Immortal 7

1-01
"THE RECRUIT"

The patches of setting sunlight on Armaiti Sokolu's dorm room walls were warming into shades of orange, as the planet Gorod turned its shoulder to its star. Little rainbows refracted from the strings of crystal beads she had hung from the cabinet over her study desk. Two charcoal portraits sketched by an ex-boyfriend, addressed to "My Dearest Mai", were tacked to her corkboard, their edges curling from months of humid Gorod air. Textbooks from two semesters ago leaned against a jar of wilted potpourri. Her roommate's bed was perfectly made, without a wrinkle. It stood beyond the dividing line between Mai's entropy and her roommate's order. The whole room was filled with the muted echoes of the last four years of Academy, neglected and frozen. The patches of sunlight on the wall began to turn red.
Mai lay on her back with her legs rising up the wall. Her eyelids fell casually with modest distraction. She dangled a prism on the end of some filament above her head. Her eyes traced the rays of light reaching out from the crystal. She felt them anchoring into the walls, into the bed, into her. She reached out with her psyche, and tested the prism. It was situated.
Letting go of the filament was easy. Sometimes freshmen manage to fix an inanimate object in timespace, but they found it impossible to force their hands away. It could easily take them all four years of Academy to break the corporeal bonds and let the psyche extend beyond the flesh. But Mai was a natural. It had always come easy to her... especially crystals. She stared directly into the prism that was suspended in the air above her face. The lights streaming in and out were reddening with the setting sun.

Mai was trying not to think.
She had finished her finals, but she had one more panel review before the priestesses were even allowed to talk to her. She had heard that there was a list of temples waiting to court her. It came as no surprise. She had been the top of her class all four years. She had mastered her courses, and never really had to study. All of her teachers passed along recommendations along with her evaluations. All of her classmates were either jealous or awed. Mai had doubled her class load to stave off boredom her senior year, and she knew she would receive four marks in each of her eight courses.
The word "prodigy" was rarely intimated in Gorod conversation, for there were too many fragile young egos to inflate, or damage. But Armaiti Sokolu was widely received as a genuine prodigy. She was one in ten generations, and whichever temple recruited her would dominate Gorod society well after she had passed on.
Mai knew this. She was trying not to think about it. She had done something that could end all of her prospects for priesthood. She was going to have to break the news to her teachers, her friends, her father. There was going to be major fallout, and she wanted to be sure she had made the right decision.
Thinking about the blood screen made her feel the bandage that she had forgotten on the inside of her elbow. They had taken a lot of blood. more than she felt was necessary. But she gave it willingly. This was something she wanted. craved. more than anything she had felt before. This was more important to her than Academy and the temples. This was more meaningful than any of her various short-lived relationships. This was the first test she wasn't certain she would pass. If she passed, then her real dream would come true, but she would have to leave Gorod.
Mai had never been in a spaceship before, but she had always dreamed of visiting the other planets. However, from her early childhood, she had been identified as the best and the brightest, and no future outside of the temples had ever been suggested. Her father was already taking interviews with some of the templars, unofficially of course. He had made his vision for her life expressly clear. His reaction would be the hardest for her to take.
The door flung open, and Mai's roommate, Oksana, bustled in. The distraction broke Mai's concentration, and the prism fell and hit her right between the eyes. Oksana dropped her books into a neat stack on her desk, and stood at the foot of Mai's bed. She was holding an envelope.
Mai stared up at her face, and the envelope. "What's that?"
"It's your scores!"
"Oh."
"Well? You going to open it?"
Mai sighed. "Knock yourself out."
Oksana leveled a reproachful glare onto Mai, then shrugged. She thumbed the envelope open.
With undue ceremony, she declared, "Communal Empathy, four marks. Advanced Telepathy, four marks. Rituals and Endowments II, four marks."
Mai rolled over to her side and sat upright. "Yeah. I know. I aced them all."
"Don't you realize what this means, Mai? It's official! You've earned more quality credits than any other student in the history of the Academy!"
"Think they'll give me a trophy?"
"What is with you? You're Valedictorian! I mean, not just valedictorian, but The Valedictorian of, like, all time! You get the first interview! I know your father belongs to the Cult of Order and Mystery, but you could actually land the Temple of Righteousness! Do you know how much money they make?"
"Oksana, you're giving me a headache."
"I would kill to be in your shoes, Mai!"
"Healthy attitude, Oksana."
