Power Play

Chapter 15: Lily

Chapter 15: Lily

    Lily was on the rooftop of her apartment building, seated on a bench, staring at the sky and just thinking. She didn't have anywhere to be tonight, didn't have anything important to do, and she'd figured she could use the fresh air to clear her head and perhaps bring everything into focus. She'd been trying not to think about the group's intentions to kill Vanning, despite the fact that Kyra Sagrand had joined them as well, when they'd talked with her. Whenever she thought about it all, she just wound up worrying, and that wasn't what she wanted tonight. Besides, technically they still didn't even have a plan put together yet. Right now she was just hoping to relax and get rid of some of the clutter that had been clouding her mind of late.

                            

    So she was surprised when she sensed a freak approaching across the rooftops towards her. She immediately turned her head towards them but she couldn't make them out until more than halfway through their final jump. That was when she spotted the cloak fluttering behind them, and she knew. Relaxing a bit, she just watched as the man landed in a crouch at the edge of her roof, the cloak settling around him, before he rose to stride over and carefully settle onto the bench beside her.

    "Neil Bardings," she finally said his name by way of greeting, smiling faintly. "What brings you here tonight?"

    "I have to admit, I was a little bored. Wanted someone to talk to. And honestly, when I thought about it, you seemed the best person in this city to have a talk with. I figured you might even have some more questions," he told her.

    "Why do you wear a cloak, anyways?" she blurted out in reply, without even really thinking about it.

    "Because it makes me seem more mysterious, of course," he replied, with such a sincere look on his face that she couldn't suppress a hint of laughter, which just drew a teasing smile out of him. After a moment though the smile faded and he just looked thoughtful. "Honestly? I don't really like people staring at my face anymore. And these days, people have a tendency to stare far more often."

    She nodded, grateful in a way that he was willing to share some small piece of himself, given how much he'd already seen of her mind. She probably would've been decidedly uncomfortable if, despite being able to peer into her past, he'd been unwilling to talk about himself. Perhaps he'd known that and it had been why he'd been willing to answer.

    "So, what kind of questions do you expect me to ask?" she finally queried, turning her eyes back to the night sky.

    "I don't expect anything, Lily. You can ask whichever questions you feel most curious about, with one exception. I'll answer only one question concerning the future, and it can't be related to the coming battle or the plan concerning Vanning," he stated firmly.

    "Just one? Then I'm not sure what to ask," she said honestly, but she'd only started thinking about it when she paused. "Can you already see what question I'll wind up asking? And that doesn't count as my question, by the way."

    Neil just chuckled softly. "I would never be so cruel as to try to count that as your question. But to answer you, yes I can, actually. But I can't tell you what the question is, because if I tell you, it would just change which question you'd decide to ask. You understand?"