by Martha Carr
“Yeah, well, now I’m asking.” She slapped his arm with the back of her hand and laughed. “So tell me.”
“Well, all his nonstop talking aside…”
“Chuck. Spit it out.”
“Yeah, he wants to sign you.”
“Yes!” Nickie pumped her fist, and only when she caught the closest dozen people at the restaurant turning to look at her did she realize how loud she’d shouted. She hunched her shoulders with a laugh and grinned. “Yes. He wants to sign me?”
“He wants to sign you, Nickie Hadstrom. Blue Silk Records and the new Queen of Blues are gonna kill it together.”
“I’m about to have a freakin’ record deal!” She let out a squeak, jumped off the stool, and flung her arms around his neck. Neither one of them noticed the heat or the sweat this time when she almost knocked him to the floor with another kiss that was longer and more intense. The bartender approached them twice before they stopped long enough for him to ask if they were ready to order lunch.
8
Laura hurried from the staff parking lot to the Liberal Arts building on the University of Texas campus. “Can’t say I don’t appreciate the perks of this job,” she muttered, gazing over the mostly-empty campus. “No classes to teach this summer, and I can still be here whenever I want. Instant resources. I hope.”
As soon as she reached the front door and pulled down on the handle, someone shouted behind her: “Excuse me. Wait! Please. Can you hold the door?”
Laura turned to see a pair of long legs in jeans sticking out from the bottom of a huge, perilous stack of boxes. Despite the fact that the owner of those legs had to be over six feet tall, the boxes in his arms blocked his face.
“Sure.” Laura stepped aside and held the door while the man awkwardly tried to hurry. Like me holding this door is a lot harder than carrying all that stuff…
He sidled through the door, trying to give her enough personal space while also not losing any boxes. That plan failed when a corner of the second-to-highest box caught the doorframe and started to slide off.
Laura lifted her finger to point at the sliding package, and the silver legacy ring on her thumb flashed. A muffled thump came from the box as it shoved back into place on the stack, and the man stumbled the rest of the way inside.
She held her breath. Oh, good one, Laura. Now you get to try explaining how you…what?
The man stopped inside the door, leaning at a painful-looking angle to keep the boxes stacked in his arms. He studied Laura with a grin, his eyes dancing with amusement and a faint but telltale purple hue she hadn’t seen in quite a while. “I appreciate the help.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Laura tried to smile, but her lips only made it as far as a grimace, so she dropped it. What in the world is a Kashgar doing at this school?
The man turned sideways, trying to peer beyond his armful of boxes and down the hallways. “Um…mind pointing me toward A107?”
Laura let the door close behind her. “What do you need in A107?”
“Well…” He chuckled. “To put these boxes down, for starters.”
“Oh. Right.” Stepping past him, she pointed to the left hallway. “Down there.” Then she turned down that same hallway and hurried off, ready to be away from him. Just a little weird seeing a Kashgar delivery boy. Didn’t think they took jobs like that, but whatever. He’ll be in and out of here, and that’s it.
Most of the doors lining the hall were locked, their windows dark. She passed three that stayed open during the summer, but most of the sound came from ahead in the Archaeology Program’s main office. “Perfect. Maybe I’ll only have to ask my questions once.”
She rounded the corner and found some colleagues inside the main office, gathered next to the department director’s private office on the other side of the reception desk. Someone finished a joke, and all six of them—four senior instructors and two professors—broke into appreciative chuckles.
Rebecca Marlow, who taught Anthropology 101 two days a week, noticed Laura’s arrival. “Hi, Laura.” The woman grinned and raised a hand to wiggle her fingers. The others turned from their circle to face the newcomer.
“Rebecca.” Laura succeeded in smiling this time. I’ve been working here for two years, and she still talks to me like she did when I took her class.
“How’s your summer going?” A female instructor Laura didn’t know studied her with an intense gaze and what looked like a little blush.
