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The next morning, Sunday, Vincent stayed late in bed, watching the news. He was alone: Irene was talking with her father about the foundation, and Lila was filming a video clip with Sven. The massacre in the castle was attributed to a mafia war, factions fighting for the Altenschloss money. More arrests were made. The board had an emergency meeting, restoring Karl to his presidential position and giving him access to his funds, which were dwarfed by the profit from the space company.
A hero of the mansion fight emerged: Rynn, who spewed nonsense about how she had knocked unconscious ten guards and freed herself and the boy. She held the kid in a hug from the back, arms wrapped around his neck, beaming her wide grin while the boy sulked in despair. Fiance was a word she repeated every minute.
At nine, the receptionists appeared, carrying a rolling tray with food and champagne. “I brought you breakfast,” she winked. Her skimpy house robe said all about her intentions.
“I’ll take care of this.” Appearing from behind, Raya pushed the tray inside while shoving the woman out and turning the key to close the door.
“Err… Hi…” Vincent said in a shaky voice, pulling the blanket up his chin, fearing the Amazon had the same intentions as the receptionist. It wasn’t that Vincent wasn’t attracted to her anymore; he was, but now he knew what a relationship meant and wouldn’t betray Irene’s and Lila’s trust. He was resolved to make his thoughts clear to Raya, confronting the problem like a man. By teleporting away, if necessary.
“We need to talk,” Raya said.
“S-sure,” he nodded slowly.
“I’m leaving for the US…” Vincent remained silent, and she continued. “A university hired me to give lessons about the Bogomil protofeminism… When I came here, I brought an old book about our beliefs… I translated bits of it and showed it around. The book was analyzed and confirmed to be centuries old… They didn’t realize it was from an alternate reality. I told them I discovered and researched it… and I’m considered the top specialist…”
“So this is goodbye.”
She fondled his cheek. “I… care for you, Vincent. I really care. We could remain friends…”
“I hope so,” he smiled at her. He wished to cry and repressed his impulse to plunge his knuckles into his eyesockets and rub them.
“I have to go,” Raya tried to raise, but he caught her by the wrist.
“Wait…”
“If you want to ask me to join in a third marriage, I will say no. We should get on our own ways. Irene and Lila will be hurt. I’m older than them. They’ll fear I’ll be more of a friend for you than they can be.”
“I know. I think the same. Cancel the flight. I will take you there myself. It’s faster and safer.”
“I will take the plane. Let’s... not prolong this more than necessary… But,” she hesitated, “when things settle on the Realm, I’d appreciate if you’d help the girls visit their father… If it’s not too much to ask.”
“Of course. Do you want me to bring him here on the next trip?”
Raya shook her head. “Not if his life is not in danger. We divorced.”
“Oh… so that’s what giving him some space meant…”
“Yeah… does it mean something different here?”
“Not in the long run… Won’t you accept any money from me? Friends give gifts to each other, you know… I—"
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“I’ll live in an apartment paid for by the university, the salary is great, and I got a contract signed to publish the book… a million dollars, plus royalties…”
“Wow. That’s a good contract.”
“What can I say? Protofeminism pays.”
“Guess so.”
“I’ll tell you what. If I ever need money, I’ll ask. OK? For now, I’ll settle for a small gift instead.”
“What gift?”
“A kiss.” Raya leaned forward. Their kiss was less about eroticism and more about sharing the taste of their tears freely flowing on their cheeks. “Bye, Vincent.” Raya kissed Vincent once more on the cheek and left.
Vicent sighed, then called his mother.
“Yes?” she replied.
“Hi, mom. I wondered… can you ask discreetly… no, forget discreetly… knock at every door and ask if anyone is interested in selling their apartment at double the market price. I don’t like castles… When I’m in Prague, I would like to stay in an apartment close to you guys. And maybe when we have kids, you could take care of them when we’re busy.”
“Vincent… you’re such a good son…” the woman said. “I want you to know.”
“Err… thanks…”
“Very good son,” his father yelled.
