marlovestrees - Tumblr blog

marlovestrees · 43 minutes ago

Text

Gift of Perfect Knowledge Chapter 20

ao3 link

previous chapter

I’m not sure I get twenty minutes of sleep in the next eight, but the sun goes almost all the way down and Soaring’s phone goes off outside and I guess enough is enough. Maybe I’ll be able to sleep when this is over.

‘When’, not ‘if.’ What a concept. It’s not just one of the useless fantasies I used to have in the early days when I needed it all to stop, it’s reality. It’s happening soon, which is only a step and half away from happening right now. The Madam is gone; there’s no one on Earth who could match her skill at hunting people down. I am, effectively, free to leave. It would be easy; even Appraisal would have a hard time catching me again.

But I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it if everyone else was still trapped. I will see this through to the end. For them. For myself. Doing what Appraisal wanted meant I was part of the reason they were trapped. I have to be the one to set that right; I know that, but still…

I can see the Tower in the dying daylight from this window when I sit up; it’s truly unnerving to see it from the outside. I forgot that it was so dark to look at; it sits above the rest of the buildings and hovers over them. That’s by design; Appraisal has quietly made sure any other building project trying to build taller than him within a certain distance fails in the early planning. An entire section of this city has no choice but to look up at his castle. He has bragged extensively about it. It’s also the only building that still has power; everything else surrounding it is dark though the only room with light is Appraisal’s office right at the top.

I can just barely see the gaping hole from Liam’s spell; a flaw in the dark glass broadcasting Appraisal’s weakness for all to see. Someone hurt him; someone can hurt him. The longer Appraisal goes without putting Liam in his place, the more people will start to think he can’t. Unfortunately, I know better than to think they’d succeed. Getting up close to Appraisal is just handing him your weaknesses; he encourages people to try. This isn’t any different and that… If we can’t settle this today, Appraisal will make us all regret it forever.

“Elena? You up?” Soaring calls from outside.

I get up and open the door to the living room where he spent the night—well, day—camped out on the couch. I think he got some sleep; I hope he did.

“Got you some stuff.” He holds out a bag that has toiletries, fresh clothes, and a large towel.

I take it from him. “What’s going on?”

“Well, the Major made some calls but before he could be suspended, Nightowl threw a tantrum, took his ball, and went home. So that happened. Alpha Squad’s Ghost and Marina—my vice-captain—are now in charge of the forward perimeter. Nothing’s moved from the Tower since yesterday—well, earlier today,” he reports. “The Major wants us there in an hour; she’ll go over the rest of the plan then.”

I nod. This is really happening then. “I’ll be right back.”

The shower only makes it easier to feel the buzzing under my skin; I don’t necessarily feel better just more organized. Less greasy. It’ll have to do.

Mia is at the table wolfing down what looks like a breakfast wrap when I come back out. I don’t blame her. There’s probably bacon or sausage or something else ‘unhealthy’ and therefore wonderful that the Tower’s carefully regimented meal plan would never let us have.

I think Soaring may have taken yesterday’s doughnut conversation to heart because he hands me another brown bag and I can see grease coming through the paper. I blink and it’s in my hand. Whatever half-baked plan to celebrate the Tower’s liberation with junk food I didn’t have to sneak around for in almost a decade vanishes as, apparently, my self-control has decided not to do that, no matter how symbolic.

I have fucking missed hash browns. I eat four of them and my own wrap way too fast, and Soaring offers me a cup of what is hopefully coffee to wash it down.

Oh, even better: it’s a mocha. With chocolate. I’d be tempted to thank god if I hadn’t long given up on the concept of gods.

“Are you…okay?” Soaring asks.

“I’m very nearly perfect,” I reply, stifling what might be tears. I’m not going to lose it over breakfast; pull it together!

“When are we going?” Mia asks.

Soaring still looks uncomfortable about that. “Soon. Are you sure you want to go? No one would blame you for wanting to stay back.”

Mia looks up at him with an iron she shouldn’t have at this age. “They’re my friends; I can’t just keep sitting on the sidelines while they get hurt—that happened enough when I couldn’t behave. Right, Elena?”

Soaring looks speechless at the mention and glances at me in horror, asking without words. I don’t exactly want to get into all of that right now, but of course I have to say something. That guilt is exactly what Sonja, Audrey, David, and I were trying to avoid.

I put a hand on Mia’s shoulder. “None of that was your fault. We stepped in because we knew you needed a parent, not just a warden. We wanted you to have the space to learn and grow without having to worry about what might happen if you made mistakes in a place where mistakes were over punished. None of this is your responsibility to fix, Mia. You’re out, you’re free. You’re allowed to enjoy that, and you don’t need to earn it by doing this.”

“What about you?” she asks.

I smile. “Liam’s right: they won’t trust anyone but their own. I won’t feel safe until Appraisal is dealt with either.” As soon as possible.

“Me too,” Mia agrees before standing up and stretching her wings all the way out and back in before facing her dad. She’s nervous. “Liam said…that you had no choice, you know, that day. He said both of us would have died if you’d told them ‘No.’ I-I think I get it but doing this is a choice I can make now. Don’t take it from me.”

Soaring’s eyes widen a fraction before he closes them and bows his head. “I won’t.”

Someone knocks on the door and Soaring goes to answer. I don’t see who it is, but I can hear.

“Cap—do I still call you ‘Captain?’” a nervous sounding man asks before clearing his throat. “Captain, a woman claiming to be Sorci—I mean, Major Arcana’s mother has requested you take this to the Major when you go.”

“How did you know it was actually her mom and not a complete stranger?” Soaring demands.

“Because Adamantine was with her!” the man panics, and my heart almost stops. “Sir. Adamantine left the building, but her mother and the other woman—there’s another one—are asking to see the, uh, the Soothsayer,” he whispers the last part.

Soaring looks back at us. I shake my head. I don’t know what Adamantine is playing at, but we can’t be distracted by it right now. I think Soaring agrees.

“Put them in a conference room and keep them supervised,” Soaring orders. “Get them anything they ask for except for access to the Soothsayer. Who did the other woman say she was?”

“She, uh, didn’t.”

“Well, how did she sign in at the front desk?” Soaring coaxes.

“Hannah Collins, sir.”

Collins? Oh shit.

“And the Soothsayer’s name is Liam Collins,” Soaring realizes.

“Oh. I didn’t know that, Captain,” the voice admits. “It’s been a little…weird trying to think about it, like, shouldn’t I know? And trying to find clips online has been…there’s just a blank space on every screen where it should be.”

