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It’s better to protect what you still have.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that Pops had been talking about his family and me.
I stopped by the kitchen for a snack, dropped off Pops’ notes downstairs, and then headed to Jim’s room to ask about the pendant. He acknowledged me by placing a bookmark in the pages of a yellowed magazine, then telekinetically setting the magazine on top of a towering stack.
“I heard the mission did not go as planned,” he said softly.
“No, it didn’t.” I flopped into the comfy red chair. The details of the mission came gushing out, and I hadn’t realized just how much I wanted to talk to someone. Jim was the perfect listener; he waited patiently through my rant. “I just don’t understand how they could be so heartless,” I protested once I’d complained about everything else. “Especially Lady Winters. She’s the most efficient, Community-oriented person I know. But she’s evil.”
Jim nodded sympathetically. “Unlike the villains from my time, the Camaraderie does not wear masks. But they hide behind a facade none-the-less. Just another way for them to ensure cooperation from the general population.”
“I guess. How long will it take them to replace Master Matoska? He didn’t deal a whole lot with the Community, but he was still a leader.”
“Depends on if they had anyone planned as a successor. Regardless, I imagine the Camaraderie will find someone soon.”
I murmured agreement. I’d taken too many quizzes in history about the succession lines of international leaders to doubt him. I just wondered how many of the leaders actually died or retired the way the books had said.
I slipped my hand into my pocket and traced my fingers over the pendant. “Inese said that you think the leaders’ pendants have special abilities.”
Jim nodded. “They do. Before the Community, artifacts were enchanted to hold special properties. Rings, charms, necklaces... Anything which permits skin contact. Some of the more powerful artifacts were a set of five necklaces known as the Elizabeth pendants.”
Elizabeth?
The pendant weighed heavy in my pocket, its hooks and loops pressing into my thigh. I traced the jewel. A few scratches nicked the emerald’s surface, and the pebbly brass back felt warm to my touch. It seemed unlikely that something could be enchanted like the things in Jack’s video games, but with everything I’d seen yesterday, it no longer seemed so implausible.
“What do the pendants do?”
“A friend of mine from the early days—Clara—said that when the five pendants were brought together in close proximity, time slowed for those nearby. The pendants could boost powers. Prior to leaving the Camaraderie, they were used on her. She could portal hundreds of miles without breaking a sweat, so long as she used a portal ring. The pendants are incredible tools, and we have tried several times to get our hands on them, without success. The Camaraderie started wearing them in public just to taunt us.”
My hands were clammy as I removed the necklace from my pocket and let the pendant drop from my wrist. It dangled on its chain, glinting in the lamp’s yellow light. Jim’s eyes widened. He yanked out a splintery desk drawer, fiddled with its contents until he retrieved a magnifying glass, and then flipped the pendant between his fingers.
“How did you get this?”
“I took it from Lady Winters when I thought she was dead,” I said quietly. “She betrayed the Community.”
Jim stared at me a long moment. He clucked his tongue. “The Camaraderie will want this back. Tell Pops what you have found, and I will research this further.” Half a dozen books lifted from the bookshelves and flew to his desk.
“Sure. By the way, would you happen to have an extra necklace chain?”
He frowned. “What for?”
Heat flooded my cheeks. I’d never been fond of identity charms, but I wanted to keep the one I’d found. I pulled the charm from my pocket and handed it to Jim.
“This was on Lady Winters’ necklace. If I’m going to keep going on missions, I want a reminder that people like her exist.”
Jim floated the charm from my hand and it hovered centimeters from his nose. “Beautiful craftsmanship,” he murmured. “No sign of a tracker, so it should be safe. I wonder...” The charm settled inside his cupped palm. He closed his eyes, breathing softly.
Jenna? Can you hear me?
I nearly jumped out of my chair before I realized the voice was his. He opened his eyes and flipped the charm between his fingers. “Been a while since I used one of these.”
“It’s an artifact?”
He nodded and returned the charm. “Telepathy. I used to have a ring that functioned in the same manner. Skin contact. The charm should be safe, but be careful to test how strong the enchantment is before you use it.”
I shuddered. After my experience with Lady Winters, I had no desire to experiment with telepathy. “I just want a reminder of the mission.”
“As you wish.” After a moment of sorting through the odds and ends in his desk, he offered me a ball chain strand. “Will this work?”
I scuffed my shoe against the fringes of the rug, embarrassed but pleased. The chain itself was old, but the tarnished metal diminished the glamour of the jeweled charm. A twinge of satisfaction snaked through me. I slid the charm over the chain, and then under my shirt.
