Pale: 6.5 - Avery
Author: Wildbow

Cutting Class – 6.5 | Pale

Avery walked laps around the table as Verona laid down the papers she’d scribbled on and illustrated, even throwing the occasional paper so it would settle in an empty spot.

“Here’s what I’m thinking,” Verona said.  “My thoughts about Lucy’s implement.”

“Scissors?” Avery asked.

“No,” Verona said.  “Ugh.  Look.”

Avery did, pausing midway through her circuit around the table to read closer.

She looked up as Verona put some music on, using her phone speaker.  It wasn’t a high quality phone, and the music suffered a good bit for that.  She reached into her bag, got a little case, and popped it open to retrieve a bit of glamour.  Avery was thoroughly distracted from what was in the notes as she watched Verona draw a circle of ‘c’ shapes around the phone, elaborating at eight points with flourishing, symmetrical, radiating lines.

The sound quality of the music improved.  It sounded like indie rock or alternative or something.

“Here I walked out from the waves…” the singer sang, amid the synthesized droplet sounds of the opening.

“It’s a playlist Lucy gave me,” Verona said.  “I figured it makes sense to have in the background.”

“Into this soundless, frozen rave…

“When did you learn how to draw that diagram?”

“This world tells me I should behave…

“The practice tends to trust you if you trust it.  What’s the worst that happens, with this?”

“I dunno.  Break your phone?”

“Cold and shaking, I feel brave…  brave…

The instrumentals took over.

“It’s all lines pointing out.  Nothing directed at the phone.  I’m betting that the worst that happens is the battery gets drained.  But I did these squiggly lines like Eloise said to do connection stuff, and I used glamour because it’s more about aesthetic, see?  Bam.  Works.”

“Was this during possession class, Verona?”

“Some.  I kept an ear out, don’t worry.  I wouldn’t let myself get too distracted from a class about magic.”

“Faceless crowds and concrete facades…

“Buried anger and arrogant frauds…

“I walk among it all at odds…!”

“You didn’t decide on a shape?”

“Three big ideas, based on this morning’s notes.”

Avery moved papers to where she could see the writing right-side up.

“Human seas to empty cities, when does it even end?“

“I’m so at odds, does this even… end?“

The first was a lantern.  The second was a bracelet, or a bangle.

Considering she had an older sister and a fashionable ex-best friend, Avery didn’t know a lot about jewelry or any of that.

More instrumentals played from the phone, augmented by the circle.

“I thought, uh, like if you undid it, there could be a hinge, right?  And she could throw it down like we can do with certain summons, speed up that transmutation of herself to this badass glamour fighter.  Or whatever she wants to be.”

“I would worry about the implications of two white girls giving a black girl a shackle.”

“Not a shackle, a torc.  Or a bracelet.”

“Keep in mind, Ronnie,” Avery said, “she has this for the rest of her life.  If it’s the sort of thing you have to explain, she has to explain it over and over…”

“I was lost and scarcely found…

“It was my least favorite idea anyway, and I’ll defer to either of you on questions of discrimination and stuff,” Ronnie said.  “Which brings us to my third idea.”

“I was home but hardly ’round…

Verona pushed some papers in the middle of the table toward Avery.  There were multiple pages, breaking it down in design, components…

“I was free yet tightly bound…

“Scissors?” Avery asked.

Verona reached into her collar and pulled out the scissors.  She put them on the table.  “As a material.”

The music picked up, intense now.

“I won’t be led this astray…!
“I’m not gonna go your way…!
“I’m not gonna go your way…!
“I won’t be led this astray…!

“I don’t know how you can carry those like that.”

“It’s not so bad.  So what we’d do is take out the pin in the center.  That leaves us with the handle and blade.  Which we then reshape into the handles for the lantern, the length of the bangle, or the upper length.”

“In this lonely crowd and silence loud…!
“I won’t be going your way…!
“I’m not gonna be led astray…!

“And using your thing.  And Lucy gets something from each of us, that helps her be her.”

“I’m not gonna go your way…!
“I won’t be led this astray…!

“What do I give her?” Avery asked.  “You have the scissors, I just have a photo.”

“I have ideas,” Verona said.

“In this lonely crowd and silence loud!

“Are there issues with the use of the stuff from awakening?”

“I asked Mrs. Graubard about it, and it’s not like using the scissors in awakening make them some huge weakpoint in me.  You can do just about whatever with your photo and it’s not going to have a huge impact on your practice.”

“My feet are battered from these lonesome roads…

“But it’s symbolic, and I like the idea of using our stuff to make something for her,” Verona said.

“My heart is tattered from these ancient codes…

“How do I give her something like that from a photo?  You need… glass for the lantern?”

“And gemstones, studs, or some other decoration, and/or wire.”

“You are our future, sayeth the old…

“As the young are left out in the cold…

“Some possibilities came up in enchantment class.  Want to make a night of it?”

“I’m not gonna go your way…!
“I won’t be led this astray…!

“Workshop slots are taken up for most of the day.  But if you’re interested, we could try for one of the time slots later this week.  There are some restrictions on noise, because some students sleep nearby, but…”

“What do you want to do?” Avery asked, nervous.

“That magic thing where some girl got turned into a repeatedly murdered bunny?”

“I bet we’re way more awesome than she is.”

“I…” Avery started.  She shook her head.

“Consider it?” Verona asked.

“Sure.  It’s worth checking with Lucy about the process.  Maybe she talked to Ray and figured out what implement she wants.”

“Could be.  I can’t think of many things where we couldn’t incorporate something fundamental from us into it.”

“I’m not gonna go your way…!

Avery nodded, thinking about it.  She pulled the photo out of her wallet.  A bit worse for wear.

“I won’t be led this astray…!

“We have, like, five minutes.  I’m thinking,” Verona said.  “Want to give it a light tempering?  Get rid of some of the crap, clear the way for later?”

“In this lonely crowd and silence loud!

Avery rubbed the photo with her thumb.

“It’ll make it more durable.”

“I’m so at odds, does this even… end?“

Avery nodded.  “Walk me through it.”

“For sure.  We’ll check to see we have the tools and stuff we need, if we have time.”

“Possession class was a lot of what we already knew, but there were some good fundamentals,” Verona said.  “Everything takes up space.  Where it gets tricky is that there are a lot of things where Others will get their hooks into major parts of you.  They can take your body, sometimes, but not your face.  So their face will change over time.”

“There’s that Single White Female doppleganger,” Avery noted.

“I looked it up.  That’s an old movie.  Single white female seeks same,” Lucy said.

“Yeahhh, like that.  Taking over your life and then getting rid of you, but I don’t think their face and hair change,” Verona said.  “Then you have the Jockeys, which we heard about before, from a person I won’t name…”

“And in Famulus,” Lucy said.  “It’s a danger you have to take into consideration if you’re going to tie yourself to Others or invite them in.”

