A Study of Fiber and Demons Read online

Before Sylvestra could respond to Jack's flattery, the doors to the alcove opened, and a small herd of administrators in dark blue university uniforms strode out, chattering absently to each other. Jack grabbed Alim's arm and sidestepped them both to stand closer to the wall, allowing the distracted administrators to stampede through the hall.

  When the path was cleared, and with the Directors' Board presumably still waiting inside, Jack gestured for Alim to enter first. A polite, gentlemanly motion, but Liam stood and strode in before Alim could take a step, Sylvestra gliding in on his heels. Jack watched them and their petty posturing before turning back and shrugging sheepishly at Alim.

  Well, for the best, perhaps, to not have the Great Embarrassment of the University greet the board first.

  *~*~*

  The conference had been utterly dry, and four days later, Alim was happy to have it as an unremarkable thing of the past. Especially considering that the board had not insisted on him, Sylvestra, Liam, and Jack drafting project outlines or giving presentations on hypotheses or projected results. Rather, they had an entire roadmap drawn up for them—convenient, as Alim never cared for the dull prep work part of research, but it was suspicious. The Directors' Board didn't plan research projects, and that they had made an exception in this case told Alim that they wanted specific results.

  But he was the corrupt one.

  "What are you doing? The assistants are taking care of that."

  "I'd rather nothing get misplaced."

  "Don't be a brute."

  Alim lounged on a bench at the Kestler Village tram station as he pondered his suspicions. Liam and Sylvestra were near the cargo car, where station attendants loaded luggage onto the technomagic tram. Liam had two of his own suitcases tucked under one arm, apparently trying to pack them himself. Alim wasn't sure if there was something in them that Liam didn't want others seeing, or if he was just one of those embarrassingly independent types.

  Jack was late, probably distracted by penning notes on the project.

  Of all of them, he had been most taken with the board's goal: To discover a way to control production of demonweave.

  An ambitious project, to be sure, and it was no wonder they had selected the four participants that they had. Jack with his understanding of demon history and culture; Sylvestra as a general authority on Demon Arts; Liam as the supposed genius behind the discovery of the demon silk sac that produced the fiber and that demonweave carried its creator's genetic code; and Alim as… someone in contact with scavengers.

  Given the nature of the project and the board's less-than-scholarly approach to it, Alim wondered, too, if it wasn't his history with corruption that endeared him to them as a candidate. Ambition—without the barrier of moral handwringing—might have been precisely what they were looking for, as Alim was struggling to think of an ethical manner in which to extract organic material from its sentient creator.

  He was still lost in his head when Sylvestra approached, dressed in a practical travel coat and trousers that matched the dark blue color scheme of the university uniforms. "That man is unbearable."

  As much as he appreciated the insult to Liam, he was not keen on bonding with Sylvestra. "You've so much to say about him. I'm almost offended that you don't think as much of me."

  "Oh, you're obnoxious, certainly, but not intolerably so." She gestured at an open space on the bench next to him. "May I?"

  Wishing Jack would hurry up and join them, Alim relented to Sylvestra's request, scooting aside to make room for her. As she sat, her lips pressed into a thoughtful line. It was clear she had similar concerns as he did, even before she spoke.

  "At the risk of stating the obvious, the university is hoping to profit off of this. But demonweave is not something that has ever been systematically harvested, only ever collected as it's found, like pearls."

  "They've started harvesting pearls, you know. Breed clams specifically for that." When she tossed a flat glare his way, he realized that was her very point. "Might there be some other way to control demonweave production other than ranching the creatures like cattle? Might the sacs not still produce demonweave if removed from the demon?"

  "They might, but that would still require harvesting an internal organ from a sentient being." Her voice turned hollow, and Alim wondered where she had gotten the materials to make her big find on the existence of the demon sacs. Presumably she had studied a demon cadaver, but how had she obtained it? Perhaps Liam, in sweeping up her work from under her, had some inkling of what she had been poking around with.

