Renfrow said, “Commander, you’re fussing about things in need of no fuss. We have plenty to occupy us.” He spun in his chair, stared into a corner, snarled something inarticulate. His black beads rolled around but accomplished nothing obvious.
Grimmsson watched the same corner, staring slightly to the side.
Hecht thought he knew what was happening. “I don’t know which one of you that is, but come on out. Now.”
A shimmer. A sharp vertical line. A two-dimensional form that turned to become Lila, red-faced. “Are you sure, Father?”
Hecht glanced at the bug-eyed guards, who fumbled with their weapons. He had miscalculated. He should have let the girl be. Now he had to come up with a believable explanation. “Always thinking, our Piper,” he muttered. “But too late, now. Why are you here?”
“Just keeping in touch. Making sure you’re all right.”
“Checking up for your mother?”
“No. For Heris.”
“Heris?” That was startling. And that was Lila, talking straight up.
She said, “Strange things have been happening in Brothe. All over Firaldia, actually. Heris says it’s the Old Ones playing pranks. She would very much like to see you.” Lila pointed at Grimmsson.
Titus Consent’s eyes kept getting bigger as he worked out the truth behind all those mystery midnight visits. “This isn’t possible! None of this is possible!”
“Stop thinking that way,” Hecht told him. “Possible or not, this is part of our business, now. And it will get worse.”
Renfrow nodded. Asgrimmur was involved in a side conversation with Lila. The Commander of the Righteous glanced at his lifeguards. They were confused. They recalled something happening but no longer knew what it was.
Renfrow murmured, “The alliance is holding.” Whatever that meant.
Asgrimmur said, “I’ll flap down and see what Heris wants. Where is she, Lila?”
“She was at Anna’s house when I left.”
Hecht demanded, “What? Anna was supposed to stay safe in the Castella!”
“Calm down, Dad. Those troubles have died down. It’s safe. Except if a giant bird lands on the front stoop and turns into a naked man.”
“You said strange things…”
“I did. I didn’t mean riots. Wait. That’s not right. There are disorders. But not where our house is. Heris says those Instrumentalities are looking out for Anna, anyway.”
“Why?” Hecht addressed the question not just to Lila but to everyone.
The ascendant reminded him, “The Old Ones are totally selfish. So Anna’s fortunes must be important to them.” While Hecht puzzled that, he added, “I’ll be back in a few days. I hope with my commandos rounded up.”
“Put them to work. Aren’t they supposed to be focusing on the Windwalker’s cousins?”
“They are. Count on it. Just don’t expect fire in the sky over the northern horizon.”
Renfrow and Grimmsson slipped past the two lifeguards. Those men seemed to have concluded that the Commander of the Righteous no longer needed guarding. They followed.
Hecht caught Lila wearing a smug smirk. “What did you do, girl?” Getting nervous. She was too deft at all this stuff.
“It’s simple, really. And handy when your parents are getting on your nerves … Whoa! Just joking. We’re careful not to get caught. Except for Pella, who doesn’t think ahead.”
Hecht did realize that she was teasing before he exploded. He kept the darkness out of sight and silent. Lila was less hard than she pretended.
Hecht said, “I understand that young people feel obligated to irritate their elders. And I’m not used to young people. So try to clamp it down.”
Lila eyed him hard, maybe cataloging his thoughts and impulses. “All right. Sorry. I need to remember that you and Anna don’t know much about kids because neither of you ever got to be one.”
“Thank you. I think.” Recalling that Lila had never been one, either.
“Great. Stiff old stuff all done. Who do you want me to spy on, Dad? What do you want me to steal?”
“You didn’t keep yourself very low-profile when you got here.”
“Sorry. I was trying to get onto the third floor of someplace I’ve never been before. The up and down stuff is hard! That’s where I messed up. I was two feet too high. I had to keep from falling. That’s why everybody noticed.”
“And now even Titus knows what you can do.”
“Good for him. He’ll keep looking over his shoulder.”
Inasmuch as Consent was still in the room, still in his seat, Hecht expected an excited response. But the man’s eyes had glazed over. His breathing was shallow and slow.
“Lila. What did you do to him?”
“Nothing. I didn’t have any reason … It’s the old man. It has to be.”
Cloven Februaren rotated into existence. “She’s a fast learner, Piper. But she needs to keep a sharper eye out. Check your back trail once in a while, girl. Something might be gaining on you.”
Februaren made several small, odd, complicated hand gestures. Black beads rolled out of shadows and out from under things. They mustered in front of Februaren, who told Lila, “Scoop those up for me, darling. I have trouble bending.”
“No.”
Startled, Hecht blurted, “Lila!”
“He’s being a jerk, Dad. They’ll sting me if I touch them with my bare hands.”
Hecht eyed the old man. Februaren grinned. His right eyebrow went up. “She’s right. So she has been paying attention.” He bent and scooped. The black beads hopped into his hand. “They say keep your friends close and your enemies closer. You got to wonder which is which, sometimes.”
“I do every day,” Hecht said. “Is there a reason you turned up?”
“Keeping an eye on Lila. This was an extreme-range solo. I wanted to be handy if she got into trouble.”
Lila looked pleased and put out at the same time.
Hecht said, “Can you unspell Titus?”
“Not yet. I wanted to let you know that our divine friends are up to something. I don’t know what, yet.”
“I’ve had that feeling all along. But I can’t grasp the motivation. All they need to do is wait. We won’t demand much of them.”
“I think they can’t help it. I think they all have a little Trickster in them. In any case, they’ll have convinced themselves that they aren’t violating the letter of their contract.”
“So what are they doing?”
“I don’t know. It isn’t obvious. Mischief, mostly around churches.”
“Vandalism?” The West had a standing tradition of majorities desecrating minority houses of worship.
“Sort of. I’m not sure how. They aren’t busting stained glass windows or stealing candles. It’s more like they’re sucking the holiness out. Though holiness isn’t the word I want. It’s whatever brings on that feeling that you’re in a consecrated place,” said Februaren.
“And you a Prince of the Church.”
“Yeah. I should pay more attention to the business end of religion.”
“Have you ever celebrated a mass?”
“No. But I’m not unique. The Collegium is all political. God, and God’s work, doesn’t have much relevance.”
“Call me weird. I don’t think God would agree.”
“God gets along. How often do you see Him disagree with the Collegium? Or any Patriarch?”
“I don’t much care, honestly. Religion has abandoned me so I’m no longer inclined to respect my end of the bargain.”
“Just a heads-up,” Februaren said. “Watch out for weird stuff happening. Now, besides keeping a lookout on the wonder girl, here, I wanted you to know that Heris and I won’t be around for a week or two. The Shining Ones have come up with a lead on Vrislakis, or one of those.”
“Then the Shining Ones shouldn’t be getting into much trouble. They’ll be helping you.”
“That’s my plan. We’ll see. But the Old Ones strive hard to be difficult. They don’t want to communicate directly, but don’t want to go through the ascendant or the Bastard, either.”
“Don’t put up with it. Just tell them what they’re going to do.”
Februaren shrugged. “Lila, girl. I don’t see any reason why you can’t operate on your own, now. Just be careful. From now till Heris and I get back you’ll be your father’s guardian angel.”