Oksana dropped onto her perfect bed, her eyes narrow slits. With a cold, level voice, she asked, "Mai, what's going on?"
A grin crept onto Mai's face. "Your telepathy is improving."
"Yeah. All night cram session for my telepathy final. Guess it finally sunk in. Talk to me. You're hiding something from me. You're. scared. What are you scared about?"
Mai flopped over onto her back and sighed with drama. "I did something. something I wanted to do, but no one will approve."
"You're pregnant, aren't you?"
"No!"
"Oh. What then?"
"What if I told you that what I did would give you a better chance at getting into the good temples? Do you think you could possibly be mad at me?"
"That depends on what you did, Mai." Her voice was brimming with suspicion. "What is it?"
Mai curled her toes into fists, and closed her eyes.
And she said it.
"I applied for the Spenta Corps."
It felt cleansing. The sound of it was natural, right, proper. It was the truth of her heart, and it gave her courage.
She stole a peak at Oksana.
Visible waves of nausea washed over Oksana's face.
Mai rolled back over and grinned. "That's what I thought."
"Are you insane? I mean, really. actually out of your mind? What are you. why? Why, Mai? What is the point in applying for the Corps when you. I mean, the Corps is for people who can't graduate! Not valedictorians!"
Mai began to feel light inside her body. Oksana's tirade seemed to flow above and beyond her face. She was swimming inside her own skin, watching the streams of energy surging from Oksana's side of the room redden with anger.
"Last year I realized that I was going to graduate with honors. This year, I realized that I was going to set a record, and that I was going to work in any temple I wanted."
"So what's so wrong with that, Mai?"
"What's wrong is that I also came to the realization that I have never made a single decision for myself. my entire life. It's always been decided for me."
Oksana buried her face in her hands. "But the Corps, Mai? I mean, of all things."
Mai sat up and crossed her legs. She stared over at Oksana. She looked like a tight little knot of frustration, and Mai couldn't even figure out why she was so angry.
With a soft tone, she asked, "Do you have any idea why this is upsetting you, Oksana?"
"Well, why shouldn't it?"
"It's not your life. This won't hurt you in any way. In fact, your chances of landing a good temple are better if I'm not on the scene, right?"
"But you shouldn't be throwing your life away like this!"
Mai smiled at Oksana. "But it's my life, not yours. You're so wrapped up in my life, you don't even realize it. Everyone is. it's not just you."
"What are you talking about?"
"Example. Ever since our junior year telepathy course, you've been trying to read me at night when you thought I was asleep."
Oksana blushed, but muttered, "Have not."
Mai squinted and slowed her breathing. She let her eyes drift off of Oksana's shoulder. She found her aura. It was oscillating between red and orange.
"Oksana, center yourself. Real quick. Take a look at your energy."
Oksana folded her arms and gave Mai a tired look. Then she closed her eyes and sucked in deep breaths. Mai kept her focus on Oksana's aura. It steadied, and fell from orange to yellow.
Oksana slowly opened her eyes, shaking her head.
Mai snickered, "You're jealous."
"Everyone's jealous, Mai. How can we not be jealous?"
Mai moved to Oksana's bed and draped her arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Oksana. You were expecting to follow me into the temples, weren't you?"
She said nothing.
"That's part of the reason I have to get away from here. Don't you see? There's no way I'm going to survive this pressure. Not when there's something else out there I really want to do."
Oksana let her face fall, and Mai squeezed her shoulders. Oksana ran her hand along Mai's thigh inquisitively, but Mai was too tired to make love. So, she kissed Oksana's cheek, and whispered, "I'm going to be happy, Oksana." She hopped back over to her own bed and chuckled, "Hey, they might not take me, anyway. Then what will you do?"

The letter was slipped under her dorm room door sometime early the next morning.
When Mai woke up, she felt it lying on the floor. It was dimming the energy of everything else in the room. It felt like someone had put a spotlight on her. Her stomach did flips.
She crawled out slowly from under her sheets, and stared at the envelope like a predator. When she had mustered enough courage, she reached over and picked it up. She kept telling herself that it was too soon after her blood screen, and that this was probably a note from one of the recruiting temples, slipped surreptitiously under her door. But when she saw the stamp on the back of the envelope, she knew it was from the Corps. Their stylized logo stood like a guardian over the back of the envelope.
Then Mai felt a new twinge in her abdomen. This was too quick. Why was it so soon? It had to be some kind of automatic response. She must have failed the blood screen. Maybe a computer processed her blood and mailed out a rejection notice.
