“They know about the schism,” Erik said. “And you didn’t tell her?”
“What did you want me to say?” I asked, getting angry. “She literally appeared in the Moscow, past our defenses. How did you want the intros to go? ‘Hey, nice to meet you, I’m Simon, I hear you and your buddies want to kill my friend and partner, by the way…not happening. Also, I’ve been cursed alive by Kali?’ Seems a bit awkward, don’t you think?”
“You do have a point,” Erik said, shaking his head. “Apologies.”
“Given the circumstances, I wasn’t feeling especially warm and open. I didn’t know who she was, and then things kind of…took off. Dex, LD, and TK appeared, and I never got around to explaining things like my curse.”
“Why are you cursed?” Jessikah asked. “More importantly: who cursed you?”
“Same person you doubt ever paid me a visit: Kali.”
“She cursed you, and then you claim she helped you? Are you ill?”
“See?” I said, looking at Erik. “Easy to explain, right?”
Erik nodded and held up a hand.
“Are you trying to kill Tristan?” Erik asked, looking at Jessikah. “Yes or no?”
“No,” Jessikah said. “My priorities shifted once I realized I was being sent to my death.”
“Your priority shift notwithstanding, I want you to understand what you will be facing if this is a deception on your part,” Erik said. “Please look at Strong. Use your true-sight.”
“My what?” Jessikah asked. “Are you referring to my farsight?”
“She’s a little new,” I said. “He means that squinty thing you mages do, when you shift your focus and see past the veil of things to the ‘real world.’”
“I don’t do a ‘squinty’ thing. My eyes are in perfect working condition,” she answered. “I haven’t been adequately trained in true-sight. The Farsight training came first, and then was interrupted when I was tasked with apprehending Tristan.”
Erik just stared at Jessikah for a few seconds.
“Apprehending Tristan seems to be code for ‘extermination’ in the Black Orchid,” I said. “I think she pissed off the wrong people. I should know, I’m an expert at it.”
“Indeed you are,” Erik said. “That explains much. Can you see a basic unveiling?”
“Yes,” Jessikah answered with a nod. “I can see up to an intermediate unveiling.”
“That will work,” Erik said, pointing at me. “Please focus on Strong.”
Jessikah turned, focusing on me for a few seconds and then let her gaze go soft. She was looking in my direction, but it appeared as though she was looking past me, to some fixed point in the distance.
“I have him in my sight,” she said. “Please begin.”
“We’ll stick to a basic unveiling,” Erik said. “I don’t know how extensive your training is, and this should suffice to reveal what you need to know.”
“I’m ready,” she answered, “though I don’t understand the point to this. What do you expect me to see? It’s not like he’s a mage. Outside of some aberrant energy signature, he doesn’t possess much of a threat. Honestly, this is all a waste of…”
Erik gestured next to me, and for a few seconds she held that thousand-mile stare. It slowly shifted as Jessikah’s eyes opened wide before she looked away in shock.
“Are you okay?” Erik asked, holding onto Jessikah’s arm to steady her. “Did you see?”
“That was a basic unveiling?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly. “How is he still alive? Pardon me”—she looked in my direction—“how are you alive?”
“That is his curse,” Erik said, letting his voice become hard. “It makes Strong very difficult to exterminate. That curse, along with his hellhound, and the fact that he has worked some of the most dangerous cases alongside a mage, make him resilient enough to deal with most threats—mages included. I will ask you one more time. Do you intend Tristan harm?”
Jessikah was unsettled.
It could’ve been my imagination, or the fact that she took several small steps away from me and refused to look in my direction. Maybe it was the micro-tremors in her hands as she smoothed out her hair that made me feel like I had just contracted a major case of cooties.
Whatever she had seen had unnerved her, which I think was Erik’s intention all along. Not being a mage, I had no way to determine what exactly she saw, or what Erik allowed her to see regarding my signature and curse.
Kali words came to mind: you will bear my mark and be feared.
“My priority is survival outside of the Black Orchid now,” she said once she managed to get herself under control. “Tristan Montague outclasses my ability, and evidently”—she glanced my way—“has powerful friends who would make me regret any decision to bring harm upon him.”
“That sounds accurate,” I said. “If we get past this, we’ll help you get resettled here. It’s less murdery for Black Orchid rookie agents.”
“Do you understand now why Kali would visit Strong?” Erik asked.
“I have some understanding, yes,” Jessikah said. “It would seem this is a case of not judging the book by the cover. I have to confess, I still find it odd she would visit him. Why not one of the Arch Mages?”
“If you ever get the chance, perhaps you can ask her,” Erik said. “I’m sure she’d love to explain her reasoning to you.”
“Are you saying it’s not my charming personality?” I asked, looking down at my body. “I’m practically irresistible. By the way, Erik, clothes?”
“Oh yes, right,” he said, waving a hand. “Apologies, I was thinking about the ramifications of this.”
My clothes reappeared instantly.
“My irresistible allure? I get all sorts of unsolicited attention—most of it unwanted, all of it dangerous.”
“Stop spouting nonsense,” Erik said. “You know Director Nakatomi would skewer any female who got too close to you.”
“Excuse me?” Jessikah asked, suddenly even more concerned. “Am I in danger?”
“Only if your intentions toward Strong are anything other than professional.”
“My intentions are strictly professional,” she said, raising a hand with a mild look of disgust. It was the expression you wore when you discovered your milk was now a chunky semi-liquid, as
