Scythe had thought that meeting the man who had ordered Mercy’s rape would threaten his hold over the rage inside of him that was always looking for a crack to escape through. He had been taking pains to keep himself focused on his task and not think about how effectively he had used Cord and Heron and Summer and the Kin legal system to strike out at him. But, he had underestimated himself, and overestimated Tiburon. The man was dangerous, without a doubt, but he was also very small.
The man’s shoulder twitched when he heard Scythe reflect with a sigh, Another big talker. His eyes narrowed and he sent Scythe a hateful look to go along with his malicious thoughts. “Why don’t you tell me what you want, and then we’ll talk about what I want?”
That sounded good. Scythe began, “You are trying to uncover the Scere’s third seal, isn’t that right?”
It must have been the last thing Tiburon expected, because the blatant, unaffected astonishment was the first opening in his guard Scythe had seen, and that included all the memories of him sitting comfortably with his friends.
The Kin asked intently, moving forward in his seat and laying his forearms on the heavy desk. “As a matter of fact, I have been trying to get more information on the third seal. I’m surprised that a low level agent like yourself has even heard of it. Do you know what it is?”
“I came across mention of it, but I don’t know what it is. That’s why I came to see you.”
The man pressed his lips together and then said, “The seals refer to the secrets that the Scere guards in the name of the King. According to an old diary I uncovered years ago that was written by an ancestor of mine, the Scere “carried the burden” of three responsibilities for the Blood Dragon. The first was lean Kin, the second was the Human race, and the third my ancestor didn’t know, or maybe she did, but never wrote of it. It was only mentioned as the third seal in her writings. But, she did say that the third was rumored to be of incredible value. The other sources I’ve been able to find agree that the third seal protects an untapped, abundant resource.”
This is why he had targeted the Scere. He didn’t just want his business and those of the Families allied with him to benefit from the labor of an unregulated Humanity. He was on a treasure hunt, and the Scere was the ogre that sat on the chest.
“Treasure? That’s what you’re after?” One positive aspect of connecting with another mind was how clearly things like distain could be felt by the other person.
Tiburon frowned, “Not just any treasure. Everything I’ve found hints at incalculable riches.” He began to talk faster, and Scythe could tell that the man felt compelled to convince him. The Kin was excited to find someone else he could finally share his quest with, someone he didn’t have to hide his true ambitions from. He was already outlining plans for what they could accomplish together, with Scythe’s abilities and access to the Scere. “I have contacts everywhere, and money to pry the truth out of even the noblest mouth. I can find anything and anyone if I desire it, so when I could not get at this particular morsel, I knew it was something rare. The King knows, and perhaps one or two in the towers of the Scere hierarchy, and that is it. That’s why the Scere needs to fall, and free up for the taking this third seal. When it happens, and it will, you can bet I’ll be the one striding forward to take hold of it.”
“If it were something as simple as money, the Scere would have already tapped it,” Scythe said. “It isn’t some stack of gold somewhere…”
“No. I agree. It’s a resource and that means something that continues to provide for years, maybe generations.” The greed was seeping through him, making him unconsciously clasp and unclasp his hands on top of the desk. When, through their connection, he saw Scythe notice the movement, he flinched, closed his hands into two fists, and then glared at the still unimpressed younger man. “If you are not looking to profit, then why are you searching for it?”
“I first found mention of the third seal while researching the Scere’s plans for the suppression of the Human rebellion. The context it was in lead me to wonder what it was. It sounded like maybe the third seal referred to the powered Humans…”
“What was the context? What did it say?”
“It was just a footnote, really. It was in a description of the Human threat, a list of their strengths, and each strength was addressed with a separate report of how the Scere was going to respond. One passage referred to a group that had been particularly difficult to suppress, saying that its use of tricks was similar to the third seal’s abilities in range and function but to a much lesser degree.” Scythe had hypothesized at the time that the Scere was categorizing the powered Humans separately from the rest of the population. He couldn’t, however, determine why.
“Where was that? I haven’t found anything like that.”
Scythe shrugged, refusing to give the man what he wanted. He didn’t usually share with people how or where he got his information. “In any case, it doesn’t sound like a gold mine. It sounds like a gold miner.”
“Either one would please me, as long as I get the gold.”
That about satisfied Scythe’s interest in the man. Now that he had met him, he wasn’t surprised that a fifteen year old Heron had been manipulated by him. Tiburon was powerfully driven and frightfully ruthless. In the case of the third seal, however, he was also a dead end.
As often happened in research, he had followed a lead he wasn’t sure about and found it to be useless. Tiburon’s information seemed to conflict with Scythe’s; it also appeared less reliable. Because he was always thorough, it didn’t bother him that the man didn’t have anything more to offer. Any information was good information, and data that indicated what didn’t fit usually lead him to what did fit, in time.
For now, he had exhausted the leads he had located in the city. He was cut off from his source to the Scere, and he had followed through on the Tiburon information. He could head home after he did one more thing.
