Freedom, Humanity, and Other Delusions (Death's Handmaiden Book 3) Read online

  ‘Yes. They’ve started looking around for a replacement. They want my recommendation. I haven’t given them one yet.’

  ‘Perhaps it’s not my place to say this,’ Nava said, ‘but I don’t see any standout leaders among the SSF. Aside from you, obviously. Giving a recommendation won’t be easy.’

  ‘Actually, it’s easy… And not.’

  ‘That,’ Melissa said, ‘is not at all clear.’

  ‘I think,’ Mitsuko said, her eyes narrowing at Courtney, ‘that Courtney has a clear candidate in mind. However, she does not expect that candidate to agree.’

  ‘That’s an accurate summation,’ Courtney said.

  ‘I think it’s good that Courtney is stepping down,’ Nava said, ‘since she has clearly taken leave of her senses and requires several sessions of psychiatric evaluation.’

  ‘What?’ Melissa asked, looking between her friends in confusion. ‘Wait… You can’t mean–’

  ‘I want to put Nava’s name forward,’ Courtney said, removing any further doubt.

  ‘Nava’s right, you’re nuts,’ Melissa said flatly.

  ‘This isn’t the same as when I asked her to join the SSF. This time, I want her to run it.’

  ‘I agree,’ Nava said. ‘It’s totally different. It’s worse.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘No?’

  ‘Perhaps we could allow Courtney to explain?’ Mitsuko suggested.

  ‘I should like an explanation, certainly,’ Nava said. You could not tell she was angry. Not unless you knew her very well. Tonight, even Courtney, who knew Nava the least, could tell there was a level of annoyance under the calm.

  ‘You’d be the leader of the SSF,’ Courtney said. ‘The captain gets to decide how the SSF is going to function under their command. If you don’t want to be out on patrol, you don’t go on patrol. You get to make the SSF what you think it should be. I was always pretty hands-on because I was using it to beef up my credentials for when I went into policing. If you want to provide direction and only come out in emergencies, that’s your prerogative.’

  Nava looked across the bath at Courtney. ‘I’m not entirely convinced.’

  ‘No. That’s why I haven’t told the principal about this yet.’ Courtney paused briefly. ‘I think that, now she’s lost the presidential election, Taryn Borchardt will put her name forward for captain when she finds out about it.’

  ‘That is fighting dirty, Courtney,’ Nava said. ‘I’ll consider the matter and let you know as soon as I’ve come to a decision.’

  ‘Okay. Just don’t leave it too long. The administration like to have the replacement lined up well in advance of the deadline.’

  Nava sank a little lower in the water. It was almost like she was sulking. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

  Part Three: Quis Custodiet

  Trenton Mansion, Shinden, Clan Worlds Alliance, 236/3/2.

  The second day of March in the northern hemisphere of Shinden was not meant for sunbathing. It was not bikini weather. It was, in fact, more like thick sweater and scarf weather. Luckily, the Trenton mansion came with copious grounds in which to walk and SAS2 students were expected to be fit; walking in the forested areas nearby was a reasonably pleasant option for the early spring break.

  Mitsuko had relatively little to do this week. Normally, this holiday was a busy one for the incoming student president. There was work to be done deciding on the other council members, policy to be set down and agreed upon. This year, Darius and Marie had been uncertain, but both had been persuaded to stay on. It had been a little work with Marie since the treasurer’s confidence had taken something of a hit the previous year. Mitsuko had, however, been able to persuade Marie to stick around. Darius had decided he could manage another year as the vice president. The captain of the SSF was going to need a replacement, but that was the only position on the council that Mitsuko had no real say in. She could veto someone she thought was entirely inappropriate, but that was about it.

  And Nava was still taking her time about accepting Courtney’s nomination. Various people had tried drawing her out on the subject, with varying degrees of failure.

  ‘Personally,’ Mitsuko said as they walked through the shaded forest in no particular direction, ‘I think you’d probably be an excellent leader of the SSF.’

  ‘I’m interested,’ Nava replied. ‘On what basis have you made this assessment?’

