had what appeared to be some kind of ancient script/molecular-looking symbols running from my fingers to my shoulder.
“I’d very much like to copy the symbols, to study them. When you’re up for it, of course.”
Aaron felt strongly that the markings on my arm were from the language of the First Ones. Divine script. The first writings. The root language of the three worlds. And to him it was further evidence that I was morphing into—or evolving back into—a First One, a divine being, the first beings formed by the Creator and the genetic forefathers of the three noble races: humans, Charbydon nobles, and the Elysian Adonai.
“Maybe when
you’re
up to it,” I said, standing.
He actually smiled at that. Aaron was a long way from being healed and he knew it.
After I left the tiny hut in the woods, I took the meandering path that led to the school.
Bigger and grander than the Mordecai House, the League’s school, all done in gray stone and Gothic architecture, seemed like the perfect atmosphere to study the arcane. The grounds were beautiful and just as immaculate as the grounds of the Mordecai House.
I really didn’t think about what I did next, just let my feet carry me to the front of the main building and then followed the signs that pointed to the office, where I spoke with the administrative assistant. After looking over the scholarship application that Aaron had partially filled out, I signed my name to it, also signing the form giving permission to release my daughter’s academic records from Hope Ridge.
There. Done. I swallowed tightly, handed the pen back, and left.
It was just one small step, I told myself. Just to see if she’d even qualify. It didn’t mean I’d made a decision.
It was only a baby step.
5
I spent the rest of the day checking out the residences and workplaces of the suicide victims and talking to friends and family before heading into the office. There’d been no notes, no hints from family or friends that either
ash
addict had been contemplating suicide. Nothing to suggest they were about to take a leap from a twelfth-story window.
Walking across the back lot of Station One, a sense of defeat settled over me. I was tired. Anxious for a call from Alessandra. Worried about my sister and the other potential victims.
How did you fight something you couldn’t see or weren’t sure existed in the first place? How did you protect someone you love from an unknown like that? I shuffled up the steps and into the building, heading robotically toward the elevator that would take me tothe fifth floor—home to my tiny office set amid a sea of overflow office equipment.
Hank and I no longer worked for the Integration Task Force of Atlanta. I’d gone rogue to save my kid and Hank had joined me. I’d known at the time it would cost me my job and end up in jail time.
Ask me to do it again and I would in a heartbeat.
What else could I have done? Tell my kid I couldn’t break the law to save her life? That I just had to sit back and let her die? Please. I’d give my
life
for my kid. Saving her had been the
only
choice.
The decision had been a no-brainer, but it was that decision which gained us the attention of the covert bigwigs in Washington. It was either take the job or go to jail. We took the job.
There were teams like us in every major city. Anywhere there was a gateway into the other worlds, anywhere there was a large population of off-worlders you’d find two detectives like Hank and me willing to go above and beyond.
The elevator doors slid open with a whisper. My stomach growled as I walked down the hallway, reminding me that I never should’ve skipped lunch. I slid my key card into the lock and then made my way through the maze of discarded office equipment and furniture before coming to our nifty space in the back corner. With a heavy exhale, I dropped into my chair, laid my arms on the desk, and rested my forehead on my arms.
So tired—my stomach growled
“I’d very much like to copy the symbols, to study them. When you’re up for it, of course.”
Aaron felt strongly that the markings on my arm were from the language of the First Ones. Divine script. The first writings. The root language of the three worlds. And to him it was further evidence that I was morphing into—or evolving back into—a First One, a divine being, the first beings formed by the Creator and the genetic forefathers of the three noble races: humans, Charbydon nobles, and the Elysian Adonai.
“Maybe when
you’re
up to it,” I said, standing.
He actually smiled at that. Aaron was a long way from being healed and he knew it.
After I left the tiny hut in the woods, I took the meandering path that led to the school.
Bigger and grander than the Mordecai House, the League’s school, all done in gray stone and Gothic architecture, seemed like the perfect atmosphere to study the arcane. The grounds were beautiful and just as immaculate as the grounds of the Mordecai House.
I really didn’t think about what I did next, just let my feet carry me to the front of the main building and then followed the signs that pointed to the office, where I spoke with the administrative assistant. After looking over the scholarship application that Aaron had partially filled out, I signed my name to it, also signing the form giving permission to release my daughter’s academic records from Hope Ridge.
There. Done. I swallowed tightly, handed the pen back, and left.
It was just one small step, I told myself. Just to see if she’d even qualify. It didn’t mean I’d made a decision.
It was only a baby step.
5
I spent the rest of the day checking out the residences and workplaces of the suicide victims and talking to friends and family before heading into the office. There’d been no notes, no hints from family or friends that either
ash
addict had been contemplating suicide. Nothing to suggest they were about to take a leap from a twelfth-story window.
Walking across the back lot of Station One, a sense of defeat settled over me. I was tired. Anxious for a call from Alessandra. Worried about my sister and the other potential victims.
How did you fight something you couldn’t see or weren’t sure existed in the first place? How did you protect someone you love from an unknown like that? I shuffled up the steps and into the building, heading robotically toward the elevator that would take me tothe fifth floor—home to my tiny office set amid a sea of overflow office equipment.
Hank and I no longer worked for the Integration Task Force of Atlanta. I’d gone rogue to save my kid and Hank had joined me. I’d known at the time it would cost me my job and end up in jail time.
Ask me to do it again and I would in a heartbeat.
What else could I have done? Tell my kid I couldn’t break the law to save her life? That I just had to sit back and let her die? Please. I’d give my
life
for my kid. Saving her had been the
only
choice.
The decision had been a no-brainer, but it was that decision which gained us the attention of the covert bigwigs in Washington. It was either take the job or go to jail. We took the job.
There were teams like us in every major city. Anywhere there was a gateway into the other worlds, anywhere there was a large population of off-worlders you’d find two detectives like Hank and me willing to go above and beyond.
The elevator doors slid open with a whisper. My stomach growled as I walked down the hallway, reminding me that I never should’ve skipped lunch. I slid my key card into the lock and then made my way through the maze of discarded office equipment and furniture before coming to our nifty space in the back corner. With a heavy exhale, I dropped into my chair, laid my arms on the desk, and rested my forehead on my arms.
So tired—my stomach growled
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