He says smoothly. “I’m visiting from Arkansas for the week. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh, so you’re Lake. Nice to meet you too,” Ellie nods. “But what about these bugs? How are they moving like that?”
“High tech!” I say. “Lake works for some people who make artisan…security cameras…and stuff.”
The crease between her brow gets huge. “Why do we need extra security? This is already a pretty secure building.”
“I just worry, you know?” Lake pats me on the head like I’m twelve. “She’s in a big city for the first time. Her aunt keeps bugging me to make sure she’s safe, so I came here to do what I could.”
Ellie looks to me for confirmation. I nod. She stares at Lake for a second more before sighing.
“Alright. I wish you gave me a little more warning, though. And maybe a warning before you disappear for two days and I freak the fuck out?”
“I told you, Lake surprised me and took me camping. There was no reception! I’m so, so sorry.”
Ellie huffs. “I’m just glad you’re safe. I forgive you. Sort of. But you’ve gotta make it up to me.”
“Your wish is my command,” Lake smirks and Ellie rolls her eyes, used to getting hit on like a fish is used to water.
“Dinner, tonight,” She says. “Wherever I wanna go.”
I exhale with a smile. “Sure. As long as we get dessert.”
“Twenty desserts,” Ellie corrects, then throws her arms around me. “I’m sorry I freaked out. But I just…I just get worried about you too, you know? It’s not just your aunt and cousin.”
“I know,” I say, my stomach sinking as I hug her back. “I’m sorry. You deserve better.”
She pulls away and lightly punches my arm. “Shut up.”
“Aw, true love,” Lake coos. I flip him off and Ellie laughs, and for a moment the world goes back to being normal. We go back to being normal young adults, laughing at a stupid joke a boy said. But the illusion only lasts for a moment. Ellie leaves for her morning classes, and Lake and I are left with silence and his boot knives and the constant reminder he’s protecting me. He hid his hip knife well from Ellie’s sharp eyes, but it swings out as he sits on the beaten-up couch.
“You wouldn’t happen to know what Silveria Enterprises is, would you?” I sit opposite him. He nods.
“The Sage Council’s front corporation. Established in 1828, under the guise of a metalworks factory. Before that, they were a blacksmith’s guild.”
“What do they do now?”
“Electronics, mostly. Parts for cars and computers and phones. They’ve got fancy buildings in every major first-world country, pretty much. New York, London, Madrid, Paris, Seoul, Moscow. The list goes on and on. That’s just the outside, though. On the inside, they keep tabs on every alchemy performed in the world - and every alchemist. And there’s a helluva lot of them.”
“And when they find something amiss, they send you.”
Lake smirks. “You’re catching on quick. Consider me impressed. And slightly aroused.”
I gag and he laughs.
“Seriously though, you’re right. The Reapers are basically alchemy police. Most of what goes wrong involves homunculi, but other times it’s an alchemist making illegal love potions, or mind-control devices to use on bankers to get quick money. There’s things you can and can’t do, just like anything else in the world.”
“Like kill a bunch of homunculi?” I ask, thinking back to what Darius did.
“Most alchemists don’t know how to do that. I mean, they know how to make homunculi-repelling charms, but the Mutus can just make homunculi who are immune to those. There’s some alchemies that always have and always will kill them or drive them off, though.”
“Like the one Darius made.”
Lake nods, then laughs and shakes his head. “That was a fucking doozy of a Pointblank, I’ll tell you that much. Silveria’s still trying to figure out just how big the radius was.”
“So why did they give me
“Oh, so you’re Lake. Nice to meet you too,” Ellie nods. “But what about these bugs? How are they moving like that?”
“High tech!” I say. “Lake works for some people who make artisan…security cameras…and stuff.”
The crease between her brow gets huge. “Why do we need extra security? This is already a pretty secure building.”
“I just worry, you know?” Lake pats me on the head like I’m twelve. “She’s in a big city for the first time. Her aunt keeps bugging me to make sure she’s safe, so I came here to do what I could.”
Ellie looks to me for confirmation. I nod. She stares at Lake for a second more before sighing.
“Alright. I wish you gave me a little more warning, though. And maybe a warning before you disappear for two days and I freak the fuck out?”
“I told you, Lake surprised me and took me camping. There was no reception! I’m so, so sorry.”
Ellie huffs. “I’m just glad you’re safe. I forgive you. Sort of. But you’ve gotta make it up to me.”
“Your wish is my command,” Lake smirks and Ellie rolls her eyes, used to getting hit on like a fish is used to water.
“Dinner, tonight,” She says. “Wherever I wanna go.”
I exhale with a smile. “Sure. As long as we get dessert.”
“Twenty desserts,” Ellie corrects, then throws her arms around me. “I’m sorry I freaked out. But I just…I just get worried about you too, you know? It’s not just your aunt and cousin.”
“I know,” I say, my stomach sinking as I hug her back. “I’m sorry. You deserve better.”
She pulls away and lightly punches my arm. “Shut up.”
“Aw, true love,” Lake coos. I flip him off and Ellie laughs, and for a moment the world goes back to being normal. We go back to being normal young adults, laughing at a stupid joke a boy said. But the illusion only lasts for a moment. Ellie leaves for her morning classes, and Lake and I are left with silence and his boot knives and the constant reminder he’s protecting me. He hid his hip knife well from Ellie’s sharp eyes, but it swings out as he sits on the beaten-up couch.
“You wouldn’t happen to know what Silveria Enterprises is, would you?” I sit opposite him. He nods.
“The Sage Council’s front corporation. Established in 1828, under the guise of a metalworks factory. Before that, they were a blacksmith’s guild.”
“What do they do now?”
“Electronics, mostly. Parts for cars and computers and phones. They’ve got fancy buildings in every major first-world country, pretty much. New York, London, Madrid, Paris, Seoul, Moscow. The list goes on and on. That’s just the outside, though. On the inside, they keep tabs on every alchemy performed in the world - and every alchemist. And there’s a helluva lot of them.”
“And when they find something amiss, they send you.”
Lake smirks. “You’re catching on quick. Consider me impressed. And slightly aroused.”
I gag and he laughs.
“Seriously though, you’re right. The Reapers are basically alchemy police. Most of what goes wrong involves homunculi, but other times it’s an alchemist making illegal love potions, or mind-control devices to use on bankers to get quick money. There’s things you can and can’t do, just like anything else in the world.”
“Like kill a bunch of homunculi?” I ask, thinking back to what Darius did.
“Most alchemists don’t know how to do that. I mean, they know how to make homunculi-repelling charms, but the Mutus can just make homunculi who are immune to those. There’s some alchemies that always have and always will kill them or drive them off, though.”
“Like the one Darius made.”
Lake nods, then laughs and shakes his head. “That was a fucking doozy of a Pointblank, I’ll tell you that much. Silveria’s still trying to figure out just how big the radius was.”
“So why did they give me
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