by Zen DiPietro
She stepped into a pair of wide-legged pants, then pulled on a gauzy, sleeveless top. She banged her elbow on the wall again.
“What’s going on in there? If you hate the outfit, you don’t have to tear down the dressing room,” Izzy called.
She ignored Izzy’s teasing and studied herself in the mirror critically. The oatmeal color fit within her comfort zone, though the tiny green spirals embroidered along the neckline of the top went just beyond it. Still, she had freedom of movement and she didn’t hate how it looked.
“Ohh, the bohemian look,” Izzy approved when Kassimeigh emerged to show her the outfit. “That actually suits you really well. How do you feel in it?”
“Different. Okay. I guess.”
“It’s a start.”
After discovering a dozen or so outfits that Kassimeigh also didn’t hate, Izzy added some necessary items including suitable shoes for various occasions, a couple of light jackets and cardigans, some workout clothes, and a strange little ball of emerald-green strings.
“What is this, an accessory?” She reached for the thing.
“It’s a swimsuit. You can swim, right?”
Kassimeigh yanked her hand back. “Yes, but that’s not enough fabric to cover my—”
“It definitely is.”
“I don’t think—”
Izzy cut her off again. “Trust me. If you’ve ever trusted me in your life, trust me on this. It’s perfectly decent by social standards.” Her wide mouth sailed across her face in a broad grin.
“I trust you, but . . . fine. I trust you.”
“Good. I think you have a basic wardrobe that will do for now.” She waved a sales associate over. He used a small scanner to tally up the purchases, then handed the device to Kassimeigh. She entered her account information and a surprisingly large number of credits transferred. Fortunately, she had saved nearly all of the pay she’d ever earned as a shiv, and had no concern for her financial situation.
Izzy picked up two of the shopping bags. “Let’s head across the street.”
“What’s over there?”
“The spa. I made an appointment for us both. Massages, mud baths, and the full beauty treatment.”
“Why would anyone take a bath in mud? Isn’t that an oxymoron?”
“It’s wonderfully stress relieving. And you’ve been stressed. A day at the spa is a ritual that all women should experience. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it again, ever. But you’re collecting experiences, right? Learning to live a new kind of life?”
Kassimeigh scowled. Izzy’s grin showed that she knew her logical argument left Kassimeigh no room to decline.
“Fine. I’ll try your spa experience. But if it’s terrible, my next experience will be uploading a video of my dear friend, modeling the latest fashion in mud and banging on the door of the spa to be let back in.”
Izzy grimaced. “Maybe we should skip the spa after all.”
“Wow.” Arc’s amazement short-circuited the pathway between his mouth and his brain, and he found himself unable to say more. All he could do was stare.
Kassimeigh was a gorgeous woman on any day, but the person in front of him wasn’t a shiv or a warrior or a manahi. She was the crossroads where strength and femininity met. With her muscular arms and long-limbed, willowy grace, she created her own brand of strong, vibrant beauty.
Her wonderfully wild mane of long red hair had been tamed just slightly and a dab of makeup accented her cheekbones and lips. It was a subtle difference, but the adjustments made her hair frame her delicately featured face, and her blue eyes stood out like beacons.
Kassimeigh crossed her arms over her chest. “Is that good?”
Arc grinned. She never seemed to recognize her physical appeal. It wasn’t that she lacked self-esteem. She simply never thought to measure herself in that way. “More than good.” He closed the distance and wrapped his arms around her. “Kass, if angels were real, they’d kill to look like you.”
She made a scoffing, snorty kind of noise that did not at all go with his flattering description. “Way to overdo it. But I’m glad you like it. It’s all Izzy’s doing.”
“I’ll have to thank her. This is a nice change from lounge pants and my undershirts. Where is our blue-haired devil?”
“She had to get back for some patient appointments, but said she’d be back soon. Something about taking me to a club.”
