I settled my head back against the seat, feeling suddenly more drained than if I'd taken a whole bottle of Maginox®. The muscles in my arms burned and felt leaden at the same time, even resting on my lap. I suppose it was the result of the unaccustomed effort of flight. If I planned to do that very often, I'd have to take up weightlifting. I was supremely grateful for the drive, but curious. "How'd you find us?"
"Kiku put a GPS/mic in your dress somewhere," Glaive said, glancing over his shoulder at me as if he could spot it. That wasn't likely, since those things are only about the size of a watch battery. "We were all listening outside, in case something went down. Saga's idea, of course."
"Of course," I said gloomily. My mind raced over the conversations of the evening. What had I said that they could tease me mercilessly about? There was bound to be something. "Is Saga very angry?"
Glaive looked at me and raised one eyebrow. "What do you think? But he was willing to give you a chance, when Kiku told him what you'd said. I expect you'll have to endure one of his speeches about trust and teamwork before he lets it go. At least one."
I bit the inside of my lip. "Are you very angry?" I had made Glaive look pretty bad, after all, ditching him like that.
He shrugged. "It wasn't my job to keep you in. I consider it a loophole. But if it had been my job, you would have stayed in." He threw me a look that made me decide not to argue about that.
"What happened to Evangeline?" I asked, to change the subject. "It was her, right?"
He nodded. "Once she was out in the open, she didn't try anything else, but she was screaming like a madwoman."
"I heard that, but I didn't know it was her."
"Someone used magic on her for sure—she kept screeching that nothing was working, her magic was gone. Trip and Jake kept her in place until Saga got cuffs on her. Someone spelled her quiet, too, after a minute or so of that. No idea who it was, though. Might have been a Spellquick in the crowd, I guess. Sure caused a hell of a ruckus. Although really," he added, "You did that all by yourself."
I ignored him and smiled to myself. Thank you, Nana Nina, I thought. I'll be taking you out to dinner sometime really soon.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Exactly What We Want
It took an amazingly short time for things to get back to normal at the offices of Darcko and Sadatake. Aleshu Coro was exceedingly generous with our fee, so there was a week or so when a lot of old furniture and computers went out and a lot of new furniture and computers came in. The back room sported a brand-new video game system, some kind of huge new monitor, and new games, and Trip was one very happy goose. I received a very lovely personal cheque myself, and spent a little of it taking Nana Nina out to dinner.
I let her pick the restaurant, and she chose a cozy little mom-and-pop place down near the waterfront. It sported a pink magi-neon sign out front, and plastic ferns figured largely in the décor, but she told me that both the owners were Alimentals, so there was no doubt the food would be excellent.
"How are you feeling, dear?" she asked me once we'd gotten settled and perused the menu. We ordered matching salads, steaks, and hand-cut sweet-potato fries. And two glasses of sprakele.
I shrugged and sipped sprakele. "Okay, I guess. Did I tell you that Aleshu Coro gave me a personal assurance that the Registry won't be knocking on my door and asking me to come work for them?"
She smiled, her blue eyes bright. "Aleshu is a good man. I always felt just a little bit guilty, keeping our research results secret from him all these years. He probably would have used them wisely, but we couldn't take the chance." She took a sip of sprakele. "I'm glad to hear he's looking after you, anyway."
"I guess, running MageData, he probably has the connections to make it stick."
"I'd say so," she said with a smile.
"Thanks for your help with Evangeline," I said, mainly to try and switch the conversation away from myself. "Once Trip had her down, I heard you took care of her."
"Me?" She looked genuinely surprised. "I put a stop to that awful screaming she was doing, but that was it."
I frowned. "Glaive said someone spelled her so she couldn't cast. I just assumed it was you."
Nana Nina shook her head, silvery curls bobbing. "To tell you the truth, I was down on the floor with everyone else once your boss started waving that enormous gun around. I don't trust guns. They have a tendency to go off when you least expect it. And not always in the proper direction."
