Missing Elements (The Lament Book 3) (20 page)

The man's scarred face looked
troubled then, but there was nothing for it. Either the help came, and worked,
or it didn't. Even if it used too much energy, it was too late to do anything
else.

All they could do now, was wait.

It was tense, uncomfortable and a
bit boring, all at once, waiting for something to be reported. The first they
heard about what had happened was from Apprentice Lars again. Not that he
really understood what he was seeing.

The drones seemed to be something
more than just male bees, like Pran had thought, and were really low powered
and very efficient attack craft. Much faster than an airship, but they flew
anyway, making almost no sound. When they'd gotten into place, they simply
looked around for about a minute, then flew over to the attackers, hitting them
with a weapon that Lars had never seen before. Pran either, though Clarice
nodded at the description.

"I've heard of this. It's
one of the new things to come out in the last year or two. If I have it right
it uses compressed air to create a concussive force blast. It's focused, a bit
like a laser, and-" She looked at everyone in the room and just stopped
even trying to explain the way she wanted too. "Right. Well, it uses air
to knock people out."

Pran had no clue how that would
work, but nodded, since being agreeable was generally more helpful than being
the closed minded one in the room.

"That sounds efficient.
We'll want to have the Guardians look into it. For now..." She had no idea
what they should do, but luckily, that wasn't her job. All she needed to get
done was a bit of sleep before it was truly daylight out. The others were the
ones that had to see about the proper handling of the situation.

"Hey... can um... That guy
we talked to, send a report over about this for the meeting?" She needed
to lie down, but her clothing wasn't really dry yet, and she wasn't going to
strip in a room full of people. That meant, not wanting to get the bed wet,
that she got her blanket and made up a little nest on the throw rug. She
shouldn't soak anything, but her eyes wanted to close, and there was no reason,
other than all the talking, that she couldn't do that there.

Well, the light didn't help, but
after a bit she drifted off anyway, not dreaming much, that she knew of. It
probably wasn't fair to call it real sleep, but she was able to rest for a few
hours, getting up just as Clarice went to lay down herself, so that she could
be fresh for the meeting later. Not having anything else to do, not being
needed in particular, Pran headed off to work. It was light out as she walked,
but still early enough that the streets weren't full of people. There were no
horses yet, except for one, being ridden by a rather dapper man in a blue coat
that was the color of the sky, and a funny looking felt hat on his head.

Honestly, Pran wouldn't have
noticed him at all, except that the man waved, trying to get attention for some
reason.

"Excuse me, miss?" His
voice was polite enough, so she stopped, wondering if he was planning to attack
her for some reason.

Calling her
miss
like
that, as she walked down the street, nearly freezing and not wearing a jacket...
Well, that would be hard for most people to get, her body language not even
giving away that she was a female really. Only the people from the past seemed
to see her for who she really was that way, meaning this man was likely one of
them. Getting her to stop couldn't be a good thing, could it? She didn't think
so, and started to go for the sap that she had hidden in the back of her
waistband, the tiny club being the only thing she had that might help her.

The man didn't look tough or
anything, and smiled as she stopped, not watching her hands too closely. He
looked at home on the back of his animal, which didn't mean much.
She
knew how to ride too, now. It had only taken a few weeks to get used to it.
Yes, it was true that Pran had lived in the outer world, what the old time
people called reality, but she'd still had to be taught how to do it. This man
seemed better at it than she did, but that could mean anything.

She looked at him closely, and
forced a smile she didn't feel. It was tiredness and lack of sleep that made
her that way however, not anger.

"Hello! Have you come for
the big meeting later today? The one about the people from the System?"
She kept her hand ready on the little club, wondering if she should slip the
wrist strap on, but the man just looked at her strangely for a few seconds,
then shook his head, laughing.

"I
am
! I wasn't aware
that everyone knew about that yet. Has there been an announcement about it? I
just got word a few hours ago that I was supposed to report in here today. I
kind of figured it was a trap." That got him to notice where her hand was,
but the man didn't go for a weapon of his own, just smiling at her, if a little
stiffly.

