Into the Flames

Chapter 13

“What do we have to do?” asked Jenna as they reached the Society.

            Dylan shrugged, taking his helmet off. “I don’t know. Whatever you want to do, I guess.”

            “I thought we had a busy day or something,” said Jenna, slightly annoyed.

            “I needed an excuse to get out of there. I had a bad feeling about it.”

            “Are you sure your judgments about situations aren’t affected by emotions?”

            “No, I make sure to keep my business strictly unemotional.”

            Dylan walked into the house, kicking his shoes off. Jenna followed him, quietly closing the door behind her. Gianna appeared in front of them with a plate full of Thanksgiving leftovers. “We’re in the kitchen, if you want to join us,” she said, quickly turning back. Jenna watched her cashmere sweater clad figure disappear into the kitchen.

            “Where do Ignis and the Societies all get their funds?” asked Jenna, following Dylan into the kitchen.

            “Ignis is rich in natural resources like oil. And because we don’t use cars, we just sell it off to the Gens. And jewels. We have a huge surplus of jewels. We don’t really see the appeal of them –I mean, they’re just shiny rocks –so we just decorate our weapons with them and sell the rest off to the Gens also. It’s a pretty successful business,” said Dylan. “Funds everything we need.”

            “I can tell,” she said, looking around the rich art surrounding her. Jenna thought she would never get used to them. “If gems are just shiny rocks why are they embedded in the weapons?”

            “I’m not sure. I think tradition.”

            Adam and Gianna both sat across from each other at the kitchen island, smiling and laughing. Boss was beside Adam, eating his own portion of turkey. Falkner sat on the side, watching them with a smile on his face. Dirt was smudged on his face and he wore a bucket hat. Dylan walked over to the kitchen and began to pile containers of leftovers on top of one another. “Do you want some?” asked Dylan, head unable to be seen behind the enormous pile.

            Jenna shook her head, but quickly told him no as soon as she realized he probably couldn’t see her.

            “Jenna, are you sure you don’t remember anything about your family besides your aunt and uncle?” asked Falkner.

            Jenna shook her head. “I don’t remember anything. I don’t remember their faces, or their names, or anything. I just remember my name, and I think my aunt had to tell me that.”

            “What’s wrong with Jenna’s family?” asked Adam.

            “Oh, a lot of things,” said Jenna with an airy wave. “My actual parents just left me with two drunkards and money that they took for their own purposes, for starters.”

            “We already know that,” said Dylan, joining the conversation. “I think he was asking what’s wrong with her family that makes Falkner ask whether she remembers them or not.”

            Falkner took a thoughtful sip of tea. “Gianna showed Jenna her family tree this morning. But no records would come up of her parents or relatives. Her aunt and uncle are definitely Gens, so it makes sense if they don’t show up on the tree, but her parents had to, they were Guardians. The only person who had a link with Jenna was Diana.”