"Huh. Must have been someone else in the crowd, then," I said. Nana had intimated that there were a number of Spellquicks present, and even though none of them would have known exactly what was going on, they might have just cast on Evangeline once Trip had her down, to be on the safe side.
"I still don't entirely understand why she did it," I said. "Was she really that angry because he turned her down for the money?"
Nana sipped her drink. "I think that was the trigger, but then it got more complicated. I did manage to get some time alone to talk to her." She looked adorable and innocent as usual, but I had no more illusions about my grandmother. She'd probably had to use some kind of Spellquick mind-control trick to do that, and she would have done it as sweet as sugar, to protect the Spellquick network.
The salads arrived, mounds of fresh greens with sweet peppers, almonds, and blueberries. As she drizzled salad dressing over hers, Nana went on, "I think she allied herself with MagicBase with the notion of revealing the ability-identification information to them, although she didn't come right out and admit that to me right away. Once I got her talking, though, it was easy enough to get her to explain everything."
I could just imagine.
"She had cooked up a scheme for secretly using Spellquicks as agents of the Registry, brokered through MagicBase, to identify abilities. It likely would have translated into a lot of revenue for the company, and as a partner, of course she'd profit. But if she did that, Aleshu would have learned about it—those Registry connections you just mentioned—and he would have raised hell."
"But so would the other Spellquicks," I protested.
"Yes." Nana nodded. "But remember, Evangeline had come loose a little. She thought she could blackmail the other Spellquicks—starting with the shareholders in MageData—to agree to using the identification ability secretly, by threatening to just take the whole thing public if they didn't agree. She thought we had kept quiet about it long enough and that there were at least some other Spellquicks who felt the same way. The others would go along rather than let the secret out entirely."
"But using the ability secretly would still see people forced into using their magic in ways they didn't want to," I said.
She nodded. "I know. Honestly, I don't think the Spellquicks would have let her blackmail them. She would have been—silenced."
Nana Nina's voice went hard and cold as she said this, and I decided I didn't want to ask anything else about that.
"But in Evangeline's mind, Aleshu was the biggest obstacle. She knew Aleshu wouldn't take kindly to the idea that he'd been lied to for so long. And his company could have been the one making that money."
"Exactly. If he was dead, he couldn't gripe. She sort of zeroed in on him as the source of all her trouble."
"The whole Murder Prophet thing was pretty clever, though. She did avert suspicion away from herself right until the very end."
Nana Nina nodded sadly. "Evangeline was quite brilliant when she was younger, although always very high-strung. It's just sad that it came to this in the end."
The steaks showed up at the table, spicy and steaming, and I turned the conversation away from the Murder Prophet case. Mostly I was trying to keep Nana away from the subject of Jake, because I didn't want to talk about him.
Since the night of our aborted "date," I hadn't heard much from Jake. He was on Chatterz® as usual, and we had work correspondence, but that was it. I couldn't blame the guy. I mean, it's kind of a lot to find out that your date is a Transmute one second, then watch her
transmute herself and fly out of the room the next. That would shake anyone up. It hurt, but I wasn't entirely surprised that he'd run away screaming. Metaphorically, at least.
***
So it did surprise me the next Saturday when the apartment buzzer sounded and Jake's voice asked if he could come up.
"Sure," I said, and after the intercom was off I added, "Phoebe, turn off the alarm and any other 'security' devices you've installed that I don't know about."
She only said, "Of course, Kit" in a demure voice that I didn't trust at all. I had time for a quick glance in the mirror, and opened the door to find him grinning at me.
It was still weird to see him in person, this time actually standing there in my doorway, and I marvelled again that I didn't have to wonder any more if this was what he actually looked like. Short brown hair falling just over his forehead, average build, knowing green eyes that were part of every smile he threw my way.
