Chapter 376: Recruitment Effort

Overgrown buildings and weed-pushed stones greet me at the end of my relocation. I glance around at the previously-floating platform that now sits motionless in its hold in search of Jumble and the other four. My awareness feels them instantly–inside of the house that used to belong to… Matt, I think his name is? He might still own it for all I know, but this place looks like it hasn’t been cared for for years.

Yet it’s only been abandoned for months at most. Something happened to it in that time, and whoever–or whatever–did it made Matt so scared of this place that he basically abandoned it. Could be that whatever Jumble caught sight of is the reason for all this. It’s as good an explanation as any right now, and honestly, I don’t care. If it doesn’t have anything to do with the cataclysm I don’t have time for it.

“Shelby, paper,” Pearl says and points to the ground.

I follow her finger with my eyes to an overgrown flower dripping with neon yellow nectar. There’s a small piece of paper wrapped around the stem, tied with a piece of grass, and hidden with Jumble’s magic. I step over to it and kneel down next to the three-foot tall thing, then with a motion that’s careful not to touch the nectar, I snip the blade of grass and take the note.

Unsurprisingly, it’s from Jumble. As made obvious by a quickly scratched ‘to Shelby, from Jumble’ on the outside. I smile to myself at the addition of hearts around my name and flip the paper over to actually read the contents.

‘Hi, Shelby–sorry about the paper, but I figured you’d find it. These four don’t know I’m with you guys just yet, and most of them are just really surprised that I’m a paindne. As long as nothing goes wrong, this message will only have one paragraph. If there’s a second, treat whatever I write there like it’s really important. Hopefully this is the only one!

–Jumble’

I stare at the paper for a few more seconds, but nothing appears. Pearl sighs in relief as I fold the paper as small as possible and stick it into my pocket, dust off my hands on my pants, then stand and turn to where I can feel Jumble and the other four. No sound’s getting out from the mansion, which must be someone’s doing, and I’m going to choose to see that as a good sign. Only question left is whether those four feel any attachment to the resort for saving their asses back at the party.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Pearl says, giving away the fact that she’s reading my thoughts again. “Oh. Um. Sorry. It’s getting a little too easy.”

I brush my hair over my ear and fix my jacket, then take a breath. “Seems like you won’t be able to turn it off eventually.”

Pearl grimaces. “I hope not. It’s hard enough looking away when you and Jumble… you know what, nevermind. I’ll find some way.”

“That’d be very, very appreciated,” I say seriously. “Keep an eye out for any security–or the Preservation. I’ll eat my jacket if there isn’t some kind of motion or magic sensor installed to cover every inch of this place.”

I walk confidently up to the front door and tap my knuckles against it. Tension fills the air inside, starting with Gasp and Ava before it spreads to the twins. Jumble just smiles confidently at the quartet and stands up, eliciting reactions that range from disbelief to an active attempt to stop her. Nothing hard enough that Jumble has to get physical, though; just a hand around her wrist that Jumble shakes off with another smile and some words I can’t hear.

She puts her hand to the door and looks through the glass. I offer a toothy smile through the small opening and a small wave. A laugh spreads across her face, accompanying the click of locks disengaging and the creak of the door opening just a hair. Sounds and magic escape through that crack, primarily from Gasp’s psychically inclined abilities. They coil around me with tentative worry, then strike like a pit of vipers.

They crash against me harmlessly. Not my spells, just me. Gasp stands bold upright in a panic, eyes transfixed on the door as it creaks open to reveal… me. Just me. I stare directly at her, daring her to try and attack me again with those damned powers.

All of the worry bleeds out of her face, her body, and everything else about her. She lets out a titanic sigh of relief and collapses back onto the couch, limbs flopping limply against the somehow pristine cushions as Ava continues to stare at me in disbelief.

“Gambler?” she asks cautiously. “What the hell happened to you?”

I hold up a hand and smile, but before I can get a word out, Jumble sneaks under my arm and wraps it around her. Ava’s eyes widen even further as Jumble snuggles into my side, her mouth twisting into a sideways smile of understanding.

“I didn’t think you’d be the girlfriend. Do you know what your boo told us?” Ava grins and throws an arm around Gasp. “Nothing. It’s why we’re so damn surprised.”

“I had an inkling,” Dora chimes in shyly. “Who else could’ve known we’d reappear here?”

Gisela, the other half of the Garza twins, shakes her head. “The Preservation, HuSt, anyone else from the resort, anyone from Garza industries… and more I have to be forgetting. I would love to stay and chat, believe me, but we have a business to run. Interim protocols can only last for so long. Dora?”

Dora nods and stands at the same time as Gisela. “Thank you again for the help, Gambler. Once we’re sure everything is safely in place we’d love to set up another meeting.”