“Don’t worry too much; I don’t understand how any of this works,” Soaring admits. “Put them in a conference room anyway until everything else is settled. Put the base on alert when we go to the Tower. I don’t want any surprises happening while we’re gone.”

“Uh, yes. I can do that. Good luck, Captain.”

“Thank you. I’ll get this to the Major.”

Soaring is holding a black silk top hat when he closes the door but he’s pinching it between two fingers like it might explode. To be fair, the previous Major once pulled an illusionary elephant out of the thing that was real enough to crush a car. I don’t know what’s in there but if it helps our new Major, so be it.

“I can’t let you see him either, in case you’re wondering,” Soaring says, still holding the hat. “But I checked in on him. He managed to get some sleep but only after terrifying the medical staff into leaving him alone.”

I scowl. Damn it, Liam. “He does that.”

There’s something about this situation that I’m missing—or is it just the nerves? I run the checklist in my head: I’ve slept, showered, eaten, coffee, checked on Mia. We can go now. I don’t know what else I can do here.

But now Hannah Collins is here; that is important beyond the call to get out there and end this, but that mocha is taking its sweet time to kick in. I think I know who that is but Liam hasn’t exactly been open about his family other than his dad.

“Leave her alone,” he’d growled directly at Appraisal.

Of course. That’s his mom; the only parent Liam even wants. Wait.

Does she remember his name? No one who wasn’t there with us when I asked got an answer, if I’m understanding any of this correctly. The world knows that his name is gone. For several terrifying minutes, four months of my memories were poked full of holes; what happened to anyone who knew him longer than that? What is still happening to them?

“Are we ready to go?” Soaring asks.

“Not yet. I want to talk to Hannah Collins.” I can at least tell her son’s name. It’s not right that I know it and she doesn’t.

“Do we have time for that?” Soaring asks. “Our deadline’s gonna be tight.”

“It’ll only take a minute,” I promise.

“Okay,” Soaring agrees and pulls out his phone. “All visitors have to wear a tag; it’ll be easy to track which one’s been assigned to her.”

I frown. “You didn’t make us wear one.”

“You got off a helicopter and went right to bed. Plus, you’re under our protection right now; giving anyone the ability to know where you are is risky.”

I’ve had more than enough experience with someone knowing exactly where to find me, but I can let it go. She’s gone. I have other things I can do today because she’s gone.

Soaring leads us down the stairs another three floors to the conference room in question. I can see a woman with dark hair—definitely the Major’s mom—sitting at the table watching another red headed woman pace, trying to say something to her. The pacing doesn’t stop, and Major Mom looks worried. Hannah looks furious and I don’t know what that anger is for, who it’s for. She’s here now, is that a good sign? Or was she just dragged here because she was with the Major’s family?

And the way Liam stopped me from even the most casual question about his dad just means that there’s no way he’s asked about how she feels about any of this. Could he handle her leaving too? Did he expect it?

Do I even have the right to interfere? What am I supposed to say? Will I just make things worse? How is it that facing Appraisal would be preferable right now? Don’t I have a job to do? How am I here and not trying to get my friends out?

“You don’t have to go in there,” Soaring whispers. He doesn’t have to; the door is closed. When I don’t move, Mia takes my hand and pulls. I have to swallow the shame as I let her pull me back towards the stairs.

“It’s okay,” Soaring says once the exit door closes but I start walking back upstairs.

“No, it’s not,” I choke out.

“Yes, it is,” he insists, following. “You’re not ready for that conversation, if it’s even yours to have. I texted Liam’s name to my doctor and asked him to make time for her. It doesn’t have to be you, especially not right now.”

Mia squeezes my hand as I wipe away tears. “Maybe you’re right.”

Soaring has us fitted with bullet proof vests, though Mia’s is probably just one of his with the way it wraps around her shoulders and sides and is entirely too big for her. I don’t exactly need it, but not getting shot is always nice.

We get into a much more reasonably sized helicopter than Nightowl’s monstrosity. Soaring still doesn’t try to get on with us, but he takes off first and stays within sight of Mia’s window as we take off. She has to lean out of her seat anyway just to fit. She’s…jealous?

“I can’t fly,” she tells me through the headset when she catches me looking. “Dad says the muscles in my back and wings aren’t strong enough anymore. I could barely glide yesterday, and I almost fell into the bay.”

Oh no. “You can train that back up, can’t you?” I ask.

“Yeah, that’s what Dad said,” she sighs. “It just sucks. I finally get out of there and I can’t even do the one thing I wanted more than anything.”

“We’ll get you in the air, Mia,” I promise. “We’re all going to heal put this behind us. We’re going to be happy but Appraisal? He’s going to rot in prison.”

“Or worse,” she threatens.

“That is not our job today,” I warn. “Our job is rescuing our friends and nothing else. If things get risky, Soaring is going to get you out of there, okay?”

She doesn’t look happy about that, and she doesn’t agree either.

“It’s that or you don’t go,” I warn. “You have to listen to everything Soaring says.”

“Fine, I get it!”

“Thank you. I just needed to hear you say it.”

She pointedly huffs into the microphone, but I leave it at that. Today has been exhausting and it hasn’t technically started yet. We don’t know what’s going to happen once we get there.

If I even survive getting there. The Tower grows larger and more imposing with each second and we’re descending as well. It looms over us the way it did when I first came here. I was so fucking young then—how was I so naïve at thirty-five? I didn’t have the sense to run then even if it wouldn’t have mattered. I want to run now—I can run now—but I keep my mouth shut, let the helicopter land on the roof of a building roughly four blocks away, and I carefully help Mia down from her seat. I’m not going to fuck anything else up today. Our pilot leads us to the elevator but doesn’t come down with us.

“Are you okay?” Mia asks after the doors close.

I nod. I can’t trust myself to say anything else.

We’re driven to the command center which is just a cordoned off avenue between two skyscrapers. Several heroes I don’t recognize are hovering a dozen feet above us, surveying everything. The Tower is out of sight a block over. Whoever picked this spot actually did a good job; there’s no way to spot us from the Tower while we’re back here. It’s odd to see this city completely dark except for the lights shining on the camp’s perimeter.

The rest of the heroes here are staring at us but a few openly glare at Soaring as he flies right through their aerial perimeter and lands near us. He doesn’t react to them in any way just forges onward to us and leads us to a…dark grey Nightowl themed party tent?

Well, at least it smells like it’s gonna rain anyway so he can have this one. Nightowl, luckily, is nowhere to be seen as we step under it.

