Two figures appeared from thin air at the gates of City O. The nearly invisible carriage they had stepped out of disappeared completely a few moments later, as the twilight sky didn’t have enough light to support it for long. They drew stares from the nearby commuters, and were quickly cleared by the City’s gatekeepers. They were dressed in military fatigues, and were likely not Guardsmen, as not many were around at the moment; most forces had been diverted to protect City S thousands of miles to the south, as reported on O’s local news network via radio.

  Aurra was facing a war—that much was known to the public. But it was far too early to make the distinction of just who was doing the fighting and why. The news mentioned the Guard losing providence, and a wide rebellion now in its first days of life. Those of O had stayed mostly out of the ordeal so far, as the City rested at a northern, non-vital location. Still, it was mid-tier, and its citizens would be offered protection by—or from—the Guard eventually, depending on who would take control first.

  O had a varied, but unspectacular style. Its buildings mostly took inspiration from Asian and American architecture, but had subdued modern forms that kept any artistic flair to a minimum. Its claim to fame was a scientific community and its development of dimensional portals.

  They had created the updated models for the three portals around the world a century ago, and had continued their research ever since. Now with two of the three portal sites damaged and in need of repair, the local industry was hard at work again. Creating or repairing a portal was arduous work that demanded a large, dedicated work force. But they were happy to assist, so for the time being, the locals were in a generally upbeat attitude.

  “Good old O.” Verim yawned and stretched. “Our second home.”

  “We do come here often enough,” Shin replied. “The work we do relies on these portals and keeping them maintained, so it’s no surprise.”

  “Boring, though. Good thing we just need to ask a few questions.”

  “And first we ask where, exactly, the datastone was ‘moved.’”

  “By now, we probably won’t find anything on the other side, you know. What we should do is visit one of those newspaper archives at a library and look for stories dating back seven years ago.”

  “Yeah, but I still want to see the lab where they tossed the stone.”

  “One problem… The nearest bank with Aurrian stuff is in New York. We don’t even have any cash on us when we switch over.”

  “Hopefully we won’t need anything, then. Now walk faster.”

  “You still know the way to the lab, right?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Race you there?”

  “Come on, Shin… You know that isn’t fair, and I really don’t want to be silly right now. We’re at war.”

  “Wow, look at you. When did you get so serious?”

  “Think Garder and Milla’s groups are doing okay?”

  “We split up only an hour ago. I don’t think they could get in that much trouble yet.”

  Their target laboratory was close to the edge of the City, so the two only had to walk about a mile to get there. It was a large building designed to look as if it were built completely out of mirrored glass. A large crescent moon statue with a slash running through it rested in the mall out front; the symbol put on each portal device the City maintained.

  The two were allowed in after a light security check, and went to see the person currently in charge of operations. Built in a clean, high-tech style, the main chamber resembled a place that might exist on Earth in the next couple of decades. Filled with machinery and workers in lab coats, the centerpiece of the multileveled room was the miniature portal machine in the center, its outer rings perpetually spinning. Shin and Verim walked about idly until a tall, middle-aged man came to greet the two.

  “Hello visitors, how may I help you?” he asked politely.

  “Are you the current director?” Shin asked.

  “Yes. I’m Dr. Flicker, just taking over from the previous director who retired last month. Is there something I can do for you today?”

  “You’re new, huh…” Verim sighed. “Is there a chance you know about the case of a datastone transferred at this site seven years ago?”

  “I might.”

  “Its material was not standard, so it may be under investigation.”

  “We forgot to introduce ourselves,” Shin stated. “We’re both on assignment for General Rivia, as well as Queen Escellé from the kingdom of Hold. Are you aware of that place?”

  “Everyone here, in this building, is aware of the hidden kingdom, yes. It is necessary knowledge for our work.”

  “Have you heard anything about the uprising?”

  “Only murmurs. Long shifts, enclosed space. You get the idea.”

  “Anything about claws that can tear through dimensional fabric?”

  “Yes, I’ve heard about those. I’m excited about such a prospect.”

  “We’ll talk about that in a minute. Right now, we’re trying to track down what happened to a datastone sent to Earth seven years ago.”

