And so the story continues fifteen minutes at a time…
Day 16: “No not really,” Christopher shrugged. “I can’t see that her research matters much.”
“No not really,” Christopher shrugged. “I can’t see that her research matters much.”
“You think not?” Marcus asked.
“Well its just something to keep her busy while she runs. I’m sure she ha to do something. Plus without her magic she’d have to find a job somewhere and she was known to spend time in archives. Maybe she’s signed on as someone’s research assistant in order to survive.”
“That would explain why we have found traces of her in various archives.” Marcus frowned. The archivist here, did she know who Anna might be working for?”
“Not a clue,” Christopher said. “All she knew was that Anna presented the correct credentials to be allowed in the space. Credentials I might add that we failed to get. You only managed to gain entry because of your badge of office and even then she made certain you touched nothing.”
“So someone who hired her is highly placed enough to gain entry.”
Christopher rolled his eyes. “Or has the right study permits and needed someone to do the leg work. You know some of these scholars. Once they achieve a degree of success they send their assistants into the dust filled rooms. They then take the information their lackey managed to ferret out and produce their scholarly research all while promising to sign off eventually so their assistants can get their scholarly credentials and permits and do the same to the next generation. Someone probably thinks she is intent on working her way into scholarship by being a gopher now.
”This is true,” Marcus said. “They don’t have to know who she is. The active hunt for her was phased out when we started having problems with the Devra. So her picture wouldn’t be in anyone’s mind.”
The images started to fade and the voices disappeared into nothing. Anna was left looking at the slivery liquid. She reached for her jar of neutralizer and shook it over the pot allowing the powder to coat the surface. The silver disintegrated and she was left with boiled herb infused water once again. Anna gave it a few good stirs to make sure it was all neutralized and then she poured it down the drain.
Once the spell was complete she cleaned up the kitchen and went to the shower to check on her portable washing machine. The detergent went from having powder bule bubbles to a white frothy foam so she knew that any magic within was disintegrated.
Anna concentrated on the physical tasks needing to be done. She drained the water out of the machine rinsed the machine and ran it full of clean water again. Once the soap was going from the garments she would leave the machine running with no water in it. The machine wouldn’t get the clothes dry but it would spin out all of the excess water so they weren’t dripping, even if they were damp.
Once the machine was set up for the clear water rinse, Anna once again left the bathroom. He checked the bags and her shoes and wiped off the last of the sprays now that they were decontaminated. Anna added her belongings back into the bag.
Ten til Midnight 