Three days passed. Valerya's days continued in a monotonous fashion, with training, workouts and home. She rarely saw Lilliban, but whenever she did, their conversations were stifled. The younger D'ajnes made it perfectly clear that she was not on her sister's side in the falling out with the president. Valerya tried to put her mind at ease, but Davys's threat kept replaying in her mind at the most inconvenient moments.
As she arrived home on the eve of the third day, she poured herself some wine and sat on the living room couch. As she basked in the refreshing coolness, she smiled as she recounted the last moments she had with Sebastian right there on the couch. The comforting way he held her as she poured her heart out. He was in level three, supervising the mines, from the looks of it, but she did not envy him. She had heard of the mines, and how it was the most depressing place anyone could ever be in, even for a supervisor. It was hot, dark and suffocating. Those who eventually made it out of there either went crazy or died of lung cancer months later.
She hated the fact that Sebastian was suffering because of her. It was clear he was collateral damage in the war between her and Davys. Sebastian knew, but he chose to go anyway because he wasn't a coward and wanted to prove something to himself. Besides, refusing a presidential command was complicated, at best.
She began to drift off into sleep when she was awoken by desperate banging on the door.
"Who is it?" Valerya asked alarmed.
"It's me, sister," Lilliban whispered back desperately.
Valerya rushed to the door, wondering what was wrong. She had barely opened it when Lilliban rushed in and hurriedly locked the door behind her.
"What's wrong Lilliban?" Valerya asked, but a teary-eyed Lilliban rushed into her room. Valerya took her gun from the kitchen cabinet and followed her sister.
"Who is it? Who hurt you?" she simply asked. Lilliban was too busy trying to hide to hear her sister.
"I'm dead, Valerya," she cried in a panic. Valerya grabbed her shoulders and swiftly turned her around. "What happened to you?" she asked. Her sister was so distraught she kept mumbling. For the first time, Valerya pulled back her hand and struck her sister across the face. Lilliban was so shocked, she became speechless.
"Calm down, Lilliban. Now, tell me what is wrong."
Whimpering, Lilliban wiped the tears from her face and began, "I was at a club. I never knew, sister. I swear, I didn't."
"You didn't know what?"
"I didn't know they were dealing with proton beams illegally there. That was what the party was for. It was busted, and I barely made it back."
Valerya's hands went slack involuntarily and she stepped back from her sister, horrified. Stealing proton beams meant loss of limb, but dealing was an automatic death. It was empire law. Now, Lilliban's reaction made complete sense. Her brain started spinning, as she looked for solutions. She had barely uttered a word when there was a banging on the door, not unlike that of Lilliban's.
Lilliban grabbed her hands terrified. "Help me, sister, please. Hide me from the empire, I beg you."
"Answer me this, Lilli. Who suggested that party to you? Who told you to go there?"
"Davys. He only wanted me to unwind, and I'm sure he didn't know what was happening there."
Valerya closed her eyes in anguish. Everything made perfect sense now. His threat, she knew it wasn't a coincidence, and he knew exactly what he was doing. He was getting back at her, using the way he knew would hurt her the most. Through her sister.
The pounding got louder, and a deep voice called out, "Siakes diadem Osmore friyam requiem. Open the door, Valerya D'ajnes. Lilliban D'ajnes has been summoned by the volyrts for her involvement in the sale of proton beams. She should come out and face justice."
Valerya was caught between a rock and a hard place. Shielding her sister would mean going against the empire. Going against the empire would mean going against everything she had ever believed in. The empire was always right. But were they? And at what cost? Lilliban's pleas kept clashing with the pounding from the other side of the door. Valerya's head was pounding, but she knew she had to make a decision. It was one or the other. There was no in-between.
Having made her decision, her thinking faculties returned. "Lilliban, follow me," she said as she rushed out of the room. She led Lilliban to the storage room, moved a picture out of the way, and a vault came in full view. She hurriedly opened the vault on the door.
"Remember this?" Valerya asked.
"Yeah, you showed me the day we moved in. For whenever I needed it."
"Good, because you need it now. Get in, Lilli. Make no noise and do not come out until I say so."
Lilli kissed her on the cheek and hugged her before getting into the vault. Valerya placed the picture back, rushed back to the living room and opened the door. she was stunned briefly for a moment before regaining her composure. Three men stood outside, body tensed, about to barge in. She called them men, but they were more of creatures. Volyrts soldiers, as frightening as they were brutal. They were bald, with red slits for eyes. They had red cloaks on, which added to their intriguing appearance.
"Drop the gun," they ordered and she dropped it immediately. "I didn't know who it was. My apologies," she said.
"I'll let that slide," a volyrts soldier said in clipped tones as he strode into the house.
Bring her out immediately."
"I have no idea where my sister is. She'll probably be in the presidential palace, due to the close ties she has with the president," she name-dropped.
"Ironically, he sent us here. The security of the empire remains his topmost priority, and he was shocked someone he held in such esteem value would do that."
Valerya was shocked he would go all the way so quickly, but she powered on, "Well, Lilliban isn't here."
"Oh really? Because he was very particular about the fact that there was a vault she told him about earlier, in the house. We would like to see it."
"There's no vault in the house. I don't know what you're talking about," she said with more courage than she felt.
The volyrts nodded and made a gesture to the others. They proceeded to search the whole house, doing more of breaking than searching. They reached the storage and moved the picture out of the way. The vault came in full view.
"What is the password?" the soldier asked coolly.
"I don't know," she replied.
The man held a sharp-looking knife to her throat and called out, "I know you're here, Lilliban D'ajnes. I would give you four seconds to come out, after which I would slice her throat and burn this place to the ground. One, two, thr-," but he barely finished before the vault was swung open and Lilliban came crawling out.