Mike woke up, his mind spinning. He reached for the quill and parchment, and started writing the runes in his head down.
He knew his own subconscious was smarter. Ages ago, he had access to the Akashic Record, but after his death, he had lost that. However, his subconscious – his soul – did remember.
He had studied the scars and symbols on the Technomancer’s body, bit by bit over the past two weeks. He knew some immediately; some were familiar; others he didn’t know at all. Those were the ones he went to sleep with.
He rewrote the sigils and symbols as his dream faded. He looked at the strange symbols, and wrote next to them what they were drawn from. Some were so archaic and so strangely altered that he didn’t think they would work the way they did. Some were definitely original in their origins.
He sat back. He missed Scott.
He pulled out his phone, but the battery was dead. He got up from the floor of the library and went to the apartment. His body was sore, from lying on the hard floor, and as he walked he cracked and stretched. His stomach growled. As he went into the apartment, he peeked in the fridge and then thought better of it. He figured he’d go down the hall to Knight and Mal’s. Knight would have food.
Mike knocked on their door. He waited, looking up at the peephole. “Helloooooo!” he called.
The door opened. Knight was dressed as if for work. “Mike,” he said.
“Knight. Can I trouble you for some food?”
“Food?”
“I sent Scott away and there’s things in our fridge that have grown legs.”
Knight shrugged. “C’mon in.”
“How’s the babies – oh.” He saw a woman, an old woman standing at the edge of the kitchen, holding Roland and bouncing him gently. “Hello,” he said.
“Privet,” she said cautiously.
Mike smiled and said in Russian, “My name is Michael. My husband’s is Persephone’s father.”
She said nothing, but looked to Knight for an introduction.
“Baba, this is Mike. He’s ‘Seph’s uncle.”
Baba nodded and looked back at Mike. Roland squirmed in her arms and turned to see him. “Ah, ah.” He reached for Mike.
Mike stepped forward and held his hands out. Baba looked to Knight, who nodded, and she gave him to Mike. “Hello there, kiddo! Where’s your sisters?”
“Ah!”
“Uncle. Uhhhhhncle.”
“Gotta go to work,” said Knight, then turned to Baba. “Can you give him some food, please?”
She nodded and went to the fridge.
“Uh!” said Roland, as Mike looked around the room to see where the sisters were. There was only one baby seat on floor near the couch that he could see. “Where’s Caroline?”
Knight slipped on his jacket and walked out.
Mike looked at Baba. She had taken out a pile of plasticware containers.
Roland squirmed, looking down at his sister. “Eh!”
Mike put him in the baby seat next to her. The two jabbered at each other. “Where is Caroline?” he asked.
Baba had bagged the plasticware. “Here,” she said, holding it out toward him.
Mike walked up to her. “What’s going on? What did I miss?”
Baba gave him the bag. “Dosvidandya,” she said, and looked pointedly at the door.
He sensed that she wouldn’t tell him what happened, no matter how much he pressed, or how much magic he used. The way she looked at him was like Knight looked at him – a tolerant but angry expression.
Confused, he left. He heard the deadbolt lock after him.