Major Arcana has already made herself comfortable at the head of a folding table, Warpspeed on her left. Both are in full costume now, but the Major has abandoned the stage magician’s suit she’d shared with her father in favor of keeping the Madam’s coat on. The left half hangs off her shoulder because her left arm has been thoroughly bandaged in some sort of dyed green gauze covered in silvered magic runes and pinned to her side in a sling. It’s not exactly a standard dressing but I don’t know enough about magic to argue. I can’t exactly fix her myself anyway considering what happened last time. Maybe I’ll let Liam have the last word on that.

Next to Warpspeed is a person in a silvery-grey costume in their fifties with a crown braid and a greying beard that can only be Ghost. Appraisal had some rather caustic opinions about them from the last time they met, which is the only way I even know it’s them. Ghost doesn’t exactly get out much these days, possibly because they guessed the depth of Appraisal’s hatred for them.

The chairs are low backed enough to allow for her wings, but Mia turns hers to the side out of habit anyway and sits on her knees with the back of the chair under her arm. Soaring remains standing behind her after passing the top hat to Major Arcana who frowns at it before setting it down on the table without a word.

“Good evening,” the Major greets. “Did you sleep well?”

“I’ll sleep better when this is done,” I evade as I sit down between Mia and the Major.

“Won’t we all,” she agrees. “This is Ghost, Alpha Squad’s dispatch and overwatch. The Soothsayer was on the verge of breaking out of the hospital to be here, but he is under arrest. He did type up some notes for us to use.” She holds up several sheets of paper with a slight scoff. “Not nearly as thorough as last time.”

“What have we missed?” I ask.

“We have most of a plan; we just need your input, Elena,” she replies.

“Me?”

“Liam was very adamant that we’d get the best results on your advice. This can’t be an Association standard operation. For one thing, Appraisal is expecting that. For another, Liam insists that most of the people in that building will listen to you if given the chance. Taking Appraisal down will be mine and Warpspeed’s job but you, Soaring, and Mia have to make people believe that this will stick this time.”

“I’m still on the fence about that myself,” I admit. I was hoping the actual, veteran heroes would have more input than leaving it to me while I can barely keep it together.

“It was us who underestimated his reach the last time,” Ghost admits. “Rectifying that mistake has been the goal of my career. The Soothsayer has already agreed to help us bury that asshole, but I haven’t been idle either. Untangling his web of shell companies has taken years but we’re here. We have a case with evidence; we just need the arrest. With Acquisition gone, we will make this happen, Ms. Kendal.”

I haven’t heard that name in a very, very long time; it might as well belong to someone else. “Alright. We can do this.” If I say it enough times, maybe I’ll start believing it.

“What happens if we can’t?” Mia quietly asks. Soaring puts a hand on her shoulder.

Ghost leans forward, resting their hands on the table and looking right at her. “With the Madam of Acquisition banished from our entire plane of existence, there’s no way for Appraisal to track the Collection which means witness protection would be a viable option again. If we fail—and I will not allow that to happen again—we’ll get you and your dad new identities, amulets that prevent magical tracking, and move you to another country. Would that be enough?”

“I don’t want to just keep running,” Mia argues.

“I know, but your friend Liam’s notes were very clear about no one killing Appraisal and I agree. Death is letting him off easy. Trust us to the take the longer, harder, path to bury him somewhere cold and dark for the rest of his life,” Ghost pleads.

“So, what’s the plan so far?” Mia asks with as much stoicism as she can. Ghost clearly approves but of course they do; Mia could be a real hero someday, more than just the wannabe celebrities playing the popularity polls. She’s certainly doing better than the shaking hands I’m hiding under the table.

“Louise’s portion of the Tower’s magical defences have expired and since I bound Dennis, his portion are dormant. It looks like only the first seven floors have connection to the Internet,” Major Arcana reports.

“Appraisal has learned from last time,” Ghost smirks, flipping over one of the pages Liam gave. “Four separate intranets across forty floors, each isolated from the rest to keep me out and only the first ten floors have internet, but they also don’t have power right now. Last time I got to his server room and took over his setup in under a minute. He’s really making me work for it this time.”

“Yeah, he does not like you,” I agree. “If there’s no power, we’ll have to take the stairs and they’re rigged to explode—not magically,” I add when the Major raises an eyebrow.

“Can we just fly up and break a window?” Soaring asks. “Wouldn’t that be easier?”

“That might get us in, but it doesn’t get the Collection out,” Ghost reminds him.

“They’re also scared and who knows what kind of fucked up hostage situation Appraisal will resort to.” I shudder at the thought. “I might know the Tower like the back of my hand, but Appraisal knows me just as well if not better. He’s not going to just surrender.” Even Carl knew that hurting Sonja in particular could get under my skin.

“Why does he even bother with any of this?” Soaring grumbles.

“Power and influence,” Warpspeed replies, finally speaking up. “The first Collection were mostly volunteers attracted to that power and what it could bring them. Then he started kidnapping people who could be useful to him. He was raising my sister and me into weapons, though he never made it that far—”

“Then why wasn’t he stopped back then?” Soaring demands.

“The jury,” Warpspeed sighs. “The whole trial was doomed from the start because being in the same room as the jurors, the lawyers, and the judge…he knows things about the people he sees. He probably spotted you on the news one day and knew instantly about Mia. He knows Dad’s name, and he learned at the Facility raid that Dad had a daughter”—Warpspeed nods to the Major—“but I don’t know how deep that knowledge goes. If he’s anything like the Soothsayer—"

“You can’t ask Liam about Appraisal,” I warn “it hurts him. Don’t let him try to tell you that it’s fine either; he tried to know Appraisal’s power from the first time they met and knocked himself out for an entire day. On the other hand, Appraisal can’t quantify Liam as easily as he does with other people. We might need to let him come with us, Major.”

Major Arcana ponders this a moment, but she clearly doesn’t like it. “That’s what he said too, and I would agree, but what we know about the Paladin isn’t common knowledge. Bringing a known supervillain who has already threatened Appraisal publicly isn’t going to earn us any favors.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the actual monster on Alpha Squad who should be the one who was branded a supervillain,” I deadpan. “Why not just come out with that now?”

“And cause a riot among the heroes containing the Tower?” the Major counters. “You saw how many are wearing silver, if they leave—or worse, double down—our job gets harder. I have a plan for everything Warpspeed and Ajax learned about the Paladin, but this isn’t the right time.”

“How much longer does he have to live like this?” I demand. “He did not work this hard for you to sweep him under a rug and pretend everything is normal.”