  “I’ve studied that case, but the file on the object is no more special than any others. We sometimes get requests from the Guard to dispose of items onto Earth without the use of a high-profile central portal. Often, it’s matter that can’t be broken down any further, but nothing ever too large or dangerous. We file everything we send, but the staff didn’t report anything particularly unusual about that datastone. The only reason it stands out is because it was made of unlisted material, which has happened before.”

  “These portals here are one way, right?”

  “Yes. Not even light comes through from Earth.”

  “And that’s the portal you use, right there?”

  “Yes.” Flicker looked back at the sphere of glowing energy, protected behind a thick glass enclosure. “Beauty, isn’t she?”

  “One sec.”

  Shin took out the claws and tore open a small hole in front of her, and closed it again moments later. Flicker watched this in amazement.

  “Yeah… the destination is a pretty overgrown forest in Maine. There was also a rural road nearby.”

  “Funny place to dump possibly sensitive Aurrian junk,” Verim said.

  “We can’t actually see the site directly,” Flicker sighed. “We have to painstakingly send someone to Earth and map the position. The last time we did so, the area was remote and completely uninhabited. I suppose we should move the portal, but it’d be difficult to get it past this City…”

  “The Guard was pretty strict on your usage, huh?”

  “Oh, yes. They’ve only ever approved three sites to set up central portals. Used to be, long ago, you could only send someone through once an hour. Then the demirriages came, but the art of making them was lost. Then my forebearers upgraded the portals and made them more viable.”

  “So, what do you do here, in modern times?”

  “We try to make them more efficient and easier to use. Our portals simply tune into a certain frequency of spacetime and disable it to briefly remove matter. It’s kind of like the idea of hitting the right spot on a boulder to crack the entire rock. If our Earth brethren knew of Aurra, they could probably develop the technology in time, as well.”

  “And demirriage scrolls form weak matter that can slip between the worlds,” Shin replied. “These claws must do something else entirely.”

  “Are their points very sharp?”

  “Not really. Not even enough to cause a serious cut on their own. And they only work in pairs. One with a blue tip, one with a red tip.”

  “Some sort of magnetism perhaps. I could throw out all sorts of theories, but I’m sure I’d just bore you. I’d ask you to leave those claws here so we could study them, but no doubt you need them yourselves.”

  “We do, and the resistance movements out there needs the rest if they want any chance to come together. We’ll keep you in mind, though.”

  “I’m sorry that I couldn’t really help you further.”

  “Your predecessor wouldn’t know more, would he?”

  “He was pretty diligent with his note taking, so I probably know everything he did. And like I said, when we toss something through here, we don’t see what happens to it.”

  “Well, thank you for your help in any case. We’re on assignment though, so we can’t really hang around in the City.”

  Shin reached for the claws again, but she could tell that Flicker was hesitating about saying something before they left.

  “What’s up?” Verim asked.

  “Well, actually… I hope this isn’t too much trouble, but did you know that two of our portals have been heavily damaged?”

  “Yeah. And, um, I was the one who kind of shut the Australian one down. Sorry about that, had to slow the Guard earlier.”

  “We’re working on repairing it, and what’s done is done. What I wanted to ask you though… Well, we have an Earthen agent here who has been looking for a way back there for some time now. You could take him with you with those claws, right?”

  “Er, I suppose…” Shin replied. “But who is this guy?”

  “No one of special interest I think, but he’d certainly appreciate it.”

  “Where does he have to go?”

  “Somewhere across the Atlantic, I think. Is that a problem?”

  “We have a demirriage. We can drop him off and be on our way if it’s really so important to him.”

  “You really are well equipped, aren’t you?”

  “We’re kind of part of an important group of people,” Verim explained. “Is there a reason he can’t just get his own ride there?”

  “The Guard has shut down all transportation on this side of the continent. Whatever is happening, they really don’t want any outsiders coming anywhere near S. Follow me, maybe he can tell you more.”

  The two looked at each other and shrugged. It seemed to be a rather arbitrary request, but an Earthen agent would likely lean towards the side they were trying to help. They went ahead and allowed Flicker to show them the waiting area of the facility, where the agent was waiting.