Arc laughed. “Yes, that sounds like Izzy. She likes to make things happen.”
“What would happen?”
“With you, in a place filled with high-spirited people looking for fun? Lots.”
“Should I not go? I’ve been trusting her to show me things I should experience.”
“Oh, no, you should definitely go.” Arc grinned. He loved that she was trying new things. Her inexperience made her seem innocent, but the way she approached the most mundane things with grim determination struck him as adorable.
“Okay.” She frowned thoughtfully. Probably forming a battle plan to approach clubbing. Arc suppressed a smile.
“Anyway, I heard from my aunt today,” he told her.
“What did she say?”
“She wants us to come to Capital and talk in person. Tomorrow.”
“What do you think that means?” Though Kassimeigh had a history of working with the magistrate as a justice, Arc knew his aunt far better.
“Nothing good.”
All of Kassimeigh’s previous interactions with the Council of Magistrates had been based on official judicial business. For the first time, she sat in Magistrate Trewe’s spacious and tidy office without the title of Justice. Without any official position at all, actually. But she’d decided that titles and positions were affectations, to some degree. Her lack of title changed nothing about who she was or what she was capable of. With her gaze fixed on the polished oak surface of the desk that spanned the distance between her and the magistrate, she did what she’d always done when faced with a problem. She listened. With Luc, Arc, and Magistrate Trewe to do the discussing, Kassimeigh could simply observe and analyze.
“How would new samples be different?” Luc grumbled. He slumped back into the chair to Kassimeigh’s right with his arms crossed. His familiar churlishness smoothed her rough, uncertain edges and reminded her that she did belong somewhere. She knew that she could trust him to be both insightful and skeptical. She had faith in how well she and Luc worked together.
Ina Trewe sent Luc a small, knowing smile. “The scientists at the lab want some samples taken and stored in specific media that would better preserve them for some additional testing. Since they don’t want to wait three weeks to get the new samples, you’ll only be sampling the two areas closest to the monorail. You should be able to get that done in one very long day if you leave the station at first light.”
Kassimeigh admired the magistrate’s elegant poise. She wore middle age well, like a secret that she coyly kept to herself.
“Why doesn’t the lab want to send their own people out to do that? I expected a science team to make the next trip.” Arc leaned forward with his hands clasped loosely on the desk.
Kassimeigh felt a spark of amusement. She doubted Arc and Luc could display more opposite body language if they tried. The two of them had such different personalities. In another situation, the thought might have made her smile, but she maintained what Arc had dubbed her “shiv face.”
The magistrate’s attention had shifted from Luc to Arc. “It doesn’t take a scientist to collect the samples. It’s very simple, and you’ve done it before. You have experience with the hinterlands and you’ve already been to the two sites in question. That makes you the best candidate for the job.”
Luc smoothed a hand over his bald head. Kassimeigh recognized his unconscious gesture as an indication of mild agitation. “And how do I figure in to this? I’m no wilderness guide.” He harrumphed.
Ina Trewe’s eyes smiled at Luc even though the rest of her face remained
businesslike. If Kassimeigh didn’t already know of their romantic relationship, the look that passed between them would have given it away in an instant. Apparently, they were no longer as circumspect about their relationship as they had been. Which was interesting.
“That’s the other reason I want Arc to go. The problem in the hinterlands seems like it might have a mana component. He needs to lead my manahi team out there. Because you and Kassimeigh happen to be my favorite manahi, and the ones I most trust, you three are that team.”
Luc’s chin lifted and his light blue eyes narrowed. He was a man of intimidatingly patrician looks, and had a tendency to use his almost theatrical expressions to do his communicating for him. “What is this mana component?”
“The scientists believe they’ve identified a trace mana signature in some unidentified material. The additional samples should confirm or refute that.”
“A mana signature! Why am I only hearing about it now?” His voice rose.