“That is not what we’re going to do,” Major Arcana promises. “And for the record, the right time is in a week.”

“A week?” I repeat.

“I still say that’s a bit early,” Ghost remarks “after all, the goal is convincing the public that this investigation has been thorough and handled correctly and isn’t just a supervillain pointing fingers and planting evidence to justify a murder. I got a lot of leads from the Soothsayer’s book and Warpspeed and Ajax’s global search but in order to pin those bodies to the Paladin, we need forensics teams across more than a dozen countries to have catalogued their findings and built the cases. Then we get on the podium and reveal the results of our internal investigation to dig up the Association members who were complicit in all this, which is happening right now. There have already been several arrests already, but nothing goes public until next week.”

They make that report without a single emotion passing over their face, like this is just another criminal case about just another villain on just another day at the Hero Association. Alpha Squad’s Ghost has always been rumored to be exceptionally professional and mocked as cold. Their tell is in the way they’re forcibly keeping their hands folded on the table—one hand keeping a white knuckled grip on a cellphone while the other is forcibly relaxed trying to hide it. They’ve been with the Association for decades; why wouldn’t this be difficult? How would they not be angry?

“And you thought interns were a waste of time,” Major Arcana teases, and a little light returns to Ghost’s face, which may have been her goal.

Ghost tuts, exaggeratedly rolling their eyes. “Intern One has earned his keep, Two through Four are hopeless. Intern Five works for Nightowl, so she’s been sent on a wild goose chase somewhere cold and windy. Anyway.” Ghost slides over the papers to me. “The second page are the names and approximate locations of each Collection member though they might change. The Soothsayer even color coded them by who’s a hostage, who volunteered and regretted it and who volunteered and don’t regret it.”

I read the names. It looks like most of the noncombatants are in the cafeteria managed by some of the more powerful enforcers. Appraisal has made sure none of the sympathetic ones are in that room; they’re on the lower floors. Sonja is in her room. Audrey is in the infirmary—shit, her heart is probably giving her trouble. At her age, even I can only manage her condition, not cure.

“The infirmary on the eleventh floor; it’s possible there’s a medical emergency. Audrey Davison has an unmedicated heart condition.”

“Davison? As in Saul Davison, the mayor of Vancouver?” Soaring asks.

I nod.

“No,” Mia whispers before grabbing my arm. “We have to go get her first.”

“I’m already clearing the ambulance to come in, lights off,” Ghost assures her though I don’t see them typing anything on the phone in their hand. “Major, we might need you to make a detour on your way up.”

“Agreed.”

I stand up. “Well, Liam did say twelve hours. I guess this is why.” Any longer and this situation costs lives. We can’t wait any longer.

#Short story

48 notes · View notes

marlovestrees · 55 minutes ago

Text

Gift of Perfect Knowledge Chapter 19

ao3 here

previous chapter

It’s the subtle yet no less exasperated sigh from Major Arcana that tips me off to what we’re in for. I almost don’t hear it. She certainly doesn’t show it while all these cameras are pointed at her, but I know I heard it right before the helicopter started drowning everything out. As if today wasn’t stressful enough.

Liam lazily sits up in the sand and we all watch as a massive helicopter touches down on the sand and the side hatch thing opens up to a man in dark grey tactical gear already standing up…does he have lights pointed at him from behind? He does; he’s seriously got a lighting rig set up in there shining down on his dark grey avian themed helmet and matching cape to throw the rest of him into shadow. It might work if the low roof of the helicopter wasn’t forcing him to slouch.

And then he pulls out a matching dark grey megaphone even though we’re less than twenty feet away…though the reporters are more than forty. Maybe I’m reading too much into this; it has been a long few days.

“It’s long past time you’ve answered for everything you’ve done! I’ll make sure of it!” Nightowl—because who else is this going to be—declares with a flourish of his other arm, but the massive helicopter makes him look small and the matching grey between his armor and his vehicle washes him out. Maybe I’m not reading too much into this after all.

Liam sighs in a much more obvious fashion than the Major but doesn’t acknowledge him. “I can’t believe I ever thought he was cool,” he says to me.

Nightowl waits for the blades to fully stop cycling above him before he hops down from the helicopter into the sand, bending his knees just a little too much for such a small landing. The cape even flares out at the ends, for fuck’s sake. Only once Nightowl has finished with his grand entrance are the rest of the heroes on board allowed to disembark, fanning out at either side looking resolute…or at least annoyed.

I notice all of them are burly-looking men. Several of them are wearing some variation of a steel breastplate or bracers that are obvious homages to the Paladin. That could be a problem. It’s a neat illusion of strength and unity…but then Liam smiles and stands up to greet them and at least two of them blanch. One of them almost takes a step back.

They don’t even know that this kid risked his own life for people he didn’t even really know…and why would they? Every time the general public has seen Liam, he stunned them with something impossible, terrible, or both. I’m not sure Liam intends to dispute that reputation either. It’s far too easy to see what drew Appraisal to him and it’s easy to see what effect Appraisal’s “apprenticeship” has had on Liam too. I’m just glad it didn’t change anything. If this was just about taking down Appraisal, he could have done it without risking himself for the Collection. I have to believe that.

“I’m afraid you’re too late.” Liam sounds almost contrite, still smiling but it’s still that cold smirk with teeth that Appraisal must have taught him. “I’m afraid I’ve already surrendered to Major Arcana.”

“Are you sure?” the Major almost whispers.

Nightowl doesn’t let Liam answer; he storms right up to us with four other heroes and pulls out a set of dark grey hand cuffs. “I am the one taking you into custody as captain of Alpha Squad. Soothsayer, you are under arrest for the murder of—"

“Last time I checked, Alpha Squad didn’t have a captain,” Major Arcana growls.

“I think the Board will be most receptive to my candidacy, Sorciere,” he dismisses, somehow managing a haughty glare from behind a mask. “And once it’s official, I’ll be doing some restructuring.”

“How much did you offer them this time?” Liam asks before openly snorting at whatever answer he receives.

“What?” the Major demands, now focused on Nightowl who just scoffs at her. Her self-control is really something else; he needs a smack.

Nightowl freezes for a moment before fumbling one half of the cuffs open in a sudden hurry. “We’re not about to take your unhinged ramblings as fact.”

“Unhinged ramblings? I am an Association certified psychic with an accuracy rated at one hundred percent,” Liam reminds him. “I know the contents of your fridges—all nine of them—let alone your past bribery of the Association Board for Alpha Squad and I can help interested parties prove it.”

