“Hi Echo,” Vivien waved cheerfully at Echo, then at Echo’s daughter, splayed on the couch. “Hi Aoiki.”
Eighteen or so, Aoiki wore a school uniform decorated with chains and goth jewelry. Her wide nose and almond skin tone resembled Echo’s, while her narrow yet mischievous, mono-lid eyes matched her Japanese father’s.
The young girl waved back with a bright smile. “Hi Vivien.”
Aoiki’s head rested on the lap of another girl wearing a matching uniform, with serious eyes and a sleek, black bob. She was Asian as well with square features and even thinner eyes. Chinese, if I had to guess. She wore a matching school uniform to Aoiki’s and from the way she stroked Aoiki’s hair, I got the sense they were more than friends.
I didn’t respond to Echo’s acknowledgement of Bob’s voice at first, unsure of Aoiki’s companion.
“She’s cool.” Aoiki reassured me, as if reading my mind. “This is my girlfriend, Sunny.”
“Hiya Sunny,” Vivien said with another enthusiastic grin.
Sunny returned a small smile.
“Don’t let that mad woman touch me,” Bob carried on in a wail. “She’s a brute. She tried to sharpen me by grinding me down, and she did it dry no less! Don’t let her touch me, Miranda, I beg of you. I’m serious Miranda, take me out of here right now,” Bob demanded.
“You are the whiniest weapon in all history,” Echo groused. She didn’t seem self-conscious in front of Sunny, so I guessed that was good enough.
“You can hear him?” I asked Echo, needing to hear the confirmation I wasn’t alone in my crazy.
“Of course, I can,” Echo said, getting to her feet and shaking out her brightly colored mumu. She grabbed the cane resting against the table and wobbled toward us.
Vivien and I came here when we’d been looking for the god killer, and Echo used her skills to help us locate it. But she’d made an addendum. She’d only help us find it if Vivien promised not to wield the blade. Not just that, Echo specifically told me I was the only one who could be its keeper, and we’d agreed.
“Don’t listen to her, she’s a brute,” Bob sputtered.
“Okay, one of you needs to explain what the hell is going on, right now,” I demanded.
Vivien’s eyebrows shot up in confusion before her gaze settled on the blade and she realized she was missing part of the conversation. So she slipped away and crashed on the couch next to Aoiki. It was then a little white wiggling nose poked out from under the couch. A small white rabbit with black circles around his eyes, army crawled out from under the couch and immediately jumped up into Vivien’s lap.
“What’s up Darth Vader?” she cooed affectionately. He sniffed her in earnest. Then a fawn-colored rabbit the size of a small dog lumbered out from behind the couch. Her big ears stood out tall from her long face and flopped gently as she made her way to over to Vivien as well. “Hi Lulu,” Vivien added, reaching over to scratch between the long ears.
The genetically engineered rabbits had been crucial in our mission to retrieve the blade, serving as the perfect distraction.
And though they were adorable, and my hands itched to go pet their soft fur, I needed answers.
“Why can you hear the blade? Why did you pick me to wield it? What aren’t you telling me?”
Echo’s face tightened. She was a volatile, explosive woman and I expected she was preparing to lash out at me. But then she let out a big breath as if all the fight left her. “I suppose if we must do this, we might as well do it over tea. Ryuki,” she bellowed loudly enough to make me flinch.
A sweet smiling man popped out from a door on the far side. His build was sparse, his head almost bald and he wore an apron as he carried a tea tray. There was something about him that reminded me of an imp who lived in an ancient wood from one of Jamal’s story books. “Yes, my beloved,” Ryuki answered his wife.
“We’ll need more cups,” she said.
Soon we were all settled in the makeshift living room, everyone holding a cup of tea. Lulu lumbered over to my side and I was happy to reach over and pet her head. She leaned in gratefully.
“Why do you know about Bob?”
Echo’s permanent scowl only deepened. “Bob?”
“The Blade of Bane. Bob,” I explained.
“Ha!” Aoiki laughed as she put an arm around the very quiet Sunny. “That’s awesome, I love that.”
Even Echo’s lips twitched at that.
“It’s not funny,” Bob announced with a sniff of offense. I don’t know how he managed that without a nose.
