Page 76 of Red Demon

“You think it was another virus?”

“Yes.” He leaned back. “Although I’ll be asking the questions. I need answers, friend.”

I ran my hand through uncombed hair, tasting the earthy air of the small stone room. “Aren’t you worried you’ll catch whatever you think I have?”

He exhaled. “No, we’ve sequenced the new strain already. I cannot carry the new SBO variant, even if my soldiers can.” He dug for something in his pocket. “If you will not be forthright about how you found us, let’s start with whether you experienced any new symptoms, physical or mental? This variant of SBO can have a longer half-life. It is … unpredictable.”

I thought of the healing, the increase in stamina. That couldn’t be what he meant, right? “Nothing.”

“Good.” He passed me a small vial with a needle, similar to what Mira used to test my code. “We’ll run a blood test to be sure, of course.”

I frowned, but opened the vial with a click, and pricked a drop of blood to place inside. I tossed the vial; Mahakal’s thick arms flexed to catch it.

“Why are you here, Jesse?” he said, voice colder than before.

“For my brother. He needs to know what happened.”

“He needs to know?” Mahakal huffed. “I need to know.”

“He lost his family. All his friends. I just want a few minutes with him.”

“This is war. We all have losses.” The ice in his voice was undeniable. “But a good soldier pushes through. Here I was, hoping you’d come to join the fight, or at least offer information to help the empire. You expected we’d grant a social visit, with two towns destroyed in northwest Noé?” He took a moment to gather himself. The anger in his face vanished into the calm demeanor I remembered. “Tell me what you saw in that town, friend. We need to end this.”

Two towns. I frowned. “There was a ghost girl. She came to warn us.”

Mahakal nodded. “I’m clear on that from those that heeded her warning. Tell me about the attack.”

I told him what little I saw, or rather what I didn’t see. “…and then Galen attacked me like he didn’t recognize me. He called me a demon.” I paused when I got to Galen’s death, to Faruhar. She couldn’t be completely innocent. Maybe I should tell Mahakal everything, so we could sort it out. My heart pounded.

“It must trouble you to know the man harbored those secret thoughts, that the virus brought that into the light.” Mahakal rubbed dark circles under his eyes. “The variant will increase irritability and violence while making him betray his darkest fears, not redefine core beliefs.”

I frowned, unable to believe that. “It wasn’t him. It was a ruren-sa. I was right there.”

“I’m willing to incorporate new information, but we already isolated and sequenced the virus. Did you see anyone suspicious who might have infected the town?”

I choked out a sound, my heart pounding. “Well, I saw … her. The Red Demon.” It felt wrong as soon as I said it. The wrong path.

He paused, his gaze flickering between me and Istaran at his feet. “The Red Demon?”

I nodded, seeing dark anger cloud his face again.

“Of course. If I’m immune, perhaps so is she. Who better to infect the town? And this means she’s now had a chance to kill you twice, and here you are.” Mahakal’s black eyes twinkled in the lantern light. “And you would have challenged her. You’re no coward.”

“I did.” My heart lurched. Faruhar. I remembered her hands gentle on my wounded chest, the writing scrawled on Galen’s tombstone. “She got away in the end.”

“How did you survive her?”

I squeezed my eyes tight. “She disarmed me. She let me live.”

“Did she speak to you? Enough of this caging around. I don’t have time for vagaries when people are dying.” He seared me with those void-black eyes.

“Yes, I spoke to her. It was … confusing. She’s not a mastermind.” I took a deep breath. “I don’t think she’s sane.”

Mahakal’s eyes narrowed for a moment, then he nodded. “She’s sane enough to kill, and be told who to kill.”

I always remember those I trust, she’d said. She trusted me. The world vanished behind my lids. She shouldn’t trust me.

“She mentioned a sister,” I said. “An Asri ghost named Bria. Do you recognize that name?”