That makes some of the other heroes a bit nervous, mostly the ones not wearing Paladin-esque armor. One is outright infuriated. Then they seem to remember that Liam is a known supervillain and some of the earlier mistrust comes back.

“Why am I not surprised you bought your way in?” the Major asks with a slight wince as she catches herself with the question.

Liam subtly shakes his head in reassurance. “Because it’s obvious how he thinks. He came in person to arrest me despite my reputation and obvious ability for the prestige and the bolster to his public image, for clout with his fans and the Board. That’s all any of this is for.”

“Someone gag him!” Nightowl orders and one of the silver-clad heroes steps forward and pulls what looks like a mask off his belt.

Mia steps in front of Liam, wings flaring fully in an obvious threat. It’s just too bad she’s only eleven and Liam is still clearly visible behind her.

“No,” she demands. “He saved us!”

Nightowl doesn’t even look at her. “Remove the child.”

Soaring steps in front of her, flaring his own wings which are large enough to block Mia, Liam, and me. “Try it.”

“You defend murderers rather easily,” Nightowl jabs “but what else can I expect from a traitor who’s in Appraisal’s pocket?”

“A bruised trachea,” Liam mutters.

“Shh.” Even though I try to hush him, that delivery was dry, and I can’t help the smile. At least no one can see it past Soaring.

“Everyone, calm down,” Major Arcana orders. “Nightowl, we’re in Canada, you can’t read the Miranda rights. Even if you could, you can’t read anyone their rights with a stage name; say his name properly or let someone else. Soaring, Mia, it’s going to be okay. There are numerous protocols for someone compelled by supervillains, especially when lives are at stake.”

“In that case, no one can read him his rights; he doesn’t have a name,” Nightowl explains slowly.

The Major looks over at Liam with the obvious question.

“Proximity,” is all Liam says before smiling. “Well, Major, looks like it’s up to you after all.”

She nods. Whatever evidence she has, however this case is going to go, Major Arcana can’t just not follow the rules. “Liam Andrew Collins—”

Wait, did I get a different answer than her?

“Don’t do it,” Mia begs.

“Mia,” Liam calls and she looks over at him. “It’s what I want. Don’t blame the Major for it. Stick close to your dad and Elena, okay? He’s going to help you with your job.”

“Fine!” she snarls, clearly unhappy. Today might be a bit much for her.

“Thank you.” Liam nods to her. “You’re being very brave; it’s going to help me be brave too.”

“Really?” she asks.

“Really,” he agrees then looks back at Major Arcana.

“Liam Andrew Collins, you are under arrest for murder by magical means and use of forbidden magics.” This time, her poker face is immaculate though I would like some context.

He only nods. “I, Liam Andrew Collins, know and understand the charges brought against me and am invoking my right as a magician to judgement by my peers.”

“Then until the Sages can be summoned, you’ll be taken into Canadian”—she emphasizes for Nightowl’s benefit—“custody.”

Nightowl offers the cuffs, but the Major ignores him which obviously rankles him. No love lost between these two, I guess. She raises one hand to Liam’s chest.

“I have to block you,” she quietly warns.

He nods again. “I trust you.”

She writes a rune in the air, and it sticks to his throat. Liam coughs once as it sinks into his skin but doesn’t say anything. When he checks back with me, he just gestures like he’s zipping his lips.

“Silence,” I guess. Like he didn’t endure enough of that.

“He can still hear,” Major Arcana assures me. “Complete Silence is just cruel.”

“It’ll be fitting for Louise then,” I growl.

Soaring puts one hand just above Liam’s elbow but it’s not really a hold and it does let him stand next to Mia who refuses to move from either of their sides. I hope that means there’s some form of goodwill towards her dad.

“Will that be enough?” Nightowl asks. Someone needs to shut him up.

“It will,” the Major declares before addressing some of the others. “There are two other magicians in the area, but both should be depowered. One is a woman, early to mid twenties, purple dress, short brown hair. The other is a man, late forties to early fifties, blindfolded, wounded somewhere over that hill,” she points, and several heroes go searching. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off Louise but without her magic she’s just a punk kid and Dennis exploded so…it’s probably fine. Right? Can I have that much?

Nightowl opens his mouth once again. “What about Acqui—”

“Gone,” she interrupts Nightowl. That was far too close. Liam doesn’t look worried, but if people are going to poke at him like this, I don’t know what will happen. I’m starting to understand why he keeps to himself.

“We have to get moving. Liam said we can take twelve hours at most before the situation worsens,” I urge. Liam nods emphatically next to me.

“Then we’ll make the most of them,” the Major declares before looking in the general direction of where Warpspeed went. I don’t see him, but I don’t expect he’ll stay away long.

Sure enough, he reappears without Ajax but with Louise, wrapped extremely securely in duct tape. Neat.

“Found her halfway up the hill—I think she tried to curse me,” he explains when everyone stares. “I don’t think it worked. Jax found a bakery and coffee shop; I told him your order has literally never changed.”

Major Arcana allows a soft smile at the thought.

Warpspeed holds up a paper bag for Mia. “Listen, I uh, I remember Appraisal being weird about the Collection’s diet—didn’t exactly keep me well fed but anyway—when was the last time you had a donut?”

I see Liam’s eyes water, but he blinks until he’s normal. I don’t think that hurt him but considering I haven’t had a donut in almost a decade, I think I get why he’s upset.

“Literally forever,” Mia solemnly replies and Warpspeed surrenders the bag to her. Mia, to her credit, offers half of what looks like a Boston cream to Liam who shakes his head with a smile.

“You enjoy that, kiddo, you’ve earned it,” I encourage.

“If we’re done coddling the supervillain…” Nightowl mocks.

“He stood in front of the Madam of Acquisition and basically invited her to kill him so the Major could take her down,” Warpspeed snaps “we can show him a little respect.”

“Respect? He killed the Paladin, or have you forgotten that?” Nightowl yells.

“Nightowl, save it for court,” Major Arcana snaps.

“Assuming he makes it that far,” Nightowl growls.

I stare him down in his stupid owl mask. “You won’t touch him.”

“Speedy, transfer the Soothsayer to the Vancouver Office’s medical wing and watch him,” Major Arcana orders.

“Yes, Major,” Warpspeed says, pointedly looking at Nightowl and then Liam is just gone from my side a second later. That is…uncomfortable. I guess I’ll have to trust that Warpspeed knows what he’s doing…or at least trust that he knows what our real enemy is like as well as I do. He’s a Collection kid too, after all.

