Page 29 of His Human Believer

And Avery came up here with a bottle and a look on her face, which is how I knew this was going to be a conversation and not a visit.

“How was he allowed…?”

“He had a visa.”

Her brow furrows. “Nobody has a visa.” She sits forward. “Mar, I’m serious, do you understand how hard it is to get onto this planet? I had to marry one of them. There are humans on New Earth who’ve been applying for tourist entry for six years. You’re able to get here easily because of Hannibal’s connections.”

“Well, this Gravian had a research visa. Sponsored, three-month, restricted-access endorsement for the eastern preserves.” I take a sip of my own wine. “Vidar checked it and said it’s real.”

Avery makes a face. “That’s worse.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“So what didn’t you like about him?” she questions.

“I don’t know.”

“Uh huh.”

“I genuinely don’t know. He was charming and smart. He and Vidar got along like they’d known each other for years. Vidar liked him, Avery, and Vidar doesn’t like anybody. And every single thing about him was fine and I wanted him gone.”

Avery shrugs. “Then you’re right about him and you’ll figure out why later.” She points at me with the glass. “I have watched you do this since we were seventeen. You get that face and eight months later somebody’s in a Galactic prison. I’m not going to sit here and tell you your gut is wrong.”

“My gut isn’t a methodology. But… Skylo growled at him and never let him out of his sights.”

“Aha, that’s important. Your gut is absolutely a methodology. You’ve built an entire career on it, you just make yourself go do the paperwork afterward.” She takes a drink. “So go do the paperwork.”

I take another sip of wine and change the subject. “Halloween’s tomorrow.”

“I know.” Avery laughs. “Riley’s sent four schedule updates today. The last one was a revised map of the trick-or-treat route with the gourd stations marked in orange. She color-coded it, Mar.”

“Of course she did.”

“Molten Lava briefs at midday. Bergelmir’s got the whole team plus two contractors on the perimeter and both gates.” She swirls her wine. “Hannibal’s been going over it since dinner like it’s a hostage extraction.”

“Is he okay?”

“He’s not okay. He’s fine, but he’s not okay.” She shrugs one shoulder. “His son went through the gate three weeks ago and nobody knew. He’s not going to be okay for a while. He’s just going to be extremely thorough about everything for the next year.”

“That’s fair.”

“Mitry has her costume hanging on a hook where she can see it from her bed. She demanded it be hung there. She checks on it.”

“I love her costume.”

“So do I! She’s practiced saying trick or treat about four hundred times.” Avery grins. “She says it as a question. Like she’s asking permission. Trick or treat?”

“Stop.”

“I’m just telling you what’s coming.”

She looks at me for a second. “I’m really glad I’ve had this last week with you, I felt so bad at first. You came all this way and I had that audit and then the Board thing and I basically abandoned you for the first half of your vacation.”

“You did not abandon me. I have eaten your food, played with your children, been driven around by a champion flame thrower, toured a dragon house, and sat in on a Homeowner’s Board meeting that turned into a debate about folklore. And I’ve been on two different stake outs. This has been the best vacation of my adult life.”

Her eyes narrow. “So. No stakeout tonight?”

I exhale, readying myself for the interrogation about Vidar. I’m only surprised it’s taken this long. “No.”