Amber sure wasn't subtle about anything. I was still muttering to myself about how fucking pushy she was when I met up with Misaki at the door to our motel room. We somehow lucked out and got one on the ground floor.
Misaki opened the door and gestured grandly. “After you, love.”
I walked inside and turned the lights on. I shrugged. I'd seen much worse. At least it was clean and didn't smell bad. The door shut behind me and I could feel Misaki's fingers going somewhere sensitive. I turned my head toward her and found her lips with mine.
She broke the kiss gently and favored me with that faint and dangerous smile of hers. I held up a hand to stop her before she could tackle me to the bed.
“Shower first,
then
sex.”
homecoming
It felt more than a little strange to be cast adrift yet again. Despite working with AEGIS for close to a year, I wasn't all that surprised at how little I cared that our association had been severed. I suppose it wasn't
that
unusual—I mean, the agency itself was always sort of murky and sinister and in the background. The woman I met as Star, Meilin, was the one we actually worked with/for day in and day out.
And now Meilin was working with Luna, a group with their own agenda and desires that probably contained a good deal of personal gain for those who operated it. That wasn't too different than working for a private company, I guess, or even government in most cases. I didn't think it was
completely
fair to immediately write them off like that.
My mind kept returning to the “night-bringers,” as Eirene called them. AEGIS, the agency that allegedly existed to destroy specters and keep the influences of evil power and corrupting miasma in check. Now, though… what did they really want? Was their goal now different, or was it still the same, but their methods simply becoming more brutal and extreme as the situation worsened? It was impossible to tell and sitting here playing guessing games in my head wasn't going to help.
I gripped the steering wheel and swerved gently toward the off-ramp, trying to clear the dark thoughts from my mind. Misaki was watching me with concern in her eyes.
“Does it hurt?”
“You mean the thing stuck in my chest?” I shook my head. “No. It feels like it's grown into me, anchored itself to my flesh and bone and spirit. It got a little hot when I used magic back there, but it doesn't hurt.”
Misaki didn't respond.
“Do you really believe that Eirene person was intentionally trying to cause the Relic to fuse with you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I took a sip from my coffee to-go in the cupholder and eased on the brakes as we came to a red-light intersection. “The simplest reason: I'm still alive. She stabbed the blade right through me. By all rights, a thrust like that should have killed me pretty much on the spot, but not only did I live, but there's almost no damage at all.”
“The Relic attempted to protect you,” Misaki argued. “Maybe she's just trying to get on your good side now that you've fused with the Relic instead of dying.”
“I doubt that. Attacking me out of nowhere and then shoving a sword through my body isn't exactly the best way to get on my good side.” I sipped at my coffee as the light changed to green. “'But I do believe her. The evidence supports her claim, anyway.”
Misaki's expression became pensive. “I… suppose that makes sense. Why would she use something like an invocation of dimensional fracturing? Such spells were used to sunder extremely hardened targets… to throw down magically-protected keeps and citadels. If she really wanted to kill you—”
“She'd just have used something a lot more easily accessible. The way she was ripping those chunks of pavement out to create cover? She could have just crushed me under one of those and I'd be squashed like a bug. If she just wanted to take me out for good, there were easier ways to go about it than filling the Relic to the bursting point with magic and shoving it through my chest.”
“I don't know.” Misaki looked a little unhappy, but in her eyes I could see the implicit trust that we'd built up through the course of our relationship.
“Look, I'm
not
saying we should invite her over for pizza and beer or anything. I'm just saying that while Eirene obviously
does
have her own agenda, it seems to be the
least
harmful of the agendas of all the people who are pulling us in all fucking directions.”
Misaki glared at me peevishly. “You don't trust Luna, either.”
“No, I don't, and no, I'm not being a hypocrite. Another powerful organization shrouded in secrecy that really wants us? It'd be idiotic not to be wary. Sure, I can trust
Amber
—she saved my life, after all. And I
definitely
trust Meilin; how many times has she saved
our
lives, not to mention Mama's life?”
