Angel

I flew around the camp, killing beasts wherever I saw them. A few of the people took shots at me, but I didn’t hold it against them. I didn’t look human at all, and I was flying around through smoke with very low visibility, at least for humans.

I could see that there were too many of the beasts, the horde outside of the walls was still coming, despite the fire that kept most of them away. Even if I could kill them all, I couldn’t be everywhere at once, people would die. Many more than had already died.

Saia and my intervention had given the people a chance, but it wasn’t enough.

I flew up in the air, overlooking the field. Packs of dogs and wolves, bears, and strange creatures that had escaped the rifts were everywhere, as were rats milling beneath their feet. Then, something occurred to me.

I didn’t know if it would work, but I knew that I had to do something.

[Quick Swap Slot—Mist Step>Hive Mind-ratkin]

The skill triggered.

My mind was suddenly filled with a thousand voices, with a thousand sights, thousands smells. It overwhelmed me for a moment, and I fell out of the sky, crashing through a tent and hitting the ground hard. A burning spike was pushed through my head, but then the thirst woke up. Another thousand voices drowned out the minds of the rats and I could think again. I had all of their thoughts in my head, could hear the commands given by the evolved rats, the need to feed, so similar to the thirst yet so much simpler, far more basic.

I focused, getting hold of myself, then triggered another skill.

[Overburn Skill—Lesser Command-ratkin]

The rats didn’t think like how I did, they knew no words or complex emotions. But I had dealt with the thirst, and my mind was greater. I rammed a command, a bundle of emotion and intent, straight through the heads of every rat around. And in an instant they turned, following my absolute command.

In the radius ranging for a hundred kilometers around us, the rats started tearing every beast around them apart, and where they lacked targets they turned on each other, eating their own.

I couldn’t tell them to stop attacking the humans, that was too complex, but that was also no change at all. The rats were already attacking them.

I shook my head and stood, then quickly focused and used [Swap Profile].

The hive mind vanished, and groaned as I stumbled out of the broken tent. I looked around, then took to the skies once more, looking for more beasts to kill.

----------------------------------------

Hours later, the dawn arrived, the sun caressed my skin as I broke through the clouds, exhausted, but also filled to the brim with blood.

Mask of the Sanguine Reaper; Revelator Seeker — Third Investment; Third Carving

I lost count of how many I killed, how much blood I drank. Everything blurred together.

The sun’s touch weakened me, but not as much as before. At least I felt that way. The power that coursed through my veins felt slightly lethargic, but not fully weakened.

I beat my wings, enjoying the feel of the wind on my face. Here above the smoke and the clouds, it was peaceful. I had spent the night hunting, killing, tearing, and drinking. I’ve ranged away from the camp, making sure that no big beast was near or that no remnant of the horde was headed their way.

The people in the camp had eventually realized that I was on their side, so the potshots dropped significantly.

Saia remained at camp, keeping it safe as I flew around. I was tired. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I could sleep. Like I needed it.

I knew that old vampires, the ones that I had joined now in power if not in age, slept at times. Their bodies required a lot of power, and blood gotten from humans wasn’t enough to satiate them.

I understood that now. I didn’t think that I would ever need to sleep like that, nor did I think the other vampires would, not anymore. The sun’s effect on us was diminished, and the quality of blood was about to increase significantly. Investment was a tangible thing that I could feel, the blood I drank nourished more.

I still felt like I needed to rest.

I took a deep breath, expanding my lungs with clean air, then headed back down toward the camp.

I flew slowly, taking the time to learn how my wings worked. They moved on instinct, I knew how to use them the same way I knew how to move my arms or legs, they were an extension of me. But I was fairly certain I could use them better. In time, I would learn how, I was sure.

I made a slow circle around the camp, making sure that everything was alright. I could see people moving around down below, cleaning up after the battle.

Some noticed me, I saw a rush, fingers pointing. I decided against taking more time and making them panic.

I turned toward the big tent in the center, their command where I could see the biggest crowd of people, and more importantly Saia.

I came in slowly, people taking steps back as I spread my wings wide and floated for a few seconds as I focused on landing lightly and not embarrassing myself.

Once I touched down, the rush of wind and the beating of my wings vanished, letting me hear better. I tried not to react as people whispered, but I heard the word “Angel” from more than one mouth. A strange sensation washed over me, I pushed it aside. I was still not that familiar with this form or the way that the thirst behaved now.