  Alim himself had only found out the truth of Liam's research after snooping through his office in an attempt to find some outlet for revenge, and he had never exposed Liam's plagiarism for hopes that he could make some use of it. If Alim were to upend Liam's findings, it might have set the whole field of demonweave research back, which in turn would have hindered Alim's attempts to rebuild his career. No, Alim had needed other dirt on Liam, something unrelated to demonweave, but he had yet to find it.

  As for Sylvestra, he had very little on her secrets. Despised her though he did, being singularly focused on extracting revenge from Liam had rather drained his energy for any desire of revenge against her. Avoidance had worked fine for him the past few years, but it appeared that was no longer an option.

  "Well, I'm sure the board is hopeful that we can find a less unsavory means of producing demonweave," Alim said.

  "That may be what they're hoping, but what they're insisting is that we find a means. I am hopeful that Jack's background in demon history may allow us some kind of negotiation with the demons—they may know something that we don't."

  Alim thought it was more likely that demons would kill them, should they get so far as to meet any face-to-face. Human and demon societies had not been in significant contact with one another for seven-hundred years, and Alim was doubtful that relations between the two species would improve if the four of them strolled in asking for a donation of internal organs. Before he could piece that thought into the form of a clever quip, though, Jack hurried down the station stairs to join them at the platform.

  "So sorry! Caught up in preparations." Jack grinned through his panting as he came to stop beside them, face flushed and hair windswept. Although his narrow form sagged under the heavy bag strapped to his chest, he looked positively perky.

  Alim stood. "Can I help you with that?"

  "Oh, no. I'll hand it off to the attendants and we can be merrily on our way." Alim had been too stricken by Jack's charming, chipper attitude to notice Liam join them, as well, marching right up behind Jack and pulling the bag off his back without asking. Jack squeaked in alarm as Liam wrestled the pack away from him, and he ran a hand through his hair as Liam then headed back toward the luggage car with it. "Ah, or that works. Shall we find our seats? I'm sure Master Steppard will catch up with us shortly."

  Alim hoped the tram would take off without Liam, but of course he wasn't going to say that to Jack, who was amicable and good-natured to the point of innocent. Had Alim ever been that spirited in his academic career? Even as a student he had been more jaded than Jack, and that had certainly not improved as he worked at the university. He envied Jack in that. With luck, that attitude would be infectious enough to get Alim through the coming project.

  Jack led the way onboard and selected a block of seats a row away from the nearest other passengers, all of whom appeared to be chattering students likely heading down to the lowlands or even further beyond the Forezet region to visit family. Jack and Sylvestra took the window seats, and Alim decided to sit next to Sylvestra, so as not to seem overly eager for Jack's attention—and to get a better view. Jack did not seem as invested in returning coy glances to Alim as he pulled a small notebook from his inner jacket pocket and began studying it.

  "First to Freydir, and then to the Crater Coast…"

  "Yes, where my scavengers found the demonweave sample," Alim said. The board had reviewed their travel plans in the conference, naturally, and
Jack had had the foresight to write them down. Alim only spoke up to get his attention.

  Jack looked up and offered a small smile. "Yes, where we will follow the trail they found, assuming it leads to a demon sac at the end."

  "Concerning, if it's still inside the demon," Sylvestra said, and a little worm of dread crept under Alim's skin. He would have joked that a disembodied silk sac would have been more upsetting, but he wasn't entirely sure it would be.

  "We may want to devise a contingency plan," Liam said as he rejoined them, dropping heavily in the seat next to Jack, "in case we encounter any hostility during our field work."

  Jack's mouth fell aghast at the implication that their research might put them in physical danger—the poor, tender historian—but Sylvestra waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, of course. That's why I packed my broadsword." Jack's shock turned to her, and she arched an eyebrow. "Dear, that was a joke. We're academics, not mercenary scavengers like Alim's friends."

  "They were freelancers, not friends," Alim said. "And I'm sure Master Steppard will keep us safe enough. Academic or no, his arms look strapping enough to lift an ox over his head."

  Indeed, Liam was so hulking that he looked uncomfortable as he hunched in the narrow tram seat. "Was that meant to be demeaning?"

