Talon

Thirty minutes had passed. Most of them went in brooding silence. The final ten I spent silently raging. Vayne held us prisoner but we had yet to understand why. Satou and our allies were on the planet below meeting with an unknown adversary, according to him. My patience ran out. I could no longer hold my tongue.

“What is going on down there?” I demanded.

Lianne laid her hand gently across my wrist. It seemed she sensed my rising anger. Vayne on the other hand seemed to care less. For the past fifteen minutes he had been busy using his dagger to clean dirt from underneath his fingernails. At the sound of my voice he looked up from the endeavor and locked on me with his helmet of goggles.

“That’s a good question,” he said more to himself than to me. “I wonder what is going on down there.”

Lianne stood up. I watched her hand fall to the sword at her waist. “We are tired of waiting Vayne. We are tired of your games.” Her hand tensed on the sword hilt. “I will slice my way through you if I have to.”

Vayne laid the dagger flat on the table and spun it. It was as if I watched some macabre game of spin the bottle. The dagger stopped with the tip of the blade pointing toward us.

“I do not doubt your courage, Lianne.” He looked at the dagger and tapped his index finger on the table. “Despite your beliefs we are on the same side. I have a vested interest in your young friend’s safety.”

Lianne looked at me and I recognized her concern. “Why?” I asked.

Vayne leaned across the table. “You face enemies at all side. You are embroiled in a war which you cannot hope to win.”

“What do you mean?” I pressed.

“Your enemies are all around you.” He stood and looked out the window and the planet below. “The Ascended are searching for you. The Consortium is trying to kill you. The Insurgents need you.” He turned and folded his arms across his chest. “They would all kill you to achieve their goals. Your friends are no different. Only one group is trying to protect you.”

I looked at Lianne. Her grip relaxed on her sword. “And what group is that?” she asked.

Vayne took a seat and leaned back, clasping his hands behind his head. “The only group that matters, the one who has been tasked with protecting the universe since the Big Bang.”

“And that is?” I asked.

“Us,” he responded smugly. “The Twelve Timeless.”