Sunny lood over Aaron by at least half a foot, doing the most accurate demonstration of foaming at the mouth Id ever seen. Despite the intensity, Aaron seed unaffected, almost bland, hands shoved in his pockets, even as Sunny bore down on him.
Its too fucking soon to move on the tower. Sunny said.
Im aware of your opinion on the matter. And if were bitching about expediency, care to explain the User you just railroaded through the process? The sa User that apparently just broke protocol and appeared in the central compound.
Sunny stuck his finger in Aarons face. A long trail of Lichtenberg figures spanned from his third finger to his forearm. They hadnt been there earlier. Apparently, Seer was telling the truth: anyone outside the Order couldnt see the mark. I recruit whoever the fuck I want.
Aaron glanced at , though Sunny hadnt realized Id returned yet. An allowance the retainer granted both of us. But I think its a little odd that the User you bring in last-minute assaults and seriously injures mbers of the team taking part in an operation you vocally opposed.
Sunny grinned so widely it looked as if his face might split. They attacked him first. And if I wanted to put so of your people out of commission, Aaron, I wouldnt send a recruit. And he sure as hell wouldnt be unard.
Aarons brow furrowed as he pivoted toward , directly acknowledging my presence for the first ti. You did all that without a weapon?
I shrugged. They were inexperienced. It didnt seem necessary.
Right Like I hadnt even spoken. Aaron focused back in on Sunny. You see how this looks? And with the timing, theres no way I can know how much you coached him.
Stop talking out of the side of your fucking mouth. If you want to accuse of sothing, say it. We can have it all out in front of the court and Sibyl and be done with it. Again, Sunny stuck his finger in Aarons face, a hairs breadth from touching his forehead.
There was enough tension in the room that it felt like either of them could snap at any mont. I was half-tempted to just leave. If I had the elevator code, I might have. Wash my hands of it, take the non-zero chance they might kill each other and save the trouble. Instead, I unbuckled my gauntlet. When Azure played Myrddin in Aarons backyard, hed done so with so cheek. I saw no reason to discontinue the trend.
I held my bare forearm up to the light. There a trader with ointnt? Shit itches like a motherfucker.
Aarons eyebrows shot up in surprise, while Sunny appeared completely unsettled. From their reactions, I filled in the blanks. Neither expected Hastur to actually talk to .
I stand corrected. Aaron murmured.
Right, uh Sunny attempted to regain his balance, though his eyes kept flicking to the mark. See? Clearly legitimate.
He who I think he is? Aaron asked.
Uhuh. Sunny confird.
Solid get. Though its unfortunate you were the one to bring him in.
You Sunny bristled and took a step towards Aaron, the tension in the room rising. Aaron held up a hand and placed it on his chest.
I understand why you skipped the background. That tracks. But youre not skipping containnt and analysis. Hes not going anywhere for at least two weeks. And once he does, he needs to be observed.
Sunnys eyes narrowed, and he shifted his body slightly. He slowly reached towards his inventory with his out of sight arm. Aaron caught the movent and openly smiled, all but daring Sunny to make a move.
There was a part of that wanted to let him. Watching Aaron be reduced to a bloody sar on the ground was a personal fantasy of mine. But sothing about the scene was wrong. Aaron was here, unescorted, yet seed entirely too confident. He had sothing up his sleeve. Either way, what Aaron was proposing couldnt happen.
I cleared my throat. Personally, I dont give a fuck, but Im surprised youre willing to put the research off indefinitely.
The tension flagged as they both stared at .
What research. Sunny growled.
Id like to know as well. Aaron took several long strides towards , putting himself in my space. I certainly hope you dont intend to violate your geas so soon after invoking the oath. The results of that would be categorically unpleasant.
I cocked my head. That was a subtle warning for my benefit, disguised as a threat. So Aaron wasnt sandbagging trying to keep tied to the compound. Is power-leveling the necromancer tied to the advent?
Not directly. Aaron shrugged.
