“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The lie came automatically, as did a layer of sweat on my forehead. Had Maggie exposed us, or had I said something without meaning to?

Rei crossed her arms under her chest. “Please don’t waste our time lying to me. I want to join, not turn you in.”

“That’s an interesting assumption you have there,” I said. “What’s it based on?” I had learned my lesson already; don’t admit to any crime you aren’t accused of.

“Ms. Edwards has always been the only teacher to take a real interest in me,” she said. “I always wondered why. Then I noticed that we spent as much time talking politics as we did my affinity. She was always very critical of the Anti-Demonic League, and soft on the Holy Brotherhood. She stopped mentioning them quite so much after Taiwan, though.”

“Blast it all, she has all the subtlety of a brick thrown through a window,” I snarled.

Rei shook her head. “It’s not that, really. It took me a long time, and I never saw the harm in her having those beliefs. It didn’t stop her from being a good teacher or from helping me as much as she could.”

“How tolerant of you,” I said.

“I appreciate results,” she replied. “After the Brotherhood interrupted that propaganda film the other day, it’s obvious that we aren’t being told the facts. If they aren’t telling us cadets the truth, the war must really be going badly.”

“My d-” I cut myself off. Perhaps I did say that too often. “You have a good head on your shoulders, Ms. Yamaguchi. I can assure you, things are much worse off for humanity than you know. Now I know why you suspected her, but what gave me away?”

A smug grin crossed her face. “It was just logic. I figured that if the last man out of England was hanging out with Ms. Edwards as much as you do, you’d be on her side.”

I jabbed my finger at her. “You got lucky this time, but don’t make any leaps like that again! There are very few of us about, and you’ll expose us if you talk nonsense.”

“I’ll make note of that. Now, will you answer my question?”

I stroked my chin as I contemplated Rei. I didn’t technically have the authority to invite her, but she didn’t need to know that. It would be nice to have underlings again. “You took a step forward today towards mastering your powers, but you’re days away from real control. How are you at casting spells?”

“I ace every test,” she said with obvious pride. “I would not be a remedial student if I had a firm grasp on my Faraday Wave.”

“You show a lot of promise,” I said. “I’ll report that to Ms. Edwards, don’t you worry.”

“Excellent,” she said. “Can we try again?”

“You’re certainly eager,” I said.

“I haven’t been able to go online since I was sixteen,” she said. “Do you know what life without the internet is like?”

“I can imagine,” I said. It was my default state, after all.

We sat again. “I’ve noticed that you aren’t magnetized all the time. What makes your affinity flare up?”

“It’s usually when I get annoyed,” she said.

“What irritates you?” I asked.

“Oh no,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her in an X. “I’m not giving you ammo. I see you teasing of Ms. Yamada all day.”

“My, you don’t miss much from your perch, do you?”

“I don’t have any neighbors to talk with,” she said. “And Mr. Maki’s war stories get so dull.”

“Well, I’ll have you know Mariko teases right back. It’s a verbal dance we do.”

“I don’t want to dance with you. That isn’t my strength,” she replied, fidgeting awkwardly.

“I promise, I’ll only use it for g- for go- for educational purposes. You can trust me.”

She sized me up for a moment. After a moment of deep thought, her shoulders relaxed. “I really don’t like music. Especially singing.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “And you call me strange! Where are you from, Mars?”

“I feel that way sometimes,” replied Rei, her brow furrowing.

“Well, I won’t invite you to any concerts.” I held my pen flat in my hand. “Do you have any requests? We’ll see if you can keep your power under wraps before I finish a song.”

“Something short,” she said. I had wondered if she had been pulling my leg, but that was real apprehension in her eyes. I think I’d looked calmer when they hauled me into prison back in Pandemonium.

I thought through my repertoire of songs. That was one benefit of coming from a society without easy music recording; most everyone I grew up with could sing decently, and most could play an instrument. I had focused on vocals and I was pretty damn good, if I could judge. I couldn’t sing anything in High or Low Demonic, of course. That would give the whole game away. I didn’t know any suitable songs in English, except for some rather bawdy bar songs we used to practice the language. I was utterly hopeless in Japanese. Kiyo’s taste in music tended towards instrumental video game soundtracks.

So, I settled on a Ukrainian folk song Mother had taught me when she had been in one of her rare maternal moods. “Have you ever heard Plyve Kacha po Tysyni before?”

Rei looked dumbfounded. “Plivy what?”

“It means ‘The Duckling Swims over the Tysyni.’”

“Why didn’t you just say so?”

I shrugged. “The translator must have decided I meant the title and not the literal meaning. Listen up, and try to keep your irritation under control.”

Something strange happened as I began to sing. I barely spoke a lick of my mother’s tongue. Aleksandra had been the only Ukrainian I had ever met, and when I had asked her what the song meant, she said it was about some duck swimming, and to not ask too many questions or I’d get a good swat. She was insistent that I learn her songs word for word, but didn’t much care that I knew their import. That was the kind of woman Mother was.

However, it’s a soulful song, and the school’s translation fabricata brought that to my attention as I went through. I realized, for the first time, that it was the story of a young man about to go to war talking with his mother, wondering who will bury him if he dies, and her admitting that he would have to be buried by strangers. I didn’t quite grasp where the duck came in, unless the duck crossing the river was some sort of metaphor? The translation magic wasn’t perfect, but the meaning hit home.

Yes, I teared up a little. What orphan boy wouldn’t, thousands of miles from home and beset by enemies on all sides? Death was around every corner, and unlike the young man in the song, I wouldn’t have my mother there to mourn me. Hell, Aleksandra wouldn’t have ever done that for me, even if I hadn’t watched her choke to death in front of me nearly a decade before. I sure as Hell wouldn’t get any sort of proper burial if the Anti-Demonic League or the Holy Brotherhood found out who I was. I was alone, as always.

“Soren?” Rei crouched before me and waved her hand in front of my eyes. “Are you done? You trailed off in the middle there.”

“The pen is still in my hand, isn’t it?” I had a hard time seeing just then. Damn allergies, making me tear up.

“Yes,” she said. “I don’t know if that was a good test, though. Your singing wasn’t as annoying as other people.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” I stood, pocketing the pen again. “Well, you have your test. Get a magnetic item you can pull to yourself without much effort, find something that irritates you and see if you can go without activating your powers needlessly.”

“Are we already done?” she asked. “We went longer with the first test.”

I rubbed the moisture out of my eyes. Damned allergens. “Yes, we are. Tell Maggie you passed, but you’ll need more work. She can take care of you from here.” I had enough plates to keep spinning as it was.

A satisfied smirk crossed Rei’s face. “Humanity first,” she said far too loudly.

I glanced around in panic as her voice echoed in my ears. There was nobody in earshot, thank the Dark Lord. My frustration with the damn song boiled over and I got right up in her face. “Never say that in public again, or you’ll regret it! You could doom us all!”

Rei’s eyes widened. “Are you threatening me?”

“Not threatening. Informing,” I replied nonchalantly. “Ask Haru Obe what being a loose end gets you in this organization.”

Rei’s jaw dropped. “On the news, they said he died of an infection. Was that another lie?”

“Of course,” I said. “The powers that be can’t be trusted. We are in a mortal fight with the League, and you must take it seriously to be a Holy Sister. Let that be my third lesson to you today.” I gave her a theatrical bow. “And with that, I have other matters to attend to.”

I spun around and stalked away without waiting for a response. I decided to let Rei report the lessons to Maggie herself. A little power play did wonders for making me feel like a real devil, but my traitorous eyes were still leaking. Mother always had the ability to bring out the worst in me.