to pass it on to the Chairman.”
“Meanin’ you put it through the shredder.”
“The Chairman can’t be distracted by every fanciful account of reanimating blot-hounds.”
“Fanci—for Purity’s sake, Francis, you think I’d let any regular blot-hound get the better of me? That thing not only popped back up after havin’ its core shattered, it at least tripled in strength and blasted through my defenses like they was made of soggy newspaper.”
The Ascendant looked pointedly at Ben’s right arm. “With your current condition, I’m not surprised your measures proved inadequate.”
Ben grabbed the man’s lapel. “What’d I warn you about makin’ this personal?”
A thump made them both jump back. As they’d argued, Dani had woken and rolled off her cot. She’d run full-tilt into the glass in an attempt to flee, but rebounded and fell onto her butt, dazed. Her stunned phase passed quickly, though, and she shoved back up, fists pummel-ready.
“You mother*******!” she shouted. Her face screwed up as her voice failed to complete the curse.
Ben sighed and crossed his arms. “This oughta be fun.”
She pounded on the glass. “Let me out, you ******* lunatics! You ****faced ******!” She clapped a hand over her mouth and retreated a step.
Ben grinned. “Well, now. We might just get along after all.”
Dani tucked fists under her arms as she inspected the boundaries of the Orientation room. Glancing down, she appeared to notice her bare feet for the first time. With a yelp, she leaped back onto the cot and huddled against the wall. Her eyes clenched shut, and a tremor rippled the air.
“Hoo boy. Is she—”
Water spouted out of the sink and struck the ceiling. Within seconds, a miniature thundercloud formed, complete with tiny flashes of lightning. Sheets of rain blew about, though Dani remained untouched in the midst of it.
“She’s triggered,” Francis said, as if commenting on the price of milk. “Must be the fright of her unfamiliar environment.”
“Ain’tcha gonna neutralize her?”
“That’s your job now.” The din within the holding room grew. “I suggest you hurry.”
Growling, Ben rapped on the glass until Dani peeked with one eye. Even through the storm, her fury shot his way like a sniper bullet. Her lips moved in silent threat, and thunder rumbled in sync.
“I know you can hear me,” Ben said, unzipping a large pouch on one pants leg. “So I’m gonna make you a deal. See this?”
He pulled a bottle of gel from the pouch. Not the same one from the library, which had melted into the blot-hound; he’d come bearing a replacement as a peace offering.
She fixed on it like a magpie spotting a piece of tinfoil. Her fingers twitched, and Ben thought she might launch herself against the glass again to try and grab it.
“Thought you might be wantin’ this. But the only way you’re gettin’ it is if I hand it over. And I ain’t comin’ in there until you settle down.” Ben pointed at the thundercloud brewing just below the ceiling. “Which mean that needs to go bye-bye.”
“Bye-bye?” Francis echoed. “Benjamin, really …”
“Hush it. If she’s my apprentice, I can use baby language if I wanna.” He refocused on Dani. “So what’s it gonna be?”
He waved the bottle back and forth, and she followed the motion. As her focus anchored on the offered sanitizer, the indoor cloud evaporated and the waterspout trickled off. Drains sucked away whatever liquid had collected on the floor.
While leery of another outburst, Ben stuck his palm to the window. A pane of the glass slid aside and he slipped through. Edging toward her, he held the bottle at arm’s length as if offering a hunk of meat to a rabid wolf.
As soon as it came within reach, she snatched the bottle up, popped the top, and squeezed a third of it into her hand. Ben’s eyes watered as she slopped the gel onto her arms, head, and feet with gleeful abandon.
After every last visible bit of skin was coated, a great weight seemed to lift from her shoulders.
“See?” He patted her back. “All better.”
She spun and screamed. “Don’t touch me, you son of a *****!”
The smack sent his ears ringing. He grabbed her wrist to block a second shot. “Now, princess, let’s not make this personal.”
“You abducted me, you *******! That’s pretty ******* personal.”
“You burned down and flooded your library. You might wanna say thanks.”
“Thanks? Are you ******** me?”
“If we’d left you there, you’d either be locked up in jail or the loony bin.”
“What the **** are you talking about?”
Ben ran a hand over his growing bald spot.