Piercing Maybe by Dan Cray

Author:Dan Cray [Cray, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Delcominy Creations, L.L.C.
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

Truth

A

ndra sat on the council floor, her body crumpled, her spirit crushed. She tried processing what she had heard, but her mind couldn’t do it. The idea that Asantha Cooray had planned so much, so far in advance, to the point of knowing how Andra would vote, how she would respond… it was overwhelming. Was that a characteristic of an undiminished human? Would her own daughter soon have the same forethought ability?

She suddenly realized Wade was there, his arms around her, one hand wiping the blood from her forehead. She assured him she would be okay, told him what she’d learned.

He shrugged it off.

She waited a few moments to collect herself, then repeated the news. Again, Wade didn’t seem to care.

“You’re not getting it—I was part of the Maybe Objective,” Andra said, distraught. “Me. And I just fell right into her plan.”

Wade swore, and looked at her like she wasn’t seeing the real picture.

“Forget Asantha Cooray,” he said, then pointed to their soaring daughter. “What you did here was show these council people—these Cinüe—the truth. Whether Cooray had some other plan or not, you used your opportunity to make a plan of your own. To make a difference... the biggest difference anyone’s made in thousands of years.”

Andra took a breath, unconvinced yet appreciating the sight of her daughter bedazzling the delegates, zipping point-to-point through the chamber, unfazed by the stir she was creating. A few people still looked unhappy but the other delegates smiled and pointed, reacting like spectators at a firework show.

“I need everyone out of here now!” Bead Hood shouted. “The vote’s delayed until further notice!”

Wade assumed a protective posture, but Andra knew it wasn’t necessary. No one was paying attention to Bead Hood or Cobalt anymore, not now, not after this. All eyes were on their amazing daughter... the first natural human in nearly two hundred thousand years... perhaps since Asantha Cooray herself.

Bead Hood kept shouting for an evacuation, insisting the vote was delayed, but no one evacuated, no one moved, and no vote was needed. Everyone could see the obvious.

The Diminishing Act was done.

And so are we, Andra realized as she saw Bead Hood and Cobalt facing her way, motionless. Though they remained hooded, she could sense them staring, declaring war. Wade was right, she knew. They’ll track us, hunt us, hound us. They’ll never let up, never let us win. Not because it’s right or wrong, or because of the Maybe Objective, or anything that makes sense whatsoever. It’ll be petty retribution, nothing more. They’ll do it because it’s us.

“Grab Cera,” she told him. “We’re going.”

Wade took a couple chews of his toothpick before answering.

“Yeah? Going where?”

She took a breath. Sixteen months in hiding hadn’t been easy. But hiding until their daughter was old enough to protect herself? For years, decades, maybe even a lifetime? Could they really make that work? Could they really stay hidden from a council loaded with arcane tech and run by people who hated them? Was that truly feasible?

Yeah, she told herself, determined.

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