Indal took Max to work once they left the police station.

  "You can't show up with a broken arm one day and a perfectly well arm the next," Indal said as they drove. "Before we go in, we'll bandage your arm again."

  "I'll wear the gauntlet," said Max. "Wrap it up again with Zero inside."

  Indal glanced at him from the driver's seat of the Mercedes. "Do you think that's wise?"

  "I don't want it to get stolen," Max replied. "And Zero thinks she can protect me, but I have to be wearing the gauntlet."

  Indal exhaled through pursed lips. "All right. We'll try it. How long is your shift?"

  "I get off at five."

  "I'll be here to pick you up."

  Max smiled in gratitude. "You don't have to."

  "I feel responsible for getting you into this mess," said Indal. "And I have a bad feeling about taking you to work with that gauntlet."

  Max didn't respond that he did, too. Going to work seemed like a great place to get knifed by a Cultist disguised as a customer. That's why he wanted the gauntlet. If he could have worn the whole suit of armor, he would have.

  "If anything happens," Indal said, "I'll be there, all right?"

  Max nodded.

  Indal hesitated, then asked, "How's your shard feeling?"

  "It's not bothering me right now," Max said. "It'll go for days, sometimes, before it flares up."

  Indal nodded. "I'll feel better once you know how to use it. Ice can be an excellent defensive power."

  Max nodded. "Could you teach me?"

  "Maybe," said Indal. "Let's get through this work shift first."

  Max pulled on the gauntlet. It's smooth, cool weight felt good, somehow. Then Indal produced an Ace bandage from the center console, and Max wrapped up his arm. Zero took her place in the wrist socket and submitted to being wrapped up. But Max left a small gap so she could see.

  As they pulled into the grocery store parking lot, Max noticed a black van parked near the first row. His stomach tightened. "Uh, Indal," he said. "It's … probably nothing, but that black van …"

  Indal caught on at once. "I see it."

  He circled the row of cars once, and they watched the van. All its windows were tinted, so they couldn't tell if anyone was inside.

  "Stupid thing to do," Indal muttered. "A black van in the desert? Like driving a microwave."

  “Said the man with the black Mercedes,” said Max.

  Indal snorted. “I didn’t pick the color.”

  This raised all sorts of questions in Max’s mind that he didn’t know how to ask. Instead, he focused on the problem at hand. "Drop me at the door. They might be inside."

  Indal did so, and Max went in.

  It was one of the busiest times of day. The grocery store was crowded, and every check stand was open. Max clocked in, put on his name tag, and went to work bagging groceries. People asked him how he had hurt his arm. He made up crazy replies, ranging from falling off a curb to trying to stop a moving car with his bare hands. Zero laughed inside his head at each new story.

  Time passed quickly. Max didn't get a break until the end of his shift. As he entered the employees-only back room and clocked out, Zero said in his mind, //Two men are waiting for you outside the door.

  The door to the back room had a pane of one-way glass in it. The manager would sometimes stand there and watch people work. Now Max peered out and spotted two of the thugs who had kidnapped him. They wore casual clothes, trying to blend in, but they watched the door like cats waiting for the appearance of a mouse.

  "It's them," Max whispered.

  Is there another way out? Zero asked.

  Max crossed the room to another door that led out into the back of the store. He cracked it open and peeked out, hoping to spot some of his coworkers. Instead, one of the cultists leaned against the wall nearby, watching the door.

  There's guys watching both doors, Max thought.

  Let me think, said Zero. We need a distraction so you can sneak out and find Indal.

  Max lifted his arm and peeled back the bandage to look at Zero's eye. Can't you access the networks and send Indal a text message? I memorized his phone number.

  Zero blinked at him and didn't reply. Then she said, I've been able to tap into local internet, but I don't have the software capability to interact with the cellphone networks. Hmm. Look around. What do we have to work with?

  Max looked around. The room had a couple of dingy chairs, an ashtray, and a scarred bulletin board with the week's schedules pinned to it. Somebody had left a half full bottle of water sitting beside a chair.