  They saw him right away, looking through an Aurrian magazine on the room’s largest chair. He was a heftier man with enough stubble on his face to qualify as a beard. Covering his body was a large, tattered brown trench coat. Some dark red fabric was around his shoulders, and his eyes were covered by a black fedora with a rip on one side. Two things stood out right away: the rifles leaning against his chair, one Aurrian, the other an old wooden bolt action from Earth. Most noticeable was the scruffy, ragged, hairy and rather plump Russian Blue cat sitting attentively on his shoulder, which was sporting a small eye patch on its left side.

  “T-that cat has an eye patch…” Verim stated flatly.

  “Professor, are you here to tell me that you can send me through one of your portals?” the man asked in an Eastern European-like accent.

  “I’m afraid not. We simply cannot provide the power needed at this facility to send a living thing through. We’re planning to move, but…”

  “Unfortunate,” he sighed and went back to his magazine.

  “But these two might be able to help you. They seem to have a pair of claws that can tear through space.”

  He looked up. “Well… that sure is interesting.”

  “They come from a demon which the Guard helped C develop,” Shin explained. “Only, the creature was encoded onto a unique datastone never before synthesized. The stone was disposed of here—but the demon still came to life years later. We’re trying to figure out what happened.”

  “And you’re saying you can bring me to Earth right away, yes?”

  “Um… sure,” Verim replied. “You’re an Earthen agent, right? That means you’re an Aurrian, but you spend most of your time on Earth?”

  “Yes. I work across Europe. But I’ve been stuck here for a month. My supervisor has yet to contact me, so I fear something has happened.”

  “Well, we can take you,” Shin assured. “Though we were kind of planning on seeing if a friend General Rivia mentioned would show up.”

  “Rivia? I believe that may be me he was referring to. We haven’t spoken in a while, but he did say someone might show up here eventually.”

  “Sounds like he’s our guy, Shin,” Verim replied.

  Shin took out the claws. “He sure does plan ahead. Ah, we have some stops to make, but getting you back to Europe won’t be a problem.”

  “Can I watch?” Flicker asked. “I’m really curious about the claws.”

  “Sure. It’s nothing special, though.”

  Shin opened a large tear in space in the middle of the waiting room. They were about a foot in the air, and closer to the road. A single leaf from one of Maine’s trees blew into the waiting room, exciting Flicker a great deal. The Earthen agent didn’t seem the least bit intrigued, and he hurriedly grabbed his rifles and was the first to step on through.

  “Thanks for the help,” Verim said and went in next.

  “It’ll close by itself in a few seconds, after I let go,” Shin explained. “See you later, maybe.”

  “Thank you for the demonstration. I need to get back to work, so I hope you won’t have any difficulty escorting our friend all about.”

  “We shouldn’t. Take care, Flicker.”

  Shin passed on through as if she had done so a hundred times before, and the tear closed behind her.

  It was a chilly late morning in rural Maine, but with the sun out and the air clean, the walk was refreshing. As expected, nothing was apparent at the site aside from a few splotches of snow and old leaves. Any synthesized objects had probably eroded into nothing, with Earth’s physical dominance over mind-made material. Shin took out her compass and began heading south down the gravel road with the others, no destination in mind just yet.

  “Isn’t this nice?” she sighed. “It’s so quiet and secluded out here. Wouldn’t even guess there was a war starting up on the other side.”

  “So… who are you?” Verim asked their new traveling partner.

  “My name is Wendell Celin. As you can see, I am a rifleman, and I must say that I am pretty good shot.”

  “And your cat?”

  “Oh yes, him. His name is Scud. He is a friend of mine.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “That’s kind of a weird name for a cat…”

  “What name should I give him? Peter? Thomas? I do not like giving animals human names. Not that I think they are below us, but they are simply not human.” He laughed.

  “I take it that you’re an animalect, then?”

  “It would seem so, lad.”

  “Verim here is one, as well,” Shin replied. “And I’m Shinamayu Xin, but most call me Shin. We’re both from Hold’s hidden kingdom and, like you, work primarily on Earth. But… not that much recently.”

  “You are partners?”

