A note concerning ties stronger than blood (Project: Lodestar 8)

Amaranth ran through hazardous rain darkened streets. The apartment building she left ten minutes ago seemed squat and hunched in the gloom. Her hand was shaking so hard she could not press the call button on the intercom. Instead she took a few steps back and kicked the metal door from its hinges. The lobby was dark and she located the stairwell by the wan illumination cast by the emergency lights. Taking the stairs three at a time Amaranth was a crimson flash. Cassandra’s door did not slow her down at all, in fact it exploded with such velocity that the fragments caught flame. Slippery shoes betrayed her and she was only able to stop herself by crashing half way through a wall. Amaranth stumbled free as a cascade of lightning cut through the sky illuminating the apartment. On her knees she tried to find the breath to cry.


A soldier named Ridley paused halfway through the report he was reading, cursed, and leaned back into his camp chair. The efficiently spartan quarters took on an empty feeling he had never noticed before. Ridley retrieved a half finished cigarette from behind his ear and lit it. He took a deep drag and held it until his vision began to waver before releasing his breath. Bluish smoke enshrouded the radio on the desk. Ridley roughly thumbed it on and spoke in a gravelly baritone, “Maya, something urgent has come up. I’m going stateside for an unknown amount of time. Please draw up orders placing Hamlin in charge of the Reapers until I return.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Thank you, Maya.” Ridley hung his head and pulled deeply from the cigarette once more.


A man sometimes called Dayth awoke from a dead sleep with a start. His surroundings confused him. There was a distinct impression of being trapped in a small room despite the fact that he was in an open forest. Instincts warred within his mind and adrenaline turned his limbs to fire. Dayth wanted to both fight and flee. Something warm and rough pressed against his cheek brought him to his senses. An old, grizzled wolf stared at him with warm amber eyes and licked his face again. Realization of what happened hit Dayth like a hammer blow. The wolf tilted his head back and loosed a low, solemn howl. The call was picked up by the other animals in the makeshift camp; a collection of dogs, wolves, and coyotes. Dayth added his voice to those of his brothers and sisters.


A young woman named Kyler sat alone in a warmly lit room. A pair of tears formed in the corners of her vacant eyes and slowly rolled down her cheeks.


A glassblower named Gabriel stared without seeing anything. His clothing smoldered. Molten glass oozed between the trembling fingers of his clenched fist deep within the furnace. He vainly tried to chase his nightmares away with the pain.

The mysterious Grey dodged backward awkwardly, his balance askew from his recently severed right arm. He ducked under his opponent’s next attack and deftly tapped it on its left hip. Blackish purple sparks erupted from the point of contact. Over half of its component pieces were teleported to random locations throughout the Tomb and what was left collapsed into a heap at Grey’s feet. Momentarily free of the melee, he paused to take stock of the situation. A sudden sharp intake of breath and a slight narrowing of the eyes was the only indication he gave that something was amiss. Grey's voice was quiet and harsh, “That utter cunning bastard.” When he tried to teleport out of the Tomb, his body flared into a cloud or purple sparks and images of him flickered violently all over the room and did so with such rapidity that it seemed as if he were everywhere at once. The sparks dispersed. Grey reappeared. Thin cracks of rage began to mar his normally imperturbable veneer.


Even the shock of Cassandra’s psychic tremor could not cause Arsiel to falter. He choked up on his weapon and quickly dispatched the two machines in front of him. Despite more foes pressing in he spared a breath to disparage Ansel. Finely channeled fury raced through his limbs and his world narrowed to flashing blades and the smell of wreckage.


The minute characters flooding Valentine’s vision with streams of information blurred. She blinked once and her eyes returned to their normal hazel hue. The sounds of the struggle around her began to feel overpowering. Grey looked angry; Arsiel fought with an inhuman level of competence and poise. Valentine bit down on her lip and rubbed the tears from her eyes with the back of a glowing hand. When she opened them data was once again rolling across an even orange field and she redoubled her efforts with a new found determination.


Far away, a young lady named Midori rose slowly from her bed. Her movements were slow, trance-like. Although tears welled from her eyes, when she spoke to the empty room her voice was level. “Yes, Cassie, I understand.” She raised a hand to the wall and began to write, the wood smoldering in the wake of her fingertip.


Alexandra absently rubbed her cheek leaving a smear of dirt behind. The sunlight was warm upon her back and the fragrant breeze cool on her skin. She jerked her head up abruptly. “What? No!” Alexandra dashed recklessly through her garden and into her home. The normally open and friendly environment seemed a hostile obstacle in her rush. Cursing under her breath the entire way, she grabbed a staff from an umbrella stand near the front door, careened around a corner, and leapt down the basement stairs. The psychic impact of Cassandra's passing broke her concentration and she twisted her ankle when she landed. Alexandra turned the stumble into a forward roll and kept moving toward a mirror standing upright in the middle of the room. Its surface rippled slightly, like water. “I won’t be too late! Not again!” Alexandra thought as she lunged through mirror leaving behind a heap of earth-stained clothing.

