Bira didn’t risk sticking around to hear
their conversation. She didn’t know how long she could keep up the fade. She
backtracked past the reluctant hero’s house and then went for the warehouse.
She hadn’t had a chance to grab the briefcase yet. It was almost midnight.
She stayed faded as she passed through
Downtown, staying clear of anyone who might bump into her and give her away. She’d
gotten very good at sidestepping and spinning out of peoples’ paths. An incisor
had to.
Bira entered the warehouse, locked the door
behind her, and let out a deep breath. Her head was starting to hurt from all
the psychic strain. Guiding the reluctant hero had been difficult. Bira had had
to do it remotely while she kept an eye on activity by the Ember Cave.
Multitasking was something that humans literally couldn’t do, but Bira had
found that her race possessed a limited capacity to run two thoughts in tandem.
Bira had been warned that it was dangerous to do it for too long; sometimes
personalities fractured, didn’t want to get put back together.
Cornelia lost her mind for that reason. Bira
reminded herself to keep it simple for the next few days unless things got even
more out of control. She looked at the center of the warehouse, at the desk
with the briefcase on it, and then peered into the darkness behind it.
“Hey, I got your stupid relic of ancient
evil,” Bira said, “Think you could let me do my own thing here for a while
now?”
“You were reckless today.”
“I know,” Bira said, “You suddenly asked
that I start caring an awful lot about a bunch of useless humans. You do know
that Will Prestige isn’t even in any of the societies? He’s practically a
non-entity. I had to force him to get out of his house.”
“You could have gotten his sister to do it.”
“But she’s too adorable,” Bira said, “I
don’t want to put her in harm’s way. Will’s a grouch. A stupid grouch who
doesn’t care about anything.”
“Will is going
to be a threat.”
“Yeah,” Bira said, “Probably because you are
steadily trying to turn him into one. What was so important about that stupid
Crown anyway? I thought it was a null artifact.”
“The one you grabbed is.”
“I grabbed a decoy?” Bira asked, “Nice. I
didn’t even guess. Or care.”
“The Bricklayers didn’t know either. The
real one is still in the cave. But stealing it has made the Bricklayers believe
the cave is useless to them. It will make it easier for David Proctor to get
inside and take the real one.”
“Oh,” Bira said, “So, there is a real one.”
“Yes.”
“What does it do?” She asked.
“You’ll find out. You’re going to help
Proctor acquire it, along with his friends. I suggest you familiarize yourself
with he and everyone he will enlist for this mission.”
“Really?” Bira asked, “This is something you
should assign to Grote. She has no experience. And I think she’d get along
fabulously.”
“Grote, as you said, has no experience.”
“I’d be better here,” Bira said, “I was
doing a great job until you showed up.”
“You will do what we tell you to do.
“I’ll do I want, mom,” Bira said.
Silence.
“And right now I guess what I want to do is
help these stupid kids get their stupid crown. Why do you even want David to
get it?”
“It’s Lynn’s prophecy that her grandson must
steal the Crown.”
“Why don’t we do something other than just
follow her prophecies,” Bira said.
“You’re too young to question it. Too young
and too ignorant.”
“Owie.”
Bira glimpsed the flash of eyes in the dark
opening, the barest glint of teeth between lips.
“You’re doing the smile thing now?” Bira
asked, “Come on it’s not even scary.”
Except she wasn’t smiling. Bira realized it
was a little scary.
Mom stepped back into the dark. Bira was
alone again.
NEXT CHAPTER
NEXT CHAPTER
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