“Do you believe that?” Tricia asked. “It all sounds farfetched.”
“We’re Sorceresses, Tricia.” Lyssa scoffed. “Our very existence is farfetched.” She scrubbed a hand over her face. “Honestly, I don’t know what to believe anymore. There are too many questions that need to be answered before I have closure.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible.”
Lyssa narrowed her eyes. “They made it possible, whoever’s behind all this. If Chris was killed years ago and somehow they stopped his regalia from returning, that was a mistake. Faking his regalia’s return or lying about it is also stupid. But if it’s the worst-case scenario—if he was alive and they killed him—there’s not anywhere they can hide from me.”
Tricia folded her arms and stared at Lyssa, pain in her eyes. “You think they’d somehow lie or fake the return of his regalia?”
“I think it’s possible,” Lyssa said. “And I’m not going to believe he’s dead until I go to Last Remnant and run my hands over his regalia, or I see his body with my own eyes. If I can’t have my brother back, then I’ll move on to finding out what happened.”
It all sounded so easy when she said it aloud, but it had taken her fifteen years to make any progress. Fifteen more years might pass before she got any further.
Tricia’s face softened with wide-eyed concern. “Are you sure going to Last Remnant is wise? A conspiracy involving an Elder and a dangerous Eclipse is too much for you to handle alone. Going to Last Remnant would mean risking your life.”
Lyssa shook her head. “This doesn’t end with Adrien Allard and that smuggling ring. I’ll admit I’m not one hundred percent sure. I believe someone suspects I have those pictures and wants me to give up on looking for my brother, but they don’t know me and what a stubborn bitch I can be.”
Tricia stared at Lyssa before sighing. “Then what’s your plan? They won’t let you go to Last Remnant without a good reason. If there is someone powerful plotting against you, it’ll be even harder to convince them.”
“I downed a rogue and cleaned up a mess that affected two countries.” Lyssa offered a hungry grin to her foster mother. “I clear another big contract or two like that, and they’re going to run out of excuses. They’ll have no choice without raising suspicion. At least if I’m on Last Remnant, it’ll be harder for them, and it might force something. I might think someone’s involved in pulling strings, but that doesn’t mean everyone there is a son of a bitch who’s out to get me.”
That was her version of being moderate. In any other conversation, it might have made her smile.
Tricia looked relieved. She put a hand on her chest. “Don’t hate me, but I hope it takes a long time before you go. The truth might not be there, but danger will be.”
Lyssa walked over to the couch to hug Tricia. “Don’t worry. When the time comes, I’m not going to be an idiot. I’ll know what I’m walking into, and I’ll be ready. It’s easier to dodge a trap when you know it’s there.”
“I hope so.” Tricia hugged her back. “It’s okay not to solve all this by yourself. I’m not agreeing with all your theories, but a conspiracy like you describe might already be under attack by Elders who worry that admitting its existence to the rest of us would weaken their positions.”
“I don’t care,” Lyssa said. “Chris is my brother, and he might need my help. If I’m wrong, then I’ll have to move on.”
Chapter Four
Pushing a cart through the grocery store on her way to the dairy aisle, Lyssa stared at her reflection in an overhead mirror. Yes, her strategic strawberry ice cream reserve needed to be replenished, but she would have preferred to be gunning down terrorists or rogues. She needed to clear more contracts.
The direct and simplistic nature of her plan to force a visit to Last Remnant was also its main weakness. Both aspects were dependent on her normal job, which was completing jobs as a Torch in a way that brought positive PR to the Society. She, in turn, would earn the only currency that meant anything in the Society: respect.
This was one time being a loner hurt her. Her plan also required Elder Samuel or Damien from the Extraordinary Affairs Agency to contract her for jobs. An incidental side job might be tolerated and retroactively approved, but it wouldn’t get her what she needed.
Lyssa slowed her cart, her gaze darting around the grocery store. No one paid her much attention. She was just another woman buying food in Scottsdale. The banality of the errand juxtaposed with her bitter obsession about an alleged conspiracy caused her to chuckle darkly.
Despite what Tricia thought, Lyssa wasn’t deluded. She could accept that she might be wrong, but the only way she could maintain her focus was by clinging to the dark conspiracy angle to fuel her anger. Without proper closure, a pit of despair waited.
She understood that Damien and Samuel both wanted to give her time off after the intense Houston incident. From their perspective, they were doing her a favor, but every day that ticked by was another day a potential conspiracy could dig deeper to hide their lies. Allard had given her what might be her one opportunity to solve everything.
There was another problem. Lyssa wanted to keep active. The last time she’d had a long break, it’d been easy. She’d had the move to distract her, but this time she had nothing but TV. That left her mind to wander