  “No, but we were good friends in Hold, and both got thrown into this mess. We’ve been stuck together since. Have you seen our kingdom?”

  “No. I have yet to die on Earth, but I believe in its existence.”

  “Do you identify as German here?” Verim wondered.

  “Austrian. I spend all but five or so days of the year on Earth, mostly in Eastern Europe. Do you know a lot about Earth agents?”

  “Not much more than that they exist.”

  “There are probably about a thousand or so of us, some working for the Guard. We keep up on events here and return to report any possible upcoming disasters, or high-profile people that may enter Hold soon.”

  “Like world leaders facing execution during a coup or something?”

  “That’s a pretty exceptional occurrence, Verim…” Shin noted.

  “More or less, yes,” Wendell said with another hearty laugh. “It’s always an event when a leader enters Hold. They are judged very differently, and whoever is assigned to their case usually becomes famous. It’s also the job of my group of people to provide evidence for or against them.”

  “You’d have to enter Hold yourself, then. Meaning you’d return to Aurra and allow your supervisor to give you a so-called ‘graceful death.’”

  “There is no other way to assist in such cases, so yes, you are correct. But this is something that only happens once or twice in a lifetime. Almost all of us will not have to go through it.”

  “You ever influence anything on Earth directly?”

  “We aren’t allowed to, and it’d be difficult to get into the political system and make a change ourselves. We can defend ourselves, however.”

  “Ah. You basically just stay in the shadows and keep tabs on events in this world,” Verim summarized. “Guess that’s kind of an important job. A judge coming from a full Aurrian lifetime would probably be way out of touch on Earth events, and it’s important to always be up to date on justice practices here and current human character flaws, eh?”

  “That’s exactly why Aurra employs us. You’re a keen young man.”

  “Except the Guard wants to increase this kind of work a hundred-fold,” Shin explained. “One reason for this uprising—which we haven’t seen yet—stems from the Guard plotting to take control of Earth.”

  “I feared as such…” Wendell sighed. “I had a feeling that it would all lead to something like that one day; the ruling party finally becomes tired of Earth’s foolishness. I’ll tell you something. For a people whose majority believes in some form of an afterlife, Earthens walk a fine line between virtue and hypocrisy. I see so many questionable actions on a daily basis from both the poor and the powerful, but at the same time, I can see that they are trying when it comes right down to it. Most want to make a better world for themselves, but their bad sides continue to bog them down.”

  “No kidding. You’re practically an Earthen with the knowledge of Aurra and a body belonging to it, as well. Practice any alchemagi?”

  “No. I’m a fire, but I pretty much lack any talent in the field. That also makes me a prime candidate—the government typically chooses those who are less likely to, well, accidently make a transdimensional scene. Makes the effort safer, and we focus our energy on other talents.”

  “What about your cat?” Verim asked.

  “He’s old, but he’s never let me down. It’s great having an animal at your side. Gives you another pairs of eyes. Or, ha—one more eye in my little friend’s case. I’m also quite skilled as a soul searcher.”

  “Ah, we have another thing in common, then. I’m a tracker.”

  “You track down one’s body, and I track down one’s inner self.”

  “You can soul search on Earth, right?” Shin asked.

  “Eh, to some degree. It is more difficult without someone’s ability to recollect. You can’t tap into that, so you’ve got to read their soul directly. It is far more laborious. When I retire, I plan to take up my old position as an Aurrian searcher. I enjoy reuniting people with loved ones of the past.”

  “I can see why Rivia kept you on standby. We could use your help with a job. That is, if you have time to assist us while we’re here.”

  “I can return a favor. What else should I know about you two?”

  “Well, not that it matters anymore, but I have the ability to break providence,” Verim replied. “I can’t explain it. Neither can anyone else.”

  “You could attack the Guard, even before the suppression failed?”

  “Yes, though I didn’t… do it often. Ever heard of such a thing?”

  “Maybe the system mistakes you for a Guardsman? But I doubt it. You’d know if that were the case. That is quite an anomaly, isn’t it? Have you always been able to do this?”

  “Only in this body.”

  “So, the ability remains, even though you’ve died, as Verim?”