A note concerning Cassandra (Project: Lodestar 7)

Cassandra felt like she had to drag herself the last few feet to her door. An echoing crash of thunder rattled the apartment building. Moments later the hallways plunged into darkness. Emergency lights quickly turned on, but did little besides add texture to the shadowy gloom. Cassandra opened her door. Something was nagging her just behind the eyes, but she couldn’t figure out what. She dropped her coat and headed to the kitchen to get a candle. The pressure behind her eyes increased. The air was heavy and charged. With trembling hands Cassandra retrieved and lit a candle from the cupboard. She returned to the common room and almost dropped the candle in shock.

“Hello, Cass. It’s been awhile.” Ansel smiled and stood up.

“No…” Cassandra’s voice was small.

“What? Not happy to see me?” Ansel’s hand flickered with brief motion and two short rods flew across the room and pinned her to the wall by the shoulders. The pain was excruciating. “I guess this isn’t too big a surprise for you, so I’ll let it go.”

She tried to block out the pain and focus her mind. Between sharp breaths she spoke, “How?”

“How what?”

“How is that you’re not dead?”

Ansel’s grin was strangely luminescent in the darkness. “A little trick I picked up from Alex. It was touch and go for awhile, but I’m a stubborn bastard.”

“What about the Tomb?”

“That was a clever move, I’ll give you that, and it would have worked great if you had gotten me into it. Unfortunately for you, there may have been some confusion with the bodies towards the end there. My fault really.” Ansel sighed and shook his head. “Poor Benjamin didn’t quite know what he was getting into when he signed on with me. Still, you know the saying about omelets and eggs.” Just as Cassandra was getting the pain under control Ansel reached out and ground one of the rods around in her shoulder. She tried to bite back the scream but couldn’t and almost blacked out. He cupped a hand to her cheek and an invigorating jolt coursed through her body filling her with energy but doing nothing for the pain. “Now now, can’t have you blacking out just yet,” chided Ansel.

“Just do whatever it is you’re going to do, Ansel. I’m not stupid, I know where this is headed.”

“So curt!” Ansel moved his hand from her cheek and brushed her hair from her face. His eyes were bright with a mad energy. “Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

Cassandra coughed, and the pain elicited a whimper. “Curious? Why? So I could listen to you boast?” She almost instinctively shrugged, but caught herself at the last minute. “No Ansel, I don’t care. I know you’re fucked up. I know there’s nothing I can say that will change what you’re going to do. I’m not going to play along and give you whatever sick enjoyment you’re looking for. So either do what you’re going to do, or piss off and get me the fuck down.”

The glee and congeniality left Anel’s features. The heaviness in the air increased to oppressive levels. Lightning flashed and illuminated his scowl. “You think you’re just so damn clever, don’t you? Where’s your precious foresight now?” Ansel punctuated his question with a backhand that split her lip open.

Cassandra began to panic. Ansel wasn’t letting her concentrate. “I’ve already warned the others. The instant you kill me they’ll know for sure.”

“What, is that supposed to scare me? The lot of you couldn’t kill me before and you had Steven then. He's gone and soon you'll be joining him, what makes you think things will be any different this time? No, I’ve already accounted for their awareness.” Ansel’s right hand became enveloped in coruscating blue light. He placed it on her stomach, and with a sizzle it passed seamlessly through the flesh into her abdomen. Cassandra forgot all about her shoulders, her apartment, even Ansel. Nothing else could compare to the agony. Ansel waited until a semblance of sentience returned to her eyes and for the screaming to die down. He flexed his fingers within her and smiled as she writhed. He stepped in close, his cheek brushing against hers and slowly moved his hand up towards her ribs. “I’ve always been very curious about something, Cassandra. Just before I killed Steven I felt this flash, this warning that he was about to die. It came as a surprise and I always wondered if the rest of you felt it too. I’m guessing at least some of you did. That bastard Grey blinked in and almost stopped me. He was confused though, I don’t think he’s used to operating on instinct. That cost Steven his life.” Half the length of Ansel’s forearm had penetrated into her torso. He ran his fingers along the surface of her heart, felt its frantic pulse. “There it was! The same flash! Did you feel it Cass? Did the others? I’ll have to be sure to ask them when we meet.” He gently kissed her cheek and drew back slightly to look into her eyes. The blue gaze that stared back was defiant. “Good bye, Cassandra.” He held her heart in his hand and he squeezed.

A note concerning the Tomb (Project: Lodestar 6)

“Alright, that should be the last one.” As Valentine entered the room crystal patches inlaid into the walls rose to a glow providing gentle illumination. The Sarcophagus seemed larger in person. She hesitantly walked up to it, her hands nervously fidgeting with her tools. “See? No sign of foul play. Let’s get out of here and seal it back up.”

Grey strode over and ran a finger along the lid. “Humor me and access it directly.”

She narrowed her eyes, “I’m tripling the size of the bag, Grey.”

“Quit your grousing and get to work.”

