Alaric XVThe first thing I noticed was the blaring sounds of the base mixing with the higher notes. Lights of every color, even the two I had no name for, flashed across the room in every direction like a strobe light. The music was so loud that I doubted any human could hear anything.I couldn't even hear Bianca at first, though her lips were moving. I had to focus and then I could just make out the words she was saying: "That's Pointblink, my favorite band!"Pointblink? That was a familiar name. I wasn't surprised to see Yayoi on the stage, rocking with her guitar. She was singing in Japanese about a lover lost in space and how his wife spent the rest of her life looking for him.Was Yayoi here to keep an eye on me? This gig didn't seem like something that had been planned hours ago. This had to be planned in advance. So was Yayoi always going to play here? Or was this just so she could keep an eye on me?I guess Kaya wasn't able to convince Mireille to change her mind. Mireille se
Interlude: The TitanShe watched the proceedings with a careful eye. It had taken some effort to overcome the girl's resistance, and at last, it had paid off. She had lured the strix out into a place that every Sword would take some time to respond, and it was all thanks to her puppet.The Titan turned her head to the factory window, watching as the lights flashed, the music boomed, and no one inside was any the wiser. The Titan eyed through the crowd, searching for her puppet. She found the mutt over with the rest of The Titian's puppets, drinking away. Though they were all under her sway, she only needed one of them for today.Unlike the males, her puppet was a beast. One of the lesser strains. She might become aware that she had been manipulated. It might be prudent to watch her in the future. Or not use her at all.It didn't matter either way. If that boy was the progenitor, The Titan would know. If he was merely a strigo, then he would be dead.The Titan's watch began to chime. I
Evelyn XIIIThe nurse at my bedside looked over at the invisible screen. It appeared like she was touching air, but it seemed like someone took my linker off, because I couldn't see anything.Director Miyuki looked at the nurse. It was the first time she looked away from me since I got to the infirmary. Hawkendale and Nori stood quietly in the corner, staring at Miyuki with open lust and open fear. Hawkendale was the former."Well?" the acting director asked in her soft, quiet voice.The nurse nodded. "Her brain patterns have stabilized. They were fluctuating when she arrived, but they are stable. If I had to guess, I'd say that whatever effect drove her into vision is over."The nurse knew about my vision? I hadn't told anyone."What vision?" Miyuki asked."I don't know, but the way her brain patterns were acting, she wasn't unconscious. It matched similar patterns from hunters who were subjected to mental attacks by titans."Miyuki turned to me. "What was this vision?"I didn't want
Evelyn XIXThere was supposed to be a clue in that vision. Alice had ordered the titan to put me in that prison for a reason, but the more I combed over those memories, the more they didn't make sense. The visions felt real. They didn't feel like an illusion or memories, but-"HEY!" Hawkendale's scream came from the other room. "Don't throw away the vegetables! Farms worked hard to grow them!""Vegetables are gross! I won't eat them," Norima yelled.What the hell was going on? I brought those two in and cooked them a meal and now they're screaming at each other about vegetables? I walked into a scene of what could only be called a food fight. I hadn't been in this apartment for a whole day yet and my kitchen was destroyed. Food was flung everywhere on the walls. The soup I made was now on the floor, soaking into the wooden legs of the table.I was going to eat the rest of that soup later. "Are you kidding me?!" I snapped at them.Hawkendale pointed to Norima. "She did it!"Norima roun
Evelyn XV"I thought we were going to patrol," Norima groaned. "I want to go see the city! I've never been to Pluto before!""I want to go eat sushi!" Hawkendale declared. "I want to see a sushi train! I've heard this city has sushi trains!"These two thought with their stomachs. Not that I could blame them. They were raised in a lab and I knew from personal experience that lab food wasn't very good.Still, I didn't want to stay here and listen to this. I had a message to analyze. My brother's murder had declared war. That was more pressing than parenting these two children.I was even starting to miss Johana. She had a mouth on her, but at least she could prioritize her work.These two didn't need to be Sword Hunters. They needed to be put in special classes to reintroduce them to society. They weren't complete lost causes, but they needed a push here and there."If you pass my test, we'll go on patrol tomorrow," I said to placate them. God knows I'd have to beat them to make them li
Interlude: The Guinea PigWhen HE woke up, his head was pounding. There was a ringing in his ears so loud that it drowned out everything else. HE felt sick like he was about ready to throw up. His whole body was aching and the only thing HE wanted to do right then was go back to sleep.What the hell had happened to him? HE had been in Kingsland for a business trip, that much he remembered. HE had spent a few weeks attending boring meeting after boring meeting, only the pub offering some relief. Last night was his last night in the province. He was supposed to fly to Victoria and then onto Jupiter.That was the plan. So why the hell did HE feel so bad? HE should still be on the plane, and unless HE had a few hard ones he couldn't remember, HE shouldn't be feeling so bad. HE always hated sleeping on planes, so maybe that was it?The ringing in his ears started to quiet, and HE could hear voices around him. HE tried to sit up, but HE couldn't move his upper body. He had sensations in his
Alaric XVIPound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.My head was aching like you wouldn't believe it. It felt like how I imagined a hangover would feel, multiplied by cancer. I was half convinced that someone was inside my head, hacking on the inside with a fucking pickax.Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.
Alaric XVII "... Right. So how did we come to the conclusion that this was a titan? And they did the Jedi mind trick? Doesn't that seem a little far-fetched?" Were they just making a guess? Even if it was true that a titan did have the power to manipulate someone's mind, how would they know? "Was one of you mind-controlled?" That could explain it. "No. This gift isn't powerful enough to affect old minds. All of us have lived longer than a century." "Okay, I still don't see how you could have known." "Are you laboring under the delusion that we do not have titans of our own? Your court employs every strain, except for the lycans." I guess I hadn't considered that. I knew we had celestials around the compound, but I never gave much thought about having titans around. "One of our titans has a unique gift to feel the gifts of her kind. She was the one who informed us what we're looking for." "I see. That's smart." "Your court is vast, Alaric. The Tyrell Conglomerate is only one