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Lioness glared at the two figures, her instincts torn between fight and flight. She pulled her daughter closer to herself, as the toddler reached out to touch Turtle.
"They are not evil, mommy," Thea said. "They want to help you!"
"I don't need help," Lioness snarled, inching closer to the door.
"We just wanted to remind you we're still part of you," Galilhai clone smiled. "And together we are stronger than apart. You're stronger than you know, Maddie."
The agent drew herself up to her full height, gave them one last look, and backed out of the door.
"I know."

Suddenly her daughter bolted out of the room.
"Thea, wait!"
Lioness followed her down the corridors. She shouted 'excuse-mes' and 'watch-outs' to fellow agents, until finally she found herself in an empty utility closet.
"Took you long enough," an alto spoke.
"We were starting to wonder," a second voice said.
"You're not here," Lioness told (inexplicably glowing) Turtle.
"Imprisonment won't make us disappear," the woman answered kindly.
"Nor will it free you from us," the other one (Galilhai look-alike) said.
"You're not real!"
"Ask Thea..."
"Mommy!"
Maddie picked up the toddler, cowering in a corner.
"Who are you?"
"Magic."
"Empathy."

Unfortunately, Swan and Wolf didn't quite share Eagle's opinion.
"We can't risk it. Sarmad might have put some secret programming inside the ritual, and who knows what happens once it is triggered..." Wolf explained. "Here in the HQ we can deal with it, but sending Lioness out even on a routine mission would be pushing it. Especially since it's almost certain he *is* watching her."
The subject of their debate, meanwhile, prowled the floor of one of the guests suites, pretending to be a cat for her toddler's amusement.
Just like the last two years, she thought a bit bitterly.

"What about that one?" Eagle pointed out a man probably Thorne's age.
Lioness squinted in focus.
"I'm sure I've never seen his face," she mumbled to herself. "...but..."
There was something familiar about him.
"Wait. That's impossible! He's... dead."
"Was," Eagle nodded and added: "It's a long story. But Osprey brought Phoenix back."
Before she said anything else, someone tapped her shoulder.
"Hey, stranger."
The woman was unfamiliar. Except her... aura? No, not aura... something hung in the air.
She focused again.
"Lion!" she laughingly smacked her friend's shoulder.
"It seems you still have it, Lioness," Eagle smiled. "Welcome back."

"I think it's time to give her a break," Eagle came into the room and offered Lioness a hand: "I'd like to see what you can do now."
She actually smiled.
"How?"
"Can you still identify people the way you did when we first met?"
He led her into the HQ cantina. It was full of people she has probably seen couple times before.
"Tell me, what do you remember about them?"
She looked around and pointed at a young agent:
"Lust. Not surprising, he's about nineteen... maybe younger. Tried to convince you he's older so you'd take him in."

Lioness sat once again with Wolf and Swan. Mouse was there too, tinkering with an artifact, asking questions here and there.
"I can't remember any more," Lioness tossed her hands up.
"Tell me," Swan prompted. "What really made you do it."
"I was... scared. Of being left out in the cold. Hung out to dry," her voice was just above whisper.
"We don't leave our people behind. We would have pulled you out of there."
She nodded.
"And we won't stop until we fix this."
"...and if we can't?"
"We won't abandon you, no matter what. You KNOW that, Lioness."

Maddie wasn't sure Thorne will make it home that night.
She put Thea to bed and then retired herself, hoping a familiar bed will bring her rest.
But her sleep was as filled with sneers, taunts, unsettling images and feelings of dread and hopelesness, as when she was in the cell.
But then a deep familiar voice called out her name, and with a gasp, as if she just emerged from the depth of sea, she opened her eyes to find Thorne holding her.
Something deep inside told him he needs to protect the woman he loves - even from herself.

Mouse peered at the sketches that Lioness made.
"These markings look slightly familiar, but..."
She reached into one of her shelves and pulled out a tome to refresh her memory.
"Yes, see here..." she turned the page to Wolf. "They might be letters that she misremembered, or they might be a modification we haven't seen yet."
"What do you think is more likely?"
She sat back in her chair.
"Traditionally people from the East don't mess with established patterns. But you know Sarmad better than I do... is he a conformist or innovator?"
"Trend setter, he would like to think."

Risa was sitting in a comfortable lawn chair, sipping tea and enjoying the view.
She loved how the Newcastle office's garden overlooked the sea, but today there was something else competing for her attention.
Elk (the local director) used the tea time break for practice. His body moved expertly through a series of perfectly coordinated motions, the harmony amplified by his tight fitting attire.
Almost like a dance, but deadly, if used right.
As he struck the last pose, Risa heard a giggle from one of the "outdoor education center" climbing structures and almost rolled her eyes.
Keep dreaming, ladies...