“I wonder if there’s a house jockey,” Verona mused.  “A ‘failure to launch’ Other who moves in and doesn’t move out.”

“There is,” Tymon said, walking behind them.  “There’s a whole group of Others who invade human spaces like that.  We’ve got a group of ’em at home, they’re a quote-unquote ‘family’ that finds ways into people’s houses and live in the walls, back of closets, and vents.  Thin, twisted people, creep out at night and silently eat food, use toothbrushes, wash themselves at the sink.  The Other kid would be awake under the bed while the house’s kid slept, creep out to play with the human kid’s toys in silence, then finish the night by urinating on the bed to make the kid think they’d done it.  I won’t get into details, but we had to bind one that nearly killed an old guy by being really unhygenic about it, to protect people.”

“Why?” Lucy asked.   “Just… why?”

“Because monsters reflect our anxieties.  Anxiety creates vulnerability, and with all the varied, basic types of Other out there, something’s going to find it’s a near-enough fit for that point of weakness.  Then they evolve to fit further.”

“Bweh,” Lucy made a sound.

“What do you even do about that sort of thing?” Avery asked.

“Embrace it,” Snowdrop said.  “Strip naked, go live in the walls, eat food like a proper scavenger.”

“I didn’t say they were naked,” Tymon said.

“I did, though,” Snowdrop told him.

“Some were naked, but… beside the point.  Sorry to interrupt, just wanted to throw in that ‘yep, it’s a thing’.”

“Which class are you taking?” Lucy asked.

“We were thinking one of us should go catch the Scourging class, maybe we’ll rock-paper-scissors for it,” Lucy told him.

“You’re sharing notes?” Tymon asked.

“Yeah.  For sure,” Lucy told him.

“You know, you don’t have to be in a rush.  There’s four more years.  A lot of students take the same class twice, because it’ll get taught by different teachers.”

“Feels like there’s a bit of a rush,” Avery told him.  “Catching up, being ready in case something happens.”

“Something?” Tymon asked.

“This?  What’s happening at this school?”

“I don’t think it’s that bad.”

“You might have just jinxed it, Leos,” one of Tymon’s friends said.

Some students were still eating the last of their lunches or brought drinks with them as they got settled in the big classroom.

Another class with Mr. Bristow.  Avery winced.  But this class was about coup and claim.  Their ability to deal with Bristow, ironically, depended on what he was now teaching.

A faint murmur made Avery turn her head.

Alexander walked down the aisle between the rows of benches.  With more agility than a middle-aged guy typically displayed, he stepped up onto the wooden lip at the front of the stage, then onto the stage, all in one smooth motion.  He turned, facing them.

“Where’s Mr. Bristow?” a girl asked.

“Mr. Bristow is preoccupied.  He ran into a spot of trouble on the road,” Alexander said, standing there with hands in his pockets.  He’d rolled up the sleeves of his linen shirt, which he wore without a tie, and wore business slacks with nice shoes.  A bit of his hair had fallen across his forehead.  Almost a polar opposite to the huffing, sweating Bristow.  He smiled.  “I’ll take over his class, this afternoon.”

There was some more murmuring.  It was more than Avery might have expected.

She turned, watching, as benches squeaked.  Some students stood.  It wasn’t many, but it was a few.

Kass, Jarvis, Silas, Maddox, and Daniella.

“In our school rules, we do ask you not leave a class once it’s started.”

“It hasn’t started,” Jarvis said.

“It has, from the moment I stood up here and the class fell silent, listening.”

“Nah,” Jarvis said, but he didn’t sound sure.

The group of five passed through the front door of the school.  The room was deathly silent as they went.  They’d chosen their team and they were committed to it.

“What did I tell you?” Tymon’s friend whispered, and the whisper sounded weirdly loud, considering the mood.  Tymon scoffed, barely audible.

The door swung closed behind them.  It didn’t bang, but there was a bit of wind that rolled across the room.

Mr. Belanger titled his head to one side, apparently looking out the window at the departing students, who made their way to the other classroom.  There was some shuffling as students turned.

“Stay seated,” Alexander said.

Students that were rising from their benches to move to a better vantage point sat back down.

“Mr. Sunshine doesn’t like late arrivals and locked the door.  More’s the pity,” Alexander said, smiling like he was enjoying himself.  “Now, class had begun, and we’ll continue.  Let’s quickly go over the terms.  Coup, claim, ownership, inheritance, all things rooted in possessions.  If you took the possession class this morning, you’ll have heard some of this come up.  They matter if you care about keeping ownership of your body, and these are things you’ll use regularly, even if you aren’t-”

The front door rattled as the five students tried to get in.

“Oh, is it locked?  If the side doors to the school are locked as well, they’ll have to occupy themselves outside all afternoon.”

There were some light laughs from the assembled class.

“It’s petty, isn’t it?  Counting coup.  If you have a claim to something, it finds its way to you because you have more right to it.  In contested ownership, two or more people have a claim and they play their game of tug of war.  If you count coup against someone, you find those petty moments, or the subtle ways you can undermine their claim to something, and effectively increase your own claim.  Each win a tug in your direction.  Even if you simply attack their character, if you score any wins at all, well… life rewards winners.”

Avery looked back.  One of the students was peering in the window.  Nicolette, Chase, Seth, and Wye were at the back, near the entrances to the hallways.  She guessed they’d locked the other doors.

“This is practitioner fundamentals, but not in the same way learning about spirits might be.  We all want things.  We, practitioners and Others, tend to find ourselves at odds.  Consciously or not, we start noticing these trends and we start using this.  But if you learn about it you can protect yourself and you can hurt your enemies.  Now…”

Alexander reached into a pocket, and withdrew a slip of paper.  It had gold tracing at the edges, catching in the blue-ish light from the windows.

“…Our prize for today’s lesson.  The holder of this slip may decide which of the seven Faerie courts we visit in next week’s field trip.  Please remain seated, don’t disrupt the class, and refrain from any practice.  Earning this slip is a practical exercise in claim.  Coup?  Well, don’t disrupt the class.”

“That would be useful if we wanted insights into certain Faerie courts,” Avery whispered to Lucy.  Lucy nodded.

“Tell me, what are some fundamental ways one could count coup?” Alexander asked, holding the slip.  “Yes, Tymon?”

“Gainsaying,” Tymon said.

“Good,” Alexander said, pointing the slip of paper at him.

Lucy’s hand went up.  Alexander pointed the slip at her.

“Forswearing,” Lucy said.

“That, Ms. Ellingson, is a winner take all situation.  But the unwary can just as easily lose it all,” Alexander said, maintaining a slight smile.  “Be very careful.”