"Aren't you going to invite me in? I did bring flowers," he said, proffering a cellophane-wrapped bundle of yellow blooms. "They're carnations, but if you don't like them I guess you can just transmute them into something you'd like better."
I took the flowers, and hit him over the head with them. Jake grabbed my arms and pulled me close, so that those green eyes stared into mine from a distance of about six inches.
"Do I risk being turned into a frog or something if I kiss you?" he asked.
"Do you really want to?" I countered lightly. "You never know if you can trust a Transmute. And don't forget, I'll also know if you're lying."
He pulled back a little and looked past me, over my shoulder and into the apartment. "Actually, we need to talk about that," he said. "Are you going to invite me in?"
I mentally kicked myself for not simply saying No, just kiss me! when he'd asked, but instead said, "Would you like to come in, Jake?" and stood aside to let him pass.
"Hello, Phoebe," he said I led the way into the living room.
"Hello, Jake," she chirped. "It's nice to see you."
I glared into the nowhere that was Phoebe and hoped she might be looking at me. Then I pointed Jake to the sofa and deliberately sat across from him in the big armchair. "What do we need to talk about?"
"Whether or not you can know if I'm lying," he said. "Did you take any Maginox® lately?"
I narrowed my eyes. "No, why?"
"Go take one, and then come back."
"I'm humoring you," I told him, but I went and washed down a tablet. When I came back to the living room I sat across from him again.
"Stop being coy and come sit beside me." He patted the sofa cushion.
I felt a blush burn my cheeks as I flashed back to weeks ago, when he'd jokingly done the same thing in the virtual hotel bedroom. But I moved over. "Still humoring you, but my patience is running out. Is this better?"
He put one of those square, strong hands over one of mine. It was very warm. "My real name isn't Jake Lynch," he said. "Now, tell me if that's true or not."
I concentrated. My magic read nothing. No lie, no truth, no in-between. It was like there wasn't even another person in the room with me.
"What's wrong with me?" I asked. "Why can't I read you?"
He shrugged and quirked a half-smile, and pulled his hand away again. "Magic-dampening field, affects anyone while I'm touching them," he said. "Level 5 Shielder aptitude."
Suddenly I understood. Jake launching himself into the crowd at MageData, randomly touching people. Then standing with his foot casually pinning down Evangeline Coro's hand. "You stopped Evangeline! It wasn't Nana Nina at all."
He shook his head. "Trip stopped her, really. I had no idea which one she was, until he took her down." He took his hand away from mine. "I just helped keep her down until things were under control."
I checked again, now that his hand was gone. Absolutely normal, and he was telling the truth.
Those green eyes stared directly into mine, as real as anything I'd ever seen, untouched by the tweaks and distortions the virtual world allowed. "I've actually wanted to kiss you for quite some time, Kit," he said. "And for a while there, I was really worried that I might not get a chance. You don't take your safety very seriously, you know."
I snapped my fingers. "The other traceback! You were running it? Evangeline Coro set up the second one, but the earlier one—"
He shook his head, looking puzzled. "No, wasn't me. Two tracebacks?" He threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "See, this is what I'm talking about! Why didn't you tell me—"
"It was me, Kit," Phoebe's voice interrupted. "Don't get mad at her, Jake. It was just me, trying to keep an eye on her."
"Those upgrades! I knew they were trouble!" I tried to glare at her, but of course she wasn't anywhere to be glared at. "I'm restricting your Netz access after this, Phoebe."
Then she did something weird. She laughed.
"I hate to break it to you, Kit, but I don't think you will."
Jake looked around then, too, a surprised look on his face. "Phoebe, have you gone magic on us?"
"I think so, Jake," she said. Her voice had lost all trace of digital or electronic overtones.
"What does that..." I broke off as I realized what Jake meant.
