Elves Invasion

56

“I hope that’s not going around,” she said, alarmed.

“It’s just a sample. There’s no host,” Ivan replied with a small shake of his head.

“Good.” Grace smiled and looked between the two of them like they were her dear friends. “You two have been busy lately, although I can’t quite tell with what.”

Toshi didn’t react. He’d gotten good at burying his feelings over the past week and a half. If he felt anxious that Grace was actually here in the lab to see what they’d been up to, he quickly snuffed it. Whether she was physically in the room or not, it made no difference. She was always watching, which was why Toshi and Ivan hadn’t even attempted to become stone kin. It was a good thing they knew each other well enough not to need mindspeak in order to read each other’s minds. Toshi glanced at Ivan, who was even better at appearing calm. But then again, he’d had almost two hundred years of experience hiding his emotions from Grace and the Hive.

“We’ve been updating the inoculation roster. Would you like us to walk you through the new diseases we’ve identified?” Ivan asked, with an ever so slightly belabored breath to indicate how tedious that would be for all of them.

“The flu is doing something interesting,” Toshi added with a listless shrug.

Grace declined their unappealing offer by wrinkling her nose. She started wandering around the lab, peering into jars and touching instruments. “It’s been a while since you’ve been down here,” she said to Toshi. When she turned to face him, she gave him a glassy-eyed smile. “I wonder what prompted you to become so hands-on again?”

Toshi knew there was no point trying to act too innocent. She knew something was going on, but had decided that finding out what they were doing was more important than stopping them. For now, anyway.

“Just looking for meaning in my life now that I’ve discovered everything I’ve ever thought to be true was built on a giant lie,” he rattled off as if it were of no consequence. She laughed aloud at his audacity. “What are you doing down here?” he asked in return.

“Alright. No more dancing around it, then.” She stopped her wandering and faced them. “I want to know if your renewed interest in the lab has anything to do with how Ava and her coven disappeared into thin air.”

“You’re really obsessed with that, aren’t you?” Toshi asked, not having to fake his surprise.

Grace’s eyes flashed with anger. “My scouts can’t find her. There’s no trail, no scent markers. Nothing. I’ve sent half the Hive clear into Pack territory, and there’s no sign of her.”

“I don’t see what you expect us to do about that,” Ivan said irritably. “We deal in real materials in the lab, not hocus-pocus. Toshi and I can’t help you if she’s been”—Ivan waved his hands about, searching for the appropriately derisive expression—“spirited away.” “Spirited away.” Grace laughed at the foolishness of that under her breath, and then caught herself. “Spirit walking.” Her smirk dissolved and her eyes moved about restlessly. “Maybe she wasn’t lying about the shaman.”

Toshi hadn’t entirely understood what Ava was talking about when she was pleading for her sister’s life in the redwood grove, but he did know that she had been about to tell Grace how she could be in two places at once. She’d talked about spirit walking and a shaman, and Grace had dismissed it out of hand. It seemed she was changing her mind about that now. Dread roiled in his stomach. The last thing Grace needed was more power.

Grace started heading for the door, already forgetting about Toshi and Ivan now that she had new quarry.

“Where are you going?” Toshi asked. “Grace!” he called out as the door shut behind her.

Ava’s spirit flew up and out of her tortured flesh. Down below, she saw herself writhing in flames. Out and beyond, she saw that the overworld had taken on the shapes of vast swaths of forest and rolling hills.

Lillian was out there somewhere, waiting for her. That wasn’t Ava’s first stop. She had to find Alaric and her braves. She turned away from Lillian’s faint call.

Ava scanned the virgin tracts of land for a beacon. As her body burned she felt it tugging on her spirit, like a child pulling on a balloon. But she was calm here. Patient. She couldn’t jump without some kind of tie to the land she was going to jump to. She needed the vibration of the land in order to unlock the key to that particular place in the same way she needed the vibration of someone’s mind inside their willstone in order to claim them.

I stood behind windyard and Jade who were both beaming with excitement as they looked at the weapons that were inside the treasure box.

windyard started roaming his eyes with such kid-like excitement. "I've been in the CASA for my entire life, but this is my very first time getting inside this room." He muttered in awe.

"Yes, all that was written in the books were true," Jade seconded, also mesmerized at the place that was filled with everything gold and sparkly.

I let my eyes move around, just standing behind them, with arms crossed.

This place is indeed beautiful-magical even.

Each of the treasury that held all the magical weapons of the Geriyo royal clan was in front of each of their statues. Their royal faces and the exact wardrobe they wore with their crowns were carved out so intricately.

There may be a couple of cracks and small holes in them, but it still looked so formidable. One might even think they could move on their own because of the intimidation we could still feel in the mere statues of our kings and queens of old.

"Don't you want to join them? Go on, you got it for them."

I glared at brick's smirking face and looked in front again. The anger I was feeling coming back again.

I clenched my fists. I won that session so I could be granted an out in this chaotic situation. Not to come here in the treasury and waste time even more!

"Come on, dearie. It was a group training. You won, so you and your team get to decide your 'group' request. And look! They seem really happy."

I gritted my teeth and didn't look at him as he gestured his hand to the two that were now picking a weapon in one of the treasure boxes excitedly.

When I stated my request after I took the dummy, brick dismissed me, announcing to everybody that the request should be agreed by the group-that it wasn't supposed to be just an individual request. And I seethed at that. I just wanted to erupt right then and there when I let him play me.

The scum that he was!

brick chuckled when he saw how angry I still was. When