Avery held back from saying ‘drop a demesne on it’.  Which would have been really unwise.

As if he was reading her mind, he smiled, a bit lopsided, in a way that almost made a wink, waving the ticket their way.

Like he was saying ‘good, point for staying silent’.

“Punch them in the nose?” Hadley Hennigar called out.

“Do raise your hand, but yes.”

“And punching them in the throat?”

“I’m only going to count the one case of physical violence.  Anyone else?”

A hand went up.  “You said undercutting them verbally.”

“Yes.  Verbal attacks as well as physical.  Attacks on reputation, finances, family, connections,” Alexander said.  “But these things can be subtle.  You may be left wondering how much of a difference it really made.  So tell me, how can you secure it, or better tie them together?”

Hands were going up all over the room, now.

“Rule of three,” Verona said.  “Driving it in three times.”

“Declare your intentions.”

“Very good, yes.  Swear you’ll get something and the spirits will be watching closer for each punch in the throat, verbal retort, and gainsaying.  Each will land with more emphasis.  Of course, there’s a risk there.  What if I have something, such as this ticket?  How do I keep it?  Fernanda.”

“Don’t engage?” Fernanda asked.

“You jumped straight to the example I was going to use to lead into my next part.  Okay, what happens if I don’t engage?  What if I walked out of the classroom now, went to my office, and took a nap?  Anyone?”

There weren’t a lot of eager answers.

“You’d ask, wouldn’t you?” he asked.  “Who wins?  What happens?  And there would be sentiments that one person or another would deserve it, with pressure for me to deliver.  You can hold off.  You can protect your possessions and hoard them away.  You can hide, withdraw, and your opponent can try to count coup or build up a claim in your absence.  It won’t do them much good.”

He hopped down to the floor below the stage and then walked down the aisle.  “There’s a drawback to this.  A weakness.  Anyone?  Any guesses?  Phrase it as a question if you’re not sure, but even a wrong answer is worth some credit.  To try and to fail is worth more than not trying at all.  If nothing else, it reminds the spirits you exist and you’re relevant.”

The chubby boy leaned out into the aisle to be seen.  “Is it that you can’t hide forever?”

“Theoretically, you could hide indefinitely, in many cases.  But it’s not a bad answer.”

Avery tried to picture it.  Having something she wanted, holding onto it, hiding…

Playing keep-away.  She knew of a relevant example.  Her hand went up at the same time Fernanda’s did.

“Avery Kelly,” Alexander said.  “I saw your hand too, Fernanda, hold on.”

“Is it that when you take your shot, it might be for nothing if they’ve cornered you?”

“Alright, and Fernanda?”

“Same answer, different wording.”

“Then credit to you both.  Yes, when you emerge from hiding or when you want to use what you’ve claimed, that may be the pivotal moment that claim matters.  Everything can slip from your grasp at once.  The spirits do like their drama.”

Avery sketched on her notebook, scribbling out a square, then ‘end of summer’.  She nudged Lucy, who looked over.

If they wanted that collection of the Carmine Beast’s fur and meat, then maybe there was a way to it.  Little wins, counted up, reinforced, then put into effect.

She paused, as she wrote.

Then she added another note: ‘Works both ways’.

Whether it was Matthew or Maricica, or even Charles, the culprit had to know about some of this stuff.  Matthew and Charles had been practitioners, and Maricica had been around long enough.

Were they slowly building up that claim and coup even now, while Avery and her friends were busy trying to catch up?

“Let us pause for a second,” Alexander said, as his pacing took him back to the stage.  He leaned back against it, holding the ticket high.  “Take stock.  Who’s winning?  Who has more claim, now?”

“Being bold and clear counts for something,” Alexander said, twinkle in his eye.  “What about our three wild practitioners, hm?”

“Wait wait wait,” Erasmus said, standing.  “Why-?”

“Sit sit sit,” Alexander said.  “Manners.  And raise your hands.

Erasmus raised his hand.  Alexander nodded.

“Why do they get counted together?”

“Why indeed?  Because groups can claim more easily than individuals can, if those groups are unified, and those three are,” Alexander said, looking like he was having too much fun.

There were murmurs across the room as students started whispering alliances.

Avery was very aware that they’d had some vague plans to send one of them to Mr. Sunshine’s class to learn some of that stuff.  But they’d stayed, because Alexander had had their attention from the get-go, and they’d wanted to see what happened next.

“Which court are you going with?” Fernanda asked.

“I’m thinking of three courts,” Verona said, holding the ticket.  “We could be swayed.”

“Or you could sell it,” Fernanda said.

“To you?” Lucy asked.

“To whoever.  That’s what I was going to do.  I’ve seen a lot of the Faerie Courts myself, already.”

“Well, we’ll consider it.  I think we have until next week.”

“Until the end of the weekend, please!” Alexander raised his voice at the back of the group, as they filed away.  “We have to reach out and make arrangements.”

Avery, walking backwards so she could face Lucy, Verona, and Fernanda while they talked, met his eyes and nodded.

The class had ended and they were all going their separate ways.  The five kids who’d been shut out of classes were gone, and others were off to relax, get food, use the washrooms, with the washrooms closest to the main classroom getting claimed first, and just stretching their legs.

Lucy unnecessarily steered Avery around to keep her from bumping into Talos and make sure she knew where she was stepping as she reached the stairs.  Snowdrop was already watching her back, for one thing, and she did have the Zoomtown boon, which was a minor thing that made it easier to steer clear of the masses.

“I think I’m going to go put on a swimsuit and swim in the river until it’s time to eat,” Fernanda declared, loud.  “Who’s with me?”

It looked like a lot of boys were making sudden, silent changes of plan, too.

Which was fair, considering it was a dry heat right now, and it felt twice as hot since they’d been inside.  Avery’s skin prickled, and she closed her eyes for a second, thinking about a hard swim.  It would be so nice.  Except for the Fernanda part.

“You’re into it,” Verona whispered, bumping her shoulder into Avery’s arm.

“Fernanda?  Really?”

“No,” Avery said.  “A swim would be great though.”

“A swim with Fernanda.  I thought Lucy was giving you a hard time about your taste in girls-”

“Well, like, Avery’s big, older crush,” Lucy protested.  “That was a little weird.”

“But Fernanda?” Verona asked, crowding Avery.

“So you weren’t thinking about Fernanda?”

“-Not that way.  The opposite of that way.”

“I think Fernanda and Avery would make a good pair,” Snowdrop said, looking off to the side, as Fernanda flounced off with Laila and a few other girls and boys trailing after.

“Snowdrop, honey,” Avery said.  “I know you’ve got your rule about how you talk, but no.  Don’t take Verona seriously.”