“I wanted to discuss it as a group. So far, nothing is certain.” The magistrate’s firm tone brooked no argument. “The scientists were hesitant to even suggest the idea, but they have a suspicion, however unlikely it seems. The only thing they’re certain about is that the material is organic.”
“Organic. Does that mean plants?” Arc asked.
“No idea at this point. The cell structure was unique. As I said, we have an abundance of questions, and little else.” The magistrate pressed her palms together and brought her fingertips to her chin in an uncharacteristically troubled gesture. “They acted like they were suggesting that the boogeyman might be real. Even so, they were convinced that new samples must be collected, and that manahi must survey the dead zones.”
She sighed and shook her head, letting her hands drop. “I’m asking you three to be the team that does this. Will you?”
“Of course, I’m in,” Arc said. “I just need a day or so to gather supplies and clear my schedule.”
“I’ll be ready by that time,” agreed Luc.
Kassimeigh remained silent until all three of the others focused on her, clearly waiting on her response. “Why do you want me there, Magistrate? Luc is more qualified than I am to handle the possible mana component, given that he’s the dean of the Institute of Mana Science. My presence seems redundant.”
“You’re hardly redundant. You have the greatest mana ability on the planet. You might have a unique sense of whatever this mana might be. Furthermore, you, Arc, and Luc make an incredible team that I know I can count on. Finally, since you’re soulbonded to my nephew, don’t you think you should start calling me Ina?”
Arc’s features relaxed into his customary smile and, even in the midst of her surprise, Kassimeigh felt a pinprick of warmth. She kept the feeling in its own compartment as she took a long moment to consider her response to the magistrate. Hasty words could have unintended consequences.
“I’m always glad to serve the Council. I’m pleased that I’m able to help even though I’m no longer a justice. And yes, if you wish, I’d be glad to call you Ina.”
Ina’s recognition of her relationship with Arc gave her an unexpected sense of satisfaction. She wouldn’t have thought that another person’s approval would matter to her, but Kassimeigh felt she’d been officially welcomed into the family.
“Good.” Ina Trewe stood, then walked around the desk to enfold Kassimeigh into a distinctly unmagisterial hug. “I’ve always wanted a niece.”
Two days later, Kassimeigh had her first in-person look at the hinterlands. They didn’t disappoint. Her gaze scaled ever upward along the towering trunks of trees, and then into the canopy overhead. She knew that the midday sun hung above them, but the branches and leaves hid it from direct view. Verdant greenery reached lush limbs toward the sky, as if they hoped to someday reach the sun itself.
Her breath caught at the immensity of the natural beauty all around her, and she understood why Arc loved the hinterlands so much. Of course she’d seen many videos and still pictures on the comm, but standing among the trees proved how inadequate mere images could be. The air felt slightly heavier, probably due to humidity, and carried a rich, green scent that she wanted to consume by the lungful.
She felt Arc’s gaze on her. He slid his arm around her waist to draw her close. “This would be really romantic if not for that guy.” He hitched his head in Luc’s direction with a comic roll of his eyes.
Her laugh rang out into the lush expanse and prompted Luc to glance back at them. When he saw that they’d fallen a few paces behind, he sent them a scowl and strode forward with added vigor.
He could bluster all he wanted. Even though she could only see the back of his nearly bald head, Kassimeigh was pretty sure that Luc was smiling. He had his curmudgeonly moments, sure, but she’d learned that Lucien Petrush was much more than an old crank.
Arc and Kassimeigh broke apart and increased their pace to keep up with Luc. Although he’d passed middle age years ago, he possessed better agility and strength than some men half his age. Kassimeigh admired his dedication to fitness.
Without warning, they burst into a clearing and the sun poured down on them. The sudden change made no sense. The hinterlands simply stopped, then restarted all around this naked little spot of nothing, as if a giant hand had scooped a chunk right out. There were no trees, no grass, and no plants. She stared at the scene before her as though her scrutiny would reveal some explanation.
