The King's Knights

Chapter Thirty-Six: Phantom Meeting

Lunch was pretty darn good, as was dinner and breakfast.

The Dreamer Empire spared few expenses in feeding the military men. Having a good, nutritious diet was one of the main features of the navy. Apparently, Laurus wasn't eating nearly as well, though he didn't seem unhappy. Reya and Gisarn reported some good foods.

"Ugh, Kiyora, you're awake," said Grace, looking like she was having trouble keeping her eyes open. "I'm really, really glad. I was so worried that you would never wake up at all."

Kiyora felt a little annoyed at Grace's vote of no confidence. But she decided not to hold it against her. "Don't worry.

"I've done this stuff before. I've been going to Erian since I was a little kid."

"You haven't," said Nelrein, who was reading a book on the subject. "What you're doing now is different. It is drifting along the pathways of dreams without an avatar. You probably noticed you were remembering things you shouldn't?"

"Yeah, I figured I had other avatars," said Kiyora.

"Aw, I was looking forward to springing that on you," said Belora in disappointment. She poured some salad dressing onto her lettuce. "Your horrified reaction and broken dreams would have been hilarious."

"Hilarious?" asked Nelrein, raising an eyebrow. "You mean you enjoy breaking people's spirits?"

"I'm the daughter of a corporate executive; it comes with the territory," said Belora. "And the greatest scientific genius out there. Only Washine could even stand a chance against me."

"That doesn't sound very nice, Belora," said Grace.

"Nice, shmice," said Belora. "So how'd you figure it out, Kiyora?"

"Once you work with House Gabriel a bit, you learn to pick up on things," said Kiyora. "Vanion and William are always analyzing everything. So I sort of learned to do it, too."

"How did you deduce the avatars?" asked Nelrein.

"Anyway, I want you to observe a meeting at the portal. If you can hone in on Relma, it will work fine. Prince Schezar should be meeting with Lady Funas soon," noted Belora.

"Do you want me to say or do anything?" asked Kiyora, not liking the idea. "I'd actually rather be purifying spiritual power."

"Relax," said Belora. "You're doing that naturally in your sleep anyway. Where do you think you're getting the energies to send your consciousness that far?

"And Nelrein and Grace are filling in anyway.

"Anyway, just get eyes on the meeting. Don't intervene or show up for any reason.

"I want to report on it. I'd rather not they be reporting you are reporting it." She paused. "Oh, uh, this William guy, he is benevolent and dangerous.

"I like that."

"Don't push it," said Kiyora.

"Got it," said Belora.

They kept eating. Kiyora looked over to where the natural growth. They formed the cafeteria were being cleaned. All of them were elves. 'Lesser' races were not generally allowed to operate in the Dreamer Empire navy. They couldn't use the Dreamer Empires tech for one thing, and for another, it was a security risk.

No, they had to stick to the infantry.

"Nelrein..." said Kiyora, thinking about her. "What have you been up to?"

"Mostly, I've just been filling in for you and making my own reports," said Nelrein with a shrug, eating oatmeal. She ate oatmeal with every meal, no sugar or anything. "We've been coasting around Falcov for days. During that time, we were constantly translating negative energy into positive energy. Our ships have increased in effectiveness by an estimated 30% in that time, and we are still improving.