“We’ve got other plans, anyway.”

“Thank you, yes,” Avery said.  “When I was thinking about swimming, it was with regret that we have those other plans.  And also regret that Fernanda would be swimming too.”

“We’ll have to figure out which workshop Jessica’s ritual is being held in.  I think Alexander’s showing up, so once he’s done answering questions, we can go with,” Lucy said.

“Yeah,” Avery agreed, craning her head to see, as they stood in front of the stairs to the school.  Students were spreading out, some heading to workshops, others to the field and picnic tables.  More were inside, weirdly, on this nice summer day.  “This’ll be interesting, at least.”

“Still a bummer you won’t get your swim with Fernanda,” Lucy said.

“Uuuuuuugh,” Avery said, clutching Lucy’s shirt, shaking her a bit.

“You kinda deserve worse, after messing with Jer,” Verona told her.

‘You did.  And it bummed him out a bit, I think, even if it helped.  And that sucks,” Verona said.  There was no humor in her voice, now.  “I don’t have a ton of people I don’t mind being around.  You pulling that stunt with my phone, that made it harder with him, not better.”

“That wasn’t what I intended.’

“Sure,” Verona said.  She seemed to get less emotional as she talked.  “I know.  But it sucked and it sucks, really.  I just want to say… I’m joking with you now and I’m trying not to think about it while I keep things light, but I’m just getting more… it sucks, Ave.”

“Maybe take five?” Lucy asked.  “I can talk to Avery.  Or I can keep you company.”

“Nah,” Verona said.  “I don’t want to miss anything.”

Avery sighed.  She looked between Verona and Lucy, and digested that, before giving her most sincere, insufficient, “Sorry.”

She wished she was better with words, to be able to elaborate on that.

“Good,” Verona said.  “Then apology accepted.”

“I only wanted to-” Avery started, but Verona scrunched up her face.

Verona shook her head, already messy hair getting a bit messier with the motion.  “Let’s not keep talking about it.  You apologized, I accepted.  Now I want to forget it happened.”

Avery was a little caught off guard by the sudden change in direction, and floundered silent.

“We know these buildings are occupied, right?  They have projects ongoing.  And then this one gets some use, and Ray taught in this one?” Verona asked, speaking aloud as she walked off.

“Only one of the buildings doesn’t smell like meat,” Snowdrop declared, following Verona.  “There weren’t a lot of animals around.”

“Which one?” Verona asked.  “I would’ve thought the wards that kept bugs out would keep bears from wandering on campus.”

“Yeah!” Snowdrop said, “They use wards to screen out the little stuff and then catch the occasional bear for sacrifices and junk.”

The two walked off a bit.

“Just go with it,” Lucy said.

“I really didn’t mean anything bad.”

“I know.  Me either, and she let me off the hook when I joked about it too.  But… go with it.”

“You’ve got your semi-secretive thing with Verona later this week, right?”

“Don’t worry about it.  Verona’s weirdly easygoing about some big stuff, and intense about little stuff.  But she said she accepts your apology.”

“I don’t, though, I’m not sure I’m over feeling bad about it,” Avery said.  “It’s like, you’ve got your thing going, and you’re so close, and…”

She lifted her hands and dropped them.

Lucy started to say something.

“Am I intruding?” Nicolette interrupted, as she approached.

Avery tried to decide, then shook her head.

“A bit,” Lucy said.  “But we can go over it later.”

“Seems like Durocher is a bit pleased with you three, Alexander finds you amusing, and Raymond likes you in his odd way,” Nicolette said.  “Some of the more ambitious students might pick up on it, if you keep going this route.”

Lucy frowned.  “We wanted to remain neutral.  Getting too much into their good books isn’t great.”

“Neutral?  You mean Alexander and Bristow?”

“I don’t think such a thing exists.”

“We can try to get close, right?”

Jessica, Zed, and Brie were on their way over too.  Alexander was at the door, surrounded by students who were vying for his favor.  He seemed to be happy with it.

“Hi,” Avery greeted the other three, as they got closer.

Jessica ignored her, walking past.

It felt like getting punched, smack dab in the middle of the chest.

“She’s preoccupied,” Brie said, gently, as she stopped at Avery’s side.  “This is huge for her, her head’s somewhere else entirely.”

Avery shook her head a bit.

She’d had some nightmares, long enough ago she couldn’t remember the particulars, but it had been something like her finally trying to reach out to classmates and get outside her bubble, and they’d just ignored her, and things had gotten darker and more and more like she was drowning with every attempt.

“We did some of the setup while you guys were in class,” Zed said.  “Machines, used lasers to map out the diagram.  It’s pretty great.  Just watch your step as you get inside.”

“Verona will be psyched,” Lucy said.

“I think if you put her and Alexander in a room for long enough, they’d end up great friends,” Nicolette said.

“That’s spooky,” Avery said.

“Alexander’s-” Nicolette started, glancing back.  She shook her head.  “Well, my intention was to say they’d appeal to their best parts of each other.  Let’s ignore the negatives.”

“That’s your mentor’s mentor you’re talking about,” Zed said, mock stern.

“You’re one to talk, Zed,” Nicolette said.

“What are you talking about?  Raymond’s great,” Zed retorted.

Nicolette made a rolling hand gesture.

“…With caveats.  You have to get over some initial hurdles.”

“We had a good conversation earlier,” Lucy said.

“He mentioned it.  Didn’t say what about.”

“Good,” Lucy answered.

“You’re so secretive, you three,” Nicolette said.  “If you were a little more boring, you might be able to fly under the radar.  Instead, students keep asking about you.”

“Who’s asking?” Avery asked.

“I should keep confidentiality, but they’re technically Bristow’s.  Yadira’s lot.”

Alexander joined them.  He pushed his hair back out of his face.  “How was the setup?”

“All set up.  Happy with how it came together.  Jessica’s a bundle of nerves.  Not that she’d admit it,” Zed said.

“We should balance the room, placing observers evenly throughout.  Is there space at the perimeter?” Alexander asked.

“Good.  It would be awkward to integrate everyone if they were placed within.  Shall we look?”

“We shall,” Zed said, looking pleased.

Avery felt a touch at one arm.

It was Brie, wearing a white top and pale jeans.  Avery flicked on her Sight, and she could see the crimson lines traced all over her.  Brie’s tattoos were marked out like fingerpaint smudges, all in blood.  Some beaded through her top.  Both of Brie’s legs and one of her hands were soaked crimson, the blood there clotting.

“I wanted to say thank you,” Brie said.

Avery put the Sight away.

“I’m really glad you’re getting along with Zed now,” Brie told her.  “It felt so bad, taking his side when I really did appreciate you saving me that night.  You went all out.”

