The Rivening

Powers Meet

"This is your big day, Sis." Ainsley announced before sunup the next day.

Connie's renewed energy from a night's sleep was quashed when she saw Hastings near the passage with an assault rifle and backpack. She walked up to him, "You're joining us?"

"Yes, little lady. Though I guess you're not that little," he smirked and handed Ainsley the expander.

She brought out a piece of paper and studied it before making adjustments on the machine.

The three of them turned to the rockface and Connie gasped as a six-inch wide gap opened. Hastings chuckled. "Nearly done. Nearly done."

They went through. Connie, then Hastings, and Ainsley calling out a cadence for their steps.

When they emerged on the other side, Connie observed Grayson as he stood poised with the conflicted demeanor of a number two who is projecting that everything is under control yet fretting for the approval from number one.

Hastings stumbled his first steps into Dahria. Grayson teetered between helping his father or not and opted for not, as his father gained footing and then approached him.

"How was the transit, Father?"

"Uneventful," Hastings waved James over. "You're smarter than you look, young man. I believe we're nearly done with having to rely on those Dahrian funny-eyes." He glanced at Connie.

Rennish, who had been standing off to the side, walked over to Hastings with a force-to-be-reckoned-with stride. He straightened up, matching his posture to hers, brought his right hand to mid-chest, and made a slight nod, "You must be Rennish."

"Hastings," Rennish mirrored his restrained nod. "We have been looking forward to your arrival."

Napoleon meeting Genghis Khan, Connie thought, though unsure who was playing who.

Before she could listen any further to their exchange, one of the mercenaries hustled Connie back to the Squares, assuring her that he was taking her to Peter. She found him seated in her rooms, a Go game set up on a low table.

Connie's pleasure at seeing Peter and the Go game was snuffed out when James bounded into the room. "You see, I'm not such a bad person. Peter told me that you'd enjoy playing Go when you got back. Of course, I'll hang around to make sure you're not plotting anything. Anyway, I've always wanted to learn how to play."

Peter and Connie exchanged a glance not only would James be listening in on their conversation, but if he was scrutinizing the play, it would be difficult to pass any coded messages. Connie was dying to know what else Peter tried to whisper to her. Had he or anyone gotten through to Arden? And the woman who waved to her. And her companions. Could it possibly be?

She watched Peter intently during their game. If he was trying to signal something, he was being much too subtle for her to pick up any sort of messages. He seemed intent on teaching James basic strategies of Go, and all the while telling anecdotes about various opponents he'd played with on-line and during their Ireland travels.

"One of my favourite opponents was this Basque guy I played against for a number of years. Eneko. I'm sure I must have told you about him Connie?..." His right index fingers tapped quietly on the board while he spoke the name, the way he had signaled her before to pay attention to his words.

She glanced at James, but he showed no recognition of the name, and seemed to have tuned out of Peter's nattering. It was likely he'd never heard Eneko's name on Earthside. She mentally scrolled through the conversations she'd had with the Dahrians after James brought the angel lithograph and probably placed the bug under her table in the backyard. After her initial conversation with Arden, she had no memory of Eneko's name coming up again.

Peter kept rambling on, other names, other stories but no more tapping with his finger. He gave Connie a little smile. Those tiny figures standing far down the road had looked like Eneko, Pria, and Milo, but could it be them? Even if they fixed an echo station, how could they get here so quickly? She smiled to herself, thinking about Lina's words how she and Peter were as ignorant of Dahria as Tessa and Brome's little baby girl.

"What are you smiling about?" James pouted.

"Oh James. Relax. I'm merely happy to be spending time with Peter again. I know there's so much I should be worrying about, but sometimes you just have to give it a break."

"I wish I could."

"But you're the big hero now. What with the progress of your expander."

Grayson burst into the room. "Come on, James, your nerdiness is needed. What are you doing here, anyway? This is not the time for socializing. Still trying to suck up to Connie?"

James snapped, "Can you stop being such an ass? What's your problem? There's nothing more to do on the expander."

Grayson pulled back at James' tone and quietly purred, "The dimwit Dahrians, as you call them, just discovered an old lady transmitting on an echo station. Rennish knows her."

"That doesn't make sense. They were all smashed. Thoroughly, I was told."

"Well, something happened, and no one's been able to find her."

"Not sure I can do anything."

"Come on. You too," Grayson said looking at Peter. "I'm not leaving you two alone."