Valentine continued to mutter under her breath. She reached out and laid both hands on the Sarcophagus. Orange pulsing light quickly sparked outward in vibrant angular patterns. Arsiel walked over to one of the statues and rapped it lightly with his knuckles. It made no sound. “You know, Grey, having us break him out would totally be Ansel’s style.” Grey glanced over his shoulder at him and slightly raised his left eyebrow. Arsiel dismissed the look with a wave and a smile, “Yeah yeah, borrowing trouble,” he paused for a beat, “No less true though.”

Valentine looked up from her work. Rectangles of light appeared in the air around her displaying all manner of visual and textual data. “OK. The box is still occupied and the occupant is very much dead. The seals haven’t been broken or tampered with, and none of the room’s dedicated security systems have been tripped.” As she spoke the various displays illuminated and enlarged themselves as they became relevant. “That’s about as comprehensive as I can get without actually opening the damn thing.”

Arsiel walked over. “Ok, if he’s still in there now what do we do?”

“Whoa. Hold on a second,” Valentine’s voice was shaky. “What the hell? Something’s not right.”

Grey may have been talking about the weather for all of the emotion in his voice, “Care to elaborate?”

“There are some discrepancies between what the Sarcophagus’s internal sensors are reading and what the system is displaying them as reading. They’re showing that the corpse is smaller than the systems think it is.” The tip of her tongue peeked out from between her lips as she concentrated. “Diagnostics indicate that there’s a problem with the relay between the sensors and the processing system. Rerouting to back up relays now. OK, everything’s back to normal and hey, would you look at that I’m getting an alert that the corpse’s status has changed.”

Arsiel frowned, “So the body shrunk? Don’t they do that what with all the decomposition?”

“The Sarcophagus is hermetically sealed and temperature controlled, there should be no decay, nor anything else. The body is effectively in stasis. But two weeks ago it reduced in mass and size by roughly eighteen percent and its temperature briefly spiked by 8 degrees.”

“Is there an internal camera?”

“No, but if you give me a minute I can make a portion of the lid transparent. Arsiel stand by in case the guardians freak out. I’ve shut down as many triggers as I can but I’m still likely to trip a few alarms by altering the substance of the Sarcophagus.”

Arsiel drew his blade, an elegant five and a half foot bastard sword made of the same lustrous white metal as his armor, and stood in a relaxed stance in the middle of the room. “So Grey, where do shrinking bodies fit into your plan?”

Grey cleaned the lenses of his glasses before replying, “They don’t. Not yet.” Valentine finished speaking softly to the metal and after a soft caress it lightened to a crystal clear transparency. Arsiel focused on the statues. Grey crowded in to take a look. His eyes narrowed. “That’s not Ansel.”

The air felt quieter, the shadows a little darker. The pitted iron statues loomed menacingly. Arsiel half turned to look back at Grey. “What? How can it not be Ansel? The body we put in was Ansel’s. If no one opened the damn thing how’d a new body get in there?”

Grey drummed his fingers on the now transparent metal, “Is it possible that the same bug in the sensor relay hid a breach from you?”

“No way. Too many redundant systems for that, some of which are purely mechanical, and none of them have been tripped or broken, I checked directly. As far as I can tell, about two weeks ago Ansel’s body turned into this guy’s.” Valentine paused, mouth slightly opened. “What the hell is that?”

“What the hell is what?”

“There’s some sort of bizarre energy marker in here. Someone’s been in my system. Someone slick. I wouldn’t have even noticed if not for the relay bug.”

“Has anything been tampered with?”

“Not that I can tell…” The lights in the room suddenly cut out and the access way they used to enter vanished behind a panel that slid seamlessly into place in the wall. The Sarcophagus dropped down through a hatch in the floor, which promptly sealed behind it. “An intruder breach? Now?”

Grey’s features seemed waxy and unhealthy in the orange light emitted by Valentine. “Where?”

Another rectangle of light appeared in the air, this one displaying a schematic of the Tomb. A bright dot flashed in the center schematic. “In the crypt chamber…but that means…Oh shit. We’re the breach.”

“Can you turn it off?”

Valentine’s fingers and eyelids twitched. A flood of tiny characters could be seen flooding across the surface of her eyes. Webs of light raced along the floor from her feet. A series of muted clanks, snaps, and hisses could be heard from the walls. “I shorted out the traps in the Crypt chamber and bypassed the guardians. That trick won’t work again, though, the system is fighting back now. Whoever got in adjusted it just enough so that if an alert was triggered we’d be classified as hostiles. And now that we’re in an alert, the system won’t recognize any commands to reclassify our status. And no, I can’t turn it off. An off switch was a ’exploitable weakness’ ‘we’ decided to omit in the design phase as I’m sure Grey can recall with perfect clarity.”

“I do.” Grey slid his glasses back up the bridge of his nose with a finger. “Unfortunately Arsiel, we’re going to have to fight our way out.”

Valentine pivoted in place hands slightly upraised,“I’ll do what I can to keep the traps from killing us. Until the system catches up to me I can use them to take out guardians in other sections. It won’t account for all of them, though, so you guys are on your own there.”

