Chapter 8 #3
Ryan dropped into his desk chair, his exhale loud. “Petra, I am too tired for the cloak-and-dagger. What don’t you want Marty to know?” He went ashen. “Where’s the marshal? Did the memorial shadows…She’s not…” His eyes went wide.
“She’s fine,” I muttered, appreciating the cold air beginning to drift out of the vents.
I tugged the second chair a few inches from Dana and sat down, not surprised when Pluck curled up under it, a thin trace of himself around my ankle so he could kibitz at will.
“She dropped me off here, actually,” I added.
“I didn’t know Marty was in the parking lot until Cameron drove away.
Ah, I should have told you this before, but I didn’t want the entire campus to know.
Pluck and I have a good idea of who cracked the new vault. ”
Ryan’s gaze shot to the hallway, his expression blanking. “The shadow trailing Marty…”
“None of this is Marty’s fault,” I blurted, embarrassed that I hadn’t told him earlier, and Pluck fizzed sourly.
“He’s not her shadow. His name is Thoth, and he might have followed her here, but he’s acting on his own.
Pluck says he has a history of wanting to see the balance fail.
” The image of Thoth’s thin, gaunt form flickered in my mind.
He had looked like a person. I hadn’t known the difference until he had evaporated.
Dana leaned to look down the hall to where Akeem waited in the front room. “Thoth? What are the chances that they are bonded?”
A snowball’s chance in the middle of the sun, fizzed through me, and I shook my head.
“They’re not compatible. Cameron agreed to keep it quiet so every mage and sweeper with a grudge and a class-five field doesn’t get themselves killed trying to bring him in, but I think her silence is contingent on Pluck and me actually catching him. ”
Ryan smiled. “She lets you call her Cameron? I was read the riot act.”
“Um, she asked me to.” I hesitated, unable to place when I’d begun to trust her enough to think of her by her first name and not her job title.
Ryan’s smile slowly faded. “I can’t believe you convinced the marshal it wasn’t one of the memorial shadows. The courts want it to be them. The university wants it to be them. The truth doesn’t matter. All they want is a quick resolution and the world to return to the way it was.”
That’s how the balance fails, I thought. Thoth didn’t have to do a thing more.
Ryan smacked a yellow tablet onto his desk and clicked a pen open. “What do you need from me?” The pen wasn’t working, and he began to make little circles to coax out some ink.
Ask if the vault is empty or full, iced through me.
“Ah, is the vault here empty?” I asked. “If we can lure him in, we can trap him. Thoth might not show if the vault is full, and Pluck can’t get in to tell.”
Ryan looked up from his inkless scribbles. “Here? You want to use the vault downstairs to lure him in?” He put the pen down, wincing when Dana pointedly cleared her throat.
“Why are we fixing dross inert and storing it on a shelf if you have a vault?” she asked.
“Because it’s small and glitchy,” Ryan said, but my reasoning in asking Dana to stay was obvious now. Ryan would need the board’s approval to risk it, old or not.
Dana predictably shook her head. “No. I can’t justify risking a functioning vault.”
“ ‘Functioning’ is a generous term.” Giving up on the pen, Ryan threw it in the trash. “Besides, Henry mans it. Only a sweeper or Spinner can open it. No access, no risk.”
“And who is Henry?” Dana asked, and I chuckled.
“It’s what we call the loom’s security,” I said. “He’s not AI, but everyone talks to him as if he were. Voice-recognition locks. You state your name and your status, and he opens the door. It’s the only tech attached to the original vault.”
“Hence us not using it. Giving the loom computer a name was Darrell’s idea.” Ryan’s tone was soft in regret, and then his focus sharpened. “If Pluck can’t get in there, Thoth can’t, either.” He turned to Dana. “We need to catch Thoth. The risk is minimal. Can you get the board to agree?”
I thought about what Pluck had said about Thoth being able to possess someone. The risk didn’t sound minimal to me, but I said nothing, even when Dana slowly nodded her head. “I can do that.”
My breath came out in a slow exhale. “Catching Thoth would exonerate the memorial shadows,” I said. “Thank you.”
Petra, is the vault full or empty? Pluck fizzed impatiently.
It doesn’t matter, I thought. As long as we say it’s empty, he’ll come.
Ryan ran a hand over his bristly chin in thought. “Petra, perhaps you and Pluck should distance yourself. With Marshal Owens handling it, we can drop this entirely onto the militia—”
“No,” I interrupted, Pluck’s agreement sliding through me.