But it was hand delivered. Slipped under her door. There was only her name on the front, and the Spenta logo on the back. Someone took pains to ensure this letter was delivered discreetly. Maybe they lost her application. Maybe someone screwed up the blood screen.
The energy in the room dropped out of her sight. Everything dulled back to the insipid colors and shapes of visible spectrum. Mai's nerves were shot, and she had lost all focus.
She thumbed the envelope open, and held her breath.
The note was hand-written in ink. Precise, even, scratchy cursive.
"The Spenta Corps requests an interview with Armaiti Sokolu, thirteen hundred on the first, Café Krasni. If this date is inconvenient, please contact the local recruitment office."
Mai let her hand fall to her lap.
This was it. It was happening.
She reminded herself that she could change her mind if she wanted to.

A thin breeze wafted through Café Krasni, pregnant with the smell of gardenias and perspiration. The noonday sunlight played off of the pale yellow umbrellas as the black wrought iron chairs glistened. The traffic of the low-air hover beltway was thin, and the cars whined by overhead in abrupt flashes of shadow. Three couples huddled over their modest luncheons, whispering and quarreling. A few paces separated one table by the ground-traffic median from the others. The yellow linen on that lone table was bare except for a single glass of iced water. A lemon floated atop the ice. Drops of condensation traced highways through the beads on the glass. One tablet of precise, jagged writing rested beside the glass. Five fingers tapped a wandering rhythm on the tablet.
As Mai rounded the corner of the café, she found that single table, and the woman sitting there. The woman lifted her head as bangs of her green, cropped hair fell aside to reveal eyes of penetrating focus. The woman's face lifted into an earnest grin, and she lifted one of her long fingers to beckon Mai to her table.
Mai stepped cautiously forward, and gripped her notebook tightly.
"Um, my name is Armaiti Sokolu."
The woman held her hand out to the other wrought-iron chair, and with a low, velvety voice, responded, "Yes, Armaiti. I've been expecting you. Please have a seat."
Mai slid into the chair without letting go of her notebook. She kept her eyes on the table and waited for the woman to say something.
"Relax, ok? This is meant to be informal. My name is Ameretat. I am a captain in the Spenta Corps."
Mai looked up and tried to force herself to relax. She would have to perform a meditation trance when she got home from this interview. She looked up at Ameretat's eyes. Her eyes were narrow, and turned up at the ends just a little. They were deep, serene, and analytical. It felt to Mai like this woman's eyes were embracing her entire being, and probing her at the same time.
Mai took in a quick cleansing breath, and forced a grin. "All right. You can call me Mai." She looked the woman over. "So. you're a Spenta?"
She nodded once.
Mai grinned. "I've never met a Spenta before."
Ameretat sat with her hand on her tablet, motionless.
Mai cleared her throat. "How long have you been a Spenta?"
Ameretat's eyebrows drew together a little. "All my life." She picked up her pen and scratched something onto the tablet. "You might have misconceptions about the Spenta Corps. I want to clarify your thinking before we proceed."
Mai shrugged. "Ok."
"First of all, tell me what you think a Spenta is."
Mai's jaw tightened. This was beginning to feel like an exam, and she wasn't ready.
"Well. all I know is from what I see on the televids. The way I understand it, the Spentas keep the peace between planets, help people in trouble, stuff like that."
Ameretat scribbled down something else, then looked up with a smile. "Well, you're not wrong. but you're not exactly right. You see, a person doesn't decide to become a Spenta. You're born a Spenta. It's not a profession. It's a phenotype. One in a million people is born with the ability to extend themselves beyond her own understanding. her own body. look beyond the present. The best way to describe it is an evolutionary step."
Mai felt her heart sink. She set her notebook down on the table. "Oh. I didn't know."
Ameretat continued, "The Corps recruits non-Spentas to act in support functions, usually on planet Ibana. But only natural born Spentas serve aboard the ships."
Mai rubbed her temple. "I was wondering why you wanted an interview so soon after my blood screen." She tried to grin. "You're the cold shower."
An expression of confusion flashed across Ameretat's eyes, then she chuckled, "No. I'm not the cold shower." She wrote something down, her shoulders bouncing with silent giggles. "What do you think the blood screen is for, after all?"
Butterflies danced in Mai's stomach. "I thought it was for. I don't know. Parasites or something. But it isn't. You tested my blood to see if I'm a Spenta, right?"
"Correct."
Mai leaned forward. "And. am I?"