I walked up to stand in front of a group of three people, Catalina Flor, Diego Murillo, and Maximilian Dawson. Saia stood near them, and as I approached she trotted over to me. I looked them over, saw them looking at me with wide and shocked expressions. They had bags under their eyes, were covered in grime and clearly exhausted.

I closed my eyes for a moment, focusing inward and asking the thirst to help me change. I didn’t need to convince it, I had held up my side of the bargain. My stomach was filled with blood.

My wings pulled back, my skin turned back to its usual tan color, as I changed back. I rolled my shoulders, and opened my eyes, glancing around at the awed expressions on everyone’s face.

I put my hand out to Saia and whispered.

“Shirt.”

A part of her flowed over my arm to cover my torso, serving as a shirt. That made more of them whisper, few of them had seen what Saia could do.

Before I could speak, two people walked out of the crowd that was now surrounding me. I recognized them immediately, of course.

The amazonian blond that towered even over me, along with the shorter brown skinned man with a shaved head and a long scar over his cheek. Tattoos on the side of his neck were covered in blood, and new wounds marred his already rough face, but he had a wide grin on his face.

Carlito whistled as he looked me over. “You were holding out on us boss lady, eh?”

I rolled my eyes. Kai just nodded at me, and I gave her a short nod in return. They took positions behind me, as if that was their place, and I didn’t dissuade them.

I turned my attention to the three in front of me, the leaders.

“You’re short a person,” I commented.

Max was the one that answered me, he had a sad smile on his face as he faced me. “Carlos died in the fighting last night.”

I bowed my head. “I didn’t know him, but I am sorry for your loss. The challenge is over,” I told them. “I’m glad I arrived back in time.”

The others didn’t react too much, I doubted that they were capable of it. I could see that they didn’t really know what to say. They had just survived what they had probably thought was going to be their last night. They needed time, I understood.

“I’ve cleared the horde in the near vicinity,” I told them. “We should be safe.”

Max shook his head. “Thank you Marianna, we… we wouldn’t have survived without you, and Saia,” he nodded at the dragon next to me.

“It’s what we agreed to. I’m sure that there is much to be done,” I looked around at everyone gathered around, staring at me. “And I’d like to rest for a bit, if my tent is still in one piece.”

“Right,” Max said, glancing at the other two next to him.

Catalina shook herself out of whatever trance she was in. “I’ll make sure you have a place,” then she looked out at the rest. “Go back to work, we need to clear out the carcasses and bodies before we can get some rest.”

That seemed to snap people out of their trance, and they started moving. Catalina motioned at me, and I followed, heading to find a tent and get some rest. Later, there would be a lot of things to do.

----------------------------------------

I woke up in my old tent. It was small, barely large enough that I could fit inside. I was alone, Saia could no longer fit, so she had stayed outside—I’d sent her along with Kai and Carlito to help clear things out, and consume as many corpses as she could. Hopefully she hadn’t attempted to consume human corpses, they could get testy about that. Light of the day still peered through the gaps in the entrance, so I assumed that I hadn’t slept for long.

My sleep resembled the trance I used to fall into during the day. Though, it seemed a lot deeper, and I didn’t dream.

I sat up and stretched my arms above my head. I felt completely rejuvenated, the sleep had left me in perfect condition.

I could hear conversations around my tent, so I knew that there wasn’t anything pressing that required my attention. I had some time, so I decided to take a quick look at my Mask.

I focused and pulled myself into my soul space.

I appeared in the central hub, and noticed the changes immediately. Everything was more detailed, the walls, the shelves, even the skill bowls. Before, it was all made out of simple wood. Now, it looked lacquered, and the bowls were more ornate.

I walked up to the center and the pedestal with my Mask, it had changed again, though the difference wasn’t great. It was smoother, looked like it was better quality obsidian and jade. On the sides, where the two Ornaments used to hang from, now two bands wrapped up around the lower horns, one on each side, both gold.

The two side pedestals were empty, and lists of available Ornaments were available for me to pick again. I wanted to look through it and see what I could take, but first I had something else to look at.

I walked to the back, where the information about my |Potential Augmentation| trait was written up. I didn’t get any new bonuses this time around, but rather something called Evolve Skill.

