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“Believe me, they tried.”
Thillak looked different when he smiled — not that he never smiled before, only that this time it was real and genuine.
“But how?” I said. “Why? I thought Druin killed you?”
“He thought he killed me. I knew he wanted my place. Just as I knew he wanted revenge on you. It’s so much easier to manipulate people when you know what they want.”
“I heard someone shout and worried you might be in troub—“ Lily said as she came down the steps.
Thillak’s eyes shifted to Lily and he smiled even broader and reached out and took her by the hand. He kissed it, which made Lily’s cheeks flush. “This is how they greet each other in some places on Earth, is it not?”
“It’s a little old-fashioned…” Lily said. “But yes. You’re right.”
“I had a good teacher. You’re lovelier than I ever imagined. I can understand why this one fell head over heels for you.”
Thillak might have moved on from the topic of how he had apparently allowed himself to lose his position as the head of the most powerful criminal organization in the solar system, but I hadn’t.
“Why would you let Druin take your place?” I asked.
“How easy do you think it would be for you to give up that position when you wanted to disappear?” he countered.
Not very. But that didn’t fully answer my question. “Why Druin? Didn’t you know what he would do?”
“Of course I did. That was why I allowed him to take over. My cells can work independently and there was no way they would follow someone like him. His reign would not — and will not — last long. He will be replaced in short order.”
“By who?”
Thillak arched an eyebrow at me. “I think you know who.”
It didn’t take me long to guess. It wasn’t like there was a long list of potential candidates. “Cayggod?”
“He knows my organization better than anyone. Better even than me most of the time. He will make an excellent head and he will reign for a long time… if he wants to.”
I sensed it wasn’t as simple as handing the position over to him, that he had to prove himself somehow… but I let it go.
Then another realization came to me. “You opened my cell!”
“I merely unlocked it. You were the one who walked through it.”
“As you knew I would.”
He nodded. “As I knew you would.”
“And you took out the guard too.”
He curled his face into a sneer. “That’s his own fault. He was being arrogant and pushy. I hate people without the good manners the Creator gifted them, don’t you?”
He directed his question at Lily, who nodded. But her attention was taken with something else. She raised a finger toward the back of the bay area. I followed it and noticed a second cowled figure, this one smaller — about Lily’s height — who peeked out only her head at us.
“It’s all right,” Thillak said. “These are my friends. You can trust them. You can come out.”
The figure was hesitant about leaving the safety of her corner but slowly, she did.
Thillak took her by the hand. By the softness of her skin and the melodic nature of her voice, I thought she had to be human.
“Lily, I believe you’ve met before,” Thillak said.
Without even seeing the other human’s face, Lily nodded. “Very well. I guess mysteries come in twos. How did you two come to meet?”