Ameretat looked out from behind her bangs and considered Mai for a second. "To be honest, I haven't screened it yet." She folded the tablet closed and slipped her pen into a pocket on her uniform. "I've reviewed your school records. You're gifted, Mai. There's no question. The blood screen is an indicator, but it can't tell us to one hundred percent certainty whether you belong in the Corps. A person can be a Spenta, and not be called to service. What I'm looking for is whether you can extend yourself beyond."
Mai asked, "How can you tell that?"
"Observation. Usually over a period of time. The standard approach would be to invite you to the Spenta Locus on planet Ibana, where we can observe you in a controlled environment. However." She tucked her bangs behind her ears and lowered her voice. "I'm aware of your situation."
Mai leaned back in her chair. "I know. I can't leave. not without ruining my chances of being a priestess." She took in a deep breath. It felt like she was being pulled off of one cliff to be pushed off of another. "It's a stupid law."
"You Gorodi have always been attached your Father Sun. There's no right or wrong about it. It's the way of your people. But the question you have to ask yourself is, is it Armaiti's way?"
"I don't know."
"At any rate, if I had run your blood screen and came to you and told you that you were a Spenta, I don't believe you could have made a decision to stay. That wouldn't be right. I know it's unfair, but I have to ask you to make a decision without guaranteeing the Corps will take you." Mai stared at Ameretat, searching for an answer in this exotic woman's eyes. She began to relax, and sense her own breath. The light of the sun dimmed, and the sounds of the street muffled. She looked deep into Ameretat's eyes. They were deep emerald green. Quiet, sharp, questioning. Colors began to dance around Ameretat's face as Mai became sensitive to her aura. Mai sucked in a sharp breath. It was a brilliant gold marbled with deep blue. It was commanding and beautiful.
Ameretat pulled her brows together, then looked behind her. "What?"
"I'm sorry. I was watching your aura."
"My aura?"
"Yes. It's beautiful!"
Ameretat cocked her head to the side, and her eyes fell into a lazy smile.
Mai felt suddenly weary. "I have to talk to someone first. before I make my decision."
Ameretat grasped her tablet and stood. She extended a hand across the table. Mai stood and took her hand.
"I'm leaving for Ibana in two days. Is that enough time?"
Mai nodded. "Yes. I'll know by then."
"In that case, meet me here in two days. I will run your blood screen in the meantime. If you decide to stay, I'll destroy the results, and wish you well. If you decide that you're willing to leave Gorod, then I'll let you know what the test results were."
"Ok. Two days. I'll be here."
Ameretat rounded the table and let her hand rest on Mai's shoulder for a second before she glided through the café and onto the median.
Mai grabbed her notebook and reminded herself that she was in control.

Mai always enjoyed taking the upper beltway to her home on the peninsula. It was as close as she ever got to orbit. The shuttle screamed through the thin air of the upper atmosphere, and the sky outside Mai's window deepened into dark hues of cobalt. She rested her forehead against the cold glass of the window and rehearsed her speech. It was a speech she had been tailoring and perfecting for months. ever since she knew she was going to break her father's heart.
The shuttle lurched back into the mid-hover beltway, and the air pressure adjusted in the cabin. Once it punched through a few low clouds, Mai could see distant sunlight dancing off of the ocean that surrounded the peninsula. A cluster of spires towered over the peninsula. It was the parcel of land owned by the Cult of Order and Mystery. Each of the priests and priestesses were given a flat in the spires as part of their vicary. Mai's father did not move into one of the Cult flats until her mother died. The flat was smaller than the one her mother's family had owned. But once the funeral rites were completed, Mai and her father lost their tenant rights, and the family took back the flat.
Mai was nine when they moved into the vicary. She thought about that year. It was hard for them. Lots of changes. It was also the first time Mai heard another person's thoughts. They were her father's. She was pretending to be asleep when he opened her bedroom door. Mai heard his baleful weeping, and wanted to open her eyes. She heard her father repeat, "Don't leave me. Don't leave me." When Mai opened her eyes, she saw her father looking down on her, his face composed, his eyes dry. It was his thoughts she was hearing.
It was a sound that never left her.
The shuttle landed softly on the spire's grid. When she disembarked, sea air caressed her face, and she closed her eyes to embrace it. She felt like this could be the last time she would be at peace. She savored it for a minute, then stepped into the lift that took her into the heart of the spires.
When the door to the flat opened, a thin woman with silver hair greeted her.
