“Yes, yes you do!”
My eyes narrow. “True. Should we get them all tappy devices? Oh, but they don’t work over there yet. Mickey said he was working on it, though. I don’t understand why they don’t work if it’s magic. Unless you lied to me and they’re not run by magic.”
I raise an eyebrow at Riley, who just shields Kit’s eyes.
“I would never do such a thing.”
Riley ignores my skeptical expression and turns to Lt. Lindsey. “Did you think any more about my proposal to have agents from our unit stationed in Torin’s realm to help us protect these people until we know for sure that Famine isn’t coming for them?”
“I did, and I agree that it would be beneficial for our unit to help guard the people,” Lt. Lindsey says. “I’d like to speak with Special Agent Rowe.”
“Yeah, once Mickey is feeling a little better, he’d be happy to talk.”
“At this point we don’t know whether the people themselves have to be sacrificed to consider this ritual complete or not,” she says.
“We have no idea either,” Riley admits.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll keep them safe. I won’t fail.”
Riley gives me a grateful look before telling Lt. Lindsey, “We’ll do everything we can.”
She nods. “We will as well. We’ll rotate guards to assist you.”
“The goddess wants to punish these people for what she’s been through, but most of them are innocent, and the rest behaved the way they did because of years of believing that magic is something to fear and hate,” Riley says before sighing. “Let’s hope that Selena can’t even figure out where they went and will be satisfied with the destruction and death she’s already caused. We’ve possibly lost two worlds now. Torin only met War for a moment, but he sounds impossibly strong. If he’s already working on a world like Famine was…” He trails off, looking a bit defeated.
“We still have Conquest too,” I remind him. “You heard what he said. If he passes, it might give us years. How will the god force him if he refuses?”
“I’m afraid to find out,” Riley says. “I need to speak to Conquest again. After we’re settled, can you help me arrange that? Imani seems too busy to contact the seer who helped me reach out to Conquest.”
Lieutenant Lindsey nods. “Of course. I’ll contact the jeweler now. The necessities you will need for this many people will be significant. This is not going to be an easy task.”
“They’re not used to much,” I say.
“They’re happy with very little,” Riley agrees. “And they have the option of coming here and being in your hands if they choose to.”
“Okay,” she says. “Don’t let this get to you. We saved this world. We can save another.”
Riley nods, though I’m not quite sure he agrees. There’s really little else he can do but just keep pushing forward when we’ve possibly lost a second world to that malicious god.
I can tell Riley’s tired, but the man Lt. Lindsey contacted to assess my gemstones meets us back at the department around eight in the evening. We still look like we’ve been through hell and back and haven’t had a chance to even sit as we gathered supplies and did what we could. Since leaving Obsian, all we’ve done is rush from one realm to the next while trying to settle people in. Thankfully, they’re just happy to have been fed after being deprived of food for so long while everything that sustained them slowly deteriorated around them. But I can only rely on the kindness of the Magical Interference Unit for so long. I need money to help my people thrive.
The jeweler steps in and smiles. “I hear you have some rare gems you’re looking to sell.”
“I do,” I say as I set the largest one on the little velvet pad he has waiting for it.
“I’m an earth elemental, so I can get phenomenal reads just by touch…” He freezes when he sees the gem before trying to cover up his surprise. It seems rather hard for him not to look giddy when he lays his fingers on it. He cradles the gemstone like it’s his firstborn child. I can feel an influx in his magic while it runs over the gem, and it seems to make him even happier. “D-Do you know that the only gemstone of this type that has ever been documented was one-tenth of this size?”
“Nope. I know nothing about gemstones,” I tell him.
“Where did you get such a fine piece?”
I think about how I tripped over it, then kicked it in annoyance, which broke it into about half the size it had been. Then I decided someone might want to use it as a shiny paperweight and took it home. “Hundreds of years ago, I was visiting a realm where I won it in a game,” I lie, following Riley’s suggestion.
“This is… quite the win. I’m pretty sure I’d have a buyer for it. Could I take some pictures of it and consult with him?”
“Have at it.”
He quickly does that then smiles the second his phone rings and excuses himself.
