I love mortals. They consume the power of their souls with such exuberance. Even better, their industry has invented so many wonders in recent decades. I salute them, for I will enjoy the fruits of their labors for centuries to come.

  ~ Zuri, facetaker council member

  Mai Luan pulled the jagged faceplate away and dragged one fingernail down Eirene’s throbbing face, grinning just like the wolf in the dream. Eirene flinched away, hating herself for the weakness but unable to stop the reaction.

  The council members sat right where she remembered, leaning forward, studying her closely. Why had they sanctioned the bizarre test?

  Did they know the machine somehow granted Mai Luan access to her mind? It had to be Mai Luan filtering through her memories, using the machine and the strange helmets.

  Eirene’s head still spun and she felt exhausted. Her thoughts moved too slowly to make sense of the situation, but new fear blossomed. If they let Mai Luan continue these experiments, what secrets might Mai Luan dredge from her memory?

  Asoka said, “Take that tape from her mouth so we can ask her some questions.”

  Eirene was eager to speak with them, to raise the voice of caution. She knew nothing of what they hoped to gain by allowing Mai Luan into their midst, but whatever she had promised them was surely a lie.

  Instead of obeying, Mai Luan disconnected the dispossessed soul used to fuel the machine. It looked smaller, weaker, with fine cracks running across its surface. The rainbow smoke of its soul strength had faded to gray.

  They had consumed almost all of its life force. Mai Luan placed the soulmask on the table, looked across to Asoka, then casually smashed it with the heel of her hand.

  “Her feedback is of no assistance. I’ve seen her mind and she will only lie.”

  “You can read minds?” Shahrokh asked from across the table.

  “Not exactly, but I caught glimpses of some of the memories she visited, enough to make it clear she will do anything to thwart your success.”

  That garnered hard stares from the council. Eirene tried to focus her muddled thoughts, tried to organize them into a coherent list.

  First, she realized Asoka had made no move to destroy Mai Luan for shattering that soulmask. Such an act was forbidden, but none of the council even appeared to notice.

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  Second, Mai Luan was concealing the truth of the machine’s capabilities from them. Finally, they appeared completely ready to accept the word of an outsider, a hated cui dashi, over one of their own. Even if she could get the tape off, she realized they’d never believe her warning.

  A wailing of sirens began outside the building. It was loud enough that a large number of police and fire vehicles had to be congregating in the street nearby. A few seconds later, the head of building security entered the room.

  “I’m sorry to disturb your meeting,” the powerfully built, middle-aged man said, “but some kind of explosive device just detonated inside the Sistine Chapel.”

  A collective gasp from every throat echoed Eirene’s own shock. They knew this area better than anyone living, and she remembered the long years spent building, then painting the chapel.

  Such a wonder of the world, such a part of her heart. She had personally handled the soul transfer of Michelangelo, rewarding him with a second life for the remarkable work he did. The thought of anyone harming that unique chapel filled her with indignant fury.

  Asoka growled, “What’s the world coming to? No respect for anything.” He finally looked angry, although it irritated Eirene that it was a threat to the nearby landmark that enraged him the most.

  Mai Luan spoke. “It appears there may be other matters you need to attend.”

  “Nonsense,” Shahrokh protested.

  “It’s just as well,” she said smoothly. “My team and I must analyze the results of this test and verify optimal calibration of the machine.”

  “Did it work?” Aline asked, her voice a raspy croak. Aline lived large and loved her vices. This long life was taking its toll.

  “It appears to have been a great success,” Mai Luan assured them. The council relaxed, all grinning like fools. “The test proved that the concept is sound and the underlying technology is ready for final tuning.”

  “When can we try it?” Aline asked, her lined face intent.

  “Soon.”

  The first tiny bit of understanding clicked into place. The council members planned to submit to Mai Luan and her machine.

  Why?

  She puzzled over that as the meeting broke up. A pair of burly enforcers released her from the restraining straps, although they left her hands chained.

  Instead of leading her to the holding cells in the sub-basement, they took her to the far end of the building on the same level as the council room. There, they pushed her into a small waiting room with only a single padded chair. It appeared her reprieve would be short lived.

  The moment when they stopped and waited for one of the men to unlock the door would have been the best chance to make a break for freedom, but she knew these enforcers. They were some of the toughest men in the force, with many enhancing runes to push their Body rank into the B’s.

  Her body felt shaky and her head throbbed. Not an ideal time to test herself against them. Besides, help was coming.

  Her muddled thoughts were finally beginning to clear and she recognized Gregorios’s flair for the dramatic in the supposed bombing of the Sistine Chapel. If he really did cause any damage, she would rip his face off and leave him dispossessed for a month.

  Once inside the improvised holding cell, she dropped onto the chair. She centered her mind and tried to focus her thoughts on everything that had just happened. The truth was there, she just had to find it.

  Twenty minutes later, the door swung open and Tomas stuck his head in. “Ready to go?”

  Eirene smiled and rose to her feet, extending her hands for him to unlock the chains.

  “Good to see you,” she said. “We have one stop to make first.”