Dark Omega

CHAPTER 38 - ONE KISS

"Did you have a nice lunch, Marcus," the Maiden said. She wasn't in her chair but sitting on top of the metal table with her legs crossed and her hands high up in the air—as if she had been caught in the middle of yoga class. The grey bodysuit left very little to the imagination.

"Very nice, thank you. Made a new friend, checked out a couple of things. Ate freshly baked bread made from real wheat flour, with real butter and real cheese on top."

"Not bad for a day at the library." She put her hands down. "Was it a man or a woman librarian?" She pushed out her chest. "Blonde or brunette?" She flung her hair. "Ponytail?" She pulled her hair together in a makeshift tail. "Glasses? Short skirt and high heels? Tell me, Marcus, I'm dying of boredom in here." She let her hair fall back down.

Marcus stopped in front of the steps leading up to the podium. Behind him, the door shut with a barely audible thump, less of a sound and more of a shift in the air. It's possible to enter, grab the Maiden, and make a run for it. The drones are immaterial and the plasma cannot be released until the portal has been sealed. But there will be no need for such a crude escape attempt. Nor would we get very far, I think.

"A woman, yes. Very beautiful. Older than me by far, but younger than you. Fake blonde, but well done. Probably to cover some dull, brown hair going grey. Nothing like your naturally perfect locks. No ponytail; would be a shame with such a mane. No glasses; nobody wears glasses anymore. Her eyes...brown, I think? Can't remember. Librarian's robes, though she wore them like a woman might an evening gown to a reception."

Marcus watched the Maiden closely as he spoke. He needed to talk more with her, person to person, but before doing so, he needed to know how to read her. Aura reading and mind scans didn't work on her the same way it did ordinary people. She had an aura, a faint one, but it was nothing like that of a living person. She had a mind too, but there was too much machine to read it telepathically. What Marcus needed to know was how to interpret her voice patterns and body language.

He'd deliberately structured and modulated his speech to make Cal sound attractive and exciting, while also praising the Maiden. She did react to some things, but it was so faint it was hard to be sure what it meant. When he'd mentioned her hair and said he didn't remember Cal's eye color, the Maiden had a more complex reaction that was readable. She doesn't believe me, but she likes to hear me say it. I have her measure now.

"I think you'd like her. She even has access to the Ninth Tier, so maybe I'll bring her along. Should we," he said and pointed at the chairs.

"Do I have a choice?" the Maiden replied.

Marcus shrugged. "If you want to sit on the table, please do."

He walked up the steps and sat down on the edge of his steel chair. It was a genuinely horrible chair. Maybe the Maiden had the right idea. Sitting on the table might be more comfortable in the long run.

"I checked some things while I had lunch," he told her. "Everything the Gatekeeper has told me checked out. Not a single lie told, even about stuff buried so deep no one could hope to find out."

"That's a good thing, I guess?" the Maiden replied. "I can't know what's going on inside me, so I can't help you."

"I'm also checking your little stories. See if you're as honest as Haides."

"I haven't told you anything that's checkable." It sounded like a challenge.

"I know. And why is that, I wonder? But don't worry. I have top people looking into it. People with a particular interest in ancient history—and an extraordinary library to work from. If they can verify your story—or debunk it—that's great. If they can't, that also tells me something.