Ringing metal footsteps could be heard pounding up the corridor towards the main door to the Crypt chamber. Arsiel approached the door. “Hey Grey, when you guys designed this place, you used us as the standard for the kinda people you wanted to keep in or out, right?”

“Correct. Which is why I can’t simply just gate us out of here.”

The footsteps got louder and were accompanied by a bone tingling high-pitched whine. Arsiel assumed a ready stance in front of the door. Blackness blossomed from the shoulders of his armor and spread across its surface much like spilled ink on parchment. The darkness was deep, textured and full of soft pinpoints of light. His silhouette could have been a window into deep space. The door opened. He smiled. “Good, I was looking for a challenge.” Oblivion manifest as a man with a scintillating pearl sword rushed to meet the screaming mechanical tide.

A note concerning Amaranth (Project: Lodestar 5)

“Are you sure you don’t want a dry change of clothes?” asked Amaranth from the doorway. Her short red hair was all bangs and spikes and her body lithe curves.

Cassandra seemed half drowned and continued to wring water from her hair. “Nah, I’m fine. Just gonna get wet again anyway. I appreciate the coffee though.” She took a sip and almost choked. “Geez, Ama, put a little booze in here?”

Amaranth walked over to the table, moving with grace and swaying limbs, and sat down next to Cassandra. “Don’t question the doctor. I know what’s good for you.” She took a sip from her own cup and continued, “So what brings you to the club at this hour? Can’t get enough of sweet ‘ol Ama is that it?” She smiled easily and put an arm around Cassandra.

“You’ve got me pegged,” came the wry reply. She rolled her eyes and set her cup down on the table. The deep bass beat from the dance floor two floors below caused it to rattle against the saucer. “But it’s not all pleasure.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured as much. You look absolutely ragged. What’s the trouble?”

“It’s big. Like old days big.”

Amaranth looked askance and snorted. “Please. What could possibly have snuck up on us that’s that big? You going to tell me that Ansel’s ghost is coming back to haunt us?” Cassandra said nothing and the frivolity drained from Amaranth’s face. “What? Seriously?”

“Not his ghost exactly, no…”

“Ok, you had me worried for minute there…”

“More like he’s not really dead.”

The only sound in the room was from the ceramic rattle of the cups and the bassy reverberations from down below. Finally, Amaranth spoke, “You’re not fucking with me, are you?”

“Not about this. How could I?”

“Shit. So who knows? What’s going on?”

“Just you and Grey and Arsiel.” It was easier than she thought to omit Gabriel. “I don’t have a lot of information. I’m getting pretty hazy signals. Grey hasn’t been able to confirm anything and is hesitant to act. I’m not sure how helpful he is going to be until things become more certain. Arsiel thinks that we should get ready anyway and that he’d get in touch with Ridley. Who can you reach?”

“Alex and I talk pretty regularly and I meet up with Midori every few months. Used to keep in touch with Dayth too, but as far as I can tell he’s fallen off the face of the planet,” she paused a moment before continuing, “And I know where Gabe is, although we haven’t spoken in a few years.”

Cassandra’s reply is muted, “I wouldn’t worry about Gabriel at this point.” She took a quick, nervous swallow from her cup.

“Oh.” Amaranth considered her friend for a moment, “Oh.” She tapped her nails against the table. “Ok then. So we’re just spreading the word at this point?”

“Yeah. I mean we need to figure stuff out but we don’t have too much information. I’m hoping things will become clearer for me soon, but maybe one of the others has noticed something that’ll make sense in this context that they may have written off as unimportant. Grey may be balking, but I know I’m not wrong.”

“Maybe you just need some rest, hon. You really do look terrible. Maybe if you tried attacking this with a full tank you’d get better results.”

“I know, I know. It just seems so important, like I’m working against a clock.” She rubbed her eyes and stretched in her seat. “Still, telling you seems to have taken the pressure off. There’s only so long I can replace sleep with food and nervous energy.”

“Do you want to crash here?”

“Stars no! I’d never be able to take the noise. No, my own place will do just fine.”

“If you insist.” Amaranth stood and offered her a hand up. “I’ll walk you home.”

Cassandra accepted the hand and rose creakily to her feet. “Nah, I’ll be fine.”

“Now it’s my turn to insist. It’s really no trouble.”

“You know, I don’t even have the energy to argue anymore.” She sluggishly took her coat from the hook and slipped it on. With a crooked smile she offered her arm. “Take me away shining knight.”

Amaranth donned a long coat and walked over to her friend. She leaned down, took her cheeks in hand and kissed her gently on the forehead. The skin tingled where she touched. Heat and vigor flushed Cassandra’s cheeks.

Cassandra giggled and leaned into the tall redhead. “I forgot you could do that.”

Amaranth set her back on her feet and smiled. “Easy there, lightweight. Just a touch to get us home.”

“Yes doctor,” her voice dripped languidly.

“Oh lord, I’ve done drugged the woman. Come along, I bet the rain will sober you up.” Amaranth easily navigated her down the stairs and into the street. Once outside the downpour was fierce and pervasive. There was nothing to see, hear, feel, or even taste beside it. It was like being underwater. “Wow this is going to suck.” Cassandra giggled euphorically to which Amaranth responded with a good natured sigh. “Come on you, let’s get moving.”

