Jefferson promised to get the message to Hailey. All Natalie could do now was… go back to what she'd been doing before.

Her dad was still only just down the street. If Natalie shouted loud enough, he might even be able to hear her. She could certainly do it with magic, if she wanted to—but she couldn't bring herself to risk it.

He's killed people. I know that. I saw him do it, back in Rallsburg. He killed someone just for being awakened. They weren't doing anything to him… Is this a bad idea?

You are more powerful than him. He won't be able to hurt you.

I can't hurt him either! I could never hurt Dad…

Natalie went back upstairs, before she could get trapped in another circle with the voice. As she carefully walked up the stairs, Riley shifted again ever so slightly.

"Did you hear me?" asked Natalie, suddenly uncomfortable.

"I've been listening to this," said Riley, pointing at the radio in her ear. "The National Guard is conducting another sweep through the forest. They want to find any caches they might have missed during the night. Amateurs," she added with a tiny flick of her head.

"Oh… okay." Natalie hesitated, then decided—she might as well ask Riley. If nothing else, it was a different conversation than the one she couldn't escape in her own head. "Do you think I should go talk to him?"

Riley didn't answer for a few seconds. Natalie was about to change her mind, say something else to get off the topic again, but she did finally speak up—and her voice wasn't Rook, nor was it Riley. There was more of an accent than she'd ever heard from Riley before, and more emotion. All of a sudden, she was a completely different person yet again, one Natalie had never met.

Who is she…?

"I don't know," she said. She didn't turn, keeping her eyes focused straight ahead, but Natalie could tell something was suddenly off about the sniper laying on the bed, still watching the library down the sight of her rifle. "I've been avoiding the only member of my family for twenty-one years."

"But… I thought—"

She shook her head slightly. "Stefen isn't my family. I… I have a daughter."

Natalie's eyes widened. "You do?"

She nodded. "I have not seen her since one week after she was born, twenty-one years ago. I… left her. My Esteri. She will be twenty-two soon. Just three weeks from now…" She shook her head again, and Natalie spotted an actual tear slipping down her cheek. "I've never told anyone this before. Not even Stefen."

Natalie didn't know what to say. She took one step across the room, and then another, but suddenly, the woman's head turned to look straight at her.

"I can't answer your question, Natalie. I've been avoiding my daughter because I'm terrified by what she'll think of me. Every year, I pray for her, and I hope that I will finally break and run to her."

"...Where is she?" asked Natalie.

She shook her head again. "I know where she began, and I know the trail to follow, but I was too afraid to walk it. I don't know if I'll ever be brave enough. How could she love someone like… like this?"

Natalie shook her head. "I don't think you're a bad person." She glanced away, since the woman had started to cry, though she did it so silently Natalie probably wouldn't have noticed without her enhanced eyes. "What's Esteri mean?"

"Star," said the woman quietly. "She is the star, bright and shining, forever out of my grasp and watching every move I make from afar. Judging me."

"I don't know what else you've done," said Natalie, "but… I think she might understand. If she's a smart person, she'd get it. Sometimes… sometimes life makes you do bad things."

The woman smiled. "I hope she would be like you, Natalie."

Natalie blushed. "...Thanks, I guess."

"Aulikki," she said suddenly.

"...Huh?"

"My name," said the woman, and she finally turned back to watch forward once again. "Aulikki Häyhä. No one has known that name in many years. I had nearly lost it in my time with the military. I want you to know it."

Natalie didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything at all. A raindrop fell onto the half-shattered window, and then another. The clouds were rolling in. Aulikki cleared her throat, and her voice returned to the old Riley who Natalie was more familiar with, but… she wouldn't ever forget.

"Whatever you want to do, Natalie," said Aulikki. "I'm with you."

"...Thanks." Natalie nodded, and suddenly, she felt a new wave of confidence. "I… I want to see him."

Aulikki nodded. "Then we will find a way." She pointed at the radio on her ear. "The other marksman is still in Rallsburg. Stebbins. We'll have to deal with him first."

"Deal with him?" asked Natalie nervously.

She shook her head. "We don't need to hurt him. But we do need to make sure he's not going to shoot your father, or you."

"So how do we do that?"

"I can think of several ways." Aulikki glanced at Natalie again briefly, before turning back to watch the library. The rain was starting to come down harder now, but enough of Boris' roof remained that they were both reasonably covered. So long as the wind didn't shift, they weren't getting wet. "We can ask him, of course, but that will also tip our hand on what we're doing. They might exploit his distraction to kill him while you speak."

They would do that? That's… that's horrible!

It is exactly as we strategized. Distract your foe so they do not see the real threat lurking just out of sight. You would be the unwitting version, but the result would be quite the same.

"That might not go well..." said Natalie aloud.

Aulikki nodded. "I could also draw him away, threaten his zone and force him to retreat. He would not be harmed, but I would lose sight of the library. You'd have to protect your father from any other threats."

"...Okay. What else?"

"You simply go in and trust Stebbins not to fire, and not risk leaving his own post for fear of my bullet." Aulikki retained a little of her arrogance as she went on. "I'm certain he has no idea where we've made our nest. I can still cover you, but you'll be on your own inside, and I don't believe your father went there alone."

None of these sound good…

"And another one?"

"We lure your father out ourselves," said Aulikki with a shrug. "You'd have to stop every bullet from striking him as he approaches us. I don't like this approach, but if you think you can manage it, it may work."

Natalie shook her head. "I barely stopped just one of yours," she said, wincing simply from the memory of that painful experience.

"So going to him is our best option," Aulikki concluded. The rain was now a downpour. Sheets of water dropped from the sky and drenching the whole town of Rallsburg. Natalie ducked back a little as some of the rain shifted and fell their way, but Aulikki was under enough cover to avoid it. "I think if we…"

She trailed off. Something was coming through on the radio. Natalie focused, and she could barely make out the sound with how low Aulikki kept the volume.

"...Civilian casualties, requesting emergency airlift from FOB Pilgrim. I repeat, emergency medical airlift…"

Aulikki's eyes snapped up to meet Natalie's. Her heart seemed to sink into her stomach.

They could both feel it in the air. The rain seemed to be a perfect reflection of the sudden mood permeating their entire world. A wall of water, with fog beginning to roll in beneath, turned the town and forest surrounding into a cold, foreboding landscape—but it was all just a sign.

Something terrible had just happened.