  Alim bristled. "Did it not sound demeaning?"

  "In tone, it did. The content was rather flattering, however." Smug rat. Alim decided to bite his tongue, graciously allowing Liam the last word rather than make an ass of himself in front of Jack.

  Sylvestra's intervention was not much appreciated, either. "Do you know what's cute?" She pointed back-and-forth between Alim and Liam. "Your first names are anagrams of one another."

  Jack's shock from the earlier conversation faded into pleased curiosity as he began ticking the letters off on his fingers. "A-I-L-M—Oh, she's right!"

  It took all of Alim's willpower not to hiss at the observation, but he couldn't quite separate his teeth as he replied, "Isn't that precious?"

  "Darling," Liam agreed, and in that moment Alim wasn't sure which of his two rivals irritated him the most. It would be a long ride to Freydir, and the tram did not depart until a few minutes into the tense silence that followed.

  While Sylvestra took to gazing out the window at the craggy, pale cliff sides that went blurring by, and Liam sat hunched and staring at his own folded hands, Jack made an attempt to soothe the tension. "We were discussing our travel plans just before you joined us, Master Steppard. We'll be meeting Master Azura's associates on the Crater Coast, after the tram drops us off at Freydir."

  Liam didn't look up, but Alim noticed a slight shiver shake his large body. "Never did care for the coast."

  "Oh, I love Freydir," Sylvestra said, speaking with the sort of smarm to her voice that people only used when they were trying to impress at social events they didn't want to attend. "A lovely place to vacation in the spring. There's a beach house on the south side of town that I've rented a number of times—it has a perfect view of the ocean."

  Liam cringed, still staring unblinking at his hands.

  Sylvestra dropped the pretense. "You could at least pretend to be professional during this whole ordeal. Our careers hinge on delivering to the board with this project, but none of us wants to be here."

  Jack blinked, looking almost hurt. "I do. I adore field work—I hardly get the chance as a historian. The three of you are more focused on the harder sciences, though, so I'm sure you have more opportunity—"

  "Oh, quit playing the mediator." Alim might have ordinarily wanted to jump to Jack's defense, but the bite in Sylvestra's voice left him too wary to even consider it. "I don't doubt you're only here because Unteng considers you his current rising star—wants to give you an 'adventure' that you can write an action-packed report on. And Liam wouldn't know field work if it squirmed its way up his ass."

  Alim was too stunned to snicker at her remark, given how close it was to outright accusing Liam of his past crimes toward her. As best Alim knew, she had never raised an open accusation against him—or, if she had, it had not gotten far before being dismissed. If she were to bring that to the surface now, it could make the entire trip considerably more awkward.

  Jack had closed his little planner, tapping its cover as agitation creased his brow. He said nothing, and after a moment of tense silence, Sylvestra sat up straighter with a blush across her cheeks. "I… apologize for the outburst. My frustration is more at the board than you, Jack. I did not mean to imply that you have not worked as hard as any of us to earn this assignment."

  "Quite right," Alim said, proud of himself for being on significantly better behavior than Sylvestra or Liam so far. "We all have our strengths and areas of expertise on the topic of demonweave, and we will need to rely on each other in order to come up with any findings that don't result in the board tossing all of our asses out in the cold." A bitter thought, though he had less to lose than the other three. Sharing their names on a project with him would tarnish their academic reputations as it was, unless they made any truly spectacular discoveries.

  Liam's eyes—dark gray and hard like iron—turned on him. "Yes, you currently have another ongoing experiment with demonweave, don't you? Perhaps enlightening us on the details of that can give us some sense of what to expect with this endeavor."

  Sylvestra began tapping on her knee in a manner similar to Jack's twitch, although hers read more like an attempt to communicate through code. Was she trying to warn Alim against saying anything, lest Liam walk off with his work, too?

  He and Farrah had made no progress, although they both still wore the bracelets to see if anything might come of them. Alim figured he could wait until his return home before giving up on hopes of attuning them. He didn't want to say too much to Liam. Plagiarist though he was, Liam was as sharp as any researcher needed to be in order to navigate university politics. He could likely expand rapidly on any findings Alim might mention even casually and take off with all the credit, yet again leaving Alim's career in embarrassing shambles.