The normally short walk seemed to take forever in the oppressive weather. Eventually Cassandra’s building loomed out of the darkness. The two women took shelter on the stoop. “Do you want me to come up?”

“No thank you.” Amaranth’s little booster had faded and Cassandra felt even wearier than before. “And no more of that magic touch business. I don’t like it when my mind is foggy.”

“Are you sure you can make it?”

Cassandra gave her a light punch to the shoulder. “Please, I’m tough stuff. Go on, get out of here before the city is submerged. Don’t forget to call Alexandra and Midori. I’ll work on Grey, see if he can give me an angle on Dayth and Valentine.”

“But first you’ll sleep.”

“Yes. Like I said, whatever was driving me before is gone, I’m very ready for bed time.”

Amaranth hugged her. “Rest well. Give me a call when you wake up.”

“Will do. Talk to you soon.” Amaranth vanished into the downpour. Cassandra fumbled with her keys and finally opened the door with a creak. It felt good to be home.

A note concerning Valentine (Project: Lodestar 4)

The morning sun shone down upon a remote mountain valley. Deep within this valley stood three people. One was a slight man of moderate height. Neither his short dark hair nor his long gray coat moved in the fast blowing wind. The second, also a man, was massive. This giant was clad from neck to heel in armor made from gleaming white metal. The third was a short woman. Tools and gadgets rattled against one another on her heavy belt and web harness.

“I don’t know, Grey, this seems like a bad idea,” Valentine snatched the bandana off of her head and crammed it into a pocket before the wind could take it.

“You’ve had worse before, I don’t see why this would give you pause.”

“C’mon, Val, you know Grey doesn’t take risks unless he feels he has to.” Arsiel stepped beside her acting as a windbreak.

Valentine scooched in closer to him and frowned, “Well, I’d just like to go on the record saying that I’m not in favor of this.”

Arsiel patted her on the top of the head, “Noted. Now open her up.”

“I’m reserving a big bag of ‘I told you so’s just in case something goes wrong.” While she spoke, Valentine reached towards the nearby valley wall. Orange light formed at her fingertips and traveled up her arm in an intricate geometric pattern. She placed her palm flat against the wall and more light scribed its way across the surface. “Hey, in a minute two red circles are going to appear on the wall. When that happens you guys need to touch one and say your name.” Soon after she said that, the light around her palm turned red. She spoke in a level tone, “Valentine Reed” Two more circles of light emerged on either side of her. Grey and Arsiel stepped forward placing their hands as Valentine prompted.

“Elijah Talongrey”

“Arsiel Kilcanon”

A faint chime sounded and a portion of the wall slid away in twelve equal portions. The opening revealed a moderately sized room surfaced in smooth granite. A metal door was set into the far wall and the room was illuminated by a blue crystalline structure protruding from the ceiling. The three stepped inside and the wall sealed behind them. When Valentine approached the center of the room, a plinth grew from the floor. It stopped growing at waist height and a small glowing sphere detached itself to float just above it. She gathered it up in her hands and closed her eyes. The orange patterns spread to encompass the sphere, which remained floating once she let it go. She opened her eyes, now solid pools of orange light, and looked at her companions. “Alright, I’m logged in. According to the systems, no one has been in here since we sealed the place up. Nothing triggered, nothing breached, nothing detected. All defenses and defenders are undamaged and fully operational. Nothing looks disturbed in the crypt chamber either.” Valentine drew a rectangle in the air with her finger and an image formed within its confines. It showed another room with smooth stone walls. A metallic, coffin-like structure rested on a large slab in the center of the room. Eight-foot tall humanoid statues made from what appeared to be pitted iron stood in each corner.

Grey stepped closer and stared at the image. “Can you remotely access the Sarcophagus?”

“Nope. Decided it would be more secure if you could only interface with it directly. Why?”

“Because now we have to go down to the crypt and check for ourselves.”

Valentine let the image vanish and looked at Grey incredulously, “Are you kidding? There are no anomalies in the system. Everything checks out.”

“Everything seems to check out. I want to be sure. And to be sure we need to investigate the Sarcophagus.”

“Grey there are 27 separate security check points between here and the crypt that we’ll need to bypass. It’s going to take hours. And since we don’t have a majority of members here, we can’t even legitimately get through some of them. “

“It needs to be done.”

“Then why are we doing this half assed? Why not just gather everyone together and use the system the way it was designed?”

“Cassandra’s foresight, while accurate, can be difficult to interpret. If her reading of things is correct and Ansel is alive, checking the Tomb is the most definitive way of confirming it. However, let’s assume for a moment that this is a ruse by Ansel’s supporters designed to get us to act. Presently, only the three of us know the Tomb’s physical location. The more of us that know, the greater the chances are of someone else finding out. Furthermore, if a majority of us were to gather together, our energy signatures would be easy to detect. If that’s what they’re waiting for, we’d be leading them right here. This course is the lowest risk amongst a number of unsavory options.”

