“Thanks,” Rune said, then turned to me.
We were still in the living room of our suite. Endow, of course, was the second opinion Rune had suggested. He had reached out to her, and she had responded almost immediately, showing up within moments. Then, after telepathically being brought up to speed, she had inspected my bedroom and was now sitting on the couch a few feet from me, rendering her opinion.
“Anyway,” Endow said, “I think we need to focus more on what was said during Jim’s interaction with the killer rather than when and how it occurred.”
“No need to build a think tank to figure that out,” Rune noted. “The conversation boils down to one thing: the killer’s not done.”
“So what’s next on his agenda?” she asked.
“I’d argue it’s more of a who’s next,” I stated.
“Well, you’re the detective,” Rune reminded me. “Any leads in that department, Sherlock?”
I was about to answer in the negative, and then I remembered a subject that had gotten completely overshadowed by my encounter with the killer.
“Maybe,” I said, leaning forward. “Let me ask the two of you something: have you ever heard the term ‘mouses’?”
They both frowned, the word obviously sounding as odd to them as it did to me.
“You mean mice?” asked Endow, putting forth the obvious question.
I grimaced slightly. “Honestly, I don’t know, but I don’t think so.”
“Where’d you hear that term?” Rune asked.
“Just came across it,” I replied casually, hoping that Rune wouldn’t delve further in that area.
“Well, if it’s in reference to vermin,” Endow offered, “we don’t have any here. No mice, no flies, no rats…”
“You have vermin,” I corrected. “He just walks upright, on two legs.”
Neither of the two Incarnates responded to that, but I hadn’t really expected them to.
“What about ‘kleop’?” I continued. “Ever heard of that?”
Both Endow and Rune shook their heads.
“Where are you getting these words?” Rune asked.
“I thought I heard one of the laamuffals mention them,” I replied, ingraining a bit of truth in my response. “I suppose it begs the question: what kind of education do those guys get?”
“Do you mean before or after they come into our service?” Endow asked.
I shrugged. “Both, I guess.”
“We look for people who are pretty savvy,” Rune offered. “You can’t be stupid and do the job we require. Moreover, as we tend to seek out people with a certain level of curiosity, they usually continue to learn after they’re with us.”
“To be honest, though, it’s self-education to a large degree,” Endow added.
“Interesting,” I muttered, but — not wanting to pique the curiosity of my two companions too much — I didn’t say anything more.
“Well, if that’s all for now, I think I’ll be going,” Endow said, coming to her feet. “I need to check on Ursula.”
“I’m sorry,” I intoned a bit sheepishly, and then stood up as well. “I didn’t even ask: how is she?”
“Fine — practically back to her old self already,” Endow replied with a smile. “All thanks to you, of course.”
I found myself blushing slightly, struggling for something to say.
“Oh, that reminds me,” I blurted out a moment later. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the stone prism that Ursula had made materialize earlier. “This belongs to Ursula.”
“Ah,” Endow droned in surprise. “That’s what happened to it.” Taking the object from me, she asked, “Do you know what this is?”
“No,” I replied, shaking my head.
“It’s a relic,” she said. “After what happened in the room where Gamma died, I gave it to Ursula. It was supposed to protect her — specifically, from Reverb’s voice if she were ever around when he spoke.”
“Really? That was thoughtful of you to be mindful of her safety like that,” I noted. As I spoke, I cast a steely glance at Rune, who somehow at that moment found something incredibly interesting on the floor to look at.
I turned back to Endow, saying, “Any idea why she wasn’t wearing it at the time Reverb was attacked?”
“She said it clashed with her outfit,” Endow answered, shaking her head in derision.
I laughed, and a moment later, Endow joined me.
“Anyway,” I said a few seconds later, “at least she knew where to find it when she needed it, and I bet she’ll have it handy next time.”
“There won’t be a next time,” Rune interjected.
His comment, a sobering reminder that Reverb was gone, seemed to suck all the air out of the room.
“Here,” Endow said, holding the relic back out to me. “Why don’t you keep it — as a souvenir.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, tentatively reaching for the prism.
“Of course,” she declared. “And with Reverb gone, it’s not like it’s needed any more.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, putting the prism back in my pocket. “Oh, one other thing before you go.”
“Yes?” she murmured inquisitively.
“You mentioned earlier that laamuffals can engage in self-education,” I reminded her. “What kind of resources do you guys have for that?”
“Well, with respect to Permovren, the castle has a library,” she stated in a matter-of-fact tone. “Didn’t anyone tell you?”
Chapter 41
The information about the library was welcome news, and I was eager to get there. First, however, I felt the need for a more in-depth discussion with Rune.
Thus, almost immediately after Endow departed (vanished, to be honest), I turned to him and said, “Okay, why me?”
He gave me a blank look. “I don’t understand the question.”
“Why’s the killer bothering with me?” I clarified. “I mean, it’s just like you said before: back home my power set is considered impressive, but here — compared to Incarnates — it’s nothing. I’m nothing. So again, why’s he bothering with me?”
“First of all,” Rune began, “that’s not exactly what I said. Second, I think that we both know — even compared to Incarnates — you’re far from nothing. More to the point, there’s more to you than just your powers.”
A bit embarrassed by the compliment, I made a noncommittal grunt in response.
“As
