she should take her own car, since he would need to go directly home afterward. He didn’t volunteer an explanation.
Mara caught up with Ping, as he jostled with the keys in the back door next to the loading dock. Standing behind him, rubbing her hands together and sort of jogging in place to generate a little heat, she said, “Are you in a hurry? I was hoping we might have some time to sit and talk for a few minutes, you know, in our little classroom. It seems like forever since we’ve just conceptualized, and I kind of miss it. Frankly, with everything that’s going on, I could use some downtime, just to think things through.”
He pushed open the door and stepped inside. Reaching up, he moved the lever on the control box next to the door frame, and the rows of industrial fluorescents suspended above clattered on in rapid sequence, revealing the empty warehouse, a quarter of which remained shrouded in darkness.
Mara followed him in and closed the door behind her, setting off a hollow thud that echoed. Her gaze immediately went to the large hole in the ceiling over the dark portion of the warehouse. Wires, pipes, ductwork and scraps of metal hung down along the periphery of the opening. She could see the stars again. Water dripped from jagged edges, landing with rhythmic tinkling sounds in a large inky puddle on the concrete floor.
“We can talk,” Ping said. “We’ll need to straighten the classroom.” He pointed to the center of the warehouse. The whiteboard had skittered out of place by several yards, and the metal cabinet lay on its side. Their floor mats were piled up next to the cabinet.
“Why don’t we do that first, and then I’ll see what I can do about repairing the roof,” Mara said.
Ping looked at her blankly. “Repairing the roof?”
Mara frowned. “Yes, if we still have that bytownite crystal around here somewhere, I’ll use it to focus on repairing the damage to the roof. Remember, like I repaired the floor before?”
“Bytownite what?” Ping asked.
“Are you all right? You seem to be having trouble keeping up today.” She pointed to the hole in the roof. “We came here to do something about the sunroof your dragon friend installed in the ceiling. Are you following me?”
Ping shook his head, seemed to snap himself awake. “Of course, the roof. You wish to use the yellow crystal as a talisman to focus your abilities, like you did previously. Yes, I’m following you.”
Without further comment, he headed for the makeshift classroom area. When he got there, he grabbed the corner of the metal cabinet with one hand and heaved it up to a standing position effortlessly, setting off a loud rumble as its contents settled. Mara jogged up beside him and stopped. Looking at the top of the cabinet, which stood several inches taller than Ping, she said, “You been working out?”
He walked over to the whiteboard and rolled it toward the cabinet. Mara shrugged, and picked up the three mats and placed them on the floor in a triangle in front of the board and the cabinet. Opening the cabinet, Ping rummaged around, straightening shelves for a second, and then turned around, holding the softball-size yellow crystal. “Here’s the one you want, correct?”
Mara had taken her seat on a mat, facing slightly to the right in front of the whiteboard. She patted the one to her left and said, “Take a seat.”
He walked over and sat on the floor mat, crossing his legs. “You wanted to talk?” He handed the crystal to her.
Mara glared at him. “If you don’t want to do this, just say the word.”
Ping shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be standoffish. How would you like to begin? Is there something specific you wanted to work through?”
Mara stared down at the bytownite crystal, as she rolled it from one palm to the other, and said, “Maybe it would be a good idea for me to do something about the roof. Concentrating on something for a few minutes might help me focus a little better. Do you mind if we do that first?”
“You mean, you’re going to attempt to fix the roof before we have our discussion, is that it?”
Mara looked at him. “I think I’m moving beyond attempting these things. I still have my doubts about a lot of things, but I seem to be getting a handle on basic repairs. I guess I was just asking if you