“I can play the let’s assume game too. If for some bizarre reason Ansel is in there and awake, what happens when we open the box to look inside and he jumps us?”

Arsiel grins, “That’s why I’m here, squirt.”

“Alright, so you and the boy genius here have everything planned out. That doesn’t change the fact that we have to break into our own goddamned secure facility.”

Grey employed a smirk he designed to convey an inflated sense of cleverness, “What about the failsafe backdoor access?”

“What?” she asked wide eyed. “That’s for super dire emergencies. The whole complex is going to go into alert mode! There is going to be unavoidable damage caused by the breach not to mention the whole place is going to be vulnerable.”

“Damage can be mended, and we can ameliorate the weakness presented by the breach personally.”

“Arsiel, talk some sense into him.”

“Sorry, Val. But he’s right, we need to know for sure, and this the best way to do it.”

“You guys are both mental.” She pouts. “Fine, I’ll do it, but I’m doubling the size of that ‘I told you so’ bag.”

A note concerning Arsiel (Project: Lodestar 3)

The humid air stickily embraced her. It was an altogether unpleasant change from the cool dryness of Grey’s office. Cassandra made a face and shrugged out of her coat. She tied it around her waist and surveyed her surroundings. Thick jungle blocked her vision from every side. She was standing in a clearing, maybe forty, fifty yards square, feet sinking slowly into the thick, aromatic soil. Looking down at her feet, Cassandra saw a tiny green shoot peeking back at her. A voice, strong, but colored by uncertainty startled her. “Cassandra?”

She peered over her shoulder. A tall man, broad of shoulder, held a hoe as if it were a spear. His straw blond hair seemed ephemeral in the light of the full moon. Cassandra smiled, “Arsiel!”

His smile was brighter than the moon, “Cassie!” Arsiel dropped the hoe and dashed across the field in long strides. Cassandra giggled like a child as he swept her up in massive hands, twirled her around, and tossed her easily into the air. She tried to catch her breath, but even as she was gently caught and set back upon the ground she couldn’t stop laughing. “Cassie, it’s so good to see you! What an unexpected pleasure.” His voice was warm and the kindness radiated from him like heat from a furnace.

Cassandra rested her forehead against his sternum and took a few deep breaths. “You’re such a big kid, Arsiel. Stars, it does me good to see you. I should visit more often.”

Arsiel shoved her playfully, “Yeah you should. What’s up with that?”

She grabbed his shirt for balance. “Some of us had to grow up and have work to do.” She stuck out her tongue. “I don’t expect you to understand.”

Arsiel’s exuberance settled. “Work, eh? Seems like that’s the only reason I get to see you these days…”

She sighed, “Time for that in a moment. I haven’t seen you in over a year, what have you been doing to keep out of trouble?”

“Well I was helping out Ridley for awhile after, well, you know, all the unpleasantness. But I got tired of the mercenary life, too much bloodshed. I wanted to do something constructive for a change. So I moved out here and now I’m a farmer. Don’t have too many plots, enough to get by. Plus there’s a community up river a bit that’s always happy to take the surplus. I help ‘em out a little if the bandits get out of hand. Couple months back some would be dictator needed to get knocked down a few pegs. It was a good way to shake the rust off. “

“And you’re happy with all this?”

“Yeah. It’s a fulfilling life. Don’t get me wrong, the old days have a nice warm spot in my memory, and I miss you guys sure as the sun rises, but sometimes change is good, you know?”

“We could all benefit from an outlook like yours.”

“Do you keep in touch with the others?”

“Grey mostly. Though I meet up with Ama every month or so.”

Arsiel chewed on the inside of his cheek. A hint of sadness was obvious in his eyes. “Well, that must be nice.” He brightened up a little, “Grey, huh? How is his nibs?”

“Just as smug and infuriating as he was when he was twelve and wore his little suits and carried around those too big briefcases.”

“He never did change much on the outside.”

“I’m not so sure he’s changed on the inside.”

“So you two work together then?”

“Yeah. I do a lot of consulting work these days. I’m on hiatus at the moment though.”

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? Your hiatus?”

“Something big has come up, Arsiel, and I’m terrified.”

“What is it?”

“Ansel. I’m not so sure he’s dead. I think he’s back.”


Arsiel was silent. He looked up at the moon and scratched his chin. Finally he spoke, “What’s Grey think about this?”

Rosy fingers of embarrassment crept up her neck and cheeks. “Grey…Grey hasn’t found anything yet. But he’s looking.” Cassandra absentmindedly nibbled on the nail of her index finger. “It was just a dream, Arsiel, but I don’t think I’m wrong.”

“I believe you.”

“You do?”

“Of course. Wouldn’t believe it from anyone else, not even Grey, but you Cassie?” He rubbed a scar on his neck, “You’re not usually wrong.” Cassandra hugged him tightly. Tears leaked from her clenched eyelids. “You’re here, and you’ve told me, and I believe you, but what is it you want me to do?”

Cassandra wiped her eyes and looked up at him. Her voice was creaky, “What?”

