The Unskillful Thaumaturge

XLII

Lillian entered the conference room wearing a hopeful expression, which disappeared as soon as she noticed Galena's resigned face. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Actually, just the opposite," Galena said venomously. "Nothing happened."

"What do you mean, nothing happened?" Lillian asked, concerned, as she pulled out a chair.

"We still haven't found Ashley."

Lillian cocked her head. "You didn't do anything over the weekend, did you?" she asked quizzically.

"No. I tried to call her a lot, though. She didn't respond."

"Maybe you should try calling her, Lillian. She doesn't know who you are," Diane suggested.

Lillian shook her head. "I can try." She deftly pulled her phone out of her pocket and walked around the table to Galena, who typed her mother's number in with shaking fingers. Lillian held the phone to her ear, but then shrugged and set it down on the table. "She didn't answer."

"How would she know it was me, though?" Lillian wondered.

Evan snorted. "An unknown number from Dorena? Ashley probably figured that it was either a spam caller or someone from the DIAO. Either way, she wouldn't have wanted to answer, so she hung up."

"Isn't there any way to find her?"

"This is the same thing we were saying about Beanie two weeks ago. We could put out a search for her, but the fact that she and Beanie seem to be working together makes any such idea dangerous. And whatever Beanie did to Galena is concerning enough that we don't want him targeting us," Rolf explained.

"Is there anything you found out that might be helpful?"

"No... At this point, honestly, we're kind of stuck," Galena said.

"Stuck?" The word sounded almost foreign in Lillian's mouth. "You're not stuck. It's just that nothing happened over the weekend. I think you're jumping to conclusions," she said haughtily. "You're right, this is the same thing you said about Beanie two weeks ago, but then you saw Beanie talking to Ashley, and then you had a new lead. Who's to say you won't see Ashley around somewhere, too?"

"Well, first off, Ashley doesn't live in Dorena," Galena explained. "She lives- lived- in Roseburg. Second, we saw firsthand that all of her stuff was gone. And the last thing she would do would be to come back here, because we would eventually end up arresting her."

"Haven't you looked for Beanie on campus? We've seen him there," Lillian asked.

"We've also seen him outside this building, at the obelisk, in Eugene, and at the bus stop," Erica reminded her.

"We don't know if the guy in Eugene and at the obelisk are actually him. Besides, I've seen him twice on campus and Ashley likely met him there, which means we have more sightings there than any other location. I bet he's a student."

Galena stared. "You think Beanie-" here she indicated several pictures which lay haphazardly on the table- "is a student?"

"You know, that actually might make sense," Rolf realized. "He looks the right age, he shows up in a dorm- how would he have been able to get into that dorm otherwise?"

"The same way he got out of the prison cell?" Galena scoffed, at the same moment that Lillian said, "You think he lives in Parkview Hall?"

"Is that your dorm?" Derek asked.

Lillian nodded.

"It's possible," Erica mused. "And I could start scanning campus for his thaumaturgical fingerprint, figure out where he's used thaumaturgy."

"We'll have to see if we can get a list of names and pictures for all the students in Parkview Hall. I should talk to the registrar," Diane said brightly. "Look, we have a lead." She bustled out of the room, likely heading for her office. Within just a few minutes, Galena was the only person left in the conference room.

Beanie can't be a student, she thought. It doesn't make any sense. There's got to be something more going on.

❦

Ashley laid a roughly sketched trio of maps across the table and tapped a circle on each. "This is the radius within which we're dumping Ashes. Rory's done three so far today, and the rate isn't substantially increasing. There is a means of thaumaturgical control to prevent Ashes from entering a certain area, but it's traceable. If we've done this right, they shouldn't notice that we've been dumping Ashes at all. The radius is approximately ten miles, and visibility is less than half a mile. We're not centered, so even if they find us, we won't have to deal with it right away. I'm also maintaining a bluff sphere about fifty miles away."

Dakota nodded thoughtfully. "That's good. How big is the other sphere?"

"Same radius."

"How about Sphinxes?"

"The problem with Sphinxes is that they don't move, so they won't fall into rifts the same way Ashes will. We've identified seven within the ten-mile radius and one of them-" she tapped a spot on the first map- "is right here. Same elevation as the door, and just two and a half miles away."

Dakota gulped. "Is there anything we can do about it?"

"I just said, no, there isn't. The best we can do is put up signs, which Rory will start working on tomorrow."

"What kind of signs?"

"Signs that warn you when you're getting close to the sense radius."

"Sense radius?"

"Sphinxes work like Wraiths. If you can't see them, you're safe."

"Oh..." Dakota trailed off. "I didn't know that."

"Spalls are..." Ashley shrugged. "They're strange and dangerous and difficult to dispose of. You know what happens when you dump an Ash?"

Dakota hesitated for a few seconds and then shook his head.

"It goes straight back into a Wraith."

"So that's why they don't run out of Ashes," Dakota pondered.

"There are also a lot of Wraiths."

Dakota grunted and stared at the maps. "Where are we?"

"I've marked that. It should be in blue."

He nodded. "Where are they?"

"They aren't even on the map."

"That's good." He changed the subject abruptly. "Any word on the situation with Jennifer?"

"Like I said, they only talk about once a week, and she hasn't spoken of you. I'll let you know if she does. But if you dilly-dally around any longer, you're going to be late for your date."

Dakota blushed furiously. "Date- d- what date?"

"Your lunch date," Ashley answered, daintily and haughtily.

Dakota rolled his eyes. "It's not a date."

"Date or not, you have twenty minutes to buy food, go back to your office, and get over there."

Dakota looked up, his eyes meeting Ashley's. "I have to go." He sprinted out the door.

"Date," Ashley muttered.