I saw the physical change first, there was now a pedestal with eleven bowls on top of it, ten arranged in a circle with one in the middle.

One of the ones at the edge, closest to me was golden.

I glanced below and read the new information.

Evolve Skill: Sacrifice ten skills to evolve them into a single more powerful skill. One skill serves as a base for the evolution, the choice of the rest guide and shape it.

That was… interesting. Really interesting. The golden bowl was probably to designate the base skill.

I had a lot of skills that I didn’t really have much use for. I glanced around, wondering if I could experiment. I didn’t want to spend too much time in here now, I still had to talk with people at camp. In the end, my curiosity won out.

I walked over to the shelves and started gathering skills. For the first test, I picked skills that I had less use of. I knew that there was probably a lot better way to do this, but I tried to at least keep to a team, but added something in as a bit of spice.

For the base skill I picked [Slash], the more physical attack skills added a bit to my strength when I attacked, but they weren’t that necessary. Next I put in a few other attack skills: [Swipe], [Lesser Strike], [Lesser Stab], [Stab], [Smash], and [Quick Claw]. I wondered if I could make a more complicated attack skill from all of those attacks, but I didn’t have that many attacks that I felt would be compatible, [Quick Claw] was already different, but I wanted to see what would happen. The last four I put in more versatility with [Lesser Strength]—because I didn’t really feel a need for it anymore, I had [Blood Empowerment], and my own physical strength was already far above anything I was likely to meet. Then I put in [Dash] and [Lesser Intimidation].

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As soon as I put in the last skill, all the bowls lit up. Then the skill orbs lit up and were pulled into the center bowl. It was done in moments, a new orb was created, and I reached out to take it. Then walked over to one of the shelves and placed it to see what it was.

[Rending Whirlwind]

Dash forward and attack in a whirlwind of your primary weapon, moving with incredible speed and strength, striking from multiple angles in rapid succession, exuding an aura of intimidation.

I was pleasantly surprised, it was a good skill. At least I thought so. I itched to test it out, and I did have a lot of new doors and skills to collect, but I didn’t want to take too long in here. I put the skill on the shelf, deciding to test it out later.

Then something occurred to me, what would’ve happened if I had put gemstones in all of those skills? I cursed myself for not doing it, but if that could work… I could create more elementally charged skills. Next time. I shook my head and turned away.

With that done, I moved to check out my other skills, the ones that had changed with my Investment tier and Ornament consolidation.

[Smell Lie]

Detect spoken lies.

[Memory Like Blood]

Relive any memory taken through blood.

[Learning Through Blood]

Gain small insights into the experiences and capabilities of those whose blood you drink.

[Channeled Blood—Essence Door]

Invoke the experience and abilities of any person whose essence you possess. The door and the essence along with the skill gained is destroyed in the process.

I knew that the skill descriptions weren’t perfect, and that skills would encompass more than the words indicated, but what I read was impressive.

The loss of [A Lesson Remembered] wasn’t perfect, as it was more versatile. The new skill allowed me to remember memories I took through blood which were more immediate. Though, I had been suppressing and pushing them aside in the recent times, as I had drunk a lot of blood while in combat.

The last skill was the most interesting, and I didn’t know how exactly it would work. I would have to experiment. So much to do, and so little time.

I took a look at my Hallway of Doors then turned away. I wanted to speak with Shadow again, to collect more skills, but I knew that if I went I would get stuck in there for a long time. And while time did pass differently in here than it did outside, I didn’t have a lot of it to spare. I left the Ornaments aside for now too, I wanted to talk with Max and perhaps Shadow—though he was limited in what he could tell me—before doing anything.

I got out of my soul space and back to the real world.

I stood, looked at my things in the corner of the tent, my weapons and pack, I debated gearing up, but decided against it. I took only my revolver, holstered around my thigh.

I stepped out, and the weird sensation from before returned. I frowned, the attention of people around me was like a physical thing. This didn’t feel like it was coming from the thirst.

I pushed it aside and stopped next to Saia who was sitting in front of my tent, too big to enter. All the mass she consumed in the trial and from the last night’s horde had turned her drone from a tiny dragon that could fit in the palm of my hand to a dragon that was the size of a minivan.

She had gotten better and processing Invested mass.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Five hours,” Saia answered.

