Asset Allocation

x0x0 sent me a note this morning about Aurora and Lily. It gets me one step closer, but still not where I need to be. I know a lot more now than I did. My own contacts have been seeping information back to me, but x0 has a more direct line than I do. She knows how this is all going down. While she didn't plan it, she understands all the pieces involved at a deeper level than I do.

x0 told Krenshar she'd kill anyone that stood between her and rescuing Lily. It gave me a new perspective on x0x0. This whole situation had. A hint of compassion for Lily? x0 wasn't known for her compassion, but there were times I saw a depth in her that I don't think she wanted people to know she had. It could be an illusion. I am hardly the perfect judge of character, though our relationship was very different from that of most others.

I had no doubt that x0x0 would carry through with her promise. While our methods might be quite different the result would be the same. Anyone that hurt Lily would face fury unleashed like an elemental force of nature. It didn't matter whether or not they saw it coming, whether it took the form of a silent killer in the dark or death raining down from the sky, the result would be the same. If they hurt Lily, they would die.

There was a time, when I was feeling very protective of Imrhien, I'd told someone that if they made her cry I would make them cry. If the people who had Lily made her cry, they would not have time to cry.

Cody was still inbound to recover her, but had more backup than he realized.

Lily would be home safe. Of that I was certain. It was only a matter of how many bodies were left in her wake. And, perhaps more important, what we would do with Aurora when Lily was back.

She was broken. But could she be fixed? I'd already lost my littlest girl without recognizing it. Could we ever get her back, or had that light forever gone out of the world?

The only consolation was not having to contemplate it alone.