The Budding Metalinguist

XVII

Now that Lillian had returned to the university, she needed a new quiet, undisturbed place to practice metalanguage. At her friend Angela's suggestion, she was using the Reading Room.

The Reading Room was a medium-sized and generally overlooked area on the infrequently-visited second floor of the math building. So far as Lillian knew, it was only used for math club meetings. When the door was closed, it locked automatically. In other words, the perfect place.

Lillian had been practicing illusions there ever since the end of her quantum lab. She could now display not just illusions of shapes and books but of animals and people. And she was gradually learning to control sound.

Just as she was figuring out how to create illusions of words, the door swung open. Lillian reflexively flattened herself against the wall and used the Idea of Deception to conceal herself and her belongings. She carefully overlaid noise-canceling from the Idea of Deception with the Idea of Motion to gather herself and all her belongings in a remote corner.

Someone came into the Reading Room and sat down at the main desk. Lillian froze. It was Daria.

Lillian had no hope now. Daria was directly in between her and the exit, and she knew that Lillian couldn't use thaumaturgy. Even if Lillian tried to disguise herself, Daria would recognize her voice. And she didn't know yet how to use the Idea of Deception to create words.

So instead, she continued to use the Idea of Deception to conceal herself. She slung her backpack noiselessly over her shoulder and made for the door.

She reached the door in silence and swung it open, making sure to create an illusion which showed it remaining closed. But there was one thing she hadn't counted on- the door creaked. Terribly.

Lillian abandoned all reservations and ran, still using the Idea of Deception to conceal herself. Her shoes slapped on the floor with an instantly noticeable sound that she was too nervous to disguise. She could hear Daria sprinting behind her.

Lillian successfully left the math building via the front door and dove into the space between the building and the long row of bushes framing its facade. She could disguise the sound of her own panting, but not of her beating heart, so loud that she was convinced everyone else could hear. Daria dove out of the front doors and looked frantically around, then seemed to realize that she would never be able to catch the intruder among the scores of students milling around the university.

Lillian let out a long sigh as soon as Daria ventured back inside. She had been so close to being discovered. She needed to be more careful.

She thought she had locked the Reading Room. How had Daria known about it anyway? Wasn't Daria a psychology major? And the only way that she would know Lillian might be in there is if she had talked to Angela. Lillian scratched her head in confusion. Angela was first and foremost a relic of the physics department. She was not someone that Daria would talk to, much less question about Lillian's whereabouts. It was odd.

Lillian dragged herself out of the bushes and joined the uniform flow of students traveling toward the dorms. It was time to find a new place to practice.

☙❧

Dakota, Ashley, and Rory called a meeting to discuss the progress of the DIAO.

"On the one hand, I think it's good that Lillian hasn't gone in, because she isn't able to tell them about metalanguage that way. But on the other hand, the longer that she stays away from the DIAO, the more suspicious they will be. I know Galena's already suspicious of her," Ashley began.

"But?" Dakota asked, sensing that there was something else to the sentence.

"But I wouldn't worry right now about anything Galena thinks. Half the DIAO are convinced she's a spy." Ashley's tone was businesslike and matter-of-fact.

"Why?" Dakota asked in puzzlement.

"They think that because I knew what day I needed to leave my apartment, that she told me when I needed to leave. And that because you broke in on the one day that they were away, she told you about that too," Ashley explained.

Dakota scoffed. "What kind of evidence is that?"

Rory shrugged. "Enough for half the DIAO."

☙❧

Rolf, as usual, had been acting odd. Galena, as usual, was trying to figure out why.

Rolf had been very excited all through their daily meeting in the conference room. Even while entertaining Galena's idea and acting like a pretentious hypocrite, he had seemed more eager than usual, which Galena found odd given his recent defeat over the matter of Evan. Instead of being slightly discouraged, he was even more adamant and firm than usual.

Galena knew he considered the case solved, but she felt like he would only act that way if he was sure to get some kind of absolute evidence in his favor. On the other hand, because Galena knew so deeply that he was wrong, there was no such evidence. So where did that leave her?

She realized: Rolf felt the same exact conviction as she did. He was utterly convinced that everything he believed was right, no matter how far-fetched. Which left this: he was about to get evidence that he didn't know the content of yet, and he was sure that it would prove to be a mark in his favor.

So how exactly was Rolf getting evidence?'

Galena wondered if it bore any resemblance to the event the previous week wherein he had used his badge to obtain security footage from the park. After considering this for a few minutes, she acknowledged that it was probably unlikely that the park would provide any future source of information. So where was he getting his information from? The university?

And how was he sure that he would be about to get information if he hadn't requested any yet?

The realization crashed over Galena in a wave of understanding. Someone was going to give him information. Someone, Galena noticed, he didn't want the rest of the DIAO to know about- or at least that he didn't want Galena to know about.

Someone that Galena wanted very much to know about.

☙❧

Tell no one.

The words from Evelyn's phone call still lingered in Rolf's mind. Why, he wondered, would she want him so desperately to tell no one when there would be no harm in it? Was there information that she only wanted Rolf to know? He decided that that must be it- after all, he was the director of the DIAO. If there was new information, he should know it first.

He wondered what she could possibly have to add. I know his name. I know who he is, and I know what he can do. What could she know?

It was a stroke of luck that he had been in the Gamma Ray Café while she was ordering food. But it had been odd that she knew where he had been. Was the café the only place she went?

He considered what he knew about her. He knew she had dark hair. She had been wearing leggings, a sweater, and a hat similar to Beanie's that was pulled down far enough to cover her ears, and likely part of her forehead. He wondered if there was any connection with the hat. Both she and Beanie had dark hair. Was she a relative?

It was definitely a possibility, he decided. But he wouldn't know until he saw her face. At six o'clock tomorrow.

He was already thinking of the most effective way to secretly stay after hours.