Back at the Hospital they met another set of guards outside. These two weren¡¯t part of the Savior¡¯s but local deputies. They gawked dumbfounded at Zafiri. One made a move for a pistol at his waist.
¡°HOLD THERE!¡± Jan commanded. The man froze in place. Haven't you been updated officer? Zafiri is a friend. Anything happens to her and I¡¯ll hold you personally responsible.?
A spark flew from Jan¡¯s band on her wrist.?
¡°Yes, sure, no problem!¡± A look of fear crossed both men¡¯s faces.?
¡°Ah, hell.¡± Jan pulled Zafiri through the doors and inside.
One of Julian¡¯s men stood outside of Zafiri Father¡¯s room.
He studied Jan intently. ¡°I was expecting you. Julian would like a word.¡±
Zafiri entered the room carrying her bundle with one quick look back at Jan. Jan nodded and gave her a small smile as the door closed behind her.?
¡°Of course, where do I need to go?¡±
¡°He¡¯s in the room,¡± he said.? ¡°Go on in.¡±
Through the door, Julian and the old man were¡having an animated conversation?
¡°So you say these ¡®nano-surgeons¡¯,¡± the old man said, ¡°they¡¯re inside me, literally repairing the damaged tissue of my heart?¡±
¡°I¡¯m no doctor, but that¡¯s the general idea,¡± Julian replied.? ¡°I¡¯m told that your heart will act like it¡¯s 20 years younger when it¡¯s done.¡±
¡°Ahh, I could go dancing again,¡± he chuckled.? Then he turned his head to see his daughter. He smiled.? ¡°Zafiri! My little princess¡¡±
Zafiri said nothing.? She simply rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.? After several moments of sobbing and soft words, she realized something.
¡°Father¡did you?¡± she started in her language.
¡°It¡¯s a simple spell, little princess,¡± he smiled.? ¡°And I had so many questions.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll be damned.¡± Jan said. ¡°I¡¯m...happy to meet you...¡±?
Did she know his name? She hated that when she¡¯d heard a name and forgotten it. A shadow moved in her mind. It felt like she was suddenly reliving her past in fast forward. The feeling passed quickly and she leaned against one wall. That was better than falling.
Another feeling arose inside her. Like smelling something cooking she sensed the older man held something powerful. Jan pulled back her annoying peeping tom act as best she could. The device or whatever it was drew her in like hypnotic music.?
Jan touched Julian¡¯s shoulder, a gesture she wouldn¡¯t have dreamed of back in the day in the Corp but with Julian it felt right. ¡°I think I should go back home and rest up. Who knows what or when someone else might decide to infringe on our little hamlet.¡±?
To Zafiri she added, ¡°You are welcome to stay at my house if you want.¡± She glanced at her Father, ¡°As you may as well.¡± The strange language came so easily now. It surprised her the look she got from Julian. She shrugged helplessly. How do you explain insanity?
¡°Well, it seems there are more than a few surprises today,¡± Julian said.? He eyed Jan. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to an explanation later, of course. In the meantime, as I understand it Mr. Naarmyr, you should be released tomorrow morning, but the docs will probably tell you to take it easy for a while and avoid fried foods.¡±
¡°A wise precaution,¡± Haran col Naarmyr said.? ¡°Although I hope to continue our discussions at a future date.¡±
¡°I can guarantee it,¡± Julian smiled, before getting serious.? ¡°I have a feeling the future is going to count on this and other conversations.¡±
As this was going on, Zafiri pulled out a small slip of paper, and prepared another translation spell.? She realized that at some point she¡¯d have to learn whatever their language was. For now though¡
¡°I¡apologize for not letting you know we could do this,¡± she said sadly.? ¡°I just¡¡±
¡°You needed to learn more about us, I get it,¡± Julian assured.? ¡°Hopefully, you¡¯ve learned enough that you might trust us. As you might expect, we¡¯re¡not from around here.¡±
Zafiri was surprised at how easily the Hidalgo regarded a situation where most would panic.? They were strangers in this world¡ªa part of the world which happened to be at war right now. Of course, after what she witnessed earlier today, perhaps the world should be more worried.
¡°Anyone besides me hungry?¡± Julian asked.? ¡°The hospital cafeteria isn¡¯t half bad, especially if you¡¯re not a patient.¡±
Although the staff had been updated on the peculiar new visitors that didn¡¯t stop wide-eyed stares from those who had yet to come in contact with the alien strangers.?
Jan kept her sunglasses on and followed after Julian and Zafiri as he led them to the cafeteria. The smell of food made her stomach lurch. The beer had staved off hunger for a short while but now she felt ravenous.?
She heaped potatoes, pork slices and garlic bread on a plate along with a paper cup filled with diet soda and planted herself in a chair.?
She wanted to plug Julian on city reactions to his report but held back. How many of Troy would venture beyond the perimeter out of curiosity? If what they had encountered so far was any indication the lands outside of Troy were extremely dangerous.?
Jan was also curious about the magic Zafiri and her father were employing. It looked as if they were using some kind of script without any obvious accoutrements like lamb¡¯s blood or sacrificed virgins fingers. That was a good thing of course but it reminded her of the sacrificial altar she¡¯d fabricated using pig¡¯s blood, iron flecks and incensed candles. She¡¯d ask those questions later when she had Zafiri to herself.