  But he couldn't say nothing when put on the spot like that, especially not with Jack's warm eyes watching him expectantly, as well.

  "My sister and I are experimenting to find as of yet untapped practical uses for demonweave. Currently, we are testing if it can amplify the natural mental capabilities of the human brain so much that it allows for telepathic communication. I was inspired to test for this quality by my sister's seemingly innate sense to always know when I'm up to mischief, allowing her to swoop in just in time to watch me make an ass of myself."

  Alim included the joke for Jack's sake, but it was Liam who smirked at it. Just slightly, just on one side of the mouth, but it surprised Alim all the same to think that this bore had any sense of humor. Or maybe it was the satisfaction of obtaining even that much information on Alim's personal project. Either way, it made Alim uneasy, and he glanced toward Sylvestra to break eye contact with Liam. She returned the gaze, watching him uncertainly. Her wariness seemed uncalled for, but Alim was distracted by the sight out the window behind her.

  "Oh, would you look at that!" His companions turned to share in the sight. The tram was beyond the craggy hills and coming into the valley floor. Here, trees lined either side of the tram's tracks, their branches full and sagging with the weight of nearly-white pink blossoms. The draping branches whipped and danced in time with the wind from the speeding tram, creating a dense curtain of swaying pink and white, the colors shifting and playing off one another to give the illusion of glittering.

  "Lovely, indeed," Sylvestra said.

  Liam gestured to the window, his smirk not quite gone. "You see? Far better than the ocean. Why leave the mountains for anything?"

  Jack's doe eyes widened, eclipsing Sylvestra's or Liam's pleasure at the sight. "Absolutely stunning! I must go out to the balcony for a better look." He hopped to his feet but hesitated, glancing at his companions. Perhaps after Sylvestra's admonishment, he wasn't so eager to play the peacekeeper of
the group, but after a brief stall, he asked, "Would anyone care to join me?"

  Sylvestra and Liam were blessedly silent. Alim imagined Sylvestra was too embarrassed from her outburst to accept the invitation even as a gesture of goodwill. Alim waited a few breaths to make sure neither intended to move from their seats before standing. "I would welcome the chance to keep my legs limber. We've got several more hours until Freydir, after all."

  He wasn't lying, relishing in the stretch of his muscles and the relief at being away from Liam and Sylvestra as he followed Jack down the tram car to the deck. He expected to mostly get a view of the connecting car from the deck more than the forest's branches, but the whirring of fresh air past his ears and the faint lilac scent from the blossoms did soothe his ever-tightening nerves.

  "This project hasn't gotten off to the most spectacular start, has it?" Jack examined the pretty trees as they blurred by, but his closed-mouth smile was strained. "Professor Unteng had his doubts about putting you and Researcher Steppard on assignment together, but I don't think either of us expected things to be so tense with Researcher Geruz."

  Alim sympathized with Jack's worry, but not so much that he was going to say anything nice about the other two in an attempt to console him. "I did. She warned me that we would be working with Liam beforehand. And I made my feelings about working with her clear. She said she wanted civility, but clearly that's asking more of us than we can manage."

  "I've heard of your contention with Researcher Steppard, but I didn't consider that you might have a history with Researcher Geruz, too."

  Alim barked a laugh, abruptly nervous about the topic. "You talk as though I'm some bitter ex-paramour of theirs." He then cleared his throat, trying to tamper down his own jitters. "Ah, that sounded defensive, didn't it? I assure you, my resentment is purely professional."

  Jack's tense smile had vanished at some unnoticed point in their conversation, replaced with a slack expression touched only by warm concern in his eyes. "I don't mean to drag out uncomfortable topics for you. We could talk more about you and your sister's experiment, if you like." Tense delight squeezed at Alim's heart as Jack reached out to take his arm, tracing the demonweave bracelet with his fingertips, brushing against the tender skin along Alim's inner wrist.