“To cement the future of Garza with your people,” Gisela finishes. “Gasp, Ava, the agreement still stands. You’re free to do anything you want as long as it doesn’t take you too far away from us.”

Ava salutes with two fingers. “Aye-aye, boss.”

Gasp mirrors the gesture without saying a word. Dora giggles at the sight of the two women cuddling on the couch, then turns and blushes at Jumble and I. Don’t know why; we’re not doing anything more intimate than Gasp and Ava are.

“You two make a cute couple,” Dora says with a shy smile. “I hope it works out for you. Paindne are… um… really nice.”

Gisela barks out a laugh that deepens Dora’s blush. The two of them slip past me and out of the house, then start along the path that leads to the edge of the platform. I can feel Gisela giving Dora shit for the twin’s obvious infatuation with paindne, and from the motions Gisela does with her hands, Dora is very much into muscular men.

If she met Dizzy, then that’s something I need to know about.

“Not worried about them leaving?” Ava asks, bringing my attention back to her. “Your better half said there was something super important you need help with. They’re not the most experienced, but they’re damn good learners–it’s worth your while to get them on your side.”

Jumble smiles pleasantly. “Don’t worry about that; they’re already on our side by virtue of being the Preservation’s enemies. Just like you two are.”

Gasp winces and raises a hand to her throat. Ava’s expression softens almost instantly, and she squeezes Gasp’s hand in her own to still the starting shakes. With a tug Jumble leads me over to a couch facing opposite of the two ex-HuSt and Preservation people, both of who don’t really have a place in this world anymore. A quick kiss initiated by Gasp ends the moment, and the pair refocus their attention on us.

Jumble lets go of my arm and folds her hands in her lap. Her tail wraps around my torso to make sure she still has something around me, though.

“The Preservation was attacked a few weeks ago. It wasn’t us.”

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After the explanation’s done, Gasp and Ava’s expressions are a strange mixture of hardened and disbelief. Neither of them seem to hold much pity for the Preservation, but Gasp at least was horrified by the description of the aftermath of the mech exploding over the city. Neither of them said a thing the entire time Jumble and I switched off on explanations, but now that it’s over, I can see the questions rolling in their eyes.

Gasp’s face shifts first. “That isn’t protocol.”

I nod in agreement. “Call pretty much said the same thing. But I don’t think protocol matters much when your overlords in the sky palace start shitting their pants, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Gasp mutters in agreement. “Especially if it's the same ones who signed off on my execution. Too bad the mech didn’t get all the way up there before it detonated.”

Ava chuckles darkly. “Would’ve saved all of us a hell of a lot of trouble, that’s damn sure. I don’t really have much to add or ask about all this, so instead, I’ll ask the same thing I’ve been wondering since we left the party.”

She leans forward, laces her fingers together, and locks eyes with me. I incline my chin ever so slightly to tell her to go ahead. A small shudder worms its way down her spine, but that only serves to sharpen her grin.

“Who the fuck are you actually?”

I raise an eyebrow and gesture at myself. “Me?”

“Hell yes, you! I mean, look at you! All those injuries, your shell’s missing, and there’s a look in your eyes that’s goddamn terrifying, but also so damn alluring. So damn alluring,” Ava mutters, then shakes her head. “What I mean is–it’s like you’re a complete different person than the one who stood behind that crazy Banker and let him do most of the work. It’s only been, like, a month. Nobody changes that much in a month.”

“True. Jumble, how long were we in the city for?”

Jumble hums in thought. “I don’t think it was more than a few months, but time there could’ve been even more screwed up than we thought. Definitely a few months, though.”

I nod in thanks and shug at Ava. “A few months of time dilation, that’s it. You’ll get the rest of the story if you come with us back to the resort. We need as many strong people as we can get, and if things are going to shit the way I think they are, then the Preservation will need people to protect it.”

Gasp grimaces. “Why would we want to protect them?”

“Seconded,” Ava agrees. “Not much pity for those assholes here.”

“Oh, no, not them them. The innocent people; civilians, speakers, whoever’s just being strung along without knowing the truth. All the others are just… collateral damage,” I lace my fingers together and bear my teeth. “So I need people to go with me when the Preservation finally accepts that it needs help, defend the innocents, and make sure all the assholes just so happen to die defending the Preservation. Then we just swoop in and insert a few people in the right places, take it over, and bam–the Preservation lives, but with all the rot scraped away to hollow out space for new leadership. Sound like something you’d like to be a part of?”

Gasp nods instantly. “I get to slit Highroller’s throat.”

“Well, wherever she goes, I go,” Ava hugs Gasp tighter with a glitter of insane violence in her eyes. “You think the twins have figured out that they’re in the middle of nowhere yet?”

I shrug as they appear at the edge of my awareness, a smile twitching at the edge of my lips. “No idea at all.”