MOST DAYS, A NICE RIDE ON the Harley cleared his head, allowed his mind to breathe, but the explosion at Cassidy’s paper put a crimp in that plan. Still, something useful came of the trip. Dev mulled over the shipping information and potential ramifications on his way to report in.
Cassidy wanted to come along, but the bleak look in her eyes spoke volumes. So, when he offered to take care of the debrief with Stillman, she didn’t put up much of a fuss. With a tired wave, she moseyed off in the direction of Dronor’s old room and, he suspected, the pool.
Voices drifted out of Stillman’s office. Out of respect, Dev waited in the hall. The Precept’s voice was obvious, but he’d never heard the second one. Male. Older. Worn out. A lot like Stillman’s. Curiosity overrode his sense of decorum and he strained to make out the words.
“I lost another one, Brother.”
Stillman. His words spoken in pain, but from grief or a sense of failure, Dev didn’t know. “I did not see this coming.”
Brother?
“You cannot be expected to see everything, Cernusen. No man has that power, not even one of us.” The other voice was eerily similar to Stillman’s.
Stillman brushed off the other’s comment. “I know, but I’m blind to their games. Shadow has been a step ahead the entire time.”
“Perhaps living underground and out of touch with the modern world has hurt you, Cernusen. At least you saw enough to put a Knight on the ground where Shadow would surface.”
“There is that.”
A light exhale tickled Dev’s ear, as if someone at his side whispered an intimate secret, accompanied by the aroma of a coal-fueled fire and roasting almonds. The feather-light touch sent a chill across his shoulders and his skin prickled, but a quick scan of the hall showed no one about.
“Ears in the hall, my brother. Farewell.”
Dev took that as his cue and strode in like he’d just pounded down the hall and snapped to attention. Stillman was alone.
“Sir.”
“How much did you hear, Knight of Flame?”
“Sir? I came to report on Cassidy and my findings this afternoon.”
Dev bore Stillman’s suspicion stoically. His mind was a tempest of unanswered question, but he held his tongue until given leave to speak.
Stillman settled back. “What did you find?”
“At least a hundred shipments were scheduled from the Port yesterday containing a large quantity of insulation.”
Fingers steepled, Stillman tapped his chin as he absorbed the data.
“No direct reference to perlite or the orbs,” Dev finished his thought.
“I highly doubt Gray would list the orbs on his shipping manifests.” Stillman stood, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked to the other side of the desk. “Where were the shipments bound?”
“From what we can tell, Sir, all over the country.”
“That could mean millions will die.”
“Unless we stop him,” Dev said.
“Unless we…of course, of course, unless we stop him.” Stillman echoed Dev’s thought. With an abrupt turn, he changed topic. “We have unfinished business, do we not?”
“Sir?”
“Drop the pretense, Knight of Flame.” The old man faced Dev. “You have questions about my daughter’s death. I saw it when you came back with her in your arms.”
Unprepared for this topic, Dev paused to gather his thoughts. Yes, he did have questions, but the rage that first accompanied them had diminished upon seeing Stillman’s devastation.
“My power is both gift and curse.” Stillman filled the silence. “The visions I see tell of a possible future, not an absolute. From each one I separate the grains of import from the chaff of the improbable to formulate our strategies. Not everything is known to me. In fact, very little is made clear.”
Old news, old man.
Remembering the recognition and acceptance on Stillman’s face when he walked through the gateway with Wren’s body in his arms rekindled Dev’s anger. Not in the mood for a long philosophical discussion, Dev jumped to the point.
“Did you know Wren would die on that mission?”
Stillman sighed. “Yes and no. I saw the possibility of her death. I also saw the possibility of Cyndralla’s and Magnus’s deaths as well. Nothing is ever certain. Events twist in the wake of a decision made.”
“But you could have stopped her, could have kept her here and safe.” Dev sensed the truth in Stillman’s explanation, but he didn’t want to let him off the hook.
Stillman laughed, a rich sound tinged with equal parts amusement and sadness. “Come now, Develor Quinteele. She was one of us, accepted the risks as we all do. My forcing her to stay would have destroyed her spirit as effectively as that creature of Shadow.”
“Heh. I guess you’re right.” Dev tried to picture Stillman giving Wren that order and couldn’t keep a small, sad smile from crossing his face. “She wouldn’t have taken it well.”
“That’s putting it mildly, my boy. She was always a willful child. I will miss her terribly.” The old man turned away, but not before Dev saw the tears form in his tired eyes.
“So will I.” Dev reached out to put his hand on Stillman’s shoulder, but hesitated. He’d never touched the Precept in anything other than an official capacity, and didn’t know how his gesture would be received.
Screw it. Dev grasped Stillman’s shoulder and almost jumped when the Precept laid his hand on top of Dev’s and squeezed—a simple gesture of shared grief that brought tears to the Knight of Flame’s eyes.
“Oh, I have additional news.” His voice husky, Stillman strode to his desk and unrolled a long sheet of parchment. “A message came a little while ago. Evidently in a press conference this morning, Gray announced that his company has deployed a new vermin control system across the Tampa Bay area to combat the insect infestation.”
Dev frowned. “He deployed the orbs.”
“So it would seem. He also said that the people should expect to see a dramatic difference within twenty four hours.”
“That doesn’t give us much time.” Dev ground his teeth in frustration.
“There’s more.” Stillman grinned, a nasty, sly piece of work that piqued Dev’s curiosity. “The last part of the press conference was an invitation of sorts. Gray mentioned that if his competitors had a better way to deal with the vermin, they should meet him in his office tonight.”
“The bastard called us out.” Dev’s imagined his own grin a mirror to that of Stillman’s.
“That’s the way I see it.”
“Of course, it would be rude for us to turn him down.” Dev’s fire woke at the prospect of avenging his little sister.
“Indeed.” Stillman spun about, the color returned to his face and the spark to his brown eyes. “Get Magnus and meet me in the Womb. I’ll be there after I check on Cyndralla’s progress.”
Dev wondered if he should grab Cassidy on the way, but settled on Magnus reasoning that if Stillman wanted her involved, he would have mentioned her by name.
Excitement buzzing inside, he jogged to his brother’s room.
It’s about time.