That wasn’t so bad.

“How big do you think you can get?” I asked her.

“Feedback: Uncertain, my control systems have been damaged over time. Some blocks had been put into places to prevent systems like me from going out of control in the same way the Biosource Autonomous Self-Replicating Swarm had.”

I remembered her telling me the reason she had been created. To combat a swarm that had gotten out of control. She was similar to that Swarm, except that her systems were controlled by a lot more restricted and advanced AI. Saia—or Self-Replicating Autonomous Interface Armor—couldn’t be used without a host.

I also remembered what Shadow had said about dragons on Kirios and their size. Both Saia and I were interested in finding out if they were remnants of Ke Erzi or prototype units such as her.

“What are we going to do once you get to large?”

“Feedback: I am designed to provide protection and complete support in combat. Our synchronization has already risen enough that I can operate several independent drones. Though I have lost many of the engrams that such drone platforms would operate.”

I nodded. “We’ll have to talk and figure out things, but for now you can stay like that, you’re a menace in a fight.”

“Statement: I have enough mass now to provide personal protection in addition to a drone.”

I grimaced. “Armor doesn’t do much for me other than slow me down.”

“Statement: That is true, and my current capabilities are far from what I was intended to operate with. This is my failing, I need to become more familiar with your physiology and find ways to augment you.”

I tapped her on the head. “Don’t worry about it, you provide enough support as it is. Speaking of, how is the Plasma Shot engram coming along?”

“Feedback: Success is imminent.”

I raised my eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. “Hey, how long does it take to craft a round for my revolver?”

“Feedback: Ten seconds per round.”

“So, I had this idea. Can you set aside enough mass for, let’s say sixteen rounds, that’s two extra drums, and shape it like a bracer or something like that so that you can reload my revolver while in combat?”

Saia’s eyes flashed. “Feedback: Not possible, my [Manufacturing] engram requires a certain amount of mass. The smallest amount of mass I would need to fit it in is a full chest plate.”

“Not worth it then,” I really didn’t like being that restricted. Having her masquerade as a shirt was the most I was willing to take. At least it was easier to grow wings when she could just replace the clothing for me.

I was going to need to take the time and work with her to figure out more and better ways to utilize her capabilities.

Two figures approached, and I shifted my attention to them. Most people kept away, just staring from the distance, or throwing looks as they worked on things.

Kai and Carlito walked up, a big grin on the bald man.

“Heya, boss lady,” Carlito said with a wide grin. The former gang soldier looked tired, and had a few scratches on his face.

“Glad to see you’re back,” The Nordic woman added a moment after.

I raised an eyebrow, and returned Carlito’s grin. “Someone had to come save you all.”

Carlito laughed. “True that.”

Kai just nodded. I felt slightly strange, being here, talking with them. For me, it had been thirty days since we last saw each other, for them it had only been five days.

“So,” Carlito pierced the growing silence, his eyes looking Saia up and down. “She grew up to be a big girl.”

“Feedback: I increased my mass, technically growing, but if I am understanding your underlying meaning right, you are implying that I was a “small” girl before, a child. That is an incorrect statement, as I am approximately twenty five thousand of your years old.”

Both Carlito and Kai gapped at her with open mouths, then glanced at me.

“Are you that old too boss?” Carlito asked, looking me askance.

I blinked at him. “Of course not,” I scoffed.

“Ah,” Carlito nodded slowly.

I looked at the two of them. They had found my tent awfully quick after I woke up. Meaning someone had told them that I was up. The two of them had kind of become my entourage before I left for the challenge. That they were here now sent a certain kind of message. And I wasn’t really opposed, they knew how to handle themselves and I trusted them. And with what I had planned to do now, I was going to need people.

I focused on Carlito and spoke. “I need to speak with camp leaders, can you go out, find and gather them at the big tent for me?”

“Which ones?”

“Whoever is still alive, but Catalina and Max for sure,” I told him.

Carlito gave me a mock salute then ran off.

I glanced at Kai, but she had her stoic mask on, her hands folded behind her back as if she was standing at attention.

I figured, that now was the right time to start.

“So, how do you guys think that conquerors are born?”

Saia tilted her head, and Kai blinked in confusion. It was a pretty abrupt change of topic, true. But I had a lot to do, and little time to do it.

