The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Noble's mind drifted to the woman at the back of the group. She instinctively felt for the lady, whose identical emotional signature was still skimming along the back edge of the crowd.

Closing her eyes, Noble used her second sight to view the scene behind her. Lindy was standing between Renle and another man, who Fort had earlier called Ginnar. Lindy was leaning lightly against the older gentleman, a fact that made Noble uneasy for a reason she couldn't describe.

The body language of Lindy was too intimate, predatory even. It looked like she was helping him to walk, but surely Ginnar was able to move on his own without her assistance. The way she was going, Lindy was liable to make him trip.

Should she help him escape the young woman's clutches like Seishan had unintentionally helped her?

"Walking with your eyes closed?" Seishan noted with curiosity. "Are you telling me that you are afraid of heights?"

Noble winced and opened her eyes. She glanced down into the abyss. The icy chasm below held nothing but darkness. Any normal person would have at least a healthy respect for the height, but Noble was not normal. 

"Falling isn't a huge concern for me since I can float," Noble rubbed the back of her head. "Actually..." 

"Lindy!" A masculine scream startled the group. 

Noble and Seishan turned just in time to see the woman in question plummet from the bridge and into the empty space below.

She didn't cry out or flail. It was like she welcomed the cold. She continued to fall until her body could stand the cold no more. It became covered in ice before crashing against some unseen object and shattering into a thousand pieces. 

Lindy was gone. 

Above her on the bridge, Renle held back the inconsolable Ginnar. He had been the one to scream and seemed ready to jump over the side after her if Renle would let her. 

"Come back!" He wailed. "Lindy!!!!" 

"What happened?!" Seishan demanded, pushing her way through the crowd. "Was she attacked?"

The Awakened around her flinched, ready to call forth weapons if the need arose.

Renle shook his head.

"It was all so fast!" His wide-eyed expression said it all. "One moment she was chatting up Ginnar, and then she just turned toward the edge and jumped. I've never seen anything like it!" 

Ginnar's face contorted in pain. He struggled against Renle. "She can't be dead! No! Lindy!"

Seishan turned to Ginnar. "How well did you know her?"

"We just met," Ginnar hung his head. "I thought we were getting along well. Then she…left."

He slumped at the realization of what had happened. His shock turned to dismay.

Seishan looked down, though by now there was nothing at all to see in the chasm below. She sighed.

"Sometimes the extreme cold can cause unorthodox responses, especially in those who are unaccustomed to it," the Princess of Song said at length. "We need to move on before anyone else succumbs. We will find a way to warm everyone when we get to the palace."

The words brought back the group from their shock. Ginnar straightened, nodding so that Renle would release him.

Seishan turned with a flourish and returned to the front of the group. When she reached Noble, the grey-skinned woman gave a sad smile.

"It's a tragedy. But there is little we can do for the weak-minded."

Tilting her head meaningfully, Noble took the liberty of moving forward quickly, separating the two of them from the government agents as they continued their trek.

"I don't think her mind was weak," Noble contradicted her companion quietly.

"I didn't mean to disparage an agent. I am sure she is not a reflection of the rest of the government." Seishan's opinion of the entity for which Noble's husband worked left much to be desired, but the professor was forced to let the matter go.

"I don't think Lindy was a member of the government at all. I didn't see her in line at the NQSC or at any time while on our tour." Noble hesitated to share this information, but urgency dictated that she be honest.

The princess of Song seemed displeased with the assessment. "Are you certain?"

"Yes. It wasn't until you mentioned that we were going to the Jade Palace that she appeared." Noble felt the air change as they reached the far side of the bridge. They had entered the outermost part of the Jade Queen's home. The Awakened of Song who did not reside directly in the palace lived on the placid mountainside. 

This area was more established than anything Noble had seen before, but like the bridge, the land here was incompatible with mundane humans. It would only ever be populated with those whose cores had formed to protect them from the environment.

"You think Lindy wanted to get into the palace," Seishan's mind raced. "Then why did she…"

"I'm not sure how, but she must have realized I was on to her. She has the same emotions as two others that I have met. They were all filled with unbridled rage." The professor hesitated. "To my Ability, their emotional signature is unmistakable."

Seishan pursed her lip. "You mean they are all part of some group?"

"Possibly," Noble watched Seishan tense.

At least she was taking the professor's words seriously.

"Well, then it is good that she inexplicably decided to take herself out of the gene pool." The Princess of Song sniffed.

"Very convenient," Noble agreed.

Sparks formed in her hand as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Oh!" The professor reached for the other Master's hand and then pointed. "What is that?"

Seishan's eyes narrowed for a moment as her eyes traced the path of Noble's line of sight.

"That's the Awakened market. It is something we hope to copy on the other side of the bridge for mundane people to use as well."

"Wait until my friend Sarai hears about this!" Noble tapped her ear lightly. "I wonder if she will want to put another bakery here in addition to the newer part of Ravenheart."

Seishan brought her hand to her cheek and pushed back her hair as she thought about the proposal.

"That is not a bad option. She may want to consider opening multiple locations in the future as the population grows."

"That's a good idea," Noble agreed, "I'll let her know."

With The Other's Voice now in place behind the Princess's ear, Noble's audible words went silent.

'The three people I spoke about. I don't think they were in the same group. I know it sounds crazy, but it felt like they were all the exact same person or at least part of the same being.'

Noble could find no other way to make sense of what she had experienced. Lindy and Yosh had shared the same consciousness. She was sure of it.

'Let's say that is possible,' Seishan's face did not show the turmoil going on under the surface. 'Why do you think that Lindy worked so hard to join the group only to jump?'

'Simple. Lindy had outlived her usefulness. I assume there is a second set of security at the palace. If she wasn't on the list, she never would have made it inside. That's why that thing found a new host.'

'Host?' Seishan's beautiful mask cracked momentarily.

Noble nodded imperceptibly. 'Whatever the thing is…it has taken over Ginnar's body. If we don't act fast, I think it may try to take over the rest of us as well.'