Sentinel waved a hand, dismissing the topic. “If we get started talking about him, I won’t be able to stop until we find him, and we need to address this opportunity, so no, we shouldn’t talk about Aegis.”
“He’ll come back. Don’t worry.” although Rova looked calm, Wonlar imagined she was as worried as he was. A jade thread reached out from her heart into the indistinct distance. Still hidden, Aegis’ threads were masked.
All six of them had threads hanging loose, their connections to Aegis a constant reminder of his absence. For most of his companions, the threads were the shimmering gold bond of brotherhood.
In addition, there had been a soft jade thread between Rova and Aegis for the better part of two years, but neither of them seemed to be willing to make a move. Two of the strongest people in the city, but they’re scared of their own feelings.
“Why can’t Nevri just do it herself?” Sarii asked. “Even if she needs to have it not be traceable to her, she could hire any number of mercenaries. Why us?”
“That might be the most important question,” First Sentinel said. “She means to involve us in this, and not just to serve our purposes. By using us, she’s getting something else. What?”
Rova answered. “We should be going after Aegis. We don’t all have to go to meet Nevri, do we?”
“We don’t, but we would need everyone to face COBALT-3. I don’t imagine she’d let him out of her grasp without a fight,” Blurred Fists said.
Sarii jumped in. “Here’s what she gets—a win-win situation. We go and die, she wins. We go and succeed, she wins. And City Mother only knows what she’ll do to us if we pull this off and are greedy enough to come calling for our reward.” She twirled a stone noose around one finger.
“It’s undoubtedly a trap,” First Sentinel said. “But is the chance to keep close tabs on Nevri worth the danger?”
[ Once we get the information tonight, we can case the location and then decide ,] Bira said, her thoughts speaking directly to each of the Shields’ minds.
“What if they hold back the location until the meet with Nevri?” Wonlar asked.“we don’t get the explosive until the meet with Nevri anyway. Whatever it is, we want it. None of the bombs we have are big enough to take out a machine the size I imagine this Rebirth engine would need to be. So unless we want to make Bira float a whole crate of explosives and even then take our chances, we need that explosive.”
Wenlizerachi stood, took three quick laps around the table, and lit three more sticks of incense, repeating the ritual supplication for a blessing from the City Mother. “Even if we get in and can plant the explosive, we’ll need an escape plan, different than the way we got in—the Smiling King’s reinforcements would flood us by then.”
Bira chuckled in the Shields’ minds. [ I can just knock out the walls, if we really want to cause trouble .]
“Why not?” Sarii asked. “Why are we always playing it soft with these monsters? We should be leaving behind stacks of corpses until they decide to pack it up and find another city to terrorize.”
Wonlar leveled a gaze at Sarii. “They’re the killers. Not us.”
“Fifty years you’ve been saying that, and what have we got to show for it? I buried my naïveté with the dozen friends who gave their lives for your dreams of a free Audec-Hal, Wonlar. I won’t bury another friend, but I’d happily dig graves for the tyrants myself.”
Bira spoke again, her voice calm, but insistent. [ We’re losing focus. It’s time to make a decision .]
Wonlar took a deep breath. “Let’s vote. All for taking Nevri’s bargain?”
Rova’s hand went up. Bira locked Wonlar in her attention, and he felt her presence in his mind, watching and listening. Wonlar raised his hand, and the Qava mirrored him. Wonlar tried to shut away his doubt from Bira, but he felt her find it, acknowledge it, and move past it.
Wenlizerachi
“He’ll come back. Don’t worry.” although Rova looked calm, Wonlar imagined she was as worried as he was. A jade thread reached out from her heart into the indistinct distance. Still hidden, Aegis’ threads were masked.
All six of them had threads hanging loose, their connections to Aegis a constant reminder of his absence. For most of his companions, the threads were the shimmering gold bond of brotherhood.
In addition, there had been a soft jade thread between Rova and Aegis for the better part of two years, but neither of them seemed to be willing to make a move. Two of the strongest people in the city, but they’re scared of their own feelings.
“Why can’t Nevri just do it herself?” Sarii asked. “Even if she needs to have it not be traceable to her, she could hire any number of mercenaries. Why us?”
“That might be the most important question,” First Sentinel said. “She means to involve us in this, and not just to serve our purposes. By using us, she’s getting something else. What?”
Rova answered. “We should be going after Aegis. We don’t all have to go to meet Nevri, do we?”
“We don’t, but we would need everyone to face COBALT-3. I don’t imagine she’d let him out of her grasp without a fight,” Blurred Fists said.
Sarii jumped in. “Here’s what she gets—a win-win situation. We go and die, she wins. We go and succeed, she wins. And City Mother only knows what she’ll do to us if we pull this off and are greedy enough to come calling for our reward.” She twirled a stone noose around one finger.
“It’s undoubtedly a trap,” First Sentinel said. “But is the chance to keep close tabs on Nevri worth the danger?”
[ Once we get the information tonight, we can case the location and then decide ,] Bira said, her thoughts speaking directly to each of the Shields’ minds.
“What if they hold back the location until the meet with Nevri?” Wonlar asked.“we don’t get the explosive until the meet with Nevri anyway. Whatever it is, we want it. None of the bombs we have are big enough to take out a machine the size I imagine this Rebirth engine would need to be. So unless we want to make Bira float a whole crate of explosives and even then take our chances, we need that explosive.”
Wenlizerachi stood, took three quick laps around the table, and lit three more sticks of incense, repeating the ritual supplication for a blessing from the City Mother. “Even if we get in and can plant the explosive, we’ll need an escape plan, different than the way we got in—the Smiling King’s reinforcements would flood us by then.”
Bira chuckled in the Shields’ minds. [ I can just knock out the walls, if we really want to cause trouble .]
“Why not?” Sarii asked. “Why are we always playing it soft with these monsters? We should be leaving behind stacks of corpses until they decide to pack it up and find another city to terrorize.”
Wonlar leveled a gaze at Sarii. “They’re the killers. Not us.”
“Fifty years you’ve been saying that, and what have we got to show for it? I buried my naïveté with the dozen friends who gave their lives for your dreams of a free Audec-Hal, Wonlar. I won’t bury another friend, but I’d happily dig graves for the tyrants myself.”
Bira spoke again, her voice calm, but insistent. [ We’re losing focus. It’s time to make a decision .]
Wonlar took a deep breath. “Let’s vote. All for taking Nevri’s bargain?”
Rova’s hand went up. Bira locked Wonlar in her attention, and he felt her presence in his mind, watching and listening. Wonlar raised his hand, and the Qava mirrored him. Wonlar tried to shut away his doubt from Bira, but he felt her find it, acknowledge it, and move past it.
Wenlizerachi
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