“Do you think that they just wake up one day and decide, hey, I’m going to go find a kingdom and put a crown on my head, demand people to follow me? And if anyone opposes me I’ll just kill them. Actually, I don’t mean how they take power, but how does one decide to do it.”

I turned pensive for a moment, a part of me was curious. History books never really went that deep into it.

“What makes one want to rule, to go around telling other people what to do?”

Neither Kai nor Saia answered initially. Saia probably didn’t have much of an opinion, it wouldn’t matter to her.

Kai though, seemed to be thinking. Finally, she looked at me and spoke.

“Is that what you are going to do?” She asked me.

I tapped a finger against my chin. “How do you think people would react to something like that? If I started telling them what to do?”

Kai looked at me with a strange expression on her face, then glanced at the people around us. “You really haven’t paid much attention.”

That made me frown. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve kind of already been doing that since you arrived. And…”

Kai looked as if she wanted to say something more, but instead glanced to the side, where two kids were hiding behind a large wooden crate. I had, of course, noticed them.

I looked there and the two yelped and hid behind the crate. A furious whispering erupted and finally they decided to come out and approached.

I recognized them as the two orphan kids I had saved from the church, Lea and Juan. Seeing them again reminded me of Felix, and I felt a pang in my heart. I had failed him, but seeing the two, here and safe, made me feel slightly better. They survived, at least I didn’t fail them.

They stood in front of me, looking up with their wide eyes. I raised an eyebrow, and Juan nudged Lea. She, seemed to gather her courage and took a deep breath.

“You lied to us!” She pointed a finger at me as she accused me.

I blinked. “I did?” I asked.

She moved her small head in a nod that bore no argument.

“What did I lie about?”

Lea glanced at Juan, then back at me. “You told us that you can’t fly!”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. She was, of course, right. I did say that. It was true at that time, but I didn’t know how I was going to explain that to the little kid.

Kai looking on with interested made it even more awkward to try and explain now. So I just knelt next to her and leaned in and whispered.

“It was a secret.”

Lea’s eyes widened.

“You couldn’t let anybody know that you were the Dark Angel,” she nodded with an understanding expression on her face.

I narrowed my eyes. “That I’m what?”

Kai shifted uncomfortably, which told me that this wasn’t just a kid thing. I had overheard some similar things from the people around us.

“Dark Angel, it’s what Father Sergio calls you.”

“Aha,” I said slowly, then glanced at Kai. “Maybe we should make a visit to the Father.”

“Oh,” Juan jumped in. “He’s at the church tent with a bunch of other grown ups.”

“Well, let’s go,” I stood up, intent on seeing what exactly has been happening.

----------------------------------------

It didn’t take us long to reach our destination. Though walking through camp had been an experience. People kept bowing to me, some whispering the words “Angel” and “Star Angel” as they made the sign of the cross at my passage. I didn’t know how to react, so I just didn’t.

The strange sensation that had been present since I woke up was present still, like an uncomfortable thorn in my side. Worse, I was pretty sure that it was coming from the people around me. I didn’t know what it was though, my sire didn’t mention anything like this. Was it the thirst feeling their blood? I didn’t know, and that worried me.

As we approached the tent that doubled as Father Sergio’s church, I could hear his words.

“—Lift your weary hearts! Despair not, for even in this darkness, salvation has arrived!”

Father Sergio Rodriguez stood on top of a crate, his voice thundering as he spoke. And the gathered people listened, kneeling before his tent. They were all tired, dirty, many had bandages around their wounds. The scent of blood was thick around them.

“We have witnessed the abyss, the horrors that stalk our broken lands. We have known fear, the gnawing dread that chills us to the bone. The end of our world and the birth of new one. But I say to you, fear no more! For the Lord, in His infinite mercy, has sent us a deliverer.”

Oh no, I thought to myself as I saw the fervor in his eyes.

“From the smoke, she emerged, wings like midnight spread against the burning sky. A creature of blood, yes, but one standing against the encroaching night. She is the predator who stalks the predators, the terror that strikes fear into the hearts of monsters.”

I was frozen, the sensation I felt before seemed to be intensifying, gripping me.