Guess I shouldn’t be surprised people I don’t know know who I am. That’s what I get for breaking records here. Laura sighed. “Honestly, it’s been a little hectic.”
“I thought you weren’t teaching any classes this summer?” Rebecca frowned.
That’s false concern and disappointment, right there. “Oh, I’m not. Just figured I’d come in and get a head start on some of my research.”
“You never stop, do you?”
“It’s amazing,” the other instructor whispered. Beside her, the middle-aged man in a tweed jacket—which wasn’t as bad of an idea as it seemed when this building, at least, had working AC—chuckled and folded his arms.
“Um…thanks.” She looked at the man in the tweed jacket. “Winston, I was wondering if I could borrow you for a few minutes. Pick your brain about a couple things.”
Winston blinked and unfolded his arms. “Absolutely. You always ask the best questions.”
Oh, good. Another jibe from a former professor turned coworker. And he even recommended me for this position…
Laura kept the mask of her smile fastened. “Thank you. The rest of you, have a great weekend.”
A chorus of, “You too,” and “Good to see you, Laura,” followed her out of the main office. Smiling softly, Winston stepped out with her into the hall. “I have to say I’m flattered you want my opinion on anything,” he said, his voice low and drawn-out.
Laura folded her arms and leaned against the wall. “Well, you’ve been around a while, right?”
The much older archaeology professor—who also happened to be an elf—tipped his head back and studied her from over the bridge of his nose. “A handful of centuries. Just barely reached my prime.”
“Do you know anything about…prisons?”
He frowned. The bubble of magic that kept his appearance hidden from un-awakened humans didn’t extend the same illusion to Laura—or any other magical who already understood who and what they were. Laura found herself wanting to push his left eyebrow down, which turned up away from his face at a much sharper angle than the right. “In what era?”
“In the—” She glanced behind her and shot a curt smile at the student taking her own sweet time to walk past them and around the corner. “The original era.” I really hope he doesn’t make me say it out loud here in the hallway.
Winston blinked. “The original?”
She nodded with wide eyes.
“Laura, I don’t believe the original design included prisons. Screened and approved passengers only.”
“Right.” Laura sighed. “Okay, forget about the prison part. I’m gonna switch gears.” And try not to completely give everything away. “I have a lead on an…artifact. Only it’s buried under a building that sees a lot of traffic.”
The middle-aged elf narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. “This doesn’t have anything to do with your research, does it?”
“No. Sorry. This is me coming to you as a…” She glanced around. “…magical person who needs some advice from a fellow magical person with a lot more wisdom.”
Please, Winston. Take the compliment and help me.
“I see. Well a handful of centuries has certainly given me that…”
“Good. So, this is sort of a time-sensitive thing, here. Do you have any suggestions for how to get to this artifact without drawing any attention? Or how to find out where it is?”
“You don’t know the exact location?”
Laura shook her head. “Just the building.”
“Any other objec
ts connected to this artifact? Something you can draw from to use as a tracer?”
She put a hand on her hip. “Winston, if I had something like that, I wouldn’t be asking for help.”
His long eyebrows drew up, quivering at the ends. “Right. Then, no, Laura. I can’t help you find an exact location without any other connection to the artifact. As to getting inside, I’d suggest a transport bubble.”
“Really?”
Winston shrugged. “Peabrain magic is very direct. Gets right to the point, despite such small numbers of those using it.”
“Okay…” Laura blinked. Good to know the magic I’ve studied the least is going to be the most helpful right now. “I definitely hadn’t considered that, so thank you.”
“I hope it helps. Oh, you might consider talking to Phyllis about how to pinpoint a location without any real anchor, so to speak.”
“Phyllis? How does a specialization in the modern repercussions of…oh.”
Winston smiled and dipped his head. “It’s a shot in the dark, but something tells me that’s more than what you have right now.”
Cute. “Okay. Well, thanks for your time, Winston. The bubble suggestion was helpful.”