“I’m just a glorified thug. You don’t know where he is or what he’s doing, and without that information there’s not much I can do. “

“You can believe in me. That’s enough for now I think.”

“Who else have you told?”

“Just Grey,” She paused and the tears snuck back, “And Gabriel.”

Arsiel drew her into a solid embrace. He stroked her hair. “Since you’re here, I can guess how that went.” Cassandra responded by trying to bury her head further into his chest. “It’s not your fault, you know. I can see why he’s so upset. Stephen was his brother, and Kyler, hell she was just a kid. She shouldn’t have even been there. That’d mess any guy up. It’s not right for him to blame you, but that’s his business, you know? You don’t have to believe him, though, and you don’t have to blame yourself.”

Her voice was hoarse whisper, “But it’s been so long. I was hoping… I was hoping things would’ve improved by now, Arsiel.”

“Some folks take longer to recover from that kind of hurt, Cass. Everything’ll come around in time.”

“I hope so, Arsiel.”

“You’ve got plenty on your mind already, Cass. If Ansel is back we need to be on our toes. You can’t let your head or your heart get clouded. Let Gabe sit this one out. Maybe he’s earned the rest.” Cassandra rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes and nodded. “What’s your plan?”

“I was going to go see Ridley. Grey probably can’t send me, so I’ll have to travel long ways.”

“Nah, don’t worry about Ridley. Till you get some proper intel he’s just as useless as I am. I’ll fill him in.” The tip of Arsiel’s tongue just peeked out from between his lips, a sure sign of deep thought. “You know, if we checked the Tomb that’d be an easy way to tell for sure what’s going on.”

“Yeah, I thought about that. Grey isn’t budging.”

“Have you tried Val?”

“He won’t tell me where she is or how to get in touch with her. “

“Can’t you just, you know, with your brain?” He touched his thumb to his temple, and waggled his pinkie in a visual demonstration.

Cassandra shook her head, “No. Not over this kind of distance. If we’re assuming Ansel is loose then he could intercept messages I send to anyone who’s more than a few dozen feet away.”

“Right, well then. You said you’ve kept in touch with Amaranth, yeah?” A nod. “Go see her and fill her in. If I had to bet a dollar I’d say she’s got a line on Dayth and Alex. I’ll work on Grey. Let’s get this thing mobilized properly.”

“But we don’t even know, not for sure, if it’s a serious threat…”

“No room for buts. Deep in your gut you know it’s true, right?” Another nod. “ Then that’s all there is. Stop being so timid about it. We’re your friends Cass, we don’t care if you’re crazy.” Arsiel’s smile was large and compassionate. “I can see why you’d be all shook up on the matter seeing as the first two people you told about it were Grey and Gabe, but now you’ve got Arsiel on the case, and we all know he’s too thick for doubt.” His smile grew in size and warmth.

It was infectious and Cassandra couldn’t help but grin. She squeezed his arm, “Thank you, Arsiel.”

“Don’t mention it.” The two stood side by side, Cassandra bolstering herself with the strength Arsiel clearly had to spare.

“It’s been nice. I really mean that. I needed this. I should get going though.”

“Sure you don’t want to spend the night?”

“Grey gave me a return ticket. Besides I’m feeling restless and wouldn’t want to be a burden.”

“Burden! Are you kidding? I haven’t seen you in over a year and you’re worried about being a burden?”

“Shhh. That’s enough out of you. I’ve made up my mind.” She hugged him tightly. “Say hi to Ridely for me, OK?”

Arsiel shook his head and squeezed back. “Of course. You be careful. Once you meet up with Amaranth I want the two of you two stick together.”

“Yessir!” She executed a sloppy salute. He responded with a wry expression and a raised eyebrow.

“Seriously, be careful.”
“I’m not new to this. I’ll be fine.” She put on her coat and pulled a small charm out of her pocket. It was made from pewter and fashioned to look like a pair of feathery wings. She flicked the charm into the air and a rent, similar to the one from Grey’s office appeared. Cassandra smiled, reached out and squeezed Ridley’s forearm, then stepped into the rift.

Arsiel looked around his empty field and ran his fingers through his hair. “I sure hope she’s wrong about this, but I don’t know that any of us is that lucky.” He retrieved his hoe and picked his way back to his home.

A note concerning Grey (Project: Lodestar 2)

The parlor was tasteful, assuming you didn’t have to spend any time in it. The room was designed to subtly unnerve its occupants. To start, it was four inches off square, the floor rose two inches from east to west, and the ceiling dropped three inches from north to south. All of the paintings and tapestries on the walls were hung almost imperceptibly askew and asymmetrically to one another. The focal point of the art was a series of three paintings over the barely un-level mantel. All were of the same size, but were not hung equidistant from one another, with the left most being closer to the center by just enough to catch the eye. The furniture, though appearing normal, was in fact slightly closer to the ground than one would expect, and although initially very inviting, was just hard enough to ensure that no one could sit in the same position for any length of time and still be comfortable. The floor was specially treated to be just tacky enough to affect the tread of the foot without seeming sticky.

