absorbing experiment with only hypothetical applications. He has no real appreciation of the dangerous line he treads.” Jared held her gaze until she looked down and away.
The stone in Allie’s gut grew in size and she brushed her hands over her arms to dispel a sudden chill. She thought Zeb wasn’t the only one caught in something without a real appreciation of the larger picture.
“I can only speculate and I think we need to talk to Marshall. But you don’t mess with the Reapers, and this most definitely falls into their realm. If the device came onto the black market it would generate a bidding frenzy. What country wouldn’t want this in their arsenal?” She pitched her voice low, so no one above in the corridor would hear their hushed conversation. Something else bothered her. “And Zeb’s a soft target.”
Jared nodded in agreement. “That’s what I feared.”
Sunday, 31 st July.
eb attacked his enormous creation with a screwdriver and loose nuts and bolts flew in all directions. Allie and Eloise chased after them and placed all the small pieces in tin boxes. Jared and Duncan were enlisted to carry the largest parts and they laboured all day long, carrying each piece to an empty and secluded stall in the barn. By evening, they had a giant Thumper jigsaw puzzle waiting for Zeb to reassemble.
The next morning, an unexpected rain kept everyone inside and by unspoken consent the friends piled into the library nook―except for Eloise, who sat in their bedroom, praying the storm brought a lightning strike to power her electrodes. Allie battled Duncan for sofa space and ended up with her legs thrown over his lap. Zeb read next to Jared, who kept glaring in her direction, leaving her to ponder what could possibly have annoyed him this time. Duncan rested an enormous illustrated guide to weapons on her shins.
“Does that even qualify as a book? It’s only pictures.” Allie ribbed.
“I have to read the captions under the pictures.” He stuck his tongue out at her.
“Can you read those without moving your lips?” A casual camaraderie had sprung up between Allie and Duncan rooted in the sort of insulting banter thrown by siblings.
Duncan dug his book into her shins, causing her to stifle a yelp. She tossed her book on to the low table, determined to tackle at least one of the topics gnawing at the back of her brain.
“Can you explain how Weasel works to me?” she asked Zeb.
His eyes lit up and he shoved his glasses up his nose with an oil-stained finger. He closed his book and clasped it in his hands.
Allie held up a hand. “Use small words. I’m not a science girl.”
His smile deflated a little and he screwed up his eyes in concentration.
“Start by explaining your original intention when you set out to make Weasel.” She threw him an easy start point, before his brain exploded.
“Ah, well, I wanted to create a device to control the rodent problem in the barn.” He dropped his book to the table. “Weasel wouldn’t stay out there.”
Allie cast a glance at the deformed feline, resting but alert at the foot of the sofa. The ears rotated in slow circles, ensuring Zeb didn’t try anything sneaky. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of mice?”
The creature dropped its head lower on to its paws and fixed its eyes to the floor.
“See that, is what I don’t understand.” Allie pointed to Weasel. “Weasel understands me but that’s just not possible for a wind-up toy.”
The head rose and it fixed Allie with a rotating red and black stare.
“Sorry, no offence intended.” Satisfied with her apology, the head sank back onto its paws.
“He’s a boy by the way.” She looked from Weasel to Zeb.
“No, it has no gender, it’s an it.”
Weasel gave a soft hiss and Allie laughed. “Well I refuse to call him it any longer. So back to why he prefers me to you?”
Zeb frowned but let the point go, to continue his lesson. “Do you know of the Stone of Coulags?”
Allie racked her
The stone in Allie’s gut grew in size and she brushed her hands over her arms to dispel a sudden chill. She thought Zeb wasn’t the only one caught in something without a real appreciation of the larger picture.
“I can only speculate and I think we need to talk to Marshall. But you don’t mess with the Reapers, and this most definitely falls into their realm. If the device came onto the black market it would generate a bidding frenzy. What country wouldn’t want this in their arsenal?” She pitched her voice low, so no one above in the corridor would hear their hushed conversation. Something else bothered her. “And Zeb’s a soft target.”
Jared nodded in agreement. “That’s what I feared.”
Sunday, 31 st July.
eb attacked his enormous creation with a screwdriver and loose nuts and bolts flew in all directions. Allie and Eloise chased after them and placed all the small pieces in tin boxes. Jared and Duncan were enlisted to carry the largest parts and they laboured all day long, carrying each piece to an empty and secluded stall in the barn. By evening, they had a giant Thumper jigsaw puzzle waiting for Zeb to reassemble.
The next morning, an unexpected rain kept everyone inside and by unspoken consent the friends piled into the library nook―except for Eloise, who sat in their bedroom, praying the storm brought a lightning strike to power her electrodes. Allie battled Duncan for sofa space and ended up with her legs thrown over his lap. Zeb read next to Jared, who kept glaring in her direction, leaving her to ponder what could possibly have annoyed him this time. Duncan rested an enormous illustrated guide to weapons on her shins.
“Does that even qualify as a book? It’s only pictures.” Allie ribbed.
“I have to read the captions under the pictures.” He stuck his tongue out at her.
“Can you read those without moving your lips?” A casual camaraderie had sprung up between Allie and Duncan rooted in the sort of insulting banter thrown by siblings.
Duncan dug his book into her shins, causing her to stifle a yelp. She tossed her book on to the low table, determined to tackle at least one of the topics gnawing at the back of her brain.
“Can you explain how Weasel works to me?” she asked Zeb.
His eyes lit up and he shoved his glasses up his nose with an oil-stained finger. He closed his book and clasped it in his hands.
Allie held up a hand. “Use small words. I’m not a science girl.”
His smile deflated a little and he screwed up his eyes in concentration.
“Start by explaining your original intention when you set out to make Weasel.” She threw him an easy start point, before his brain exploded.
“Ah, well, I wanted to create a device to control the rodent problem in the barn.” He dropped his book to the table. “Weasel wouldn’t stay out there.”
Allie cast a glance at the deformed feline, resting but alert at the foot of the sofa. The ears rotated in slow circles, ensuring Zeb didn’t try anything sneaky. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of mice?”
The creature dropped its head lower on to its paws and fixed its eyes to the floor.
“See that, is what I don’t understand.” Allie pointed to Weasel. “Weasel understands me but that’s just not possible for a wind-up toy.”
The head rose and it fixed Allie with a rotating red and black stare.
“Sorry, no offence intended.” Satisfied with her apology, the head sank back onto its paws.
“He’s a boy by the way.” She looked from Weasel to Zeb.
“No, it has no gender, it’s an it.”
Weasel gave a soft hiss and Allie laughed. “Well I refuse to call him it any longer. So back to why he prefers me to you?”
Zeb frowned but let the point go, to continue his lesson. “Do you know of the Stone of Coulags?”
Allie racked her
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