Avery wasn’t sure how to respond to that sort of thing.

“You’re welcome?” she tried.  Sounded lame.  She looked to Lucy for help, but Lucy was paying attention to things.  Verona and Snowdrop ran over.

“I know we did our end of the deal,” Brie said.  “We sent you power packaged up that’s technically equivalent to your share from the Choir.  But I personally owe you more than that.  I talked to Verona that night, but you- I feel like if I tell you this, I can trust you with it more.”

“That I owe you one, still.  For not letting those- they were goblins?”

“For not letting them kill me or whatever they were going to do.  For getting me out, for saving me that night.  I owe you.  So you can call that in and I’ll do my best.  And I think you’re good enough kids you won’t abuse that.”

“That’s dangerous, I think, in this world,” Avery said, quiet.

“Probably.  But… if we’re going to make this world less dangerous, less awful, doesn’t it start with stuff like this?”

“I’ve got such a long way to go, still,” Brie said, staring at Zed’s back.  Zed was laughing with Nicolette.  “I took too many lives, making it through.  How do you ever fix that?”

“I dunno.  That’s a little crazy heavy for me right now.”

“Me too,” Brie said.  “Right now and every now.”

“Let’s go look after our important people.  Give Jessica some support, how’s that?”

“Let’s,” Avery said.

They approached the isolated building.  It was a nice looking building, if a little chunky, like the big room and adjacent building had been placed down and then they’d conformed the nice looking exterior around it.

Lucy was waiting for her.  She gave Avery a one-armed hug.

“It might be too warm for physical contact,” Avery said.  “Not that I don’t appreciate it.”

“Want me to quit it?”

Snowdrop came around the building and gave her a hug too.

“Want to change to a more convenient size, kid?” Avery asked.

Snowdrop did.  Avery lifted Snowdrop to her shoulder.  A furry opossum that needed to lose weight was its own source of heat, though.  A bit of an issue.

Avery, for her part, hung back.  She pulled out her phone.

She’d asked Sheridan yesterday.

The message on her phone was still Sheridan saying she’d try to find an opportunity to talk to their mom and dad.

That was it.  No explanation, no follow-up, no resolution.

She was really afraid that Sheridan had backed out or gotten bored with the entire thing, returning to being the lazy big sister who didn’t pay attention to the middle child.  Then she’d have to sit on this for the entire summer.

She was even more afraid, in a way so big and intense that she couldn’t articulate it or even wrap her head or gut feeling around it, that Sheridan did care, at least a little.  That it had gone badly, and she didn’t know how to tell Avery.

Snowdrop licked the side of her neck.

“If you tickle me and make me do a full-body shiver I might drop you.”

Snowdrop stuck her claws in just a bit tighter.  Avery poked Snowdrop in the side of the stomach.  “Watch it.”

She took a deep breath, then ascended the stairs.

“Watch your step,” Zed said.

Avery did.  She at least trusted her footing.  She took Lucy’s hand as she made her way around the floor.  Then Nicolette’s.

It was a big room.  The diagram took the shape of an eye set in a circle, backed by a triangle, with a series of spirals radiating out.  At three points, large machines were set within circles, their wires strung straight up through the ceiling.  Within the circle were notations for time.  It looked like two sides of the triangle formed the ‘hands’ for the clock part of the diagram.

Some of the other students from yesterday’s impromptu class in the library showed up.  Fernanda’s older brother Chase was one, crossing the diagram with a casual ease that suggested he’d done it a few times, his arms folded.  There was also Dom’s older sister, Elizabeth.  The Historian.

Jessica, wearing her raincoat, was in the center, kneeling.  Surrounding her were small objects.  A notebook, a bag of rainbow-colored chips, a board with a pattern painted on it, a folded up swimsuit or something.

A ritual to look into the past.

Eloise entered, and took up a spot at one point of the triangle.  She looked around, and Schartzmugel rose up out of her skin to look around, before leaning in close to whisper in her ear.

“Zed?” Alexander asked.

Zed was talking to Nicolette and Brie.  He looked up.

The console was another point of the triangle.  One of the three machines.

Eloise at one, Zed at another, and Jessica at the center.

Seth was a late arrival, and had to travel a three-quarter circle around the room, squeezing past Avery on his way to the open spot.

Avery was more worried about the possibility he might mess with the chalk than she was bothered by the weird and possibly unnecessary squeeze.

“One step to the left, Lucy.  Careful,” Alexander said.

“Good,” Alexander intoned.

The two doors in opposite corners of the square room were open, and light filtered in through the curtains.  A lot of the people present, Alexander included, had a faint shininess to their skin where the light caught it.  Fine beading of sweat.

Avery could only see a bit of Jessica’s face, but it was drawn and tense.  Jessica wasn’t looking at anyone or anything in particular as she sat in the central circle, head hanging, breathing deep.

“Ms. Casabien?” Alexander asked.

“We only get to do this once?” she asked.

“We only need the once.”

“Talk me through it again,” she said.

“You are seeking an echo of your lost cousin.  The echo has strayed, and we want to bring it here.  Three possibilities exist, the first being that it has wandered, the second is that it has been lured away by something or someone, and the third is that it was tainted.  It may be a wraith, specter, or complex spirit now.  We won’t know which it is until it’s here.”

“The ritual looks to the past and conjures up a detail-perfect representation of the moment the echo came to be.  Zed is handling that work, with three machines that can detect various aspects of the past as major structural points to build on.  To the echo, whatever form it takes, this scene will be home.  I’ve known of echoes that were caught up in wraithstorms in the Ruins, caught in orbit around the drain to oblivion and knit together with countless other wraiths.  A grouping too big to be swallowed up.”

“And Rituals weaker than this pulled them free.  In the first case, if he’s wandered too far in, he should find his way here.  Eloise will see to it that the connection is established, regardless.”

“Reeling him in,” Eloise said, from her position.

“If he’s claimed by another, a necromancer or an enemy of yours, Mrs. Casabien, Eloise will handle that as well.  If you’d attended this afternoon’s class on claim-”

“I didn’t fall asleep until six in the morning.  I thought I should sleep if I could and be sharp,” Jessica said.  “I slept through it.”

“Not to worry,” Alexander said.  “If you’d attended you’d know what I mean when I say Eloise will use this ritual to make a claim that is almost certainly stronger than what the person holding onto him is using.”

“And if it’s not, I’ll ask nicely,” Eloise said.  “If they still say no, dear Schartzmugel will reach out along that connection and give them a bit of cancer of the soul, and I’ll mark them so we can find them.  Then we rally up a posse, find them, and get your echo for you.”

Avery looked around, wondering if anyone else was as bothered by that ‘cancer of the soul’ line.  She was glad to see Lucy was frowning.