“Thanks.” I left Jim to his research as he murmured about why Lady Winters might need a telepathy artifact.
I frowned. Why did she need a telepathy charm?
Outside Jim’s office, Pops’ voice echoed from the command room. “...I’m not sure these stones are worth our time. We can keep this one safe because the locals asked us to, but I don’t think we should try collecting the other stones.”
I peered through the door. The giant windows at the far edge of the room streamed in the bright, sunny sky, and fluffy clouds blanketed the airship. Inside, Crush stood at the console. A map of the jungle covered the screen, split apart by the translations Tim recorded and a photograph of the stone artifact sitting on some kind of altar. Dust spots covered the image, as if the picture had been taken with a poorly lit flash.
“The Camaraderie’s making such a big deal about these stones, they could be special,” Crush said, gesturing to the photo. “Tim has data suggesting time travel, and the Maya were pretty protective of the thing. Not to mention—how often does the Camaraderie send Great White after a stone?”
Pops sighed. “I doubt the Camaraderie believes in a time traveling stone. The locals didn’t see any sign of Master Matoska until Gwen showed up.”
“Maybe not, but there were mercenaries in the area.”
“Probably looking to make a fast buck.” Pops rubbed his forehead, then waved Crush of the notion before he could protest. “How’s Gwen doing?”
Crush’s shoulders slouched and he closed the documents. “She’s not tossing as much. Been trying to remove the damage Brainmaster did. Blasted telepath—if Gwen weren’t a life-spirit user, she’d have broke.”
The warm metal of the charm pressed against my collarbone, a firm reminder of Lady Winters’ betrayal. She was the Head of Efficiency. She should have been using her powers to find flaws in how people work, not to torture them.
Crush froze in the middle of grabbing a glass of orange juice from the console. “Did you hear that?”
“Yes.” Pops frowned and tapped his cane. “Almost like someone was broadcasting their dislike for Lady Winters.” He glanced my direction and I ducked behind the door. I hadn’t meant to use the charm. Was it really that easy?
Pops cleared his throat. “Jenna?”
I peeked in, my hands shaking. “I—Jim said I should tell you that I stole Brainmaster’s pendant.”
“Her pendant?” Crush asked.
“Jim called it an Elizabeth pendant.”
Crush choked on a swig of his orange juice. He coughed and smacked himself in the chest. “That pendant?”
Pops’ eyes grew wide and his mouth moved to form words, but he didn’t say anything for a really, really long moment. Finally— “You stole an Elizabeth pendant.” He didn’t sound like he believed me.
I fidgeted. “Jim’s looking into it.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And you have telepathy, how?”
I pulled the charm out from under my shirt.
“Where did you get that?”
“Lady Winters.”
He snorted and shook his head. “Jack’s right. You should be training with Inese. But if Jim’s correct and you stole one of the Elizabeth pendants, the Camaraderie won’t be far behind.”
“What’s going on?” Inese stood behind me in the doorway. “I could’ve sworn I heard someone telepathically—”
Crush pointed at me. “Apparently Jenna stole an Elizabeth pendant and a telepathy artifact from Brainmaster, and Pops wants you to give her lessons.”
Inese squinted at me. “In telepathy?”
“No—the ‘sneaky spy stuff,’ ” Pops said.
Inese wiped her forehead as if she were relieved. “Ah, good. ’Cause I’m not a telepath. But why would Brainmaster want a telepathy charm? Not like it’d do her any good if she was shielded.”
“No idea. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with Jim. Jenna—” He gave me a pointed look. “Be careful with that thing.”
I winced. “I don’t plan on using it.”
“What you plan to do and what you do are two different things.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled, ducking my eyes from his scowl. All I wanted was a stupid reminder.
“And what you’ve got is trouble,” Inese retorted. I stared at her. I hadn’t said—
“Now stop worrying about the shiny. We’ve got work to do.”
“Work to do?” I stared at Inese as she sized me up.
“Jack keeps telling me I should train you, and since Pops now agrees, you’re in for a treat.” Her eyes glinted mischievously, and she removed a set of pointed metal picks from her pocket.
“What are—”
“Lock picks. They won’t work on electronic doors, but you may have some use for them. I’ve got a set of locks downstairs you can practice on.”
While I had been planning on reading Pops’ notes, instead I spent the next several hours trying to pick a set of mechanical locks in the engine room while not getting a head full of increasingly accented curses from Inese while she tried to fix the broken dryer.
