Usoro arrived bright and early the following morning. Thuraya opened the door as soon as she knocked. She said, "We accept. We'll discuss in the kitchen."
Usoro stepped into the house. "You work fast. I like that. I'm confident in your ability to help me."
"You didn't give us a choice."
"No," Usoro conceded, "But you're taking the initiative."
"I want this to be over. We don't need this attention." With that, Thuraya walked into the kitchen. Usoro followed behind her and sat down at the table. She smiled at Galen who scowled in response.
Galen asked, "Do you know what to do? Where do we even start?"
"I don't know," Usoro shrugged. She held up her hand to stop the two's complaints. "I know someone who does. He will tell you."
"Why didn't you bring him here?" Thuraya questioned.
Usoro gave a cheery smile. "He doesn't know he'll be helping yet."
"What?" Galen took in a deep breath. "What do you mean he doesn't know he's helping us?"
Usoro opened her arms wide as if she was presenting Thuraya and Galen. "You will convince him to help. I believe in your powers of persuasion."
"I hate you," Thuraya said, glaring at Usoro.
Usoro laughed. The exact opposite response Thuraya wanted. She said, "You don’t know how often people tell me that. I’m no longer offended."
"I can imagine."
Galen brought the conversation back to the situation at hand, "Who is this man?"
"Eamon Oyola. My previous commanding officer. A high ranked official in the Zamsune military. If he found a way to leave, then I can too."
"How do you know where he is?"
"I heard rumors about a man that matched his description."
Thuraya interrupted, "So, you don't know if it's him for sure?"
"No, but you two are capable of figuring out the legitimacy of the whispers."
Galen said, exasperated, "Are you going to contribute anything?"
Usoro smirked, "If you did not interrupt, I could finish. Also, which one of us has the upper hand here? You or me?"
Galen gritted his teeth. "You."
"Thank you," Usoro smiled, "The rumors originated from the town of Ardogris, which is 500 miles west of here. I have train tickets for you. The train will depart tomorrow, and it will take a full day of travel before you arrive. When you arrive at the city, look for a little girl named Jivanta. She sells flowers in the town. Do not ask her about Eamon. Just follow her."
Thuraya raised her eyebrows, "You already bought the train tickets."
Galen added, "And we need to leave tomorrow. And we have to adhere to your sketchy orders."
"What will we do with Nessa? We can't leave her alone," Thuraya said.
"Ah, Nessa. Where is she?" Usoro asked.
"Sleeping."
"I will watch the girl."
Galen shook his head, "Absolutely not."
"Who else do you know?"
Thuraya whispered to Galen, "She has a point. We can't risk Nessa telling anyone else."
He whispered back, "I refuse to let Nessa stay here with her. You don't have to come with me. We don't need two people to get information."
"That's fair."
Galen cleared his throat, "No, Thuraya will stay here. I guess one train ticket will go to waste."
Usoro tilted her head in thought, "I can come with you."
"That is not necessary."
She snapped her fingers, "No, this is perfect. You will be assigned a guard anyway since you’re a foreigner. What better guard to follow you than me? I can contribute like you want me to."
Galen sighed, "I suppose that makes sense. If you go with me, will someone else need to monitor the house?"
"We will only be gone for a short while, so no other guard will be necessary. I don't check on you every day, do I?"
Thuraya said, "That settles it."
"Yes, I will leave you to pack and tell Nessa of the plan. Galen, I will take you to the station. I’ll see you tomorrow." Usoro stood from the table and left the house.
Galen exhaled a long breath and laid his head on the table. Thuraya pat his back and said, "It could be worse."
Galen's voice was muffled because his face was smooshed into the table, "This is ridiculous. The Ethereal Mistress must be laughing at us."
"Try not to think about it. I should get breakfast ready. You can start packing your bags."
"If only we had something to hold over Usoro's head. Something that could make her back down." Galen lifted his head, "Thuraya! Maybe you could, you know, peer into the future for an opportunity like that."
"I already looked, but all I saw was her babysitting someone's child when she's an old woman."
Galen groaned, "That's not useful at all."
"I control when I see, not what I see."
"I'll just have to deal with it, then. I'll go wake up Nessa."
"She's going to complain about breakfast not being ready."
"She can wait."
Galen walked to Nessa's room and opened the door. Nessa was sprawled out on the bed, her limbs akimbo. Galen smiled and went to gently shake her shoulder. The little girl jolted awake. She sleepily said, "Huh?"
Galen shook her again, "It's time to wake up. Breakfast will be ready in five minutes."
She whined, "No, I don't want to get up."
"We have important news to tell you, but we can only talk at the kitchen table."
Nessa squinted at Galen, "Okay."
Galen reentered the kitchen and sat down at the table. Galen could hear Nessa dragging her feet from her room to the kitchen. Thuraya greeted the girl when she took her place at the table. "Hello, little star. How was your sleep?"
"It was good until you woke me up," she grumbled.
"Did Galen tell you we have important news?"
"Uh-huh."
"Well, Galen and Miss Usoro are going on a trip and will be away for a couple of days."
"I want to come too!"
"No. This is an adults-only trip. You'll be stuck with me."
"Okay," Nessa said, "Does this mean I can't do magic until Mister Galen gets back?"
"Yes," Galen held up a stern finger, "No magic."
"No," Nessa whined, "Lessons are so boring."
"No magic," Galen repeated. Nessa pouted, but she agreed to his terms. Thuraya finished making their breakfast and served the two of them. They all abandoned talking in favor of eating the food in front of them. Nessa, like always, finished her meal first. She jumped out her chair, put the plate in the sink, and raced back to her room.
Thuraya called, "Lessons are in thirty minutes."
Nessa's groan echoed throughout the house. Galen snickered, "She hates learning doesn't she."
Thuraya shrugged, "She hates learning, but loves the outcome."
Galen rose from his seat, stretching his arms over his head. "I'll start packing. Though, I don't know what to bring."
Thuraya shook her head, "Don't worry, I'll go through and make sure everything looks to be in order."
Galen nodded and made his way to his bedroom, thinking about what he needed to pack. He thought about how complicated their stay in Zamsune had become in so little time. Not even Thuraya could have predicted this.
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