by Zen DiPietro
She returned his smile and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. “Good to hear he can keep a secret.” She gave them both a teasing look. “You’d be surprised how many people can’t.”
“I’ve known my share of unreliable people, but I’m sure it’s worse for you. Maybe going public will actually help you in that regard.” Kett gave her a sympathetic smile.
“We can hope.” She didn’t want to let the conversational thread get away. She settled back onto the couch and pulled her feet up, tucking them to one side. She rapped her fingers against the drum pad in an absent rhythm, opening herself to the mana in the room and letting it flow through her inertly.
“What kept you away from his birthday, anyway? Not an emergency, I hope,” she said.
“Ah.” Kett ducked his head. “No. I’d intended to go. But that evening I attended a lecture on mana ethics, and afterward, the lecturer invited open discussion. Before I knew it, the party was half over.”
“I see. I often get wrapped up in my work, too.” She continued to drum a gentle tattoo, letting some mana flow into it to encourage a comfortable, trusting mood. “There have been times when entire days have passed and I barely noticed.”
“I don’t go to that extreme, but a good discussion will definitely keep me occupied.”
She tilted her head to one side. “Mana ethics is an interesting topic. Did you all solve any big dilemmas?”
He shook his head and smiled. “No. Just a rehash of all the known issues.”
“Hm.” She studied the drum pad. “It occurs to me,” she said, furrowing her brow as if trying to remember, “Jonas had mentioned to Night that you might bring something particular to his birthday party. It had a cute name.” She gazed up at the ceiling, furrowing her brow.
Kett asked, “Sparkle?”
“That’s it!” Élan looked into his eyes and rewarded him with a big smile. He brightened and smiled back.
“Were you interested in it?” Kett asked.
“Curious about it. I’m cautious about that kind of thing. Is it dangerous?”
Kett waved a hand. “Nah. It’s like a lot of things. Use it wisely, you know? Like medicine. A lot isn’t better than a little.”
“What’s it like?” she asked.
“Kind of . . . empowering? Like you feel you could do anything you set your mind to. Exciting.”
“Hallucinatory?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Nothing like that. You stay aware. You just feel good. Great, actually. Euphoric.”
“Hm. If I wanted to try it, do you know where I could get it? It must be new, because I haven’t seen it in here before. Usually we have all the fun stuff.” She laughed lightly.
Jonas and Kett laughed with her. Bards were known for their openness to new experiences.
Coco swept in, wearing a loose dress with a colorful geometric print. She took the last seat on the couch next to Élan and smiled at Jonas and Kett. “What did I miss?”
“Is it okay to tell her?” Élan asked in a mock whisper.
“Sure. Though I’d rather you not tell anyone else. This stuff hasn’t been approved by the medical authority yet. But it’s in the process and only a matter of time.”
Élan knew better, but Kett seemed to believe it. “Kett knows someone who is involved in that new sparkle stuff. I’ve heard it’s great for creative thinkers.” Not true, but they didn’t know that.
Coco took a dainty bite from a cookie she must have gotten from the bar. Jonas and Kett watched Coco wipe her lips on a napkin and chew. Élan smiled to herself.
“So if we wanted to get some?” Coco prompted. Élan silently thanked her. She was sure Coco wasn’t interested, and only trying to help her.
“I could arrange it,” Kett offered, still focused on Coco’s mouth.
Coco’s gaze flicked to Élan and Night, and then she settled her full attention on Kett. Élan quietly danced her fingers over the drum pad.
Coco leaned toward Kett. “Do you have any now?” Her voice was almost a whisper, but full of succulent promise.
Kett’s hand went to the pocket of his jacket. He withdrew a small tube, much like some of the scientific sample containers Élan had seen recently. He set the tube on the table between him and Coco.
Coco smiled slowly and wrapped her fingers around the tube. She tapped it with a fingernail, then hid it behind her hand. “Can I keep it?” Her dark eyes stared right into Kett, who nodded slowly, as if snared by a spell.
