Systemic Treachery by J.S. Morin & M.A. Larkin

Author:J.S. Morin & M.A. Larkin
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781643550558
Publisher: Magical Scrivener Press

Zoti had to admit, Kendra was more entertaining than typical humans. And, regardless, as Heather had said, Astral Prime was in danger. Loath as Zoti was to place himself in any situation where violence might impend, there were pilgrims here who needed protecting. This assassin was corrupting a wonderful place and ruining it for everyone.

The Vaieen Temple of Life represented the potential to unify all faiths behind the Seekers and prove how connected all the races of the Black Ocean truly were. It couldn’t do that, however, if no one showed up because of an overeager nutjob with a thing for explosives.

Still, Astral Prime had its own security force, one led by someone who called himself the Ram, though Kendra mostly called him the Little Lamb, and Zoti had learned his actual name was Eric Olsen.

The Security office was not hard to locate—being right off the main Hub—and, after checking to make sure his Seeker robes were spotless, Zoti strode right in, hands clasped behind his back.

“Good afternoon,” he said, looking up at a grizzled human who seemed to saturate the air with a distasteful hint of violence. That and metal, as if he had actual tech inside him. Zoti had heard of people needing cybernetic replacement eyes, limbs, even hearts from time to time. All workers of magic were implored to avoid practicing it when near such civilians, as even a minor use might disrupt someone’s vital functions.

Zoti, fortunately, had a highly developed intuition for such things and could sense the disruption in the man’s aura created by the devices. Not that he’d intended to work magic in here in any event.

“Whaddya want?” the human said. “Got my hands full of flaming piles of shit at the moment, and the last thing I need is a chimp flinging around more of it.”

Had the man truly just uttered that?

For a split second, Zoti pictured his fist connecting to the Ram’s nose.

Then he let the image go, not denying it had passed, merely refusing to dwell on it.

Despite their long history of peace with laaku, humans, sometimes more than any other race, could prove so inadvertently offensive one might mistake it for their greatest natural talent. Men like Ram put Zoti’s training in resisting provocation to the test.

Zoti could handle this. “I’ve been independently contracted to assist with your predicament.”

“Say what now, monkey man?”

Zoti bared his teeth in a not quite smile. “Assistant Director Saunders has hired me to help investigate the bombing on her lift. She can produce paperwork if need be. I wish to know how far you’ve come in your⁠—”

The Ram rose from his desk, leaning on the cheap wood and flashing his own teeth—some of them also metal. “I don’t care what papers you’ve got, little man. This is my shop, and I ain’t bringing in no outsiders to gum up the works, especially in the middle of this shitstorm. So, take your happy ass and go climb something.”

Charming. And beneath the outward belligerence lay a profound air of nervousness, perhaps born of general incompetence or perhaps created by some deeper issue.

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