Edna was mad at him again, or maybe she was worried, or maybe she was just tired, or hungry...Billy wasn’t sure.

While he was better at reading her than he was with other people she was still pretty much a puzzle to him. Just as all people were puzzles to him, just like his current self was a mystery to him.

To Billy, it seemed that people's moods shifted without any rhyme or reason. Never mind the more reasonable cause and effect relations between mood and occurrences. There was also blood sugar level, hormonal balance, the context that was added by past occurrences from as far back as their toddler years, ambient lighting level and color schemes.

Edna was made even more mysterious because he refused to lean on his senses and read the thoughts, impulses, body language, micro-expressions and neurochemical signals that radiated out of her and everyone else.

As for his ability to read her, while He couldn’t help what he was able to see but he could help what he paid attention to. It was a cheat that allowed him to fake a certain basic level of social acumen.

Acting as proverbial crib sheet with all of an individual's thoughts, motivations and actions written on it. However reading Edna like that felt like an invasion. A violation  of her privacy.  

He couldn’t do that to her. It would be wrong and he figured she’d probably not like it if she knew. Which meant he was stuck in the dark, fumbling.

“Um...I  did something wrong again, right?”

She just sighed, sounding tired, he unconsciously shortened his gait so that he could be nearer if she needed help.

“....Ed?” said Billy.

“No, well, yes...but no. Though maybe next time add more details if you’re going to leave a note and disappear somewhere, please…. I was worried.”

He couldn’t help wondering what she was worried about. It surely couldn’t be her worrying about him, that’d be silly, right? He was pretty much an adult now and while he’d yet to reach a level of cultivation that he could call strong he still held all the skills and knowledge he’d acquired while abroad.

Not that she knew about that. There was a moment of icy discomfort as he imagined explaining it.  And in that moment, he decided that while he might one day explain that he’d been “abroad”  he would likely never go into the details.

Those memories were his and his alone and everyone was entitled to a few secrets...right?

“Why didn’t you just call me then?” he said, glancing at the girl as he lead her to his worksite.

“Call you? We’re in the middle of the desert, besides I don’t even have a cellphone.” said Edna.

“Um...yeah you do.” said Billy.

“No, I don’t. Unless you bought us one. In which case you never gave it to me.” said Edna.

“Well, I’d didn’t ‘buy’ one. I made one. I did definitely give it to you, though.” said Billy.

Billy turned around and took Edna’s hand, turn it so that inside of her wrist was facing up. He rolled up her sleeve revealing a band of semi-rectangular beads, a bracelet that he gave her before they headed to Jelani.

He pressed the longest bead on the band. It glowed a bright blue, green and up above it, appeared a small palm sized holographic display. Showing all the things that one would see on  your standard cellphone screen with a few minor additions.

Billy swiped the display showing that it worked much like a regular phone would. He called his number and the palm of his hand began to ring. He snapped his fingers and a similar projection appeared above his hand. He spoke into the hologram and his voice echoed out from Edna's bracelet.

“See? And I even set up a network that allows for long range communication between users.”

Then he pressed the central bead to make it go dark again and shut off the display.

*****

Edna simply stared at her childhood friend. There was too much for her to be able to say anything. Lying strapped to her wrist was something that could be considered priceless in some circles.

The amount of work that would be involved in the creation of such an artifact would be unheard of in the academic world. The complex sigil work and knowledge of old world circuitry and computer science one would have to have to make such a thing were enough that even a novice would be able to appreciate it.

Finally, if she assumed the network he’d made really worked then if he shared what he’d done with the world he’d go down in history. Likely becoming one of the richest  and most famous men alive in the process. This was akin to discovering cold fusion or perpetual motion in a pre-thaumaturgy age.

“What about the phone ghasts?” she asked. Mentioning one of the number of dangerous beings that would generally appear if someone tried to use a long range communicator on Monde.

He just chuckled. Eliciting  a frown from Edna.

“What ‘about’  the phone ghasts?” he said.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

She sighed, feeling a mild headache coming on, certain that the significance of what he’d made was either lost on him or being purposely ignored.

“Well, it’s nice anyway. Would have been nicer if you told me about it.”

“.....Ah. My bad, Ed. I thought I did. Or at least I intended to, but then I got sidetracked.” said Billy. Sheepishly scratching the side of his face.

Edna could only sigh.

“It’s fine. Thanks for the gift by the way...It’s uh..nice..”

“Nh?... T’was nothing.” said Billy.

*****

Billy led them to a place a few miles ahead of the operational site. Edna goggled, mouth ajar, looking up at what seemed to be a small cityscape made entirely of glass towers. Story high structures of crystal with an ominous air to them.

Glowing spheres lay within the towers. Filled with an aether that caught the eye like neon lights. Pulsing like hearts, but swiveling around like eyes. She could feel them watching her, she could see them turning in her direction as she passed by the towers.

Quietly making judgments before returning their gaze to the skies and the desert. She expected Billy to explain them or to at least acknowledge them, but he didn’t even so much as look at them.

Instead, he lead her to a small tent that he’d set up, so he could have some shade while he worked. In the corner of the tent was a small luggage case, like a briefcase though slightly bigger.

He picked it up and tossed it to her. Edna caught it but only barely. It was heavier than she’d expected it to be. That had never happened before, normally Billy’s spatial tricks kept a items weight from being felt.  

“Er..”

She felt her knees go out as a chair was pushed under them. She flopped down onto the seat and turned to see Billy walking around her in circles. He set down a ward and then closed the tent flap.

