Excerpt: Thrae Calling

Lania entered Mama Jasmine's kitchen and couldn't help but smile at the sight before her. Papers were spread all about the table. Kat was sleeping, her head buried in her arms. Davian glanced up at her over the rim of his reading glasses, then continued making notes in the memo book at his side.

"How's it looking, baby bro?" She slid into one of the empty chairs, old and worn it creaked in protest.

He glared at her for a moment before turning to his notes. "Don't call me that." A heavy sigh, and he pulled off the glasses, rubbing his eyes. "Is there any coffee left?"

Lania glanced at the coffee maker. It was full and the light was on. Mama Jasmine or one of her girls had probably come in recently and made a fresh pot. It spoke volumes about Davian's ability to focus that he hadn't even noticed. "Yes." She met his expectant look and grinned. "I'm not your Lolita girlfriend, you can get it yourself."

"Hmph." Davian slid the his notes across to her, then stood to fill his empty coffee cup. "It's not looking good, Lan. Where's your bodyguard?"

"James had a business meeting." She flipped through the small notebook. It was all written in doctor's shorthand, which meant less than nothing to her. "You want to translate this for me, Davy?"

"Don't call me that, either." He sat at the table, glancing at the slumbering Kat as he sipped his coffee. "Damn."

"What?"

Kat let out a snore compareable to a chain saw. The siblings exchanged glances.

"Coffee's hot, I burned my mouth."

Lania smirked. "What's that saying? Physician, heal thyself?" She slid the notebook across the table to him. "I can't make heads or tails of this and you know it. What did Kat find?"

"Well." Davian took another sip of his coffee, and winced again. "Damn. It looks like Jaime was right on the money about them kidnapping the street kids. There are a lot of patient files marked as being suitable for cybernetic implants. There are mentions of receiving consent, but I'd bet my life savings- what's left of it anyway- that it isn't fully informed consent."

"Sweet Mother." Lania rose, pouring herself a cup of coffee. A spoon of sugar and a dollop of milk cooled it down to acceptable drinking temperature.

"There's more. There wasn't very much information there, just a mention that Dr. Kell Napate was the one looking for quote-unquote volunteers. However, Napate has been asking for volunteers for other projects as well. Here's a memo about looking specifically for patients with electrical powers, anything related to computers or technology in general. And here they're looking for some kind of jewelry or something?" Davian handed over a folder. "Kat said this file was different from all the rest. She said she didn't find it so much as it found her."

Lania took the folder and flipped through it. "A sapphire pendant, an emerald diadem, and a pair of ruby bracers. This sounds kind of familiar. Doesn't this sound familiar to you?"

"I wouldn't know." Davian put his glasses back on and picked up a batch of papers. "My mother actually taught me useful things, not fairy tales from a dead culture."

She slammed the folder in her hands down on the table. Coffee from both their cups sloshed over the rims, staining the papers. Kat snorted and buried her head deeper in her arms, mumbling something. Lania glanced at the sleeping woman, then leaned over the table, her voice a deadly hiss. "You do not talk about my mother, Davian Mathias. Unless you- You can- Don't- Urgh!" Speechless, she sat back in her chair, flipping open the gemstone folder again.

"Yes, the inability to properly communicate a threat really sells the intimidation attempts, Lania. Message received."

"You're a dick. How's that message coming through?"