new bar is set up in Asylum. I’ll be in touch.” Taking out a notepad, he jotted something onto a sheet of paper, signed it, and gave it to me. I folded it and tucked it into my safest pocket, wondering who the hell he was to have so much power in Aslyum.
“Thank you, sir.”
“You’re welcome. Move like you mean it. We’re on the clock.”
I glanced at the sky, which had cleared since the last storm. It wouldn’t last. It never did.
But thanks to my magic, I understood why. I also understood accessing Asylum would be my best chance to do something.
Corpses accomplished nothing.
Monday, May 4, 2043.
Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Alley.
* * *
While Alastar said two trips, the guards insisted on three, and I blitzed through my cellar, grabbing clothes, blankets, and other personal belongings the guards would expect somebody with a cellar to have. I slipped in a few daggers into my collection, and when they weren’t looking, I strapped one to my lower leg beneath my jeans. On my final trip up the steps, I brought a bastard sword and a short sword for Batbayar, a gift I thought he would appreciate. They weren’t his preferred weapons, but they would be of use to him. I’d also give him one of the daggers, too.
Everybody could use a good dagger in a sticky situation.
Once I locked my cellar up and my property was with my boss at the ruins of his bar, I headed for the martial arts center, wondering if a bounty hunter would be stupid enough to challenge the pair of Asylum guards keeping me company. They didn’t give me their names, but I hadn’t asked for them, and they liked the silence. It impressed me they could keep up with me, and I made no effort to slow down for them, maintaining my ground-eating jog.
If any bounty hunters were watching me, I hoped they realized they’d have to work hard to catch me.
True to Brent’s claim, the martial arts center still stood, and there was a bustle of students and parents swarming the place. Batbayar struggled to maintain order and generally failed. I chuckled at the old man having finally been besieged, and I pulled out one of my tricks, one that almost guaranteed cooperation.
I whistled, and much like my fox kin, my whistle had a piercing quality close to a scream. One day, I hoped to break glass with the sound. As desired, the crowd fell quiet. “It really helps if you talk one at a time rather than screaming over each other. Line up, and be nice, neat, and orderly about it, and give Batbayar a chance to attend to you in turn. If you keep trying to swarm him, nobody will get anything done, and we’ll be here until the sirens go off. Hustle!” To make it clear I meant business, I tucked my charred stick under my arm, clapped my hands, and then made shooing gestures until everyone cooperated.
“I am glad to see you are well,” Batbayar greeted me.
I presented my charred piece of wood. “Will this work for my practice blade?”
Batbayar accepted my stick, looked it over, and nodded. “This will do nicely, yes. I’ll hold onto it for now. The center is being moved into Asylum. They believe the next storm will hit the center. I’ve a pass for you, for you’re my assistant, and I require you to best teach my students.”
Something about Batbayar’s tone worried me, and I wondered how much of a fight the guards and the higher ups down in Asylum had given him about me. “So I was told.”
Batbayar sighed. “You’ll also need to go to City Hall. There is business there you should attend to.”
“I’ve papers I need to turn in. I’m getting a carry permit.”
“Firearm?”
I shook my head. “Sword, because of working with you. I’ve a steel blade that was a gift, although I can’t yet do her justice.”
“Type?”
I shrugged off my pack, retrieved Peace, and handed her over. “Her name is Peace.”
Batbayar unwrapped my weapon, and his eyes widened at the sheath. He eased her from her sheath, and inch by inch, he admired her full length. “Someone treasured you dearly to give you such a gift. I will make you worthy of her.”
Carl hadn’t known me, and he had been the true treasure of the relationship, but I couldn’t reverse death, and I saw no point in arguing with Batbayar over it. Instead, I accepted his good intentions with a nod. I didn’t