“Okay...Good. Now you can open the case.” said Billy.

Edna opened it and then she gasped. What lay inside was a brightness, a near blinding light and behind that brightness were things of beauty.

She’d never thought a firearm could be ‘pretty’ before but the set of six that she saw inside were works of art.

“I thought we already bought weapons for this job?” said Edna. Confused.

“Yes...Well, I had time and there happened to be a small amount of a certain rare ore a few hundred miles below where we’re standing. Plus I figured it wouldn’t hurt to better our odds.”  said Billy.

Edna frowned as she saw that his dried nose bleed was not flowing wet again. Blood pouring from both nostrils.

“Billy are you okay?” she asked, for the fifth time in an hour.

“Ah...yes. Mostly.” he answered, repeating himself for the fifth time as well.

“You don’t really look okay.”

“It’s nothing. My body is still too weak to properly channel all the loose energy that’s out there. I tried to channel too much at once. Actions have consequences. Anyway...I’m ‘pretty’ sure that I won’t die.” he said.

His tone casual and atonal as was usual but his words failing to fully convince her.

“Now there’s one more thing.” said Billy.

Forcefully using a control of his body’s blood vessels to stop the nosebleed, though the effort did him more harm than good.

He reached into the open case brought about a bracelet, a rather scary looking band with its outside lined with thick needles.

“Wh-, what is that?” said Edna.

“The control unit.” said Billy.

“And I’m supposed to wear that thing?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” said Edna.

“Because you won’t be able to use the weapons without them.” said Billy.

“But you didn’t even explain why I need new weapons at all. I thought we were fine with what we have?” said Edna.

“I thought so too...Nobody's Perfect.” said Billy, laughing sheepishly. The sound drier and eerier than he intended it to be. Different from the usual because he was different from the usual. Barely holding himself together.

“What’s changed? Actually, more like are you telling me you didn’t know how bad this job would be before you accepted it?” said Edna.

“No...I knew exactly what this job entailed. That’s what the towers outside are for.”

“Huh? Wait, so those towers ‘were’ your doing? Is that how you hurt yourself?” said Edna. Getting momentarily distracted by his revelation.

She’d kind of suspected it was so, but hearing him admit it, brought a dozen questions to mind. She shook her head to clear it and got herself back on track.

“No wait… if you have the towers and you knew what we were getting into then what’s all this?” said Edna. Focusing on the most important issue. Gesturing at the bracelet and the case.

“Insurance….I made a miscalculation and I’m afraid that it’s a bit too late to take it back.”

“Take what back?” said Edna. Still not understanding.

“He’s already aware of me.”

“Who’s already aware of you?” said Edna.

Billy just shook his head.

“It’s not important.”

“Uh...Nope. I’d say it is. You look like death warmed over. All pale and sick and...scared.”

As soon as she said it, she felt a pit open up in her stomach. Billy was scared. Whether it was talking about Billy the Saint, or Billy the Sorcerer, or Billy as he’d been since he came back into her life. The only other time she’d seen him get emotional was when the bandits had surrounded their lodge.

“What’s going on Billy?”

“I may have inadvertently picked a fight with the kind of creature that goes around eating gods.”

From anyone else that would sound like a bad joke, or like crazy nonsense, but Billy said it with enough matter of fact assuredness to make her try to imagine what was coming.

“......How do you pick a fight with something that eats gods?” said Edna.

“You look at it for too long and it looks back...I really should have disguised my scrying a bit more but who would have thought ‘that’ would be there.” said Billy.

He’d been tired, exhausted and suffering from aetheric backlash from the spellwork that he’d just done. Still that was no excuse.

“Explain.”

“There’s a reason why that serpent tide managed to make it all the way here with no problem. It seems that the dragons at the head of it, have a senior, a chaperone if you will.”

‘A Senior?” said Edna.

“The being in mention is probably older than this planet by a few million years. But that’s not important.”

Edna’s imagination tried to draw up a mental image of the aforementioned ‘senior’ dragon and completely failed. She felt numb, aware that the news was bad but unable to feel properly scared because the trouble that was coming was too far from any reference points she had available.

“If that’s not important then why did you call me here?” said Edna. Her voice filled with a shaky but resolute calm.

“Because I need you to make a choice.”

“A choice?”

“Yes, on the one hand. I can send you back home. Back to our place where you can be safe.” he said. Hoping to see her waver. Hoping to see any sign that that would be an option he could talk her into taking.

“And the other option.” said Edna.

“You wear the bracelet and…”

Before he’d even gotten the words out, she’d already snatched the needle lined band from his hands and slapped it onto her beneath the phone band.

The long needles didn’t so much pierce her skin as they melted into it. Submerging themselves. Sinking beneath her flesh and melding with the nerves and vessels and bones beneath.

Edna screamed, the sound high and keening. Rather than being set on fire it was like she was being attacked by ants and “they” were on fire. Getting inside her and running amok.

Billy swore as he watched her thrash about. Running to her side. The merging process would be a painful one. The change would be irreversible. He cursed himself. Regretting not simply sending her back.

Sure, there was a chance that if he’d survived she’d hate him for the decision or least resent him in a way that would lead to the dissolution of their friendship. At least she’d be okay.

At least she wouldn’t be going through this. He didn’t even get to tell her the ramifications of the choice she’d just made. Granted, she didn’t give him the chance, but still that too would weigh on his conscience.