"Can I help you?"
Mai studied her with confusion. She wondered if her father didn't move without telling her. No, the lift still recognized her voice print. "I live here."
The woman's face lifted. "Ah, you must be Mai." She stepped aside and bowed slightly. "It's good to meet you, finally. I feel like I know you."
"Who are you?" Mai blushed at the harsh tone she let slip.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Greta. Your father hired me last year as a personal assistant."
Mai weaved past her into the anteroom. "Since when does my father need a personal assistant?"
Greta held out a hand. Mai blushed again and shook it.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting a stranger in the house." She looked over the living room. Her father had redecorated with a southern continental décor. It was uncomfortably alien to her. "When did he redecorate?"
Greta answered, "I had a thing or two to do with that. He gave me a budget, and I just went for it!"
Mai gave her a quick read. "You sure you're not more than just an assistant?"
Greta tucked her head and slid into the kitchen, as Mai grinned behind her.
"Your father's at a merger consecration. He'll be home in an hour or two. Are you hungry? Shall I make you dinner?"
"I'm not hungry, but thank you. Just tired." Mai turned for her bedroom, then paused. "Didn't redecorate my bedroom, did you?"
"No. Wouldn't dream of it. and he wouldn't allow it."
"So, he's told you all about me?"
"Excuse me?"
"My father. You said you feel like you know me, and I can sense that you do."
Greta brushed past her to close a door to what used to be her father's office.
"Sorry. Paperwork in there you shouldn't see."
Mai turned on her and gave her a hard glare. "Why not?"
Greta took a step back. "Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize. I was told your panel review wouldn't be until next week."
"It isn't. oh." She looked at the closed door. "Temple recruitment literature?"
"Applications, letters, gifts. They're keeping me busy."
Mai shook her head and chuckled. "So, you're my agent? Is that it?"
"Your father felt that his temple duties would be compromised if he had to deal with all of ."
"He's right. They would be." She made eye contact with Greta again. This woman was working full-time to put her into the best temple with the best salary. Just another life Mai was about to ruin.
She leaned towards her bedroom, when Greta added, "Let me know if you're staying for dinner, then. I'll have to make a couple phone calls and reschedule a couple interviews." Mai shut the door behind her and collapsed onto her bed, which aside from being perfectly dressed, was just the way she had left it. She dozed off and dreamed of flying.

The sound of the front door woke her up. She shook off her drowsiness just in time for her father to stick his head through the bedroom door.
"Mai! You're early!"
"Hi, dad."
He pushed through the door and took her hands to pull her off the bed. He wrapped her gently with his arms and gave her a squeeze.
"Ah, you break an old man's heart."
She felt a twinge inside. She reminded herself that his mastery of telepathy was solid, and that she would have to control her mind if she wanted to break this to him as rehearsed.
He looked her over. "You're thin. You're not eating."
"I am too."
His grin broke into laughter. "It's been four long years, Mai. It's good to have you home. So, did they finish your reviews early?"
"No. I'm still up next week." She picked through her emotions carefully. "I aced all my courses, though."
"I know. They forwarded me your scores. I'm very proud of you." He hugged her again. "Just home for a visit, then?"
"Well. I need to talk to you." She kept her spirits as high as possible, but her father's eyes fell slightly.
"I know. I sensed it when I came home. And you're afraid. so it probably isn't good, huh?"
She pursed her lips.
"So, let's save it until after dinner."
"I'm not hungry."
"No, but I am! Greta makes a fish stew that could make you cry!"
Mai put her emotions on hold, and followed her father out into the living room. Within the hour, the air of the flat filled with the smell of fish, cream, and bread. Greta served dinner on the terrace. The sun began to set behind the spires, and shadows played across the terrace. Gusts of evening breeze swept across the terrace, heavy with the smell of the ocean.
Her father told her all about the merger consecration, the corporations that were merging, and the embarrassing little secrets of which he had to absolve them. He was at ease. Mai was not. She kept trying to weed her way through his calm to see what he was thinking. Between slurps of soup, she could feel his mind digging into hers, as well. The tug-of-war felt childish and absurd, but putting it off was his idea.
Finally, the bread was eaten, the last of the leftovers was thrown to the gulls, and the sun had set, leaving the three of them sitting in the pool of light from the terrace coach lamp. Mai's father leaned over to Greta and whispered something. She scooted away from the table, gathered their plates, and left the two of them alone.
