Cordelia felt like her brain had stuck on a blue screen of computer death. So much information to process at once. The artifact was a mystery box of doom that she might not be able to handle without keeling over. The League was being attacked from within. And Brendan was dead. She was just sitting there with her mouth hanging open, trying to make coherent human sounds.
Suddenly, the cool skin and lack of sweat made sense. Was that why Cordelia couldn’t feel anything from him? Clearly, his brain was functional, and he had nervous systems in play, but maybe his emotions just didn’t register in a way she could read? She didn’t know how to feel about the fact that she’d been ogling a dead man the night before. Did that make her a deviant?
“While we’re on the subject, what sort of readings will Cordelia be taking?” Brendan asked. “Do I need to worry about radiation or some such?”
“I’m a touch-know,” Cordelia asked. “Sometimes, when significant events happen around objects, those objects hold onto emotional vibrations, and those vibrations create images in my head.”
Brendan’s expression was skeptical. “I’ve never met a psychic. I’ve never really bought into that sort of nonsense.”
“Psychic talent is nonsense…to a banshee?” Cordelia asked.
“Well, there’s foreseeing a fella’s death and then there’s claiming to be able to pick the winning lotto numbers because you saw them in a dream,” Brendan shot back.
She rolled her eyes. “Well, then I’m not sharing any winning lotto numbers with you.”
“I’ll have to live with that,” Brendan said, winking at her.
Jillian snickered. “So, those NDAs you signed? Take them very seriously. Do not discuss the exact nature of your work with anyone outside this room. Do not discuss the artifact with anyone outside this room. I live in this town. The people I love live in this town. For your own protection, do not do anything that puts those people in danger, or you will deal with the consequences.”
Jillian smiled sweetly and snapped her fingers, creating a rather large flame. Dani and Sonja didn’t react at all, so it seemed that they were used to this sort of casually issued threat. Cordelia added “my new boss can create fireballs with her hands” to the list of things she had to mentally process.
“But why are you telling us all this?” Brendan asked. “For all you know, we’re working with those League factions to help undermine you.”
Sonja looked a bit sheepish. “Actually no, I know that you’re not, because Siobhan put a teeny tiny little enchantment on the pie so that you would blurt out anything you knew about the rift and the artifact when it came up in conversation.”
“What?!” Cordelia cried.
First Brendan was dead and now people were messing with her dessert? Was nothing sacred?
“It’s not personal, it’s just magic in the name of self-preservation,” Jillian said gently.
“People tend to take it personally when you mess with their sweets,” Dani reminded her.
“I didn’t eat any pie,” Brendan noted.
“Where did you get your coffee this morning?” Jillian asked, looking pointedly at the to-go cup that read, “Bathtilda’s Pie Shop, Home of the World’s Best Chocolate Rhubarb Pie.”
Brendan’s mouth dropped open. “Of all the sneaky, underhanded—”
“We had to be sure,” Jillian said, shrugging. “Now we know we can trust you, at least with this much information. And that’s a considerable comfort to me. Sonja, is there anything else I need to go over?”
“The acting executive director thing?” Sonja suggested.
“Oh, right, I am only acting director for now. Due to the above-average amount of sabotage associated with this project and the fact that I am pregnant with an enormous metal egg—”
Both Brendan and Cordelia winced at the visual.
“The League is sending a new executive director to take over the research village. I will stay on in my community liaison position while A.J. Lancaster takes on more responsibilities. But he’s agreed to let me continue to oversee this particular operation because I understand the full scope of the problem. So, you three will have a new boss, but you’ll still report to me.”
“Lancaster is Darwin Messina’s right-hand man,” Sonja added. “He’s a fixer. He goes into League projects, well, when they go off the rails.”
“That seems a little harsh,” Jillian muttered.
Sonja cleared her throat. “Sweetie, we were in charge when a great big hole got ripped in the dimension.”
“Yeah, but it’s not like we did it personally,” Jillian protested. “We were just dimension-hole adjacent.”
“Is Lancaster a human or magie?” Dani asked.
“I’m not really sure,” Sonja said, shrugging.
“Who’s Darwin Messina?” Brendan asked.
Cordelia said, “I’ve only heard the name a few times and it was generally whispered—or whimpered—in fear.”
“Messina’s the director of strategic projects,” said Jillian. “You know those government conspiracy theories crazy people rant about on the internet until they slowly go crazy? Well, Darwin Messina inspired half of them. He’s the reason Snopes.com exists.”
“Oh, is that all?” Brendan scoffed.
“Look, I don’t want this to put you off the job,” Jillian said. “All you two have to do is your best. No one knows how this is going to turn out. And even if you fail to read the box, it’s not like you’re the ones who will answer for it. Now, if you feel up to it, Sonja will take you out to the rift site to show you your workspace. And I’m going to return about a dozen calls.”
“Closer to two dozen,” Sonja told her. “And about thirty emails. That’s what you get for not shutting Adam McTeague down during the meeting.”
“Well, Dani wasn’t around to Tase him with her brain,” Jillian grumbled, logging on to her computer.
“I can only do that so many times before he starts to notice,” Dani said.
“Your un-tampered-with pie is in the desk drawer,” Sonja told Jillian, as the rest of them rose to their feet. “And your vitamins. And the gross beef jerky you don’t think I know about.”
“The baby likes teriyaki siracha!” Jillian informed her.
“Dani, are you coming with us?” Sonja asked, shuddering at Jillian’s jerky preferences.
“Actually, I already stopped by the site this morning to check on it,” Dani said. “Everything is as stable and normal as it can be. No changes. But it would take a lot out of me to go there twice in one day. You three take precautions. Don’t get too confident. If you start to feel dizzy, feel ear pain, or have trouble breathing, tell someone immediately. There are sensors in the trailer that will monitor your vitals. When you get a warning, listen to it. The pressure from the rift can cause internal damage if you stay out there too long, and—to put a crass spin on it—you being in a coma for weeks will cause setbacks we can’t afford. The minute you start to think maybe you should leave, go ahead and leave. Sonja, I’ll be in my office, if you need anything.”