  Aha! Zero exclaimed, her delight flashing through Max's brain. Grab that water. You have ice powers!

  Ice powers I can't use, Max thought glumly.

  Zero was undaunted. You can cough, can't you?

  Yes, but that's hardly a workable plan, Max replied. When I start coughing, I can't stop. One of these days I'm going to rip my windpipe, then I'll be dead.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  He almost felt Zero look at his windpipe. Her attention shifted, and he sensed her mood change, turning quiet and thoughtful. Yes, I see what you mean. There's a lot of damage and scarring. And your shard … hm, that's very interesting.

  What's interesting? he thought in alarm.

  Nothing, she assured him hastily. Can you cool things off by touching them?

  Max picked up the water bottle and held it in both hands. He tried to draw on his shard, as he'd been taught. When it had been inserted, his instructor had said that the magic should flow from his chest to his hands, following the main blood vessels. Instead, it seemed to jam halfway. Max's chest grew cold, and the joint in his right shoulder ached. The magic never reached his hands.

  Right, Zero thought, observing this. I'll have to help, like last time. Pour water into your mouth, swirl it around, and spit it out.

  Max looked around the room. I'll make a mess.

  It's that or the Cult catches you.

  Max poured a little water into his mouth. As he did, he felt his shard surge by itself, probably triggered by Zero. The water began to chill against his tongue. As he spat it out, it continued to freeze, and a rain of ice crystals hit the linoleum.

  Take the back door, Zero advised. Spit in the single thug's face, then run for it.

  Max opened the rear door and stepped out, casually taking a drink of water. The thug straightened from his spot against the wall and stepped into Max's path.

  Max spat ice crystals in the man's face.

  The ice struck the man and continued to freeze, sealing his eyelids shut. The man yelled and clapped both hands to his face. Max ducked around him and ran.

  The back of the store was oddly empty. Max wove among pallets of food and motionless forklifts, wondering where everybody was. Then the overhead speaker requested more help with checking at the front, and he realized that it was just that busy. The Cult had planned their move well.

  Max escaped out a side door and found himself in the blazing hot parking lot. The sun was down, behind the buildings, but the asphalt was radiating back its accumulated heat. He ran along the side of the store, making for the parking lot. Indal said he'd be waiting to pick Max up, right? If he wasn't there, Max was in deep trouble.

  Again, Max found that pendulum swinging inside himself, wanting to trust, but afraid of being let down. He wanted to trust that Indal would keep his word. But he barely knew the guy. If Indal wasn't there, Max had to think fast. He'd cross the parking lot and take refuge in the fast food place. Lose himself in the crowd. After that … well, he’d see what happened after that.

  He rounded the corner of the store and saw the other two thugs emerging from the front doors. They paused, scanning the parking lot, then spotted Max. They sprinted toward him. Max dashed across the parking lot, weaving through the cars, ducking to avoid being seen. Where was Indal’s fancy car? He didn’t see the black Mercedes anywhere. His heart sank. Indal had bailed. Or maybe he was late. Either way, Max was screwed.

  He ran for the fast food place. A passing car drove parallel to him, and he jogged along, keeping pace with it, using it as cover. When it drove on, Max veered off and ran for the restaurant’s parking lot.

  The two thugs shouted as they spotted him. They were in a nearby avenue of vehicles, checking the gaps between them. They pelted after Max.

  “I can’t hide in there now,” Max panted aloud to Zero.

  “I’m thinking!” she replied.

  Max leaped up on the restaurant’s sidewalk and there was Indal. Indal had been standing in the shadows of an awning, casually munching a cup of ice, his button-up shirt and slacks making him look like an office worker on break. As soon as Max saw him, Indal held out a hand. Max didn’t know why he ran up and took it. Maybe it was the relief at seeing his friend. Maybe it was the joy at seeing that his fragile trust hadn’t been broken.

  Indal spoke one word. “Freeze.”