Then Im not violating jack. I said. With all the posturing going on in this room, it was hard to keep my body-language neutral, not favoring either of them. Wasnt exactly keen on joining the illuminati without a few cards up my sleeve. I only have a handful of User cores on . Your necromancer will run through them in less than a week. I stashed the rest sowhere safe. If you want more, well, Im not really down for twenty-four seven cult life. Hastur seems chill, but Ive got my own shit to handle.
chill. Aaron twisted back to look at Sunny. Are we the illuminati?
Sunny grunted noncommittally. Secret society bound by oaths and magic, nascent god, fingers in almost everything?
Guess we are. Aaron said.
Severely lacking in the triangle departnt. I pointed out. Whatever caused the rift, the rapport between them was still there. I needed to make sure they didnt resolve their differences.
Aarons smile faded. As much as I applaud your cleverness, were still at an impasse. I cant, in good conscience, let a railroaded recruit roam freely. Even if Hastur himself gave his approval.
I breathed out slowly. As Id always suspected, Aaron was a fantastic liar. There was no trace of deception in his body-language or voice. Problem was, he was effectively hemming in. Either he was doing it on purpose, or he couldnt find a way to let this go in a realistic manner that Sunny would safely buy.
An idea ford. Im not sure what hes already told you about , so Ill just say this. Theres only one thing I care about. Winning this fucking ga and getting the hell out of Dallas. Short of that, acquiring as much power as possible to make the over-arching goal easier.
Do you have an alternate endga in mind? Aarons voice changed when he asked. More authoritative and demanding.
I was already answering before I received the prompt from Azure. Is that an official query?
Yes. Aaron said.
Then no. My patron isnt exactly a bullet-point planner. I originally intended to win the events, carrying a single region to the end, getting to know their strengths and weaknesses intimately in case the final stages get unpleasant. If Hastur can follow through on his claind this before the second eventthat wont be necessary.
Your patron being the Allfather of Chaos? Aaron asked.
Yes. I admitted. There was no point in denying it, especially when the lie could be so easily conflicted with all the chatty gods going around.
Did you get the feeling its going that way without Hasturs interference? Last man standing? Aaron asked. I felt genuine interest in the question. Realistically, hed only spoken to Hastur, who probably revealed little beyond hints and riddles.
Count yourself lucky. I groused. The Allfather is infinitely more cryptic than the Retainer. He ntioned nothing to that effect.
I didnt ask what the Allfather said. I asked what you felt. Aaron corrected.
I considered it. If this was really about reformation, as the Overseer implied, I couldnt see it. The systemand for that matter, the last eventprioritized strength over all.
Theyre burning through casualties at an unsustainable rate. At the very least, its flathrower eugenics. Within our do, I could see a few hundred people left at most. The real question is whether this is the semi-finals.
And the survivors get pitted against each other after the do cos down. Aaron said thoughtfully. Ive considered that possibility myself.
I silently noted that he hadnt asked if I was working with Sunny. Either using his authority to inquire directly about a mber of the order with similar authority to his own was off-limits, or he knew it was pointless, aning confirmation that Sunny had found a way to circumvent the geas.
Putting the theoretical aside, for the mont, I fucked up one of your teams right before an op. That wasnt my intention, and if you want to shift the teams around and find a spot for , I can more than make up for the three I dropped. Of course, on the condition you drop the isolation requirent.
What Sunnys face turned red.
I think thats an excellent idea, Aaron said smoothly, all but leering at the taller man. Anything for the advent. Isnt that right, Sunny?
Sunny paused. He seed to realize why I was going this route. But he didnt look happy about it.
What Aaron said next surprised the hell out of . Our high-level teams are well-balanced. In both powers and personalities. There might be a space for you on one of them in the future, but I dont want to fuck with their composition right before an op.
aning I trailed off, bracing for it.
Im putting you with Zero-team. Make preparations, swing by a vendor if you need to, then report to the Ceaseless Knight. You roll out at sunset.
User Comments
0 comments from readers