Jessica was just nodding.

“I would be very surprised if it came to that,” Alexander said.  “I’ve seen nothing to indicate it as a possibility.”

“Reassuring Jessica that the bases are covered,” Eloise said.

“The circle you’re standing within, Ms. Casabien, will bring him to you, once he’s here.  In the event that the echo is not healthy and pristine, Zed will make an adjustment and the dividing line in the middle of the circle will become a barrier.  This is to protect you from him.  Do not panic.  Maintain eye contact.  I and my apprentices will handle the analysis and clarification.”

“We’re good with immaterial things,” Nicolette said.

“Seth?  Chase?  The barrier?”

“Simple barrier around the building,” Chase said.  “Keeping anyone from waltzing in.”

“This is a lot,” Jessica said.

“It is,” Alexander said.  “Best to do it right.”

“I mean… what do I do?  Talk me through that.”

“Stay where you are.  Watch.  Don’t move, don’t panic.  Trust that we have it handled.”

“I don’t- that kind of trust doesn’t come easy.”

“Then try to put us out of your mind.  Focus on your cousin.  Make eye contact, where possible.  Stand firm.  If the barrier divides you, wait.  If not, he’ll come straight to you.  You know how to handle echoes.”

“Are you ready?” Alexander asked.

“I don’t have the power to pay for this ritual,” Jessica said.

“Ms. Casabien.  Jessica,” Alexander said.  He sounded exasperated.  “We discussed this last night.  If your lack of sleep was bad enough you can’t recall maybe we should postpone-”

“I want to hear you say it.  Again.”

“I do have the power expenditure covered,” Alexander said.  “No obligation besides what we discussed.”

“My undying loyalty?”

“Only the usual trust and loyalty you can extend me as a happy student in my school.”

“Why are you doing this, besides that?” Jessica asked.  She still wasn’t looking at him.  “Power doesn’t come easy.”

“Frankly?” Alexander asked.  “I wouldn’t make light of your circumstances or the seriousness of this, but something like this, well crafted, complex, done well?  It’s why I practice.  Whatever roads I travel to get here, this is the sort of endpoint I strive for.”

“This is fun for you.”

“Yes.  I’m sorry, it doesn’t mean I’m taking it any less seriously.  But yes.  I like complexity, interplay, and the games between practitioner and practitioner, or practitioner and Other.”

“I- if you choose to see it that way, you could say that.”

She climbed to a standing position, being careful with the chalk on the floor.  “It’s fine.  If you gave me an answer that wasn’t selfish, I don’t think I’d believe you.”

“Can I ask?” Brie raised her voice.

“This is the time to ask questions,” Alexander said.

“What’s my role?  Or our roles?  On the perimeter.”

“To see what good practice can do.  If you’d keep an eye out for any trouble, that would be appreciated.  And if the echo comes to us as a wraith, a complex spirit, or something in that vein, or if he’s been taken and the owner tries to send something at us to discourage us, you could help.  Under no circumstances are you to destroy him.  Protect yourself and protect the people on either side of you.”

“How do we tell the difference between him and a sending?” Avery asked.

“If it’s him or something in him is there, he’ll go to the center of the room where Ms. Casabien is.  If it’s not, it’s liable to go after Zed or Eloise.  But I really do think it’s less than a one percent chance the echo has been taken, and if that’s the case, less than a one percent chance the person who took it could conjure up an effective sending to challenge us here.”

“Even lower chance they’d make it past me without me deflecting it,” Eloise said.

“Anyone else?” Alexander asked.  “Questions about roles?  About the ritual?”

Avery watched Jessica, who had one hand up at her arm, fingers of her right hand tracing the black and skin-tone ‘loon’ marking on her left arm.  The hand of her left arm dangled, and it trembled a bit.

“Say when, Ms. Casabien.”

Zed threw a switch.  “Machine one.  A death camera, it caught imprints of old echoes.  We tore out the guts and built something more robust, refracting out the images to capture accompanying scenes.  Felt right to use it as the primary delivery mechanism.”

The machine hummed.  The lines on the floor took on a faint glow.

Avery felt the small hairs all over her body stand on end.

The room around them darkened, the sunlight fading like a cloud had passed over the sun.  Dull, blurry images surrounded them, too incoherent to make out, with the same rippling and ‘bleeding’ of the edges that echoes had.

“The campus is protected from minor pests like dull echoes,” Alexander said.  “No pollutants visible.  Reassuring.  Keep going.”

“Machine two.  Cursed phone called back to a point a year in the past, the guys on the other side would trace the call, pass it on to a linked group that would plan and arrange the murder of the person calling a minute after the call ended.  We cleaned it all up, got it spic and span.”

“Hope so,” Jessica said, not moving.

“We only need the line back,” Zed said, throwing the switch.

The machine came to life, hissing with static and phone noises.

The hiss and static materialized around them.  It was visual noise too, like a downpour, all around them.  The blurry blotches of white became detailed, but the detail was lost in the visual disruption of rain coming down.

“Machine three… television of the future.  Color television from nineteen sixty-five.  Turn it on, and you’d see yourself as a kid on the screen, while the you of then would see the you of the future at the same time.  Allegedly, seeing the adult self would shake the kid so much they’d change the course of their life.  You’d disappear, your life rewritten from childhood.  Practically, it was pretty burned out, and we weren’t inclined to test it…”

“Zed,” Alexander said.

“I’m happy you enjoy what you do.  But throw the damn switch while you’re at it.”

Zed threw the switch.  “I wonder what would happen if Zed the kid saw Zed the adult.  Would that make things better or worse?”

“I don’t think it’s worth the risk we lose the Zed of today,” Brie said.

“Gag me,” Chase said.

“Shhhhh,” Alexander said.

Around them, the image was clarifying, taking on color and detail.  The room continued to darken, and images appeared around them.  A river with some wooden buildings nearby, including what looked like a crazy huge shack that appeared to store a ton of boats, some on the ground level and some in the rafters.  There was a dark blurry image in the center, and men loomed nearby, shouting something indistinct.  There was another sound, pulsing.

“Tweaking it,” Zed said.

The pulsing became a dog’s bark, relentless.

“Kid, stop fighting!”

“Let me go or go get my mom!” the kid shouted, voice faint.  He rattled off something in what Avery assumed was Ojiibwe.

“She’s not answering.  Stop playing games.”

“Then I’m not going anywhere!  I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“You stole!” another man shouted.  “And you broke it!  It costs more than you’re worth, you little shit!”

Three grown men ganged up on the blurry patch in the middle of the scene.

“You can try calling her from the station.”

“I was- no, I can’t- you can’t!  I can’t say anything to the police without a parent present.  I have to ask for my mom and I go nowhere and say nothing until my mom’s there and a lawyer’s there.”