He slipped further into the man’s mind, and looked at his intentions, most of which Scythe had already documented with the other interrogations. There were only two things of limited importance that he hadn’t come across before: a measure coming up in the legislature and another small political face smearing. He made a note of them for the report he’d send to Aorin. Tiburon’s obsession with taking down the Scere in order to uncover the third seal was a passion the other Families didn’t share, Scythe saw. It was his own personal crusade.
He left him to it.
Scythe removed himself brusquely from Tiburon’s mind, which made the man bend over the desk with his head in his hands. Wishing he could wipe the man’s oily greed and sticky conceit off his mind with a clean cloth, Scythe readied himself to go. He spread his power past the room and out into the yard. Then he began to incapacitate the guards stationed there. It was tiring and took a lot of focus to surround each one, take and then release the mind harshly enough for them to fall to the ground, but it was safer than the alternatives. Within a few minutes, he had cleared a way out of the room and for a sufficient distance to make it to cover. Then he would start over, repeating until he was free of the estate.
He took a hold of the window and started sliding it open. Immediately, his entire body was jolted by an overpowering amount of electricity. The window, which a moment before had been silent, suddenly surged with enough current to hold him frozen in place. It continued to shoot through him, imprisoning him in his own body. He would have screamed in agony, but he didn’t have enough control to do even that. He convulsed, unable to release the two metallic bars in the frame for three...four...five...six seconds before it shut off and he fell to the floor. His body continued to twitch uncontrollably, but the rest of him had gone still and dark.
Chapter 12
“And that’s a perfect example of how availability of materials is as crucial an influential factor as societal value on art in any given period.”
Scythe was pretty sure that wasn’t true.
The museum docent gleamed
proudly at his clever statement and surveyed the students. Two of them were nodding appreciatively, two were admiring the painting behind him, three were messing around, and then there was Scythe. He watched and waited. The man was sure to say something valuable before they left.
“Are there any questions before we move on?”
One boy raised his hand and Mr. T, because the name Tejlek was too hard to pronounce, smiled encouragingly and nodded.
“When’s lunch?”
Scythe sometimes loved to watch Humans. They could say twenty things with one flinch.
After his expressive flinch, Mr. T said, “In an hour. If you will follow me, we’ll move on to the next period. I think you’ll appreciate the contrast between what we’ve been seeing and what was developing across the continent, where the culture was heavily influenced by the war with Pontla.”
That sounded promising. When the docent moved his body from directly in front of the painting, Scythe was able to see the masterpiece as the artist had intended: six feet tall by four feet wide, the brilliant colors, and heavy, wide brush strokes laden with inventively generous amounts of paint did in fact take his breath away like the brochure described. Standing there was nothing like looking at the digital picture on the computer display at home. It was magnificent. Scythe let his eyes wander the piece, following the imaginary path he thought the painter wanted him to…
“Come along. Please stay with the group,” Mr. T’s voice called back to him. Then he whispered to the girl next to him, “Does he speak Human?”
Nancy nodded, “Yes. His name is Simon.”
“I know that.” He said louder, even though Scythe was already walking toward him, “Simon. Please. Stay. Here.” He pointed to himself. “With me.”
Nancy was laughing beside him, covering her mouth with her hand. “Mr. T. I told you, he can speak…”
With a compassionate gesture that made Scythe think better of him, Mr. T put his hand on Scythe’s shoulder. Almost no one ever did that, so Scythe held himself very still to keep from spooking him. “Do you understand?”
Scythe opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. He both heard and caught the scent of his tutor coming into the room they were leaving.
Mr. T’s eyes widened when he noticed Mr. Winn behind Scythe. “Ah! You’re here. Perhaps you could chaperone your special one here. He keeps wandering off.”
“I will, and I apologize if he has caused you any trouble.” Mr. Winn stepped up to them and took a hold of Scythe’s elbow. He shot Scythe a narrow look which meant a three to five minute lecture later, depending on whether or not it was before or after he had eaten lunch.
“No, no trouble, just...keep an eye on him. Thank you, Mr. Winn.”
He turned and hurried forward to gather up the students who had wandered off.
An hour and fifteen minutes later, Scythe stood in line at the cafeteria. He kept himself calm and didn’t look around, so he couldn’t exactly see the stares. Unfortunately, he could still hear the Humans. Even so, it was nice to be eating out of the house in something that resembled a restaurant. It was his first time this year, and he wasn’t going to let a little mumbling wreck it.
He told himself that they were just curious. He would have been curious, too.
He was aware of her hovering by the drink bin for an unusually long period of time, but he didn’t think much of it. He really didn’t expect her to acknowledge him, so he was taken by surprise when Willa spoke to him as soon as the line brought him right across from her.
“Hey, can I cut in front of you?” She waved the bottle of soda she had taken out of the bin and explained, “I forgot to get my drink.”
“Uh...sure,” he stuttered. He was glad that he was only surrounded by Humans because his heart was going crazy.
The prettiest girl in their study group smiled at him, which was another thing she never did, and he felt his face warm up. Then she stepped in front of him, and stood facing forward in line. For thirty-eight seconds, she shifted back and forth on her feet, like she was dancing to a song she was singing in her head.