She pulled the thing then, and
held it up, for him to see. It got a more genuine smile to come to his face, at
least. It really was an unlikely thing to use on a man riding a horse.

"Just in case you're
thinking of kidnapping me. Not that anyone would, but a girl can't be too
careful these days. As to the meeting, I'm Pran." Looking around she saw
that there was no one else out to hear her, meaning it was probably all right
to tell the truth. More or less. "I put the thing together, along with
Bard Clarice and Doctor Millis. Um... You know him as Michael Morse? I was just
going to the office for the morning, to work on a sculpture. I suppose we could
find someplace for your horse and a place for you to wait? It isn't really
going to start until about two or three this afternoon. It takes time to get
things put together like this." More than they were taking, but the man
seemed pleased enough to hear her words, and didn't pull a weapon on her of his
own, so it was a good start, she had to figure.

"Really? Well, that's a
warmer welcome than I'd counted on. That sounds good. I'd love to get Betsy here
out of the cold. Is there a stable around, or..." What else he was going
for she didn't know, but he was willing to get off and walk with her, and then
let the floor boy call for a groom to take the old mare away to a warm stable.
That was what the chubby cake loving boy told them at least. She stood there
shivering and talking to Salle, as that was handled.

At the door, when she started to
go in, she paused, again, and waved at the man in his light blue coat and round
tall hat. A top hat, she thought, having seen one in the props room a few times
back in school. It was pretty out of place, but looked good. New, and dark
black.

"Hey, Salle, are you up on
the meeting thing we have going on later?" She still had the sap in her
hand, the wood in her palm and the strap around wrist securely, the Guardian at
the door looked at it but focused on the man behind her.

"Some. Is this one of
them?"

She nodded, appreciating the
shorthand, since it would let her get into the warmth more quickly.

"That's right. We should
have others coming in all day. If anyone is coming for the meeting early... I
guess you should send them up to Bard Clarice's office? I'll have some tea
ready. Snacks or whatever a proper hostess does. I guess people are traveling
in for this? I didn't think it was going to be that big." She had to
resist pushing the Guardian out of the way, and hoped that he wasn't going to
insist they wait while he worked up people to watch the new comer. Her teeth
were chattering, and her hands were going numb. Pran didn't want to mention it,
since it made her seem weak, but getting inside was pretty attractive at the
moment to her way of thinking.

Thankfully, Salle, Guardian or
not, was willing to let them in openly and stepped out of the way.

"I'll send anyone that comes
up to you, directly."

"Thanks! I'll get this back
to you. I should give it to you now, but..." She hefted the little piece
of wood, but the man actually smiled.

"Later. If you need it, then
you'd best be ready. These are dangerous times, so be wary."

The other man, who needed to be
named soon, Pran realized, cleared his throat, as he walked back.

"Indeed. Dangerous, heady
and
amazing
times. Filled with perils, but also the chance for a better
world. Don't confuse a hand extended in friendship, for one holding a tool of
war." The words were lightly spoken and friendly. There was a smile to go
with it as well.

Salle nodded, seriously.

"Perhaps. It's not me that
you have to convince of that however. If you truly mean it, then I wish you
luck. If not, then... Well, I hope that you do." The words were a bit
flat, but seemed sincere.

After the door shut, the man in
black left outside the door, she grinned and gestured broadly toward the
stairs, the warmth of the space feeling wonderful after the chill of the morning
air.

"I think he likes you. The
first time
I
met him, he pulled a kinetic pistol on me. I'm pretty sure
I was no more than two seconds from death at the time."

She was just talking, mainly
because she didn't know what else to say, but the man gave her a dubious look.
It was overdone and clearly meant to be overstated for affect.

"Come now! A cute young lady
like yourself? Why would one of the Guardians do that? Did you throw a bit of
paper to the floor? Or suggest we bring back the internal combustion
engine?"