  ‘Personal observation. Nothing more. Nothing less.’

  ‘You haven’t actually seen me in action very often,’ Nava pointed out. ‘I generally go off on my own when I’m intending to slaughter everyone in sight.’

  ‘Who, might I ask, have you slaughtered who didn’t deserve it?’

  ‘That rather depends upon your viewpoint, doesn’t it? Isn’t there some famous saying about no one ever thinking of themselves as evil?’

  ‘I think those terrorists at the conference were evil,’ Melissa said.

  ‘Subjectively, they were,’ Nava replied. ‘Their methods were certainly unacceptable. However, they all felt justified in their actions because those actions were in pursuit of a “noble” goal. One man’s terrorist is someone else’s freedom fighter. I didn’t care about their goal. I cared about the fact that they were enemies. I terminated them based on my personal threat assessment.’

  ‘Crap,’ Courtney said flatly.

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘That’s crap and I think you might even know it. You’ve convinced yourself that you’re an emotionless killing machine. Faced with a threat, you kill it.’

  ‘It’s not a matter of belief. Faced with a threat, I will kill it.’

  ‘But your view of threats is coloured by more than your assessment of how a threat affects you, Nava. Those terrorists, Maya excepted, were no kind of threat to you. You eliminated them because they were a threat to us and the other delegates. You protected a society you purport to hold in a degree of contempt from those who would seek its destruction. That could be considered more high-minded than pretty much anyone in the Clan Worlds.’

  ‘Very convincing. Yet I am unconvinced.’

  ‘You’re impossible.’

