DUCK!

The warning from my mate rang though the space that held me. I evaded the missile, [Aha, another one of the memory spikes.] Not exactly something you expect to do in astral form, unless you have been in psychic combat, but there are some zingers flying about here.

[Why is she so angry with you about getting her out of Avaria? I thought the situation would have caused her to die if she stayed.] The tones of the falcon’s cry were overlaid with confusion.

I watched for the next flare as I responded, [She would have died, but I took that choice from her.] There! That was where the sphere generating her anger was only partially trapped. Mapping out where she was trapped and where she was not in the clockwork overlay Aleister had created provided some insight into his tactics. Her anger could give her strength, but it could also cause her to make mistakes in her rage.

The time taken to map out the cogs and gears overlaid by the old upstart was also critical to our next steps. We needed to find the bits of self that made Qlippothic create the CVFD, the spark that made Qli:2 offer herself as a sacrifice and that made it possible for Gematria to recognize the addiction to Bloodwine as detrimental. Freeing those bits, and giving control back to her would be necessary before releasing the power her ancestry gave her.

Birdie’s comment echoed hollowly, [That does not sound like you – you might convince someone of the error of their ways, and manipulating groups to harmony, sure. But without permission?]

I needed an energy boost to polish the gear-teeth out of her sense of community, and let it spin freely… [What, you mean like the five-hour bath?] Nothing wrong with my peregrine lass’s memory, if the surge that followed was any indication.

[You come back here and say that, and I’ll show you manipulation.] I had no idea that hunting birds could purr.

I chuckled, and focused the energy into the trapped bit. The glow gave me enough warning to step back and release. Her next question was unexpected. [Why did you not let her die if that was what she wanted?]

I could not sidestep a direct question from my mate. [I saw the Tigris run black from ink, and exhausted my resources to salvage what I could from the university. I could not prevent the scourging of holy ones for holding the “wrong” knowledge. It is not in me to let more information be lost, and in that, I circumvented the will of a sentient being. Because of my hubris, I delivered her into the hands of one who did not care for what knowledge she held, only what she could do for him.] I stilled, and finally admitted, [I have done her a grievous injury, and I must do what I can to set things right.]

A slight glow near me caught my attention, and I focused on the sphere squeezed into a timing cam. [Even if it means we have to find a way for her to feed when this is over. If it is freely given, I hope she will take the chance.]