  The world went still and quiet. Max stood there, holding Indal’s hand, which was chilly from the cup of ice. Indal’s eyes glittered strangely, almost seeming to glow an eerie topaz. Max looked around and realized that the world had frozen. Cars stood still on the road and parking lot. A bird hung in midair, its wings open. The thugs were locked in place twenty feet away, their feet suspended above the pavement.

  “Did you stop time?” Max panted.

  Indal said, “Don’t let go.” Holding Max’s hand, he stepped off the sidewalk and crossed the parking lot to where his Mercedes was parked in a tiny patch of shade under a tree. The world remained silent and still. Max trotted at Indal’s side, staring around in wonder. “But you have atmospheric powers! I saw them! How are you doing this?”

  “Don’t break his concentration,” Zero warned softly.

  Max said nothing else. Now that he looked, he could see the intent expression on Indal’s face, somehow holding the time stop in place.

  Indal took Max to the car, opened the door, helped him into the passenger seat, but didn’t release his hand. “When I let go,” Indal said, “the spell will break. Hold on tight. The physics are nasty.”

  Max drew a deep breath and grabbed the armrest with his free hand. He had no idea what to expect when a time freeze ended.

  Indal let go.

  The world blurred. Max was slammed back in his seat as if the car had punched through a brick wall. He bounced forward and would have hit his head on the dashboard, but Indal caught him with an arm on his chest.

  Max looked around in bewilderment. Indal now was sitting in the driver’s seat, and the car was in motion on the road somewhere. They were nowhere near the grocery store.

  “Sorry,” Indal said. “When you drive in a time stop, there’s a physics debt that builds up. You okay?”

  “Fine,” Max gasped, hastily fastening his seatbelt. “You stopped time! How?”

  “Magic,” said Indal pensively. “Keep it secret. Nobody knows I have it, except James, and he only suspects. You’re the first person I’ve had to take through a time freeze like that.”

  “The ice,” Max said in realization. “That’s why you’re always eating ice. It has something to do with your powers.”

  Indal nodded. “I don’t know why, but the headache makes it easier to use.”

  Max looked at his hands. “If I could use my powers, I could make all the ice you want. But I can’t get the magic through to my hands.”

  “Really? Strange,” said Indal, as if his mind was elsewhere. “What happened back there?”

  Max explained about the thugs waiting to catch him in the back room. Indal listened, eyes on the road, mouth pressed in a thin line. Max had time to think about the implications of the Cult of the Dawn waiting to ambush him at work. They knew where he lived, they knew where he worked. It was only a matter of time before they caught him again, and this time, they'd make sure he didn't escape. He felt like an animal in a cage, pacing in circles, checking the same bars over and over. He'd never be able to relax again, always looking over his shoulder for a black van and loitering thugs.

  He concluded in despair, "I'll have to skip town. The Cult will kill me, otherwise. Man, my parole officer will put out a warrant. Maybe get a bounty hunter after me."

  "You'll stay with me for the time being," said Indal. "No skipping town."

  Max stared at him. "What?"

  "You're not the first unlucky schmuck we've protected," said Indal. "I'll have James hide you on his island. Nobody can reach you there without portal powers."

  Max considered this. "I don't have portal powers, either. Wouldn't that make me a prisoner?"

  "We're working on that," said Indal. "Basically, the island is a safehouse. Go there, hide out for a while, let the Cult get tired of chasing you. Who knows, maybe it’ll help your shard work better.”

  Max slowly unwrapped the bandage from his gauntlet and rolled it up again. Zero popped out of the wrist and zipped up to float at his shoulder, her metal shell brushing against his hair. Max reached up and stroked her with a smile. “What do you think?”

  “I think you need a safe place to rest,” she said. “Your stress levels have been elevated since we met, and this attack today has sent them skyrocketing.”

  Max looked into her little camera eye and realized that of everyone he knew, he trusted Zero the most. She had nothing to gain from him, no ulterior motives. She was locked into being his friend by her own tech. And so far, she had his back in every situation.

  “If you say so,” he said with a grin.