As she walked alongside Arc and Luc to the center of the somewhat circular area, she squinted in the suddenly abundant sunlight, and warmth drenched her skin. Her heartbeat accelerated as a rush of energy flooded into her. Since arriving in the hinterlands, she’d felt an increased abundance of mana. Approaching this barren spot, she’d sensed pulsating streams of it. Now, standing amidst the abundance that now assailed her senses, she closed her eyes and let herself sway slightly in the pool of mana that bathed her. Power soaked into her skin, her bones, her marrow.
Arc set his backpack down, then pulled out the sample containers and began collecting soil for them. “Do you sense anything?”
She opened her eyes. His question was simply too small to answer at the moment. She let it drift by her. Instead, she settled herself on her knees in the center of the dead zone and closed her eyes again. Keeping her breath even, she schooled her mind into a deep sense of center. Long years of study with the shiv order allowed her to reach that balanced state almost reflexively.
Once centered, she reached with her senses and opened herself up to the mana. Her heart began to pound with the raw power, which roiled against the barrier she held between herself and it. Though a few places on Terath contained no atmospheric mana, most had at least some amount. This area pulsed with a natural vitality she’d never perceived.
She relaxed her barrier and allowed the great surge of energy to flow through her, back into the world, and into her again in a blissful circuit of synergy.
The symbiotic sense of power flowing through her was almost intoxicating. The times she’d intentionally harnessed great amounts of mana did not compare to this. Organic unity made every nerve in her body sing with the energy that flowed through her like blood.
She had no idea how long she sat there, communing with the mana. She sensed Arc sitting down across from her, and opened her eyes wide to stare into his. The connection between them merged with the flush of potency she felt. He drew her just as much as the kinetic energy did. She leaned toward him.
Luc’s loud throat clearing and exclamation of, “Powerful, isn’t it?” caused Kassimeigh to jolt to awareness and abandon her synergy with the local mana. She shook her head to clear it and shoved her barrier back into place even as she shifted her attention to Luc. She blew out a slow breath, searching for the right words.
“I’ve experienced strong areas before but this is . . .” Vocabulary failed her. She shook her head again. “Have you ever sensed something like this?”
“I’ve never felt such a strong concentratio
n from a natural source.” Luc’s bluster had disappeared, leaving only a laserlike focus and intensity. “Only from direct manipulation by a person.”
“Do you think the mana somehow burned out the foliage?” Kassimeigh squinted toward the tree canopy that remained, beyond the dead zone.
“I don’t see how.” Luc shook his head. “Plants only benefit from greater atmospheric mana. The hinterlands in general have more of it. The amount varies throughout, like it does everywhere, but as a whole, there’s more supply out here. It’s the total opposite of Apex, which has fairly low mana and, in general, little plant life.”
“Interesting,” Arc observed. “I never knew the connection between plants and mana.”
“No reason you should.” Luc shrugged. “Did you collect all of the samples?”
“Almost. I want to get some from just within and just outside of the perimeter of the dead zone.”
“Then let’s do it and be on our way to the next one.”
The second dead zone offered no more information than the first. Kassimeigh could make no sense of these patches of land, barren of anything but a wonderful intensity of mana. She and Luc perceived no link between the abundance of power and the lack of foliage.
Disappointed in the lack of obvious clues, she and Luc helped Arc collect the samples. Afterward they sat down in the clearing to eat some lunch before beginning their trek out of the forest. They all now carried dozens of sample-filled containers. Arc slung his pack off of his back and efficiently distributed boxed lunches.
“How long will the analysis of the new samples take?” Kassimeigh asked between bites of her sandwich. “I’m eager to find out what they make of them. Maybe they’ll have an explanation for the amazing power out here.”
“Unknown,” Luc answered. “The scientists might have to go through dozens of different tests to find anything. Or maybe there’s nothing to find. Once we deliver the samples, all we can do is wait.”
