out a sigh.

“Ray might be an idiot,” Kara said, another offended cry following immediately, “but she’s right. Your idea is insane!”

“Precisely why he won’t see it coming,” Kaleth said, putting his hands in his pockets.

Kara gestured wildly, clearly frustrated that he thought this was a good idea. “Of course he won’t! It’s a stupid, stupid idea, and you’d have to be stupid, and probably suicidal, to even consider doing it.”

Kaleth thought she was done, but it seemed she’d just stopped to take in a long breath, so she could continue. “You can’t attempt to shoot him from the square because you’d get arrested immediately. You most likely wouldn’t even be able to walk around with a gun on you, so you’d have to use your sniper rifle from inside one of the houses closest to the Citadel because all the rooftops are going to be monitored, but by doing so there’s no way you can get out before you get arrested or, more likely, killed.”

Kara took a few steps towards Kaleth, looking at him with the kind of anger she saved only for special occasions. It was quite concerting because she hadn’t looked at him like this in years. “So, explain to me why this is on any level a good idea.”

“It will get rid of him.”

“Unless he stops the bullet, yes, sure.” Kara scoffed. “And what will killing him accomplish, anyway? It won’t stop this war. He already started it. If you get rid of him, someone else will officially declare it instead.”

Kaleth sighed. He doubted that she would agree with him, no matter how much he explained himself, but he would have to try. At least she wasn’t yelling at him anymore. “I don’t think so. If he is posing as our president, then there are no doubt other Eternals in the government as well.” He looked over at Mel, who seemed quite upset because of the yelling. The Eternal nodded, looking at the floor.

Kaleth was somehow both glad and disappointed that his assumption was correct. “He is their leader, so killing him will create a power vacuum, followed by a power struggle, and a civil war is still better than a war between Enoria and Irithara.”

“That doesn’t really sound better,” Rayni commented, frowning at Kaleth thoughtfully. “Civil wars in this country tend to be pretty brutal.”

“Yeah, and you might be wrong about the power struggle,” Kara argued. “What if his second-in-command or someone like that is posing as the vice president? Won’t she just take over?”

Kaleth shrugged. That had, of course, occurred to him, but he would just have to hope Relioth wouldn’t be easily replaced. Or that his replacement would be incompetent. “Well, if it turns out I was wrong, you’re free to tell me I told you so.”

“That isn’t funny.”

“Even if this doesn’t accomplish anything, Relioth is still a mass murderer of four thousand, and who knows how many people before that. On top of that, he destroyed our entire organization and hunted down the survivors. Don’t tell me you don’t want him dead.”

Kara didn’t answer, just looked away from him. “Of course I do. A lot of the other agents were my friends.” Then she focused her eyes back on him. “But I see you, Ray, and Al as my best friends. And revenge is not worth losing you to me.”

Kaleth stared at her in surprise. He’d never known she felt like this. Sure, they were a little close, and they had worked together for years, but he had never felt like they were this close. But maybe this was him not understanding emotions again. Particularly his own.

“Aw, Kara,” said Rayni, hugging her. “That’s so sweet!”

“Get off me,” she replied, pretending to push her away and struggling not to smile. Rayni wasn’t letting go, despite Kara’s efforts.

“Are you sure you don’t think Kaleth’s more of a father figure, though? I mean, he’s, like, fifty.”

“I’m thirty-nine, which is younger than you,” Kaleth snapped at her, but he couldn’t help but sound a bit fond as well. Of course, Rayni had to ruin the mood. It wouldn’t be her otherwise. “You just have to use any opportunity to call me old, don’t you?”

Rayni just winked in reply and finally stopped hugging Kara, only keeping an arm around her shoulders. “Your idea’s still nuts, by the way.”

“Maybe, but there’s also quite a high chance that if I don’t try to kill him, Relioth will come back here.”

“Well, when you put it like that….” Rayni said, letting out a laugh. “See ya!”

Kara scowled at Rayni and nudged her with an elbow. “To be honest, I’m surprised Relioth hasn’t done that already. What’s stopping him from coming here and killing all of us?”

She sounded strangely calm saying this, but since she’d probably managed to sleep for eight hours straight, no doubt already having asked herself this question, she must have concluded that Relioth wasn’t going to kill them.

“Nothing at all, as far as I can see. I think he wants to see what I’ll do.” Kaleth spat the word like it was particularly disgusting. “I’m not sure why you’re still alive, though.”

“Way to sound self-centered, Kaleth,” Rayni joked as she folded her arms over her chest, but there was a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“I didn’t mean….” Kaleth growled with frustration. “Relioth has been shaping my life in some way. Actually, he did this even before I was born!” He didn’t sound frustrated anymore, just downright angry, and as he went, his voice gained volume. “He is apparently indirectly responsible for my birth. Why? I have no damned idea!”