Wolf asked Lioness to try and describe as much of the ritual to him, as she could remember.
She closed her eyes, summoning every ounce of memory she could muster, but all she could get were flashes.
Light, sounds, emotions, magic. A colourful blur of things moving too fast to grasp or put into words.
"Did he use any artifacts?" the director prompted.
She was sure he did. But could she pinpoint their function, or at least recall their looks in any detail?
She didn't think it likely. But she needed to try.
A pencil in her hand started sketching.

Fox and Squirrel sat at a table in one of their favourite pubs near HQ. Tiger dragged Raven in, sat him down and put fresh pints in front of both of them.
"I heard your lady came back," Fox said with a wink. "She's got more lives than a cat..."
Tiger shot him a glare, but Raven just shook his head as he drained the pint in one gulp.
"I'm not sure she did come back this time," he gritted, but then clammed up again.
Squirrel clapped his shoulder encouragingly.
"Of course she did. Women change. That's what they do."

When Maddie finally came home, she was exhausted beyond belief.
"Mommy! You're back!" little tornado flew into her arms with a crushing hug. She smiled, hugged her daughter tight and set her down.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, racking her brain for the right "protocol" for coming home.
"Ummm..."
"Or do you want to play? Or..."
There was a trickle of dread, as she realized she has no idea how to relate to her child.
"How have you been, little bug?" she asked finally, feeling lame.
Fortunately, the toddler started to chatter excitedly.
That was at least something.
What's next?

21st Feb 2018

It feels weird not to feel, quite honestly.
My fingertips seem to remember there should be sensations to pick up on every page, but all they get is the soft rustling of paper and smoothness of leather.
In fact, all of my senses seem to remember more than they can actually get to. Every inch of me seem to be straining to break through a glass wall... that simply will not budge.
How DO people live with such limited information about what surrounds them?
I don't even know what to write... or to feel.
By myself.
Alone.

Of course Raven wouldn't say any more. And she had precious little to go on based off his expression. She looked to Swan, who in turn spoke up.
"It certainly looks like we all have our work cut out for us. Raven, could you make sure Tiger and his team are ready, when we make a move?"
The section chief nodded choppily and shot Lioness one last look before leaving the room.
"Now, Lioness, I have to assess your... new condition, do you mind?"
"Of course."
Lioness closed her eyes and let Swan see.
Her mind's garden burned to crisp.

Raven listened to the conversation between Lioness and Wolf, his face more and more reminiscent of a thundercloud. It made Swan switch her attention from Lioness to him. Lioness did not notice the change, until he spoke up.
"Would you really have done it, if it was anyone else then *him*?"
She turned to him, obviously surprised and confused for a second.
"What are you suggesting, Raven?" she asked coldly.
"Last time you were his mistress. And now? You let him make you his lab rat. You tell me, what I should think, Lioness."
"Are you... jealous?" she asked, unsure.

Skálo, skálo, skálo,
proč je valut málo?
Provádíme směny,
tiše jako pěny.

Smutno je člověku ve sluji,
když zavřu oči, tak veksluji.
Veksluji na státní hranici,
v budce tam stojí dva celníci.

Skálo, skálo, skálo,
proč je valut málo?
Provádíme směny,
tiše jako pěny.

Jeden je řádně prý podmazán,
druhému úplatek taky dám.
Puška se mu houpá z řemenu,
do kapsy rád strčí mařenu.

Skálo, skálo, skálo,
proč je valut málo?
Provádíme směny,
tiše jako pěny.

Jen pojďte vekslovat dětičky,
já beru centy i pětníčky.
Autobus projíždí zatáčku,
dej dolar princezno za kačku!

Skálo, skálo, skálo,
proč je valut málo?

Swan, Eagle and Wolf were looking across the table at their agent with curiosity.
Before she could say anything, there was a knock on the door and in came Raven.
She smiled at him.
"...so, I thought it best to try to get as much information as I could," Lioness finished and shrugged.
"And how exactly did you do that?"
"I... let him perform the ritual."
"What?" Wolf's eyes darkened.
"I know it sounds borderline insane - "
"Borderline? There is nothing 'border' about it, Lioness. It's so far out, in fact, you can't even SEE the bloody line!" he interrupted, loudly.

The young receptionist stood up as she entered.
"I need to speak to Swan, immediately," Lioness told her. "And could you also let Raven know I'm back, please?"
"Of course," she nodded politely. "Please..."
"Yes, I'll stay here, I know the protocol."
"Right."
Lioness sat down in one of the armchairs, trying to project calm and confidence.
There was no way she'd be able to hide her... condition... from Swan.
But she didn't *want* to hide it.
She can still do her job.
She can even become a better agent than before.
She'll make everyone understand that.
She's strong.
Fearless.

Owl studied the map board's tacks, notes and crisscrossing strings.
"The problem is, we have too much data. And it will take us too far down too many rabbit holes."
Weta, running computer simulations, shrugged.
"We can crunch them fast enough."
"I could get closer to truth with just good ol' legwork."
"Every simulation points to her being taken."
"Of course. But where to and by whom? I wager they *want* us to look further afield than we have to."
"You'd win."
"...really?"
Weta pointed to the image from the camera outside HQ gate.
Lioness was just coming through it.