“For better or worse, I’m part of the lure.
As the only working weaver/shadow pair, Pluck and I are his greatest threat.
There’s no one more qualified than Pluck and me to catch shadow.
You get the word out. Pluck and I guard the vault.
Catch him. He won’t show unless I’m here. It’s me or no one.”
Ryan looked at Dana, sighing when the woman gestured her ambivalence.
It was his call. “Okay, but we need to organize this better,” he said when Marty’s voice sounded in the hall, quickly joined by Akeem’s.
Our five minutes were done. “Dana, since finding vault space is on your to-do list, why don’t you be the one to get the word out that we have a temporary vault here accepting active dross? ”
Cold cramped my ankle in a sudden unease, but I was already ahead of Pluck. “Thank you,” I said softly. “Can you put it off until I get a new lodestone?”
Grimacing, Dana nodded. I wasn’t sure if she was unhappy about the delay or the cost of a new stone.
Sighing, Ryan leaned back in his chair, eyes going to the sun-drenched yard.
“I could use a day as well. We’ve been finding jars of dross on the steps of the Surran building like boxes of lost kittens.
Telling the campus we have a vault will invite them to abandon them here instead.
We can fix everything inert and move it to the gym, I suppose. ”
Ryan’s gaze went to the door, and I shifted to see Akeem and Marty standing there, the former with a wide smile, Marty with a shy one. “Hey, Marty has a great feel for dross,” the tall man said. “You know those knotted cords we salvaged from the loom? She just matched three to their stick sets.”
Marty’s shoulders were high about her ears. “I worked in a secondhand shop for a while. A stick set is worth five times more with a proper cord. You wouldn’t believe the cords we’d get.”
“I just might,” Ryan said, his eyes holding a hint of worry.
Akeem leaned against the doorframe. “So, when is Marty’s skills test? We need to get her before the militia does.”
Marty’s smile vanished. “Ah, I’m only here to see if you could make that shadow go away,” she said, her gaze wary as it found me. “You said you could get rid of the shadow. I thought that’s what weavers did. If you can’t do that, I’m leaving.”
Shadow spit. If she walked out now, the separatists would find and kill her. “Herm might know,” I said, snatching at straws, and Ryan snapped his fingers, his relief obvious.
“Herm?” Dana said. “Herm Ivaros? He’s a Spinner. What does he know about shadow?”
“More than I do,” I said, and Pluck fizzed sourly in disagreement.
“Herm helped Petra figure everything out.” Ryan gave me a fond look. “But he’s not on campus. It will take me a few days to track him down. Let me get you a room at University Arms.”
Again he reached for his tablet, even as Marty paled. “I’ve heard of him. I thought he was a dross…eater…”
Ryan winced, but I was used to the slur and let it roll off. “No such luck,” I said. “He took the credit for my dad’s weaver skills to keep the separatists from coming after me. Gave me a few somewhat normal years.”
But Marty still looked ill and my pulse quickened. Keeping her close would be prudent, Pluck fizzed. We have time before Thoth’s trap is set.
My gut cramped. “Um, Ryan, how about Marty stays with me?” I said, and Ryan’s reach for his phone hesitated.
“I have a spare room. You can get some rest. Chill out. Pluck and I are going out to Tucson tomorrow to the rock and gem show to get a new piece of moldavite. You’d love it.
Herm might be a while. He’s kind of flaky. ”
Pluck’s appreciation bubbled. A stone I tuned myself would be much appreciated.
“I go every year,” Akeem said. “It’s amazing. Like touring the world in a day.”
“Sounds messy.” Dana stood, and Akeem retreated into the hall when she made an ushering motion. “Ryan, I’m heading out. Text me when Petra has her new lodestone. I’ll talk with the board, but I don’t see any complications in Petra’s plan.”
“Petra, hang on,” Ryan said absently. “Let me give you the university’s credit card for Pluck’s new lodestone.”
“Ahhh.” Dana jerked to a halt, and Akeem chuckled.
“Give it up, Dana,” he said, giving both me and Marty a wave before pulling Dana into the hall. “If the university doesn’t buy it, Pluck and Petra can sell it online when he outgrows it. Marty, it’s been a pleasure. I hope you decide to stay.”
“It was nice meeting you,” she said, but it sounded superficial, and her brow was furrowed. She looked worried, but that seemed to be her resting state.
Dana leaned to look at Pluck under my chair. “How long does that take? To outgrow it?”
“Depends,” I said as Ryan handed me a credit card with the university logo on the front.
