Emily gestured at Anastasia’s veil and somber outfit and smiled.
“I’d think that you of all people could understand that,” Emily said, turning to leave. “Given your circumstances.”
“I do understand,” Anastasia said, halting Emily mid-step. “I respect your position, Miss Muir, and your course of action, even if I wish you would decide differently. I also considered the possibility of a friendship, during our stay at Ha Long Bay.”
“That’s nice to hear,” Emily said, her back to Anastasia. “I’ve timed my plans carefully, Anastasia. You’ll just have time to settle affairs with the Thule Cartel before it all comes crashing down, as long as you’re expeditious about it.”
Emily curtseyed, and then hurried over to save Alex from Alice Gallow.
Anastasia watched her go with a look of bemusement.
“Katya seems close to her,” Mai observed, standing just behind Anastasia. “I can give her the signal now, if you like.”
Anastasia considered it.
All around them, the technicians scrambled, forcing the fixed apport mechanism through its warm-up cycle via painstaking manual activations. The Auditors and Emily’s group continued to scuffle and argue, while Black Sun personnel watched judgmentally.
“Not yet. I need to understand her intentions,” Anastasia said. “Emily Muir is far too smart to make an unnecessary enemy, and I’ve never known her to make threats.”
“Then what just happened, Mistress?”
“I’m sure that I don’t know,” Anastasia said. “Would you do something about that, Mai? She’s a capable telepath, these days, but I hope that you can manage something.”
Mai nodded.
“I put this in your hands, then,” Anastasia said, glancing at the apport station. “We will be departing shortly, I think. Have you completed your preparations, Lord Gao?”
“Yes, Mistress,” Lord Gao said, calm and smiling, standing entirely at ease. “On your command.”
“Consider it given, then, Lord Gao,” Anastasia said. “Take your opportunities where you find them.”
“All the targets, then, milady?”
The hesitation was very slight, but Mai noticed it anyway, out of long familiarity with Anastasia’s moods and foibles.
“Yes,” Anastasia said. “We will leave nothing to chance.”
***
Katya noticed her before she took three steps, but she stood right where she was, her back to Mai as the maid skirted the Auditors. Katya willed herself to be loose and relaxed, drawing on years of training and a favorite breathing exercise.
The frightening thing about Mai Quan was nearly everything.
Mai had been Anastasia’s personal attendant since Ana was an infant, adding the title of Head Maid for the household when Ana was five or six. Katya had spent hours and days with her, running errands and solving problems, and had tended to Anastasia beside her. Despite that, Katya felt zero familiarity with the woman.
After more than a decade of association, Katya barely knew anything about Mai.
What she did know came from Timor, and his habitual snooping on any potential threat to his Mistress’s well-being.
He had discovered that Mai was an orphan adopted into the Black Sun by the Gao Family when she was six. She was discovered during a Black Sun sponsored tuberculous inoculation clinic in remote Vietnam. The Gao Family had raised her as a daughter – one of a string of such adoptions that Lord and Lady Gao had conducted over the years – and prepared her for service to the Black Sun from her first day with them.
Mai excelled and was sent to the Academy at eight. As a high-ranked telepath, she was scouted for Audits, but never wavered in her intention to join the Black Sun upon graduation. She graduated early, with honors, and immediately pledged to Anastasia’s service, who was then only a child. In addition to her duties as a maid, she trained beneath Mr. Lee, who was then serving as Josef Martynova’s personal bodyguard and assassin.
All telepaths were frightening, but Mai was something else. Katya felt safer alone with Renton than with the maid. She had never seen Mai get angry or commit an act of violence.
And yet…
Mai scared her. Even after the maid won Timor over, becoming a sort of surrogate big sister to him, Katya had remained wary in her presence. Timor, on the other hand, came to idolize Mai to a degree, in his dumb and friendly way.
Thinking about Timor, even indirectly, was a mistake, like tugging on a barbed cord that had been carefully threaded through her chest. Katya focused on her breathing exercises and waited for Mai to politely cough to draw her attention.
Mai hardly ever spoke. Whole weeks could pass without hearing her voice.
When she decided to speak, it was with Anastasia’s words.
“Pardon me, Katya,” Mai said. “I need a moment of your time.”
Katya gave herself a fraction of a second to quell her anxiety, and then she turned to face the maid.
Mai wore her uniform, a conservatively cut black dress that seemed like an impractical choice for the field, and must have decided to go with contacts, instead of the glasses she often wore. She looked stern and capable, the faintest hint of telepathic contact waiting politely for Katya to accede to it.
Hello, Mai, Katya thought, willing her mind blank. What does Ana need?
Let’s begin with a frank assessment, Mai thought, folding her hands at her waist and standing before Katya with perfect posture. You have been embedded among several persons of concern for some time. What conclusions have you drawn?
What can I say? Ana was right. Eerie really did fall for Alex. I don’t know when her plan changed, exactly, but I think she was visiting him the whole time he was confined. I don’t think she’s going to use Alex. She told me that she planned to return to the Church before the deadline.
I see. Mai pursed her lips, and Katya wondered if she was relaying the conversation to Anastasia as it happened. Do you believe her?