“Then what's the problem?” Misaki demanded.
“The problem, love, is that we should just be careful about trusting. We trusted AEGIS, and the agency turned on us. If Meilin hadn't gone against her superiors and rebelled against the agency,
you
would have been unmade and I would still be a science project.”
“But you're still undecided about joining Luna?”
“I'm not unsure.” I hit the brakes and took the curve that would bring us into the quiet, peaceful suburb where my sister lived. “You're half-right, love—we
should
work with them, but we should not necessarily
join
them. Not after what happened with AEGIS, and more than anything because it'll let us keep an eye on them.”
“I can't really argue with your caution,” she murmured, grimacing. “Will you contact Meilin tonight to accept Amber's offer?”
I pulled the car alongside So-yi's driveway, currently filled with her small sedan and Nicole's kid-and-grocery-toting minivan. Mama's car was absent, but I knew she'd been trying to sell it. If anyone was home it'd most likely be Mama and Nicole.
“I'd prefer to discuss things with Amber directly,” I said at length. I popped the door handle and stepped out onto the road next to the house, the new boots Amber supplied feeling more than a little stiff. “I want Luna to understand our position perfectly. Let's not keep any more secrets than we have to.”
“They may not be willing to pay us for a simple alliance.”
“Oh, I think we can convince Amber to play along.” I smiled and took Misaki's hand gently in my own to help her out of the car and onto the sidewalk. It was a completely unnecessary gesture, of course, but the implicitly romantic gesture brought a faint blush to her cheeks.
We walked up to the front door and knocked. After a few moments of waiting and movement that we could hear from inside, Nicole answered the door.
“Karin! You're back!” My sister's wife blanched as she met my eyes, her own widening in astonishment. “W-what the hell happened to your eyes?!”
“Yes, I'm back, I'll explain the eye thing later and other things, besides.” I felt my own cheeks start to warm a little. “Can we come in? I've had a really rough week and I'd like nothing more than to just spend some time with my family.”
“Of course. So-yi is still at work, but Yoshiko's here.”
Nicole led us inside, still able to get around decently, even with the considerable added bulk of a late-term pregnancy. The interior of the home was quiet and a little dark, considering the overcast sky this didn't surprise me much at all. It wasn't raining yet, but I knew it wouldn't be long before the skies opened up.
“Where's Mama?”
Nicole gestured toward the sliding glass door. “Outside, with Kaede. The rain's coming, so she wanted to get some playtime in before we had to bring her inside. Can't have her chasing Salt and Pepper around the house, knocking everything over.”
I expected that much; Salt and Pepper were my sister's cats, brother and sister from the same litter. Kaede loved the cats and always wanted to play with or lick them. The cats, however, only grudgingly tolerated Kaede and that tolerance didn't extend very far.
Misaki started walking for the door and I let her go. I turned to Nicole instead and studied her bulging belly with a mixture of fascination and… yeah, I'll admit, a little excitement. I really
was
looking forward to being Aunt Karin, and why not? I'd get all the benefits of a cute little kid without any of the downsides!
Not that I'd ever admit any of that with Misaki in earshot, of course.
“I know So-yi isn't here, but… do you think it'd be okay if we stayed here for a few days? I'm still feeling pretty weird after everything that's happened.”
Nicole's expression softened. “Of
course
, Karin. You and Misaki are always welcome here, no matter what. So-yi loves having you here and I know Yoshiko always looks forward to a chance to tease you.”
“Things might change a little more, too,” I murmured, not entirely willing to voice my concerns without Misaki by my side. “It's been a crazy week.”
“I'll bet. I'm sure you'll want to wait until everyone's here to talk about it, so I'll hold off the inquisition for now.”
“It's easy to see why my sister finds you so irresistible.” I snickered and delivered my jab at the absent—and unable to defend herself—So-yi. “You're clearly
much
smarter than she is.”