“We need to get everyone here back to the evacuated zone. If Appraisal knows that Acquisition is gone, he might do something stupid like try to leave,” Major Arcana orders.

“We should be so lucky,” Soaring mutters. “Didn’t the Soothsayer say he was effectively finished? Why are we still waiting?”

“Because we have nothing left to fight with,” Major Arcana admits. “And because these two at least need to sleep. We don’t know what sort of counter measures Appraisal has on the place; we are not going in without a break, food, and a proper briefing which I am sure Liam is sure to provide.”

Some of these meat heads still don’t look too sure. A few of them look trigger-happy. I am not trusting my people to the Association, not when they let us rot for years. I’m making an exception for the New Major because she took down that monster and because Liam can clearly see who she is.

“I can confirm that every entrance to the Tower, every stairwell, every hallway, is rigged against intruders. I don’t know very much about magic, but there’s a lot of it and more waiting for you if you try.”

Major Arcana nods. “Let’s move out. Everyone who’s coming with us needs rack time.”

Nightowl’s mini-Paladins are looking to him for leadership but the rest of the heroes fall in line. Nightowl gives in under the pressure. Defeating the Madam has somehow banished all traces of the disheveled, frightened girl we met on this beach when we got here. There’s something about the way she stands now, the power in her stare, the way that the others can’t help but look at her. It’s more than confidence, but it can’t all be explained by magic.

Whatever it is that makes Nightowl listen, we all eventually get onto that stupid helicopter. Mia can negotiate her wings, but Soaring doesn’t even try to get on.

“I’ll be right behind you,” he promises. “Should probably catch up with Ajax anyway.”

“Ajax is here?” Nightowl demands from the pilot’s seat.

“You’re going to want to watch the news from today,” the Major remarks from the co-pilot’s seat.

“Promise?” Mia asks.

“I promise.”

“Do you want to go with him?” I ask her. I can see she does but there might be a second problem. “I know Appraisal never let you fly.” I wonder if she even can.

“In or out, make it quick,” Nightowl stresses. “I need to start pre-flight.”

Mia looks at me and then leaps out at Soaring who catches her. I swear I can see part of his soul coming back from just holding her. He doesn’t even set her down as he gets clear of the blades.

The door closes and I just can’t bring myself to care about anything else that’s going on. I think someone tries to make small talk but what do I have to talk about? I try to rest my eyes but all I can see is the Madam standing and Liam falling. I try to focus on after. The sonic boom, the fight, the dome. It still doesn’t seem real. When will it seem real?

Maybe Major Arcana has a point about resting; just trying to think about today is exhausting.

The Vancouver Association office is south of the bay and built almost in direct opposition to the Tower. I wonder which one was built first; both were already up when I got here. After about half of us have been dropped off, Nightowl takes his giant helicopter and Paladin flunkies back north to where the rest of the Vancouver team is.

Soaring flies over us a minute later and I’m content to watch as he laps the block with Mia twice, gently diving before ascending several times before finally landing near us. Mia is fully asleep in his arms when he does. Considering she usually has to be with Sonja or me for that to happen, it’s a rare treat to see.

“Wonders never cease,” I whisper.

“It’s how I used to get her down when she was a baby.” Soaring adjusts his hold on her, refusing to let anyone else near them as we go inside. “Guest quarters are this way.”

The Major and the heroes she must have picked in the helicopter have already disappeared. Soaring takes the stairs rather than the elevator.

“Where’s the infirmary?” I ask.

“Down a few floors. I know what you probably think of the Association, but my people are solid—especially the medical staff,” Soaring promises. “The only weak link here is me but you and the Soothsayer solved that problem the moment you got my daughter out of there. I can’t ever repay what I owe you both for that, but,” he pauses, clearly uncomfortable. “I can help you with the rest of the Collection. The Soothsayer looks half dead; I’m not sure he should come with us.”

Something tells me that the next part is for me to do anyway. “You don’t want to bring Mia to the Tower either, do you?”

He stops three floors down from the roof and nods to the door. I hold it for him and he squeezes past me.

“It was enough of a struggle to not just take her and fly directly to the Island when I took off from the beach,” Soaring admits “but if I really want her back, that’s the last thing I should do; I know that. I just wish I didn’t feel so fucking scared for what’s going to happen next. I think I’ve spent the last three years either terrified or numb.”

“I wasn’t in the room that day, but I remember when Mia first came to the Tower,” I say, and he shudders. “It won’t happen again because Acquisition is gone. Appraisal might be dangerous but having her at his back was most of that and he knows it.”

“I want to see him scared for a change. How do I even begin to make this right?” Soaring asks, stopping in front of a closed door with a keypad. “Four, seven, one, two.”

I put in the code and the door opens. I get the lights as he follows me in. This room is nicer than my room back at the Tower even if it is a bit austere. There are also two bedrooms. Soaring side steps into one and puts Mia to bed with more tenderness than I have witnessed from anyone in years before gently closing the door not quite all the way.

“I get the feeling she won’t want to wake up without you nearby,” Soaring sheepishly explains when he catches me staring. “Could you look after her just one more day?”

It strikes me how young Soaring is too. Or maybe I’m getting old and everyone looks young to me. That’s certainly a feeling.

“Where she’s concerned, you can ask me anything,” I promise.

Soaring smiles. He doesn’t have any laugh lines on his face. “Thank you. God, there’s so much I want to ask you. Am—Mia—clearly trusts you.”

“She didn’t exactly have a choice. None of them did.” How bad is it back there right now? What are we risking by wasting our time like this? Is Sonja okay?

“Sleep. I’ll keep watch, if you want and I can check on the Sooth—Liam—in a bit,” Soaring offers. “Even trying to sleep is better than no sleep at all. The Major is right: we’re not saving anyone like this.”

He’s right and I hate it.

#Short story

48 notes · View notes

marlovestrees · 1 hour ago

Text

Gift of Perfect Knowledge Chapter 18

ao3 link

previous chapter

Why didn’t that work?

It should have worked, damn it! I asked the question; of course I asked the question! The Soothsayer had a plan. He had something he needed to do, and I had to let him do it—not that he gave me a choice! He must have known that I was watching for this exact scenario, this fucking idiot. He told me he left something for me afterward and that I would know what it was. I thought I did. The answer was right there in front of me.

So why the hell is it going wrong?

Ajax shrieks next to the Soothsayer and collapses, holding his head and crying. The Soothsayer is just as bad next to him, almost convulsing in the sand before opening his eyes and screaming “I don’t have one!” loud enough that Soaring has grabbed Mia and leapt backward about fifteen feet before any of us can register that he moved.

