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“Baola is going crazy making you special pancakes. Lyric is helping Salat and Tigel with the babies.”
“I don’t want to cause a fuss.”
“Honey, you were nearly dead when you came here, and I am barely staying ahead of whatever is consuming you. How big was the scorpion that stung you?”
“Six foot six.”
Khytten’s eyes got wide, and she flipped through the images that had been sent to her by someone. She grabbed an image of Riithan and Ylara dancing. “This is the guy?”
Ylara nodded. “Yeah. That was him. He was so nice... there.”
Khytten stroked her hair. “Why couldn’t he have been one of your regulars, huh?”
“I don’t have regulars. You know that. I can count the number of patrons I have had on one hand. You know that my strength is in recruiting.”
“I know. You found me and set Zera on my tail before I even knew what the BDC was. Before you tried it yourself.”
Ylara chuckled. “Yeah. Zera said I would get more selective if I understood the process. She was right.”
Khytten reached into her pocket and took out a vial. She handed it to Ylara and said, “Drink.”
Ylara tried to open it, but her dry hands slipped and slid.
Khytten opened it and held it for Ylara. “I wish I knew what the final effect was supposed to be, but I don’t, so I can’t work backward. I will ask Salat if he knows him. He will be able to get information on the venom, what it is, and how it works.”
Ylara swallowed and said, “I think he can program it. Like you do.”
“Fuck. That sucks. Okay. I am going to ask the oracle. Rest and brace for pancakes.”
Ylara smiled as the boosted milk raised her energy level.
Khytten kissed her forehead and left. It was five minutes later when Lyric and a serious Baola came in with a breakfast tray. Ylara hugged her sister and niece and consoled the young seer as she looked at Ylara and sobbed.
“Oh, honey, I know I look like shit. I will get better. I promise.”
Baola was fretting.
Ylara ate the pancakes fortified with bananas, blueberries, and chocolate chips. Her body had a little interest, courtesy of Khytten, but it was hard. They were dense as hell.
Ylara touched Baola’s cheek. “What is the problem, baby girl?”
“He was supposed to be here. There were so many lines, but he has to be here. If he isn’t here...” Baola started sobbing.
“Oh, that bad, huh?”
Lyric consoled her teen and asked Ylara, “What do you see for your future?”
“Uh.” Ylara closed her eyes and reached into her own probabilities. “Static. There is no path. The path shattered when I left the house and only appeared for a moment when I collapsed.”
Lyric blinked. “Really? Oh shit. When was the last time you lost your path?”
“The last time it was truly lost was after the car accident when I went into the group home. When Brittany came in, things solidified again. Then, Mom came to get us, and I felt like I knew what would happen next.”
Lyric squeezed her hand. “How many of your actions were led by probability that night with him?”
“None. I reacted on instinct. I know what rejection looks like, and I didn’t want to listen to the lame excuses as to how things would have worked out if I was something different. Mom wasn’t my first placement. She was my seventh.”
Baola smiled. “I know about that. What is the big rectangular stone with your name?”