Scythe could hear the blood running in his ears, which was kind of great because it blocked out the murmuring around him.
Without warning, and he would have liked a warning, she spun around and said abruptly, “So...you like the museum?”
Thinking was hard, but he was happy to find that he could at least splurt out, “Yes. It’s nice.”
“Yeah, right? It was fun.” Her eyes wandered around the room, mostly crossing the upper windows. “So, do you have a girlfriend?”
He got stuck in those words. All he could do was stand there and stare while he pulled his brain through them.
Then he noticed that Willa was blushing. He immediately averted his eyes.
He hadn’t expected it. He rarely thought about girls or dating because he was almost always home. The only time he saw girls his own age was on study trips like this, or when his tutors organized playgroups; for that, they mostly just hung out at the park or at a community recreation center for a few hours. The girls and boys rarely spoke to him on those days unless the teacher made them.
Willa's sudden interest reminded him that he was thirteen now, and he had to be more respectful of young women.
He wasn’t sure, but he thought she might be asking him on a date. He had read about them and seen shows about them on the entertainment unit. They seemed important to girls. Unfortunately, knowing what she was talking about didn’t help him at all. He didn’t have the first idea what to do or say to her.
She waited for as long as she could, which was seventeen seconds, and then asked, “So, do you?”
“Have a...girlfriend?” How could he have a girlfriend? “No.”
“Oh, okay.” She turned around and did the dancing thing.
He had a feeling she was going to talk again, so he waited.
When she turned around the next time, she spoke in that same commanding tone that made everyone around her sit up and listen, “So, you want a girlfriend, right?” The way she said it, it didn’t seem like a question, so he didn’t know how to answer. Again.
“Uh…” It was really hot in there. He knew Humans liked to look at each other when they talked, but he also knew that a gentleman didn’t look directly at a young, unmarried girl. That’s what his father had told his cousin when he was Scythe’s age. Of course, it was easier for his cousin, because the girls wouldn’t stare at him either. If they stared, it meant they were very interested in him, but it also meant they were crude, as if their parents hadn’t taught them how to behave. While he was trying to figure out which tradition he was supposed to honor, she dropped a bomb on him.
“Okay. Nancy likes you, okay? A lot. I think you should talk to her.” She turned around after talking so fast that he thought she might be timing herself. That was a lot to say in three seconds.
He was supposed to talk to a girl if he liked her? That was a terrifying thought. If his mother were well, she would have arranged meetings for him with eligible girls who were interested. She and his father, too, if he were alive, would have sat down with Scythe and told him what was going to happen and what he should do. They would have smiled and encouraged him, like everyone had done for each of his cousins as they got to the correct age. They would have surrounded him and given him advice and told stories about their meetings and let him know that he wasn’t alone...
This Human way, however, was...idiotic. First, he didn’t think it was a good idea for a thirteen year old girl to be making the arrangements, and secondly, there was no planning at all involved. He was supposed to just go up to Nancy and…what?
He worried all the way to the register, behind Willa who was apparently finished with her part in the process and went back to not speaking to him. He worried back to his seat. He barely ate his expensive lunch. Meanwhile, Willa and Nancy both laughed with their friends, who all knew how to act…
Scythe did something he almost never did, he watched them
closely. In the past, if he watched like that, they either got very uncomfortable or very aggressive. Either way, it had caused him a lot of trouble. Now, though, he was motivated enough that he decided to risk it.
They looked at each other all the time, and pushed each other around every now and then. They joked and laughed and said some things that Scythe thought were pretty mean and other things that were just rude. After a few minutes they started noticing that he was watching and he had to stop. But, he at least got an idea of what he should be doing...if he wanted to be Human.
He looked down at his half eaten dish of macaroni. Did he want to be Human? He lived there, in Menelaus now...was this where he’d always live? Here, with them?
That led him to ask the type of questions that came up more and more when he was alone and thoughtful. Would they ever get to live with the Kin again? Would they ever get to go home?
“Okay. That’s it for lunch. We’ve got the Cine Extravaganza movie to see and then we’re done for the day,” announced Mr. Winn. “Let’s all head over to the theater.”
Scythe threw away his trash and followed the group, making sure to walk close enough so that Mr. Winn wouldn’t add a few more minutes to the lecture that was still in his future. Ahead of him, Nancy walked with Petre; they were talking very comfortably. Scythe would have thought, if he didn’t know better, that Nancy actually was interested in Petre. At the front of their group, Willa turned around and smiled at Scythe, waving in what he thought was encouragement toward Nancy when she wasn’t looking. Then Willa turned back to her friends and continued laughing.
He made sure to be right behind her when they lined up to give their tickets, which made him the next one in line when they filed down the rows to their seats. When he took his seat next to Nancy, he knew he would have to talk with her right then. If he didn’t, he’d lose his opportunity, and it would probably be quite a while before their group invited him to join them on another outing.
Halfblood Legacy Page 18