Angels and monsters.  A nightmare and a terrible spell.  Festivals and missing persons.  And that funny feeling never went away, not so long as she was listening to Ellard speak.  The knot in her stomach had unwound to a degree, but that only made space for butterflies as she sincerely listened to the boy's words.  Anni hadn't seen very much of the town--no; she had avoided looking at the town,so she never saw how the people acted.  Some of what was said she simply didn't understand.

[color=81FFF0]"It doesn't make sense,"[/color] Kate voiced from beside her.  [color=81FFF0]"Did the spell affect him or didn't it?"[/color]

[color=ff4500]"What?"[/color] Anni asked, startled.

[color=81FFF0]"He said the spell changed him, too, but he isn't acting like the others."[/color]  Kate's face creased in a deep frown.

[color=ff4500]"Kate, you shouldn't-"[/color] Anni began, but she cut her reprimand short when Mr. Bert dropped within earshot.

‘[color=eee0e5][i]Does that boy think with only his testes?[/i][/color]’ Mr. Bertran thought dryly as his hand slapped the center of his own forehead. The winged Ascot had just announced his ideas to the entire group, including Ellard. Whatever magics the Magician was using to control minds, or to bend the earth into sentient beings, or to hold significance to both Three and the ghost girl could surely be used to spy on their party. Even if it had been a good idea to attack their assigned mentor, they had lost the element of surprise. 

‘[color=eee0e5][i]Still, in all probability… It wasn’t [/i]too[i] great a misstep. The ghost girl has spent too much of her time and resources to host this expedition into Irriss. If she simply wanted subservient soldiers she could have easily made them from the village-folk.[/i][/color] Underneath the veil of his palm, Zino smiled. “[color=eee0e5]Sorry, Miss Three. I shouldn’t have doubted you.[/color]” His mind struggled to focus on the moment they had shared just before he entered Irriss, but it eluded him like the details of a dream upon waking. He thought about the way her slim hand felt in his, the childish way she tilted her head, and that toothy grin. ‘[color=eee0e5][i]Yes, of course she’s someone I can trust.[/i][/color]”

Zino pulled his hands away from his face, the conversation of the girls catching his attention. He had been trying to stay away from the local boy, but the snippets of conversation he did catch seemed to contradict each other. ‘[color=eee0e5][i]Either this Ellard child possesses some sort of strange and unlikely immunity to the Magician’s magic, or the spell has affected him…[/i][/color]’ Youth were so often overlooked by adults and trusted by one another; perhaps the pair could offer him a different kind of insight that the mechanical man lacked. They were certainly quick-witted and observant. 

“[color=eee0e5]Shouldn’t what, Miss Anni?[/color]” The agent questioned. He gave his best attempt at a warm smile. It probably missed the mark, but the effort was there.

Anni looked up, a little embarrassed.  Nevertheless, she met his gaze and firmly declared, [color=ff4500]”I don’t think it’s right to doubt someone when they haven’t done anything wrong.  Not that boy, and not the Magician either.  And-”[/color] Anni’s voice dwindled to barely a murmur. [color=ff4500]”And not the Ghost Girl.”[/color]

Zino nodded slowly. This was an innocence he had not encountered for a long time. His eyes shifted uncomfortably away from Anni to an older girl named Kate—based on Anni’s interjection—and back again. “[color=eee0e5]Ellard and the Magician can’t [i]both[/i] be trusted. Our information about the Magician doesn’t match what was said by the boy…[/color]” The man slowed his gait to walk alongside them. Bertran pushed the glasses on his nose higher with two leather-bound fingers. 

