Awakening - The Last Science #1

Chapter 23 - Regrouping - III

  Rachel slept at the sheriff's station. There was a cot in the office where she imagined Jackie must have slept several times. She slept on top, trying to disturb it as little as possible. Preston stayed on station all night, in case any tempers were still flaring up, but the night was quiet. A few panicked reports related to the helicopters flying over town came in, and a vague call from Rika's friend Zack about a possible threat to any meeting they might hold the next day. Rachel didn't know about any meetings going on, since she certainly hadn't called any, so she dismissed it in her exhausted state as nothing—just the anxious opinion of a scared high schooler. Rallsburg was collectively holding its breath, watching and waiting for the next explosion.

  Ryan texted her while she was interrogating Robert. The helicopter had come back for Will after dropping off Morton and Brittany, and he'd been safely whisked away to the hospital in Olympia. She wouldn't need to worry about him for the time being. Rachel could focus on the problem at hand. She could feel the answer hovering around her just out of sight, like a shadow flitting by the corner of her eye. There was a solution, she could sense it, but there was some missing element she didn't yet understand. Rachel needed the last missing piece of the puzzle.

  She emerged from Jackie's office expecting to see the sheriff herself—but found instead a bleary-eyed Natalie, facing down an impatient Mason Rhistler. The girl was standing next to Gwen and had her hand on the wolf's shoulder, holding it back. Mason was eyeing them both nervously, but at the sight of Rachel he relaxed. "Natalie wouldn't let me in," he explained, clearly irritated.

  "No one unless she says okay," Natalie replied adamantly. She glanced at Rachel after saying it, looking for approval.

  Rachel nodded. "Thank you, Natalie." In all honesty, she'd probably have been fine with Mason visiting, but finally getting a full night's rest was rejuvenating. Even with her ritual, her body still needed time off, and with the stress she'd been under, her mind needed a break too. As a bonus, it let Natalie feel important and useful. The girl nodded before turning back to her wolf and scratching its ears affectionately. Rachel looked to Mason. "What's happening?"

  "There's a meeting soon," Mason replied, and Rachel's heart sank. Zack's warning had been legitimate after all.

  "No," Rachel said firmly.

  "No?"

  "Omega already knows. He'll attack the meeting."

  "He can't attack it if he can't find it. We're going to hold the meeting inside the Market, with the entrances closed off. Professor Laushire has agreed to host."

  "Who says he can't find it?" Rachel asked skeptically.

  "I do. Dimensional pockets are inviolable to trace or detection, by their nature as external planes. Will and I tested this extensively with the bags as well as the entrance by the riverbed, both with and without Professor Laushire's knowledge. Connections and divinations break at the edge of the field. If she closes all the entrances after we enter, there should be no way to locate us or reach us."

  "You do remember you're analyzing a branch of magic you've never used, right?" Rachel pointed out. "There's still a lot of guessing going on here."

  "Do you have a better idea?" Mason asked, irritated again. He hated it whenever someone doubted him. "Eat something. The meeting's in an hour." He took a small paper bag from the front desk and tossed it to her.

  Natalie intercepted it out of midair before Rachel could even react. The bag flew to her hands where she opened it carefully, as if it might explode. "Doughnuts!" she cried gleefully. She took one before sending the bag back to Rachel.

  "They're from Dan. He wanted to apologize for the town hall," Mason continued. "Also, Ryan said you could get in touch with Cinza. The rest of us can't, and she should probably be involved in this. Can you get her to come?"

  Rachel was already munching through the first doughnut. She nodded.

  "I'll see you there then."

  "Where are you going?" Rachel asked.

  "To talk to Bryan," Mason replied.

  Rachel did a double-take, before remembering it wasn't the same Brian she was thinking of. "Does he know that you're awakened?" she asked, trying to sound sympathetic. It came off much colder than she'd hoped.

  He shifted uncomfortably. "He wasn't happy about it, but he's been trying to accept it. We haven't been doing great."

  "I'm sorry."

  "It's not your fault. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Bryan's just stubborn. He'll come around. I don't even know why I'm going to talk to him right now. It probably won't do anything." Mason was looking down at the ground. "I wish I hadn't kept it secret."

  "Is there anything I can do?"

  Mason shrugged. "Distract me?"

  Rachel had a sudden burst of inspiration. "You called a meeting, right? With the usual method?"

  The 'usual method' being an anonymous mailing list, which any member could visit and see the date and time without having to identify themselves or provide personal information. Rachel had established the list (with Will's assistance) after she'd been elected, and it had been accepted largely without complaint. The council members were the only ones who could post a meeting. Only Cinza had raised any objections, mostly over particulars of the site's technical security and anonymity. Rachel's perfect memory helped her report Cinza's exact complaints for Will to fix. Otherwise, she doubted she could have remembered the surprisingly technical jargon Cinza had used.

  However, the list was limited in scope to only those who knew of it. Until the Emergence, that had been more than enough.

  Mason nodded. "Obviously. What else would I use?"

  "There's another awakened who needs to be at this meeting. Someone not on the list. I need you to go get her."