  “Yes, and after many times. Sometimes it was even accidental.”

  “Going to Hold eradicates any alterations on your body aside from alchemagi stones. It puts it back in sync to your baseline true self. So… it must have something to do with your inner being, right?”

  “Yeah, but I’ve never figured out what. Still, it’s come in useful a couple times. Hey, you should meet our other friends. We’re only a small part of this big group we’re in, ya see. Lots of interesting people.”

  “I wouldn’t mind.”

  “Where’s your home City, anyway?” Shin questioned.

  “That’d be F.”

  “F…” Shin stopped in her tracks. “Wendell, you do remember that F holds the Onasian Guard’s central military academy, right? I don’t know if it’s even possible to get in there right now.”

  “I know, but I’m still obligated to meet with my supervisor.”

  “You’re not with the Guard yourself, right?”

  “Of course not. I would never join those self-centered, holier than thou ruffians. Perhaps I could go alone to keep you out of danger, then return with the demirriage and we could all go if it was safe.”

  “We need that demirriage. We can’t even come close to risking losing it. We’ll figure this out along the way, but if you really need to go back there, we’ll warp in outside the City and carefully look it over first.”

  “You have sunlamps?”

  “We always carry everything we need.”

  “Except Earth cash,” Verim sighed. “Shin, where are we going, anyway? Nothing down here but a dirt road.”

  “Just thought we’d take a break and get to know our new friend. But we should get to a library and start looking at old news articles.”

  “Who exactly are you looking for?” Wendell asked.

  “He or she might be seven years old, if the theory is correct. We have a month and a year to look at, to find something on a found orphan.”

  “But we killed the demon they might’ve been controlling,” Verim said. “What if doing so killed the child, as well?”

  “We won’t know anything until we begin looking. Have you been to Portland, Wendell? We’d have better luck starting in the bigger cities.”

  “I’m a bit of a world traveler. It comes with the position. I’m sure I’ve been there, but I’ve seen so many places. I can’t remember it exactly.”

  “If you could remember the scenery of any place in Portland, it’d be enough. The airport, a restaurant, anything at all.”

  “Hold on, hold on…” Wendell reached over at the large satchel on his side and searched for something inside.

  Upon opening it, Scud’s nose stirred, suggesting that the bag was full of captured smells. Wendell took out a small photo album, its pages full and ragged. It seemed to be categorized by continent, with Europe taking up the most space. He flipped through the sections on the Americas for a few minutes before spotting something on a page and tapping on it.

  “Here we go,” he said with a smile.

  He flipped the book around so Verim and Shin could see. It was built like a scrapbook, with imagery taking up every available space. Messy handwritten scribbles identified each picture, some of which were only an inch wide. In one of the corners were the words “Portland, ME”. It was a picture of a lighthouse on an icy beach.

  “I take photographs of the places I’ve been to,” Wendell explained and pocketed the album. “You are lucky, though. For America, I’ve only been on the Eastern coast, and mostly to see historic lighthouses.”

  Shin was apprehensive. “You remember the place clearly, right?”

  “I think so, yes. What happens if my memory isn’t good enough?”

  “Oh, any number of things. The worst of which is having your molecules split in half or warping out of existence.”

  “Ah… that does not sound pleasant.”

  “But now I really see why Rivia wanted us to find you, so we’ll trust your judgment,” Shin assured and took out the demirriage scroll. “Oh, hey, as a traveler, do you have a bank account you can access internationally?”

  “Of course. Aurrian provided funds. But a library is free, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, but Earth food isn’t, and we’re starving. Buy us lunch?”

  “Food, eh…” Wendell sighed. “Yes, yes… fine with me.”

  “Um, one thing. I know you’re aware of this by now, but Earthens might panic if they see us walking around with Aurrian weaponry. Verim and I will have to hide our blades, and I think you should follow suit.”

  “Oh, right—my rifles. Nearly forgot.”

  He reached back into his satchel and took out a small disc with a reflective surface. Verim and Shin had never seen such a thing, so they could only wait and see what it would do. Wendell took both rifles in one hand, then tapped the disc with his free thumb and held it under the rifles. The weapons glowed a vibrant gold, and disappeared into a sparkling mist that was sucked into the disc. Afterwards, the surface became gold itself.