“This isn’t your television shows from the United States, kid.  You don’t get a lawyer just like that.”

“I need my mom or I’m not-”

An officer reached for the kid.  The kid swiped out with a fist.

“You just hit an officer.  Do you know how much trouble you get in for that?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“They’re fucking teaching them to fight us from the time they’re this young.  It’s ridiculous.”  The officer picked up the blurry patch.  The boy screamed, bloodcurdling and frantic.

Jessica flinched, and Avery flinched to see Jessica flinching.

“Yep.  Brace yourselves.  We don’t know what state he’ll be in as he comes through.”

Avery looked around herself, thought about grabbing a shelf on the bookshelf, then thought twice.  If the shelf fell and books tumbled-

Snowdrop’s nails bit into her shoulder.  She put a hand up on Snowdrop.

Her greeting being ignored by Jessica had felt like a hit to the chest.  This was almost the opposite.  It hit her like a punch but it crashed over her like a wave.  Emotion.

Terror at being so small, surrounded by bigger men.  At everything being so out of control.  At the prospect of trouble.

Certainty, that there was a way things were supposed to be.  Rules that were supposed to be followed, an order to the world.  Do this, get rewarded.  Do that, get punished.

No.  That was the wrong word for it.  But it was right too.  It was a betrayal of that certainty to that fear.  It was a feeling of loss, the whole world draining away with what was being lost.

Things wouldn’t be okay.  The call wasn’t reaching mom, and mom wasn’t coming to make it all better.

The patch became an echo.  No line crossed the middle of the circle Jessica was in.  No sign of taint, no faint, distant figure holding onto the boy’s echo, no sending, no monster.

The boy said something in Ojibwe, with a ‘Jessica’ in the middle of it.

“Let’s get you home, then,” Jessica said.  She didn’t break eye contact as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small jar.  A firefly buzzed within.  “Want to climb in?  I know a handsome fellow who needs you to bridge the gap between the child he was and the young man he is now.”

She said something else, like a term of endearment.

The boy took a step forward.  The lights in the room flared bright.  Machines squealed, chugging, and Zed could be heard swearing.

Avery blinked, as her eyes readjusted to the abrupt disappearance of the diagram.  Jessica was still, holding the jar.

The word, a woman’s voice, recontextualized everything.  Jessica’s stillness, the abrupt change back to the room.

“I would call you an idiot, but I do think you knew exactly what you were doing,” Alexander said.  Avery’s gaze snapped to him.

She looked the other way, following his gaze, and saw Brie on the ground.  Two of the children from the Hungry choir stood next to her.  And beside her, a large glass was on the ground, the contents spilled across the floor, across chalk lines.

Shellie Alitzer stood in the doorway, expression blank, silver all over her body glittering.

Avery clenched her fists.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” Shellie said.  “Couldn’t see in the dark, bumped into her.”

One of the Hungry Choir children growled.

Another one paced away, but stopped at the edge of the diagram.  He turned to face Seth.

“Don’t,” Brie said, quiet.  She reached out and touched the kid.  “Back.”

The kid flickered and disappeared.

Brie grabbed the girl that was facing Shellie, and that one disappeared as well.

“Why?” Zed asked.  “The barrier-”

Shellie shrugged.  “I see a big keep out sign and I get curious, sue me.  I’m good at ducking through barriers.”

“Enough,” Alexander said, angry.  He crossed the room, mindful of the chalk.  “Enough.  No.  You need to go and you need to leave this campus, before harm befalls you.  The safe passage Bristow guaranteed you is very thin at the moment.”

Avery watched Alexander walk past her, then Jessica moved, pushing Alexander, and striding forward.

“You would die if you tried,” Shellie said, rising her chin, staring down Jessica.

Jessica stopped.  Alexander stopped at her side and she backed away from him, with a fierceness like he’d burned her.

“Fuck you,” Jessica said, to Alexander.  “Fuck you and your stupid games and your rivalries.  This wasn’t my fight, and you’re trying to drag me into it.  Fuck you.”

Avery started to approach, watching the chalk even though she wasn’t sure if it mattered- Alexander might avoid stepping on chalk lines as a matter of habit.  Jessica glared at her as well.

“I had no intention of you getting involved or hurt because of this.”

“You like your complex games and rivalries, right?  You got me involved anyway, because you can’t keep your house in order,” Jessica said.  Her voice was hollow.  “Now what am I supposed to do?”

“I’m sorry, the ritual-”

“I’m not talking about the ritual!” Jessica raised her voice.  “I’m talking about wanting to hurt her, because I got as close as I’ve gotten in years and she took it away from me.  I want to hurt you, because you play these games and I suffer for it.  I can’t do either, because then one of you wins.  So I’m going.”

“If you go, he gets everything he wanted by sending Shellie to interfere.”

“Shut up.  I said I’m going,” she said, bending down to grab some of the items from the inner circle.

Avery edged closer, wanting to help, to reach out, and yet not knowing what to do.  On the far side of the room, Verona shook her head.

“No.  You told me I could trust Alexander with this.  You were wrong, Zed.”

“I know.  But I want to tell you-”

“I don’t want to hear what you have to say.”

“The echo was intact, we learned that, at least,” Zed said.

“Coherent, he came from the northeast.”

“Shut up!” she shouted.

He pressed on.  “He came from the northeast.  Whatever else happens, I know you’re going to keep looking.  He’s in good shape, as echoes go.  The echo didn’t seem to break up much when the image did.”

“Roughly two hundred miles northeast,” Eloise said.  “He was a bit sticky as he pulled away.  I’m betting it’s a minor, incidental hallow.”

Jessica didn’t say another word, striding from the room.

“Just acknowledge us for one second?” Zed raised his voice.  “Listen?  You’ll be glad you did when-”

“She fought so hard for every small lead, and we got some big ones.  I know it sucks to get close,” Zed said, shaking his head.

“It’s not about that,” Lucy said.  “About the leads or getting close.”

“You don’t understand,” Zed said.  “Everything has been about the leads and getting close, these past few years, when it comes to Jessica.”

“I don’t know her enough to say,” Lucy said, quiet.  “But I do know that sometimes it’s more about proving to yourself that you can count on someone.  Even if that means making herself that someone for her cousin.”

There was a loud clearing of a throat.

“Well,” Shellie said.  “Hate to interrupt, but you guys seem like the sort to talk forever and I actually did slip in here to pass on a message.”

“I think you’ve delivered an adequate message, Ms. Alitzer,” Alexander said.

“Nah,” Shellie said.  She pushed past Brie, stepping into the puddle and tracking the wet across the chalk.  “I’d take my shoes off before entering, but fuck niceties, right?”