  ‘In many ways,’ Nava said before falling silent.

  ~~~

  Melissa was finding the situation just a little uncomfortable. She was up to her neck in the family sento and there was a slight flush to her cheeks which was not due to the heat of the water. Everyone, even Michiko, was staying silent on this because commenting would just make it worse. The situation she was finding uncomfortable: a whole family sento session, which obviously included Zackery. To his credit, he was clearly used to handling this kind of thing with decorum since he had managed to enter the bath without revealing anything too personal. Still, Melissa was naked in a big tub of water with Mitsuko’s father and, if one were being truly honest, she was handling it rather well.

  Nava was unconcerned about it: bodies were bodies. Everyone had one and Zackery had kept his rather well, even if he was only forty-seven. Or forty-eight; his birthday was fairly close. A definite plus was that, if Mitsuko followed the path her parents had taken, she was not going to lose her figure any time soon. Yuzuki was nearing forty-six and was showing no signs of aging at all. No, Nava was feeling a little uncomfortable, but her discomfort stemmed from the topic of conversation, not the family nudity.

  ‘I’m not entirely clear on why you don’t wish to take over from Courtney,’ Zackery said, his steady gaze on Nava. The topic had come up over dinner, in a roundabout manner which Nava suspected was the result of Mitsuko asking her parents to intervene.

  ‘You know my history,’ Nava replied. She was aware that both Zackery and Yuzuki did know much of the details of Nava’s past, but Michiko did not and, by preference, should not. ‘You’re aware of my training. It’s not suitable for police work.’

  ‘I think you may be overselling the negatives, Nava. I think you’re better able to categorise your enemies than you think you are.’

  ‘The girl
you captured last winter,’ Yuzuki said. ‘The one who was attempting to sabotage that play. You took her alive despite her attempts to resist, did you not?’ As usual, Yuzuki spoke in a soft tone, very precisely, as though she were speaking a second language, which she was not.

  ‘She was not a serious threat.’

  ‘Is anyone a serious threat to you, Nava?’

  ‘Yes. Obviously.’

  ‘Anyone who is also a student at SAS-squared?’ Zackery countered.

  That was harder to answer. Or maybe it was not. ‘Yes, though I admit the numbers are more limited. Taryn Borchardt Firmin is likely to be such a threat in the future, for example. Some of the fifth and sixth years probably have the skill to cause me difficulties and the fourth years are getting close. The number is not zero.’

  ‘It would seem to me,’ Yuzuki said, ‘that this is more a question of whether you believe you will hurt another student rather than whether you will. If you choose to define other students as only minor threats, you may deal with them in a suitable manner.’

  ‘And your original argument is likely invalid now anyway,’ Zackery added. ‘As I recollect, you believed that other students would test you with increasing threat levels until you eventually reacted. I believe you were justified in that theory at the time, don’t get me wrong. However, you’re now a Greyling and most of the school knows that you can and will take on anything they can throw at you with little trouble. Your reputation precedes you, Nava.’

  ‘Hm.’ Nava’s response was short and meant to indicate she would consider their words. She was going to consider their words because they had made valid points worth considering. It was also meant to suggest they should end the conversation.

  Michiko had other plans. ‘I don’t think you’d hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it, Nava.’

  Nava always took Michiko seriously because she did not know of another way to behave around children, even ones as mature as the eleven-year-old before her. ‘And what do you base that conclusion on, Michiko?’

  ‘You’ve saved Onee-chan’s life more than once. That makes you a good person.’

  ‘I’m not sure–’

  ‘And Onee-chan would never take a special friend who was bad.’

  ‘Hm. You may have a point, Michiko. However, the situation is complicated and requires more thought.’ Pause. ‘So, I’m your sister’s “special friend,” am I?’

  Michiko nodded, all seriousness. Then her expression shifted to something a bit more furtive. ‘I do know some other words for it, but I get told off when I use them because I’m too young to know them. I think that’s strange, because I know them, so I can’t be too young to know them.’ Yuzuki let out a distinctly resigned sigh.

  ‘Ah,’ Nava said, ‘but you can know a word and think you know its meaning. You may even be correct in your understanding. However, words can have additional or alternate meanings which you may not be aware of, and those meanings might cause offence. In addition, some adults, thinking that children should not use some words, can be offended or embarrassed when they do. It’s better to be cautious of such things in polite society.’

  Michiko considered this for a second or two. Then she turned to her mother. ‘Why did you never explain it like that, Okaasan?’

  ‘I’m sure I have,’ Yuzuki replied. ‘Perhaps not all at once… Nava does have a talent for directness.’

  ‘Thank you, Yuzuki,’ Nava said. ‘No one has ever put that quite so politely before.’

  ‘Yes, well,’ Zackery said. ‘My wife has a great talent for concealing insults in compliments.’

  Yuzuki’s gaze fell upon her husband. ‘Oh, really? I think we should discuss that later, Zackery.’

  Zackery grimaced, but Michiko leaned closer to Nava and whispered, if rather loudly, ‘That means they’re going to have sex.’ Melissa went scarlet. Zackery’s cheeks coloured a little. Yuzuki, always the consummate lady, just gave her youngest daughter a resigned look.