She slipped it into the pocket of her dress. “Anything I should know about it?” She took another bite of her cookie.
“Yes,” Kett answered hesitantly, as if rethinking what he’d just done. “Use the cap to measure. No more than one capful. Inhale once, sharply, then wash anything that the sparkle had direct contact with.”
Night remarked dryly, “That doesn’t sound like it’s as safe as you said.”
Kett shook his head. “It’s just caution. Safety.”
“I see,” Coco agreed. “Thank you.”
Élan decided to change the subject, fast. “Did you two know that Night wrote the song that won Coco her shiny new Minstrel Award?”
Jonas and Kett expressed surprise and the mood lightened as they discussed music and movies.
Two hours later, Élan felt drained. She fought to keep her eyes open as she leaned against Night, who had wrapped his arm around her. She wondered where Sim had gone. He hadn’t been at Bob’s all night. She stifled a yawn against the back of her hand. “I’m sorry to duck out, but I’m afraid I need to get some sleep.”
She stood. “I’m glad we were able to meet up with you two at the awards.” She smiled at Jonas and Kett. She had enjoyed their company, and she felt a sliver of guilt over her false pretenses. But she reasoned that as long as she didn’t ditch them after all of this business was finished, she was still in the clear, morally speaking.
Coco stood, too. “I was thinking the same thing. I had a great time though. I hope we can all meet up again soon.”
The three men stood, and they all said polite goodbyes. Coco walked Kett and Jonas to the door to see them out, then she and Élan walked upstairs. Night remained below. Élan sometimes wondered if he ever really slept. She’d never witnessed it firsthand.
Once upstairs, Coco slipped a hand into her pocket and then handed the tube to Élan. “This is what it’s all about, isn’t it?”
Élan wasn’t sure how much to reveal. “Yes. But please don’t mention it to anyone. If you need to know the details, I’ll tell you, but it’s probably better if I don’t.”
Coco lifted one shoulder. “Just be careful. Tell me about it all when it’s done, if you can. I don’t really care about all that. I just want you to be safe.”
“I’m trying,” Élan promised. “It’ll make for exciting stories one day, right?”
Coco’s lips twitched. “We’ll see.” She hugged Élan. “Catch you in the morning.”
Élan made sure Coco had closed the door to her room before she opened her own door, moved inside, and closed it quickly. She locked it behind her.
The justice in full shoka seated on the end of the bed might have scared the life right out of her, but Élan had sensed a familiar mana signature long before she’d arrived at her room.
No one should have been able to get into Bob’s undetected. The security system was the top of the line. Even a justice’s judicial override would prompt a notification.
“Mana skills or shiv skills?” Élan asked.
Kassimeigh removed the black hood, and her hair, now freed, sproinged all around her face. She lifted her chin. “I do not need mana to get inside a building. Any building.”
Was she insulted? It was hard to tell. The justice’s face remained impassive, but Élan was pretty sure she’d made a gaffe.
“What happened down there?” Kassimeigh asked.
“This.” Élan stepped forward and placed the tube in Kassimeigh’s hand. As soon as Élan had gotten her fingers on it, she’d sensed
the truth of what it was. She knew Kassimeigh would as well.
Kassimeigh stared at it, the weight of her realization pressing her lips into a firm line.
She looked up and they shared a moment of understanding.
“This is worse than I thought,” Kassimeigh said.
6
Kassimeigh sat in her office at the Northern Keep. Her eyes remained closed and she breathed in a slow, measured pattern. She opened them to look at the tube of sparkle that lay on her desk in front of the comm panel, then let her gaze wander as she considered her options.
She was only peripherally aware of the modest, simple desk, made of synthetic wood, and the nearly unadorned cream-colored walls that enclosed her. Her eye snagged briefly on the single decoration in the room. A framed child’s drawing depicted a justice with a wild array of red squiggly hair holding hands with a little girl. Asha. Kassimeigh had remained in touch with her, as well as her father and grandmother, ever since adjudicating their custody case. The two adults had gradually formed a bond and now worked together in raising Asha, who was growing into a precocious little artist.