“Anytime.” The elf gave her a half bow, then lifted a finger. “You know, I heard the other day that we have a Kashgar joining us for the fall semester. Not sure when he’s coming into town, but seeing as he’s—”
“A Mechanic. I know. I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks again.” Laura turned and headed down the hallway before rounding the corner. “I am not going to Phyllis for help.” She pulled her keys out of her back pocket, her hiking boots echoing on the linoleum floors. “I swear that fae tried to sabotage my dissertation. Can’t prove it, but I saw her smug grin when I couldn’t find the slides…” With a grunt of frustration, she shook her head and stopped outside her office door, room A110. “And who in their right mind would hire a—”
“Well, look at that.”
Laura whirled and peered across the hall and a few doors down. The man with the giant stack of boxes stood in the open doorway of A107. The Kashgar. Oh, no… Unable to change how wide her eyes were, she settled for pursing her lips. “What are we looking at?”
He chuckled. “Sorry. I just…honestly, I thought you were a student.”
Yeah, I hear that a lot. Laura blinked at him. “Well, I thought you were a delivery man, so…” She shrugged and turned toward her office. She got as far as slipping the key into the lock before he made it clear he wasn’t giving up.
“I’m actually teaching this fall.”
“Yes, I see that.” She unlocked her door and pushed it open. The last thing I need right now is some Kashgar sniffing around and making more trouble for me. ‘Cause that’s what they do.
She flipped on the light switch, stepped in and went to her desk. The key in her top-right drawer unlocked the bottom-right drawer, which was what she intended to do when she sat in her swiveling desk chair.
“What do you teach?”
She slammed the top drawer closed, pinching the tip of her finger in the process. Sucking in a breath, she shook out her hand and eyed the Kashgar standing in her doorway. What does he want? “
Archaeology,” she muttered. Wow, that sounded rude. Tone it down a little. Attempting a smile, she asked, “What about you?”
“Advanced Physics.”
“This is the Liberal Arts building.”
“I know. I think this was the closest empty office, so here I am.”
“Great.” Laura blinked, smiled, and returned to her desk drawer.
“I’m Nathan.” The man stepped across her office with his arm outstretched and hovered over her on the side of her desk.
She jiggled the drawer handle, but it wouldn’t open. “I…” Another attempt didn’t open it, either. “Laura.” She only gave him a brief glance before jerking one more time on the drawer. “I just had this thing open…”
“Can I help?”
“No. No, thank you.” She shook her head. “I don’t need help from a Kashgar.” The fact that she’d said that out loud made her freeze. Her cheeks burned as she stared at the faulty drawer.
“Actually…” Nathan folded his arms. “Part Kashgar. Most of me’s human.”
Laura forced herself to meet his gaze. He was smirking, which only unsettled her more. A giggle escaped her, and she had no idea why. “Yeah, but the rest of you isn’t.”
“Hey, look who’s talking. You’re not even a little human.” He unfolded his arms to demonstrate that fact with his thumb and index finger held just centimeters apart, then tucked that hand back into the crook of his opposite elbow again. “Doesn’t seem to affect your ability to do your job.”
“That’s…” With a snort, Laura leaned back and pointed at the stuck drawer. That’s irrelevant. “I just wanna get this drawer open.” Her silver ring flashed and the top drawer burst open and flew out of the desk onto the floor. “Woah!”
“No wand?”
She jerked her gaze from the drawer and shot the part-Kashgar a warning glance. “That”—she pointed at him—“is none of your business.”
“Hey…” He lifted his hands. “Careful with that thing.”
Despite herself, Laura laughed. “I’m not gonna do anything to you.”
“Oh, I know.” Nathan lifted a finger, and a shimmering silver bubble grew at the end of it. It floated over Laura’s desk and down to the floor, where it engulfed the wayward drawer. The bubble lifted the drawer and deposited it back into the empty hole in the desk.