  Nava whispered back. ‘You know that conversation we just had about words adults don’t like children using?’

  ‘That was one of them?’

  ‘Yes, Michiko. That was one of them.’

  236/3/3.

  Nava had learned two things today. First, the mansion had a dojo. It was out in a wing along with a weight-training room. It was also quite a traditional Japanese build and came equipped with a number of martial arts weapons, most of them appearing to be purely decorative, though the various forms of practice sword did look as though they saw some use.

  Second, Yuzuki was remarkably good at aikijutsu. She referred to what she did as aikido, but when she offered to spar with Nava in the morning, it became rapidly apparent that her art was far from an aesthetic one. Her skill went beyond what was generally taught in self-defence classes as well. Mitsuko’s mother was a badass. About the only thing keeping Nava from a really humiliating defeat was her speed; while not superhumanly fast, Nava had the advantage over the majority of humans.

  While Nava and Yuzuki were busy wearing each other out in a battle of skill, wits, and speed, Mitsuko was having the snot beaten out of her by her father. Yuzuki, it appeared, had learned aikido because it was proper for a well-bred young woman to learn to defend herself. Then she had taken it further. Zackery had learned unarmed combat in the ASF and used the somewhat brutal, goal-driven style known only as ‘military unarmed combat.’ He was not bad at it at all. Mitsuko had had karate lessons, sort of. She had never been formally schooled in any style of karate, but she had been taught to hit things with her fists and feet. She was, objectively, not too bad at it, but compared to her father…

  On the sidelines, Melissa and Michiko watched the interplay of the two couples with interest. And some wincing from Melissa when Zackery landed a slightly harder punch than intended. Mitsuko was likely to have a few bruises, though it was unlikely that Nava would allow that condition to remain the case for long.

  ‘Your mom is really amazing,’ Melissa said. ‘I mean, I knew your dad was a soldier once, but your mom is standing up to Nava!’

  ‘Okaasan is teaching me a little of that,’ Michiko replied. ‘She’s a good teacher, but she’s only teaching me forms at the moment. She says I can learn to break people’s arms when I get older.’

  ‘I think that’s something you should be a little older for.’

  ‘I bet Nava was very young when she learned to fight.’

  Which, as Melissa was aware, was true. ‘Yes,’ Melissa agreed, ‘she was, but do you remember what she told you about growing up too fast?’

  ‘She said I should stop and enjoy being a child for as long as I could.’

  ‘Right. If Nava could go back and not have the childhood she did, she’d do it in a heartbeat. She told me I should never– Ouch! That had to hurt! That I should never be envious of what she could do because the reason she can do those things isn’t nice.’

  ‘Oh,’ Michiko said, watching her precious Onee-san pick herself up off the mat. ‘I think she’s wrong.’

  ‘You do?’

  ‘If Nava wasn’t Nava, Onee-san would probably be dead. A lot of bad things might have happened which this Nava stopped. I wouldn’t want Nava to change at all.’

  ‘Hm. It’s a bit selfish, but I suppose I’d probably be dead too, so I can’t disagree.’

  ‘Enough.’ Nava’s voice drew their attention and they looked her way to see her backing away from Yuzuki with her hands raised in a fending-off gesture. ‘I am getting far too into this. We should stop before one of us gets hurt.’

  Yuzuki, resplendent in a full, formal martial arts outfit, executed a perfect bow. ‘As you wish, Nava. I admit that I was beginning to enjoy the novelty of a different partner a little too much myself.’

  Nava returned the bow, though hers was a little more sloppy. ‘Thank you, Yuzuki. That was informative as well as a good workout.’

  ‘I am most glad to be of service. As I expected, you were a formidable opponent.’

  Nava nodded rather
than thanking the woman again. Then she turned to look at Zackery and Mitsuko just as Zackery backed away from his daughter.

  ‘I think we should call it quits too,’ Zackery said, grinning.

  ‘It’s only a split lip,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘I think you’re getting old and making excuses.’ Her lower lip was bleeding and there were early signs of a bruise forming to the side of her mouth. Then again, Zackery looked like he would be wearing a bruise on the right side of his jaw by lunchtime.

  Nava raised her hand toward Mitsuko. ‘I like your lips as they normally are, Suki.’ A second later, as Nava turned her hand on Zackery, the split was gone and the swollen flesh around it was returning to normal. ‘And I’m sure your wife would prefer you undamaged, Zackery.’

  ‘Nava’s magic is quite amazing too,’ Michiko said to Melissa.

  Melissa nodded. ‘Active Recovery to fix a few bruises is really overkill, but it certainly is effective.’

  ‘Nava doesn’t just hurt people. She can heal them as well.’

  ‘Mm, yes. I think she forgets that sometimes, but then, that’s one of the things that makes her Nava, and we wouldn’t want her to change, would we?’

  ‘No,’ Michiko said firmly. ‘We would not.’

  Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery, 236/3/5.

  Melissa was looking embarrassed again, but this time it was due to Courtney’s rather enthusiastic greeting of Kyle. If Courtney did not let her boyfriend up to breathe soon, they were going to need paramedics.

  Melissa was not the only one looking a little uncomfortable as the couple came close to acts of public indecency in the lounge. Naomi was behind them, looking a little out of place, even if he also looked like the perfect soldier in his ASF uniform. It was, as yet, unclear what the ex-chairman of extracurricular activities was doing there. For one thing, there was no space for him to sleep in the house…