“Yes.”
“So…we kinda disobey Epics all the time. I mean, if we listened to what Epics said, we’d be pretty bad at our job.”
“Oh?” Larcener said. “And didn’t you spend your entire career doing exactly what an Epic told you?”
Sparks. Did everyone know about that? I supposed it wasn’t too tough to guess, now that he’d moved into town. Still. I opened my mouth to object further, but Megan pulled me from the room by my arm, Abraham retreating with us, awkwardly hefting his gun. Cody and Mizzy were on the steps leading down, looking concerned.
We ended up in the middle-floor kitchen, arranged around a narrow saltstone table, speaking in hushed tones.
“Is that really him?” Mizzy asked. “Like, the big dude, the king of the city, wazzisnamemagoo?”
“He materialized a chair,” I said. “That’s a very rare power. It’s him.”
“Spaaaarks,” Mizzy said. “You wanna sneak out and blow the place? I got the explosives all ready.”
“Wouldn’t harm him,” Megan said. “Unless we can engage his weakness.”
“Beyond that, this might be his decoy,” I said. “Though I’m not sure how likely it is, Larcener’s real body could be somewhere else. It would be basically unconscious, in a kind of trance. Breathing, heart beating, but not truly awake.”
“Seems a dangerous gamble,” Megan said, “considering how scared he’s acting. Would he want to leave his real self unprotected like that?”
“Who knows,” I said.
“I wonder either way,” Abraham said, “why is he here? His claim of seeking refuge is a front, is it not? He is a most powerful Epic. He wouldn’t need to—”
Footsteps in the stairwell. We all turned as Larcener climbed up to the second floor. “Where is my drink?” he demanded. “You seriously couldn’t remember even one simple order? I can already see that my assumption of your limited capacities was a gross overestimation.”
The team held weapons in nervous grips, subtly turning to form a unified front against the creature. A High Epic. Prowling through our base unrestrained. We were specks of mud on the window; he was a giant, vengeful bottle of spray cleaner.
Extra-strength lemon scent.
I carefully stood from my seat. The others had all been Reckoners long before me, trained by Prof to be careful, quiet. They’d want to bolt—they’d want to distract Larcener, then flee and set up a different base.
I saw an opportunity instead. “You want to work together,” I said to Larcener. “Since we have a common enemy, I’m willing to hear your offer.”
Larcener sniffed. “I just want to avoid being murdered. The whole city is turning against me. The whole city. Me, the one who protected them, gave them food and shelter in this miserable world! Humans are thankless creatures.”
Megan stiffened at that. No, she did not like the philosophy that considered humans and Epics to be different species.
“Larcener,” I said, “my team is not going to become your servants. I’ll let you stay with us, on certain conditions—but we are doing you a favor.”
I could practically hear the breath catch in the throats of the others. Making demands of a High Epic was a sure way to get yourself exploded. But he hadn’t hurt us so far, and sometimes this was the only option. Either you juggled the fire, or you let it burn everything down.
“He’s made you insolent, I see,” Larcener said. “Gave you too much freedom, let you participate. If you bring him down, it will be his own fault.”
I stood my ground. Finally Larcener’s knees bent, a stool—with a plush top—forming for him to settle upon. He slumped. “I could kill you all.”
“You could try, kiddo,” Megan muttered.
I stepped forward, and Larcener looked up at me with a sharp glance, then cringed. I’d never seen this behavior from an Epic of his stature. Most of them stood defiant even in the middle of a trap, confident they’d be able to escape it. The only thing that ever seemed to make them uncomfortable was the moment when their weakness exposed them.
I stooped to meet Larcener’s eyes. He looked like nothing so much as a frightened child, despite being a few years older than me. He wrapped his arms around himself and turned aside. “I suppose I have no choice,” he said. “He’ll destroy me otherwise. What are your conditions?”
I blinked. Honestly…I hadn’t gotten that far. I looked toward the others, who shrugged.
“Um, no killing any of us?” Mizzy said.
“What about the one in the stupid clothing?” Larcener asked, pointing at Cody, in his camo gear and old sports team T-shirt.
“Not even him,” I said. Mizzy was probably right to spell it out. Epics could have…strange ideas about social mores. “First rule is that you don’t hurt us or anyone else we bring here. You stay in the base, and don’t use your powers to make our lives difficult.”
“Fine,” Larcener snapped, wrapping his arms around himself tighter. “But when you’re done, I get my city back, right?”
“We’ll talk about that later,” I said. “For now, I want to know how you found us. If Prof can repeat what you did, then we’ll need to pull out immediately.”
“Bah, you’re fine. I can smell Epics; he can’t.”
“Smell them?” I asked.
“Sure. Like food being cooked, all right? It lets me find Epics to…you know…” Steal their powers.
So he was a dowser as well as everything else. I shared a look with Megan, who seemed troubled. We hadn’t considered that someone might find us by tracking her powers. Fortunately dowsing was a very rare ability, though it certainly made sense as part of Larcener’s original portfolio.
“Dowsers,” I said, turning back to him. “Are there any others in the city?”
“No, though that monster who led you has some disc-shaped devices that can do it.”
We were safe then. Those discs were like the one we’d had in Newcago; it had required direct contact, and Megan could fool it with her illusions. Prof shouldn’t be able to sniff us out.
“There,” Larcener said. “See, I’m cooperating. Will someone finally get me something to drink?”
“Can’t you just make one?” Abraham asked.
&nbs
p; “No,” Larcener snapped, and didn’t offer any further explanation, though I knew anyway. He could create only a limited mass of items, and they faded when he wasn’t concentrating on them. Food or drinks he created wouldn’t sate, as they’d eventually vanish.
“Very well,” I said. “You can stay—but as we said, no hurting us. That includes taking powers from anyone here.”
“I already promised that, idiot.”
I nodded to Cody, then gestured at Larcener.
Cody tapped the front of his cap in agreement. “Now, what would y’all like to drink?” he said to Larcener. “We have lukewarm water and warm water. Both taste like salt. But on the bright side, I’ve tested both on old Abraham there, and I’m reasonably confident they won’t give ya the runs.”
He would fetch Larcener some water, keep him company, and see what he could find out about the man. I grabbed the other three, walking below while Cody distracted the Epic. As we reached the bottom floor, Megan took me by the arm. “I don’t like this,” she hissed.
“I’m inclined to agree,” Abraham said. “High Epics are erratic and untrustworthy. Present company excluded.”
“There’s something odd about him,” I said, shaking my head, looking back up the stairwell and listening to Cody’s voice drift down as he started telling Larcener a story about his grandmother over in Scotland. She’d swum to Denmark, apparently?
“I’ve felt that darkness, David,” Megan said. “Keeping him in here is like snuggling up to a bomb, content that it’s not going to explode simply because you can still hear it ticking.”
“Nice simile,” I said absently.
“Thanks.”
“But inaccurate,” I said. “He doesn’t follow the pattern, Megan. He’s scared, and less defiant than simply arrogant. I don’t think he’s dangerous. To us right now, at least.”
“Are you willing to bet our lives on that feeling, David?” Mizzy asked.
“I’ve already bet your lives by bringing you here.” It was discomforting to say, but it was true. “I’ve said it before: the only way we’re going to win this war against the Epics is by using other Epics. Are we going to turn away one of the most powerful when he seems willing to work with us?”