Avery tensed as Shellie got closer.

“We saved your brother,” Avery said.

“Was that you?  Huh, small world.  Now get out of my way.”

“Ms. Kelly?” Alexander called out.  “Get out of her way.”

Avery grit her teeth, lips pressed together.  To her right, Lucy looked ready to spring to action.  Verona was off to the right, a spell card in hand.

“Me?” Nicolette asked.

Avery turned.  Shellie moved, pushing her aside, and Avery landed on the ground.  Snowdrop almost fell from her perch.

Nicolette backed up to the wall, drawing a feather from a back pocket as Shellie got close.

Shellie leaned in close, whispering.

Avery watched as Nicolette’s wariness gave way to a series of emotions.  Eyebrows up, eyes widening.  Then eyebrows down, tongue wetting her lips, eyes focused on something, like she was deep in thought.  Concern.

“Are you done?” Alexander asked, curt.

“Then leave.  And tell Lawrence I want to talk to him.”

“He said you would want to, after.  Not to worry.  He’ll meet you at his convenience tonight.  His car is still in the garage, you see.  It was a cute trick.”

Alexander didn’t respond.

Shellie walked out, casual, feet splashing in the puddle of juice.  On her way out, she kicked the little bit of wood that was propping the door open, and it swung closed.

Avery found herself moving, heading out the other door.  She looked back at Verona and Lucy, who followed quickly after.  Alexander raised his voice.

“Back me up?” she asked.

“Nah,” Snowdrop said.  The opossum hit the ground running.

“Slow down!” Lucy called out.

Avery pulled the charm from her bracelet.  Hockey stick, thoroughly enchanted.

She rounded the corner, saw Shellie, and called out.  “Hey!”

Shellie smiled, turning.  Her thumbs were hooked into the belt loops she’d cut into her own skin.

“Why!?” Avery asked.  “Why?  Why, when things are going well for someone who needs it, would you do something like that?”

Snowdrop, fork in hand, caught up, then immediately started circling around to flank Shellie.

“I don’t like practice much, I guess.  Creeps me out,” Shellie said.

“We helped Daniel, as best as we could.  We were kind to him, really kind considering the circumstances.  He seemed to like us.  We helped keep the Faerie from taking him.  Do you not like him?”

“I’d do just about anything for him,” Shellie said.  “He’s a sweetheart.”

“Then why?  Why hurt us, why help Bristow, when he put Daniel in such a dangerous situation?”

“Avery!” Lucy called out.

Lucy had caught up.  Verona was right behind her.

“Then there were two little witches,” Shellie said, eyes narrowing.  “I don’t care about you one way or the other.”

“Why hurt Jessica?  Has she done anything to you?”

“Nope.  Don’t know her.  Maybe the melodrama of that moment rankled a bit for me,” Shellie said.

“Do you have any humanity at all?”

Shellie’s eyes widened, her hand going to her mouth and then her heart in mock shock.  “If you see any, can you let me know?  I’ve got some freshly sharpened blades, I’ll cut it right out.”

“It’s not worth it, Avery,” Lucy said.

“Then what is?” Avery asked.  “There’s so much awfulness in the practice.  So many monsters, so many scary things.  We can’t have one nice thing?  One reunion?  One fix?”

“Little girls with hockey sticks,” Shellie whispered, hand cupped by her mouth.  “They’re the scariest thing out there.”

“She got a lead, Ave,” Lucy said.  “A huge disappointment, in the Blue Heron Institute, and disappointment in herself, for letting herself buy into this a bit, but Jessica got a lead.  It’s not a total wash.”

Verona had caught up and Avery hadn’t noticed.  Verona paced, silent.

Avery looked back, and saw that most of the others had emerged, and were staying at a distance.

“I don’t understand it,” Avery said, voice tight.  “It’s senseless.”

“It makes a lot of sense.”

Avery turned, looking.  It was Verona who’d just said that.

“You can go, Shellie,” Verona said.

“Of course I can.  I was just going to wait and see if the red haired one was going to try something.”

“She’s not, not here and now, unless you force it, I swear it,” Verona said.

Avery looked at her friend, scandalized.

“Don’t make me a liar,” Verona said.  “What you want?  I don’t think this is it.”

Avery relented, though she didn’t relax.  She let the hockey stick fall to the grass.

Shellie sniffed, then walked off.

“You said it makes sense?” Lucy asked.

“She’s a counter to Faerie,” Verona said.

“I don’t- oh,” Lucy said.

Avery, tense, watched the Bright-Eyed woman leave.

Snowdrop came to her, and hugged her.  Avery, otherwise motionless, hugged Snowdrop’s head to her chest.

“Faerie make deals,” Verona said.  “They’re really, really, really good at it, slipping in tricks in wording, baiting you in, messing with you, whatever else.  Shellie and people like her counter Faerie.”

“Makes more sense now, how the file on her said they don’t live long,” Lucy said.

“She seems like she changed her mindset.  Maybe on purpose, retraining her brain.  Maybe automatically, being Bright-Eyed.  Made herself literally impossible to deal with.  Unwilling to be reasonable or equitable or fair, unwilling to stick to deals, unwilling to see other points of view.”

“Except looking after Daniel,” Avery said, rounding out the thought.  “And following Bristow, I guess.”

She disengaged from Snowdrop, picked up her hockey stick, and shrunk it down to a charm again.

She turned around, one hand on Snowdrop’s shoulder.

The people who had been there for the ritual had gathered together.  Some were talking.  But Nicolette hung back, at the rear of the group.  Her eyes on them.

“What did she say to Nicolette?” Avery asked.

“I don’t know,” Lucy said.

Even Zed looked pissed, and Zed had been pretty casual and offhanded about summoning static Others and even dealing with John or the damage to his car.  Relatively speaking.  Alexander’s smiling facade had cracked.  His apprentices remained close to him.  A hundred feet away, they talked among themselves.

“It’s too tempting to go to Belanger,” Lucy murmured, quiet.  “If we go, we talk about feelings, share info, make sense of the situation.  But I feel like we end up Alexander’s pawns in this shitty, shitty fight.”

“Kinda, yeah,” Verona said.

Avery shook her head.  It was stupid when Jessica had never reciprocated, but Jessica had been cool, and there had been enough parallels, and the ritual had been good.  A reunion.  A family reconnected.

“Do you want dinner?” Lucy asked.

“I guess,” Avery said.  “But if I see Shellie I feel like I’ll get mad again.”

“We’ll deal with it when that happens,” Verona said.

This was a declaration of war, Avery thought.  The Kennet Others are already holding down the line back home.  We can’t afford to get wrapped up in this too.

She clipped the little hockey stick charm to her charm bracelet, then rotated it, so it wasn’t in easy reach.