Mia doesn’t fight him; she actually turns around and tries to burrow under his chin. I’d be glad if this moment wasn’t all kinds of wrong.

I don’t know what to do. I check the Soothsayer but aside from the obvious thing wrong with him, there’s nothing that I can fix which is rare for me.

Warpspeed helps Sorciere—though the reporters are loudly calling her Major Arcana—over to us, but she looks about as terrible as anyone else does after fighting Acquisition. The only difference is she is the one standing, holding that damned white coat like the trophy it is. I can process that later when we fix this—it was supposed to be fixable, wasn’t it? Otherwise, why would he have done it? Unless he was lying about being able to fix what looks like a textbook heroic sacrifice. That had better not be what this is; we had an agreement.

“What—” Warpspeed starts.

“No questions!” I shout at him, and he flinches. I would feel bad but until I know where I went wrong, I won’t risk anything else happening to the Soothsayer.

“Shit, Jax.” The new Major collapses to her knees next to him and pulls him onto his back. “Tell me you’re okay.”

At least she’s quick on the uptake.

Ajax whimpers but eventually one bloodshot eye opens and then the other. “I saw…true nothingness. If absence was absolute.” He looks right at me. “You get one more try. I can’t…I can’t.”

“Speedy, take him to Vancouver’s Branch Office,” Major Arcana orders.

“I got him,” Warpspeed promises and reaches for him.

“No!” Ajax fights him off. “N-not runnin’ ‘gain.”

“Jax, it’s dangerous for you to be here,” Warpspeed argues.

“D-don’t care…”

Slurring words is never a good sign; I can put aside my baggage with Carl enough to help him. “Give me your hand.”

Ajax wants to ask why but takes my hand anyway. I can’t take away whatever he saw, but I can help with how his body is punishing him for seeing it. I was right to intervene; reversing a stroke is easier the earlier I can get to it. It would have been worse if he’d left; it’s cold comfort in the face of the pain that flares through my brain, but it’s not as bad as the last one I fixed. I’m not even surprised that I’ve gone back to taking injuries into myself, it’s just normal. It shouldn’t be, but it is.

When Ajax recovers enough to sense what’s happening to me, he tries to pull away immediately even though I’m not done, horrified the way the Soothsayer was when we first met. Honestly.

“You can’t both be idiots about this,” I snap.

“I’m fine,” Ajax evades but for all his reputation as Alpha Squad’s previous heavy hitter, he’s a trapped kitten in my grasp and I don’t let him go until the last bits of brain damage melt away and some color comes back to his cheeks. I don’t remember being this strong before, but I’ll take it.

“You are now, yeah,” I coldly inform him as he jerks his hand back. “You wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t stepped in…and it was my fault you were hurt at all. I’m sorry.”

“I clearly missed something,” Major Arcana infers.

“She hurts herself to heal others,” Ajax replies and now everyone is suddenly looking at me all concerned. It would be sweet if it weren’t annoying; just let me do my job, for fuck’s sake.

“You would have died,” I insist before turning to Major Arcana. She could lose that arm considering there’s definitely ocean water and everything that lives in ocean water in those burns. “And you need those burns treated.” I offer my hand to her next. “I’m amazed you’re still conscious.”

“I’m still riding the magical euphoria of fulfilling a long-held personal goal and taking on a mantle that was always meant to be mine. I will be fine; there are plenty of healers who can help me without hurting themselves to do it,” she argues.

“I’ve already healed everything I took from Ajax; it’s fine. You’re definitely risking infection, part of that t-shirt is fused to your skin, and there are other heroes about to come here led by a man who wants the Soothsayer dead,” I counter. “I will not let that happen.”

Heroes killing the Soothsayer is apparently a sore subject for all three of them based on the collective shudder.

“We can’t have both of you down right now,” I continue. “Look at that Tower over there, really look. That Tower is full of terrified, desperate, hurting people. There are people who thought they were getting a better life—an easier life—and have now had to do whatever Appraisal needed them for over and over again to justify being kept alive. Some of us have been there for years. Then, there are people who are there just so that their loved ones, who are more useful out here, take his orders and don’t cross him—like Mia was for Soaring.

“They’re not going to believe Her Ladyship is gone until they see you waving that coat in front of their faces. Appraisal and Acquisition have convinced them that the heroes outside want to arrest them for what they’ve had to do to survive; they’re going to fight back, and the Association won’t hold back either and it’ll all go to shit. You need to take charge of that mess, and you can’t do that if you go into shock when whatever magical wispy-woo bullshit pain relief stops working. Major Arcana”—I hold my hand a little higher—"take your damned medicine.”

Warpspeed is the only one looking at the Tower directly but then looks back at us. “She’s right, sis.”

I can see the gears turning in her mind before she—apparently against her better judgement—offers me her burned left arm. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t do that,” I snap, taking it with both of my hands. “Not a single member of the Collection will be helped by pity. Pity Appraisal’s kneecaps for what I’m going to do to them.” If he’s lucky.

The Major nods, trying to find the words which is enough of a distraction to start the process. I’ve never been set on fire before, so this is new and horrible. At least with burns as severe as hers have become, the nerves are gone…until they aren’t. We both feel that transition. She bites back a whimper and my eyes water but the red fades from her restored skin…and that shirt starts falling away in charred flecks now that it’s not attached to her.

Warpspeed grabs The Coat and puts it over her shoulders for modesty before freezing as a dozen camera shutters go off in the background. “Oh. Oh shit. I’m sorry.”

Major Arcana looks equally disturbed but she’s facing away from the cameras and doesn’t move to take it off. Honestly it looks good on her which is an opinion I apparently have.

Something deep in my core ripples and twists and I have to stop far before she’s completely healed. Letting her go makes that feeling lessen, but the now minor burns remain longer than they usually do on my skin. The relief makes me lightheaded. The Soothsayer was right, I can’t keep doing this. I’m still healing myself but it’s slower now and all my muscles ache like I’ve fallen down all the stairs from the penthouse to the ground floor. The new Major is still going to need some hospital time and some reconstructive surgery for the scars but she’s not going to drop either. That’ll have to be enough.

“Alright, now we can try and fix him too,” I declare, trying to hide how much my hands are shaking. The Soothsayer looks at peace which might have something to do with how intensely Ajax is looking at him.

“He was waking up,” he explains when he catches me looking. “He’s…I can’t go back in and fix him again; it’s just…it’s too much when that thing…”

“Could we—” Warpspeed starts only to stop when I look at him. “Sorry. Major, I’ve changed my true name before, would that—fuck, sorry—maybe…that would work?”

