Cordelia stepped forward and cupped her hands over the casket. A shudder of dread went down his spine as he saw something ripple across the slick surface. It could have been his imagination, he supposed, a trick of these false, too-bright lights. He bit his lip, watching her intently as she closed her eyes. He could see the moment the connection was made. She gritted her teeth and squared her shoulders as if a weight was shoving at them from above.
“Are you all right?” asked Brendan.
“Stop at any time, Cordelia,” Jillian chimed in. “Don’t push too hard.”
“What are you talking about?” Lancaster asked. “This is a top-priority project. She needs to push.”
“Read. Page. Twelve,” Jillian said with icy politeness.
“I’m fine. It’s just happy to see me…which is weird.” Cordelia’s voice was smokier, strained as she murmured, “It’s that same want, like it’s pulling me into its consciousness instead of just showing me a memory. It’s weird. I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“Is there a difference in the sensation?” Jillian asked. “How it feels as the information enters your brain?”
“Maybe we should let her concentrate now and science later,” Sonja suggested gently.
“Actually, no, conversation with me—as opposed to running commentary—is helping me stay rooted in the moment instead of getting sucked in,” Cordelia said. “It is different, like there’s a pair of cold, clammy hands on either side of my head. Oof, it didn’t like the cold and clammy bit. It’s mildly offended.”
Jillian murmured. “So it is sentient. Dani thought it was the rift, but it’s the casket. Sonja.”
“Yeah, I’m making notes for Dani. She’s going to have to make adjustments to her book,” Sonja muttered.
“But still, it’s progress, if it’s sentient and capable of communicating, maybe we can negotiate with it,” Jillian said.
“No, not it...she. She doesn’t like being called ‘it,’” said Cordelia. “She is definitively female.”
“Duly noted,” Jillian said. “Um, I’m sorry, Lady Casket Entity. I will be more mindful in the future. Does that help, Cordelia?”
“No response to that.” Cordelia shook her head. “She doesn’t seem to appreciate questions. She’s switched to showing a memory now—back to my normal reading feelings. There are hands on the surface of the casket. She doesn’t seem to have any bad intentions towards these people. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone. She loved those hands and she…she could love me, too. She’s back to making offers. She could love everybody here in this strange place, if they’d just come closer. She wants me to touch her, to trace the edges on her surface with my fingertips, to pick her up and take her to where people gather. She wants to be worshipped.”
Brendan caught her hands before she closed her hands around the obsidian edges. She sagged against him as the connection seemed to break.
“I don’t think that’s a good plan,” he told her. She nodded, taking a deep breath.
“Why is he touching her?” Brendan heard Alex asking over the speaker. “She doesn’t like to be touched.”
Jillian and Sonja both shushed him, which Brendan found oddly endearing.
“You all right?” Brendan asked, pressing her to his chest. She nodded, her sweet-smelling hair brushing against his throat. He resisted the urge to tuck his chin over the top of her head, but it was a near thing.
“Why did you stop her?” Lancaster asked. “Why did he stop her from touching the casket? That’s what she does.”
“Because touching the casket could be very dangerous for her. Did you read the material we provided at all?” Jillian demanded.
“Why is he still touching her?” Lancaster demanded.
“What business is it of his?” Brendan asked Cordelia.
“Um, we have a history,” Cordelia said, straightening. “Alex and I grew up together in the same carnival.”
Brendan tensed. “What?”
“Oh, dear,” Jillian muttered over the speaker.
“He was my childhood sweetheart. Now really isn’t the time to talk about it,” Cordelia whispered.
Whereas he was rather neutral about the man before, Brendan now hated the bastard’s handsome face with the fire of a thousand suns.
“And he just turned up, magically, as a high-ranking League employee? You don’t think that’s a little bit odd?” Brendan asked.
“Yes, I did, and again, not the time,” Cordelia whispered.
“Why would he even care?” Lancaster asked. “She’s just a coworker to him—oh.”
“Yeah,” Brendan repeated. “Oh.”
“If they’re a couple, they shouldn’t be working on a high-profile project in a remote location together,” Lancaster insisted, his tone suddenly very official. “It’s against League policy."
“We’re not a couple,” Cordelia insisted. “And that’s none of your business—wait, no, it would be your business because of your job. But, it’s a moot point because we’re not a couple. Anyway, thank you for jumping to a conclusion that under normal circumstances would be none of your business.”
“I’m so confused,” Brendan said.
“I think I am, too,” Jillian noted. “Cordelia, do you think you’re done for the day or do you think you can go on?”
Cordelia nodded. “Um, I think I might—”
On the other end of the intercom, they heard a door opening, both women making startled noises. Brendan half-expected to hear guns being cocked. Honestly, it sounded like they were being taken hostage. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, wondering if he should call Bael and to tell him to run to Jillian’s office right that minute.
“Mr. Messina?” Lancaster sounded even more distressed than Jillian. “We weren’t expecting you, sir.”
Cordelia turned to Brendan, all wide, frightened eyes and pale cheeks. He shook his head and nodded subtly to the cameras.
Messina’s voice was a rich baritone with an Italian accent so faint it felt like a habit, rather than a speech pattern. “Lancaster, report. Please.”
The “please” definitely sounded like an afterthought, making Brendan think perhaps Messina had added it for the ladies’ benefit. That petty little monster in the corner of Brendan’s head enjoyed the way Lancaster seemed to flounder for a full minute before finally saying, “This is a live feed from the rift site trailer. Ms. Canton and Mr. O’Connor have just completed a successful reading of the artifact and have reported new information.”
“Did she find out what the artifact wants? How to stop the expansion of the rift?” Messina demanded.
“No, she’s not quite there yet,” Jillian said.
“Then she needs to read that thing again,” Messina commanded. “Now.”
“It’s a delicate process, Mr. Messina,” Jillian protested. “Ms. Canton has already landed herself in the on-site clinic once during a reading.”
There was an awkward pause on the other end of the feed, and Brendan could practically feel the unspoken and?