Chronicles of Aquilae: The Victorian incursion [Book 1]

Chapter Twelve, Orange smoke

"Because that girl is going to be a legend and he would have been sorry to know that if he was still alive."

After spending time alone with her, Wallace held Star in very high regard. He knew that with a little patience she could become a very talented Aquilae and he was glad to be a part of that process, but not just because of what she could achieve. He also took the time to reflect on those things that his friend and confrere was telling him, and ended up embracing every word so he could feel better about himself in every way.

Most of the time he disagreed with many things his father meddled in, but about Star he got it completely right. He certainly found a wonderful woman who could become an invincible human being if she set her mind to it.

After that talk with Charlotte over a few cups of tea, Wallace returned to the dormitory to find that something wasn't right: Star was nowhere to be found, her luggage was gone and the Arrow of Paris removed. Within seconds, the Aquilae searched the area for signs of violence, but found no trace. His recent mission partner vanished without hearing the last sentence he said about her in the conversation with the nurse.

It took Amery several minutes to notice Star's absence, but before she left without a trace, she sat down on the bed and tried to keep crying in silence. It lasted long enough for someone to hear her sobs and enter the room to see where the sound was coming from.

"Excuse me, Miss... Are you all right?" The girl wiped her tears with the sleeve of her dress and nodded.
"Yes, I just need to get it off my chest..." Star raised her head to find in front of her a well-dressed woman with glasses and slightly hard features. Like her, she was a foreigner playing it to be somebody in London. "Excuse me, do I know you?"
"Let me introduce myself, I'm Shatner. Elizabeth Shatner", the girl remembered that name and with a little nod of her head greeted the woman. "Are you a friend of Wallace's?"
"The shortest friendship I have ever had in my life. I don't want to see him again, so I am leaving. Do you know a place where I can stay for a few days until I can return home?"

Elizabeth nodded. She then gave a few directions to the Aquilae Inceptor and the girl grabbed her things to get out of the Sanctuary as quickly as possible.

Wallace assumed he could find answers at Star's house, so he was sorely disappointed when he arrived at the place and found it completely empty. It was never really her house, it was a temporary shelter for Aquilae passing through England, so he had no idea how to track her down.

That was one of the works of solidarity that Archibald Amery ran in the city, and he surely talked about it at some point, but his son rarely listened to what he said when the subject wasn't somehow taking down the Serpens. Wallace decided to fire up his brain to find Star, but he would have to work hard if he wanted to beat her on intelligence, so he decided to find reinforcements at a tavern in the Westminster borough.

"Porters at room temperature, an unexpected visitor and a suitcase full of white stones as a gift. What can I do for you today, Wallace Amery?"
"Deck, you're the smartest person I can talk to right now. I need you to help me find someone."
"The girl you went to Stonehenge with got away, didn't she?" Wallace sighed. Was he really that predictable?
"That's right, but the situation isn't how you imagine it. She's just a friend."
"A friend, or a potential lover? You've had a lot of your attention on her lately."
"Do you know how escort missions work?" Lawrence nodded.
"I'm guessing it's not one of those missions anymore, sir. Are you attracted to her?"
"Stop it, Deck. Sometimes she looked at me like I was about to do or say something stupid, but when I felt like she was going to humiliate me, she was so... patient. Like she wanted to teach me things all the time."
"That's how I used to talk about Amelia before we got married, you and I are suckers for teachers and bookworms. Are you sure you don't want to bring her breakfast to bed every day for the rest of your lives?"