Ooh, who's this lady? She seems nice.
Later, the girls huddled in a dark cargo hold, leaning against shipping crates.
Maeve rested her chin in her arms, unable to make eye contact. “Veronica. You killed that man,” she managed.
Veronica didn’t look up from texting on her phone. “It was him or us, Maeve,” she said absently. Finally moved out, she tapped.
“I know,” Maeve allowed, struggling. “But… how could you do it? Just… how?”
“Honestly? I don’t know.”
What? You’re not serious. Where are you now? came the text response.
—-
At the same time, back at the box store, an older woman dressed in a white business suit knelt over the mage’s corpse, holding his hand. “So, the impossible exists: a gargoyle that can kill,” she said somberly. “What did the Patriarch call her? An abomination? Clearly so. Look what she’s done to you, my love.”
—-
Maeve turned to look at Veronica, clearly an effort. “Will the family be okay?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Veronica said. “Whatever they’re up to, the Patriarch and that mage wanted stability more than anything. Security. With me gone, everything should go back to normal for them.”
Hopped a train. Heading west! she texted.
“I hope,” she added.
V, that’s reckless even for you, came the text reply. Please let me help.
Nope! Can’t, Veronica texted back. It’s complicated. xx
—-
“This changes everything,” the woman said grimly to another woman who came to stand above her. “Remiel, contact the Firmament. Any of the Arcana we can trust. Everyone. We need this aberration found. Immediately.”
“But, Lady Azrael,” Remiel protested, “if word gets to the System—“
—-
“Will we be okay?” Maeve asked.
The freight train the girls were hiding in began to haul itself forward into the night. “We’re going to run,” Veronica said confidently. “But we’re always gonna be okay, sweetie.”
—-
“Yes. Be careful,” Azrael said, her mouth a thin grim line. “But not too careful. If the demon flees, there will be war.”
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