He gazed over the railing of the terrace. The view wasn't spectacular, being mostly the side of the next spire. But one could see the stars popping into the night sky overhead, and if it was quiet in the beltways above, one could hear the ocean as well.
"So, I have an idea why you're here, Mai."
"Really?"
"At first I thought that you might have gotten yourself in trouble. I was preparing myself for it, but you let your guard slip. just for a second." Still not looking at her, he picked up his glass of water and took a sip. "You've decided against the Cult."
He paused, seemingly to allow for the impact of his words to sink in.

Mai said nothing.
He continued, "I'm actually relieved. I've always supported your freedom to decide for yourself."
Mai ventured, "That's why you hired an agent for me?"
His face did not break expression. "I think that speaks for the fact that I want you to consider all options. I never intended to shoe you into the Cult. There are better temples out there. Better opportunities." He turned to her, with a magnanimous grin. "And you can choose from whichever temple you want. So don't worry about me."
Mai felt his guard drop entirely. He was brimming with affection and self-satisfaction. He was waiting for her gratitude.
Mai's throat tightened, and she concentrated on her breath. She felt him darken.
He muttered, "Or am I wrong?"
She replied, "You're not wrong, but you're not exactly right."
"What do you mean?"
Refusing to let him read her mind, she buckled down, and stared at him rigidly.
"There are opportunities out there, dad. Maybe, opportunities no one else has considered."
He sat still, but his emotions were cascading inside him.
"Go on."
"What if I found out what it is I really wanted to do, and it wasn't in the temples?"
He looked away.
"Dad, I applied for the Spenta Corps. It's. it's what I want to do. I've been thinking about it for a couple years, now." She waited for his reaction. There was none. "I might not be accepted, though. I had an interview yesterday. with one of them. A Spenta. Dad, you should have seen her aura! She was overflowing with energy! Unbelievable!"
"I've never met a Spenta before."
Between each of his words was a thought she couldn't decipher.
"She said she didn't want to tell me if I was eligible until I knew for certain whether I was willing to leave Gorod. If I leave, I can't be a priestess, and there's no guarantee I'll be a Spenta, either. And if I stay, then everything will be the way we planned."
"You mean the way I planned."
Mai didn't respond. She dug around that thought buried in his voice.
Her father stood up and wandered over to the railing. He became a silhouette once he stepped out of the light. Mai squinted into the darkness. Her father's aura was a very dim green. She felt the space between them. He was sending no energy in her direction. He was turning inward.
"Dad?"
Looking down over the railing, he said, "It seems to me as if you've made your decision. What do you want from me?"
Mai stood up and walked halfway across the terrace. "I want you to tell me if I'm being stupid."
He turned to her. "That's a trap, Mai."
She bowed her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way."
She searched his face. It seemed to show his years.
His lips fell back into a smug grin. "This is my fault. I should have seen this." He shook his head and chuckled. "The Cult teaches that life transpires without our permission. I have been preparing men for the unexpected my entire life, and all the time I was setting myself up."
"Nothing is your fault, dad."
She approached him, and he turned a shoulder to her. She reached out to him with her mind. His guard shot up all around him. It was thick and cold, like iron. Mai couldn't get past it. She trembled, and a tear welled up in her eye.
"Dad, what are you thinking?"
With calm, even tones, he replied, "The Spenta was wise."
"Huh?"
"She was unwilling to pursue a course until your mind was settled. Remarkable insight. I am taking her example." He turned back to face her. His face was stony, but his mouth was still grinning. Perfect diplomacy. "You don't need to feel my emotions to make your decision."
"Dad."
"For four years, you've been trained to seek out connections with other people, and allow their souls to determine your course. But now, you have to be honest with yourself. Is joining the corps something you honestly desire, or is it possible that the burden of graduating and joining the temples is scaring you off?"
Mai leaned against the railing and folded her arms. "I hadn't thought of that."
He walked up to her and put his hand on her cheek. "It happened to me, you know. I took a vacation in the south before I stood my review. It's a big jump. school to work. You never feel prepared."
Mai closed her eyes.
All she could see was Ameretat's aura. Her vision was filled with gold and deep blue light. Those dark green eyes, controlled, commanding.
"But I honestly want to go. Now, more than ever. After having met a Spenta in real life." She opened her eyes. "What we do in the temples is helping people. But, I don't know. It's not, like, real problems we're fixing."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, depressed housewives. hypertensive businessmen. married couples with sexual problems. It seems just. petty, I guess. I'm not criticizing you or anyone. It's just me. When I think of what the Spentas do out there, between the planets. it's real work. They really save people. I mean, they make an impact on entire planets! They mediate real wars. They save real lives. And you've never seen one in person, dad. To work with them all the time. it would be my dream. And the possibility that I might actually be one of them."
