“I’m so sorry.”
Claude nodded. “It is a tragedy, but life goes on. We will attempt to regain connection with the tens of thousands of access points throughout the world, and we will see what may yet be done.”
I thought he was way more optimistic than I would be in his situation, but I said nothing. I was teetering on the brink of despair and didn’t feel like jumping in.
Malcolm dropped us both off at Abernathy’s before rushing off to the Gunther Node, promising to return for me in the evening so I could have my hand checked. After he left, I remembered I also had a therapy visit scheduled for that evening. It was going to be a long night.
I got Claude settled at the computer and took my handful of mail-in auguries through the store. As I sorted through them, my phone rang. It was Jeremiah. My heart lurched painfully. “Any change?” I demanded.
“She’s restless,” Jeremiah said. “Like she’s having bad dreams. I hope it means she’s near waking up.”
“What do the doctors say?”
“They won’t commit to anything, but they said it was possible that she was nearing consciousness. But that’s a bad thing, if it accelerates her loss of magic.” Jeremiah sounded near the breaking point. I couldn’t blame him. “It’s already accelerating,” he went on. “Not much, but they said it was definitely draining faster than yesterday.”
“I wish I could be there.”
“I took some time off. I don’t want to leave her. I’d be useless at work, anyway.” Jeremiah laughed bitterly. “I’m useless here.”
“Don’t think that way,” I said. “When she wakes up, she’ll need you.”
“I’ll keep you posted,” Jeremiah said. “They say she’s in no immediate danger, just—” His voice broke off.
“Thanks. If anything…changes, I’ll be there.”
I held the phone in both hands after Jeremiah ended the call and stared at the window with ABERNATHY’S painted on it in reverse. Invaders destroying the world, the named Neutralities ending, Viv…it was enough to put me in despair again. And yet, what could I do except my job? I set the phone down and picked up the stack of augury requests. They all seemed so pointless.
As if the universe knew I couldn’t handle any more crises, the morning was peaceful. Very few people came into the store, all of them with auguries the oracle fulfilled without fighting me, and we heard nothing more about the attack in Toronto. Claude joined me and Judy for lunch and told us more about the attack on the Athenaeum. Strangely, it didn’t discourage me, probably because Claude had survived and was even more optimistic than I usually was.
“I am making plans to resurrect the Athenaeum,” he said. “There are records of how it came to be, and I think, me, that it is possible to repeat the experiment.”
“So the Athenaeum didn’t start out fully-formed?” Judy said.
“It was, in the beginning, merely a power source,” Claude said. “Designed to allow us to store records in a time before digital existed. But as the records increased, so did the power source, and as it did so, it seems to have developed a rudimentary consciousness. I do not know how intelligent it was at the end, because I feel when I communicate with it that it holds back. But it was capable of learning and developing on its own. Its new interface, for example. We did not design it to replicate a physical electronic tablet. That was its own creation.”
“That makes me even sadder that it’s gone,” I said. “Like the invaders killed a living thing.”
“It angers me,” Claude said. “And makes me more determined to see it reborn.”
The afternoon was just as quiet as the morning. To my surprise, the few Ambrosites who came in could talk of nothing but working with the Nicolliens in Toronto. “They have techniques we’d never heard of,” Allie Sanford told me. “I thought it would be difficult, coordinating with them, I mean, but it’s like we fit right into their formations. I wish I could describe how satisfying it felt.”
“Is the rest of the world falling in line?”
Allie shrugged. “I hope so. Toronto was a nightmare, and our teams were the only effective ones. I think some of the others have seen that and are willing to give it a try. This is not the time to hold onto old grudges.” She laughed. “I’m one to talk. I hated Nicolliens as much as anyone. But now I feel stupid at having felt that way for so long.”
Since Allie was a good friend, I refrained from telling her I thought she’d been stupid, too. “So long as it’s happening now, I don’t think there’s any point in dwelling on the past,” I said.
Allie saluted me with her augury. “That’s very wise. See you later, Helena.”
At ten ‘til six, I gave the shelves a final dusting and trotted downstairs to put my cleaning supplies away. When I returned to the office, Mike was there, his hand on Judy’s shoulder. She wore a furious scowl and had both her hands on her hips. “You don’t want to live together,” she said, “you just want me where you can keep an eye on me.”
“That’s a stupid thing to say,” Mike said.
“Oh, so I’m stupid now?”
“Sorry,” I said, and turned to go.
“It’s okay, Helena, we’re done talking,” Judy said. She stepped away from Mike and sat at the computer.
I hesitated in the doorway. Mike let out a deep, frustrated breath and headed for the back door. I glanced at Judy, whose eyes were bright with tears, and said, “Mike. Wait.”
Mike turned. “Yeah?”
It was none of my business, but I couldn’t bear any more tragedy. “Judy wants to move in with you.”
“Helena!” Judy exclaimed.
“She doesn’t,” Mike said flatly. “She’s made that clear.”
“Only because she doesn’t want you to do it out of pity.” I avoided looking at Judy, who I was sure was glaring at me. “She wants it to be what you want.”
“Of course it’s what I want!” Mike said, throwing up his arms.
“There’s no room for me in your life,” Judy said. “We might as well admit that.”
Mike swore explosively. “You’re so damned independent,” he said. “You don’t want to give that up. I’ve been trying to get you to come over for days now, and you keep putting me off.”
“I don’t see why you care,” Judy shot back. “You’re so protective of your personal space, there’s no way I can fit in there.”
Mike’s jaw tightened. “That’s not true.”
Judy arched an eyebrow at him. “Isn’t it?”
He shook his head. “I cleaned it up,” he said.
“You what?” Judy said.
“I cleaned. I rearranged the living room. I bought another dresser so you’d have space for your things and cleaned out half the closet. There’s even a laundry basket in the corner of the bedroom. It was supposed to be a surprise, but you’re so damned stubborn you didn’t take any of the hints I dropped.”
“I hate surprises,” Judy said, her voice faint. “Mike…you didn’t have to do that.”