“Karl bought the apartment below us. He’ll sell the mansion… you saw the crimes there?”
“I did.”
“He said the same thing: he prefers to live next to his friends. He also offered us a billion dollars, but we refused… Martin asked for a bottle of good wine instead, and they drank it together last night.”
“Really good stuff,” Vincent’s father said. “Ordered it online… came in ten minutes…”
“Dad… you should know Karl’s idea of good wine is a few thousand euros a bottle.”
“Oh my God!”
“Anyway, it’s good you enjoyed it. It’s not like he can’t afford it. Well, glad he bought an apartment, but see if we can buy some too.”
“I think the old lady on the top floor wants to move to a smaller apartment… I’ll ask around.”
“Thanks. Bye.”
As soon he closed the call, somebody knocked on his door using their fists. “I’m coming!” he yelled, getting down from the bed, only in his boxers. “Why the ruckus?” he growled at Hubris, the one who had knocked.
“Orleans will soon be under attack.”
“How so?”
“The four other pretenders made peace and are going after Sia.”
“OK, and what do you want from me?”
“Orleans is where our core is,” Hubris hissed. “That one cannot be moved. If it falls into the wrong hands… it won’t be good.”
“Sia retreated to Orleans. It’s fortified, and he allied with your guy, Scoundrell, who managed to get there with his troops in only two days.”
“They ran or something?”
“How cute. Our empire has trains! We’re civilized, you know. The problem is Sia’s rivals used a device to break through Orleans’ pocket universe’s forcefield. Our core sent a force of golems against them, but it was not enough. The rebels will besiege the city within hours. I was thinking you could turn the tides. That’s what you do for breakfast, right?”
“I’ll see what I can do. Wait in the lobby; I’ll dress and join you in ten minutes.”
Dressing was easy with the spatial storage in hand, so a minute later, he called Irene. “The enemy just made his move on Stellarterra. They’re attacking Orleans.”
“How?” Irene asked. “And why?”
“Orleans is the most fortified place resisting them, and they might think we’re there or that we’ll come to the rescue. I think we should help them.”
“Let them be. Why risk our troops for strangers?”
“Because it’s better to cull them on their terrain, not on ours, and Scoundrell is already there. I could use you to be the Bug’s cannoneer. The Bug’s tough; we’ll not be in danger.”
“It’s weak to electromagnetic attacks. Bee’s struggling to find a way to shield it, but there’s little progress. He has many other priorities, you know.”
“You think we should give him some of the money? We made a lot of profit because of his skills.”
“Of course we should. It’s Guild rules.”
“Oh… true…”
“And to Bella too… without her, we wouldn’t have the AIs in the robots.”
“Hm…”
“Hm, what? You’re not considering keeping the poor girl’s money, right?”
“No, I’m considering taking her with us… She has antimagic, remember? She could shield the Bug. So…are you in? We’ll take every precaution necessary and scram at the first sign of trouble.”
“Yeah. I’m in. Bella’s at your sister’s place, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Then grab her, and I’ll join you at the lab. I’m at your parents' place, in my parents’ room… I heard your conversation, by the way… I love you…”
“I love you too…”
“You’ll take Elkandaros too, I presume.”
“You bet. I say we let Lila dance.”
“I say the same. She makes good money from something she likes.”
“Good. Say… who has the ring today, you or her?”
“It’s on me, why?”
“Wear it. Bee engraved a Rezz and other spells on it. See you at the lab.”
As he had promised the Archetype, Vincent arrived downstairs within the ten-minute limit. In the lobby were not only Hubris and Kiara but also Brigid. The princess had red swollen eyes and saluted with a groan and a flicker of her index.
“What’s up with her?” Vincent asked.
“Her team had a party after the show, and it was still ongoing when we got her. Don’t worry, she’ll help. She’s a good fighter and loves her father,” Kiara said.
“Perfect. Let’s move. We’ll pick Bella on the way and meet Irene and Elkandaros at the lab.”