If Lioness thought she would be able to follow what the sorcerer was doing, she was wrong. There was no single artifact or simple incantation. It was a long, complicated ritual. At the end, she wasn't sure if she was awake through all of it, or if she hallucinated parts of it.
Suddenly she stood in a thronged living room.
She braced... and realized there was nothing assaulting her.
Her arms crossed on her chest in an unconscious defensive gesture.
Someone smiled at her. Asked a question.
She couldn't *feel* beyond that.
She felt exposed and vulnerable like never before.

Lioness was getting weary, and worried by the lack of emotion Sarmad was showing.
"Tell me, then, what are you offering me?"
"I'm going to let you go back to your 'friends', if you so wish."
"That's... unconventional..." ...and therefore worrisome.
"But you won't be the same - you'll lose your 'gift'."
Her mind raced, torn between fear and curiosity.
How could he take away an innate magical ability? Impossible. Or?
Could she live better without relying on empathy?
Was he right that she - and the Agency - are too stuck in their ways to adapt?
"I'll take my chances. Do it."

"What do you mean you 'lost' her?" Raven was pacing Eagle's office, looking like a thundercloud.
"She missed her check-in, and didn't complete the task," the director explained. "I have Ant combing through all available security cameras footage in the area, but you know that is pretty much like looking for a needle in a haystack..."
"Can we have Weta and Owl on it as well? The youngster usually has a few tricks up his sleeve, and the old codger..."
"They are wrapping something up, but they will jump in as soon as they can. We'll bring her back, Raven."

Lioness opened her eyes and met Sarmad's gaze.
"Using magic to persuade me mine is somehow 'wrong' seems a bit hypocritical," she said firmly. "Where would *you* be without it?"
His lips curled into a half-smile.
"I know life without magic. It's what I use, not who I am. You can choose to close your eyes again and go back to your dream world... or you can finally wake up and find out what is real."
"Not all awakenings lead to reality... sometimes they only land you in a different nightmare."
He shrugged.
"Are you too scared to try it?"

The garden was a safe space.
The place where everything made sense, where all had its order.
Maybe it was cowardly to hide here now.
But she needed to get her balance back.
But today things looked... different. The fruits were all wrong, the sounds garbled.
She sped up, until she stood in the shade of a twinned tree in the middle of the garden. She breathed a sigh of relief, only to watch the tree split in two, revealing a nest of maggots at its base.

"Would Darrow still love you, if you couldn't magically make sense of him?"

"Men rely on more... straightforward approaches."
To prove a point he touched her again.
"Stop!" she gasped, surprised by her own reaction.
He stepped back, satisfied.
There was a pulse of familiar magic.
The artifact combed her memories, dragging unpleasant ones to the front.
"You can't turn me!" her words sounded weak.
The magic stopped and he finally faced her.
"I don't want to hurt you. Just to open your eyes."
He said it with caring sincerity.
She couldn't look at him.
"You're smart," the baritone persuaded. "You know *they* are using you..."
"...just because of your gift."
She gulped.

"Sorry to have burst your little bubble," she continued when he didn't respond.
The footsteps stopped right behind her back. She didn't turn.
"My life wasn't as sheltered as yours," he said philosophically. "You only confirmed what I knew for a long time."
His fingers brushed the back of her neck, lifting her hair. It made her skin tingle and she had to brace herself not to shudder.
"And what was that?" she asked as the sensation subsided. "That you shouldn't trust the evil West?"
"That women are creatures of subterfuge, especially when they play with magic."
"Aren't men too?"

"At the briefing today," Lioness started gently as she sat across the table from Raven at dinner. "I almost thought you were going to bite the chair in front of you in frustration."
Raven was about to answer, when a tiny voice interrupted.
"You think chairs are for biting, daddy?!" Thea giggled, turning in her high chair and putting her mouth on the back.
"No!" she turned back, wiggling her finger. "Chairs are not for biting! Only food is for biting!"
Raven looked torn between smiling and sighing.
"You're right," he said. Both to his partner and to their daughter.

Raven fixed Lioness with a stare.
"You don't have to do it."
"I don't have to... but I want to. We've been through this. I am an agent."
He shrugged, and dropped the subject. She took it as victory.
***
Three weeks later, she felt guilty, as she remembered that exchange.
Maybe motherhood made her rusty, she never saw them coming before there was a sack over her head.
Whoever "they" were...
She got her answer as door she couldn't see opened in the cell.
"It's not always fun to be swept off your feet," an unmistakable, enchanting voice told her.

"I can't say I wasn't surprised, when I learned your 'accident' has not been quite as fatal as I believed," the velvet baritone continued. "At first I wanted to ask you a lot of questions..."
His footsteps were closing in, but he still stayed out of her line of vision.
"...but ultimately that would be wasting both of our time, wouldn't it? Now that I know who... what... you really are."
"You're right. After all, what is a few questions between friends," she found her voice.
Maybe she was too bold because there was no anger hidden in his emotions...