"The ambient Netz magic," he said to me, green eyes wide. "FEG told me he'd heard rumors of this. Phoebe's been affected by it. It wasn't upgrades at all, it was—"
"Magic," I finished for him, then sighed and slumped back against the cushions. "I should have known. My apartment AI is now part of that whole creepy living-magic thing. I told you magic sucks."
"You're really going to have to work on that attitude, Kit," Phoebe said with another chuckle, and then she went—somewhere. I knew, somehow, that she'd be back, but I had the distinct impression she was leaving us alone.
Jake must have felt it, too. He stopped looking around for the invisible Phoebe and turned those green eyes back my way. "Anyway, where were we?" he asked.
I swallowed. "You really want to kiss me?"
"I really want to," he said, and I could tell he was deliberately not touching me yet, so that I could check if I wanted.
I figured maybe it was time to start trusting someone. I put my hand over his this time. "So why don't you stop talking about it, and just do it?" I asked.
He did.
And it turned out that Nana Nina had been wrong about one thing, anyway. Sometimes we do get exactly what we want.
THE END
Glossary of Terms
Alimental - A Mancer who can magically affect food or drink
Apt - A Mancer with one or more magic aptitudes
Aptitude - In magic parlance, a major magical ability
Aratalel - Colorless, non-addictive, but intoxicating beverage manufactured through the use of magic.
Chanter(Enchanter) - A Mancer with the ability to affect inanimate objects with magic enchantment
Chatterz® - Online, realtime chat/messaging service.
Eco - A Mancer who can magically affect the natural world
Elemental - A Mancer who can magically affect or utilize the elements (fire, earth, water, air)
Faceskin - A clear, thin film of bioplas with a wireless connection to a computer, used to control the features of an online avatar.
Maginox® - Drug which ameliorates the nauseating effects of magic use. Available in over-the-counter and prescription strengths.
Mancer - Anyone with one or more magic abilities
Meat Virtual - Online meeting-places for individuals looking for partners for virtual or realtime sex
Mind Virtual - Online cafes for philosophical, religious, scientific, or other topics of discussion.
Mundane - A person with no magic ability
Netz - A more integrated and complex evolved version of the Internet
Netzer - A Mancer with the ability to interact/utilize the ambient magic of the Netz
Psych - A Mancer with the ability to affect the mind of another by way of influence, illusion, o
r passive intrusion
Seer - A Mancer with some form of divination magic
Shielder - A Mancer with protective magic abilities
Spellbinder(aka Binder) - A Mancer with a mix of talents and aptitudes in all categories of magic
Spellquick - A Mancer with aptitude in all categories of magic
Sprakele - Magically produced, non-alcoholic, but intoxicating beverage.
Talent - In magic parlance, a minor magical ability
Transform - Fabric created by using magic to transform raw material. Uses less raw material than traditional manufacturing and has a characteristic softness and sheen regardless of color or pattern.
Transmute - A Mancer with the ability to change the nature of matter or change matter into energy
Notes & References
(Click the Note number to return to this point in the text)
1. Eliot, Thomas Stearns. The Waste Land Section IV: "Death by Water." New York: Horace Liveright, 1922; Bartleby.com, 2011. www.bartleby.com/201/1.html#313.
2. Seeger, Alan, "I Have a Rendezvous With Death." Untermeyer, Louis. Modern American Poetry. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1919; Bartleby.com, 1999. www.bartleby.com/104/.
3. Wetherald, Ethelwyn, "The Wind of Death." Stedman, Edmund Clarence, ed. A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1895; Bartleby.com, 2003. www.bartleby.com/246/.
4. Eliot, T.S., The Waste Land Section I: "The Burial of the Dead." New York: Horace Liveright, 1922; Bartleby.com, 2011. www.bartleby.com/201/1.html#1.
5. Shelley, Percy Bysshe, "Queen Mab." Shelley, Percy Bysshe. Complete Poetical Works. Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin, c1901 (Cambridge: Riverside Press); Bartleby.com, 1999. www.bartleby.com/139/.
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