I don’t think she’s lying, but I can’t predict what she’s going to do. Eerie is a Changeling, and stability isn’t part of her nature. I believe she intends to go peacefully, because she fell for the boy too hard to use him. That’s what I think. You want certainty? Katya was perversely proud of the indifference in her shrug. There’s only one way to get it.
That’s the Changeling, then. What about Alexander Warner?
I doubt that he will go along with it, but I don’t think he can do much about it. Eerie seems to be holding back the consequences of using his protocol, at the moment, but as soon as she stops, he will fall asleep for a long time.
The Changeling is a complicated creature.
You have no idea, Mai. It’s been quite the experience.
What are your thoughts regarding Emily Muir?
She and Ana just had a little talk, didn’t they? What did you think?
I think she is alarmingly well-informed and extraordinarily dangerous, Mai thought, her expression the picture of sincerity. May I hear your conclusions regarding Miss Muir?
She’s got a plan and it’s working. She talked Alex into destroying the Anathema World Tree, isolating Central. She moved on the Far Shores while the Auditors were trapped in the field and took the whole place over. She’s recruiting, Mai. She’s grabbing people from both sides, and she’s offering neutral parties protection.
I have heard she has an impressive remote viewer assisting her, as well.
It’s more than just assistance, and it’s better than remote viewing. Vivik is a genius. The poor guy is probably the greatest surveillance asset out there, and Emily has him at her beck and call.
I see. So, Miss Muir is in possession of the Far Shores, and has Mr. Warner and this remote viewer working for her?
Vivik is working for her. Alex is…he’s clueless. I don’t think he really knows what it is he’s doing. Emily is keeping Eerie safe for the moment, and that’s all he’s thinking about right now.
Those are not inconsiderable assets, Mai thought. She’s
built herself a power base.
That’s not all she’s got. Katya thought, briefly checking around them to see if anyone had noticed their conversation. Leigh Feld, the Anathema vampire, is acting as her right hand.
Leigh Feld. Another remarkable talent.
She’s pretty much invulnerable, so yeah, I’d say that’s a big get. She snatched up Chandi Tuesday yesterday, too. I don’t think she’s officially joined or anything, but if you give her time, I think Emily could win her over.
Truly, Miss Muir has kept herself busy of late. While we are on the subject of her recruiting, you know that I must ask, Mai thought, looking Katya in the eyes. Has she impacted your loyalties?
Katya sighed, took a final glance to make sure that everyone was distracted, and then closed her eyes.
“Go ahead,” Katya said, bracing herself. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”
Katya lowered her shields and Mai was inside of her head. The maid took care to be gentle, but the process was inherently invasive and painful. It was like being groped by a polite stranger.
It did not take long.
Mai retreated from her mind and Katya was alone inside her head again, left to straighten the furniture and rearrange the curios on the shelves.
I apologize for the intrusion, Mai thought, belatedly. I see that you have had a difficult time.
Business as usual. I’ve had worse.
Yes, that’s true, isn’t it? Mai gave her a look of pity, and Katya suppressed the urge to slap her. I am very sorry for the loss of your brother. I considered him a friend, as well as a loyal servant to our Mistress.
Thank you, Katya thought, unable to control a tremor that passed through her face and shamed by that failure. I know that Timor had a lot of respect for you.
We must share the burdens of the fallen, Katya. I have done my best to protect the Mistress in your brother’s place.
Thank you. He would have – that would have meant a lot to him, I’m sure.
A brief wave of emotion passed over Mai’s features before she regained her composure, and Katya almost softened her opinion of the woman.
Almost.
I must press on to the heart of the matter, Mai thought, glancing at Anastasia. We will depart in just a moment.
You have instructions for me, Katya said, folding her arms. I’m ready.
The Mistress has made her decision, Mai thought. We will not allow the Changeling to surrender herself.
What? Katya was amazed. She felt tingly and mildly faint. You’re kidding me!
The elimination of John Parson and the Anathema are crucial to the Mistress’s plans. The manifestation of the Church of Sleep is the simplest way to effect that outcome without risking our own forces.
What about the Church itself? Won’t we just be replacing one problem with a worse one?
There is a plan in place to deal with the Church of Sleep, Mai thought, giving Katya a smile that had never known a moment of worry or doubt. I believe the Mistress intends to deal with that matter herself.
Sounds risky to me. Make sure you tell Ana that, Katya thought. What do you want me to do?
Continue to protect Mr. Warner and the Changeling. Eliminate anyone who attempts to interfere.
What do I do about Eerie giving herself up?
Prevent it by any means required, Mai thought, touching Katya’s shoulder. Do you understand?
Katya understood her words, and the subtle empathic suggestion that accompanied them, conveyed by a pins-and-needles sensation where Mai touched her.
I understand.
Do you have any other messages for our Mistress? Mai gave her that look of pity again, raising Katya’s hackles. Shall I pass along a word for you?
Just tell her to be careful, Katya thought. Don’t underestimate any of them – Emily Muir especially. Ana just…she needs to make sure she’s not acting out of anger. I understand duty and obligation, but she can’t be predictable. She’s playing a truly dangerous game.