“Some may recoil at her form, at the power she wields. But I say to you, judge not by appearances, but by deeds! She is the Star Angel, the warrior of God, sent as his warrior to fight for us all. No longer does the sun’s gaze burn her, a sign of God’s will! Embrace her, my flock! Give her your trust, your loyalty, your prayers. For she is the beacon in the night, the hope that guides us towards a new dawn.”

He noticed me then, his eyes meeting my own. There was an intensity there that I could feel like a physical touch.

“In her darkness, we find the light. In her strength, we find salvation. In her blood, we find the promise of a future free from fear. Praise be to God, and praise be to His warrior, our Dark Angel!”

He pointed, and the people saw me. They bowed.

“Go now, my children, there is still much to be done. But know in your hearts that even though the night is dark, we are not alone.”

Some of the people crossed themselves, others clutched the crosses around their necks and kissed them, but all kept their eyes on me. I didn’t say anything, I didn’t know what to say. I kept my face impassive as they passed me, some even reaching with their hands to touch me.

I didn’t know how to react, so I just kept my mask. Once they were gone, I moved.

The rush of displaced air washed behind me as I came to a stop in front Father Sergio.

“What. Was. That?” I struggled to speak in the tone loud enough for humans to hear. My entire being was charged with anger. He had done something like this before, I brushed it off then. This… this was… I didn’t know what this was.

He didn’t seem frightened by my tone, by my visage of anger. Instead, he answered me calmly. “I asked you once if you would take away people’s hope, simply because you didn’t believe. We’ve been surrounded by nightmares and despair, and at the moment when we stared death in the eye, you arrived. You cannot stand here and not see it as providence.”

“God didn’t send me, I told you that before,” I said slowly, every word dripping with barely contained anger. “The only one that sent me here was the Grand Spell, the Last Intent.”

“And who’s to say that the Grand Spell is not acting on God’s plan? Even faith and religion must evolve and grow as we learn more. What we believed about the world is wrong, we can only be open to learning more and keeping our faith.”

I closed my eyes. He was a priest, a man of faith. I had experience with them, Khalil was the same. I never understood that, the need to believe in something other than, something greater.

I had always been surrounded by religion, one didn’t live in this corner of the world without having their life impacted by it. As a child, I’ve attended church often, sat in the stone halls with scent of incense burning in my nostrils. And as soldier in the cartel I had dealt with priests and their flock.

I didn’t have a problem with religion personally, but this felt… I stopped. I realized that I didn’t know why I was angry.

These people were just looking for something to give them hope, as Father Sergio had said. I had come and saved them, as he had told them. He spoke through the lens of religion, that was what he understood and what these people believed in. Their gratitude towards me wasn’t misplaced. In fact, they owed me a debt, and I owed one to them. I had decided to save them, to involve myself. There was a link between us.

As I looked closer inward, I realized that the strange sensation I was feeling was familiar. It felt like how I felt when I used my waybound skill.

I opened my eyes and looked at the priest in front of me. He was looking at me calmly, but I could… sense something coming from him. An imprint on the Way, a skill.

“You’ve advanced your Mask,” I said.

He smiled and inclined his head. “Yes. It is called Mask of the Faithful Believer.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I reached for his hand and turned to Saia.

“Inspect,” I told her.

Kai and Father Sergio looked confused, but I didn’t care.

Sergio Rodriguez

___________________________

Mask of the Faithful Believer (Esoteric): First Investment; Second Carving

___________________________

Attributes:

Physical: F

Weave: F

Esoteric: D

___________________________

Skills:

[Hear Truth]

[Calm Flock]

[Gather Faith]

[Imbue Faith—Dark Angel]

The Grand Spell was granting faith based Masks and skills. What did that mean? I didn’t even know they existed. But what was more concerning was his last skill.

“You used this on me,” I said, recognizing what I was feeling since I arrived.

He had a bit of a sheepish expression. “I apologize if it affected you adversely. I didn’t use it, it appears to be always active.”

A passive skill, one that I didn’t know how it affected me. I had to talk with Shadow, and quick, hope that he could reveal things about this.

I was feeling the people’s faith in me. That was… actually something that I could use.

I had plans, and reverence they had could help that.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Carlito chose that moment to walk up.

“Heya boss lady, I gathered everyone at the big tent, they’re waiting for you.”

I looked at Father Sergio for a long moment. “We’re not done.”

Too many things, and too little time.

I turned and headed to the big tent.