In the Shadow of the Rings Frank Kennedy (the top 100 crime novels of all time TXT) đ
- Author: Frank Kennedy
Book online «In the Shadow of the Rings Frank Kennedy (the top 100 crime novels of all time TXT) đ». Author Frank Kennedy
Only about ten minutes later, as the celestial convergence began to wane, did voices rise, laughter return, and cheers punctuate the night. The sounds grew into a roar as the sunâs final light fel away, the rings returned to their artful silver beauty, and the moon rose toward the highest bands, soon to overtake them and continue its lonely journey.
The party began. Clinking glasses, fish rol s, poltash for al , and trivial banter dominated the rooftop. Yet Ryllen and Kai stayed close.
After many introductions â Ryllen wasnât about to remember al
these names â he and Kai found a quiet spot.
âWhat you said earlier, Kai, about the Divine sending us the wrong message. What did you mean?â
Kai threw back a blue liquor and grinned.
âYouâre in now. Itâs good a time as any.â He pointed to the rings.
âBeautiful, right?â
âYou know they are.â
âMy mother once told me, âEvil hides inside beauty.ââ He leaned in close, his voice dampened to a whisper. âMost people here already know, but most Hokkis would close their ears before theyâd listen to the truth.â
âWhat truth?â
âThose rings wil be the death of us. Youâve heard about the growing issues with agriculture on the continent?â
âSure. Everyone has. Poisoned soil, a drop in arable land. Why?â
âNobody knows when it started, and itâs never been made public.
But the rings are losing their orbital integrity. Most of the time, when chunks break off and fal into the atmosphere, they burn up. Not al .
Just enough.â
âWhatâs fal ing through is poisoning the land?â
âMinus a science lecture ⊠yes. Donât ask me about the timetable.
Some think itâs a temporary cycle. Others say the end is inevitable.
Hereâs the good news: The oceans arenât impacted. At least, not yet.
Saltwater dilutes the poison.â
âKai, why am I just hearing about this? Shouldnât everyone be warned? And how does Green Sun know so much?â
âMany people know. Most donât talk, for their own good. Itâs not like we can remove the rings. And where else do we have to go? Huryo?
To live in the swamps? No, our best hope is Green Sun. Weâre patriots and soldiers, and weâre going to protect our own.â
âAgainst what?â
âNot what. Who. Or maybe itâs whom. I forget. Listen, Kai, do you think the growing number of immos is a coincidence? How about the interlopers trying to compete against our seamasters? The Lagos have always controlled the seas. Theyâre growing desperate on the continent. Theyâre turning their eyes to us. In time, The Lagos wil be
the last refuge for a safe, clean Hokkaido. We have to protect it.â
Ryllenâs heart chil ed. Now he understood.
âPatriots. Soldiers. Weâre an army.â
âYouâre damn wel right, we are,â Kai said. âWithout Green Sun, we have no defense against these bastards. So, we do whateverâs necessary to keep them out. In the old days, whenever there was regional trouble, the Chancel or Sanctums would cal up the Ark Carriers. Theyâd send battalions of peacekeepers to put down our nastiest threats. Those monsters are gone now. The Lagos needs new monsters. People wil ing to go anywhere, obey any order, to protect our islands. Youâre part of it now, RJ.â
Pride, dread, and a swel of enthusiasm consumed Ryllen.
âThis place has never treated me the best, but itâs the only home I know. Thank you for tel ing me the truth, Kai. Iâm committed.â
âGood. Tomorrow youâl start your training. In a few days, classified briefings. After that, youâl be in the fray.â
âThe fray? How far do we take it?â
In another context, Kaiâs twisted smile might have terrified him.
âThe Chancel ors used to have a saying. âVictory is morality.â
Green Sunâs only goal is victory for The Lagos. Thereâs nothing we wonât do.â
Kai didnât have to say more. Ryllen understood the subtext.
Perhaps if he had a family who cared or a comfortable life in the Haansu District free of bigotry and disdain, he might have had qualms. His stomach might have turned at the idea of taking on the inevitable dirty business of soldiering.
Yet for the first time since he arrived on Hokkaido, Ryllen Jee felt important, needed, and loved. For the first time, he was trusted.
And The Lagos were, after al , a paradise.
Who wouldnât want to defend paradise?
2
The Idiotâs Mother
Standard Year 5363
YLLEN JEE KNEW MOTHER would never approve. His R adoptive siblings, whoâd been looking for an excuse to excise him from their lives since Father died in the reprisals, would disavow him. He was, after all, a perpetual reminder of the deal that most likely sealed Fatherâs fate: Adopting an off-worlder from Chancellors in exchange for âspecial investment considerations.â Ryllen never learned the financial details, but side glances and stern whispers cried with ample volume.
Few walked the streets of Pinchon who were not Hokki, descendants of the ancient Koreans forcibly migrated from Earth and given a new home world, Hokkaido. Outside of a smal cluster of rarely seen former Chancel ors who âwent nativeâ during the final years of the Collectorate, Ryllen knew of no one else who bore his physical hal marks of the Anglo-European gene pool. Consequently, his efforts to dress Hokki, to bury himself in Pinchonâs Modernist culture, and develop his own unique style of braids, met with uneven success. Some looked past his obvious difference, but
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