He breathed in deeply, trying to calm down. Only then did he notice how Kara and Rayni were looking at him. They seemed weirded out and kind of spooked. He didn’t yell often, which was probably what had shocked them so much.

“I apologize for my outburst. That was inappropriate,” he said once he composed himself, sighing once again. “The point I’m trying to make is that he wants to get rid of all the remaining Luxarx agents, and as far as we know, we’re the only ones left. Assuming that this weird thing between us is what is keeping me alive, why hasn’t he killed you three?”

There was another moment of silence as Kara and Rayni tried to come up with an answer. Kaleth hadn’t thought to question this before now.

Shockingly, the one to think of a reason first was Rayni.

“Maybe he just doesn’t care,” she said, shrugging. “I mean, what can we do to stop him? And he’s an arrogant bastard.”

Kaleth shrugged to himself. Yes, that seemed accurate.

“Well, what if there’s another option?” Kara started after a moment, but Kaleth didn’t let her continue.

“There isn’t. Today, he’s going to declare war, and I’m going to stop him before he does.”

“Why the hell do you think it has to be you?” Rayni asked. “I’m almost as good with a sniper rifle as you.” Kaleth gave her an unimpressed look. “Okay, okay, maybe not that good, but still.”

“I’m the one most likely to survive this. I don’t think Relioth would invest so much time in me just to kill me off.”

“I don’t think he’ll have much of a say in it if he’s dead, dude,” Rayni argued, and Kaleth had to admit she made a very good point.

“That may be true, but if he survives, I doubt he’ll kill me. If you try it and fail, he won’t do the same for you, so the point still stands.”

Rayni shrugged again. “Can’t argue with that.”

Kara looked at Rayni like she couldn’t believe she had said that and shrugged Rayni’s arm off her shoulders. “There’s really no convincing you, is there?”

“It’s the right thing to do,” Kaleth replied and smiled at Mel. The Eternal didn’t return it, though. He just looked worried and conflicted, as if he was regretting saying the same thing just a few hours ago, but at the same time realized it was necessary.

“And I still stand by what I said. A civil war is still preferable. Either way, killing him is the right thing to do.”

Kara sighed tiredly and wrapped her arms around him, making Kaleth freeze for a second before relaxing and hugging her back. “You stupid, moronic, idiotic, foolish….”

She stopped, apparently running out of synonyms for stupid, and instead, she just buried her head in his shoulder. They stayed like that for almost half a minute and when she finally let go, she took a step back and gave him a sad smile. To Kaleth’s shock, her eyes had watered just a little. “You’d better not get killed.”

Kaleth returned the smile. That was about as affectionate as Kara got most of the time. Rayni quickly replaced her, embracing Kaleth even more tightly.

“If you get killed I’ll kick your ass, you hear?” Rayni said, trying to muffle a sniffle, as she quickly hugged him, keeping a hand on Kaleth’s shoulder when Rayni backed away a couple of seconds later. “But, um, o-on the bright side, I can lead the team now.”

“Kara will lead it,” Kaleth corrected her, deciding to play along with pretending Rayni wasn’t close to crying. He was more than okay with that, honestly.

Rayni cursed.

“I will?” Kara sounded like she wasn’t sure if that was what she wanted or not.

“Yes.” Kaleth smirked. “Unless you’d rather leave it to Rayni.”

Kara looked Rayni over as if she was considering it. “No, that’s not a good idea.”

Rayni huffed. “Oh, c’mon. Apparently, I was a lieutenant in Mereria’s army,” she muttered and was ignored.

Kaleth heaved a sigh, grabbing his goggles off the table and preparing to leave.

“Wait, shouldn’t we wake Alor?” Rayni suggested, sounding almost surprised, probably at the fact that none of them had thought about this.

“That’s not necessary. Let him sleep, he’ll need it. Do try to keep him from getting himself killed while you rescue the princess and his brother today. You know how reckless he can get concerning his family,” Kaleth said as he turned around to face them again, smiling sadly. His smile dissipated, though, when he noticed just how miserable Mel looked.

“I…I could go with you and help you get away faster,” Mel stammered quickly. Despite sounding desperate and terrified, it was clear he meant it honestly, but Kaleth wouldn’t let him go near Relioth. If Mel got captured again because of him or even killed, Kaleth would never forgive himself.

“No,” Kaleth replied, adding the most genuine smile he could muster. “I appreciate the offer, but they’ll need you more than I will.”

Mel looked like he wanted to protest, but then just lowered his head and nodded. Then Kaleth looked back at Kara and Rayni.

Since he hated saying goodbye, he settled on: “Good luck,” and left the room, heading to the roof to borrow the last usable car, stopping in the living room on the way to get his sniper rifle. Now he just had to retrieve the othrin bullet, pick one of the three buildings he had selected to shoot from and wait for his opportunity.