We all are, Mai thought, nodding and then turning away. Maintain your faith, Katya. Still more will be asked of you before this is over – I’m certain of it.
Katya kept her thoughts to herself as the maid retreated, but really, there was no need for that.
She agreed completely.
“I guess it’s time,” Alex said, elbowing her in the side to get her attention. “You ready for this?”
“No, probably not,” Katya admitted. “Not at all.”
“Yeah, me either,” Alex said. “Wanna do it anyway?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Sure! You say the word and we bail. We’ll get Emily to find us another way home, back to the Far Shores,” Alex said, lowering his voice in a futile attempt to go unnoticed in a room full of telepaths. “We don’t have to be Auditors and you don’t need to be an assassin. We don’t need to work for Central or Anastasia. We can just walk away.”
Katya glanced at Alex, who appeared to make the offer from a place of complete nonchalance. Not for the first time, she wondered exactly what had happened in the Outer Dark to create this new version of himself.
“What happened to all that revenge you were going to get?”
“Stay or go, the Far Shores or wherever, I’m pretty sure I’ll end up doing a whole bunch of that stuff,” Alex said. “Trouble comes to me, you know? I don’t need to go looking.”
“Look at you, being all smart,” Katya grumbled. “Let’s just fucking do it. One more time, you and me. We’ll figure everything else out once we are back in Central. Back home.”
Was Central really her home, she wondered? Was that how she’d come to think of it?
She had been at the Academy for a little less than two years, the Far Shores for a few months.
It made no sense, but then again, what had, since her reunion with her long-lost cousin?
Alex nodded and looked pleased with himself. Katya looked at his dumb, trusting face, and hated herself.
“You know, Alex, I’ve been thinking,” she started, feeling just a little queasy. “We can’t let Eerie go to the Church. We can’t let her give up. We have to fight it.”
“Well, yeah! I mean, of course,” Alex said, giving her side-eye. “Did you think I was just going to go along with it? We’re gonna save everyone! But, you know, Eerie especially.”
“Yeah,” Katya said, shaking her head as she followed him to the apport station. “Dumb of me to ever think otherwise.”
***
Eerie was startled from exhausted distraction by a tone from her laptop, and then a rush of excitement as she felt the server begin the long process of coming online. The water ran cold in the sink, but her hands barely registered it. There was no perceptible change in the room, no electrical hum or whirring of fans, but in the back of Eerie’s deeply strange mind, a specific cluster of neurons started to fire, and a tightness spread across her skin.
Eerie took a deep breath. There was a subtle sweetness to the air, just a hint of ozone at the end of each inhale.
Somewhere on the roof, carefully aligned microwave dishes bombarded a tuned layer of the Ether with current, and it resonated accordingly. There was a universal vibration in response, just below the threshold of perception, a minor but pervasive adjustment. The Network was a sequence of echoes, each slightly modulated from the last, the next arriving before the previous could dissipate.
A handful of subsidiary servers came online, improving the signal-to-noise ratio. It was a fraction of the Network before it had crashed, but it was something. Surviving telepaths started to connect, each of their minds acting as another node for the Network. Eerie frowned at the diminished number of such nodes, the casualties of the war in Central. Her awareness was sudden and vast, not even requiring a laptop to facilitate it.
That was new, but it was also the way it should have been. It felt as natural as breathing to reach out and feel the Network as a vivid presence at the edge of her consciousness.
Eerie looked at herself in the mirror,
studied the gleaming black of her massively enlarged pupils, and her vibrantly blue hair, ravaged by static electricity and in complete disarray.
There was no time to lose, she knew, but Eerie paused for a moment to rummage through her nylon tool bag, pushing aside wire cutters and a selection of comically tiny screwdrivers until she found what she wanted.
Eerie unwrapped an artificial cherry-flavored Blow Pop and shoved it in her mouth.
She connected to the server and started to configure. Internal fans whistled frantically inside her laptop, the smell of hot dust in her nostrils as she bent close to the monitor, both hands on the keyboard, her thumb impatiently smacking the space bar as she waited for the software to catch up to her eagerness.
The Network reboot was glacially paced. At present, the servers could do little more than respond to a ping, with numerous systems and applications needing her personal attention before they could run. Eerie was all the way through the candy shell and down to the gum center when the server finally responded to her entreaties with a DOS menu. She glanced around the bathroom before she punched in her administrative credentials.
The menus produced hidden submenus.
Eerie went to work, altering system parameters and pinging remote relays, rerouting traffic and resources by future memory and instinct. Her protocol buzzed in her head like a swarm of tiny golden bees. Eerie felt an invigorating current of electromagnetic and Etheric discharge in every cell of her body. Massive aerials on the roof bombarded a select band of the Ether with high-frequency waves, and that energized Ether compressed and resounded proportionately.
She labored patiently, her laptop resting on the bathroom counter, feeling perfectly in tune with the Kismet Protocol, command prompts spilling from her fingertips into the Ether. She modulated the broadcast frequency until the resonance was perfect, tuning a band of Ether until it rang like a bell.
The Church of Sleep (Central Series Book 5) Page 44
