Mia left the room, followed by Murphy.
Quazar waited until the doors were shut before speaking. “She’s the assassin the Council of Women have bred.”
“What gave that away?” Wyatt asked.
“Orion Stavros. He was seduced by Fredericka Cooper. Charles Cooper has some latent abilities, but the lion’s share must have gone to his daughter. I bet her mother’s pedigree is very interesting. Gerald tried to read her mind, and she stopped him. She may not have the physicality to be dangerous, but her mind is. How’d you end up helping her?”
“She came to me with a story that was too wild to be believed. But she knew too much to discount her as a nut job.”
“Why are you helping her? She’s Abigor’s end. That’s the prophecy.”
“I’m not that fond of Abigor, are you?” Wyatt asked.
“He’s a bit flashy for my tastes. But now, I’m honor bound to help her. She came to us and asked for help to outfit her for her quest. If she doesn’t succeed, I will want to collect her. I will pay you a handsome finder’s fee.”
“Is that how you got Gerald? Who sold him to you?”
“No one. He arrived on my doorstep inquiring about the position of apprentice. He was older than I normally take on, but he has picked up very quickly.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing. He seems rather ambitious for my comfort.”
“I’m not worried. If he gets out of hand, I know a guy who knows a guy who will take him off my hands.”
In the middle of an instructional session on using the jacks, Gerald closed his eyes a moment and was still. Murphy was going to jostle him, but Mia grabbed his arm and hissed, “He’s listening.”
Gerald opened his eyes, and even though his expression said otherwise, he still spoke kindly to Mia. “Do you have any questions?” he asked when they finished with the instructions for the toys.
“No. Are you alright?” she asked.
“Mia, am I there in the future?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of man am I?”
“One who has lost in love but still is compassionate. Above all, you’re the biggest wheeler-dealer I know of. You’ve always been kind to me. I consider you a friend.”
“That’s who he is,” Murphy said, placing his palm to his forehead. “He’s the man who knows a man. I didn’t recognize him. He’s so young.”
“It’s a façade,” Gerald said. “I’m older than I look.”
“So am I,” Murphy said and smiled.
“But no wiser,” Mia said. “So, I’m going to get a dagger…” she led.
“Yes, come over here, and let’s find a good match.”
“Is it like matching a wand?” Mia asked.
“Mia, that is fiction, this is life,” Gerald scolded and then whispered, “I do love those books. I’ve read two already.”
“Two…” Mia kept her mouth shut. She didn’t want to give Gerald too much information, even if it did just involve books yet to be written.
He walked over to a rack of weapons. He looked at Mia’s size and pulled out a few contenders and set them on the workbench. While his back was turned, a dagger flew off the rack and ended up on the table, its steel tip connecting with a twin.
Gerald turned and stared. “That must be a joining set. Daggers only penetrate so deep. You can injure a foe, but if you want to kill him, you need something for a through and through. You toss this pair at the foe. One will circle behind the opponent and stab him from behind joining the steel. Great assassin’s set.”
Mia’s face fell. She turned and walked away from the table.
“What did I say?” Gerald asked Murphy.
“It’s baggage. You’ve done nothing wrong. Mia, come back here. We don’t have a lot of time.”
Mia did as Murphy requested. She walked back and held her hand out, and the assassin set disappeared from the table and reappeared in her hand.
“Do they have names?”
“Names?”
“Names, so I can call them if we get separated.”
“Oh, I think they’ll come to whatever you say. Daggers, knives…”
Mia looked down at the ornate deadly duo and asked, “How about Romeo and Juliet?”
The daggers glowed and disappeared.
“They’ve bonded with you. They are inside you. You may set off a few loss-prevention scanners, so I’d leave them home before you go to the mall,” Gerald advised. “Mia, why Romeo and Juliet?”
“Their love killed each other,” she said. “A broken heart is just as deadly as these daggers.”
Murphy looked at her sharply. It was hard to see the Mia he knew trapped in the child before him. They needed to talk, but now was not the time.
“You speak of something personal, yet I understand and have felt the same betrayal of heart,” Gerald said. “I do hope that, in some way, I was of service to you in the future.”
“You made everything impossible, possible. You’re the man who knows a man…”
Chapter Six
Murphy, Mia, and Wyatt climbed into the awaiting sedan. Although Nordin sensed the ghost sitting beside him in the vehicle, he did nothing but ask if the farmer would be traveling all the way with them or could he drop him off somewhere?
“He’s going to be traveling with us,” Wyatt said. “Stephen Murphy, this is my most trusted butler, Nordin. Nordin, this is Mia’s friend and bodyguard.”
Murphy formed a hand and shook the butler’s.
“Nordin, you are so cool,” Mia said. “Does anything ruffle your feathers?”
Nordin smiled and ignored the question. “Sir, I have most of the information you asked for. I’m still working on locating Orion Stavros. And Burt Hicks, I only have his present address. No one has seen him for a few days. You’ll find
