Chapter 16: Blood and Signal
The crystal had shattered, but its message remained.
Lyra was taken.
Eric had already begun the trace.
> "Signal shows movement south-east. Estimated range: 120 kilometers.
Fragmented broadcast signature suggests stealth-capable transport—possibly airborne for the first leg, now grounded."
Eron stood over the table in the war room, eyes sharp, fists clenched.
"They're baiting us," Sira said.
"They think we'll scatter," Kale added. "Rush blindly."
"They're not wrong," Eron said. "But we won't be blind."
He turned to Eric. "Get me the terrain layout. And show me everything they want me to miss."
---
Meanwhile — Lyra
Bound and hooded, Lyra breathed through cracked lips.
She couldn't see the room, but she smelled oil, felt cold metal walls, and heard faint humming—AI resonance, but twisted, artificial.
A voice whispered from somewhere nearby.
"Your clan leader awakened a key. That makes you valuable."
She didn't answer.
"You were once a healer. Now you'll help unbind something far more ancient."
Then static hissed through the dark, and a door slid open.
A new voice entered—calm, terrifyingly quiet.
"She's stronger than she looks. And if Caelora sends a rescue, they'll bring what we need."
---
Caelora — Planning the Strike
Eric displayed a map of canyons, broken cities, and a red-sanded valley — known as Nareth's Scar.
> "Interference is high. The broadcast origin point is moving within the Scar's outer zone, possibly underground."
> "Traps?" Eron asked.
> "Absolutely. This place was once a testing ground. Civilian and AI remnants still linger."
> "Survivable?"
> "With caution. And speed."
Eron stared at the terrain.
> "Then we split."
---
The Plan
Kale and Sira will flank the canyon on the western ridge, covering a hidden pass.
Nira will be paired with Eric's remote drone carrier, moving down a blind spot in the old AI mining tunnels.
Eron will go alone into the heart of the trap.
Eric tried to object.
> "Tactical risk is unacceptable—"
> "She's my clan," Eron said. "I go."
---
Nightfall
They moved under clouded skies.
No banners.
No flame.
Just steel, silence, and shadows.
As Eron crept closer to the signal source, he found evidence: cracked ground sensors, faint scorch marks, and an abandoned crawler vehicle—gutted and humming.
Then, a whisper in his ear.
> "Closer."
He froze.
It wasn't Eric.
It was the same voice from the message crystal.
"You're not the only one with an AI, Caeloran. But you may be the only one still pretending yours is yours."
---