Her father lifted his head a little.
She paused. "Yes. She said that it's possible I could be a Spenta." She sighed. "So, either I risk never being a priestess on Gorod, or I risk being a Spenta and never leaving Gorod."
He sucked in a controlled breath. "Now I see what you're afraid of."
Mai cocked an eyebrow.
He nodded solemnly. "Regret."
"I just want to know I'm making the right decision. I want to know that." She felt her throat tighten. ".that you can still be proud of me. if I'm not a priestess."
She desperately wanted him to hold her. Not being able to read him was making her panic.
"Just tell me your opinion, dad. Please!"
He took a cleansing breath. "My opinion. I have several." He chuckled. "My opinion is. I'm glad this isn't my decision!"
"Dad, come on!"
"You want to know if I don't want you to leave. well, I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay on Gorod. I want you to stay a day's shuttle away, so I can know you're all right. I want you to stay safe, with your feet on solid ground."
Mai took in a breath, and was about to tell him that she wanted to stay, too. But he continued, "None of that is relevant."
"Yes it is."
He held up a hand. "No. It isn't. because it's just my selfishness. That's all. It's my fear of loneliness. I think you're mature enough to understand what I'm saying."
Mai reached over and took his hand. "I'm not abandoning you, dad." A bolt of light seemed to reach over his head, and Mai grasped it with her psyche. It was that thought she had been chasing all night. the thought between his words. "And neither did mom."
He squeezed her hand. "I know that, Mai." His voice was filling with emotion.
Mai felt his guard melt away. Bolts of searing pain and aching hollowness strobed against her psyche. It pulled tears from her eyes.
He turned for the door and murmured, "My angel, don't let the vanity of a foolish old widower stand in the way of your happiness."
He pulled the door open, and drifted into the flat.
Mai couldn't follow him. His sorrow stung her skin, paralyzing her. She stood in the night air, trying to calm her mind. It was pointless. Her head was spinning with conflict. Mai broke down and wept over the railing of the terrace.
After a while, the door slid open behind her. Mai could feel that it was Greta. Her mind was rife with curiosity and concern. But Greta closed the door again without saying anything, and that was fine with Mai.
Mai was filled with the desire to leave. Her home was suddenly foreign. filled with strangers and strange thoughts and strange décor. Her father had closed himself to her. He had given her his tacit approval, but it hurt more than if he had forbidden her to leave. She was uncomforted, and filled with questions.
But one image persisted in Mai's memory. that shimmering aura surrounding Ameretat. Mai meditated on it, and it calmed her. She wished Ameretat were there. Her company was addictive. She seemed more confident than any single person on Gorod.
Mai stayed on the terrace for hours, until the cold air made her shiver. She turned to the door. All of the lights inside the house were out. Mai slid through the door, and crept down the hallway. Everyone was asleep in the house. Mai could feel Greta's dreaming consciousness inside her father's bedroom. More than just a personal assistant.
She slid into her bedroom, pulled her bag to her closet, and found a few garments she forgot she owned. She filled her bag with clothes, and paused by her bureau. She fingered open her old jewelry box. Lying on top of a tangle of gold necklaces was a tiny amulet of amethyst. It was a gift from her mother. the last birthday gift she received from her mother before she died. It always seemed to give Mai confidence when she was a frightened girl, trying to learn how to live in a new home without her mother. She left it in her jewelry box before she went to the Academy, because she was afraid it would get lost or stolen if she brought it with her. And Mai never needed comfort at school.
Mai slipped the chain around her neck and dropped the amethyst behind her shirt. She grabbed her bag, memorized the way her room looked at that moment, and slid out the door. As she passed her father's bedroom, her throat tightened again, and her eyes stung. She kept moving. The front door opened and closed without much noise, and Mai was gone.

The proprietor of Café Krasni drew the shades to the storefront open, and gawked at Mai, who was already sitting at that lone wrought-iron table. He charged the coffee maker and threw a towel over his arm. Striding into the chilly sunlight of the morning, he couldn't fight back a grin.
"Good morning, miss. Getting an early start, are we?"
Mai looked up at him. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were bloodshot. She looked like she had been up all night. Indeed, she had.