Kassimeigh smiled, then her eyes went back to the sparkle and her smile vanished. She reached for the vial. Even without touching it, she could feel the mana glow. It was slightly more intense than the energy that would come from a lamp, but still relatively minute. Before Élan gave her the sample, Kassimeigh had not considered that sparkle might be charged with mana. The idea of inhaling mana in a powdered form stunned and disturbed her. No wonder people had died.
The elders had suspected that a manahi might be involved with the manufacture of sparkle. Given the strict regulatory oversight of the pharmaceutical industry, involvement from that sector had seemed unlikely. Which led them to deduce that a manahi had been the one to create it.
But the powder in the vial was not simply a thing that had been made by someone using mana. It actually contained mana. Perhaps sparkle was a substance that someone had managed to harness mana into, similar to charging a power cell. Or someone might have managed to create sparkle from mana using transmutation.
She let out a slow breath, rolling the tube between her palms and following the line of reasoning. If one or more transmuting manahi were involved, tracking them down would be easier. Transmutation was the rarest mana ability, so she’d have a relatively short list of suspects. If sparkle proved to be a simple powder that could hold a mana charge, any mana-holder on Terath could do the job. That would mean a much larger number of suspects.
She should have taken the sparkle straight to the lab. Straight to Finn Sparks. But if she did, they could be at risk of an information leak. The sample had to be protected and studied in secret. They couldn’t inflame the public, not after the hysteria that had occurred over the spark bugs a few months ago. They also couldn’t afford to tip off anyone involved with sparkle.
As a justice, she could work with Finn to tighten security at the lab. They’d done that before. But Ina had been an important part of that endeavor, effecting the magisterial protocols that would ensure secrecy on all fronts. Unfortunately, Ina was still on her honeymoon with Luc. She could contact Magistrate Sorenson, who was filling in for Ina as the leader of the Council. He seemed competent and well connected, but Kassimeigh didn’t trust him without reservation as she did Ina.
Besides, she needed Luc to spearhead the analysis of sparkle. As the dean of the Institute of Mana Science, he was the most qualified for the task. His keen scientific mind and vast knowledge of mana would identify exactly what sparkle was, she was sure. He’d spent months training her in mana theory and use and she knew firsthand that no other manahi could do the job like Luc.
She hated to cut their honeymoon short. They’d waited so many years to finally marry. But there was no way around it. She gently set the tube on her desk.
“Voice activation begin.” She’d taken to using more verbal commands with the comm since assuming her dual role in the order and with the Guard. She spent a lot of time working over the comm these days—far more than she’d ever had occasion to do before.
“Contact Ina Trewe, flag as emergency.”
She put on what Arc had dubbed her “shiv face” and took a deep breath.
Kassimeigh was glad to be soaring along on her kite again. There was nothing like the thrill of flying. With Ina and Luc back in Capital to handle the analysis of the sample and Élan continuing her acquaintance with Kett and Jonas, Kassimeigh was free to catch up on things at the fortress.
As always, she enjoyed the flight, but entering the fortress also felt great. She went through the side door, her boots making their familiar clop against the stone floor. A surge of energy flowed through her like a swarm of spark bugs, and she wished she were on the rotation to lead some training. But she hadn’t been to the fortress in a couple weeks, and there were other things to take care of first. If she was lucky, she’d manage a couple training sessions before she left again.
She checked in with both Canan and Violet. Will’s assistant and her own both greeted her with enthusiasm. She also received a warm reception from those she met in the halls. It seemed she’d been missed, and that pleased her. The two assistants briefed her on what had happened in her absence, and then she asked Violet to send Will a message on his hand comm to meet with her at his convenience.
Next she went in search of Izzy. Not that she truly needed to search. She’d let Izzy know of her impending arrival, and the reader had said she’d be in her office analyzing psychological profiles. Which had sounded dull as dirt to Kassimeigh, and she felt grateful to her friend for handling that task.
