The Blood of Amietta

XVI. The City of Ventura

I've only got two Identification Chips. When I say this out loud, Arabelle looks at me with a deep scowl on her face.

"Absolutely not!" she exclaims.

I sigh guiltily. I don't like it either. Arabelle isn't a sorcerer– how is she supposed to defend herself alone in the Outskirts while Noelani and I track down Cormak? But it has to be done. I have to go because I'm the most familiar with Tsulona, and Noelani has to go because it's her brother.

Besides, I'm not completely sure that Mak won't run from me the second he recognizes my face. We didn't exactly part on the best of terms.

"It'll only take a couple of hours," I tell her. "One night at the most."

Luckily, Noelani's scrying spell was very specific. It gave us an exact location– a coffee shop on the east side of the city that I'm already familiar with. As long as Cormak is a frequent visitor, this should be fairly easy.

"Besides," I continue. "It'll give you a chance to focus on getting your memories back."

Arabelle goes pale, her eyes suddenly anywhere except my face. Yeah, that was a dick move, but I'm a little salty that she lied to me.

But I can't confront her about it because that would mean admitting that I'm also lying to her. Even if it's for her own good.

Or is it really for my own good? It's getting harder to tell.

Arabelle frowns. "Mila..."

"Let's go," Noelani interrupts. She peeks into the truck, impatiently waiting for me so that we can get going.

I turn towards Arabelle. "I've conjured you a weapon and plenty of food. No one should bother you this close to the city," I tell her. "We'll be as quick as we can."

She'll be fine, I tell myself as I exit the truck. Sure, I'm mad at her, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried about her too.

Noelani regards me with a grumpy look. "Come on," she snaps. "Your girlfriend will be fine."

I roll my eyes. "Here," I say, shoving one of the Identification Chips at her. I spent an hour fixing them up last night– or early this morning, technically. Then I drove the three-and-a-half hours to Ventura. I barely got any sleep.

Noelani takes the Chip and attempts to put it in her ear.

I grab her arm. "Not yet. Trust me, you'll be sick of that thing in no time. The less it's in your ear, the better."

She scowls and places the Chip in her pocket instead.

We walk side by side in silence. It's a short walk. I wanted to keep Arabelle close to the city because it's safer. It only takes us about ten minutes to reach the city gate. Ventura, like all Mega-Cities, is surrounded by high walls. No one gets in or out without proper identification– or in our case, forged Identification Chips.

I owe those to Cormak.

I pull Noelani off to the side as we approach the gate– I can't have anyone spot us yet.

"Wait here," I say as I scope out the situation.

With any luck, we'll run into a Civic Shuttle. They're generally used to transport citizens from city to city, usually those who are about to begin their Civic Duty. The larger crowd will make it easier to sneak in. My Identification Chips should pass inspection, but I'd rather not risk it.

Suddenly I spot the red uniform of a Transportation Officer. Perfect.

I grab Noelani's attention, subtly pointing to the red-dressed woman.