Again.
“Why wouldn’t I want to see you again? You’re my big sister.”
Fang wiped her eyes. “I just thought... Never mind. I’m glad you’re with me.”
They smiled and embraced. Embeth’s little body was warm, and her hair smelled like apples and summer flowers. They kissed each other on the cheek and held each other. It was so different than the last time they were together. If Fang was tumbling into madness, then this was the best kind.
Embeth wrapped her arms around her neck and whispered, “If you ever think for one moment that you’re alone, I’ll pinch you on the neck.”
“Do your worst.”
Embeth squinted, trying her best to appear mean and gave her skin a twist, and Fang laughed and kissed her again. She eased away, wiping her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Embeth asked.
“It’s nothing,” she said and looked away.
“What were you doing with that?”
Fang looked at the gun she’d tossed to the side.
“I was just thinking. You know when you can’t find the right answer and, and you just...” She stammered and shook her head.
“Just what?”
“Nothing. I’m just tired, I guess.” They kicked their feet at the edge of the pier and were quiet for a time. The fire roared behind, its warmth comforting them. Fang’s shoulders dropped, and her muscles eased.
“I guess a bad man stole a book, huh?” Embeth piped up.
Fang glanced at the little girl and looked into her dark eyes. “How did you know that?”
“I just know stuff.”
“You just know stuff.” Fang cracked a smile.
“Mm-hm.” Embeth shrugged.
The pressure Fang’s her chest washed away, and the knots of tension were replaced by a warm sensation and something she didn’t recognize. She liked it.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
Fang blinked and looked out at the pinpricks of light traveling along the streets. Men were awake, and the military would be there soon.
“I don’t know what I should do about it, if anything.”
“What if the bad person wants to hurt people with the book?”
“I guess I hadn’t thought of that.”
“What if you got it back?”
“And why in the world would I want to help people? Nobody cares for me, nobody wants me.”
“Because that’s what good people do.” The purity of her smile brushed away the darkness. “They help people even when they’re not liked by others.”
“Embeth, I’m... I’m not that person. Not even close. Don’t you remember what happened? Don’t you know who I am?” She wiped tears away from her hot cheeks.
“I know who you are.” She smiled and pressed her head into Fang’s shoulder. Her small gesture sending rolling waves of warmth through Fang’s tortured, cold soul.
They stared out at the sky as the swells rolled underneath their feet. The only useful skills Fang had were her cunning and ruthlessness. Kill or be killed. Helping people was something else entirely. People were meant to be taken advantage of, played with, fed upon.
“What if you did it for me?”
Fang nodded. “I would do anything, anything for you.”
“Then you need to find the book and stop the bad people from using it.”
“Embeth, I don’t even know where it is. I don’t know who the bad guy—”
“Moreci.”
“Right... Moreci.” She frowned at Embeth. “I don’t know where he is. I don’t know a lot of things, I guess.”
“I guess you need help, then.”
“I don’t know anyone who would help me.”
“Probably someone smart. Smarter than you.” Embeth squinted, and a wide grin stretched across her face.
“Embeth, I told you. I don’t know anyone.”
“You’re smart too. Clever. I think you could make someone want to help you. In a nice way, of course.”
Fang rubbed her face. Of course, Embeth was right. She was always right. But, how was all this going to happen? She was on a burning pier near a city full of men who would probably kill her on sight. And this was not in her scope of practice. Seducing? Yes. Asking for help, no.
She shook her head. “And how do you think all of this is going to come about?” But she flinched when she saw that Embeth was gone. She jumped to her feet and looked around, but the dead were the only things on the pier.
“Embeth?” She caught herself before she could scream. “Embeth?”
Fang was alone again. Only this time the feeling wasn’t a certainty. And it was good to have her sister again. Even if she still wasn’t sure if she were a spirit or—
The last remaining walls and pieces of the warehouse fell into the ocean. Lights gathered in bunches on the shore, and tiny points of light dotted the bay.
Embeth was right. Fang would need help. But who would trust a monster like her? She dove into the water and swam. Bitter cold shocked her senses. The currents pushed her away, but she adjusted course, her modified sight cutting through the darkness as she swam towards a familiar landmark. Her mind formulating a new plan.
She would need a detective, a very good detective. The two of them could work together to find the book. Embeth said Moreci had it, but Fang didn’t know where he was. Trevin, however, was close by. She would talk to Trevin tonight, find out what he knew and then kill him. His life was filled with a desire for violence. She would bring it to him.
***
Seventy-five yards away, a hidden agent sat under heavy tarps and stared through a pair of powerfully modified binoculars to see through the dark. A notepad full of scribbles rested on his lap next to a worn hipflask.
A voice buzzed into his earpiece. “Status report.”
“Yes sir,” the agent said. “The warehouse is destroyed, and agent Fang has disappeared into the waters.”
“Then her retrieval was a failure?”
“Completely, sir.”
“Perfect. Status of Drake and his crew?”
“Gutted, sir.”
“Ah, more good news. I adore when my plans come together.”
“Um, yes, sir.”
“And Fang is heading to...?”
“Best guess would be to a weapons cache, then to find change of clothes and then off to find Trevin.”
“But I didn’t hire you for best guesses, did I?”
“Sir. No, sir.”
“I thought not.
