Convergence - The Last Science #2.1 - In Plain Sight

Interlude IV - Secrets - V

  "Well, thanks anyway. Thanks for everything really. You guys were both so nice to me when I showed up. Thanks for helping me deal with my parents, and for keeping us safe that night. I hope wherever you are, you're happy." Nikki knelt down and set the flowers on top of the simple markers. "I grew these myself, Aaron, using your spell. Only took me three days. I hope you like peonies." She wondered if they were an appropriate flower for a gravestone. Her mother had always obsessed about having the right flowers for particular occasions—which, of course, meant that Nikki actively rejected learning a single thing about it.

  "Tha' was nice," said Rufus, setting down his own bundle of flowers. "I'm sure they're glad you stopped by."

  "You still come here every day?" Nikki asked.

  "Ev'ry day." Rufus turned and started walking back to the main clearing. Nikki hurried to follow, falling in next to him. "It's prob'ly e'cessive, I know. But I feel like someone's gotta keep 'em company. Jus' seems righ'."

  "What about you? Who keeps you company?"

  "Birds and the bears, girlie!" Rufus laughed. "There's an ol' mama black bear 'round here. She and I are good friends. I leave her snacks sometimes."

  "You aren't scared?"

  "Black bears are more a'scared of us than we are of them. 'sides," Rufus gave a short, high pitched whistle.

  A few moments later, a huge grey wolf padded out from somewhere deep in the forest. She eyed Rufus fiercely, as if admonishing him for calling her unnecessarily.

  "Ah, sorry Gwen. I was makin' a poin'. We're safe." Gwen turned and loped away without hesitation. Rufus shrugged. "That girl's always 'round, even if you don' see her."

  "I didn't realize we knew where she was."

  "I don' know where she goes at nigh'," Rufus corrected. "but she's never fail'd to show up if I call. I don' think she likes me much, but Natalie tol' her to keep us safe. She's holdin' to her word. Or her howl, I s'pose."

  "You think she'd come if I whistled too?"

  "Probably. Worked for M'koto. Speakin' o'which," Rufus added, giving her a sidelong glance. "What's this I hear abou' you castin' spells on him?"

  "Not on him." Nikki frowned. "He told me to practice by trying to find stuff out about him. I never actually cast anything at him."

  "Even so. Seems a bit risky, don' it?"

  "It's perfectly safe, and Makoto doesn't mind." She shrugged. "To be honest, he's had a totally boring and ordinary life too. It's kind of depressing. Up until he ran into Cinza on campus, he did a whole lot of nothing."

  "He's a good man," Rufus warned. "Don' you go messin' with stuff you can't fix."

  They emerged into the clearing. She said goodbye to Rufus and crossed the wide expanse to her new home. As she neared the bridge, she saw Ruby standing in the center, arms outstretched. She was concentrating on a patch of grass ten feet away, while Cinza and Makoto watched with interest.

  It emerged, slowly at first, but in the same unsettling, unearthly way. The material of the ground seemed to give way as it pushed up into existence. A six foot, faceless grey monstrosity, with only a thick column where its legs should go, and arms as large as cinder blocks ending in square fists.

  Nikki shivered. Until quite recently, the idea of using the golems was such a taboo that not one of them had even suggested it. After the news report of Mr. Hendricks' resurfacing and Jerry Hauserman's death, it wasn't an option anymore. They needed to be ready for more golems. Ruby was the best at the spell, and had spent hours every day practicing it ever since. This was the first time she'd managed to get the golem to emerge completely from the ground.