Page 67 of Old Secrets

“Yes, them. Sherpa is a tricky language; it’s tonal in nature; how you pitch the words changes the meaning of the words, and it’s often non-comparable to how English is spoken. English isn’t a tonal language, although we do use tone to indicate moods. In Sherpa, tone is used to change the meaning of words. This is where your name becomes particularly interesting, Karma. In some forms of Tibetan, Dawa means moon. In Sherpa, it means Monday.”

I blinked. “Like the day of the week?”

“Indeed. Your name is a play on words; you were shipped to the United States on a Monday, and we believe the day of the week plays a significant part in your general survival. When your name was presented to me, I brainstormed the various meanings of your name, finding that Dawa might not have the obvious meaning of moon.”

Huh. In more than a few ways, I regretted that my aunt had not survived through sending me to the United States. “How clever.”

Maurice sighed, drawing my attention to him. “Your aunt was a very clever woman, swift and cunning. It is quite the tragedy she had been forced to pay for your life with hers.”

“Do you know why she did it?”

Once again, the translator sighed. “I have a solid guess. She once had a companion. I don’t know if he was viewed as a spouse or a mate or simply the closest of friends, but while they could not have children together, their love was as deep as the ocean. Perhaps due to their inability to procreate, Greenwich executed him—likely to keep your family in line. A warning of what would happen to other pairings failing to procreate.”

Just when I thought my rage over Greenwich couldn’t be further intensified, someone found a way to illuminate yet another one of their sins. “She was grieving.”

“The few times I have gotten to speak with your parents in private, although not as much as I would like, yes, they implied that is the case. They are willing to breed with whomever is necessary—an act solely to keep their species alive. But they form bonds much like Fenerec do, and those run deep. From what your mother told me, your aunt would never recover from the loss of her partner, who had been with her for thousands upon thousands of years. It was a wound that would never heal. She spent her death wisely.”

“They hadn’t mentioned that part,” I admitted.

“Your parents were not sure how many burdens you could handle, so they did not want to give you the full tragedy.”

“It compounds the interest owed, that’s for sure.” At my fox’s request, I issued an irritated chitter. “And the airport will be cleared of as many innocents as possible?”

Logan chuckled. “This is correct. We have an earth witch present, and none of the operatives have brought any weapons with them whatsoever. They have come with very little, which is concerning. I see foxes have as much drive to bring some wholesome violence to the worthy as Fenerec do.”

“They’ve earned it.”

“That they have,” the pilot agreed. “This is where we may change our plans a little. With zero evidence of them seeking violence, we want to get a feel for what they are at the airport for. You are our best card to play for this. We want to see what they do should you show up. It could go one of three ways that we’ve estimated so far.”

Ah, I just loved when plans went sideways as they often tended to do. “We’re changing the plan now?”

“I like to think of it as refining it somewhat.” There was a brief pause as the pilot changed channels, communicating with someone in Chinese. He then said, “Their behavior is odd, as are the reports we’re getting from some of the sensitive witches. Fenerec are also reporting pure joy and delight upon finding you when you were disguised as your parents. It’s to the point of worship.”

“Yet they killed my aunt and tried to kill me?”

“We have some theories about that,” Maurice stated in a rather confident tone, which concerned me. “The group is, as your parents informed us, founded on the whole concept of greed. Immortal life is highly valued by them. You have dodged death despite lengthy odds. You survived being heavily mistreated as an infant through no fault of your mother. You survived the journey from the heart of Mount Everest all the way across China to catch your flight to the United States. You survived. You are likely proof of your parents’ immortality having successfully been passed down. This would fall in line with their belief system. In their eyes, your parents may very well be gods, and you would be the proof their divine essence can be inherited.”

The last thing I needed was religious fanaticism complicating matters for us. “What is the end goal?”

“With luck, in their fanaticism, they will sacrifice the head of their organization for the heart of their belief system, which happens to be your family.”

Maurice’s suggestion shocked me and my fox, and Jake captured my hand, giving it a squeeze.

When I refused to speak, my mate said, “You’re hoping to use their beliefs against them?”

“The woman who had approached you for the photographs was truly and genuinely overjoyed to meet you, believing you were your parents. This joy was clearly palpable to our witches and other Fenerec,” Maurice replied. “I have a theory on why that might be as well. On the surface, it makes no sense. Why try to kill you if they worship you? However, what if they weren’t trying to kill you but rather expose your divinity from birth? Fanaticism is a brutal beast, but if their belief system involves them chasing down the idea of immortality, then attempting to kill you as an infant makes sense. For you to survive what you did as an infant would be confirmation of immortality to them. Then for you to survive the London shooting as well?”

Maurice’s theory made a sickening amount of sense. “Their beliefs would be reinforced, resulting in more worship directed at my parents; they did pass their supposed divinity on to a child. Me.”

“And if they want their power to be divine-granted, then they need gods and goddesses backing them. They might not even realize how much true power your parents wield.”

Sickened at the thought of how far people would go for misguided religious beliefs, I said, “And they wouldn’t try to kill my parents because they have all the confirmation of immortality they need through spoken word.”

“That’s correct. I don’t know if your parents have come to this conclusion or not yet, but if that is part of their belief system, we might be able to turn our enemies into our allies. It really depends. They could also form a mob, but let’s face it, you shift fast and well, and no human has any chance of defeating you even mobbed together. The Fenerec don’t shift as fast as you do, but I expect with all their focus on you, they’ll have enough time to transform before things escalate.”

Logan cleared his throat. “We’re prepared for bloodshed. The security systems at Xigazê will be wiped as needed to cover the exposure of the Inquisition. We’ll concoct a story about a terrorism event using hallucinogens should any Normals escape from the airport. The Chinese have their way of making these sorts of problems disappear quietly.”

That I could readily believe. “Your thoughts, Noah?”