She had no clue what the second
one was, but couldn't imagine throwing paper on the ground. It was too valuable
for that kind of treatment, wasn't it?

"Nope. I was merely too different
from what he expected. He got used to me, however, so it worked out."
Then, as they got to the second floor landing, she paused, then stopped the
man, waving at the door. "We need to go one floor up, but I want to talk
to the floor boy, if he's still here." She hadn't heard that they were
replacing him, but it would make some sense, wouldn't it? He was a spy, after
all.

It seemed that no one had thought
about it, and he was in his little cubby, openly reading a book when she
stepped over.

"Tims! How are you doing
this morning?" It was a polite kind of thing to say, and the boy smiled,
as if she were really just stopping to chat.

"Well, Bard Pran. What may I
do for you today?"

Opening her mouth, thinking to
simply ask him to the meeting later, an idea popped to the front of her mind.
It was a strange thing, but made some sense, so she went with it.

"We have a big meeting
today. People from the past, from the System, are coming in to meet with some
of the High Councilors, trying to come to a treaty agreement. I'd like you to
question each of them and try to find out what their political alliances are.
You know Coalition, Firmament, that kind of thing? Or
whatever
it is
they are. It will help me keep tabs on things, and hopefully get something
useful through, so that I can get back to my real job soon."

The boy, who was probably three
centuries older than she was or more, didn't respond with shock, nodding
instead.

"I can do that. Is this the
first of them?" He stood and leaned over his small desk, his hand held out
to clasp the other mans. "I'm called Tims here. Brandon Clemet."

The man in blue smiled.

"Really? I've heard of you.
Aren't you the second in command of the Coalition?"

That was news to Pran, but she
stayed relaxed, wondering if she could take the boy in a fight. It wasn't
likely. Really, if he'd just been an unarmed floor boy, it would have been
risky for her, since he was still bigger than she was. If he was some kind of
ancient warrior that had done nothing but practice for centuries, preparing for
what he was doing now... Well, she didn't think it would be too likely that she
could survive for long if that happened. It was hardly fair, was it?

Then, life wasn't. Not ever.
Someone always got the low end. The goal was to make certain that wasn't you,
if you could.

Tims gave a single, very small,
nod.

"Correct. You are?"

The man, who was taller than the
boy, but otherwise of similar build, paused for a second. It made it seem like
he was thinking of a good lie, but his words seemed easy enough.

"Darnel Nix. I'm here at the
direction of Michael."

That seemed to mean something,
and Tims looked at Pran, then sat and started to write something.

"Darnel Nix...
The movie
critic
?"

"Once upon a time. For the
last few hundred years, experiential, I've been working on improved energy
control devices. That's why I was allowed to come outside, you know. In order
to begin a baseline infrastructure for thermal reactive bio-electrics. We're
using a fungal substrate growing method for it, which is slow, as you might
suspect, but the end product is high quality, without waste that can't be used
for other things." The man looked over at her when he said all of this.

Like
she
could understand
what he was saying? Fungal... That meant mushroom. She
thought
. The rest
of what he said might have as well been in a different language, and honestly
might
be
.

Tims seemed impressed however,
and made a note about what the man said. It took almost two minutes of writing,
before he spoke.

"That's a risk, having
someone like you in then, isn't it? Science side, at that level. How certain
are they that this is going to work? I haven't heard much so far. A phone
message last night, and some sniffing around by the Guardians about me
personally, but that was all. No one shot me when I came in to work, so I
thought that meant they didn't know." He tapped his pen on the paper in
front of him, then blotted it on the edge of the ink cup. "This is what I
get for assuming I guess. Will everyone be checking in through here?"

Pran shrugged, "No? Get with
Salle on the door and set that up? We're all collecting in Bard Clarice's
office. I'll get with Walden about setting up some food, I guess." She was
already taking Tims out of play for the second floor, for part of the day.