Lillene

Sorry to be late again. I have nothing to blame other than being a total flake today. I was reminded about it, even, and forgot again!

Enjoy!

“You really mean that?” Kaasi frowned. She seemed to have made a connection that Death didn’t quite understand. Or maybe she was reacting to the implication that Death wanted to help her friend? Death couldn’t be sure which.

Death nodded decisively, cutting off whatever response Serenity would have had. “I do. You’re my friend, I want to help you. If you don’t like your Path, we should fix that. If you do like your Path but don’t like who you work for, we should fix that instead. I’m pretty sure I know people you could work for that you would like.”

Kaasi slumped back in her seat. Death noticed that her hands gripped each other; the knuckles on her right hand were turning white as she squeezed the fingers of her left hand. “And will the offer still be there when you know I have killed people?”

Death shrugged. “They must have deserved it. I have killed people as well; Xanthe said that I should. She did not like being abducted.” Death was proud that she’d remembered to use the name Human was using on Earth. It was all too easy to forget things like that.

“Wait, you killed them?” Kaasi sounded shocked. “I thought Xanthe Crystal did that. How?”

Death shrugged. There wasn’t a good explanation other than admitting that she was Death and that was too long an explanation for right now. “I’m not Tier Three. I’m not even close to Tier Three. I’ll tell you later; it’s a long explanation. Well, making it make sense won’t be fast. Not something to talk about here.”

Kaasi blinked twice. “If you’re not Tier Three, why did the ogre hurt you? It didn’t hit a shield.”

That wasn’t the question Death expected. It also wasn’t one that was easy to answer. 

The actual answer was that she’d shifted Serenity’s shape to be more Earth-human when she made Amaia Black. Since her primary examples were all lower Tier, that meant she’d changed her body to be lower Tier as well. She was glad she had, too; it was necessary if she wanted to blend in. So maybe it wasn’t that hard to answer after all. “I can shapeshift, some. My human form … I designed it to fit in on Earth. Which means lower Tier. Which also means you’re right and I should wear armor.”

Kaasi rubbed her forehead. “I don’t even know what to think now.”

“Then don’t. We can talk about it more later.” Death pushed a question to Serenity as she waited to see how Kaasi would take that reassurance: what was he thinking?

Serenity’s answer was unexpected but easy enough: offer her a job. Serenity trusted Death and Death trusted Kaasi; that was good enough. Serenity didn’t mind the presence of a spy, either, though he’d want to have a long conversation with her about what information she could and couldn’t sell. He seemed to think that it was highly unlikely she actually wanted to sell any information he cared about.

Beyond that, he liked the idea of having an experienced spy working for him. Death got the impression that he didn’t expect to have her assassinate anyone and wouldn’t be upset if she decided to stop spying, either. There was an undertone that made Death wonder if he was offering more because he cared about Death and wanted to help her friend than because he wanted a spy.

On second thought, that was definitely why Serenity was offering. 

At the same time, he seemed to think that anyone who could reach Tier Five was likely to be good to have around as long as they were willing to work with others. He wanted to assign Kaasi to work with Death and would happily let Death choose what she did. Death was pretty certain that his choices didn’t seem to match with the movies she’d seen, but she had to admit that Serenity was generally very successful. He achieved his goals.

He was also her guide to behaving like a person. She’d decided to start with humans, since he’d started as a human, but she really should trust him more than the movies.

Kaasi was already out of the car while Death wrapped up her conversation with Serenity. Before he completely pulled his attention away from the situation, he quietly added Kaasi to the list of people allowed to use Earth’s portals even though she wasn’t a native and didn’t belong to a group that established a trade deal with the planet before their invasion portal dissipated. She now had the same status as the Kyrikas.

Serenity expected Death to handle Kaasi, but he didn’t specify what that meant. Death suspected Serenity didn’t really know either.

Death was pleased by the fact that Kaasi was still standing next to the car; she could easily have left. Death wasn’t sure if she’d have tried to stop her again or not. Probably not; if Kaasi left now, it was a sign that she needed to think.

Death slipped out of the car and locked it. It wouldn’t go anywhere for anyone other than Death, Tek made sure of that, but she also stressed the need to lock the car. Death didn't quite get it but there were a lot of things she didn’t quite get.

“Do you want to talk more about your Path or do you want to talk about armor?” Death wasn’t sure which way to move forward now. All she could do was lay the groundwork. 

“Armor,” Kaasi said decisively. “We can talk about Paths some other time; I want you in armor before the next time we delve.”

Death grinned at that. She felt like she’d crossed a minefield successfully; Kaasi was going to delve with her again!

“I’m not sure where to get armor for you. There’s a market on Myrta that I really like, but neither of us can go offworld and return. Unless you’re interested in settling somewhere else?” Kaasi sounded almost hopeful. “Otherwise, we probably need to talk to one of the Kyrikas or get our hands on some armor made by the Deskin or the Koyt. I know those two groups make weapons, but I’m not sure about armor.”