  “Okay…” Verim stuttered. “What the heck was that?”

  “What? New to these?” He put the disc back in the bag. “Guess so. They’re fairly new, and only a few are out in the worlds.”

  “What are they?”

  “Kind of a de-synthesizer. It breaks down the matter of a created object and inscribes it on a datastone inside the device. The datastone can then be reread and synthesized again.”

  “So… it’s a storage device,” Shin said. “Neat.”

  “Yes. Very useful, too. The object doesn’t exactly exist right now in any form. Its structure was simply converted to data and can be recreated. The brighter the storage disc glows, the fuller its capacity.”

  “Can you store our swords in it?”

  “Blades are much simpler objects, so I should be able to.” He took out the disc again.

  They handed Wendell their swords, which he captured on the disc. Now glowing more brightly, he again returned the device to its bag.

  “Hey, thanks. Definitely makes it more comfortable to walk around. Those things would be really useful to the rebels… They could sneak weaponry by security checks and such.”

  “That’s exactly why they’re so regulated. I doubt there are many more in existence than the number of agents in the field.”

  “Ah, well. Just another thing we should try and get a few of.”

  Shin gathered up the scroll, and the three stepped into the carriage floating in the air. After a brief explanation of how it worked, Wendell concentrated and hit the nearly invisible pedestal in front of him.

  They appeared on an empty beach with a lighthouse in the distance, and beyond the sands was the city of Portland. Thankful that they had arrived safely, they stepped out of the carriage and began their trek down the empty beach, its coastal wind chilling.

  In need of a meal, they first stopped at a pier’s outdoor restaurant. They talked casually about lighter subjects as they ate varied seafood—some of which Wendell passed to the furry companion hiding in his coat. After he paid with cash, they proceeded to the inner city to find the library and get started on their investigation, which may very well take all day.

  All three being regulars on Earth, they didn’t feel out of place at all. It was a nice change of pace being in the world again—and out of its largest desert, so while Shin and Verim remained devoted to their assignment, they at least had a small breather to enjoy before returning to troubled Aurra.

  After arriving at the library, Wendell left Scud out in some bushes in front of the building and gave him a few scraps to eat for later, telling the animal he’d check in from time to time, and he’d try to not take too long.

  “I don’t understand Earth’s attitude towards animals,” he sighed as they entered the building. “How much harm can one cat cause in a library, right? I realize no one in this world can speak their language, but still…”

  “Where do we start?” Verim wondered.

  Shin answered, “The newspaper articles first, see what we can gather. Better cover all of seven years ago just to be safe. Once we know what we’re looking for, we can use that web thing to find out more.”

  “Heh, don’t feel bad. I can just barely use email myself,” Wendell replied. “This world’s moving so fast I can’t keep up, to tell you the truth. Pretty soon newspapers won’t even be printed on paper anymore. And attitudes are shifting, as well. It all means change is coming to Aurra, too.”

  “Seeing all of these changes take place… is kind of strange. This is like getting a glimpse at the world you’re going to be get born into again someday, when it’ll be easy to take all of this for granted.”

  “Hey, thanks again for helping us out, Wendell,” Verim said.

  “It is no problem. I don’t much desire to join an uprising, but I don’t think helping you with some newspapers counts as treason.”

  “But you know, you could be really helpful in another way…” Shin added. “With all the places you’ve been and your album, it’d make getting around much easier. Not… that I’m asking you to join us or anything.”

  “Eh, we’ll see what happens at F. I have to follow orders, but if there aren’t any, I might stick around for a bit. Why not?”

  Verim pointed ahead. “News archives. Wouldn’t mind hiding in a dark room for a bit. We’ve already gotten enough odd stares.”

  “That’s what Aurrian clothing gets you,” Shin said and went inside.

  “Hm…” Verim looked over Wendell. “You’re kind of a mix. Ya look more ‘normal’ than I do here, anyway. You wear that hat all the time?”

  “Yes,” he answered and entered the archive.

  Verim shrugged, covered his tooth, and followed him in.