The grin fell from the proprietor's face. "Um, can I get you some coffee?"
She nodded, and he retreated into the store.
Mai shivered in the chilly air, clutching her bag in her lap. The sunlight was harsh to her eyes, and she reached up to crank open the umbrella.
Her coffee was warm and earthy. She felt it trace a path down to her stomach. She grasped the cup with both hands and stared into the black liquid. It was dark, mysterious, unrevealing. Just like her future.
Once the coffee began to wake her up, she unbuckled her bag and pulled out a hairbrush. She pulled the brush through her hair until it could flow through it like water. She dug into her scalp with the brush, massaging her head. When she looked over to the café, she found the proprietor staring at her through the window. He ducked his head back and disappeared.
With a grin, Mai stuck the brush back in her bag. He was right. It was a good morning. Father Sun was filling the weave of the umbrella with golden glow. The air was clean. The morning traffic on the beltways was still an hour away. She had no idea when Ameretat was going to show up, but she felt like she could sit in that chair all day, if she had to.
A couple random pedestrians stopped by the café for a cup to walk with. No one was taking a table. The proprietor stopped by her table after an hour to see if she wanted anything else. She declined and paid him for the coffee. Instead of leaving, he lingered.
"Waiting for someone, are you?"
"Yes I am."
He snorted. "Yeah, me too. I've been waiting for Mrs. Right to come along so I can sell this dump and move as far away as I can."
Mai chuckled. "You're not Gorodi, are you?"
He shook his head. "No. How about you?"
She squinted up at sunlight streaming through the weave of the umbrella. "Not anymore." With a giggle, she added, "Mrs. Right will come along."
With a confused expression, he returned to the store.
Mai sat in the shade of the umbrella, filled with the moment.
Time slipped away. People came and went. The morning traffic roared by overhead, and began to fill the air with the smell of exhaust.
Mai felt a hand on her shoulder.
She looked up. Ameretat's face was just as serene and pleasant as she remembered it.
"Good morning, Mai."
"Good morning."
Ameretat sat across from her, as if their interview had suddenly resumed. She laid an envelope on the table.
"How are you feeling?"
Mai shrugged. "Homeless."
Ameretat cocked her head to the side. "So, you've come to a decision?"
Mai nodded sleepily.
"So, Armaiti Sokolu, are you willing to sabotage your career for a chance to join the corps?"
"Sabotage?" She shook her head. "You make it sound like a mistake."
"Do you think it is?"
Mai lifted a finger. "I can't tell you that until I do it, can I? But I can tell you that I'm not going to die regretting a life I never lived."
Ameretat leaned back in her chair, her eyes narrow.
"Well put. So, shall I process your application?"
Mai held her breath, then nodded.
Ameretat's hand fell to the envelope. She pushed it forward. "Your blood test results."
Mai stared at the envelope, then had a thought.
"You said you want to see a recruit extend herself, right?"
Ameretat cocked her head again. "Ok?"
"Well, let's see."
Mai closed her eyes, and concentrated on her breathing. She heard her pulse loud in her ears. Her nose became sensitive to the smells of the pastries in the café. She had not been this focused for weeks!
When she opened her eyes, Ameretat was bathed in gold and blue light.

"I don't need to open the envelope."
"Really?"
She watched the energies leaving Ameretat's head. She latched onto one, and followed it into her consciousness. She felt her emotions. Cool, even. Perfect.
She found the logic. The expectations. The hopes. The fears.
"Whatever it was. that you were looking for. in my blood." Mai felt the smile on her face before the thought registered. "You found it." She laughed. "Blood screen was positive. Right?"
Ameretat's lips widened into a graceful smile. She clapped twice. "You are gifted. But."
"What?"
"Well, you're not wrong. But you're not exactly right."
Mai saw a mirthful trail of light dance across Ameretat's face.
She reached for the envelope, and thumbed it open. She pulled out and unfolded the paper inside.
The completely blank sheet of paper.
Mai looked up at Ameretat with a question all over her face.
Ameretat nodded to her. "I told you, my test is observation. I know a Spenta when I see one."
Mai sat in silence for a moment. She could feel a change inside her. It was a realization. A realization that she was, in fact, leaving Gorod. and her life would never be the same.
The proprietor of the café wandered back to the table, and offered Ameretat some coffee. She summarily declined.
Before he turned back to the store, he winked at Mai.
"Mrs. Right?"
Mai could feel a blush on her cheeks.
And she was perfectly captured in that moment.