Zhan walked a lap of the shopping centre's ground floor once before realising that the 'high class cafe' was in fact the generic coffee shop near the ice rink next to the fast food, burger restaurant. Zhan scowled, rechecked the notifications on his phone, then went in.
Inside, the cafe was mostly filled with smart casual digital nomads and high school students in uniform though there appeared to be a few couples on dates as well. It was the middle of the day in the middle of the week, but Zhan knew it wasn't his place to pass judgement. This was a different era from the one he'd grown up in so he merely shook his head and threaded his way to the one empty corner.
Because this corner was not in fact empty. Strange, given the cafe's turnover but completely understandable if one knew who was currently occupying the seats under a perfectly weaved invisibility spell.
On one side of the table sat a handsome man whose age was difficult to pinpoint at a mere glance. On the one hand, he appeared youthful, yet on the other, wizened beyond his years. To most this gave him an air of alluring mystery but to Zhan it was irritating to the extreme.
Next to him, sat a woman who would have looked beautiful in any era but who looked especially pretty in the current one with her sleek dark hair and tastefully applied makeup. Even Zhan had to agree that she looked good though the amount of time she spent glued to her phone irked him.
The boy, hands shoved into his pockets, sat down in the last remaining seat. "So?" he asked, nodding to the woman.
"We were just waiting for you," said the handsome man instead, inclining his head.
"No one asked you, Morgan," said Zhan.
Morgan sighed but said nothing.
The woman locked her phone and placed it face down on the table. There were no drinks in front of them.
"The schedule for the harvest has been moved up," said the woman. In contrast to her supple looks, her voice was harsh like ice breaking.
"Are you serious?" said Zhan. He crossed his legs. "We're behind on actual harvesting and still down a Master Crystal. Without it, how are we supposed to do any harvesting now?"
"Mr. Artemis Long's death was most unfortunate," said Morgan with a wizened nod.
"Was it?" asked the woman. "I would have thought you would be celebrating the event, or at least celebrating all that his demise has brought you."
Morgan grimaced though there was clearly still a smile to his eyes. "In every crisis there is also opportunity," he said lightly. "And given the new schedule, I take it the crystals were procured are sufficient?"
Zhan looked to the woman. He'd seen the things Morgan had taken from the South Sea Department's vault and didn't think they were worth much. Had he been wrong?
The woman sighed. "The crystals are still being analysed," he said coldly. "But-"
There was a clatter and all three looked up to find a pockmarked young man awkwardly carrying three drinks standing expectantly by their table. "I-I have your orders…" he stammered.
The woman ignored him, but Morgan smiled and gestured for him to set down his bounty.
"Only three? I thought I said Zhan would be joining us," said the woman.
The young man blushed, making his acne look even worse. "O-oh these three are for you three. I'm-I'm not having anything."
"I'm glad to hear it," said the woman, gesturing for him to leave.
The young man ducked his head and quickly rushed away. Even Zhan felt a little bad for him.
"Who's that?" he asked.
"Intern," replied the woman. "The company's upscaling."
"Ah." Zhan felt even worse for him.
--
"What did they come here for?"
You and I were sitting on your bed while Tuesday and Helen sat on mine opposite. Along with everyone else who'd been swept up in the collapse of the underwater Under City, we'd been assigned a room in the cave system to stay in temporarily while we underwent medical observation. I was feeling fine - I'd been able to get rid of all the scales when in human form though my tail still remained like normal - but you weren't looking to great. Not very bad, but still worrying, at least to me.
Right now, though, we weren't discussing health. Rather, we were in a debriefing.
"I'm not sure we can tell…" started Tuesday, glancing at Helen.
Helen waved a hand, dismissing the other woman's concerns. "We can't be sure of their exactly objective," she said, "but we do know that they broke into the underwater SSD vault and removed at least one pound worth of crystals."
"Crystals!" I exclaimed. That surprised me since I'd assumed the intruders had been more than just petty thieves.
"What kind of crystals?" you asked.
"Clear. Symmetrical occlusions," replied Claire.
"That would be about right…" you said thoughtfully.
"Do you know something about this?" asked Claire.
You glanced at me then shrugged. "A hunch, more like. Misha, you told Helen about Coral's dream-Coil, right? Did you tell her about the crystals in it?"
"Uh…" I honestly couldn't remember if I had or not, so I looked to Helen.
"I think you mentioned something about a purple tree made of crystals," she offered.
"That's them," you said. "Given how that librarian knew about the name of the book, I'd say there's a good chance the purple crystals in the dream-Coil are clear with symmetrical occlusions as well."
"It would be more strange if they weren't," said Helen. She looked serious.
"Are crystals significant?" I asked.
"Different materials have different spell resonance properties. Materials like plastic have next to none, while glass and stone are about in the middle. Then there are precious stones and crystals. These have the highest resonating power," you said. "Remember I told you the basics of a spell?"
"So, crystals can amplify a spell? Or..."
"They can," you replied. "But they can also be used in any other part of the process. They can contain the inscription, they can be the medium - as was the case with the purple tree crystals in Coral's dream-Coil, or they can be used as an energy store. The luck cannisters have crystals inside them, as an example. Also," you pointed at Tuesday, "earlier, when Tuesday was checking your elemental resonance, there were actually dozens of crystals imbedded in the walls, each with a different element fixed in them."
"Ah..."I was starting to understand. I thought about those tiny shining lights on the doors at home. Were they small bits of crystal as well? "Is it rare for people to use crystals like that?"
"It's not... uncommon," you replied. "Things like good luck charms often use them, but they use cheaper materials, like quartz, that are suited to that specific task. Something like a clear crystal with little to no occlusions is versatile and powerful, but also very expensive."
Another thought occurred to me. "So, in the cemetery, when my father held up that crystal..."
You glanced at the women on the bed opposite then nodded. "Right."
Helen raised a hand. "What's this about your father?"
"I was actually planning on talking to you about this, Helen." You pointed at me. "His father recently died."
"My condolences," said Helen to me.
"No need." I cleared my throat. "I think, and I think Bran does to, that you should treat Artemis Long's death as suspicious."
Helen's eyes narrowed and she looked to you. You nodded. We'd discussed this earlier after ending up in this room.
"The morgue said it was a regular heart attack," you said, "but…"
You went on to describe the scene. It was my first time hearing it described in such detail how my father triggered me into a frenzy in the cemetery, how Colin used a restraining spell on me, and how they'd tried but failed to kill me. I would have thought this sudden recollection would be difficult for me or at least make me uncomfortable, yet it didn't, not in the least. Perhaps enough time had passed, or maybe it was because I was able to do something about it now.
"The focal point of that spell was the crystal he was holding in his hand," you said, finishing your recollection.
"But you don't know what the actual spell was?" asked Tuesday. She had a small laptop on her lap that she was typing away furiously on.
You shook your head. "Unfortunately, no. Though... I'd hazard a guess that it'll be similar to the purple crystals. They had a similar feel."
Tuesday stopped typing then patted Helen's arm. "Find out if a crystal was found on him," She said to her. Helen nodded and pulled out her phone then got up to make that call in the doorway-slash-hallway just outside while Tuesday went back to her typing.
Together, you and me sat silently on the bed. After a minute or two you put a hand on my knee.
"You alright?" you asked quietly.
"Yeah," I lied.