I filed that information away for future reference as I came abreast of Ursula and made myself visible again.
“Impressive,” she noted. “Show me something else.”
I nodded, and then rose a few feet into the air. I hovered there for maybe five seconds, then came back down. Ursula, smiling broadly, seemed absolutely delighted. Next, I made a duplicate of myself — another Jim — but only for a few seconds. (The ability to duplicate myself was a completely new power that I wasn’t fully comfortable with yet, mostly because of some objectionable side effects, so exhibiting it for Ursula was actually impetuous and impulsive.) Now getting in the swing of things, I was about to shift into super speed when a familiar voice sounded.
“Okay,” Rune bellowed. “Jim showing off to impress a pretty girl means it’s obviously time for us to go.”
“Hey!” I blurted out. “I wasn’t showing off.”
Ignoring me, Rune turned to Endow and said something I didn’t catch; she simply nodded in response. Seemingly satisfied, Rune looked in my direction.
“You ready, hotshot?” he asked.
“Sure,” I muttered, noting that Ursula giggled at his comment. She then quickly lifted a hand up to her face, with her thumb and little finger extended toward her ear and lips, respectively, imitating a phone.
“Call me,” she mouthed silently and winked.
Chapter 13
We reappeared in our suite, with me laughing at the absurdity of Ursula’s last gesture. I seriously doubted that this place even had phones.
Ignoring my giddiness, Rune took a seat in the chair he’d occupied earlier and asked, “So what are your impressions so far?”
“About what?” I shot back, switching my vision back to normal as I sat down on the couch.
“Endow. Mariner. That’s two Incarnates you’ve met. Do you think either of them could be a killer?”
“I’ve spent practically zero time with them,” I admonished. “You guys keep hoisting me off on laamuffals while you go off and talk about matters above my pay grade.”
“I’m sorry if it seems that way,” Rune said sincerely. “We’re actually trying to determine the best way to help you figure this thing out.”
I sat up. “What do you mean?”
Rune sighed. “Everyone’s promised to cooperate, but you have to understand something. These are some pretty powerful individuals, and they’re not used to being questioned about their comings and goings. So, despite pledges to the contrary, it’s possible that several of them may bristle at being treated like suspects.”
“So what, I’ve got to be an iron hand in a velvet glove now?”
Rune shrugged. “It wouldn’t hurt. Plus, you have to remember that we were all coming here for other reasons, which have nothing to do with the murder.”
“Can you expound on that?”
Rune seemed to consider for a moment how best to answer. “I think I mentioned before that Incarnates are required to come here — to Permovren — regularly, and during those mandatory visits, we check most of our powers at the door, as you put it.”
“I remember,” I confirmed with a nod.
“Part of the reason for that is to intentionally make us vulnerable, so that we remember that not everyone is like us. Not everyone can do what we do. Not everyone is power incarnate.”
“So this is basically an exercise to keep Incarnates humble — to make you mindful of where you come from. Remember your roots.”
“Something like that,” Rune acknowledged with a chuckle. “But it’s also an opportunity to mete out justice.”
I gave him a curious look. “How’s that?”
“If an Incarnate abuses the trust placed in them, if they use their powers irresponsibly, coming here during times like these presents the rest of us with an opportunity to deal with them.”
“Couldn’t you do that anyway — without having to come here?”
Rune shook his head. “You don’t fully comprehend the might we possess. An Incarnate wielding his full array of powers is impossible to bring down — even by the combined might of all his fellows. Trying to do it outside of a place like Permovren would be cataclysmic on a cosmic scale. Being stripped of the bulk of our sivrrut is the only way it can be accomplished, and even then it would probably take at least two of us to get the job done.”
“I think I understand,” I said. “Inside Permovren, a rogue Incarnate is like a guy with a revolver. Outside, he’s more like a man with his finger on the launch button of a nuclear bomb.”
“Try a supernova,” Rune suggested, “because that’s the comparative level of damage we’re talking about.”
“Wait a minute,” I blurted out as a new thought occurred to me. “Why are we jerking around talking about the best way to bring down an Incarnate? We already have a way to do that.”
Rune nodded, a downcast expression on his face. “The Kroten Yoso Va.”
“Exactly,” I said, feeling pleased with myself.
The Kroten Yoso Va was an ancient artifact that could be used to siphon power from one object and transfer it to something else. In our previous adventure together, it had been used to subdue Rune and transfer his sivrrut to a second-rate magician called Diabolist Mage (and as a result had made the Diabolist capable of extraordinary feats.) Ultimately, we’d been able to prevail against the Diabolist, and Rune had taken possession of the Kroten Yoso Va (which was ideal, since, when I touched the darn thing, it had responded by roasting my hands).
“Unfortunately, we can’t use it,” Rune remarked with a grimace.
“Why not?” I demanded. “I mean, this is what it’s for. It was specifically created to keep Incarnates in check. Those are your exact words. Situations like those are the entire reason why the damn thing exists! Why wouldn’t you use it?”
“Well for
