Page 71 of The Stone Initiation
“Yes, for several years.” She walked back over to the window and looked out. “I know what they say about me. They say I killed myself, but I don’t remember that, and I don’t think I would do such a thing, but…there are so many things I don’t remember. It’s been so long.”
“How long?”
“I don’t remember.” She gave me a dry smile as if to say, see what I mean. “It helps to speak to someone, but my last roommate didn’t want to talk to me. She pretended I wasn’t here.”
“I’m sorry. Not everyone is comfortable being around ghosts. Supernatural monsters? Fine. Tulpas? No issue. But ghosts freak a lot of creatures out because they’re a reminder of our mortality.”
She considered my words. “But not you?”
“Nope. As long as you don’t watch me sleep, I’m cool with you hanging out. In fact. It might be nice to have the company.”
She smiled. “Thank you. I’d like that.”
I finished towel drying my hair and reached for the milk again.
“Who’s Romi?” she asked.
I froze, fingers grazing the glass. “What?”
“You said his name in your sleep a few times last night.”
I arched a brow at her. “You were watching me sleep?”
She looked sheepish. “Only for a moment or two, you…You reminded me of someone and then…you didn’t.”
I sighed. Heck what did it matter if I told her. She was probably the only safe person to confide in about my heritage. “Romi was my brother.”
It felt good to say it. To just tell someone. And once I started, the whole story spilled out.
“Oh no,” Melanie sat on the dresser, hands on her thighs. “We have to find out what happened to him.”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. But I have no clue where to start. Everyone I’ve spoken to so far says the same thing—unfortunate accident. The elites are a no-go zone. Serath made that clear, so now I’m stuck. Selas says she’ll train me, but whether I’ll be able to get her to open up to me is another issue. My only hope is getting into the confidential file room. But it’s locked with one of those palm scanners so…yeah…”
“They have everything in the files in that room,” Melanie said. “Allergies, blood type, all the confidential mission reports. It’s a wealth of information. I used to love cataloguing the details and reading about the missions and—”
“Melanie, wait. Did you manage the confidential files?”
“Yes. It was my job…” She frowned. “Until it wasn’t.”
And her room had beenherein the dorms? That made no sense. She’d been human.
“I can help you,” she said suddenly. “I can get into the office and find the files.”
I sat up straighter. “You can?”
“Yes. I sometimes go there because it feels familiar. It’s quiet in there. Safe… No palm reading scanner can keep me out,” she said proudly.
“So, you can find his file?”
“I can look for it, yes. What’s the family name? They always file under that.”
I hadn’t told her the family name yet, and I found myself hesitating.
“I can’t help you if I don’t know,” she said.
Fuck it. “Basque. The surname is Basque.”
Her eyes went round. “An original bloodline?”
