Scarlet

the chair.
    “I’ve given the order to deploy our reserve fleets immediately. I am confident we’ll have the fugitives found and taken into custody by sunset.”
    “With all respect, Chairman, you don’t sound particularly confident.”
    Though Huy puffed his chest out, his face took on a tinge of pink. “I am, Your Majesty. We can find them. It’s only that … it’s complicated by it being a stolen ship. All the tracking equipment has been stripped.”
    Torin let out an irritated sigh. “The girl has proven herself to be more clever than I would have given her credit for.”
    Kai dragged his hand through his hair, extinguishing an unexpected spark of pride.
    “There is also the issue of the girl being Lunar,” Huy added.
    “Whoever captures her will just have to be alert,” said Kai. “They should all be made well aware that she’ll no doubt try to turn their minds against them.”
    “There is that too, but not what I was referring to. In the past, we’ve had difficulty tracking Lunar ships. It seems that they’ve learned how to disable our radar systems. I’m afraid we’re not sure how they do it.”
    “Disable our radar systems?” Kai glanced at Torin. “Did you know about this?”
    “I’ve heard rumors,” said Torin. “Your father and I chose to believe that’s all they were.”
    “Not all my contemporaries agree with me on this matter,” said Huy. “But I myself am convinced it is the Lunars disabling our equipment. Whether it’s through their mental abilities or some other talent, I can’t tell. Regardless, Linh Cinder won’t get far. We’ll have every resource searching for her.”
    Tempering his inner turmoil, Kai molded his face into stone. “Keep me informed.”
    “Of course, Your Majesty. There is one other thing I thought you might want to see. We’ve finished going over our security footage from the prison.” Huy gestured to the inlaid screen in Kai’s desk.
    Rounding his chair, Kai tugged on his long sleeves, suddenly warm, and sat down. A comm from the council of national security rotated in the corner. “Accept comm.”
    The screen brightened with footage of the prison, all white and glossy walls. It showed a long hallway lined with smooth doors and ID scanners. A prison guard moved into view and gestured at a door. He was followed by a short, old man wearing a gray cap.
    Kai jerked upward. It was Dr. Erland. “Volume up.”
    Dr. Erland’s familiar voice filtered through the screen. “I am the leading scientist of the royal letumosis research team, and this girl is my prime test subject. I require blood samples from her before she leaves the planet.” Looking miffed, he reached into a bag and pulled something out—a syringe, but the bag still bulged. That wasn’t all that was inside it.
    “I have my orders, sir,” said the guard. “You’ll have to obtain an official release from the emperor to be allowed entrance.”
    Kai frowned as the doctor put the syringe back into the bag, knowing that Dr. Erland hadn’t made such a request.
    “All right. If that’s protocol, I understand,” said Dr. Erland. And then he just stood there, serene and patient. After the space of a few heartbeats, Kai glimpsed the doctor’s smile. “There, you see? I have obtained the necessary release from the emperor. You may open the door.”
    Kai’s jaw dropped as, amazingly, the guard turned toward the cell door, swiped his wrist across the scanner, and punched in a code. A green light flashed and the door opened.
    “Thank you kindly,” said Dr. Erland, passing the guard. “I’ll ask that you give us a bit of privacy. I won’t be but a minute.”
    The guard complied without argument, shutting the door and meandering in the direction they’d come from, leaving the screen empty.
    Kai glanced up at Huy. “Has that guard been questioned?”
    “Yes, sir, and his statement is that he remembers denying access to the girl, and then the doctor left. He was confounded when we showed him this footage. He claims to not remember any of it.”
    “How is that possible?”
    Huy busied his hands by buttoning his suit jacket. “It appears, Your Majesty, that Dr. Dmitri Erland glamoured the guard into allowing him access to the prisoner’s cell.”
    Hairs prickling beneath his collar, Kai slumped back in his chair. “Glamoured? You think he’s Lunar?”
    “That is our theory.”
    Kai stared up at the ceiling. Cinder, Lunar. Dr. Erland, Lunar. “Is it a conspiracy