Death tilted her head. “I know the Kyrikas, they were invited to settle on Earth.” Death remembered that clearly; Katya Kyrika met Serenity on Tzintkra and ended up becoming enough of an ally that Serenity was happy to help her family of crafters move to Earth. “I don’t know the Deskin or the Koyt?”

Kaasi shrugged. “I’ve tried to keep up with the invasion portals that were closed by agreement rather than force; they’re likely to be important. The Traa were first, I think they’re the best known?”

Death nodded. She knew of the Traa; Serenity had found the gecko-like beastmasters in Texas.

“Well, there are at least a dozen other groups like that, probably more. Some moved to Earth and closed their portals the way the Traa and the Koyt did; others are like the Deskin and simply came to a trade agreement that lets them use portals to Earth while the restrictions are still in place, as long as it’s for trade covered by the agreements. It’s a loophole in the protection but not one the major players will use. Since this world is human, I’m not expecting anyone to take too much advantage; the Empire is too close and too powerful.” Kaasi paused, then frowned. “Unless someone wants to aggravate the Empire.”

Death didn’t think anyone should worry about aggravating the Empire; they should worry about aggravating Serenity instead. Yes, the Human Empire had far more people and the Emperor was much higher Tier than Serenity, but that didn’t matter. 

Especially not since she’d help. She probably wouldn’t do anything immediately, but if he needed her help, Death wasn’t going to leave her Incarnate hanging. She didn’t really think he’d need her help, but it would be there if he did.

“You need something you can move in that’s also protective, especially since you said your body - I assume you mean your Attributes? - aren’t up to your Tier. Are they roughly Tier Three? I know I’ve seen you move that fast.” Kaasi didn’t wait for Death to answer. “Wait, maybe someone in the Guild will have a better idea. Everyone wears armor and Tier Three isn’t that unusual anymore. Earth has some really interesting materials and I know there are some enchanters…”

Death trailed behind Kaasi and tried to catch up to her thought process. “If you think off planet is better, we can leave. You’re on the list of people who can use Earth’s portals.”

Kaasi caught herself on the hood of a small blue car as she tried to stop and turn towards Death and ended up tripping over her feet. It gave a warning beep but fortunately there was no full alarm. “I’m what?”

Death thought she’d been clear but maybe she should say it differently? “You can leave Earth and return. So can I. We can go elsewhere for armor if you think that’s better. I can probably afford it.”

Death had no idea what armor should cost, but she had good savings as Amaia Black. All she was spending money on was movies and snacks, and that was cheap compared to what she could easily pull out of the dungeons. She tried to eat and sleep like a normal human, but the Adventurers’ Guild wasn’t charging her rent so that wasn’t all that expensive. She ought to have enough for armor. Even if she didn’t, she was sure she could ask for some from Serenity.

Kaasi opened her mouth, then closed it again. The second time she opened her mouth, she sighed. “You did that for me, didn’t you?”

“Uh, no? I didn’t think of it.” Death decided to use Serenity’s title rather than his name; it might help Kaasi understand what was happening better. “I told Earth’s Planetary Sovereign about your situation and he decided to add you to the list. He said that if you ever want to work for someone, he’ll find you a job?”

“He did that for you on your word without ever meeting me?” Kaasi sounded like she didn’t believe Death.

“Oh, you’ve met,” Death hurried to reassure her friend. “He’s not worried about you. He trusts me, but I also think he’s not worried about any information you can gather.”

Kaasi sighed. “That’s probably fair; there’s no way I’ll be the only agent here.”

Death shrugged. “He invited an agent from the Empire to get a good look at Earth a few months ago. There’s information he wants the Empire to have; I’m sure he’d be happy if you agreed to help share it. Do you know what it means if I say the agent is a Lord with a Grand Imperial Warrant?”

Kaasi visibly frowned. Her voice was icy when she replied. “Yes, I know exactly what it means. It means he’s selling the planet.”

Death shook her head. She could see why Kaasi might jump to that conclusion but it was obviously completely wrong. “Not at all. He couldn’t if he wanted to and he definitely doesn’t want to. Dragons don’t give away their hoards.” That ought to make the point; A Dragon’s Collection made that really obvious. The fact that the dragon in the movie had the same coloration as Serenity made it even better, even if he collected all the wrong things.

“The Planetary Sovereign of Earth is a dragon.” Kaasi seemed completely shocked. “That explains why the planet Tiered up so quickly and why he’s not worried about the Empire. Why does he even care about me?”

That wasn’t quite what Death meant to get across to Kaasi, but it seemed to work. “I’m not sure he does, but he cares about me and I care about you.”

“You’re a dragon, too?”

Death started to say no, then stopped herself. From a certain point of view, she was. Her body was based on Serenity’s, which meant her base Species was Essence Dragon. “Uh. Can I not answer that?”

Kaasi’s laughter told Death that her friend was feeling better. That was something.

Lillene

With any luck at all, Death’s assistance will never be needed to defend Earth. Things would have to go very wrong before Serenity would even consider asking.