“[color=eee0e5]I don’t know anything about Ellard, but it is my opinion that actions speak louder than words. So far, Ghost Girl has done exactly as she promised you. She brought you to Irriss, she granted you a mask—which we know for a fact have powers.[/color]” He tried to sound reassuring, but he knew his voice was far too cold for that. “[color=eee0e5]If she is known for offering this choice on the tracks, too, she couldn’t be responsible for my [i]murder[/i] either. It fails to match her modus operandi.[/color]”

‘[color=eee0e5][i]In fact, this whole mind-control business is decidedly not like her. Even if she is less than wholesome, she always granted her victims the choice…[/i][/color]’ His brow knitted wrinkles into the porcelain skin of his forehead. Anxiety stewed in his gut.

[color=ff4500]”Can you tell me about that?”[/color] Anni exclaimed.  She put a hand over her mouth, surprised with the volume of her sudden outburst.  [color=ff4500]”I mean, how did you die?  And… And before that, were you hearing her call, too?”[/color] she asked again, quieter this time.

“[color=eee0e5]Huh?[/color]” Zino blinked, taken aback by her straightforwardness. He [i]had[/i] asked the same question to the group earlier. It was only fair that he answered—and it took mutual trust to make friendships work. He found his arms wrapped around himself again. “[color=eee0e5]O-oh, right… I didn’t hear any clarion call, if that’s what you mean… I was tracking classified documentation that had been maliciously misplaced. It was relocated to a trash furnace and… I was locked inside.[/color]” His throat grew tight as he spoke, and he could feel the words start to hitch in his mouth. “[color=eee0e5]Burned alive,[/color]” he swallowed, then added “[color=eee0e5]In a trash fire.[/color]”

A shudder raced down Anni’s spine.  She reached forward and placed a hand on Zino’s crossed arms.  [color=ff4500]”I’m sorry,”[/color] was all she could say.  [color=ff4500]”I guess, by comparison, being killed by a train was merciful.  That’s why I wanted to know about-”[/color]  Again, Anni cut off her own words as her thoughts swam faster than she could organize, let alone express.

Kate snorted.  [color=81fff0]”This is insane.  We’re talking about how we died?”[/color]

[color=ff4500]”No.  Or, yes.”[/color]  Anni squinched her eyes shut as she sought after words capable of conveying her mind.  [color=ff4500]”Mr. Bert, you said ‘classified documentation?’  About the deaths on C-route?  I wasn’t just meaning the tangible call--for me, that was the dreams that started a few weeks ago.  Even before that, I was… I was drawn to the rumors of the Ghost Girl.  I listened to every story.  So when she finally… summoned us, I was ready to go.  I wanted to be here.

“I was only wondering if maybe you hadn’t heard that call as loudly.  And…”[/color]  Here was what Anni was almost frightened to voice, but she steeled her nerve as she spoke.  She was among friends here.  [color=ff4500]“And I wonder if I hadn’t been listening, if I would have died somewhere else anyway.  She warned us that some things are inevitable; maybe bringing us to the train was so we wouldn’t suffer as much on the way.”[/color]

Kate’s mouth hung wide.  She was speechless.  How many miles had Anni walked with that bottled up inside?

Bertran sighed heavily, unfolding his arms and shoving his hands into his pockets. He had underestimated just how smart Anni was. ‘[color=eee0e5][i]Perhaps this [/i]was[i] Ghost Girl’s means of contacting me—she made sure I saw those documents. ...What a puppetmaster.[/i][/color]’ Zino closed his eyes, painting a stern expression across his features. “[color=eee0e5]Perhaps… The more I think about it, the more it seems like the documents I read were somehow deeply related. They were all destroyed in the fire, though.[/color]” Even if he was no longer bound by an oath made in life, Zino felt it would be a breach of contract to reveal the secrets of his agency.

[color=81fff0]”Wait, Anni!  You can’t really think-!  There’s no way you would have died!”[/color]

[color=ff4500]”I don’t know,”[/color] Anni admitted with a shake of her head.  [color=ff4500]”I just mean that, whatever we will be asked to do, I think the Ghost Girl has done this much for us.  So please, don’t doubt.  And,”[/color] Anni added, casting her eyes toward Ascot as he jumped between persons, [color=ff4500]“don’t fight.”[/color]