18 Chapter Eighteen

"You are sure they were after the girl?" Jiana said, accepting a steaming cup of tea from Servilia with a quiet thanks.

"The big one, Balan, he knew her. She knew him too, but she doesn't remember how," Cross said.

"She seems truly upset by her lack of memory." Servilia sat down at the table with her own cup of tea. She took a delicate sip. "At first I thought she was putting on a show for attention, but now…"

"She's not lying." Cross said, leaning forward and resting one elbow on the table. "She doesn't know."

"You're sure of this," Jiana said, meeting his eye. Cross gave a single nod. Jiana frowned and took a moment to drink her tea and gather her thoughts.

"It's highly unusual for the Sons to be so openly hostile," Servilia said. "They normally resort to more underhanded tactics. I can only think of a handful of times they have been so direct, and never within our city. After the failed infiltration of the Capital, I was sure they would reduce their efforts for a time. Either they have drastically increased in strength or-"

"Or Makina is valuable enough to risk drawing even more attention from the Queen," Jiana said. "Cross, what exactly did this Balan say to you?"

"He said Makina was dangerous. Something about how she would bring destruction." Cross twisted his hands together unconsciously. "I wasn't really… listening."

Jiana leaned over and gave him a gentle tap on the top of his head. "And you chide Alexis on her temper?"

Cross pushed her hand away with a roll of his eyes. "So what do we do?"

"We will protect the girl, obviously," Jiana said. "However, that is not an adequate plan for the long term. The Sons were able to track the girl, which means they likely will discover she is under the protection of our guild. I do not believe they would be foolish enough to attempt a direct raid." She took another long drink. "They may however, try to attack us in a different way."

"The children," Servilia breathed. Cross felt his heart begin to speed up and his hands tightened to fists.

"The children." Jiana said with a nod. "I cannot say for certain, and I hope I am wrong, but if the Sons are committed to taking back Makina… Well we all know how ruthless they can be."

"I'll go." Cross began to stand but Jiana gently touched his arm.

"There is no need. I have already sent two teams. One will stay within and one will patrol from outside. The orphanage will be safe," Jiana said. "Makina is familiar with you. It would do better for you to stay here. You may prove to be calming presence."

Cross frowned but made no further movement to rise.

A bell chimed and Servilia stood up. "Please excuse me, Mistress. I believe we have a guest."

Jiana nodded and the girl scurried back to her desk. Cross stayed where he was, lifting his hands up and rubbing at his temples.

"Have you been experiencing any pain?" Jiana said, peering at him.

"No pain. Just a bit of pressure."

"This would be the second time in the past week that you have used your clairvoyance in the field. Are you finally taking Alexis's advice and attempting utilize your ability more?" her words were light, but Cross could feel the concern.

"I haven't been trying to use it, really. It just happens. Some times I get warnings minutes, even hours, before something happens. Other times I feel nothing for weeks, or even months. It's not something I can depend on." Cross pulled his hands away from his head. "If I do, it's nothing more than a few seconds. Anything more and I risk blacking out." He gave a wistful smile. "I wonder how far our dear Queen can see."

"Perhaps you will get a chance to ask her one day," Jiana said, swirling her teacup and looking over Cross's shoulder. "Hello Nathan."

"Mistress!" Banksy said with a hasty bow of his head before he slid into a chair next to Cross. Fumbling over himself, he poured a handful of papers onto the table. "I got it open. Cross was right, they were orders."

"How can you tell?" Cross said, picking up one of the papers. It was nothing but gibberish. He dropped it back down on the table and Banksy quickly pushed it back into its proper place.

"It's just written in code." Banksy said, organizing the papers into a specific order. "A code is just like a lock, it can be broken. Look, see how these letters repeat here, here, and here? That's part of the sequence, and once you understand that, it's simple."

"So you can read this?" Jiana said, putting her tea down.

"Yes… And it's bad."

xXx

"None of these. Or these," Makina said, pushing a group of books to the side. "None of these are right."

"Well, perhaps if you could tell me what exactly you are looking for that would help." Lexi said. She picked up the books and returned them neatly to the shelf. "There are many stories of Spirits and Goddess and other ethereal beings. Also, just looking at the pictures isn't going to help very much."

"Well I cannot read you idi-" Makina stopped as Lexi gave her a one eyed glare. "I simply cannot read, mortal."

Lexi knew there was implied insult to the term mortal, but she let it go. She took a moment to think before she pulled out a large volume and ran her eyes down the index as she paced around her room. "Okay, how about Qaul'te?"

No."

"Tien?"

"No."

"Thrand?"

"No."

"Saluma?"

"No."

"Rah?"

"No!" Makina almost screamed throwing herself back onto the bed and immediately popping back up. "Wait Rah?"

Lexi thumbed to the correct page. "Yes, Rah. He is one of the four Spirit Gods of the natural world. The Spirit God of-"

"Fire!" She leaned towards Lexi with wide eyes. "And then there is Terreh, the Spirit Goddess of Earth! And Typhi, Spirit of the Water! And big sister Aria, Spirit of the Winds!"

"That's… that's right." Lexi said, following the along the text with one slender finger. She paused and looked down at Makina. "Wait, big sister?"