  Expecting a lengthy research session, Shin instead found something at her microfiche station after only an hour of scouring articles, keeping her focus on the three months around the time the datastone was reportedly tossed. A story that made the front page of a paper dated August 16th, 1998 stuck out. She called over Verim and Wendell, and read the article out loud, which was underneath a stock picture of the road they had traveled earlier.

  “’Baby Girl Found on Rural Maine Road’,” Shin began. “A newborn girl was discovered in rural Maine yesterday by a local farmer near the town of Harmony. Doctors have described her as ‘surprisingly healthy’, as well as ‘very lucky’. Too young to crawl, the baby may have been abandoned sometime within the last two days. She was almost out of sight from the road, and in honor of her fortune and the town in which she was found, the local police have given her the name ‘Harmony’.”

  Verim smiled. “Bingo. Couldn’t’a been easier.”

  “Still need to find out where she is now, Verim,” Shin reminded. “That might be the hard part.”

  Wendell continued, “An investigation of the mother’s whereabouts has already begun, but so far there have been no leads. Local residents were shocked that someone would go to such lengths to hide a newborn. But the child appears to be in great health, and doctors will be further examining baby Harmony to hopefully aid in seeking down the mother.”

  “That’s it for the first article,” Shin said. “I’d bet that this would become something of a hot news item back then, so…”

  She continued flipping through the issues, day by day. Nearly every day for a month there was some manner of update about “Baby Harmony”. Her exceptional health continued to surprise doctors, and indicated that the mother she didn’t actually have was likely not a drug addict, and may have even been financially well off. The articles were mostly new assumptions given by doctors and the police, but they must have attracted a following.

  After a month, news on Harmony steeply declined until three months had passed, at which point the investigation was unsurprisingly called off. Harmony was later made available for adoption, but of course, the adoptees were kept confidential—other than the notice that she had been taken in by a Westbrook couple many miles away.

  Determined to learn more, the three continued searching through newspapers for another three years, but found nothing else. As soon as Harmony was adopted, the popularity of her enigmatic origins must have simply disappeared. They spent another hour or so searching through web pages about Maine adoption agencies, as well as a few other online articles about Harmony, but found nothing else. They left the library at sunset with one mystery solved, but with another ahead of them.

  “You know, there is every chance that her name was changed when she was adopted,” Wendell suggested as Scud crawled back up his arm out front. “Her parents would have wanted to give her a normal life. If she kept the name Harmony, there probably would have been a couple articles, however minor, about her in Westbrook.”

  “So, the parents probably kept the adoption very secretive,” Shin added. “We really can’t go around asking about a child, can we?”

  Wendell laughed. “Not unless you want to visit a jail on this trip.”

  “We did check if any children died in Westbrook recently, though,” Verim noted. “But none have, so this Harmony must still be alive.”

  “If we could just get the last names of the parents…” Shin sighed. “I suppose we’ll have to go to this town and manually seek out the kid. Could take a while, but at least we have a lead. Hopefully the family hasn’t moved or something. It’s not far away, so maybe we can catch a bus.”

  “What do you plan to do if we find her?” Wendell questioned. “Take her away from her parents? Tell her what she is?”

  “That’ll go well,” Verim stated. “Oh, little girl, hi. We’re from the place you go when you die. It turns out that you’re actually a walking rock we use to bring demons to life. The last one you made was a pain in the ass to kill, so we need you to come with us so it won’t happen again. Actually, now that I think of it, maybe you could make us a hundred demons so we can destroy this evil group of baddies in our world.”

  “Okay, Verim, I get your point.” Shin laughed and jokingly slapped his shoulder. “I don’t know what I’m going to do once I find this child, as Rivia didn’t specify that part. Maybe we should just look over her from a distance and see what happens for a while, right?”

  “Think she’ll turn back into a datastone if she goes back to Aurra?”

  “Who knows? This doesn’t make much sense in the first place. So long as we find her and see how she behaves, we might be able to consider this assignment a success and get back to Aurra. There’s every chance she can’t even make this demon again. Of course, I never got to see it in the first place, so I wouldn’t mind too much, just for curiosity’s sake.”

  “I hope you’re kidding. After what the twins and Lechi described, I don’t think I want to see it at all.”