“Marty, if you see a moldavite crystal you like, it’s on us.” Ryan waved a hand at Dana to be quiet. “Whether you stay or not. No commitment. You’re a weaver. You need one.”
“Ahhh…” Dana started, clearly worried about the cost, and Akeem tugged her another step down the hall.
“Come on, Dana. You owe me lunch,” the man said, adding a cheerful “See you around, Petra. Don’t take any bad shadow buttons, Pluck.”
What is he talking about? Pluck grumbled, clearly pleased that he’d been included.
Marty, though, was staring at Ryan in near panic. “I don’t need a lodestone. I’m not taking a shadow.”
As if she has a choice? Pluck fizzed, and I sourly agreed. Pluck had been insistent.
“That’s fine,” Ryan said. “But if there’s a shadow trailing you, it might go into the stone if stressed. Herm might know a way to keep it there. Tell you what. Until you can pick one up, you can wear mine.”
My lips parted as the older man took the amulet from around his neck, exhaling shakily as he extended it. Marty reluctantly took it, and Pluck fizzed in surprise. Ryan was giving her the loan of his amulet? He wouldn’t be able to do any magic without it.
Seeing me staring, he shrugged. Then I got it. With it, she could do magic. It was an incredibly powerful motivator to stay. Sure enough, she stood a little straighter after she laced it over her head, but it felt manipulative. Herm had done the same thing to me.
“Um, I’ll see if Benedict can take us out to the show tomorrow before his class,” I said as I tucked the card into my pocket. “I don’t like Pluck not having somewhere to go.”
“Sounds sensible.” Ryan blew out his breath in anticipation of getting the stone back, but I could see his stress in the pinch of his eyes.
Spinner stones were rare. The one he’d just given her probably dated from the early 1300s.
That was how much Marty staying meant to him.
“I’ll call the marshal. Let her know we’re good here.
Marty, since you’re going to be with us for a few days, are you sure you don’t want to take a skills test? ”
The woman dropped the amulet, her fear returning as it thumped against her chest.
“Shadow spit, Ryan,” I said as I stood. She’d had enough, and if I was hungry, she was probably starved. “You’re as bad as Lev. Marty, how about some lunch?” I touched my pocket with Ryan’s charge card. “The university’s buying.”
“Um, sure.” She fidgeted, clearly uneasy. “I haven’t had anything to eat today except a vending machine doughnut.”
“Great. We can stop and get some toiletries, too,” I added.
“Also on the university,” Ryan blurted. The man stood behind his desk, a worried pinch to his brow. “Petra…” he added, and I exhaled in exasperation, halting with one hand on the doorframe. “If you get the chance, will you do an informal skills test?”
“Ryan,” I complained when Marty stopped as well, a wary slant to her eyes.
“Field strength. Volume,” he persisted. “Put on paper that Marty is shifting active dross inert. That’s all.” He came out from behind the desk. “Marty, I want to offer you a full ride.”
The woman took a breath. I thought he’d gone too far, but then her expression unexpectedly softened. “Like a student?” she asked, and Ryan nodded, the pinch of his eyes easing when her shoulders dropped.
“Four years with a small allowance and option to continue as far as you want. I just need something on paper to get the ball rolling. Grady can do it,” he gushed when Marty hesitated. “Tonight, when you’re rested and relaxed. Or tomorrow. Whenever.”
“Ah, Benedict has been the one signing the skills tests. I’m not a teacher,” I started, and Pluck fizzed and bubbled at the edges of my awareness.
“Semantics,” Ryan said brightly. “I simply need a name on the paper as her tester, and you are a weaver.” He beamed at Marty. “No pressure. It’s only in case you’re interested.”
Marty looked at me, and I shrugged. “We could give you some guidance on what is going on if nothing else,” I encouraged. “Sounds like you need a place to be for a while. You could do a lot worse than St. Unoc.”
Ryan laughed, the honest sound of it turning Marty’s smile real. “Great. Petra, you’ve got the forms in your phone already, yes? Just add a box for weaver and check it.”
“Will do.” I followed Marty into the hall, thinking finding weavers might be a lucrative career choice if I could attach a finder’s fee. “Marty, you like In-N-Out Burger?”
“Love it,” the young woman said, and I gave Ryan a look to stay in his office and not follow us to the door.
“Thank you,” he said soundlessly, and I waved my goodbye. Marty was destined to be one of us, but I wasn’t going to push it. Flies and vinegar, and all.