Read Online Cassiel Winters 1: Sky's End by Lesley Young - Free Book Online

himself, I’ll never trust him again. Worse yet, a tiny part of me feels like I let him down, and that pisses me off. To top it off, the vision I had of him and Lt. King messing with the file on Daz tickles at the recesses of my mind like an itch I can’t scratch.
    “Lt. Winters’s mission was to collect the asset at an agreed location on Taxata,” starts Lt. Lazarus.
    I stare at the table about three feet in front of him as he talks, hanging onto every word. Just hearing Daz being spoken of, after so long, offers a weird sense of consolation even though I am certain, now, that he must be in real trouble.
    “This asset had informed ESE that he had a weapon, the sift, that could advance the power of one species irrevocably, and that he was willing to sell it to the highest bidder. ESE obviously jumped at the chance, not only to obtain the sift but to learn more about the Thell’eon, since this asset claimed to have lived among them. Lt. Winters was . . . unbelievable.”
    I can’t help but look Lt. Lazarus in the eyes after that remark. So, Command respects and values what Daz has done for them.
    He continues, “Not only did Da— Lt. Winters manage to get there before the Thell’eons did, he managed to escape with the asset before Thell’eons could overpower his velo.” Of course Daz beat the Thell’eons despite their powerful ships . “He obtained an incredible wealth of information before the asset . . . disappeared. So, to answer your question, most of what you have learned tonight is from the intel your brother got, and some other pieces we’ve recently acquired.”
    “Daz was a close friend of mine, too,” adds Lt. Lazarus.
    Huh? What ? I had no idea. Daz never mentioned Lt. Lazarus.
    “Lt. Lazarus, what happened to my brother?” I venture.
    He rubs his forehead, frustrated-like.
    “We don’t know.”
    I could break something.
    King shakes his head, as if he disagrees. Huh?, but Lt. Lazarus continues.
    “As I mentioned, the asset ‘disappeared’ unexplained en route to ESE station but not before he passed along what we now know about the Thell’eons to Lt. Winters, as well as some chip-files with limited military information. Unfortunately, the weapon itself was not on the asset, and Lt. Winters reported that the asset did not reveal where the sift was before he . . . disappeared.” He pauses.
    If my face heats up one more time today I think it might blister. I’m surprised how icy my fingers are and I hold them on my cheeks, then run them along my forehead for good measure.
    “Sometime within the hour, before his debriefing, Lt. Winters vanished from the station.”
    What?
    “What?” I ask, my voice following a second later than my brain. “So he’s not really on top-secret SOSA mission?” I clarify, recalling the ‘misplaced’ comment by Adm. O’Reilly. I grip the table, registering vaguely that I can’t fall over because I’m sitting.
    “Now we do not know that is not true, do we, Marcus?” interjects King. “Cassiel, this all just wild speculation. I agree with Lt. Lazarus that it is odd that Daz would leave without a word to anyone, but not,” he lowers his voice, “if he is on a SOSA mission. Few in Command would know the truth. Now you and I have both been told he is away on a mission and we should trust ESE.”
    Breathe, Cassiel.
    Oh shut up! I rush to speak and choke on my own saliva. “But why didn’t you tell me any of this, King?” I sputter. “All this time, Daz could be genuinely missing!”
    A rush of red splotches streaks his cheeks. First time I’ve seen that. Oh . Because I’ve attacked him in front of the officers. Wait a second . Is he actually angry? At me ? Awkward moment, us staring each other down. Of course. He has no intention of responding to my outburst. I give up first, staring, without focusing, at my hands clasping the table.
    The vision of Daria and him messing around in what had to be Daz’s mission report, for whatever reason I don’t