than you. You live and breathe secrets, and you enjoy life the most when you know what everyone else does not.”
He smiled at me. “You are, as always, a most astute student. I would like you to retrieve two or three extra pieces of wood like the one you brought me. Four would be sufficient to properly teach you the art of your katana, although I think you will find you are adequate enough with the blade to protect yourself from most.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Do. Hurry about your business. The storms will be particularly dangerous tonight, or so I have been told.”
Yes, now that I understood the storms were guided by human hands, I expected they would be even more dangerous than usual. Would they return to my dead neighborhood to destroy my defiant house, or would they move on to bring death and tragedy to more of Tulsa? Tomorrow, I would find out.
I wished Batbayar well, hoped he found safety within Asylum before the storms came calling, and left at a brisk walk, debating my next move. With a check to cash, I would go to the bank first. I rarely went to the bank, and I never went to the bank on a Monday, as I was typically paid on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. If any bounty hunters were attempting to tail me, they’d get a surprise when I went deeper into Inner Tulsa before heading out for a bite to eat and descending into Asylum for the night.
In the morning, I needed to find out if Tulsa was the only place besieged with storms, or if Mother Nature played her part as much as those who somehow manipulated her to summon tornadoes to destroy my home.
With my magic, assuming I could force it to cooperate with me, I might learn more in Owasso, located sixteen miles from the northern outskirts of the city. I’d also bring back wood for Batbayar, as the City of Storms had plenty of broken wood to spare and nobody living to care who took what.
Scavenging through the ruins might get me killed, but it would be worth the risk if I could learn more about what was happening in Tulsa. I doubted I’d learn why, unless my magic decided to give me a view of the past showcasing those behind the unnatural behavior of the storms.
I could accept if Mother Nature wanted to wipe us out.
People manipulating Mother Nature to wipe us out was another matter entirely, and I refused to go down without a fight. Maybe my moral compass needed adjustment, but I could accept life enslaved if it meant I could guarantee the life and liberty of many others.
Maybe I’d grown up in Buffalo, but Tulsa was my home.
On my way deeper into the city, I checked the envelope. I’d never had a check in my name from an Asylum official before, with the memo stating the payment was to cover employee costs of a new resident.
The memo comforted me. It mean they’d take care of Batbayar, and he’d be safe from the storms. It gave me hope Brent would be taken care of, too. He deserved it. Most in Tulsa deserved it, but I understood the limitations of Asylum.
It could only hold so many people. The same applied with the tiny cellars. They could only hold so many people with any expectation of survival. Mine, ventilated with fresh water and sewer access, could hold three or four safely, and it would be a tight squeeze.
Maybe, as thanks for the provision contract, I’d get a copy of my keys cut for Sandro and allow him to make use of my cellar when he needed to dodge out from Asylum’s watchful gaze.
My bank, one of three institutions brave enough to keep operating despite the risks, had its main headquarters in the center of Tulsa. While there were small branches scattered here and there, the main branch would treat me more seriously—and they’d consider my new Asylum pass, since they were next door to one of the official entrances. If they gave me a problem with the check, help was a trip to the guards later.
Trouble seemed to find me on the front steps of buildings. Anna Greene regarded me with a disinterested stare, came my way, bumped into me while cursing about pesky vixens always in the way, and slipped a note into my hand before heading off on her way. Anyone watching would have assumed the big black woman