Unable to help herself she looked to Julian and spoke up, ¡°So, what¡¯s city hall¡¯s take on all this so far?¡±
¡°Well, as of this moment, Mayor Reeves is in a closed session with the rest of the City Council and some of the more prominent corporate leaders,¡± Julian said.? ¡°Chiefly the managers from Mistu-Sikorsky, Militech and Biothechnica. I¡¯ve been privy to some of the goings on, being the leader of the Three Nations in Troy, but I¡¯ll probably know more tomorrow.? From the sound of it, they¡¯re looking at what to do for the long run, and what our options are.
¡°The good news for the short term:? Power¡¯s been restored, and it looks like we have it for a good long time at the moment, and people are surprisingly calm.? There was a danger of having everyone panic buy food and supplies at the grocery stores, but those are closed for now under orders of the Mayor.? Luckily, with the fact we just started TroyFest, there¡¯s still plenty of food to go around, and will be for a short while.¡±
Zafiri listened intently.? These ¡°corporate leaders¡± sounded important, though the names of their realms were unlike anything she had ever heard before.? Militech? Biotechnica? Mitsu-Sikorsky? They made no sense. She couldn¡¯t even guess at their creed, though if she could¡¯ve, she was pretty certain they¡¯d still make no sense.
¡°Ma¡¯am,¡± he said to Zafiri, ¡°I¡¯d like you to attend tomorrow¡¯s city council meeting.¡±
¡°Me?¡± Zafiri blurted.? ¡°Why?¡±
¡°Well, quite frankly, because you¡¯re really the only one we know who has a clear idea where we are,¡± he explained.? ¡°I think they¡¯re going to need to fully understand the reality we now find ourselves in. I mean, Jan and I can tell them all about what happened with those soldiers, but I think they need to understand why it happened, and what¡¯s going on.? We can¡¯t do that, but you can¡±
Zafiri nodded in understanding.? ¡°I will do my best, my Lord.¡±
¡°No, no no, don¡¯t call me that,¡± Julian pleaded.? ¡°You can just call me ¡®Julian¡¯ like anyone else.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve heard them call you¡jefe?¡± Zafiri inquired.
¡°It¡¯s sort of a more informal title,¡± he said.? ¡°No one has to call me that. It¡¯s just a tradition among my people.¡±
¡°And you¡¯re also their leader,¡± she observed.
¡°Only because they chose me.¡±
Zafiri went wide-eyed in shock.? They¡chose!? Unbelievable! The way he carried himself, he seemed to be like a nobleman.? Yet his facial features weren¡¯t so delicate. And his hands¡they showed rough and calloused, like he had worked with them most of his life.? So¡no, he wasn¡¯t a nobleman¡but he was a leader. People looked up to him¡
But such a strange man for a leader.
¡°I good one,¡± Jan chimed in. She gave Julian a wolfish grin with a quick nod at Zafiri.?
She sat back, closed her eyes. The population of Troy dumped into a strange world. It would become the epi-center for learning and power assuming that no one had better weapons than a blunderbuss came down the pike.
That was the positive outlook. She studied their new acquaintance Zafiri. She had a history that defied any preconceptions of normality. Yet the mage with horns remained calm, peaceful under the circumstances.?
Did she have something coercing her behavior? Likely not. No one did. Well there were those crazies who thought the devil resided in their head. What sort of control would they have? Would they walk forward in a suicidal confrontation with a Dragon, no correction, wyvern? Was that her in control? No it wasn¡¯t. She would not just expose herself that way. It defied her training. She would remain under cover. It was what was done in a firefight.?
She walked back the events of the day. Zafiri¡¯s own birth rite: ¡°And the people of Torquan, whether by the dark powers themselves or by the Gods as a mark of their displeasure, placed the mark upon them, changing them from men to what we are today.¡±
Dark powers? Jan shuddered involuntarily, sighed then slugged down the rest of her diet soda. She needed time to study. To think. If there was some foregn dark one inside her how could she expunge it, him?
¡°These dark powers¡they kept their promise, but at a terrible price.¡±
Jan shuddered again. Had her price launched an entire city into chaos? Why? If something or someone else had guided her then the question of the day was why? If something was in her head it wasn¡¯t talking.?
She stood, uneasy with the feeling that anything could happen at any second.?
¡°Need some air, I¡¯ll catch you...mas tarde.¡± She gave Julian a half-assed salute. Then left the table.
Jan wandered out of the cafeteria and after a short walk out onto the sidewalk of the Hospital.
She wasn¡¯t convinced, not completely. But if there was a chance she was responsible? Could she fix it? Of course not. The thing had done this. She didn¡¯t have the knowledge, intent or power to pull it off.?
She hadn¡¯t been in a good state of mind. She thought back again at the moment she¡¯d completed the circle to devour herself inside. To end her suffering? Shit and hellfire! How did that go genius??
If the people of Troy only knew. She¡¯d be person non grata. Better not let that cat out of the bag.?
Jan ran to her Electro. It was time to do something.