Nicole rolled her eyes. “Damn Ashleys. You're
all
crazy.”
I turned and walked toward the open sliding glass door. Misaki was already outside, sitting on the porch next to my mother. A half-filled pitcher of watermelon soju cocktail sat on the other side. I pushed the booze out of the way and sat down on my mother's right hand side.
“Hi, Mama. I'm back.”
Mama turned to me, her hard brown eyes just a bit shinier and softer than usual. For once, she didn't greet me with a snarky remark. Her strong arms came around and practically scooped me up into a back-slapping hug.
“Welcome back, sweetie. I can see that a lot has happened.”
I smiled and closed my eyes, just enjoying the calming warmth of being wrapped up in my mother's arms. “It feels like it's been so much longer than just a week. So much has happened… and so much
will
be happening.”
Mama released me and picked up her glass of watermelon soju, taking a sip. Without missing a beat, she shoved the mostly-full glass toward Misaki. Vulpine ears twitched and a fluffy tail swished excitedly as she downed most of the cocktail in one go.
“I'm sure you can't tell us much,” Mama said, a hint of displeasure in her voice.
“I don't think AEGIS can legally enforce a nondisclosure agreement on people they tried to murder,” Misaki chimed in. She traced a small runic symbol in the air, giggling as the pitcher of watermelon soju smoothly ascended into the air, arcing over my head and coming to rest gently within her easy reach.
Mama regarded Misaki with a pleased smile. “You're really quite fond of that drink, aren't you?”
“Mhm,” Misaki managed around the rim of the glass. Mama drew another one off the tray on the porch, holding it out to Misaki wordlessly. Once the glass was filled with the slushy, slightly frothy sweet drink, Mama leaned forward and made several clicking noises with her tongue. Kaede obediently came running over, much to Misaki's delight.
“So-yi should be home pretty soon. You two are staying for dinner, I hope?”
“Actually, we're going to be staying here for a few days,” I hedged, trying not to show all my cards just yet. Mama was notorious for seeing right through me, though, and I felt a little more transparent than when I was talking to Nicole.
“I know you were being held against your will for a week, but this is
so
far out of character that I
know
you're up to something. Don't try to pull the wool over your Mama's eyes, young lady.”
I sighed. “I'm not, I just want to wait until So-yi is home to talk about things.”
“Okay, okay, I'll lay off. For now.” Mama's smile widened as she watched Misaki fall off the edge of the porch onto the grass. Kaede jumped into the air and pounced, trying to grab Misaki's fluffy tail with her mouth. Misaki giggled and her tail twitched out of the way at the last moment, eliciting a frustrated bark from the dog.
I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it with my battered windproof lighter. The battle at the Luna outpost somehow managed to completely avoid hitting my car or destroying anything inside, for which I was eternally grateful.
“I need to go start getting dinner ready,” Mama said, breaking the silence. “Nicole, well, she tries to pretend otherwise, but the more pregnant she gets, the harder it is for her to do things like cooking and cleaning.”
“I'm sure you've been putting So-yi to work.”
“Of course, but So-yi works six hours a day and Nicole refuses to stop writing poetry, even when sometimes she has trouble sitting up at the table. Most of the day-to-day falls to me and it'll only increase when the baby's born.”
I snickered softly. “And you wouldn't have it any other way.”
“Well, what the hell
else
would I do all day?”
“You could play video games.”
“I get more gaming hours than I know what to do with,” Mama retorted. “In my old age, my family is my whole world—and no, I would never have it any other way.”
“Old age, huh?”
Mama snorted and downed a quarter of her glass of booze. “And yet I can
still
keep up with both of my ridiculous daughters. What's your excuse?”
“Go cook!” I shooed her away with both hands. “We're hungry!”
“Watch it, young lady,” Mama warned, giving me an evil glare as she got to her feet with surprising agility for someone fast approaching sixty. I broke into gales of laughter as she made her way back into the house.