  “What is this demon, exactly?” Wendell asked. “It can go through the dimensions with its claws, but anything else?”

  “It’s big and nasty and can survive Aurra’s atmosphere. But we haven’t actually seen it,” Verim explained. “Whatever it is, there is a link between this child and that creature. She might be controlling it, or it’s just being born into our world from her subconscious. Synthesized, in a way.”

  “Sounds impossible.”

  “It does, but it’s kind of an important element to the uprising,” Shin replied. “If another one is born, and then the Guard kills it, they’d get twelve pairs of these claws. We really don’t want that to happen.”

  “I see. I could probably track her down, so I’ll help you since you obviously need it. But I really have to get back to F as soon as possible.”

  “No problem. We really do appreciate your assistance, Wendell.”

  “Glad to help.”

  “Got some change for a bus ride?” Verim asked. “We came to Earth on short notice and don’t have a dime on us.”

  “I should have a few dollars left over in here.” He patted his satchel. “And if we need more, I can get it.”

  Verim looked over at Scud, who stared back him with his one eye as they approached the bus stop. “Hey, kitty,” he whispered.

  The cat only glared back.

  “Don’t think he likes me,” Verim said to Wendell.

  “He might warm up to you. He is wary of strangers.”

  “How old is he?”

  “Sixteen years.”

  “Pretty old,” Shin replied. “When did you get him?”

  “Old, yes, but I trust him more than I do any human. He’s one of the sons from my former partner, and has been with me his whole life.”

  “What was his pop’s name? Stud? Spud?” Verim laughed.

  “Your friend thinks himself a comedian, eh?” Wendell sighed.

  “He’s childish sometimes, yes…” Shin replied. “But he’s really a kid you can’t not like, trust me.”

  “Anyway, his father’s name was Twig. A very faithful animal, too. I miss him. He was actually a gift given to me from Lontonkon.”

  Shin and Verim stopped instantly and turned.

  “You know the crazy old king?” Shin wondered.

  “Saying that I know him isn’t quite correct. And this was before he became a recluse and power monger. He gave out animals, each carefully bred, to a select group in his earlier years. Twig was one of those animals.”

  “Select group?” Verim replied. “A group of animalects?”

  “There aren’t many of those around,” Shin added. “Animalectal is a dying art form. Were you part of some special military group or something, Wendell? Not that we don’t trust you or something. I’m just curious.”

  “I take it you’ve never heard of the Watchers Elite.”

  “Doesn’t ring any bells, but then again, I’m not exactly up to date on Aurrian military organizations.”

  “We weren’t actually military. More like a small international animalect clan. Do you know any Aurrian clans, at least?”

  “Yes,” Shin replied sharply. “I was in a powerful lightning clan, which Lontonkon was born into and wiped out in his youth. This would’ve been before Twig was given to you.”

  “That man…” Wendell grumbled. “It’s no wonder there is an uprising with such a person in charge, regardless if people knew his stories.”

  “Mind telling us about this Watchers Elite?”

  “Eh… It’s a long story. Cliché, I know, but that’s the truth. Don’t let it bother you any, it was long ago and not of any vast importance.”

  “Lontonkon wiped out other alchemagi clans,” Shin added. “Did it to learn their techniques and make sure they wouldn’t get out to anyone else. He’s trying to build up an army who can use secret or forbidden spells. But I never really considered other groups could be involved.”

  “Don’t stress yourself trying to figure it out now. I’ll tell you about my group, but perhaps only once we know each other a little better and when the time is more appropriate.”

  “Okay, Wendell. Sorry if I come off as a little pushy, I just hate not knowing things. Don’t like mysteries, lingering questions.”

  “I understand. Really, don’t let it bother you too much.”

  Verim stuck his hand out. “Well, I dunno how long you’ll be with us, but welcome to the team in any case. It’s… usually a lot bigger.”

  Wendell shook his hand amid another one of his chuckles.

  The bus pulled up to the stop, and three boarded—Wendell smuggling Scud aboard under his coat. Then it departed to Westbrook, the small Maine town that was unexpectedly home to the source of a demon from another world.