Before the drawer slid shut, Laura shoved her hand through the bubble, popping it, and snatched up the key she’d been after in the first place. She pushed the drawer shut and gazed at him with a raised eyebrow.
“You won’t hurt me after I’ve been so helpful, right?” Nathan pressed his lips together and chuckled through his nose.
“Oh, please. I could’ve picked up the drawer.”
“Yeah, but the point is you didn’t have to.” He spread his arms and grinned.
He is a Mechanic. Or at least part Kashgar. If he’s got a grip on magic, maybe he can help with the energy core issue. “Do you know anything about escape pods?”
Nathan laughed. “What?”
“I’m talking about on this ship. This whole…big world your people…wait. You do know about that, right?”
He snorted. “Of course.”
“So…escape pods?”
“There aren’t any.”
Laura rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but if there were, hypothetically, would you know what it looked like? I mean, would you be able to tell which parts have…whatever functions?”
“Hypothetically? Probably.”
“Any idea what an energy core would look like?”
He chuckled. “A hypothetical energy core on a hypothetical escape pod? Sure. They’re all the same. Hypothetically.”
Laura rolled her eyes. “Never mind.”
“Okay, hold on. I’m sorry.” With a nod, Nathan stepped toward her desk. “I couldn’t help it, but I’ll be serious.”
“Awesome.”
“What are you trying to ask me, Laura?”
The sound of her name on his lips almost made her shudder. What the heck was that? She swallowed. “I’m trying to find something that maybe looks like an energy core. And I have to know what it looks like if I’m going to find it, especially because I’m about ninety-eight-percent sure it’s under a building where a lot of innocent people could get hurt if anything goes wrong. And I wanna make sure that when I…take this energy-core-looking thing, I don’t end up being the one doing the hurting.” She took a deep breath. “So, it’s pretty important. Hypothetically.” You’re rambling like a witch with underdeveloped social skills, Laura. Hold it together.
She expected Nathan to laugh, but he didn’t; instead, he set the tips of his fingers on her desk and leaned forward, frowning in thought. “Well, that sounds tricky. But I’ll try to say something helpful.”
Laura licked her lips and deflated in her chair. “I would really appreciate that.”
“First, can I ask what this is actually about?” A gentle smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “Because it’s kinda obvious that you’re not puttin’ all the details out there.”
“Well, you can ask.” And no matter how incredible that smile is, I still don’t trust a Kashgar-human. The less people who know about the Gorafrex, the better. “But I can’t tell you.”
Nathan nodded. “Fair enough. Here’s my guess. Something that looks like an energy core is gonna stand out. Clear of any cables, panels, levers, controls, you name it, just to give it the space to function—the whole energy part, right?”
“Right.”
“My second guess is you might be worrying too much about whether removing this thing is going to hurt people. I mean, as long as that’s not your actual intent…”
“Oh, my god. No.” Laura huffed. “It’s the opposite.”
He grinned and nodded. His brown eyes, tinged with that purple Kashgar aura, sparkled. “See, I thought so. Just had to make sure.” She snorted. “So, after my supremely educated guesses, I’ll tell you what I do know.”
Here we go. Has he been messing with me this whole time?
Nathan tilted his head and leaned farther toward her. “This ship was designed to maintain balance. Plain and simple. Okay, sure, the system has faults, and now we’re all the way out here calling ourselves a planet, but on the structural level, that balance is still the primary function. If that ‘energy-core-looking thing’ is somewhere with a lot of people, it’s probably put there for a reason. I’d wager the ship is gonna do whatever it can to maintain balance, even if what you’re trying to do tips the scales just a little bit.”
A door slammed shut down the hall, causing Laura to realize how intensely he’d held her gaze as he spoke. She blinked, and Nathan straightened.
“How’d I do?” He pounded his fist against his other palm.
“I’m sorry?”
Nathan chuckled. “Was any of that helpful?”
“Uh…yeah, actually.” And completely unexpected. “That was exactly what I needed to hear.”