“That’s my point,” Rune stated. “The Diabolist wasn’t enough of an adept to be able to use the Kroten Yoso Va. It never should have worked for him.”
“So why did it?”
“Honestly, I think it was to get to you.”
My eyes bulged in surprise. “What?”
“Think about it. You came across the Kroten Yoso Va because you were trying to find out who was behind all of the wanton destruction taking place. If it hadn’t worked for the Diabolist, you wouldn’t even know it existed.”
“So it manipulated people and events in order to get what it wanted — a new Keeper.”
I felt myself growing angry. This was very similar to an experience I’d had with the other Triumvirate Relic I’d encountered — the Beobona — which had also seemingly influenced events in order to obtain a desired outcome. Needless to say, I didn’t like being maneuvered like a piece on a chessboard, feeling like my life wasn’t my own.
“You say ‘Keeper’ like it’s a bad word,” Rune noted, interrupting my thoughts. “Don’t you realize this is a rare and exceptional honor?”
“Ha!” I snorted derisively. “You’d feel differently if it was your life getting controlled, and your hands getting burned off.”
“I can assure you that your life is still your own,” Rune declared. “The Kroten Yoso Va won’t keep you from drinking and driving, picking up hitchhikers, or making a host of other poor decisions. In short, your life is still yours, and — just like everybody else — you still have the ability to screw it up in a million different ways.”
Not sure what to say, I merely grunted response.
“As to your hands getting burned,” he continued, “do you remember how they were restored to their normal condition?”
I frowned for a moment, then said flatly, “The Kroten Yoso Va.”
“Correct,” he said with a nod. “It healed you. In fact, if you’d held on when you first touched it, your hands would have been whole when the artifact was done. Truth be told, you actually shouldn’t have been able to let go until it had finished.”
“Really?” I droned, sarcastically. “Well, now I feel bad for not holding on and letting it scorch my hands to the bone.”
“As I said before, that wasn’t to punish you.”
“Yes, I know,” I shot back. “It was to bestow some great and wonderful privilege on me, with the mild drawback of making me the target of a killer.”
“Again, no one knew you had it. Because you had touched the Kroten Yoso Va and been selected as Keeper, it could be harmonized, so to speak, with your life force. Basically, it could be hidden on your person without anyone — even an Incarnate — realizing exactly what it was. They might detect something mystical about you, but they wouldn’t be able to specifically identify it. And around here, the mystical is common.”
“This is making more sense now,” I said. “I’m starting to understand why you picked me to run point on this Gamma situation, and it’s got nothing to do with my detective skills or you not being able to protect a normal person. It’s because you could use me to hide the Kroten Yoso Va.”
“In truth, that’s only part of the reason,” he admitted. “I honestly did have faith in your sleuthing ability.”
“Let’s say that’s true,” I said. “I’m still not hearing anything to justify not telling me about it.”
“All right, there is something else,” Rune admitted. “If you knew the truth, I was a little afraid of someone being able to get into your head and root it out, although that was unlikely.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because the Kroten Yoso Va bestows certain protections on its Keeper.”
“Such as making it impossible for an Incarnate to take it by force.”
“Exactly, but the protections go further than that. For instance, having it on you is one reason why Static’s compulsion probably failed.”
“Understood, but the killer didn’t necessarily have to take it from me. He could have just murdered me to keep the Kroten Yoso Va from being used on him. Or, setting all that aside, he could have just lashed out at me if he thought I was getting too close to figuring things out.”
“Well, let me put your mind at ease,” Rune said. “You’ll be happy to know that Endow and I placed additional protections around you in addition to the Kroten Yoso Va, so the killer couldn’t just strike you down with a lightning bolt, open a crevasse under your feet, or anything like that. Satisfied?”
I was about to make a smart-aleck response when the door opened and Endow came back in. She quickly rejoined us and took her seat as before.
“So, what are we talking about?” she asked.
I simply stayed quiet, looking at Rune.
“It’s okay,” Rune finally said. “You can speak freely in front of her.”
“Great,” I said a little flippantly. “Your boyfriend was just explaining why he let me walk around with a giant bull’s-eye on my back in the form of the Kroten Yoso Va.”
“Wait,” Endow muttered with a frown. “Boyfriend?”
She gave Rune a look that was equal parts hilarity and befuddlement.
“Yeah,” I said. “The way you two are always hanging out, chatting together, and so on. It’s pretty obvious how you feel about each other.”
Endow put a hand up to her mouth, trying to suppress a fit of giggling. Rune, on the other hand, suddenly had a stern look on his face.
“Okay,” he grumbled, leaning forward. “I’m going to advise you to stop before you embarrass yourself, junior. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re saying I’m wrong?”
“I’m saying you’ve impressed us with your detective skills. Don’t make us go back and reevaluate.”
“Fine,” I stated. “I know how to settle this.”
I turned to Endow, who had just regained her composure. Smiling, she suddenly sat up straight as she realized I was about to address her.
“Endow,” I began, “tell the truth with no equivocating or dancing around the question: how do you feel about Rune?”
Endow seemed