It was an utterly trying room and Cassandra hated it. She stood in the corner and stared out the window while she waited. The glass of course was just impure enough to soften the edges of anything seen through it. A door whispered open and a tall thin man announced, “The Master will see you now.”

“Thank the stars.” Cassandra eagerly followed him out of the room. It took her a moment, but she eventually realized that even the butler was walking arrhythmically. She grabbed his sleeve, “Knock it off would you? I’m not in the mood for Grey’s bullshit.” He ignored her. It was a short walk to the double mahogany doors of the study. The butler announced her presence and then silently excused himself. “Grey, why do you always make me wait in that wretched room?”

“It’s a parlor, Cassandra, that’s what it’s for.” Grey was seated behind a heavy teak desk. He dimmed the desk lamp and leaned back into his chair. “How was Vermont?”

“Like you really need to ask.”

“I’m just being polite.”

“You’re being smug.” One of Grey’s smiles was very subtle, just the slightest turning of the lips, a miniscule bunching of the cheeks. It barely touched the corners of his eyes. It was a very infuriating smile. He employed it now. “Always with your games. It’s a wonder anyone can tolerate you.”

“You keep coming back.” More of the smile.

“Yeah well, I knew you long before you were like this.” She paused for a moment and sat down. She looked at her feet. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you were right about Gabriel.”

“Seriously, how did it go?”

“I hit him.”

“Did that improve the situation any?”

“No, just made me feel worse.” She leaned forward, hands on her knees. “It’s like he’s an entirely different person. I brought up Ansel anyway, but that didn’t help much either.”

“I believe I said something to that effect before you went.”

“I already admitted you were right. Just say ‘I told you so’ and get it out of your system.”

The smile left and was replaced by a more genuine look sadness. “This time though, it would have been nice to be wrong. Did you get to see Kyler?” Everything about him radiated sincerity. His face, his tone, even his eyes were cast with concern.

Cassandra wanted to believe it was true, but a tiny part of her was hesitant. Grey was the only person she had ever met who could lie so convincingly that not even she could tell. “No, things rather fell apart before we got to that point. She’s not dead, but I’m guessing she hasn’t improved.” She sighed

“Of course.” Grey removed his steel framed glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Even I find this Ansel business hard to swallow, Cassandra. I know how accurate you can be, but I’ve found nothing to confirm your statement. Not a single piece of information has surfaced in any of my networks.”

“Please keep looking.”

“I will for now, but there’s only so long I can commit my resources in such a fashion.”

“There is a way we can be sure about this.”

“I will not reveal to you the location of Ansel’s tomb. Neither will Valentine.” Cassandra began to speak and Grey held up a hand. “No. Dream or no dream it’s too risky.”

“Fine. Let’s hope this isn’t something you’re going to regret.”

“Yes, let’s. What’s your next course?”

“Gabriel said I should talk to Ridley or Arsiel. It’s not a bad idea. Do you know where they are?” Grey made a show of flipping through a ledger. Nothing in the ledger was true, Grey kept everything of importance in his mind and he had an infallible memory. The act was unnecessary, his study was utterly secure, but Grey’s cleaving to security practices was so habitual it bordered on the paranoid. “Really Grey? Even here?”

“Everywhere, Cassandra.” Grey smiled. This one was much more smug than the first. “You do realize we’ve been having this entire conversation telepathically.” Cassandra was surprised, she hadn’t noticed. The realization was shocking enough that the contact broke. Grey spoke aloud for the first time since the meeting started, “I guess I’m not the only creature of habit.”

Cassandra’s stare was murderous as she reopened the link. “Do you know or not?”

“Of course I know. Ridely is in Japan. He’s in the middle of a security contract. Arsiel is in South America, the ruins of Rio.”

“If Ridley’s is in the middle of something I’ll go visit Arsiel first. He’s always been the more empathetic of the two anyway. Can you send me?”

“Yes.”

Cassandra stood and walked around the desk. She pulled Grey out of chair and embraced him. “Thank you for humoring me, Grey.”

“The threat is too serious for me to treat it as anything but credible at this point.”

She leaned back, holding him at arm’s length, “It’s ok, deep down I know it’s because you care about me.” Cassandra needed that statement to be true, so she believed it despite that tiny speck of doubt that always surfaced in Grey’s presence. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and mussed his hair.

Grey gently pushed her away and revealed another smile, this one built from warmth. “That will be enough of that. Stay safe Cassandra, I hope you have better luck this time.” He reached out with an exquisitely manicured index finger and deftly sliced a cut into the air. The cut arced fat, blackish purple sparks.

Cassandra stepped up to it and looked back at Grey. “I hope so too.” She stepped through and the wound in space quickly sealed behind her.

Grey smoothed his hair back and sat down at his desk. He stared at the blotter for a moment, and then picked up the phone. “Cynthia, I’d like a secure line please. Full encryption, level nine, please.” He waited. Clicks and hums emitted from the receiver followed by a steady tone. Grey punched in a fifty-six digit number without faltering, and waited another moment for the line to connect. “Hello Val, we need to talk.”