“I don’t know,” Major Arcana admits “we helped you change your name, but you did still have one. Not knowing isn’t the same as not having. We could try giving him one, but if we get it wrong, he gets up as someone different.”

“True names,” I repeat.

Major Arcana nods. “Your true name is the second gift you receive after life; it forms the basis of your sense of self as you grow around it. On a magical level it’s the key to who you are. We can hold the Soothsayer together but without his name, he’s just going to fall apart.”

“And you can just change something that important,” I ‘ask’ Warpspeed. God, I miss questions.

“I…had to,” he hesitates then clears his throat. “Appraisal didn’t keep any record of the first one.”

“Appraisal…oh. Right. You’re one of the twins.” I don’t know what else to say; bringing up those two was a great way to make sure Acquisition was in a bad mood for days.

He nods once, much more tense than a second ago. “Yeah. Whatever our names were, those two didn’t use them. We were literally just “the girl” and “the boy.” We had to start over from scratch.”

“I need to know how this works,” I plead. “I have to fix this.”

“Warpspeed changed his name as part of his adoption into our family,” Major Arcana explains when Warpspeed obviously defers to her. “Though it helped that he didn’t know his birth name; it made it easier to change it. Warpspeed and Adamantine escaping the Collection gave them the first real opportunity to become the people they wanted to be, and they chose to become my family. For magicians, though, it gets a bit messier; protecting your true name is paramount. We typically have three or four extra names that we add and then keep from all but a few people. That way, no one knows our complete full name except us. Changing it completely isn’t a decision we make lightly.”

“The Soothsayer changed his name too,” Warpspeed realizes. “Hannah told us so.”

“It must have been right after his parents divorced,” I guess. “He told me his father didn’t know his name. He has a few issues there, so it wouldn’t surprise me.”

“That’s almost exactly what she said, yeah,” Warpspeed confirms.

I nod. “He asked if his father still loved him and was…disappointed by the answer.”

Major Arcana scowls but quickly hides it from everyone. “Then yes, if he was angry enough, he could have chosen to cut the already weak bonds tying him to his father and redefined his whole self as his mother’s son. I would bet that he woke Hannah up at dawn to do it.”

“And…it has to be a parent,” I assume.

“For matters relating to the parents yes, though if the Soothsayer’s answers become a part of him, maybe reminding him of his choice will be enough.” She says that but she looks to us—well, to Ajax—to confirm it.

“The rest of him is still there; it’s just jumbled,” he confirms. “If he gets his name back, maybe I can help him. Later. Way later.”

“We just have to pick the right question this time,” I grumble. I cannot fuck this up again, not when he trusted me to fix this. He doesn’t have a name, and I just put that reality right in front of his soul like he didn’t already know. Could I try asking what it was before it was gone? That sounds too easy. I didn’t think it through enough before…now I think I’m overthinking it. Fuck.

What happens if I’m wrong again?

“He’ll die anyway if you don’t try,” Ajax offers.

“Get out of my head!” I snarl.

“I’m not in your head,” he swears “it’s just obvious what you’re thinking. If you leave him like this, he’ll break down until he’s functionally brain dead and that won’t be quick.”

“I might be wrong,” I argue.

“If you’re wrong, he’s dead anyway but if you’re right…” he trails off.

I look around at everyone in this circle and then over at where Mia is holding her eyes shut like we taught her whenever something awful was going to happen, but she isn’t running either. No one here got as far as we did by giving into our fears, I think. I hear helicopter blades in the distance coming from the direction of the Tower; I guess we’re out of time no matter what.

I pick the Soothsayer up out of the sand and nod to Ajax who relaxes.

“Now you need to move,” I warn him. “I can’t fix you again either.”

He nods and Warpspeed helps him stand up before hauling him to the other end of the beach. Major Arcana fights to stand and takes a few steps before facing the sky, trying to find that helicopter. I guess we get some privacy for this part.

The Soothsayer grimaces and shivers despite the warm summer’s day around us as he starts to wake up.

“Tell me you can hear me,” I whisper.

He hums once.

“When you were a child and you wanted nothing more than to not be your dad’s son; when you wanted to change yourself and your future so badly that you got magic involved,” I hesitate. Here goes nothing. “What name did you choose in front of your mom?”

He freezes in my arms and for one terrifying moment the certainty that I’ve failed overwhelms everything but even though he doesn’t answer, the uncomfortable nicks in my memory fill back in and I know his name is Liam Andrew Marcus Collins. I didn’t realize how hard it was to look directly at him until this exact second but rather than think about the implications of that, I drop him back into the sand.

“You fucking dumbass. There is so much I want to yell at you about; do you know how fucking scared I was for you?” I ask on purpose.

Liam flinches but stays down, letting one tear slide off his face on the side away from the cameras which I assume were still recording behind us. “It was this or she would have won. I couldn’t tell you because you would have stopped me.”

“You’re absolutely right I would have!” I snap. “We had an understanding; you were supposed to stop doing everything on your own!”

“I didn’t do any of this on my own,” he argues, putting one hand on my knee. “I needed you to bring me back; this only worked because I trust you more than I trust anyone else.”

“And I almost fucked it up, Liam!”

“Do you really think I would have gone for this plan if I knew it wasn’t reversible?” he asks before having the audacity to look offended. “Wow, okay.”

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” I warn.

“I promise I won’t let any more clones of dead god-beings eat my name.”

This kid is going to get himself killed and it might be me who does it. I take a deep breath and count slowly to ten. In that time, Mia has finally looked over at us before pulling away from Soaring to come investigate.

“I know your name again. Does that mean it’s over?” she asks.

“We still have to save our friends,” Liam reminds her.

“Hopefully they can wait until you’ve seen a doctor,” I insist.

“There’s nothing a traditional doctor can do for me right now,” Liam sighs. “At most we can take twelve hours to rest. Appraisal is the only one who knows what happened here; he’s not about to let it slip that the base of his power was banished to another dimension, but there were witnesses to my grabbing the three of them. The longer it is that Acquisition doesn’t return triumphantly, the more they start to doubt she will. Some of them will get reckless enough to rebel but not enough to outweigh the ones who are too scared to disobey Appraisal.”

“And if I’m not there to keep the peace…” I realize. “I’ve been gone too long.”

“You can’t heal anyone else for a long while,” he warns. “That won’t change whether we rest or not.”

“Soothsayer!” a voice shouts down from above us through a megaphone. “You are under arrest!”

#Short story

45 notes · View notes