Page 53 of The Only Way Out Is Up

“Easier to carry that way.”

“Easier to— What, so you can take it around the city with you? Why?”

Because he wants to see things doesn’t seem like an explanation that would satisfy her. Fortunately for me, she’s already moved on.

“And I don’t recognize any of these parts. No brands or model numbers, just… nothing.”

“Star’s not built from parts. I made him myself.”

“You made… him. Yourself.”

I nod.

“But you can’t do that,” she says with growing frustration. “Wiring sigils together by hand is for… for kids playing with junk. Nobody wires up an entire runic by hand, the connections are too complicated to keep track of.”

I’d never found it particularly difficult, to be honest. Each sigil had its connection points and hooked in with the others. After a little trial and error, it was just obvious.

“It seems to work for me,” I say, spreading my hands.

“Ugh.” She blows out a breath, stirring the curtain of hair. “I hate you.”

“Sorry. Because I beat you?”

“Because I don’t understand how.” She crosses her arms. “It’s not like I’ve never lost before. When you lose, you look at the other guy’s runic and think, oh, okay, that’s clever, and then you just copy it. Or else somebody just wall-of-bits’s you and there’s nothing you can do.”

“‘Wall-of-bits’?”

“Yeah.” She gives me an odd look and waves a hand. “Like, a runic with a crappy design, but it’s got such expensive sigils stuffed into it that it wins anyway. Like being crushed by a wall of bits.”

“Ah,” I say.

“You really are new at this, aren’t you?” She sighs. “Sometimes rich kids from Yesod want to slum it down here, and they bring these runics that are just ridiculous. Every sigil orange or yellow, even the modifiers. It’s stupid. I thought you might be one of those but obviously not. Your runic doesn’t even have skulls and flames painted on the side.”

“The rich kids’ do?”

“Every fucking time.” She idly blows at her hair. “So where are you from?”

I’m not sure I should say, and I’m saved from having to answer by Ky’s call.

“Taj! We’ve got a deal.”

“Your girlfriend must be tough if she can go toe-to-toe with my aunt,” Lorrimer says, standing up and brushing off her skirt.

“She’s not my— Your aunt?”

She nods and wanders away. I go back to the others; Ky is bouncing with anticipation, and Weslai’s eyes have the shine they get with the imminent prospect of money. Even Venci, for once, looks more excited than annoyed.

“Can you be ready for a fight in two days’ time?” Ky says.

I glance at Star. The Mark 4 is in pretty good shape, even after the last fight. It won’t take long to tune it up. “Sure, as long as I can get the cash we talked about.”

Ky gives an eager nod. Venci sizes me up and snorts.

“Your reputation’s spread enough that we’ll have no problem getting challengers,” she says. “But you could stand to spruce yourself up a bit. It’s all about putting on a show, remember. And do something about your runic, it’s too drab.”

[Agreement: I am too drab. I require sparkles.]

How about some skulls and flames? Maybe a few spikes?