Awakening - The Last Science #1

Chapter 14 - What It Means - I

  "Collins?" Kendra asked.

  "Yeah, from his cell phone to an unknown number. The other end was more secure, took a few bounces to figure out where that number was meant to go."

  "Enough bragging, kid. Who knows?" Jackie asked.

  "Her father, Thomas Laushire."

  "Shit."

  "He could pose an inconvenience," Kendra agreed. "Heaven knows my father would love to get his hands on a burgeoning market. I don't believe we need to worry about him for now. May I see the exact message that was sent, please?" Will handed the laptop over. Kendra put on a pair of half-rimmed glasses and scrutinized the screen as if she were looking at a lab specimen. "As expected, Collins couched his speculations in half-hearted flights of fantasy. My father may not even believe him at first. If he were a more trusted or competent lieutenant, he'd not be trapped at the end of the world with myself."

  "Glad to see you think so highly of our town," the sheriff muttered.

  "I chose this place precisely for being so far removed from society, dear sheriff," Kendra replied. "My father's influence blacklisted me from virtually all major universities, so I decided to take the opposite approach and find one so beyond his reach that he wouldn't even bother making an attempt to interfere. Unfortunately for my plan, this town has turned out to be far more valuable than anyone could have anticipated."

  "Speaking of the town, what's the general mood?" asked Josh. "You two have been running all over, what's your take?"

  "Everyone's uneasy," Jackie answered. "News is really starting to spread now. We're gonna have more waves of people trying to figure out how they can do magic too."

  "And we're still telling everyone they can't, right?"

  "We are," Rachel confirmed, "but we don't know that everyone else is. You can be sure Cinza will be looking to pick up new recruits."

  "She still doesn't have any paper though. They can't awaken anyone."

  "Oh thank God," Jackie muttered.

  Josh laughed. "Yeah, we're spared that nightmare for now. So we can focus down on the two real threats: keeping the council happy and finding Omega."

  "You said they weren't happy, Josh," Rachel prompted.

  "Not happy with you," he corrected. "The gist I got is that Mabel, Julian and Cinza are mostly down with how this has played out otherwise."

  "Those are the three big players?" Jackie asked, scribbling on a notepad. Josh raised an eyebrow. "Look, kid, I'm having trouble keeping up. I won't write down anything sensitive, don't worry."

  "All right, whatever. Just leave me out of it. Anyway, Cinza seems to have your back actually. I dunno what you did there but she hasn't bitched about you once." Rachel smiled. Her budding friendship with Cinza was paying off. "It's Mabel and Julian that got me worrying."

  "I never got the impression that Mabel was particularly invested in the Council, or magic," Kendra said. "I've never seen her visit the Market once, nor has she ever proposed policy or stepped in on a dispute."

  "You don't know her like I do," Josh said. "Mabel's the quiet type, yeah, but she's an old matriarch. Raised a whole family and a half here. Did you know that John Bell, the big guy over at the Kettle, is her grandson?"

  "No," Kendra answered. Rachel was surprised too. Even she hadn't known that.

  "John's just one of several, plus she's got old family ties with the Harrisons. Those two families practically built this town, even though the Prices own it. They've got a lineage and they like to keep things in the line."