“


    Oh, right. That kid from before. Come to think of it, he must be…


    “was asleep. Is your dad back?”


    “


    “


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    “


    possibly be around to see? Was the annual village paint drying contest happening today? Flocks Above, don’t say it. Just go back to sleep.


    “


    ———


    “…


    something, that presence he could sometimes sense. He dared not speak of it. He had given it a name, in his mind only. The Shadow. It was the way nothing looked out of place, perfectly as it had been left, yet the automobile’s interior smelled. It smelled not of Vega’s tobacco, nor of the leather seats, but of… nothing. The Shadow was near, that nothingness meant. He would have smelled cleaning chemicals if another subordinate had excessively erased the pungent fresh scent of the thickly padded leather seats that had been replaced recently, and if his nose were simply broken today, he’d have ways of noticing that as well. For one, the blood from earlier wouldn’t have smelled nearly as strong. No. It had to be the Shadow.


    nothing? Was that possible?


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    “


    “


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    “


    lurched to a stop. Flocks Above, he hated that feeling in his gut, as if he were suddenly airborne. Typhos offered the Flocks a quiet apology for the swear and prayed that his master would never discover how much he loathed the moment these machines halted. The man was fascinated with finding weaknesses, even those of his subordinates.


    ———


    comfortable newspapers. Not the crummy material Origo Times used. No, those were clipping Origo Daily.


    “the black peppers.” True, there was a single patch of black in there. Those must be the black peppers. How exciting.


    “


    He just keeps going and going, he thought exasperatedly. This is what I get for trying to be courteous.


    “


    Great. Another acquaintance. How many is that, now? Five? Six?


    “


    “


    “


    Save me.


    “all of those? What restraint?


    “


    “


    “


    “


    anything else to do around here— but a few coins were a lot more than no coins.


    “thrown.


    “


    “seen one in… in months, I think.”


    “


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    “