“Kass!” Izzy bounced up from her chair and gave her a big hug. “It’s so good to see you. How’s everything going down south?”
“Cautiously optimistic. I like your new office.” She walked a slow circuit around the space. It wasn’t terribly large, but it was painted in a sunny orange-yellow color and decorated with a comfortable-looking green couch and some padded chairs. Izzy had a small desk in the corner, where her comm panel rested. A window by the desk provided some welcome natural light.
Kassimeigh turned back to her friend. “How is everyone here faring, mental-health-wise?”
“Good, overall. Had to disqualify a couple of potential recruits for violent or depressive tendencies. And I started some therapy with Mila to deal with self-image issues.”
Mila was a promising young archer on Arc’s squad. Kassimeigh knew that specific details of the woman’s therapy were confidential, but it was Izzy’s duty to keep Kassimeigh and Will apprised of the general mental health of all the troops.
“Should we be concerned? Does she need time off?”
“No. She’ll be fine. Seeking therapy can be a sign of strength. She wants help so she can do better, rather than trying to manage on her own. This is one of those best-case scenarios.”
“Hm. Okay. Anything else?”
Izzy tilted her head to one side thoughtfully. Her hair fanned out over her jaw. The familiar sight made Kassimeigh smile. She’d missed Izzy.
“I think that’s all the official stuff,” Izzy concluded.
“And the unofficial stuff?”
“You mean gossip?”
“No, nothing unsubstantiated. Just anything you know that I should know.”
“I think Justin and Mila might be dating. They’ve certainly spent time together lately. Maybe just friends, but maybe more. Either way, it’s good for her. Carston’s on the prowl again, so look out for that.” Izzy laughed.
“I thought he and Azure would turn into something,” Kassimeigh remarked.
“His feelings were certainly strong. But he didn’t hold her interest past the initial attraction. She likes guys who are more cerebral.”
“You don’t think you and he will . . . ” she trailed off, letting the thought finish itself.
“Start up again? Nope. I move forward. Not backward. And no one has captured my interest lately.”
Kassimeigh wasn�
��t so sure of that, but she let the comment slide. Izzy squinted at her suspiciously but said nothing.
“How were the Minstrel Awards?” Izzy asked.
“You saw me on the comm.”
“Of course. The awards are a big deal. I only caught a glimpse of you during a camera sweep, but I knew it was you. You looked unbelievable, from what I saw. You’ll have to tell me all about that gown. And Élan! Did you know she was going to do that?”
“I didn’t. But she was wonderful. I think she’s going to be much happier, now that she’s not hiding.”
“I agree.” Izzy looked pleased, like a mother whose child has done something very special. “And you met Coco Rose? I saw that she and Élan were sitting together. I assume they’re friends?”
Izzy didn’t miss much. “Yes, and yes. I only met her briefly, but she seemed very genuine and friendly.”
“She’s one of my favorite singers. And so gorgeous. If only I could look like that.”
Kassimeigh studied Izzy. Izzy wasn’t beautiful from a classical standpoint. Her mouth was too wide, her face a bit too round, her chin a little too pointed. But there was something so wonderfully appealing about Izzy that she naturally attracted people. She had a lush figure and a warm sensuality that wasn’t vulgar, but simply natural and present. Izzy needn’t envy anyone else’s looks, as far as Kassimeigh was concerned. She had an appeal all her own.
Rather than voicing that opinion, she simply let the feeling project out of her. She knew Izzy would sense it.
Instead, she asked, “How has Will been? I’d started to worry about his stress level, but now that we have the departments and personnel organized, I think he’s doing better.”
“Yes,” agreed Izzy. “He’s much more relaxed now. He likes the routine that has developed. Train, administrate, train, and squeeze in some eating and sleeping at regular intervals. He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him.”
That was good news. “And does he still feel okay with me splitting my time between the fortress and the keep? He hasn’t started to regret that decision?”
