a thought. Delicate, deferential, demure…demonic.

Her hair was the same as Shinichi’s, but it was held up and back in a

ponytail. You could see the demonic part if she raised her eyes. They

were effervescent, golden, laughing eyes, just like her brother’s; eyes

that had never had a regret—except perhaps for not exacting enough

revenge. They took no responsibility. They found anguish funny.

And then something odd happened. All three of the figures in the

room suddenly turned around and looked straight at her. Straight at

whoever had made the sphere, Elena corrected herself, but it still was

disconcerting.

It was even more disconcerting when they continued to advance.

Who am I? Elena thought, feeling half-frantic with anxiety. Then she

tried something she had never done before, or seen or heard of being

done. She carefully extended her Power into the Self around the orb. She

was Werty, a sort of lawyer’s secretary. She/he took notes when

important deals were done.

And Werty definitely didn’t like the way things were going right

now. The two clients and his boss closing in on him like this, in a way

they never had before.

Elena pulled herself out of the clerk and put the ball down to one

side. She shivered, feeling as if she’d been plunged into ice-cold water.

And then the roof crashed in.